Tumgik
#be warned that this has horror tones and is. fixed on finding curses so is obvs quite negative in vibe
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What is Your Curse?
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Something walks behind you. Something twists through your spine. Something that marks you, mars you-- something you can never be without. You bear a curse.
Take the quiz here!
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pleasantangelpaper · 6 months
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Video Killed The Radio Star (Stu Macher x Reader)
WOOOO I love the scream boys, I really do. So, here is the first part of my Stu Macher x reader!!! Let me know below if you want to be on the tag list for any future parts!
Pairing: Stu Macher x Female! Reader
Warnings: Mentions of a bad relationship with a sibling, slight allusions to sex, but not really
Word Count: 1.3k
The video store: a world of fun and amusement, a place where horror junkies get their fix and young lovers find some background noise. It is also my personal hell. Ever since I got this job at Blockbuster video, I have experienced nothing but boring work shifts. The whole gig is so routine. Checking out horror movies, rom-coms, and pornos all day gets to be a blur, and there’s only so many times that you can try to mop the stickiness off of the floor before you start to lose your mind. The store I work at is a quaint one. It’s small in size, but it has a rather large number of customers. Most of the customers are regulars, the ones who show up every Friday afternoon to get their fix for the week, but sometimes I meet a straggler who got bored enough to finally use their vhs. Today was not one of those days. 
As I stocked the romance shelf with the newest chick-flicks and romantic comedies, I heard a strange sound, like a movie had fallen off of one of the shelves. I raised an eyebrow in curiosity as I looked around. No one seemed to be in the store. It was 9:30 PM on a Wednesday. Only thirty minutes until closing, and someone was in the store? A thought popped into my head, “Randy… I know you’re here… come out, what are you doing?” I questioned the open room with a tone of annoyance. Randy Meeks was my co-worker, and I guess he could be a friend. He was funny, but sometimes he just was downright weird. Not a word of response was sent back my way. “Randy, really, it’s not funny,”. Suddenly I felt arms grab my face and cover my eyes. “It’s not Randy,” a familiar voice sang. “STU!” I yelled the man’s name angrily, “You can’t sneak up on people like that, it's terrifying!”. He lowered his arms in defense, “Hey, it was just a joke, it’s not like I’m gonna hurt you or something,” he stated. I let out a sigh, “What do you need, Stu, I gotta get home, we have school tomorrow,”. “Ah-ah, the store doesn’t close for another thirty minutes,” the man tutted. I groaned, Stu is a great friend, but he can be annoying when he wants to. “Of course you would know that,”. I began to look back at the shelf I was stocking, unloading the last of the box of new rentals onto the cold metal, and making sure they were in alphabetical order, though I knew that wouldn’t last long. I knew exactly where Stu would be headed, as it was the same row that almost every teen in Woodsboro frequented: the horror section. 
“Do you have Halloween: the Curse of Michael Myers yet?” Stu questioned, flipping through the titles meticulously. The man scanned each movie with a sense of precision. There was always something he was looking for. I didn’t know exactly what his favorite horror genre was, because it seemed to me that he liked them all, and yet, he still scanned every movie’s cover as if he were picking a job to apply to. “Actually, Stu, we may or may not have just gotten our first copy, and I may or may not have rented it out already…” I started with a sense of anxiety, fearing that Stu would be upset by the fact that I had already rented the movie. I don’t know why I felt that I had to forfeit my rental, but something about Stu always made me give in. “But, you can gladly have it, uh just, uh, let me check it back in, so that you can check it out,” I started hastily walking to my bag, but not before my arm was caught by Stu. “You don’t have to do that,” his voice sounded concerned as he pulled me back by my arm. “We could just watch it together,” he said. I blushed in embarrassment as the man still had my arm in a strong grip, and because I could watch a movie with Stu Macher… alone. I’ve never been one to succumb to crushes, but… okay yeah… that’s a lie… I’m like totally infatuated with Stu Macher, but can you blame me. We’ve been friends since elementary school. Billy Loomis, Stu, and I have always been a tight-knit group. Of course, we’ve strayed apart a bit now that I have friends that are girls, but we’re still relatively close, and something about him just always pulls me in, and the cologne he wears is just divine, and his eyes, oh his- “Y/N, Y/N… you alive in there,” “ OH Uh sorry I zoned out for a bit there,” I internally screamed as my cheeks turned blood red. “So what do you say?” the taller asked as he looked at me with puppy-dog eyes. “Oh uh yeah! Of course! We could watch it tomorrow if you’d like, whose house?” I internally begged him to say he could watch it tomorrow. We hadn’t watched a movie alone together… ever. We usually always end up hanging out with Billy, and occasionally, the rest of the gang, but this could be different. “How about I pick you up and we swing by the store to get some snacks, and then we watch it at mine. My parents are gone, so we can take over the living room,” he smirked a little which made me blush a bit more. I brushed any thoughts of romance out of my head, he’s just saying that we don’t have to worry about noise…right…? I nodded my head, “Okay, Stu,” I said with a smile. “You wanna ride home, babe?” Stu asked genuinely. Even though he called almost everyone babe, my heart still did a flutter. “Well if you’re offering…” I trailed off. “Let me close everything up and get my stuff,” I yelled as I was already halfway across the store from him as I went to close down the register.
I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder as I braced myself to experience the chilly Autumn air. Stu opened the door for me as we walked to his car. His car was nice, but rather banged up. He’s quite the chaotic driver. I fastened my seatbelt and sat back staring through the windshield at the town streets as Stu drove. We made light conversation and talked about everything and anything. We brought up stories of past movie nights, and joked about the stupid things we’ve done at parties. As we finally pulled up to my house, I noticed a car parked in the driveway. “Fuck,” I muttered under my breath. “What’s wrong?” Stu faced me now, his previous happy look changing to one of concern. “My sister’s home,” I stated simply. Stu knew all about my sister and everything she had done to me. He instantly put the car back in drive and started to drive away from my house. “Stu, what the fuck are you doing?” I asked, confused. “You’re not going back there with her, I won’t let you,” he said with a grave face. I huffed and sit back in my seat, “So you’re just going to kidnap me instead,” I half-giggled. “Yep, you’re staying at mine, and you’ve got no way out of this,” he proudly exclaimed. “Oh yeah? What if I tuck and roll?”. Stu took that as a personal challenge as he began driving faster, his tires making a loud screeching sound. “STU STU STOP DOING THAT!” I screamed as the man laughed proudly at the fear he made me exhibit. “It’s just a joke babe, chill out,” He giggled. We continued driving until we finally reached the Macher residence.
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adoringsuga · 1 year
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— ruin our friendship.
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⭑ featuring. chigiri hyoma
⭑ content. fem!reader, chigiri gets jelly lol, kissing that gets a little heated so be warned, several isagi mentions (& cameo!) bc i love him, & cursing
⭑ word count. 2.3k
⭑ summary. chigiri hyoma, plain and simple, is your best friend in the whole wide world. your relationship is as uncomplicated as can be; yet, after you ask a presumably innocent question about a friend of his, something comes to light that changes everything...
⭑ notes. omg this is like my first post ever so…hello (≧∀≦)!! this is also like?!??! my first fanfic ever so... lollll... it's honestly so short so i didn't even know what to even write for the summary... anywho! hope u enjoy!! hopefully there will be more to come b/c super obsessed w blue lock rn ngl
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“Your hair is so soft,” you murmur mostly to yourself, fingers combing through soft, cherry-red strands, gently untangling any knots you come across with a care reserved solely for the boy currently resting his head in your lap.
Hyoma only hums appreciatively, hyper-focused on the TV in front of you two, sporadically tapping his fingers on your thigh when something of note occurs on the screen. He had turned on some old football game of his when he had invaded your apartment—unannounced, you may add,—around an hour ago. And, before you could utter a single word of complaint about his choice of entertainment, he quickly began haughtily sprouting some bullshit about having to study his old match so he could be aware of what to improve on to better his techniques and what a shame it would be if his team were to lose because someone was to interfere with his review.
Personally, you think he only said that so you wouldn’t change it to this new movie—or, ‘the overly sweet and annoying chick flick’ as Chigiri has lovingly dubbed it—you’ve been dying to watch for weeks now.
Asshole Hyoma, you think a little bitterly, It’s your apartment, you should be able to choose what you can watch or not.
(But, as your eyes flicker to the intense concentration alit on his face, the way he scrutinizes every move, every pass, every shot with an acute focus you find weirdly endearing [and oddly attractive, to your growing horror], you can’t help but think maybe this is fine for now. Maybe.
Maybe football isn’t too bad, you muse, actively ignoring the infinitesimal flush that rises to your cheeks.)
Bored of simply threading your fingers through his strands, you begin to separate his hair into chunks, intertwining the strands once you’ve deemed you’ve parted the hair neatly enough for a loose braid.
You’ve always thought that Hyoma’s hair was inexplicably beautiful, much like the rest of him. Delicate features combined with a lithe yet toned body made him increasingly popular with the female and male demographic of soccer fans (and non-fans as well), especially as his popularity grew and grew with each match he was featured in.
You, simply, admired his beauty for what it was: graceful and elegant, never perceiving him in the lustful light most fans of his had taken to since his debut, (although you would be lying if you said a part of hadn’t slowly begun to see him in a light less than platonic since the start of the year or so).
(These feelings, truthfully, make you want to crawl into a hole and die).
Shaken from your train of thought when a loud cheer erupts from the speakers, your eyes flit up at the TV briefly, blinking in surprise when someone of note catches your eye. You can’t help but gape, fingers stilling from your steadfast braiding as you let out a low whistle, gaze fixed upon the TV.
Even though it makes your heart pang painfully in your chest, you know Hyoma will never see you the way you see him, so, you might as well try and get over him now.
And, without a doubt, you think that the forward on your TV can definitely help with that.
“Whoa,” you mutter, in genuine awe at the gorgeous boy on screen. “Hey, hey, Chigirin,” your words are coupled with a few pokes to his cheek, and he turns his head slightly to look up at you once you’ve finished your ministrations, letting out an inquisitive hum with a raised eyebrow.
“Who’s that?” you question as soon as he peers up at you, pointing at the midnight-haired boy with glimmering deep blue eyes on the TV, eyes gleaming with interest.
“… Why.” Is all he simply says once he sees who it is, voice carefully level and gaze clouded with something you can’t quite place.
“Because he’s cute,” you answer, immediate and truthful, with an almost ariose cadence to your words. You pause for a moment, intently studying the midnight-haired boy, who, at the moment, is currently celebrating a vivacious goal when it all suddenly clicks. “Hey, wait, isn’t that Isagi-san? And aren’t you playing his team next week? Do you think you can get me his number?”
(Embarrassingly, a part you blindly hopes that Hyoma will say say no, so you can overanalyze the meaning behind such an act and further fuel your delusions that Hyoma was definitely into you just as you were to him.
And, hey, who can blame you? Getting over a guy like Hyoma is an agonizing endeavor, so sue you for trying to enjoy your delusions for a bit more before it all comes crashing down and you’re once again stuck in the role of his supportive best friend.
Forced to be something you wished you weren’t. His best friend. Only his best friend.)
Hyoma abruptly sits up from your lap, and you let out a little yelp at the suddenness of it, eyebrows furrowed. His curtain of hair hides his face from your puzzled gaze, and you tilt your head a millimeter to the right, curious.
(The strands of hair you had been braiding loosen at the movement, and eventually unravel unceremoniously after a second passes.
You’re slightly dismayed at the fact.)
Suddenly, a chill runs down your spine, and, for some inane reason, you feel as though you’ve fucked up.
“U-uhm, Chigirin,” you begin awkwardly, suddenly frantic to fill the uneasy, growing hush because truthfully, Hyoma’s unexplainable silence is really starting to weird you out. You’re about to sprout some bullshit about something your statistics professor said the other day, when, all of sudden, you’re on your back, the air knocked out of your lungs and mouth agape in shock.
Pink eyes simply stare down at you, unblinking and almost bored.
“H-Hyoma…?” you manage to stutter out after a long moment, face impossibly red as the boy in question leans over you, the heat of his breath ghosting over your lips. You lay limp, hyper-aware of the fact that even if you did want to move, you wouldn’t be able to as your wrists are being held securely in place by one of Hyoma’s hands. You vaguely wonder if it’s bad that this mere fact gives you butterflies.
(You never use his given name, and Hyoma feels a sick sense of satisfaction curl in his belly at the melodic chime of it.)
You’re warm all over, yet Hyoma seems entirely unphased; even though if he were to only move a mere inch or two, your lips would surely touch.
The thought causes something to thrum in your stomach, makes it tighten in apt anticipation and your breath catch in your throat. I can’t do this, you think, nearly hysteric. It’s all too much, and you turn your face to the side, unable to meet his piercing gaze any longer lest you confess to something you know you’ll regret immediately. Though, with the movement, your gaze somehow catches the TV once more, and there, in all his spectacular glory, is Isagi Yoichi, grinning handsomely with navy blue eyes burning with unabashed determination, calculating and undeniably resolute.
His focused gaze is locked right onto the camera, and his eyes bore intensely into yours as if you’re right there in front of him, as if he could plainly reach out and touch you.
(Oh goodness. Your delusions are growing worse and worse by the day.)
Hyoma growls, seemingly aware of what has currently captured your attention, and purses his lips as though he has just eaten something rotten.
“Don’t look at him.” He demands suddenly, using his thumb and forefinger to gently yet firmly hold your chin, tilting it in a way that ensures your gaze is set on him and only him. “Don’t look at Isagi. Don’t look at anyone else. Look at me.”
“I… what? Hyoma… What do you… ?”
“Can’t you see?” he snaps, almost furious. “I’m in love with you. I have been since I met you. I was fine not saying anything before, but I refuse to lose you to Isagi too.”
Your heart stops. Everything simply stops. Have you been in an accident? And is this simply your unconscious mind attempting to soothe you with what you’ve always dreamed of most? But it can’t be, because you can feel the searing warmth that permeates from his skin, can count every eyelash and every light, scattered freckle, can smell the addicting cologne you mentioned liking to him offhandedly months ago because a guy in your class was wearing it, and so many other things that disproves your accident theory fully.
This is real. This is happening.
Chigiri Hyoma is in love with you?
“You’re in love with me?” you echo in disbelief and rose buds bloom on the crests of Hyoma’s cheeks as he nods adamantly, the hand grasping your chin drifting up to cup your cheek instead.
Somehow, it’s that second, silent confirmation that truly affirms it for you.
Chigiri Hyoma, the perpetual thorn in your side and your best friend in the whole wide world, is in love with you.
Your heart leaps, before it swells. Chigiri Hyoma is in love with you, and he says it as though it is an undeniable fact.
Chigiri Hyoma is in love with you. He’s in love with you.
You feel dizzy at the news, everything fuzzy and muddled except for Hyoma himself, who looks to be growing increasingly nervous and tense with each passing second of silence from yourself.
I should probably say something, you think in a haze.
But, you can’t think of anything that could adequately describe the emotions you’re feeling at the moment, so you simply lift your head and softly graze your lips with his, taking in shocked, pink eyes before crashing your lips together fully. Hyoma makes a small noise of surprise, before melting into it, letting go of your wrists and instead taking your face tenderly with calloused hands, rough against petal-soft skin.
He’s practically on top of you now, but you can’t find it in yourself to care- using your newly freed hands to run your fingers through his hair, to grasp at his face, his waist, and anywhere else you can reach.
It’s not the best kiss, per se- your teeth knock together more than once in a way that causes a dull ache, and mortifying sounds keep escaping your mouth at the most inopportune moments, but God, you don’t think you’ll ever get a kiss like this again.
Regrettably, you pull away after a few more glorious moments, Hyoma chasing after your lips before settling to simply press chaste kisses at the corners of your mouth instead. He trails down after a moment, beginning to nip lightly at the soft skin of your neck, insistent yet gentle as his teeth graze your pulse ever so slightly. You whine at the feeling, almost panting as you weakly push his head away as warmth blossoms under your ribs, settling in your stomach and wisping through your limbs in a hum.
He nips once, twice, before lifting his head, albeit begrudgingly, finally allowing you the chance to suck in a breath of sweet oxygen through parted lips.
As you catch your breath, you hazily gaze up at a red-faced Hyoma, his lips rosy and swollen from pressure and eyes blown and glassy. Embarrassingly, the sight causes your chest to clench with something akin to desire, and you nibble at your kiss-bitten lips in an attempt to keep those feelings at bay, if for the time being.
A beat passes.
“I love you too,” you admit airly as soon as the heat in your cheeks and the rapid beating of your heart calms down to a somewhat manageable level, and Hyoma simply laughs, eyes glimmering with adoration.
“I think I garnered that,” he grins, before capturing your lips once more, cradling your face as though you’re the most important thing to him in the entire world.
(“Hey. Isagi.” Yoichi turns at the call of his name, perking up slightly at the sight of familiar cherry-red hair tied loosely in a bun and long lashes. Putting down the small trinket he had been toying with, he opens his mouth, eager to greet Chigiri back when the other is suddenly right in front of him. Yoichi blinks, grinning openly before Chigiri abruptly takes and wrenches a large chunk of his hair harshly between thin fingers.
“Ow!” he hisses immediately, scalp throbbing hotly and already aching like a motherfucker. He’s surely going to have a headache later, and that realization, alongside the whole, you know, hair-yanking thing, puts a damper on his mood. “What was that for?” he exclaims, incredulous, angrily rubbing at the spot Chigiri had pulled with an ire Yoichi prays he’ll never experience again.
“For my girlfriend,” Chigiri states matter-of-factly, patting Yoichi on the head lightly and demeaningly as though he didn’t just violently violate his poor scalp. He gives no time for the older to respond, already swiftly turning from Yoichi and beginning to walk away, but not before brazenly declaring, “Oh. And we’re beating you too, so be ready for that.”
“Girlfriend? What the hell did I do to your girlfriend?” Yoichi sputters, blatantly ignoring Chigiri’s last statement and decidedly shelving it for a later discussion because what the fuck? What did he do to deserve to have his hair pulled again?
[What is with him and getting his hair pulled, genuinely? Do people just see him and instantly think, ‘Oh yes, he looks like he likes to get his hair pulled’?
For the record, he does not. He really does not, from the bottom of his heart.]
Chigiri simply laughs, the honeyed glow of the sun catching in his hair and making it burn a fiery red, and Isagi can only watch the other boy strolls away, left cluelessly standing with a stinging scalp and widened eyes.
“... Wait. Chigiri-san has a girlfriend?”)
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jingyismom · 3 years
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Time for more sex-cursed Lan Wangji!
a messy, self-indulgent spree imported from twt and lightly edited
explicit, wangxian, 9k, canon divergence fix-it
mild dubcon because of the nature of sex curses (but like, they do their best to communicate around it), and cw for brief thoughts of self harm, no other warnings
This curse's origin is mysterious, perhaps politically guided. Someone is trying to throttle Gusu Lan's alliance prospects by removing Lan Wangji's stellar marriageability after Sunshot. It works, after a fashion.
Wei Wuxian is in the Burial Mounds, farming and hardening his heart as the resentment worsens his health, subsisting on memories of Lan Wangji's single visit.
Lan Wangji is at home in Gusu, pining away while they rebuild the Cloud Recesses.
One day, he begins to burn up with unexplained fever.
The healers examine him quickly and thoroughly and determine first that he's been cursed. This is not entirely shocking, but it of course angers the entire sect. Next they test for the curse's nature. It turns out to be a very classic, very coarse type of love curse.
The afflicted will burn up, losing all their sense and senses, and eventually die, if their body's “needs” are not satisfied by the one it craves most.
The healers are disgusted. Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren are outraged. But Lan Wangji becomes very calm at the news.
Before, he felt anxiety. The urgent desperation of a dying man waiting to be told how to live.
Now he is just waiting to die.
For you see, the choice between throwing himself at another human being—no matter who they may be—and meeting death with dignity, is an easy one.
Everyone else privy to this information disagrees. The argument that follows is short, but heated:
"Well, Wangji?" Lan Qiren begins once the initial furor has died down. "How do you wish to...go about this?"
Lan Wangji, over-warm and aching, looks up at him from the examination bed. Gusu Lan funeral rites are ancient and immutable. He does not understand the question.
Lan Qiren purses his lips and glances around. "We must find the person first," he prompts.
Ah. The person responsible. Yes, Lan Wangji does have business with them before he dies. He stands, only swaying slightly. "I am well enough to exact justice. Let us cast the rebound."
Lan Xichen steps forward then, and gently pushes him back to sitting. "It has been cast. However, justice can wait. Your health must come first."
Lan Wangji looks between his uncle, his brother, and the one doctor allowed to be present. Surely they would not be joking at a time like this.
"I do not understand," he says.
The three exchange a look. "Breaking the curse must be our priority," says Lan Xichen.
Lan Wangji is not sure he heard correctly. But it would be cruel to give him unfounded hope. "I was unaware there was another way."
"...There is not," says Lan Xichen, his gentleness unfailing.
Lan Wangji experiences a moment of deep confusion before the horror sets in.
"You cannot mean this," he says through his shock. "Surely you cannot mean to cast aside so many disciplines at the whim of a base villain."
"The disciplines are a guide," Lan Qiren says, hands behind his back, looking into the distance, "to ensure a life well-lived. They are not meant to inspire martyrdom."
Lan Wangji's mouth falls open. He stares at his uncle, mute with betrayal. He has never heard of any such leeway before, not in regards to disciplines of such a serious nature.
"You can understand, can't you?" Lan Xichen says. "That no rule is more important than your life.”
Lan Wangji disagrees vehemently. "I would not buy my life with such behavior."
Lan Qiren huffs in irritation. "We may perform a marriage in haste, if you wish."
Lan Wangji balks at him. That his uncle should speak so flippantly of...such a thing. It is unimaginable. And besides, forcing a marriage on Wei—on anyone in this way is surely only adding insult to heinous injury.
"I refuse," he says.
Lan Xichen exchanges a look with the doctor, and sits beside him. "Perhaps the other person should be allowed part of that choice."
Ridiculous. "There is no such person." Preventing this course of action is worth one lie, Lan Wangji reasons.
"With respect, Hanguang-jun, if that were true, the curse would not have been able to take hold," says the doctor.
The use of his title feels uncomfortably ironic from a woman who helped deliver him at birth. He glares at her. She smiles tiredly in return.
"Wangji," Lan Xichen says. His tone is beginning to grate on Lan Wangji's raw nerves. "You will at least try, won't you?"
Lan Wangji stares at him in disbelief, in anger, in righteous indignation.
"Never," he says.
A hand slaps his shoulder. "Apologies," says the doctor, and the world goes dark.
-----
Lan Wangji wakes to dark wood beams dappled by lacy sunlight, and a faint smell of char in the air. His head is heavy, his limbs full of lead. He swallows around the dry thickness in his throat.
"Water," comes a familiar voice.
With effort, Lan Wangji sits up. His stomach is roiling, his mind fogged from the coma and the curse both. The doctor, crouching beside him in the carriage, offers him a bowl of water.
He takes it, and asks, "What have you done?"
She sighs.
"My duty," she says, "with the help of your brother."
She draws back the curtain at the carriage entrance, revealing a sea of black, twisted trees and gray tumbled walls.
Lan Wangji's blood freezes in his veins. He just barely stops himself from asking how they knew.
"Why," he asks instead, a much safer question.
She considers him. "Your brother said if he was wrong, he would beg forgiveness afterward. But it couldn't hurt to have an expert in resentment and curses look at you anyway."
A stab of sick embarrassment makes Lan Wangji’s stomach clench.
Has he been so obvious? Is he such a lovesick fool that anyone with eyes can see his shame?
The doctor pats his shoulder gruffly and he flinches, expecting more needles.
"Ah he's your brother, he's bound to know things you don't want him to," she says. "Come on. Out you get."
He allows her to tug him out of the carriage and onto solid ground. The air is stifling with resentment, but he is glad to be free of his bonds. Now he can look for his chance to get away.
There are six Lan disciples flanking them. He eyes them warily, wondering what they know. When the doctor pulls him out of earshot, and pitches her voice low, he is satisfied that they have not been fully informed.
"Your family and I agreed to give you a chance first," she says. "You have 24 hours to take care of this yourself. After that, I will personally tell Wei-gongzi of your brother's message. I have been assured he will not jeopardize your well-being if fully-informed."
Lan Wangji gapes at her. He does not know what he expected to happen, but it was not this...this...mercenary attempt at...forcing...
The curse has weakened him such that he cannot fly his sword. He can hardly walk in a straight line, let alone run. He has very little recourse now that everyone in his life has gone absolutely mad. His heart is racing with the adrenaline of upheaval, of fear, of impending death.
He wrenches his arm from her grasp and stalks off of the road, into the brush. She calls after him, but he does not mean to escape. He cannot manage that alone. Instead, he sits. He takes a deep breath. He sinks into meditation.
"Hanguang-jun," she calls. She approaches, hands on her hips. She sighs. "Well, if it's like that, then there's nothing stopping me from telling him right now."
She turns, and Lan Wangji feels a lurch of helplessness, when a new voice rings clear through the fog.
"Tell what to whom?"
Lan Wangji's eyes snap open. Wei Wuxian is standing on the other side of the carriage, the child A-Yuan in his arms, eyeing the Lan delegation with suspicion. Wen Ning is with him, and the Lan disciples shift nervously just looking at him, but Wei Wuxian sets A-Yuan in his arms, and he leaps away up the mountain.
"Might I assume this little party has come for me?" Wei Wuxian goes on, twirling his flute. His eyes are shrewd and cold, similar to the way they had looked when he had first returned during the war.
At the sight of him, at the sound of his voice, the curse...reacts.
A horrid, uncomfortable shiver of need runs through Lan Wangji's body alongside his own simple relief and joy at seeing Wei Wuxian again, looking relatively well. He fights it, keeping still among the weeds, hoping against hope to go unnoticed.
"Yiling Laozu," the doctor greets him with a deep bow. "We have indeed come to humbly beg your aid."
"I see," he says. "And what will you give me in return?"
The doctor hesitates, clearly discomfited by the context Wei Wuxian is currently unaware of. "We may...discuss that. Once we have informed you of the details."
Wei Wuxian hums, considering. Cold. Detached. "And if I am disinclined to—"
He breaks off. The doctor has moved so that she and Lan Wangji are both in Wei Wuxian's line of sight. Lan Wangji closes his eyes rather than see the moment of recognition, rather than feel the weight of Wei Wuxian's eyes on him, like this.
"Lan Zhan?"
Lan Wangji clamps his jaw shut. It is a struggle not simply to crawl to him.
The renewed ice in Wei Wuxian's voice when next he speaks makes Lan Wangji aware of the warmth with which he had said his name. His curls his shaking hands into fists on his knees.
"What have you done to him?"
The doctor sighs. "We have done nothing. He has been cursed, which is why we brought him here. If you—"
"Daifu," Lan Wangji interrupts, his voice thin.
She stops speaking.
Lan Wangji opens his eyes, but does not look at Wei Wuxian, not yet. If he is careful, and uses his remaining strength correctly, he can perhaps...perhaps guide the situation. Toward escape. With Wei Wuxian's help.
He may have to lie to him. He hopes he will be forgiven, all things considered.
Lan Wangji stands slowly, carefully, considering each movement so as not to reveal the state he is in.
"I will speak with him," he says to the doctor.
She eyes him. "24 hours," she says.
He does not acknowledge this. He thinks they both know it will not come to that, though his idea differs greatly from hers. He judges, from the time they have allotted and his own weakness, that he has perhaps a day and a half, total, to wait them out. Doable, if he is careful and intelligent about it.
He can manage.
He walks over to Wei Wuxian, careful to keep two arm's lengths between them. This close is already too close: a fine, constant tremor has made a home in all of his tightly-locked muscles. He feels the moment his fever begins to rise further. The sides of his throat hurt, the interiors of his ears. He wonders if his hearing will go first, or his eyes.
"Allow me to explain," he says to him.
"Of course," Wei Wuxian answers.
He sounds strange. Cold, still. Lan Wangji wants to look at him, and almost slips, but manages to stop himself. He follows him up the hill, past the wards, through the resentment that clings to them both, now. He keeps his careful distance, following behind.
"What happened?" Wei Wuxian asks, as they walk.
"A curse," Lan Wangji says carefully. "Origin unknown. The rebound has been cast. I did not wish to burden you with this, but they are...they will not listen to reason. Wei Ying, if you would but help me, I would deal with this on my own."
"Oh?"
"I...wish to seek justice. They will not allow it. But you understand. If there is another path off the mountain, if you would show me the way past them, I could—"
Wei Wuxian stops dead, and Lan Wangji, with his eyes in the ground, runs into him. 
For a blazing, agonizing moment, he is touching Wei Wuxian, clinging to him, every element in his body sighing and crying out at once in satisfaction, in the torturous need for more.
He tears himself away, stumbling back, almost falling. Wei Wuxian reaches out as if to catch him, but falters.
"Lan Zhan, you can hardly stand," he says, alarmed, "and you want to go and fight someone?"
Lan Wangji draws himself up taller again, trying hard to stop his shaking. He cannot look at him. He cannot look. He is already dying, now, just from not looking. "It is my right."
"...It is..." Wei Wuxian says at length, watching him closely. "And it still will be once you're well again. Your doctors really couldn't tell what type of curse it is?"
Lan Wangji says nothing, trying to think past the way every inch of his skin feels as if it is burning clean off. The pain of it screams through him, worse than anything he has ever felt. Wei Wuxian is still speaking, but it is hard to make sense of it. When Wei Wuxian begins walking again, slowly, it is all he can do to both follow and stay away from him. This, here, now, is worse than death. If it lasts, he certainly will not be sane when the end finally comes. He lets go of any thoughts of a dignified death.
Fortunately, by the time they reach the cool dark of the cave Wei Wuxian calls home, the pain has subsided to a distant roar. Unfortunately, he hoped never to reach this point. He tries his only play again, unable to think of any new tactic.
"Please show me the way off the mountain," he says without preamble.
Wei Wuxian is quiet for a beat. "You really don't want my help that much?"
Lan Wangji is so confused by this question, and then struck by the irony of it, that he almost begins to laugh. A shivery, jittery feeling fills his chest, and he leans against the nearest solid surface. He wishes he were wearing a loose outer layer over his blue travel robes, the better to hide his shaking. He does not know how to respond.
"You haven't so much as looked at me once since you got here," Wei Wuxian goes on, digging through strange pots and objects on a table, "so I get it. But you'll have to forgive me if I disregard your objection to the kind of work I do, when it comes to your life."
"My life, my life," Lan Wangji mocks, accidentally out loud. Why is everyone suddenly so obsessed with his life? He was ready to give it freely in the war, but chance let him keep it. What difference does giving it now in the name of keeping himself clean of shame make? Why will nobody allow him this choice?
"What shame?" Wei Wuxian asks.
Lan Wangji buckles at the realization that he has said all of this out loud. He goes to the floor, to his knees.
"Nothing," he says. "The shame of not having warded off such a simple attack."
"Lan Zhan...you want to die because you didn't defend against a curse you didn't know was coming?"
Lan Wangji lapses into silence. He has said too much already. He does not know how to get out of this. He can only...he can only stay quiet. Refuse to speak or move.
"Lan Zhan...I feel like I'm missing something here. I only want to help.”
Lan Wangji grits his teeth and stares hard at the floor in front of him. He has rarely ever felt so trapped, so utterly helpless. The extended, full-body pain is dulling his mind by the moment. The hems of Wei Wuxian's robes come into view, and it takes everything in him not to fall forward into him, to plead, to beg. His breath is hitching at random intervals now, his heart tripping as it prepares to fail entirely.
There is a soft gust of air, and an odd prickling sensation across his face.
"Now let's see—oh," Wei Wuxian says. "I...oh."
Lan Wangji wilts at his stilted, awkward tone. He knows now, surely. Can see him truly.
"So that's why you want to leave, and why they won't let you. They want me to find another way to break it, to stop you from...ah."
Lan Wangji sorts through the words, trying to comprehend them.
"Sorry," Wei Wuxian goes on. "I...it's unbreakable, otherwise. A very old, airtight spell. You...will Gusu Lan start a war with me if I do just let you go...ah, handle this the old-fashioned way?"
Comprehension dawns. And with it, a way out.
Lan Wangji rushes to agree. "They—" He cuts off. Will they? If they think Wei Wuxian has willingly let him die, rather than...
He takes a breath. Another. Forces his mind past the endless litany of pleas for relief.
"Show me the way " he says, his words breathless and short, "and then tell Lan-daifu what you have done. And why. But give me time to. Get away. And you will be safe."
Wei Wuxian pauses. "How...ah. How far—how much time?"
Lan Wangji tries hard to come up with an answer for that. His progress will be slow. But he need only find a place to hide.
"Half a day," he hazards.
Wei Wuxian seems to vacillate. "Are you sure you can make it on your own?"
Lan Wangji wants to rage. To weep. To curse himself to the heavens for being so depraved toward so endlessly kind a man. His heart hurts, even as his body strains toward him.
This lie may be the worst he will ever tell.
"I will be fine,” he says.
"Alright." Wei Wuxian sounds unconvinced. "I trust you."
Lan Wangji nearly convulses, holding back a sob. How will he ever be forgiven?
He cannot think of it. Only this, only what comes next. Only keeping Wei Wuxian safe from this mess.
"Lan Zhan?"
"Mn," he manages.
"Would you look at me, now? I haven't...used any demonic cultivation on you. It's safe, I promise I won't. I just. Can't we say goodbye properly?"
Lan Wangji has not moved from the floor. He does not move. He should try. A parting gift. Just one look.
But if he is going to leave. If he is going to succeed. He cannot.
"Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian says again, frustrated now.
Lan Wangji does not look. He is so close to freedom from the horrible pull, from the way his very veins are trying to tear themselves free to wrap around Wei Wuxian.
Wei Wuxian steps forward, and Lan Wangji's breath leaves him all at once. Suddenly, there are fingers beneath his jaw, kind but firm, tilting his chin up. He has no choice but to look.
(Inspired by this art.)
Wei Wuxian is there. Tall and strong and perfect, tiredness mixed with something bittersweet on his lovely face. Lan Wangji's entire being melts toward him, a deep, sharp tug from inside his bones, a mindless, helpless, straining need that pushes a low, wanting sound from his throat.
Wei Wuxian snatches his hand away and backs up half a step, staring at him.
"Sorry," he says, blank. Confused. "I thought it was...I didn't realize...sorry."
Lan Wangji, now that he has looked, cannot look away. He has overbalanced without Wei Wuxian's support, fallen forward onto his hands, but he cannot stop looking at him. He will look at him, and keep looking; he prays Wei Wuxian is the last thing he sees before he dies.
The most shameful part of this is that none of it is the curse twisting his thoughts. None of this is. All the curse is doing is making the way he always feels impossible to ignore.
"Wei Ying," his voice implores. He does not mean it to.
Wei Wuxian takes another step back and looks down at the bowl of powder in his hand, confused. "I was certain it was that curse," he says to himself. "If I was wrong, then maybe I could break it..."
Lan Wangji tries to scrape his composure back together. He tries. He tries. His fingers scrape on the rough stone floor. He does not reach out for him. That is something.
Wei Wuxian looks at him again, then hastily away. Lan Wangji does not ever want to know what it is he sees.
"Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian says, as Lan Wangji shakes, and shakes. "Where...where were you trying to go? I thought you...I thought you were, ah, thinking of a certain someone."
Lan Wangji's arms are weak. They are going to give out. He cannot answer him.
"I'm confused, and I...may have made a mistake," Wei Wuxian goes on, still backing away slowly, "but I just want to help. Can you tell me what was happening before, and what's happening now?"
Lan Wangji shakes his head, and the motion shatters his fragile balance. He falls, and curls tightly around himself in the dirt.
"Lan Zhan!" Wei Wuxian says, suddenly close.
Lan Wangji sees his hand reach out, then pause, and he can't stop himself from taking hold of it, just to be touching him. His body screams for it, and he gasps raggedly at the contact.
Wei Wuxian wrenches his arm free. Lan Wangji wishes he were dead.
"Fuck," Wei Wuxian mutters to himself. "I...I'm sorry. I made this so much worse, I..."
"No," Lan Wangji rasps. He cannot hear Wei Wuxian berate himself thus. His dignity has now died, and he himself will soon follow. This is all that matters. "Not your fault."
Wei Wuxian huffs, crouching beside him. "It is...at least partially my fault, at this point, I'm pretty sure. You wouldn't be...reacting. Like this. If it weren't. Is...can I...do a few more tests? To check what I got wrong, and maybe—"
"You were not wrong."
He does not mean to say it.
His need to reassure has overridden his sense, and his mind is too slow now to piece together what it will mean before it leaves his mouth. The regret once it does is instantaneous. He tries to curl himself yet smaller in the dirt.
Wei Wuxian is silent. Lan Wangji cannot stop making small, pitiful, pained sounds in the back of his throat. Everything hurts. Everything.
"I don't understand," Wei Wuxian says quietly.
Lan Wangji lies shivering on the floor, arms locked around himself to prevent any more untoward behavior. He cannot take it back. He cannot try to explain. There is nothing he could say, regardless.
"Lan Zhan...but you..."
He can hear Wei Wuxian thinking, but it only registers in the far back of his mind. The rest of his consciousness is taken up by pain, and by ruthless restraint.
"You wanted to leave to get away from me," Wei Wuxian says, finally.
Lan Wangji does not answer. He wishes he had his sword. He would use it now to end this.
Wei Wuxian begins to back away again, and Lan Wangji’s body moves without his permission. He grips the skirt of Wei Wuxian’s robes in his fist and drags himself closer, pressing his cheek to Wei Wuxian's knee.
Shameful. Wanton. The small part of himself that is still aware berates the action. But he cannot let go. He cannot move away. The only part of him that is not howling with pain is the side of his face pressed to coarse fabric.
"Lan Zhan, you…," Wei Wuxian is trying to gently pry Lan Wangji's fingers from his hem. "You wanted to leave, remember? You don't want...you don't."
"Want," Lan Wangji croaks, pressing closer. "Wanted to spare you."
"Ah, Lan Zhan...I...I'm still not sure it's that specific curse, it could...there could be other..."
"It is," Lan Wangji says, half-crawling up Wei Wuxian's leg. He wants to stop himself. It is impossible.
"Lan Zhan...you...you shouldn't—"
"Stop me," Lan Wangji pleads, nuzzling against Wei Wuxian's thigh, "Wei Ying, I can't...please. Stop me."
There is a long near-silence filled with harsh breaths, in which Lan Wangji is almost certain he imagines the light touch of fingers brushing his mussed hair back from his forehead. Then Wei Wuxian speaks.
"No," he says. "You'll die, if I do. Lan Zhan. I won't let that happen."
He touches Lan Wangji's face. Lan Wangji whimpers into him.
He knows this will break the fragile repairs they have made to their friendship. He will likely never see him again, at least not on good terms. The thought makes him feel ill. He should protest. Refuse. Flee. He can do exactly none of these things. He reaches for Wei Wuxian's wrist, to hold his hand to his face, but Wei Wuxian flinches away.
"You can't...Lan Zhan. I'm going to help you," he says, "but you have to...you can't...you can't touch me."
Lan Wangji feels another tight clench of shame. He nods against his leg. He understands: he knows any small part of this is too much to ask, let alone bearing his unwelcome, curse-fevered grasping.
"Okay," says Wei Wuxian. He slides his fingers beneath Lan Wangji’s chin again, tipping his face up.
He looks so uncertain. So beautiful in the dim light. Lan Wangji wants to weep with it.
"Lan Zhan, I know it doesn't count for much like this, but you have to tell me. You have to tell me what you need."
Lan Wangji turns his head, pressing his face between Wei Wuxian's thigh and stomach, trying to reach into him, to feel more of him, to stop hurting just enough to think. It does not work.
"You," he breathes, into the scent of earth, and stringent soap, and Wei Wuxian.
A harsh, uneven breath ghosts across his hair, and Wei Wuxian's hands grip his shoulders. He thinks he is about to be pushed away again, but instead Wei Wuxian pulls him up, pulls him close, folds him into his embrace.
Lan Wangji sobs into his shoulder, trying at once to get closer and to hold himself apart, instinct demanding, even now, that he try to conceal his obvious, disgraceful hardness. His muscles quake under the strain of doing both and neither, and Wei Wuxian smooths one hand down his back, pressing him close, pressing them flush. Lan Wangji chokes back a shocked sound.
"Shh," Wei Wuxian soothes. "It's alright."
It is not alright. It is the end of the thing Lan Wangji holds most dear.
But he does not have it in him to argue. He is shifting against him, his overheated body begging for touch, indeed for ravishment. He is mindless with it. The pain is not subsiding but slipping sideways into something more, something different, something necessary.
He is on his knees on hard stone, breathlessly held in the arms of his beloved. He has dreamt this: sweetly, hazily, with and without hope. But never like this. Never sick with remorse, with need, dying and demanding and defiling. His deepest desire twisted into a nightmare.
He whimpers again, his lips finding the soft coolness of Wei Wuxian's throat. Wei Wuxian jerks away again, and Lan Wangji fists his hands tighter at his sides, trying, trying not to overstep again.
"I—sorry," he gasps out. He will never be able to apologize enough. But he will try.
"Don't apologize," says Wei Wuxian. "I—"
He cuts himself off. Lan Wangji does not have enough sense to wonder why. In the same moment, one of his thighs gives under the strain, and he falls against him heavily. They tip over, to the floor, and he reaches out on instinct to brace them both. When he is again conscious of himself, Wei Wuxian is lying on top of him, breathing hard, both of Lan Wangji's wrists pinned to the floor in one hand. Lan Wangji arches against him inadvertently, and turns his face into his own bicep.
"Sorry, I...so sorry," he pants, his hips flexing, searching for friction. "I have...no control...”
"I know," Wei Wuxian says, "I know, I shouldn't have..." he swallows hard. "I'm going to keep you like this. Can I?"
Lan Wangji nods frantically, his eyes shut tight. He does not care. Anything that he can do to make this any less invasive for Wei Wuxian, he will do.
Wei Wuxian pulls away then, his hold still firm on Lan Wangji's wrists. Lan Wangji squeezes his eyes shut and tries to stop moving, to stop searching for touch, to stop making such a disgusting spectacle of himself, but to no avail. What feels like centuries later, he hears the telltale sounds of talisman activation. He is too far gone in his pain to look up, to see what they are. He simply lies there, pinned and writhing, his breath catching in his throat. The sounds it makes are small, pitiful, desperate.
Just like him.
Eventually, Wei Wuxian leans back over him, a considering look in his eye. His hand hovers at Lan Wangjis belt.
"I—should I..."
"Yes," pleads Lan Wangji.
He needs Wei Wuxian's skin on his skin. He does not know how discerning the curse is about what happens now, but it feels as if he will die without it. Wei Wuxian takes what looks like a fortifying breath and unties the belt. Lan Wangji, unable to help, instead hinders the process with his ceaseless movement. But Wei Wuxian manages it with deft hands, and immediately unties each layer of robes in quick succession until Lan Wangji’s chest and stomach are bare.
The cool air of the cave does not soothe his burning. It burns like ice instead. Lan Wangji shivers, an ugly whine escaping him.
"What," Wei Wuxian asks, pausing, "what is it?"
Lan Wangji shakes his head. He will bear it. He will not make demands.
"Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian says, "you need to talk to me, I...I don't want to make this even worse, or, or draw it out longer."
Something small and dark crumples in Lan Wangji's chest. He does not want that either. He will need to speak. To ask.
"Hurts," he says, rough and thick.
"Where?"
"...Not...not touching me."
Wei Wuxian makes a distressed noise and lays both his palms flat over Lan Wangji's ribs. Lan Wangji groans, pressing up into them.
"Please," he whispers, helpless. "Please."
"Oh, Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian murmurs, something sad like regret. He leans closer and slides one hand down. Lan Wangji shudders under him. "I'm just going to..."
Lan Wangji nods again, holding his breath to stop the whines from escaping the back of his throat.
Wei Wuxian unties Lan Wangji's trousers and slips his hand inside. Clever fingers wrap hesitantly around him, and he bucks up into them with an obscene moan. It is minor relief from the most consuming pain he has ever felt, and it is simultaneously the most intense pleasure he has ever experienced. All of these sensations, coexisting in his fallible human body, feel likely to rip him apart.
"Wei Ying," he moans again, when Wei Wuxian moves his hand.
He gasps for air, his body twisting into it, his whole being searching for Wei Wuxian. He makes another piteous sound, the torment of it all overwhelming. Wei Wuxian leans down against him then, his own robes open, pressing them skin to skin.
Lan Wangji sobs. It is something. It is something. The pain abates somewhat, and he sighs, turning toward him, his mouth brushing Wei Wuxian's hair. He has the wherewithal now to fight the urge to kiss his head properly, his face, anything he can reach. He holds himself still beneath him instead. And Wei Wuxian touches him, and touches him. The incomprehensible pleasure builds, and builds, until Lan Wangji cannot breathe. But it does not break.
Something almost like soft lips brushes his throat.
"Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian says into his ear, "this, is this...will this be enough?"
The pleasure is just another kind of pain, now. Lan Wangji shakes his head as sweat rolls off of him, as he tries and fails to get enough air to speak.
Wei Wuxian clears his throat. "What, then?"
Lan Wangji's body knows what it needs. But he does not want to tell.
"Come on, Lan Zhan, after all this? Don't get shy on me now."
He misses the joking tone he is aiming for, but the pure, unmistakable Wei Wuxian-ness of the tease sends a surge of genuine desire through Lan Wangji. He wraps his legs around Wei Wuxian's hips and pulls him down. Wei Wuxian breathes in sharply.
"You just...you want...but only..."
"Please," says Lan Wangji, barely voiced. "In—" he cannot say it. "Please."
"Ah," Wei Wuxian whispers, into his skin. "If—are you sure?"
Lan Wangji whines. He wishes he were not so very sure. He wishes he were not asking Wei Wuxian to do something so intimate, so extreme. He wishes Wei Wuxian had let him die before it ever came to this.
"Alright Lan Zhan, just hold—hold on," he says, and is gone.
Lan Wangji clamps his mouth shut on a scream as the agony slams back into him, worse even than before.
Not soon enough, Wei Wuxian returns to divest him of his boots, socks and trousers. Lan Wangji fights him without meaning to, trying to keep his knees curled up to his chest, trying to minimize the hurt. Wei Wuxian is briskly patient, handling him with aching care he does not deserve.
And then he is upon him, chest and stomach, hips and thighs, smooth and hard and exquisite. Lan Wangji almost forgets the pain in the rush of gratitude, of solace. Their robes trail off them both, gathering dust as they move together in halting fits and starts.
"Don't let me hurt you, Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian grits out, a strong hand lifting one of Lan Wangji's thighs by the back of the knee.
It is nonsense. He could not hurt Lan Wangji any more than this. And Lan Wangji could not stop him now if he did.
But the kindness. Even in this. Tears prick at Lan Wangji's eyes. He will miss him. He will miss all of Wei Wuxian with all of himself. He will never stop missing him. He will never move past this regret as long as he lives. How could he? Every breath he draws will be by the grace of Wei Wuxian.
Suddenly there is slick pressure against him, against his most private of places, and he gasps, loud and wretched. Wei Wuxian exhales, uneven and deep, and pushes in, in, in. Slowly. So slowly. Lan Wangji bites down hard on his lip to keep from begging for it. His arms are pinned, as are his hips, Wei Wuxian holding him steady, holding him still. Lan Wangji loses all sense. There is only the weight of Wei Wuxian, the full, stinging press of him, the searing pain, the devastating euphoria of being this close, and yet so very far in every way that counts.
Ages pass before Wei Wuxian is fully seated inside him. By then Lan Wangji's breaths are wet and shallow; scraping, desolate things. He does not know any longer what hurts and what feels good. It is all one and the same. He only knows he needs more, in some primal, wordless way.
He asks with the arch of his back, the squeeze of his thighs. He tries, somehow, to keep quiet, but fails more often than not.
"Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian says tightly, "try to relax, I'm going to move. Tell me if it...if it's right."
Lan Wangji manages a loose nod, though he barely understands.
And Wei Wuxian moves. He rolls his hips against him, shifting inside of him, and Lan Wangji groans. Each deep, short thrust pushes air from his lungs, and he lacks the strength to catch it again. It is beyond pleasure. It is ecstatic. To have Wei Wuxian around him, inside him, panting above him. A deep, villainous part of him wants it never to end. The rest of him howls for release.
He is dripping now, steadily, onto his own stomach. He can feel it pooling on his belly, unpleasantly cool. He whimpers between desperate, panting breaths, beyond words.
"Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian says, breath shivering across Lan Wangji's collarbone, "I can't...can't keep this up, you feel too—" his breath catches, and he pauses. "I'm going to finish. You need to come."
Dimly, distantly, the idea that Wei Wuxian should derive pleasure from this, no matter how perfunctory, gives Lan Wangji a perverse sort of satisfaction. It snuffs out like a candle at the nebulous thought that perhaps in another world, they could have had this for real.
In this world, the fact remains that this has gone on far too long. But Lan Wangji can do nothing about it. He meets Wei Wuxian's thrusts, leans into the pleasure, tries to gain the momentum to go over the edge. He should be able to. It should be easy. He has been so hard for so long, has been given more now than in his absolute wildest and wettest of dreams, and yet he hovers, scant inches away.
Wei Wuxian loses patience, his head dropping to Lan Wangji's shoulder. He grunts softly and fists Lan Wangji's wet cock, quick and merciless. Lan Wangji cries out, shuddering violently with the extended, expansive stimulation, worked both inside and out, helplessly, utterly unmade by Wei Wuxian's touch.
And still he does not crest. He is sobbing steadily now, ugly and jagged, and Wei Wuxian kisses his shoulder, his throat, his cheek.
"Were we wrong?" He asks, breathless. "Lan Zhan please, tell—show me, I...I can't...you...I can't lose you. Lan Zhan?"
Exhausted, Lan Wangji turns his tearstained face toward him, blindly seeking. Perhaps they were all wrong. Perhaps he will die now, like this. And perhaps it is selfish of him, but having heard those words, he finds his regret to be less than it should be. Everything, everything hurts. But Wei Wuxian will miss him, too. Of course he will. They are zhiji. This, miraculously, will not erase that. It is more than he deserves. Wei Wuxian has always been more than he deserves.
Lan Wangji heaves, and writhes, and cries.
Wei Wuxian kisses him. Soft, gloriously cool lips on his.
An odd, fleeting, hollow feeling.
The dam breaks. The pain goes suddenly quiet. Roaring to fullness in its absence is the killing swell of such a long-delayed climax. It is possible that he calls Wei Wuxian's name. It is impossible to know.
The world, again, goes dark.
-----
Lan Wangji wakes to gray light and distant birdsong. A sharp edge is digging into his shoulder. He shifts, then goes still at the deep ache in his entire body.
He remembers.
"Hanguang-jun should drink this," says a brisk voice to his right.
Wen Qing sits there, watching him. His heart skips a beat and he looks down. But he is fully clothed once more.
Her smile is wry as she holds a cup out to him. Laboriously, he sits up to take it. It is bitter, but familiar. A restorative. He thanks her formally.
She shakes her head. "No need.” She turns to go.
"Wen-guniang," Lan Wangji says. She pauses. "How long has it been gone?"
She turns to stare at him. He knows she knows what he means.
"How? When?"
She looks away. "You'll have to ask him."
The pang of loss he felt upon waking with Wei Wuxian gone speaks for him. "Will he let me?"
 He lies on the slab of rock that serves as Wei Wuxian's bed for too long. It is difficult to tell the passage of time in the Burial Mounds, but it seems slightly brighter than it had...before. He reasons that it could well be the next morning. He wonders if Wei Wuxian slept beside him, then tosses the thought away as gross indulgence. He wonders instead, as he has many times since his last visit, if Wei Wuxian sleeps at all.
First, his excuse to tarry is meditation. He works at it, simultaneously restoring his drained core and healing himself, until the discomfort fades from his every movement to just a specific few.
Once that is done, he has no reason to be idle. But the voice in his head, Wei Wuxian's blisteringly cold one that had called him his proper name all those months ago, keeps him in place. He hears it saying all manner of things in response to seeing him now.
"What more could you possibly want of me?" Wei Wuxian sneers in his mind. And he would be right to do so.
But Lan Wangji does not intend to ask anything of him ever again.
And there is the other thing. The fact that his robes should be uncomfortable, filthy, but they have been cleaned, dried, and arranged back onto his body properly. Comfortably. Almost as if—
He dares not imagine. But at the very least it does not speak of utter contempt.
So he rises. He follows the path Wen Qing told him of. And he does something foolish. He hopes.
After no short while of walking, he comes to a slightly darker, more silent corner of deadened forest. He rounds a bend and sees Wei Wuxian crouched a little ways off, and then hears high, lilting notes as if through water. The energies are strange here, and Wei Wuxian is speaking to with them in their own language.
Lan Wangji approaches until he sees Wei Wuxian go still. He says nothing. Wei Wuxian drops his flute from his lips.
"Are you well?" He asks without rising or turning.
"I am."
Wei Wuxian nods. "Your people are waiting for you."
It is a dismissal. Lan Wangji recognizes this. But he will impose just a little bit longer.
"Your core," he says. Wei Wuxian stands abruptly, still facing away, gripping Chenqing. "Can it be replaced?"
Wei Wuxian whirls to face him, anger and fear warring with the questions on his face.
Lan Wangji has other questions, too. But they do not matter. He is intelligent enough to piece together the cold, empty space where Wei Wuxian's core should be, the tired guilt on Wen Qing's face, and...
"Your scar," he says, dropping his gaze to the scorched earth.
He should not know of it. But he does, now, and he also owes a greater debt than he can ever repay. Wei Wuxian does not respond. How dearly Lan Wangji wants to see his expression. But he will not infringe on any more of his privacy.
The wind howls. He waits.
"You won't tell anybody," Wei Wuxian says uncertainly.
Lan Wangji stiffens. "I will not."
"Nobody told you?"
"Nobody.”
Wei Wuxian pauses, momentarily satisfied.
"You're not going to ask how? Or when?"
Lan Wangji would like to. He would like to know everything of Wei Wuxian, even his sorrow, his pain. But he is not entitled to those things. There is only one point that matters.
"Can it be replaced? Can the procedure be reversed?"
Wei Wuxian sighs. Lan Wangji can tell he does not wish to speak of this.
"So single-minded, Lan Zhan," he scolds, then shakes his head. "The chance of success would be small; the chance of finding a donor, much smaller."
But this is all Lan Wangji hoped to hear. It is enough. He goes to his knees, arms circled in front of his chest.
"Allow me," he says.
"Lan Zhan!" Wei Wuxian darts forward, trying to pull Lan Wangji up from the ground. Eventually he gives up and goes to his knees in front of him, pushing at his arms. "Lan Zhan, stop this," he says, panicked. "Don't be stupid, stop—Lan Zhan, you can't be serious."
"Please allow me," Lan Wangji repeats, eyes downcast.
"Stop this!" Wei Wuxian shouts. "It can't be done, and I wouldn't take it from you anyway!"
Lan Wangji flinches bodily. He had not considered...but yes. Everything in him is sullied. He bends at the waist, bowing further.
"Apologies for the offense," he says, then snaps his mouth shut. His voice is too obviously strained.
"Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian says, still alarmed.
Lan Wangji needs to leave. He has already overstayed. But he...he has not tried hard enough.
"This debt is too great to repay in one lifetime," he says. "Please inform this one of what he may do to begin."
Wei Wuxian sags, dragging one of Lan Wangji's wrists with him. "Lan Zhan, there is no debt between us."
Lan Wangji only just stops himself from glancing up. He does not understand.
"I owe you my life and more," he says. "You took great pains to save me, even as the situation proved me unworthy of it. I owe—"
"You owe me nothing," Wei Wuxian insists, shaking Lan Wangji's arm. "There were no great pains. Nobody is unworthy. Well...you aren't."
Lan Wangji opens his mouth to protest, but Wei Wuxian speaks over him.
"People have...desires, Lan Zhan. There's nothing unworthy about it."
"But you—"
"Stop," he says. He sounds so, so tired. "If you hadn't been...dying. If we—" He stops. "Just keep my secret," he says, and lets go of his wrist. "And live well."
Lan Wangji closes his eyes. The thought of going back to his home, his life, after this, had not yet occurred to him. It sinks him from his knees to the ground. How can he do this? How can he leave him this way?
"Wei Ying," he pleads. "I must...I must do something. I cannot...I..."
"Why, Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian asks, not unkindly. "You have responsibilities. People to protect, just like me. Live well, and count things even between us. Why not?"
Lan Wangji’s chest caves in. He does not make the sound clawing up his throat.
"You...truly, you must know why," he says. "After... you must know. I would not leave you in need. I could not."
"Ah, Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian says sadly. He shuffles forward. Lan Wangji startles at the feel of fingertips on his cheek. "You're too good. But all I need is," he huffs, "political asylum for me and 40 friends? It's not your burden."
Suddenly yet slowly, like the first burst of sunrise, an idea reveals itself on the horizon of Lan Wangji’s mind. It is unorthodox. And likely unwelcome. But it is all he has.
"My uncle made a suggestion," he says. "When my affliction became known. It is true that he did not know what it would mean, but I would hold him to it. If it is not...hateful, to you."
"I don't know what you mean," Wei Wuxian says warily.
Lan Wangji steels himself. "You are perceived as the head of a sect. A proper alliance could protect your people, and Gusu Lan is in need of hands for rebuilding. The person who cast this curse upon me has given the perfect excuse, and made themselves scapegoat. If you would...I would not ask anything of you, if you agreed. It would be a marriage in name only, as you wish it."
Wei Wuxian's silence turns to spluttering. "M—Lan Zh—marriage?? What—how—"
"If the idea is odious, I will not mention it again. But as I said. My uncle suggested it. And under the circumstances, he cannot refuse."
"Your—he—Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan, look at me. Look at me, please."
Lan Wangji looks at him. His eyes are wide. Disbelieving. Concerned.
"Your uncle would qi deviate if you even hinted at such a thing," he says. "Gusu Lan is in a precarious enough position, you don't need...I have nothing to offer in return." He pats his lower stomach, empty of spiritual energy, emphatically. “Nothing. Don't be ridiculous."
"It is not ridiculous," Lan Wangji argues, certain now that he is right. "You can offer more protection for us, and we can offer legitimacy. The person who cast this curse can be seen to have forced our hands. Has—has forced our hands."
He stops himself. He should not push this. Wei Wuxian is looking at him as if he does not know him.
"You don't want to marry me, Lan Zhan."
This gives Lan Wangji pause. It is a confusing objection, to say the least. He stares, trying to comprehend. He clears his throat. Takes a breath.
"If you are under the impression..." he stops. Drops his eyes once more. "...that the...impetus of the curse. Is the whole of the way I—”
"Demonic cultivation," Wei Wuxian interrupts. "It would be unhealthy. For you. And your elders! They wouldn't let me, not if I were...attached to your sect. To you.”
A fair concern, and one Lan Wangji has been turning over in his own mind as well. "Is this your only objection?"
Wei Wuxian casts about. "Ah..."
Lan Wangji takes one last plunge. "The elders can be reasoned with, compromises can be made. I am not concerned for my health: being near you could never be harmful to me." He hears himself, then, and amends, "Though you need not. Be near me. That is not a condition."
"You would defend this?" Wei Wuxian asks, bemused.
"Defend what?"
"My cultivation path. You..."
Lan Wangji resists a sigh. "I understand the reason, now. And I believe...if you did not object. We could work toward making it safe, without stripping you of what your hard work has created."
"Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian says. He reaches out, then stops.
Lan Wangji stares at his hand, hovering between them. His heart is beating so hard he can feel it in his eyes, in his tongue.
"Wei Ying."
"You would let me, though?"
His tone is gently mocking. His head is cocked to the side, the edge of a smile playing across his lips. It knocks the breath from Lan Wangji's chest.
"Let you?" He asks, dazed.
"Be near you."
Lan Wangji's heart stops. It is a moment before he can respond.
"I would. Always."
Wei Wuxian takes his hand, and sighs. "You don't owe me this," he says again.
"I do," Lan Wangji counters, off-kilter. "I owe you. And I want to. I would want to, even if—"
He loosens his tight grip on Wei Wuxian's hand. He is saying too much, taking too much, being too much. He settles himself. Finds the words that matter.
"It would be a thing happily given, with no strings attached, should you wish it."
Wei Wuxian laughs strangely. "Lan Zhan, you really..." He shakes his head. "I'd marry you in an instant, you know," says.
Lan Wangji's neck hurts from the speed with which he looks up at him. Hope, warm and liquid, blooms through his limbs.
"But I can't make this decision on my own," Wei Wuxian goes on. "It's not just my life. We have to talk it over with everyone."
"Yes," Lan Wangji says, surprised, and eager now that he sees the possibility of success. Of doing something of use.
"Alright," says Wei Wuxian, a smile hidden in the corner of his mouth. "I can't promise...but it...it could work."
"It will," Lan Wangji says, certain that the strength of his conviction alone will carry them through if need be.
He feels strange and dreamlike, confused but heartened by the turn in this conversation. That Wei Wuxian can stand the sight of him, let alone wish to ally with him personally, seems too wonderful to be true. Another Wei Wuxian hallmark.
"But Lan Zhan, no more talk of strings," Wei Wuxian says.
Lan Wangji sobers and nods. It is unseemly. Of course their understanding must be a tacit one, now.
But his hand is suddenly in both of Wei Wuxian's.
"You need to stop feeling guilty," Wei Wuxian says, looking down at it. "If I were your husband...if I were. We could try all that again, but without the impending doom. We could try it again any way we like, any time—all the time—and we'd—"
"Wei Ying," Lan Wangji interrupts, strangled. His heart is in his throat. He cannot comprehend what he is hearing. His ears, his face, are on fire.
Wei Wuxian smiles down at their hands, one part shy, one part mischief. "I think we could get really good at it, if we had the chance, don't you?"
Lan Wangji stares at him. "You..."
"Mn," says Wei Wuxian, meeting his eyes.
He shines so bright, even without any core to speak of. He takes Lan Wangji's breath away.
"I take it back," Wei Wuxian says, his voice suddenly urgent. "I like strings. Mine is that if this happens, I want to be your real husband. In name, in practice, in bed, and in your heart. Because you would be, in mine."
Lan Wangji's voice sticks in his throat. He feels...he feels unreal. He does not know what to do, to say. Perhaps they never broke the curse at all and he has simply gone mad. But Wei Wuxian's fingers stroking his palm, the root-knotted dirt beneath his shins, are real. He sways, unbalanced.
Wei Wuxian reaches out. Catches him. Folds him into his arms for a second time. Lan Wangji's breath shudders out of him.
He is on his knees, breathlessly held in the arms of his beloved. He has dreamt this many ways. But never has it been so real, so full of hope. He wraps his arms around Wei Wuxian in turn, buries his face in his shoulder.
Wei Wuxian huffs. "Jiang Cheng is going to be so angry."
Lan Wangji comes back down to earth. It is true he had not thought of this. He makes to pull away. "How should—"
Wei Wuxian clutches him tighter. "I don't care," he says, "I don't care, we can manage him." He pauses, then speaks more softly. "Maybe...I could see shijie's wedding after all. Or—no. It's too soon, I—"
"Yes," says Lan Wangji. "You will. We will go together."
Wei Wuxian takes a deep breath, and lets it out into Lan Wangji's hair.
"Together," he says.
It takes several serious, and at times uncomfortable, discussions, but in the end, Gusu Lan’s Second Jade is indeed thoroughly removed from the marriage pool of the great sects. The curse caster is found and punished. And everybody else lives happily ever after.
The end.
-----
(Thank you for coming on this wildly self-indulgent journey, I hope you enjoyed it. If you’d like to read some actually nicely-polished, fleshed-out fics by me—including another sex-cursed LWJ—check out my AO3.)
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favoniuscodex · 3 years
Text
soft deception. [diluc x reader]
pairing: diluc x f!reader prompt: you love your boyfriend, you really do. he’s just so, so trusting in you that you can’t help but to trick him every now and then. (alternatively: you give diluc the world’s ugliest onesie as a christmas present and now that it’s all over, you want to go back in time and punch yourself in the face for unleashing this curse within your household.) word count: ~2.5k warnings/genres: humor, fluff, sfw but like... adult jokes at some points a/n: purely self indulgent, nobody requested this, tried out a bit of a different writing style. i wrote this to try to cheer myself up, so hopefully it makes you all happy! no beta reader though (but i never have one anyways)
You had a tendency to think of yourself as the funniest person in Teyvat at times.
Especially when you had Mondstadt’s most gullible eligible bachelor wrapped around your finger, desiring to cater to your every whim. Sure, the two of you were like two young teenagers in love despite being much older, to the point where it was a mental workout to restrain yourself from leaving purple and blue marks all along his neck, desiring to hear praises stutter on his lips as you show the man the love he has lacked over the years. It didn’t help that he also had those cherry-colored eyes that pierced into you, the only eyes to ever truly see you for you. In your humble opinion, the best part about Diluc Ragnvindr is neither his wisdom nor his love, but his ass.
Unsure if Barbatos is actually able to listen into your thoughts or not due to Venti’s uncanny capability to make jokes about thoughts you know you have never uttered aloud whenever Diluc turns his back to the two of you at the bar, you quickly rectify your thoughts and mumble an apology to the potentially omniscient alcoholic bard. 
The best part about Diluc Ragnvindr lies within his ass... umptions. His assumptions, specifically about the inherent truthfulness he believed to be in your statements. Your boyfriend, as much as you loved him, is an extremely gullible man. Such a fact is even written on the ceilings of every room, but it never hurts to double-check. If you are Teyvat’s jester, then Diluc is Teyvat’s fool, but he is a fool in love. 
The calculated, reserved man only lets himself be duped by you. No matter how many times you trick him, he’ll listen to your exaggerated claims and boisterous words with widened eyes, immediately trusting your words as he trusts you wholeheartedly.
You thrive in such an environment, manipulating Diluc to your liking. Not in a bad way of course, as the thought of hurting even a single hair on his head makes your stomach churn and nausea arise. Rather, you find amusement in tricking him with subtle sleights of the hand and little white lies, before revealing your cards at the end of every show and reveling in his flustered nature. You long not to hurt Diluc, but you relish in the way his milky skin turns to a rosy pink upon realizing your deception. 
In simpler terms, you love to prank your red-haired, stoic boyfriend in order to see the shy smile and bashful eyes that accompany his revelations of your actions. 
Being the funniest, sexiest woman in Teyvat with the most attractive, most trusting boyfriend in all of Mondstadt leads to raucous laughter on your behalf and flushed cheeks on your boyfriend’s behalf during many nights within your shared home. With Diluc’s confidence in you, you are unstoppable.
Such arrogance had a tendency to bite you in the ass. 
Especially now. Right now. You’ve never regretted duping Diluc more than you do at this moment. For Christmas, you had given him two presents, his actual present and one designed to be a joke. Diluc, bless his heart, had not interpreted such a present to be no more than a simple gag and had politely smiled at you as he held the gift up, inspecting it with poorly disguised distaste in his eyes. The gift in question was a pajama onesie you had found within the clearance section of some decaying Mondstadt boutique, but these weren’t just any pajamas. It was the ugliest piece of clothing you had ever seen.
The offending onesie glints in the light of the fireplace that illuminates Diluc’s face and your poor excuse at a poker face as he analyzes his gift. It is decorated with a variety of misshapen owls, feathers formed by multicolored, poorly sewn sequins. Each owl has two octagonal, almost glowing, gaudy amber-colored rhinestones for eyes, yet each rhinestone is a slightly different shade from the others, as if they had been left out in the sun, forgotten about. A santa hat is perched on the heads of each owl and a candy cane is loosely held in at least one wing of each owl. The onesie even has built-in feet, with owl-shaped grips on the bottom that barely cling on for life in a failed attempt to provide the user traction. Diluc quickly attaches to such a concept and tries to use it as an out.
“It’s… lovely,” He finally manages, doing his best to keep his voice even as he smiles at you. You can see the pain in his eyes. “But I do not believe the feet will fit me.”
You widen your eyes in sadness and bat your eyelashes at him innocently, as if such a sentiment truly wounded you. “Can you hire a tailor to fix them? I spent a lot of time picking out this gift and I think it’s perfect.”
Diluc’s smile breaks and horror creeps into his eyes upon realizing there’s no way out of the predicament he’s currently in. As he breaks his intense ogling of the onesie to look at you, his faux smile is plastered once again on his face. It doesn’t reach his eyes and it wavers, but you simply give him a cheery grin in response.
“Of course, dear,” Diluc responds, albeit a bit despondently. Your heart twists a bit and- no, no. Guilt is not allowed in the heart of a true comedian. “Anything for you.” His eyes are empty as his smile slowly drops into a thin line. Your expression of glee is a sharp contrast.
“Yay!” You giggle and clap your hands together once as you pop up from your seated position. Diluc’s woeful expression alleviates upon seeing your seemingly genuine reaction and he manages a small smile once more, this one a bit more genuine. “C’mon! Let’s try it on!”
After wearing it the rest of Christmas night, Diluc not only wears it past the reasonable date to keep wearing Christmas merchandise after Christmas is over, but he wears it multiple times per week. You know he’s only doing it to see your fit of giggles every time he does so and that Diluc wants nothing more than to see you happy, but you’re beginning to hate yourself for such a gift. 
The inklings of self-hatred explode into full self-loathing when Diluc reveals he found an identical onesie while shopping and that he purchased it in order to be able to wear around the house more often. You have to hold yourself back from narrowing your eyes at him as he holds up the offending, nearly identical onesie, albeit in a different color. Unlike you, Diluc isn’t a bully. There’s absolutely no way he’s joking right now. Maybe. You aren’t sure.
The end of January rolls around and you’re ready to wrestle Diluc for his Pyro vision and burn these damn onesies yourself. Every time Diluc joins you in bed, ready to clock in for the night, he’s wearing the archonsforsaken Christmas outfit despite Valentine’s Day rapidly approaching. If you wear a cute outfit and lie on the bed, hoping for Diluc’s attention? You’ll certainly get it, but there’s more than just his eyes watching you. There are the artificial eyes of the owls watching the two of you, their beady little rhinestones judging you for your premarital sins. Whenever you reach out to stroke his arm or thigh reassuringly, you’re met with the feeling of cheap flannel and pilled fabrics.
Unfortunately for Diluc, Kaeya is your hero in this situation as he arrives to Dawn Winery unannounced and interrupts you and Diluc reading in bed together. The cavalry captain hadn’t even bothered to knock, swinging the door open with zero fear of what he might have found inside. But, upon seeing the two of you, Kaeya freezes.
“What the hell is that?” Kaeya nearly screeches in horror, pointing at Diluc.
“I’m sure you know what Diluc looks like, Kaeya,” You respond in an annoyed tone. You loved Adelinde, but why had she let Kaeya up to your and Diluc’s chambers without any warning is beyond your comprehension. “You only have one eyepatch, not two.”
Diluc does a poor job at stifling a chuckle next to you, his book now resting on the nightstand next to him due to the intrusion. He wordlessly sneaks an arm around your waist and you lean into his chest instinctively, trying your best to ignore the scratch of the sequins against your cheek.
“No, not that,” Kaeya says, unperturbed at your slight against him. “That! That thing he’s wearing! It’s awful!” His finger shakes in the air before the blue-haired man doubles over in laughter. “That’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever fucking seen, holy shit.”
You look up at Diluc, who is flushed a deep crimson in embarrassment and whose brows are furrowed.
“I must admit,” Diluc clears his throat, voice diffident. “It has grown on me.”
Your heart melts at his confession and you scoot up a bit in his grasp, causing him to look at you in confusion before you press a reassuring kiss to his cheek. Adoration swims in his irises as he looks at you and softly smiles, forgetting about Kaeya’s presence despite his brother’s noisy, ceaseless laughter. Sure, the onesie might be a joke that you want to throw into a fire and pray that it burns in the pits of hell for eternity, but Diluc’s defense of your present in the face of Kaeya’s mockery warms even your cold prankster heart.
“Diluc,” You whisper lowly, not wanting Kaeya to hear. It was unlikely he would anyways, as every time he looked up at the two of you in the bed in front of him, Kaeya would burst out into peals of laughter once more. “Where’s the other onesie?”
Diluc looks at you, confused. “It’s in the laundry room. It should be dry now.” Before Diluc can ask you why you need to know such information, you’re breaking free of his grip, stumbling out of the bed, shoving past Kaeya and nearly sprinting out of the room in a hurry. Kaeya and Diluc both watch you leave, equally bewildered.
“Why are you here?” You hear Diluc ask his brother as you flee the room, but you don’t stick around for the rest of their conversation. They can be emotionally constipated together, you have more important things to do. Seizing the freshly-cleaned onesie, you shut the laundry door and shimmy it over your current pajamas, one of Diluc’s old shirts and a pair of old shorts. You have to hop around a bit to get the fabric to settle in just the right places and, dear Barbatos, this thing is uncomfortable. 
Diluc must really love you to put up with this outfit every night. Before you can melt into a puddle of goo at the thought of your essentially perfect boyfriend who would do nearly anything for you, you storm out of the laundry room and back into the bedroom, climbing back into bed with Diluc wordlessly, settling your legs underneath the covers and guiding Diluc’s arm back to its rightful place around your waist.
You press another kiss to Diluc’s cheek as he stares at you with an unreadable expression. Despite having recovered from his earlier flustered state, his cheeks quickly return to the shade of red you adore so much. Unfortunately for you, you didn’t stick on this onesie just to shamelessly ogle your boyfriend and kiss him senseless. No, you wore it to spite the man in front of the two of you, whose expression is now morphed into one of horror.
“There’s two of them?! One was already a crime against humanity, but two?!” Kaeya is aghast at such a concept. Diluc’s gaze breaks off you and he tightens his grip around your waist as he glowers at his brother.
“We have a third one if you wish to continue intruding in our home,” Diluc proposes, his voice having a slight edge to it. Kaeya holds his hands up later.
“Alright. I’ll see you later then. Bye, (Y/N)~!” Kaeya quickly ejects himself from the conversation, not even bothering to spare his brother a goodbye in his hurry to leave before a onesie can be thrust upon you.
“You look adorable,” Diluc confesses before pressing a kiss to your forehead. This time, it’s your turn to fluster and you look away, startled by his forwardness. “I always like seeing you in my clothes.”
“Oh… thank you,” You murmur sheepishly, but Diluc grabs your chin and lightly guides your face to look at him. A shiteating grin breaks out across his face.
“I appreciate your support, darling, but isn’t it time we stop this ruse?” Diluc questions and your eyes widen in surprise. “Unfortunately, my brother is correct. These outfits are quite… awful.”
“I like them!” You interject, unsure as to why you’re defending the outfits you had just been wishing for the destruction of.
“Is that so?” Diluc challenges, eyebrows raised as you nod your head furiously. A soft chuckle escapes his lips. “(Y/N), I know I might be dumb at times, especially when it comes to you, but surely you can’t think I’m dumb enough to believe this lie.”
You narrow your eyes at him and fold your arms in contempt. “There is no way you’ve called my bluff this early. Kaeya told you I was fucking with you, didn’t he?”
Diluc’s smug attitude is replaced with that of a scolded puppy, unable to look you in the eyes. “... Yes.”
You can’t help but press yet another kiss to his face, this time gracing his jaw as you pepper light kisses down his neck. “You’re correct. I absolutely loathe these ugly clothes. It’s not even Christmas anymore. But I’d be damned if I was going to let that gremlin insult something of yours.”
Diluc laughs genuinely and he brings your face close to his, pressing your lips together in a sweet, chaste kiss, before pulling away far too soon for your liking.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I should probably change now that the joke is over,” Diluc explains. You raise your eyebrows at him and he lets out a sigh. “The fabric is itchy.” Your boyfriend clambers out of bed and you unabashedly watch him change into a more comfortable outfit, admiring the way his lithe muscles move as he puts on a new shirt. Diluc turns around and looks at you expectantly.
“Aren’t you going to change too?” He asks as he climbs back under the covers with you, but you softly smile and shake your head in response. 
“No,” You coo. “I think it’ll stay on for tonight.” You wrap your arms around his waist, nuzzling into his shoulder exaggeratedly.
Diluc groans at your words and you realize he shares the same hatred of the onesies that you do. But, as Diluc’s chief prankster, you’re determined to get the last laugh, even if the dumb fabric scratches against you all night.
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luxekook · 4 years
Text
intimidation | myg
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⇥ pairing: yoongi x reader
⇥ genre: fluff, a lil touch of smut, college AU
⇥ summary: in which you think Yoongi is intimidating bc of his dark clothing and his quiet ‘don’t give a fuck’ attitude… but then someone makes him laugh and you watch as his face lights up in the cutest gummy smile complete with shining eyes and blushing cheeks and BOOM you’re whipped for that boy
⇥ word count: 2.3k
⇥ warnings: dirty talk, light smut, cursing
⇥ sequel: intensity
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Thursday, September 28th – 11:16am
Min Yoongi intimidated the living hell out of you.
While the boy in question was not all that tall or all that muscular, there was admittedly something in his aura that just screamed ‘big dick energy’... Not that you’d ever get the chance to confirm that hypothesis. You weren’t even sure you wanted to.
Shoulders slumping, you shifted your peripheral gaze off of Yoongi and back onto your professor as she droned on about evolution. Your shared Introduction to Biology class inspired an odd mix of dread and excitement every Tuesday/Thursday morning as a consequence of Min Yoongi’s sheer presence.
Your mind drifted back to the first class of the semester about a month ago...
Arriving in the lecture hall indicated on your class schedule, you took a seat in the middle of the room. You were spoiled for choice given that you had arrived fifteen minutes early for lecture. The first day of classes was always stressful for you, given your tendency to get lost within the many buildings on campus as well as your hatred for lateness.
As the room filled with more and more students, you shuffled through your backpack. “Where the hell is it?” you muttered, searching for your planner where you would jot down important notes.
Finally, you spotted it wedged in between two of your folders. Grasping it in triumph, you tugged it out of your backpack and placed it on your desk. Glancing back up, you found the coldest pair of brown eyes staring back at you.
“Is anyone sitting there?” The question came in a slow drawl, all rough and lazy. Long fingers adorned in rings shifted as the boy pointed towards the empty seat next to you. God, he was offensively good-looking.
You blinked and shook your head, “No, have at it.” His gaze pinned you in place for a few more brief seconds before his chin lifted in acknowledgment and he slumped into place beside you.
You had learned absolutely nothing that first class. Or any subsequent class that Min Yoongi deigned with his presence. The odds were about 50/50 on any given day.
Today, his presence was wreaking havoc on your nervous system. Since the initial encounter on your first day of class, the amount of words exchanged between the two of you could be counted on one hand. Last week he had asked you for your notes from a previous class he had missed, and you almost burned from the inside out with embarrassment as he took in your impeccably organized and color-coded notes with raised eyebrows and a slight smirk.
“Were you planning on framing these?” he had asked while snapping a quick series of photos of your notebook pages. In response, you had scowled, pulling your notebook out of his reach.
You were a nerd. You knew that. But you didn’t like being made fun of for it. Especially by a boy as arrogantly apathetic as Min fucking Yoongi.
Therefore, you were doing your absolute best to ignore him today. The hour and a half of class dragged by so slowly you thought you might have grown a couple gray hairs by the time your professor dismissed everyone.
Rushing to pack up your belongings and multitude of colored pens, a small slip of paper dropped onto your desk. Confused, you immediately glanced up to find the source and found Yoongi sauntering away from you, black backpack hitched over one shoulder carelessly.
Fingers shaking, you opened the hastily folded paper: “(y/n) – Sorry if I made you upset last class. I only meant to extend my compliments to the artist... – MYG.”
Compliments to the—Min Yoongi was so full of shit. But you couldn’t fight the small smile that spread across your face.
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“(y/n) ... (y/n) ... (y/n)!”
The sound of your name shook you from your thoughts. Your roommate Nia decided that wasn’t enough and she shoved you in the arm.
“Ow, what the hell, Nia?” you grumbled, rubbing your left bicep dramatically.
Nia scoffed, “You’re staring into your bland salad like it holds the key to the universe. What’s up with you?”
Stabbing said salad with your fork, you waved your well-lettuced utensil in your roommate’s face, “What’s up is that I cannot stand Min Yoongi! He walks around looking like god’s gift to anyone attracted to men. Then, he has the audacity to critique my notes and give me a half-assed apology with further ridicule? The nerve! The gall!”
“I’m going to stop you right there,” Nia cut off your rampage succinctly, “Min Yoongi apologized to you? We are talking about the same Min Yoongi, right? Bleached hair? Piercings? General hatred for life?”
You nodded. Nia’s eyebrows rose to new heights, “We must contact the historians. This is one for the books.”
Rifling through your planner, you pulled out the note Yoongi left you and thrust it in Nia’s direction, “Look!”
Unfolding the small torn paper, you watched as Nia’s eyes darted back and forth... and back and forth... and back and forth.
“Well?”
Nia’s wide eyes lifted to yours, “(y/n) ... Min Yoongi is flirting with you.”
You choked on your lettuce, “What? Where on earth are you getting that? He’s clearly roasting me.”
“Nope,” Nia threw the note back at you, “Clearly flirting. Damn, Min Yoongi is into my best friend? This is wild! Okay, you first need to get on that, and then you need introduce me to Park Jimin.”
“Are you insane?” Your outburst gained annoyed looks from the surrounding students in the dining hall and you lowered your voice, “I am not ‘getting on’ anyone!”
Rolling her eyes, Nia stared pointedly to the right, “So if I'm hearing you correctly, you’re saying that you don’t find him attractive?”
Your eyes followed her line of vision and landed on none other than your topic of conversation. 
God, he looked good. Even surrounded by his group of attractive friends, Yoongi stood out to you. You were just about to glance away when it happened.
Kim Seokjin’s windshield wiper laugh burst through the cacophony of conversations, following what must have been one of his famously so-bad-they’re-good jokes.
And then Min Yoongi smiled.
Your heart stuttered in your chest as you watched his eyes crinkle, his cheeks turn a pretty pink and, his smile to widen into the cutest, most devastating gummy smile you had ever seen in your entire life.
“Holy fuck.” You exhaled. It was official. You were fucking whipped.
“Yup, that’s what I thought,” Nia’s smug tone pulled your focus away from this new version of Yoongi you were desperate to know, “Still going to deny that you want to jump his bones?”
“...No.”
You were scared shitless by Nia’s maniacal grin in response to your admission.
“Excellent,” she smirked, her palms rubbing together like a plotting villain, “Here’s what we’re going to do...”
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Friday, September 29th – 10:34pm
Your hands tugged at the hem of the short leather miniskirt Nia loaned you for the night as your stomach flipped more times than Simone Biles’ floor routine.
Damn, you were nervous.
When Nia talked you into attending Kim Taehyung’s party, you had agreed pretty easily. You both had reasoned that Yoongi might not even be there; and, if he was, you would just see if he would approach you.
It had seemed so simple in the moment, but now as you grasped your beer you realized that nothing regarding Min Yoongi was simple. Since arriving about twenty minutes ago, you and Nia had immediately been recruited for beer pong by Park Jimin and Jeon Jungkook. Unable to crush Nia’s dreams of hooking up with Jimin, you had agreed immediately even though you were both absolutely terrible at the game.
Jimin and Jungkook now only had one cup left to make, while you and Nia had five. You dipped the pong ball into the designated cup of water to clean it, took aim and watched in glee as the ball sailed into the front cup.
“Oh, fuck yes!” You and Nia high-fived, taking in the rare victory. Opening her mouth to respond, Nia’s words died in her throat as she looked over your shoulder.
“What is it?” you began to turn to see what was so alarming to your friend.
“No!” Nia hissed, “Don’t you dare turn around. Min Yoongi is staring at you like you’re a five-course meal and he’s starving.”
Your soul left your body, only to be snapped back into place with the interrupting cheers from Jimin and Jungkook as they sunk their last cup.
“Good game!” Jungkook’s arm wrapped around you in a half-hug. You shoot Nia a look, but she’s completely occupied in conversation with Jimin. Jungkook’s arm fell to encircle your waist when you felt it – the weight of a certain someone’s gaze.
You barely registered Jimin and Nia’s exit from the pong table and onto the makeshift dancefloor in Taehyung’s living room. And when Jungkook suggested getting another drink from the kitchen you almost shouted in agreement. Anything to escape the eyes you knew were glued to you.
He’s just a boy, you tried to remind yourself, you could handle Min Yoongi.
You followed Jungkook into the cramped kitchen, nodding along to whatever story he’s rambling on about. Locating the vast array of alcohol scattered along the kitchen island, you grabbed a solo cup and fixed yourself a rum and coke.
“...and then Jin-hyung said ‘It’s burgundy!’” You tuned back in to Jungkook’s story just in time to laugh in the appropriate place. You felt bad. Jungkook was cute and sweet, but just not your type.
“Jungkook,” a low voice broke through your shared laughter.
Jungkook’s eyes widened in alarm as he turned to face the intruder, “Yoongi-hyung! Wh-what’s up?”
Yoongi’s gaze narrowed; Jungkook gulped, “Bye, (y/n)-noona.”
You watched in horror as Jungkook literally scrambled out of the room to get away from you and Yoongi.
“Why’d you do that?” You looked up at Yoongi.
Damn, he looked good. His blonde locks were tousled like he had been running his hands through it and his cheeks were slightly flushed – probably from drinking.
Yoongi ignored your question, shooting a look at the group of boys occupying the kitchen counter space next to you and they immediately made themselves scarce.
His dark gaze turned back to you, “Why Jungkook?”
Your eyebrows furrowed, “What?”
“Why were you talking to Jungkook, (y/n)?” Yoongi moved closer to you, backing you into the counter behind you, “That boy couldn’t handle you.”
Your eyebrows quirked up, “And why’s that?”
“Because, baby, all that hair, all that ass, and all that attitude needs a man to give you what you want and what you need.”
You struggled to formulate an answer as you watched as he took a long sip of his beer, his eyes continuing to burn into yours.
“Are you drunk, Min Yoongi?”
“Lil’ bit,” he muttered and shot you a devastating half-smile, “But still sober enough to appreciate how goddamn good you look right now.”
Your mouth opened and closed several times before you choked out, “I thought you hated me?”
His hand darted through his hair as his jaw flexed once… twice, “Not even close.”
“But you don’t talk to me... you made fun of my notes!”
“I don’t talk to you because I think you’re so fucking cute with your colored pens and your oversized sweatshirts and your overused planner. I don’t talk to you because I want to ruin you and worship you all at once.”
All air had escaped your lungs at this point. You let out a jagged breath as Yoongi suddenly slid his hands around your waist.
He scooped you off the floor and placed you on the edge of the counter. Your arms circled his shoulders instinctually and his grip tightened on your hips. When he glanced down at you, he let out a rough breath, sounding like you were torturing him.
Turning to the side, you tried to hide from his intensity behind the curtain of your hair, but he just pushed it back behind your ear.
“Yoongi, please…” Your desperate words left your mouth subconsciously, the feeling of his lips so close to yours made your pulse race and your head spin.
“What do you want, baby?” he asked, his voice hoarse and his pupils dilated, “I’ll give you anything. Just ask.”
“Kiss me?” You barely finished asking your question before Yoongi’s lips slammed onto your own.
He kissed you like he wanted to own you – and to have you own him. Gravity tried to drag you down off the counter and your mouths separated in a gasp. Yoongi hoisted you up higher with a firm hand on the back of your thigh.
Hooking your leg around his slim waist, you tugged him into you, feeling every inch of his body respond to your touch. He breathed heavily as you dragged your nails down his back slowly, provokingly. You felt his responding groan rumble deep from within his chest.
His free hand latched into your hair and tugged your lips back to his. You both moaned as his tongue circled yours, twining around it, enticing yours to follow.
You swore the way Min Yoongi kissed could be felt all the way down to your bones.  
His kisses got greedier, more desperate as he seemed to be trying to memorize the taste of your mouth on his. “God-fucking-damn," he panted, pulling back slightly and resting his forehead on yours.
You smiled, completely fucked out. His fingertips dragged down your skin slowly until he reached your waist. His hands slid up under your shirt, and he rested his palms against your skin, fingers splayed down over your hips. His hold was undeniably possessive.
Shifting his head into the crevice of your neck, Yoongi muttered, “Go out with me, (y/n).”
The only answer your last few braincells could formulate was a garbled “Mkay”. But judging from the smile you felt against your pulse point, it was good enough for him.
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a/n: originally was going to make this fic about jungkook (inspired by this post), but I decided I needed to write it about Yoongi bc he is baby
© luxekook. please do not repost, modify, edit or translate.
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tpwkjerii · 3 years
Text
strawberry kisses
you and felix have a longstanding tradition of baking the day after finals. usually, it’s the best method of relaxing after long hours of studying. unfortunately, you find yourself rather tense this time — after all, it’s always fun to spend an entire day in a cramped kitchen with your crush, isn’t it?
pairing: lee felix x reader
warnings: fluff and kissing, mild angst, reader likes strawberries (sorry if you’re allergic skdlsd), ex boyfriend (but supportive bestie) minho, reader has low self confidence :(, like two curse words, kisses!!
genre: friends to lovers au, kinda idiots to lovers, mutual pining
word count: 2.9k+
a/n: short fic for Felix hehe
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Your eyes glazed over as you reviewed the last response of your final exam of the term. After two long hours of plugging equations you hardly understood into your nearly-dead calculator and speed-writing to the point where you’re sure you’ve bruised your dominant hand, you finally finished. At lightning speed, you gathered your exam papers and submitted them at the front with a quick prayer to the universe.
A few other students followed your rushed pace out of the large lecture hall, all of you eager to finally get out of the stuffy room.
As you stepped out of the packed hall and into the cooling outdoors, you checked your phone, which was filled with texts from the one person you were trying desperately to get out of your head (and miserably failing at that).
felix (strawberry head) <3
5:23 PM
did you finish your chem final ???
hyunjin and i just submitted our video for our dance performance
your editing was very good btw :D
5:35 PM
y/nnnnn you’re taking forever :(
we’re waiting at the quad for you !!
5:40 PM
*i am waiting at the quad for you
the others got too hungry and left, but i’m waiting for you!
pls hurry it’s cold :[
You bit back a laugh at his texts, his heartwarming tone filling you with a familiar fuzzy feeling. You pushed the feeling aside as you texted a reply.
y/n
5:43 PM
be there in 2 :D
You stifled a smile as you rushed towards the quad. Soon enough, you saw Felix and his bright, red-dyed hair (you first noted that it closely resembled a strawberry). The moment your eyes met his, you felt your heart skip a beat and heat spread across your face. This was the common reaction you’ve had for the past few months whenever you see Felix.
He rushed over to you with a giddy smile and his arms outstretched. Quickly, he barrelled into you and pulled you into a tight embrace.
“You took so long,” he whined, his chest vibrating as he spoke.
“I know, I know. ‘M sorry,” you responded, your voice slightly muffled by his shirt. You took a second to enjoy his hold and the comforting warmth that Felix always provided you whenever he was near. Over the past few years, you’ve grown accustomed to the scent of his sweet floral perfume, the feeling of his tight hugs, and the way he played with your fingers when he was bored.
All the things you were fond of were now extreme nuisances in your life. Not because they were annoying or because you disliked Felix, but rather the complete opposite; you were completely, helplessly, and foolishly in love with him.
“You ready to go?” Felix asked suddenly, breaking you out of your thoughts. He brought his arms down from around you, and you looked down at the ground as you nodded, hoping that he didn’t see the intense blush that was spreading from your face to your neck.
You are so fucked for tomorrow.
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After an entire night of tossing and turning in anxiety, the next day finally arrived. To say you were nervous was a massive understatement.
The minute you woke up, you began to anxiously clean your apartment while your roommate Ryujin laughed at you. As you wiped down every visible crevice, she made sure to pester you about a “missed spot” or tempt you with sweets.
“You’ve never cleaned this much whenever Felix came over before,” she pointed out with a laugh while you wiped down the kitchen counters for the fourth time.
“What do you mean?” you asked, your voice uncharacteristically high-pitched.
Ryujin scoffed. “It is so obvious that you like Felix, there’s no point in lying to me,” she stated bluntly.
Your hand froze mid-wipe on the counter. You looked over at your blue-haired roommate nervously. “Is it really… that obvious?”
“Yes,” she deadpanned.
You winced and dropped your head onto the smooth stone countertop. “Do you think he’s noticed?” you moaned into your arms.
“If he hasn’t, I will personally pay for his glasses prescription.”
You whined again as you lifted your head up to look directly at Ryujin. “If he’s noticed then why hasn’t he said anything?”
She stood up as she answered, “Not sure but you could always ask him today.”
Your mouth dropped in horror at the suggestion. “I can’t tell him how I feel! That would completely ruin our friendship!”
“So you’d rather continue tip-toeing around him and never get a clear answer?” she questioned, her arms crossed.
“Yes.”
Ryujin sighed and started to collect her things. “You can do whatever you want,” she started as she placed her papers in her backpack, “but I recommend you tell him soon.” She stood up and headed for the door. Just before opening it and leaving you alone with your thoughts until Felix arrived, she turned around and said, “I won’t be home until late, have fun.” With that, she winked and walked out of your shared apartment.
You scoffed at her suggestive tone and stood upright to check the time.
10:08 AM
You gasped. Felix said he was going to arrive at 10:30, but knowing him he would be at least 15 minutes early, meaning you only had 7 minutes to get yourself together!
You cursed and rushed to your bedroom. Switching out of your wrinkled pajamas, you opted for a random hoodie you grabbed out of your closet and jeans. After you changed, you made a beeline for the bathroom and fixed your appearance. You quickly brushed through your hair and washed your face, hoping you removed all remnants of your restless sleep.
Just as you predicted, you heard four distinctive knocks on your front door right at 10:15.
“Coming!” you exclaimed as you rushed out of your bathroom.
Right before you opened the front door, you placed a hand on your beating heart and mumbled words of encouragement to yourself. Then, after deciding that you were probably taking too long, you pulled the door open.
Immediately, Felix, covered in a large hoodie and arms filled with large bags of baking ingredients, greeted you with a large grin. Like every other time, you felt your heart skip a beat when you made eye contact with him.
“Hi,” you said simply, a smile on your face.
“Hi,” he responded. He looked you up and down, asking, “Are you wearing my hoodie?” 
You paled and looked down at the large pink hoodie, immediately recognizing it as the one that Felix lent you almost one year ago when he dropped you off at the airport since you forgot yours in the car. Once you got back from your trip, you’d forgotten to give it back to him.
“O-oh,” you stuttered, looking down at the oversized sleeves. “I didn’t even realize,” you continued awkwardly. “You can ha -”
“It’s fine,” he cut you off, the smile never leaving his face. He shrugged. “You look better in it anyways.”
Your mouth dropped and you found yourself unable to respond for a few moments. Felix laughed at your dumbfoundedness and gently pushed you aside to walk into the apartment. Once he set the bags down on the kitchen counters, you returned to your senses and closed the door to walk over to him.
“So, what are we making today?” you asked, trying to keep your voice as level as possible. It wasn’t an easy task to do, considering his proximity to you.
You held your breath as he grabbed your hands and looked into your eyes. “What’s your favorite fruit?” he asked excitedly.
“Er, strawberries?” you answered, tilting your head to the side in mild confusion.
At that, Felix let go of your hands and quickly pulled out a carton of fresh strawberries from one of the bags. You gasped in delight at the sight of the bright fruit and immediately thanked him.
“It’s no big deal,” he responded while sliding the fruits into the fridge. “I’m gonna eat most of the tarts and choco strawberries anyways,” he added with a sneaky laugh.
You scoffed. “You always say that but you always end up giving me the most.” You smirked at him while taking out the baking materials.
“I don’t give it to you,” he countered. “You steal them.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” you told him with a sing-song tone. He laughed from your side, and you swore that you heard actual sparkles, as if he were a fairy, when he did.
You cleared your throat, hoping to rid your mind of distracting thoughts that could be potential problems during the next seven hours that Felix would be at your apartment. “So, master chef Felix,” you started, lowering your voice like a TV show announcer. “What are you going to do first?”
“Well, my fair announcer,” he began, holding up the silicon whisk like a microphone. “I think we should start with preparing the shortbread dough, what about you?”
“Ah, you are the chef. Lead the way,” you responded with a wide smile.
You both laughed together and actually began the baking. Like usual, Felix did most of the work while you played music and assisted from the side. You worked together seamlessly, and soon enough the shortbread cookies were done and strawberry jam cooling to the side.
While you taste-tested the jam, Felix began to whisk the melted chocolate, and you took this time to admire him. You stood at his side, allowing you to admire his side profile.
Felix was easily one of the most beautiful individuals you ever laid your eyes on. But his appearance wasn’t the only part you fell for — he was one of the few people whose inside beauty matched their outside beauty.
Felix was kind, funny, optimistic, and just about every positive adjective you could find in a dictionary. After every failed test, he was there with a cup of strawberry ice cream and a shoulder to cry on. When you landed your first job, he was there to celebrate with you even when your own family wasn’t. And when you and Minho mutually broke up, he was there to give you advice as you coped with the end of your first relationship.
How could you not fall for him?
And sometimes you had the feeling that he liked you back. The touches that would linger for just a few seconds too long, the soft smiles that Chan claimed he only ever gave to you, and his late-night texts all spurned a tiny hopeful fire in you that kept your crush alive.
No matter how many times you tried to get over him and convince yourself that your crush didn’t exist, the tiny voice in your head still spoke. “But what if he likes you back?”
Now, as Felix stood by your side with a soft smile on his face while he whisked the chocolate, that voice screamed louder than ever.
And just as you gained a sliver of courage, the same paralyzing thoughts that have held you back for the past few months returned.
Felix was out of your league in every way. He was social and easily commanded the attention of an entire room with so much as two words. His outward beauty matched his insides, and everyone on campus reached a collective agreement that if angels ever existed and walked among us — Lee Felix was certainly one of them.
And those things were only the tip of the iceberg that is Felix. He was talented, sensitive, supportive, passionate, and everything you could ever ask for and then some.
You then thought back to all the people he rejected - kindly, of course - and how you matched up to them. If Felix didn’t choose to go out with all those beautiful and talented people, what on Earth made you think you would choose you?
At this point, Felix picked up on your sudden silence and how your breaths grew heavy and uneven.
“Are you… alright?” he asked carefully, his own chest beating heavily.
You stared at him, panicked that he caught onto your apprehension. “Um…” you started, trailing off as you met his gaze.
Felix let go of the whisk and grabbed your hands. “You can say whatever you need to.”
“I uh,” you started after a few moments, internally battling yourself to gain courage as you realized that it’s now or never. “I kinda like you,” you admitted quietly, looking down at your intertwined hands anxiously. You waited for him to pull his hand away in disgust and start to kindly reject you like he did to all those other people, but it never came. After a few seconds, his hands still the entire time, you looked up at him with glassy eyes in confusion.
“What?” he finally said, his deep voice softer than ever.
You looked back down at your hands shamefully. “Do I really have to repeat it?” you asked weakly. “I like you, Felix. I have for the past few months and it’s been driving me insane because it feels like my heart’s about to stop dead whenever I see you and I can never think straight when you’re with me. Apparently, it’s been pretty obvious and I really tried my best to get over it so it wouldn’t hurt our friendship.
“Trust me, I really wanted to get over it but I couldn’t, and I know you don’t like me back so it’s ok. I can deal with it on my own and you can just leave a -”
“Y/N,” Felix said suddenly, his voice firm. You looked up, tears rolling down your face as you were sure that he was about to reject you.
“Felix please don’t interrupt me. At least let me finish what I have to say,” you pleaded softly, removing your hands from his.
“Y/N,” he repeated, his voice much gentler. He carefully wiped the tears from your face and took your hands into his again. “Can I say something before you finish?” he requested.
You choked back a sob as you nodded, certain that he was just going to let you down kindly.
“I like you too, Y/N,” he said shyly, a blush spreading across his freckled face.
Your entire body froze.
“I was too scared to admit it because I didn’t think you liked me back,” he continued, the words slowly registering in your mind. “To be honest, I thought you still liked Minho.”
You blushed at his words, thinking back to all the times you would pull Minho, your ex-boyfriend, to the side to talk about Felix these past few months. You didn’t realize how it must have looked to Felix or your other friends.
“I was also… afraid of ruining our friendship, so I’ve just kept it to myself the past two years.”
You gaped at him. “Two years?” you sputtered, causing him to laugh at the way your eyes widened comically. “That’s when we first started uni!”
He shrugged. “What can I say? I was instantly attracted to the way you fought Chan on why you should be allowed to keep the minifridge in your dorm,” he joked.
You blushed at the embarrassing memory, although it wasn’t completely regrettable as it was how you met most of your current friends — including Felix.
“I’m surprised,” you voiced simply. “I didn’t think you would ever like me back.” You breathed out, your muscles relaxing instantly.
Felix grinned again and he moved slowly to envelop you in his arms. He rested his hands on the small of your back and his head on the crook of your shoulder.
“Does this mean that I can take you out on a date?” he whispered.
“Will you promise to stop taking unflattering pictures of me and sending them to me in the middle of the night?” you asked, your head resting against his and arms around him.
He sighed. “Fine,” he answered reluctantly with a whine.
“Then sure,” you responded and pulled your head back to meet his eyes. His eyes shined from the sunlight pouring through the windows and his freckles glimmered like stars across a canvas. Felix was truly beautiful inside and out.
“You have some strawberry jam on your lip,” he said after a few silent moments where you both admired each other.
“Really?” you asked. Your hand moved from his back towards your face, but Felix caught your hand in midair and returned it to its original position.
“I’ll get it,” he murmured with a gentle smile before closing the distance between your lips.
You held your breath as he pressed his soft lips against yours. You instantly recognized the strawberry chapstick he uses and the taste of the shortbread cookies. He swiped his tongue against the corner of your lip, and the sudden sensation caused a shiver to run down your spine.
You brought your hand up to his hair and gently tugged at his dyed locks. Felix brought you closer to him and massaged your back as he deepened the kiss.
When you finally pulled away, your face was burning red and you were completely breathless. Felix was smiling giddily, his arms still around yours.
“I think there’s still some jam left,” he told you, not even giving you a second to respond before he pressed his lips against yours once again. This kiss was much more playful than the last as you giggled against each other in the kiss.
“Did you get it all?” you asked him, your voice reduced to a murmur as he continued kissing your lips.
He hummed, kissing you once and twice in between, before responding, “I don’t think so.”
You laughed against his lips. “Well, I guess you better get it all. I can’t have strawberries stuck on my lips all day.”
He laughed with you, and true to his words, he eventually did get all the strawberry jam off (an extra two hours and an uncountable amount of kisses later).
361 notes · View notes
kass-storycorner · 3 years
Note
*cough* so i really love your work!! i love everything your put out so far however i’m now going to request for angst mwehehrh. Feel free to reject this if you aren’t comfortable!!
archon x albedo but they break up with him because they still haven’t moved on from their past lover that was slaughtered and felt it would be unfair if they stayed with albedo if they still loved someone else? Thankyou!!!
don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry
I'm so sorry that it took this long, I have been working a lot the past month and I've not been well mentally soooo yeah, but I'm glad I finally finished it! I was suprised myself at what I wrote, I only had to write an ending for this so ouch haha
thank you so much for your kind words I’m- ahhh I’m so happy that you love what I shared ( ˙꒳​˙ )
I’m so insecure with my writing so it’s reassuring to hear such kind words!
about the request: ooooOOOH I love this!!! And honestly my mind went directly into thousand different directions to make it even MORE angsty ahaha poor Albedo ( ╥ω╥ )
Genre: Angst, Hurt, no comfort, a bit fluff in between but it's more bittersweet
Rating: SFW
Content Warnings: mention of Khaenri`ah, mention of blood
Word count: 1,811 words
Characters: Albedo, gn!dendro Archon reader
Format: Text
Fic is under the cut!
“-and I think it is best to go separate ways from now on.” Ah, how peculiar. What is this strange feeling in Albedo’s chest? It feels like there is no air in his lungs anymore, an unsettling feeling spreading from his stomach through his whole body. Feverously he searched his mind for a reason for your words. Go separate ways? He heard what you said, but at the same time he did not understand the meaning of your words. Albedo stood there in your shared bedroom, stiff as a board his eyes pierced through you, no longer looking at you. It was as if you weren’t there.
“Albedo?”, your head peaked through the door of his office, sending him a smile. He peaked up from the work on his desk, strands of blond hair falling in front of his eyes. “Ah, (Y/N), hello,” curling his lips into a small smile at your sight. You stepped into the office, walking around the table, and leaning on it right beside him. His eyes were fixed on you. “Busy?” you asked as you brushed the strands of hair back behind his ear. A faint blush crept unto his face; you wouldn’t have noticed if it weren’t for how close you were to him. Clearing his throat he looked back down on the papers in front of him, answering your question. “Umm, well yes. The next expedition to the Dragonspine and my experiments need to be organised, though the formalities of filling out the forms for Jean is nothing that I am interested in.” He heard you chuckle at his words, wondering what was so funny about them. “I wonder”, you began, leaning down to him, so close the tips of your noses nearly were touching, “if is there something here that might interest you more.” “I supposed, there is,” he said and closed the distance between the two of you with a kiss.
“Albedo?”, your concerned voice pulled him out the pleasant memory that crossed his mind. He had been quite for a while now, it worried you. You weren’t sure how he’d take it, you asking to break off your relationship. It had been quite pleasant so far, the last few months with him. There weren’t any quarrels between the two of you nor reasons for the heartbreak Albedo felt right in this moment. You both were always honest to each other, about who and what each of you were. And because of this honesty each of you valued you had to break his heart. “I-“, his voice was hoarse, it had more emotions in it than he liked it to. “I need to ask you this… why?”. He finally looked at you, his cerulean eyes filled with pain. Ah, the dreadful question you knew he would ask, but you hoped he wouldn’t. There was no use in lying to him now, to not share the true reason for why you’re breaking up with him. Though you secretly wished that you could spare him the truth.
You sat under the shadows of a tree, eyes closed and feeling the warm summer breeze on your skin. “Please, don’t move.” At that you opened your eyes, looking at Albedo sitting across of you with his sketchbook and a pencil in his hands, sketching a portrait of you. “You quick with your hands, I doubt my small movements would change anything that you draw,” you said in a teasing tone, earning a raised brow from him, but no comment. There you were, the two of you. Sitting in the shadow, a comfortable silence surrounding the both of you. You watched the way Albedo furrowed his brows, looking up to you and then down to the paper, for him to sigh in frustration and starting a new sketch. “Somethings wrong?”, it has been the fourth piece of paper he rips out of the book and tosses aside. “I seem not to be able to capture your features correctly, something always is a bit off.” “Let me see,” you lean forward trying to grab one of the sketches he tossed away, but Albedo was quicker to snatch them away. “Don’t,” he says, hiding the pieces of paper behind his back. “Oh, come on, Bedo. I wanna see, I can’t look that bad” you joke, moving closer to him hoping to get a peak at his fifth sketch. Before you could even come close to taking a look he closed the sketchbook, denying you access to it. “No matter how often I try to draw you, it never does you justice”, he sighs, pinching the bride of his nose. You were close enough to him now to lean your head on his shoulder. “You know, it is quite the challenge to get the godly features of me right,” taking his hand, intertwining your fingers with his. “But I’m sure in all of the centuries I’ve lived through you might be the first one to succeed at it.”
You took a deep breath, dreading the answer you were going to give him. There was no way to sugar coat it and you were sure Albedo wouldn’t want to hear a long winded explanation if it wasn’t needed. Like a bandaid that needs to get ripped off you decided to do it as quickly as possible. “I don’t love you. I’m sorry, Albedo.” At your words Albedos heart was shattering into thousand small pieces. He swallowed hard, trying to suppress the tears that were trying to fall from his eyes… still, he had so many questions for you. His mind was racing, but all he could bring out was again the same question as before. “Why?”
“Albedo, please believe me when I say I wish I could. I wish I would love you, the way you deserve it. The way I want to, the way I still love them. You mean a great deal to me, please believe this. The time we spend together was time I enjoyed and that’s why I feel the need to be honest with you now. I hadn’t said anything before because I believed I could open my heart again, open it up for you. However it seems it’s impossible for me and I am so sorry for it. I shouldn’t have led you on like this…”
Blood curling screams were filling the streets of a small city that did not exist anymore. War was always present in Teyvat, there have been the past thousand years without it, but before that? The land was filled with the blood of mortals and god alike, the first ones killing each other in the names of the second ones. The reasons for most of the wars were laughable. One started them out of hurt pride, the other to broaden their territory and a third just out of sheer boredom. Not caring a bit about the humans that were caught in the crossfire of the gods. So when the Archon War began, similar to the ones before but just the scales were so different. There you were, a small deity. The god of the woods as they called you. You never liked the blood shed, it poisoned the earth so that no plant was able to grow. Before you were able to just avoid the wars, this time around you had no choice. And in the middle of this war you met someone astonishing. Until this day you couldn’t say if it was a curse or a blessing that they made their way into your life and your heart. All you know now is just the deep grief that is always there with you since they are gone. In the middle of bloodshed and darkness that the Archon War brought with it you found someone who made you forget the horrors of it, who made the burden of the crown easier when you rose to the position of the Dendro Archon after it - a position you didn't want at first, it falling into your hands by mere coincidence. After that you spend some marvelous years with that one person by your side, but even those who aren't entirely human are mortal, even gods can be killed. With another War that came, they left your side, wanting to protect you, to protect Sumeru. Brutally slaughtered by the hands of an enemy that envied your position, your power. Now all what remains of them is the dry earth. The massive woods of Sumeru turned into deserts, a consequence of your grief. And when the day came for another war, more blood and destruction at Khaenri`ah you decided to leave. To cut all ties with Celestia and give up the seat you never wanted in the first place.
Albedo knew most of this. He knew who you are, he knew of your nature before you made him fall in love with you. You never just told him about your past lover, too much did their loss still hurt and, what you were ashamed of admitting, too much did Albedo resemble them. In the silence of the shared room you finally told him what orginally drew you to him - how much you really wished you were able to love him for himself and while yes, you liked him very much, it was someone else you saw in him when you kissed. Someone else you wished he was. At first you didn't knew it yourself, in the beginning you really believed it was possible for you to find new love... but you still wished most days they were with you. It was time to be honest with him, to speak the truth, no matter how much you hurt him. "Albedo...", you began slowley, your voice drifting to him, but what sounded like a sweet melody just hours before now makes him feel sick. "Don't." he interrupted you. "I thank you for your honesty and for telling me the truth, but I don't need to hear more." With that he left the room, making his way towards his lab on Dragonspine. Not one person in Mondstadt would think of Albedo as a dumb person, everyone says how they are impressed with how smart he his... so why does he feel so stupid right now? He was a fool to believe that he was loveable, that someone saw him for who and what he was, not what they wanted him to be. For now he just wants to be alone again, surround himself with his work and ignore these feelings in his chest. The heartbreak, the betrayel... but also the feeling of relief. Albedo did wonder how much it would've pained you if he ever loses control, but now this is not a concern anymore. And still, as he made his way up Dragonspine he couldn't help the frozen tears coming spilling from his eyes.
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jaskierrrrrr · 3 years
Text
Have I not written anything in basically a year because of my crippling fear of failure? Yes.
Did I also write this the night before my final exam and upload it at 11.30pm? Also yes!
Bad decisions aside, I really hope you enjoy this!
***
(2.5k, canon typical violence, bodyswapping and SFW shenanigans)
***
The mid morning sunlight finally roused Geralt from his sleep, which was the first sign that something was very, very wrong. Normally he started awake, just before dawn and had plenty of time to pack up the camp before Jaskier even considered opening his eyes.
The second sign was his own body lying motionless next to him.
It took Geralt several seconds longer than he’d ever admit to to accept that he wasn’t some spirit looking down at himself from beyond the grave. For starters, he could see his chest rising and falling. He also felt starving, which didn’t seem like something you’d have to deal with after dying.
Still processing his initial shock, he was just debating whether to wake himself up or not when his hair fell into his eyes. He brushed it away impatiently and then started, looking down at his hands. Where had expected to see grimy, scarred fingers, he instead saw soft skin, calloused fingernails and ostentatious rings, which could only mean-
He fell backwards, reaching behind him to grab his sword, before realising it was on the other side of his motionless body. Still in denial, he stumbled towards himself and picked up his sword. It felt unnaturally heavy, and looking at the reflection in the blade confirmed his worst fears.
He was Jaskier. Or rather, in Jaskier’s body. Which suggested that Jaskier was in his.
Turning round just in time to see his own body- Jaskier- finally stirring, he braced himself for what would most likely be an incredibly dramatic reaction. For once, he would class it as appropriate- Melitele knows he’s screaming internally. It’s bad enough not being in your own body without also having swapped with the person you care about the most, who has no idea. There’s a great sense of vulnerability and a deep-set fear that somehow this will lead to Jaskier realising how he feels, but he tries to push it away and focus on the problem at hand.
His own eyes blinked sleepily up at him, before widening in surprise.
Oh what the fuck,’ Jaskier exclaimed, hauling himself off his bedroll and circling Geralt, tripping over his feet in the process. ‘Why didn’t you tell me my doublet didn’t match my shirt?’
‘You- what? That’s the first thing you say?’ Geralt asked, Jaskier’s nonplussed attitude momentarily distracting him from the current clusterfuck of a situation.
‘Well yeah,’ Jaskier huffed, placing his hands on his hips in a manner that looked so bizarre under his armour that Geralt felt the uncontrollable urge to laugh. ‘I have a reputation to uphold.’
‘It doesn’t matter anyway,’ Geralt muttered, turning away from Jaskier. His brain was starting to hurt. ‘You look fine.’
Jaskier cleared his throat. When Geralt turned back, his face was stretched into a grin.
‘Don’t you mean- you look fine? After all, you’re wearing it.’
Jaskier had a point. Not that Geralt would ever admit it.
‘Whatever, Jaskier. Let’s just find someone who can fix this.’ He reached for his sword, before remembering he no longer had it, and wouldn’t be able to carry it if he did.
Jaskier clapped his hands together. ‘Gods, this is going to be fun.’
***
“Okay, I’ll be the first to admit that this is decidedly not fun,” Jaskier muttered, the medallion around his neck bouncing as they made their way up a steep hill. The sun was now low in the sky and once again Geralt found himself irritated at the amount of fabric he was currently baking under. Why did all of Jaskier’s clothes have to have so many frills?
“The novelty’s worn off then?” Geralt added dryly. They’d been walking for about two hours before they’d come across the first town- there was no mage, but fortunately they found a place for Roach at a local stables. She’d found the entire body swapping incident incredibly disconcerting (she wasn’t the only one), and had refused to let either of them ride her, even when enticed with apples.
At first, Jaskier had kept up a steady stream of his usual chatter, albeit in a much gruffer tone than usual, but he had fallen silent as it got later in the day.
‘I just don’t understand why it’s so loud? I feel like I’m back at Oxenfurt, there’s just so much noise.”
“It’s from the Trials, remember? Enhanced hearing has saved my life- and yours- countless times,” Geralt replies, not without a twinge of sympathy. He remembers how chaotic and confusing it had first felt as a child.
Jaskier grimaced. ‘Right, right,’ he mumbled, before jerking his head back towards Geralt with a look of horror on his face. ‘Is this what I sound like to you? Gods, I had no idea- my prattling is bad enough without advanced hearing-”
“Jaskier,” Geralt interrupted, “your voice doesn’t grate- it’s fine.”
Jaskier raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, maybe it did at first, but I’ve gotten used to it.”
“So what I’m hearing…” Jaskier said slowly, “is that you like my voice?”
Geralt scoffed. “Don’t push your luck,” he muttered, although he couldn’t quite hide his smile.
“I knew it!” Jaskier crowed triumphantly. “So much for fillingless pie.”
“I said talking was fine- I didn’t say anything about your singing.”
Jaskier’s mouth fell open in outrage. “You- you absolute brute, Geralt of Rivia! Mark my words, one of these days I’ll, I’ll-”
“You’ll what?” Geralt asked teasingly, looking away to hide his laugh. “Splutter at me?”
Jaskier didn’t reply. He’d come to a complete halt and was staring at the trees, a frown on his face. Without warning, he drew his sword. Geralt had just enough time to wonder if joking about Jaskier’s singing was going to be the thing that killed him, when something huge burst out of the foliage. He whipped his head, following the flash of silver as his sword flew elegantly and almost lazily in an arc from Jaskier’s hand and buried itself in the side of the creature, which collapsed in the dust.
Geralt turned to stare at Jaskier in amazement. “How the hell did you do that?”
“I don't know,” Jaskier muttered, eyes still fixed on the creature. “I guess I’ve got your fighting skills too.”
As he bent to withdraw the sword from the creature’s side, Geralt noticed Jaskier’s hands were shaking.
Geralt knew how he was feeling. He’d felt sick to his stomach the first time he’d killed something. He hesitantly reached out a hand and placed it on Jaskier’s armour. He could feel him trembling.
“You did the right thing,” Geralt said gently. “It’s not easy, but you did it.”
Jaskier’s eyes finally moved from the corpse, and he gave Geralt a brief smile.
“You think so?”
“I do.”
***
They walked in companionable silence after that, occasionally bashing into each other when Jaskier forgot how wide his shoulders were. They reached the next town at dusk. After a few brief enquiries, it was apparent that there was no mage.
“I guess we’ll have to accept defeat for the night,” Jaskier sighed. “Even I’m feeling tired, so you must feel exhausted. You’re just too stubborn to admit it.”
He was right on both counts. Geralt’s feet have ached since midday, and he’d even tripped a couple of times. Maybe Jaskier constantly falling over was more due to tiredness rather than not paying attention.
“We can find a place to camp for the night in those woods over there,” he suggests. “Figure out where we’ll head next in the morning.”
“Why don’t we just ask for a room at that tavern over there? I could do with a hot meal.”
Geralt hesitated. After the day they’d had, he could definitely use a drink, but they’d been lucky to travel so far without drawing too much attention to themselves.
Jaskier must have noticed his reluctance.
“It’ll be fine,” he said as he rolled his eyes. “Besides,” he added, swinging open the door, “we’re in the middle of nowhere, there’s no way anyone will recognise us.”
As he opened the door with a flourish, the entire tavern fell silent, their eyes fixed on the two newcomers standing frozen in the doorway.
“What were you saying?” Geralt hissed out of the corner of his mouth.
Jaskier was saved from answering by the innkeeper bustling over to them with a wide smile on his face.
“Geralt of Rivia and the bard Jaskier! It is an honour to welcome you here. Will you be in need of a place to stay tonight?"
They both nodded.
The innkeeper clapped his hands. “Excellent! We’ll have a room ready momentarily. Sir Witcher, we have a table free over there- and will you be performing tonight, noble bard?”
“Well, I-” Jaskier began, before noticing the confused look on the innkeeper’s face. “Oh, well… I’m sure my companion would be delighted!”
Geralt barely managed to restrain the torrent of curses on his lips before nodding tightly. He was going to kill Jaskier.
“Wonderful,” beamed the innkeeper. “The stage is over there whenever you’re ready,” he added, before returning to the counter. Geralt slowly turned to look at Jaskier.
“What? Oh, don’t look at me like that, what was I meant to say?”
“You were meant,” Geralt growled lowly, “to say no. I thought that was fairly obvious.”
“Look, it’s too late to back out now. You’ll be fine! If I got witchery skills, you must have bardic skills, it’s only fair.”
“Jaskier,” Geralt groaned in despair, “how many curses have you known to be fair?”
Jaskier started to laugh. Geralt turned away.
“Oh yes, laugh all you want. It’s my reputation at stake.” Geralt grumbled.
Jaskier looked at him with an odd expression on his face. “Geralt, it’s my reputation, remember?” He takes Geralt’s hand and squeezes. “I promise it’ll be okay,” he said softly. “And if it isn’t, I’ll start a distraction. I’m great at that.”
Geralt snorted in acknowledgement. He pulled the lute off his back, and let adrenalin carry him over to the stage. As he settled in the chair, the patrons fell quiet once again. He catches sight of Jaskier, who’s drinking a tankard of what looks like Cintran ale. Lucky bastard. He caught Geralt’s eye and raised his tankard in a silent salute. Geralt inhaled deeply, praying to Melitele not to fuck up. Closing his eyes, he began to play.
Somehow, thank the Gods, Jaskier was right. His fingers are flew over the fretboard to the familiar tune of Toss a Coin. He doesn’t understand, but he isn’t going to question it. He’ll play a few songs to keep the audience happy, and then make his excuses.
He’s about four songs in when he finally gets the courage to open his eyes. Everyone seems to be enjoying the performance, but there’s only one opinion he really wants. Jaskier is leaning forward in his chair, his ale forgotten as he listens to the music, swaying gently in time. He has a soft smile on his face, but there’s something odd about his features. Geralt’s seen his own reflection far less than he’s seen Jaskier’s face, but he knows something’s different.
He’s lamenting his poor eyesight and squinting from the stage to try and see more clearly when the truth hits him.
It’s his eyes. Even in the well-lit tavern, his pupils are blown wide so his irises are barely visible. Which normally only happens in the dark, or-
His fingers briefly slipped on the strings. He blinks to recover, his mind reeling. The only other time his eyes are that wide are when he’s looking at Jaskier. But, if Jaskier’s looking at him, then that means-
There’s a sudden, unpleasant tug in his navel. His stomach flips, but before he has time to cry out, the sensation has gone. Realising his arms are empty, he opens his eyes.
He’s across the room, looking at Jaskier on stage. Relief floods through him. He’s back in his own body, and more importantly, he never has to sing again.
Jaskier catches his eye and waggles his eyebrows. “Told you it would be fine,” he mouths over his strumming.
Jaskier finishes with a flourish after another two songs. To Geralt’s annoyance, he gives in to demands for an encore. Geralt taps his foot impatiently. He’s desperate to be alone, to get the chance to talk to Jaskier. Finally, finally, Jaskier strums his final note and bows deeply, before jumping off the stage and sauntering towards Geralt, who meets him halfway.
Jaskier grins at him, face flushed. “Guess we don’t need a mage! Strange, I wonder what made us switch back.”
“Hmm,” Geralt replies, as they make their way up the stairs.
“Oh, well someone’s definitely back to normal!” Jaskier laughs. “Don’t pretend you didn’t enjoy yourself up there by the way, I could tell.”
They find their room at the end of the corridor. It’s a simple room, but there’s a fire in the grate that gives it a homely feel. Geralt finally finds the courage to talk when he’s interrupted again.
“You gave a fine performance, you know,” Jaskier said brightly as he set his lute on the table by the door. “I mean, starting with my best song was an interesting choice- I usually save it for the end, but you pulled it off. Could work on your stage presence a bit too, but I suppose that was to be expected, given the circumstances.”
He paused for breath, grinning at Geralt. Realizing this was his only chance, Geralt didn't pause to think, just crossed the room in two strides before pushing Jaskier up against the door and kissing him.
Jaskier let out a startled breath before responding in kind, gripping Geralt’s waist and pulling him in close.
When they broke apart, Jaskier smiled widely. “What brought this on?” he asks, before frowning suddenly. “Wait, if I had ale in your body, does that mean you’re drunk? Is that why-”
“I’m not drunk,” Geralt reassured him. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time, I just… didn’t know if you felt the same until I saw how wide your- my- pupils were during the performance.
Jaskier scowled. “That’s not fair,” he mumbled into Geralt’s shirt. “I had all your witchery senses and I still couldn’t tell how you felt.”
“I just hide it better than you.”
“Now that I won’t argue with. Your face is like a block of granite, it’s impossible to tell what you’re thinking.”
“Know what I’m thinking now?” Geralt said in a low voice, leaning towards Jaskier, who blushed a deep shade of red.
“I have an idea,” he mumbled.
“I’m thinking,” Geralt continued, leaning in even closer before grabbing a pillow and thwacking Jaskier over the head with it.
“I’m thinking,” he laughed over Jaskier’s splutters, “that you can sleep on the floor tonight for that!”
Ignoring Jaskier’s halfhearted protests, he pulled him towards the bed, where they collapsed in a heap.
“I’ll get you back for that,” Jaskier muttered from where he was sprawled against Geralt’s chest.
“Oh?” Geralt laughed. “And when should I expect my comeuppance?”
“Not now,” Jaskier replied. “After all, we have all the time in the world.”
Geralt grinned, before pulling him into a soft kiss. “That we do,” he replies. “That we do.”
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duskyskz · 4 years
Text
Blueberry Claws - H.H.J
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Warnings - Halloween Au, mentioned assault, choking, Hyunjin!Dom mild tones, slight violence
Word Count - 4.7K
A/N - ahaha this .. turned out way longer than I meant to ohno I'm sorry Hyunjin had my heart in a vice grip lately
Part of @nightshade-minho and @mini-meanhoe 's Halloween collab!
*********************************
Elbow deep in ruddy earth, you kneel among the undergrowth of your garden, plucking away stray roots and weeds. It’s not your favourite part of the day, but you pride yourself in the exquisite berries your growth produces, and adequate sunlight is a must in bringing the sweetest fruits. Autumnal chills creep down your spine, warning you of setting sun and cooler nights looming over the forest horizon. It is a quaint little house, settled carefully between the curve of the river and the forest border, a hat’s toss away from the village settlement, and you enjoy it that way - far away enough for privacy and undisturbed peace, yet not isolated enough to be unreachable and dreary. 
People weren't the only viable company, anyway. Your neighbors came in the form of passing badgers rummaging through your compost, squirrels and mice poking their noses through cracks in your windowsill while you bake, the sweet smell of sugar and jams luring in a furry audience you felt obliged to entertain, tossing crumbs and peels into the open yard. 
“Croak!” 
You raise your head away from the mud at the screech, glancing upward. 
“Hello.” You greet your most recent visitor. The magpie quickly climbed upon your friendlist, introducing itself with a persistent knock of its beak against your poor kitchen windowpane. It came back the next evening, and the one after that, never missing more than a day in it’s routine to rob you of your pie crusts. 
“Are you hungry?” 
“Croak!” You suppose that’s a yes, considering the intensity with which the bird stares down at your precious blueberries. 
“Come on, then. Lunch wouldn’t hurt me, either.” 
***
“Can you believe that - that witch!” You stomp along the pavement to your front door, slamming it open. “The audacity to even imply my pies are anything but organic!”
Positively fuming, you don't entertain the absurdity of venting your frustrations to a corvid. At times, you think to yourself the little blackbird almost understands you - head tilting in accordance with your words, nodding when appropriate and watching your dutifully as if awaiting continuation. 
Then it’s attention switches from your wild gesticulations to the fresh batch of muffins cooling on your counter, and your suspicions of a higher intelligence disappears, leaving you to sweep cake crumbs off it’s feathers. No, plunging neck-deep into hot cake is not wise, you’d point out later. 
***
Maybe the loneliness does get to you after all. It’s a little embarrassing to admit how reliant you become on the magpie’s company. Its’ shrill croaks and glassy eyes became a comfort to you, a presence your day no longer felt complete without. Brushing your fingertips over the delicate feathers on its back, you rest your chin on your other palm. 
“It’s a dreary winter coming, birdie.” You muse, humming at the overcast sky. Masses of grey and washed out blues tumblr over the hills, warning you of approaching snows and rains. “I should fix the roof hatching tomorrow morning - be a shame to freeze my toes off before the solstice, wouldn’t it?” 
 The magpie doesn’t reply, and you don’t expect it to, but the slow blinks as you speak convince you your words don’t fall on deaf ears. 
“As long as I don’t have someone warming my bed, I better do all the warming myself.” Springin to your feet, you set to work on tidying the front yard. 
“Would you care to join me to fetch new hay for the roof tomorrow?” 
Your unconventional companion opens his beak, groaning. Then it snaps down into the ground, impaling one of your finest strawberries. 
Ah, well. 
You can only guess what a magpie must tend to in a day - you weren’t about to keep it from important bird tasks.
***
Your window panes quiver with the force of the hurricane, creaking sadly in their wooden frames. You have no idea what time it could possibly be, but judging by the time already passed since sundown, it’s way into the late night. Dismorphed figures haunt the outside, shadows passing over your bedroom like a predator, and you burrow deeper under your covers. Of course, approaching winter was harsh. In the hillside, mountain winds rolled down rocky foundations to crash into your humble home with rapid force. Turning onto your side, you press your head against the pillow to mute the whistle of the wind through your thin walls. You’d patched the roof last week - but you had yet to insulate the walls fresh, and chills made themselves known through cracks and gaps in last year’s worn overlay. 
With a soul-crushing snap, your window is thrown open as the lock gives way to hurricane, two fragile glass planes whipping open into the dead of night as you curse your luck and scramble out of bed to grasp the handles before they’re torn off entirely.
Yet something past the glass grabs your gaze before you can pull them shut, petrifying you in place. You don’t know if it’s the rain freezing your feet to the ground, or the unfiltered terror, but you can’t even scream as your eyes meet the vividly yellow ones across your garden.
Hunched above your blueberry bush, in a cloak of pitch black, stands a creature you’ve only seen in manic sketches in the village hall prior to tonight. Its’ spine seems bent, somehow, too long and too skewerd to fit precisely in its body, leaving two lumps protruding from its back. In a pale face, boxed in by wisps of black, you can only focus on two luminous eyes, zeroing in on your figure with far too much attention for your liking. 
In its knifed claws it grips a branch of your favourite plant, mangled and weeping blueberry juice onto the dirt. Maroon splatters blot the beast’s face, but you don’t gaze long enough to separate fruit from the blood of some poor soul. 
Maybe your blood will be next on its beak. 
Yanking the window shut, you tumble into your bed, curling as tight as you can into the duvet, shielding your head. Maybe it’ll go away if you don’t make noise, holding your hands to your ears. 
Maybe it’ll just go away.
***
It’s been three days since the storm, and coincidentally, three day since you’ve last seen your closest friend. Really, mayhaps this was a sign your friendship should extend elsewhere, and not the local corvid populace. Shovelling pastries into your hamper, you venture out into the open air for the first time since that night.
You’re still unable to clean the wreckage in your front yard. Somehow, the thought of laying your hands on the same branches that unknown horror touched fills you with dread, and you can’t bring yourself to rid the leftover mess. You had enough jams and preserves stockpiled to last you the whole winter if need be - if you weren’t financially obliged to sell most of them, anyway. 
Fitting yourself with a scarf to guard from temperamental weather, you wrap the wool tightly up to your nose as the first leaves fall from the oaks beside you. 
You love your town, you really do. 
The whimsy of nearby streams rolling over lustrous green fields is a wonder to wake up to every morning, and the walk into town is always a pleasant meander under centuries-old oaks and pine trees, spying on the conversations of woodpeckers and crows.
Yet, among all the commotion, you find yourself missing one particular croak. Never quite the same elegant cry as the other birds, but particular and endearing in its own right. 
And entirely missing from your life for half a week.
Passing the stone gates, you keep to the right of the road to make space for idle carts and horses wandering the streets. Carefully, you unload all your stock onto the market table - this stand has your name carved into the wooden leg, and you pride yourself on being a regular enough attendant to warrant a reserved place. 
The day flurries by you in a mess of clinking jam jars and passing coins. Afternoon had already set in a while ago, traversing into the evening by the time you begin wrapping up your last sale. Bidding goodbye to the market staff, you hoist your (significantly lighter) basket over your forearm, leaving the town square. It’s not dark yet, bare wisps of the night inking over your head as the sun lowers over the woods, letting you lose your train of thought in the scenery.
You feel the last pricks of stress leave you as your thoughts drift to the hallowing creature from nights ago. Perhaps your mind, in its hazy and exhausted stade, played up the vivid shadows and reflections in the moonlight? Yes, surely. There’s no way an animal this size and fright roamed your woods unacknowledged - The only terror you knew was the fabled warlock, but nobody has seen his face in decades. You weren’t even sure what he looked like. All tales of warlocks the library gave you marked them as haunted men, selling their soul for mastery of dark arts, giving up their limbs for a hint of inhuman power. Some had horns, you’d read. Some, a devilish tail winding between their legs, while some gave up their own eyes and replaced them with animal counterparts for better senses. 
It scared you more than you’d like to admit, the more you entertained the possibility of a being so twisted hiding in the depths of your woods - but was Hwang Hyunjin even real, or a figment of townsfolk imagination? 
Entangled in your own head, you fail to notice the arm lashing out to grab your elbow and yank you violently sideways, slamming your back into the brick wall between two buildings. 
“Ouch!” You rasp out, catching your breath, but your scream is broken by the hand quickly winding around your throat.
Great, after a shitty week you were going to get robbed, too! 
“Don't you try open your mouth again, you little bitch.” A coarse voice hissed against your cheek. You tried to reel away from the terrible stench of his breath, but with your back against the wallside, it was impossible to weasel out. “Made quite a pretty penny at the market today, didn’t ya?”
A large, cold hand snuck down your waist, over the ribbons tying your corset shut, and you were sure you’d retch when clammy fingers started tugging at the knot. 
“Where are you hiding it, then? Down your vest?” One sharp pull leaves your corset flying open, exposing your skin to freezing night air, shielded only by a thin undershirt. You try to shake your head, but the hold on your neck makes it impossible to even curse. “That’s a bit thin, isn’t it? Not much to hide under such flimsy fabric -”
“Shit!”
You heave in a breath as the tightness around your throat suddenly wanes, disappearing, and all weight lifts from you. Eyes watering from the lack of oxygen, you blink rapidly to clear your vision, stumbling back as you find focus. 
Shrill cries tear from your assailant, angry red oozing from the gash above his left eye, arms flailing maniacally to chase away the blur of feathers thrashing around his head. Slinking down to catch your breath, you pull your knees to your chest to steady your breathing, though the scene before you grows more gruesome every time you blink. 
You can’t tear your eyes away, even as the bird dives down again, embedding its razor claws in the man’s eye socket. The screams are terrifying, but you don’t have the thought to wonder how no one else came to check the commotion. 
Maybe nobody wanted to.
In muted horror, you watch as the man finally lands a hit, thrashing the tiny bird into the wall opposite with a numbing crack, spinning on his heel to face you once more, though his one eye struggles to find your face. He stumbles forward, lurching in your direction, drops of fresh blood flying at your feet.
“What are you, a witch? I should burn you alive -”
Smack!
You’re sure you’re hallucinating as he topples to the pavement, struck by a surprise force. Hunched over him, in a flurry of black feather, sits a mass you know  you’ve seen before. For a moment you think, another bird? A whole flock? But then the feathered cape shifts, raises, and you realise it’s one pair of  heavy-set wings protruding from a broad back, arms poised to strike over and over at a target long void of defense. You feel sick - everything that unravelled in the last few moments makes your stomach churn, and you vomit onto the floor between your feet. You can’t watch the blood any longer, listen to the crunching sound of tendons snapping and bone breaking, rolling over as you feel your legs give way to jelly.
***
You can feel yourself swaying, gently. You don’t feel the ground, but you know you’re moving, head balanced on something pillowy and warm, but still solid - what a weird combination. 
There’s something holding you up by your legs, and another clutching onto your back. You have half the mind to open your eyes when you’re coherent enough to, knowing you should be alarmed given the situation you just vaguely avoided. But this is nice. Your lift your eyelids barely enough to take in your position, head propped carefully on a shoulder. You can’t see much beyond the collarbone your nose is tucked into without outing yourself as awake, so you settle for breathing in deep, lulling your nerves with the scent of ash and fern. It's safe, comforting somehow, in a way you’ve never felt comforted in. Your forehead grazes his cheek, tips of his dark hair tickling your skin as you heave out a sigh and press your face deeper against the warmth. 
“I’m sorry I left you, Birdie.”
His voice is gentle, too. You let it ring in your head, soft whispers and words you can't quite decipher but appreciate nonetheless lulling you back into shallow sleep. You recognise your surroundings by the shift of light, stepping out from the tree canopy into wide hillside, catching last rays of sunlight. 
You think he’s going to wake you and ask for a key, but your front door grants him access with just a single flick of his wrist under your knee. You’ll have to ask him about that later.
Nudging his way inside, ducking to fit past the low doorframe, your saviour swiftly marches to your bedroom, confirming your suspicions. The layout of your house was entirely too familiar to him for it to be the first time he’s visited the premises. Or the second, if you count the night visit three days back. When he lowers you onto the mattress, it's with such care your heart skips in your chest, and you pray he doesn’t hear it stop entirely when you feel his fingertips brush over your shoulder to pull the blankets over you, strong arms straining under his shirt as he moves your head from his shoulder and you immediately miss the heat. There’s a cup of water by your bedside that wasn’t there before, and when satisfied with your placement, he steps away. Your eyes blink open fully when you feel his presence leave your side. 
“Are you leaving?” Your voice sounds small even to you. 
“I wasn’t sure you’d want me around.” He answers after a hesitant pause, kneeling by your bed. “You - You looked really scared that night. I never want you to be scared of me.” 
You sit up, reaching for the glass of water which he swiftly passes to you to soothe your throat and wash out remaining bile. Your skin still burns in the places that asshole touched you, and you hiss when your fingers rub the sore spots on your neck, before a larger hand wraps around your palm, bringing it down to glare at the bruise.
“I won’t apologize for what happened to him, though.” The venom in his voice makes you still. “That filth got what he deserved - I should have taken his other eye, too.” 
“...Is he dead?” You’re not sure you should ask.
“No. I left him breathing, but I can’t guarantee someone will find him in time.” 
“You left him blind, that’s enough Hyunjin.” His head snaps up at the name, as if he didn’t expect the confrontation. “You’re the magpie that’s been visiting my garden this summer, aren’t you? You’re the fabled terror in our woods.”
You say the last part with a smile, but the warlock  lowers his head still, glancing down at the blanket curving over your hips.
“....Yeah.” He mumbles, observing the many silver rings at his knuckles. “Is that too much for you?”
“What do you mean?” You scrunch your nose, confused, when he doesn’t elaborate. 
“At first I just came to visit because of the garden, but every time you saw me you’d talk to me like I was a person - Like I could understand. And I know you talk to the others too, like that ugly goose -” You want to scold him for calling Truffles ugly, but he carries on without pause. “But in my head it was just, nice. Even if I couldn’t reply, whenever you speak, there’s no darkness in me. Nothing but you.”
Hyunjin frowns, not wanting to meet your eyes yet. His hand grips the edge of your duvet, straining the fabric as his wings twitch.
“I was so fucking mad at myself when you saw me. You looked so small, so petrified - and of me. And as much as I wanted to take you into my arms and reassure you I couldn’t.” 
You can’t deny it, you were scared then. But knowing the man before you now, the events of today and the large part thunder and your own exhaustion played into your fear that night, you felt none of the apprehension now, resting your hand atop his shaking ones. 
“Maybe you wouldn’t want to see me again, if you’d guessed what I was after that. So I let you be, watching from a distance, because I couldn’t bring myself to let go completely. And today, fuck -” He runs a clawed hand through his locks, pushing hair out of his face to finally look at you, golden eyes rooting you to your spot. “I should have snapped both his legs for even thinking to touch you.”
“But maybe that’s my own vice.” You watch soft pink lips form words you’re not sure are real. They could have been your own imagination, for how quietly he speaks. “Maybe my love would be too much for you.” 
The silence that follows his confession is crushing to both of you, for entirely different reasons. 
You barely wrap your head around the idea of being loved by him before he pulls his hand away from yours, accepting rejection he knew was coming. It’s not until he stands that you breathe in, catching the edge of his jacket before he can leave you again.
“It’s not.” You state. “It’s not too much.”
You hope he doesn’t mistake the quiver in your voice for doubt, because you’ve never been so sure of something in your life. 
“Do you mean that?” The hopeful lilt to his voice sparks your heart alight, he’s at your side in seconds, long feathers sweeping the floor below his feet as he moves. “Are you sure you want me the same way I want you?”
“I do.”
You nod to reassure him, sliding further down the bed to make space for his larger frame. Hyunjin slinks in next to you, crawling over to hover above you, taking in the way you look finally beneath him. His feathers block out most light, sun long set. You can barely see, but before you can complain about missing his ethereal beauty, a candle flickers alight by your window, and another on your bedside table. Another, and yet one more afterward, until your bedroom filters in a warming glow from a dozen shy fires. 
Ah, warlock things. 
“It’s okay,” Hyunjin hesitates still, lips stopping millimeters away from yours as the last strings of hesitation cling to his thoughts until you urge him to move. “You can touch me.”
His lips are warmer than anything you’ve ever felt, moving over your mouth like fine malt wine. There’s a quiver in his hands when he brings a palm down to cradle your cheek, running his thumb over the smooth skin as his tongue runs over your teeth. 
You don’t notice your legs spreading open to allow him between your thighs until his knee bumps against your core, bundling your skirts in his fist to pull them down and off. 
“You’ve no idea how long I’ve waited to have you under me like that, birdie.” Hyunjin whispers. “All for me, at my mercy - you look so good like that.”
The irony of him using your own nickname for him on you is lost in the moment you arch your back into his touch, pressing your still corseted chest against his palm. Every place he touches has you needing more of him, every part you can reach. 
“Undress me, please.” 
“Gladly.” Nimble fingers pluck the bow of your shirt open, lifting it over your head. In the cocoon of his wings and candle light, you feel a love you’ve never known before. Discarding his own shirt next, you hardly have a moment to take in the exquisite expanse of his chest before your field of vision is taken up with glimmering navy feathers, Hyunjin’s head dipping to swirl his tongue over your nipple. Your grip in his hair makes him keen against your chest, groaning over the sensitive flesh between his teeth.
“Are you - You’re a virgin?” The idea of him being the first to make you feel so open, the only person to see you react to such intimate touch gets him harder than Hyunjin thought possible. 
“Ah, yeah…” You nod. Were your reactions so telling? You suddenly felt even smaller, caged between his arms and the pillows, watching his tamarind eyes flicker.
“I’ll love you well, birdie. Don’t worry.” He blows cool air onto your damp bud and you feel like crying. One hand leaves the space by your head, pinching your other peak. At first gently, testing how far he could push your limits to get you melting at his touch, then harder when you moan at the slight burn. 
Your hips rise to rub against his thigh, unknowingly seeking out friction to aid the dampness gathering in your underwear. His hand meets you there, slipping a finger under the band of your panties to snap it against your skin for your impatience, and you still immediately, recognising his dominance even without prior warning. 
“Be good and wait. If I own you, I’m taking my time with you.” There’s a hard edge in his voice, something about the empty threat makes you want to push his buttons until he snaps. 
You don’t need to wait much longer.
Ridding you of the last scrap of clothing you had left, Hyunjin has you bare and displayed, every part on show and within his reach. Slower than you can take, he drags his thumb on the inside of your thigh, kissing and nibbling the delicate skin just inches away from your dripping cunt. When his thumb finally, finally rubs a circle against your clit you whine his name so loud he nearly bites down hard. Still, he holds his pace, pressing his thumb in patient patterns against your nub as his teeth mark up your thighs.
“Jinnie, go harder, please.”
You know you fucked up when he glances up at you, brows quirking in amusement. 
“I said I’ll take care of you, y/n. If you want to cum, lay there and take it.”
You’re thankful he has a shred of mercy for your sanity, because your pleas seem to have a marginal effect on his movement. 
You eat your words when Hyunjin forces two fingers inside your already wet slit, scissoring you open with harsh flicks of his wrist. His lips remain stuck to your clit, and the sudden assault on your senses has tears rushing down your cheeks.
“W-Wait! Hyun, wait, I don’t want to cum yet!” You don’t really believe he’ll listen.
“Don’t you? But I thought you wanted me to hurry, birdie?” The mockery in his voice makes you clench, and you’d flush if you weren’t so close to orgasm. “For someone not ruined before, you beg for a dick so well.”
“No...Not yet, I wanna cum on you, please.” 
Hyunjin can resist many things - spells, curses. Killing a man on multiple occasions. 
Your whimpering voice as you beg for him to take your virginity in your own bed, wrapped around his fingers and blushing from his tongue is not one of those things. 
“Fuck, okay.”
Pulling his fingers out, your lips part at the emptiness, but your nerves prickle with knowledge of what awaits you next. Hyunjin is the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen, sweat dampening his forehead and eyes peering right into your heart whenever your gazes meet. You’re hypnotised by the way muscles in his back tense when he kneels between your thighs, urging you to open up for his fit. You only catch the briefest sight of his length, but it’s enough to make you gasp in anticipation at the size and thickness of his base. 
“You’re sure you want me?” Your legs wrap around his waist as he asks, not yet penetrating you, only resting his length on your slick core. 
“I want you more than anything I’ve ever dreamed of, Hyunjin.” You channel all your love and trust into your words, daring yourself to press a soft kiss to the tip of his nose. 
Feeling the stretch of him is euphoric, inch by inch, more than any discomfort could hope to reach. Your focus on the flex of his forearm propping him up beside your head, the tantalizing way his mouth curls in a moan of your name when he bottoms out, placing his seal on you completely. 
“Tell me when I can move, alright?” 
“N-Now, you can move. Please move.” You’re gonna go insane if he doesn’t ravage you right now, digging your nails into his bicep. Hyunjin starts off slowly, gentle languid strokes brushing over your walls. With every move, he feels you relax, the tension in your legs loosening into desperate longing as you pull him deeper into you, trapping him against your body.
You open your eyes only to grab his hand, wrapping it around your throat. His hips stutter, before he grips you fully, squeezing the sides of your neck until your moans turn to broken cries of his name.
“You’re such a cute little whore, love. What a dirty pussy you’ve been holding out on me.”
The smirk he looks down on you with is downright filthy, degrading every shred of dignity you had left, but you don’t take in anything but him, his hips slamming you into the mattress and the hot breath against your ear. “Are you gonna cum from that? My good girl, just like that...Let go and cum under me.”
He pulls his hand away from your neck, allowing you to heave in a breath and scream his name. Hyunjin holds you down by your wrists above your head, thrusting relentlessly as you cum around him, shaking and sobbing from the overstimulation at your centre. He allows himself to release then, as your whimpers quieten and he rides out your highs with you, filling you to the brim. 
You stay entwined for a moment as you catch your shaky breath, coming out of the headspace Hyunjin fucked you into. When he pulls out, you fight the urge to clamp your legs shut as he holds your thighs apart, admiring the way his cum spills out of your rawed hole. 
“Let me clean you first, birdie.” 
You nearly drift off in the blissed-out feeling that envelops you as he wipes your legs clean with a warm, damp cloth, stroking over tingling bruises with adoration. 
When he’s finally satisfied with your state, Jinnie allows you to tug him back into bed with you, arms immediately coiling around your middle to press you into his chest, nose nuzzling against the crown of your head to breathe in your scent. 
“I meant every word I said.” He mentions, speaking against your forehead. His lips tickle you with every word and you’re so tempted to kiss him again just because you can. “ I really do love you.”
“I know, Jinnie. I love you too.”
****
Tag list - @defsbxessi @godlyaj @palet-innie
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brittledame · 4 years
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Pairing: Shirabu Kenjirou/Reader
Warnings: Explicit, A/B/O dynamics, rough sex, degradation, arguing, unprotected sex, knotting, biting, mention of blood, dirty talk, possessive undertones, slight humiliation, fem!masturbation, Alpha Shirabu, Omega Reader
Word Count: 5.0K
Summary:  An argument that breaks out between you and Shirabu leads you to a surprising realisation as you get turned on by him insulting you. When Shirabu figures this out, he doesn’t hesitate to take advantage of it.
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It wouldn’t be an average afternoon of practice at Shiratorizawa if at least one minor disagreement wasn’t made between teammates. While they were usually mild debates discussing the superior Ramune flavour or something else just as trivial, there were a few big ones that brought the elation of completing another successful training session to a standstill. More times often than not, those bigger arguments always involved Shirabu in some sense, whether as the facilitator or was the parties arguing.
This argument however had to be the biggest the boys had the horror to watch. Practice had started with the usual motions of stretching, starting practice on whatever coach Washijou assigned them to focus on, get yelled at by said coach, a short practice match and a wind down session. It was all perfectly fine, even if Shirabu was a bit more snappish towards Semi’s good-willed critiques and Tendou’s playful jibes.
That was all until you showed up after disappearing mid-practice with a large box. The boys rushed to finish their clean up chores, curious looks staved off by your stern demeanour. It was amusing to watch Yamagata push Tendou around, scolding him to hurry up so they could find out what was in the box. They acted like a bunch of kids on Christmas day at the mystery laying besides your feet.
As soon as the box was opened and the contents were handed out, Shirabu’s already bad mood plummeted straight to hell and you had the pleasure of baring the brunt of it.
“Are you so stupid to not even notice something like that when you picked it up?” Shirabu’s face is scrunched up in disdain and it only served to spur you on, frustrated at his accusations.
“It’s out of my hands! How was I supposed to know they’d mess up the order? We’ve never had an issue with them before.” You gestured towards the innocent box that served as the spark that lit Shirabu’s extraordinarily short fuse.
“The jerseys don’t fit.” He seethed and if looks could kill, you’d be a pile of dust on the shiny lacquered wood flooring of the gym. “Shiratorizawa is going to look like a joke at our next match.”
“It’s a practice match, it’s not that big of a deal to wear your practice gear.” You exasperatedly respond, pinching the bridge of your nose.
The stress of the approaching exams weren’t helping anyone at the moment, but you never would have guessed that Shirabu, the poster child of cool and collected, would be the first to snap.
“That doesn’t matter. It’s the principle of the matter. You should be competent enough as our manager to be able to stay organised and follow up on this kind of thing.” His voice was tight, trying to refrain from raising his voice. It didn’t matter, the sharp sting of his scent in the air and his scowling face was loud enough for you and everyone else to pick up that he was pissed.
Speaking of them, whoever stayed behind to receive their uniform is gathered around your standoff, watching the back and forth argument with the same intent of observing a fast-paced volleyball game where the next score would win the match. The white and purple child-sized jerseys hung limp in their grasps as they eye each other, wondering who had the guts to step in and diffuse the situation.
“For the last time. It’s. Not. My. Fault.” You raise your chin, not backing down. You weren’t going to be pushed around by him just because he was in a shitty mood. He’s going to realise that the jerseys coming in kid sizes and not adult sizing was a stroke of misfortune that can be swiftly fixed by the company that apologised profusely over the phone to you.
You’re going to make sure he feels ashamed about blowing up on you over something so trivial.
Shirabu goes scarily still, a blank mask slips into place. This was infinitely more worse than his anger. You stood there, frozen, as he crosses the meagre space between your bodies.
Leaning forward to get into your face, Shirabu forces you to devote your attention to no one else but him.
“Maybe you are just a vapid little omega who only joined the team to get alpha dick. That would at least explain your utter incompetency to do basic tasks.” He accuses, voice cold enough to freeze and yet it had the polar opposite effect on you.
A rush of heat that was most definitely not anger burns through your veins and settles in your abdomen. Heart rate picking up, you were utterly bewildered as to why you were reacting so viscerally to his insult.
You sharply inhale when it hits you not even a moment later, remembering other moments you’ve felt like this. Blood rushes to your cheeks, causing them stain red. Shirabu watches on as your eyes widen and you break eye contact to look off to the side.
Oh shit, you cover your open mouth with a shaky hand and let your hair shield your face as much as possible from Shirabu’s pointed stare. The realisation that you were turned on was not a pleasant one, shame battling with arousal in the pit of your stomach.
What kind of person even gets off on that? You, apparently.
Although, it didn’t make much sense that you’re a blushing mess now when you’ve never felt like this when coach Washijou, teachers or anyone else speaks down to you like that. Hell, it infuriates you to no end when others belittle you.
The only difference here was that it was Shirabu with his neat copper-toned blond hair and stupidly slanted fringe that made more sense on the cover of a vogue magazine instead of on a volleyball court. You refrain from cursing out loud as your seniors finally get involved.
Reon steps up to Shirabu with a reproachful expression. “Woah, okay now that was a bit far. Calm it, Shirabu.”
While you were having an existential crisis at the birth of a kink you never wanted to have, the team’s faces show concern at your odd behaviour. This is the first time they’ve seen you like this, and the newness of the situation has them feeling like they were standing on a bed of needles, one wrong move and they end up in a world of pain.
“Besides, she said that she had got in contact with them and that it’ll be sorted out by next week. No big deal.” Tendou adds, wrapping an arm around a glowering Shirabu’s shoulders, promptly walking him out of your vicinity. Shirabu huffed but says nothing as he tears his gaze away from your covered face.
Once he was a few paces away, you take in a deep breath to calm yourself. This turned out to possibly be the worst thing you could’ve done. The lingering bitter scent of Shirabu’s aggression filled your noise.
Battling the need to keen out loud, you’re appropriately distracted from your moment of weakness brought on by basal instincts as a large hand is placed comfortingly on your shoulder.
“Hey, are you alright?” Semi asked, face pinched in worry. “I promise that he’ll never speak to you like that again when I’m through him.” He finishes darkly.
You stifle a hysterical laugh and minutely nod your head with downcast eyes.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll be taking my leave now. Again, I’m sorry about the jerseys.”
“We said it was fine, don’t stress about it! We’re fine with playing in our training gear until they arrive.” Semi smiles widely and you felt ease flow through you.
You raise your head and give him a small smile. With that, you walk out of the gym with your entire body held stiffly, trying your hardest not to run but you got pretty damn close to it as you feel their eyes trace after your fleeing figure.
A beat of silence follows as they listen to your shuffling footsteps. It’s only when they can no longer hear them that Tendou releases Shirabu’s shoulder and the team confronts him.
“Shirabu, what in the absolute fuck. She did not deserve that.” Semi hisses, hands clenching in restrained rage that he wished to unleash upon the belligerent second year. “She even fucking apologised, but you had to keep pushing.”
Shirabu glanced over to Taichi, to gauge just how badly he’s fucked up. The ginger wears a small frown and that’s all Shirabu needed to know that he was six feet below without even releasing it.
“You’re really stinking up the place too,” Tendou changes the topic, moving the conversation along like a rapid instead of a river. Shirabu swung his head around to meet the red-head’s raised eyebrows, wondering what in the hell the sporadic third year meant by that. “Just because you’re struggling with exam hell week is soon doesn’t mean you can take all your frustrations out on poor ol’ manager-chan.”
Shirabu clenches his fist and wills away the red haze that clouded his mind the moment he held his supposed uniform for the year. He worked so damn hard for his place on the court with Semi nipping at his heels, and the jersey symbolised all that hard work. And his uniform was a dozen sizes too small, it was almost like a joke.
He didn’t know what came over him in that instant but god, the rush he felt was something else. And the way you had blushed before you shied away was just as heady as scoring a no-touch ace.
“Okay, I get it. I may have blown it just a bit out of proportion.” Yamagata and Semi snort at that and Shirabu shoots them a glare.
“You should go apologise to her after you’ve both cooled off.” Ushijima helpfully suggests. Shirabu feels slightly ashamed that Ushijima had to see him like that. The disapproving look on his captain’s normally stoic face hurt.
“Yeah, sure.” Shirabu mumbled, unable to meet Ushijima’s eyes.
“Good,” Ushijima grunted. Thinking Shirabu understands the depth of his actions, he turns to the rest and speaks again. “Lets finish cleaning up so we can have dinner.”
His words remind the players of their hunger. They walk away, pick up their forgotten cleaning tools and resumed whatever they had been doing before the fight broke out
“You’re lucky the coaches weren’t here, or your ass would be benched so fucking quickly your head would spin.” Semi says, before he goes back to mopping, not giving Shirabu a chance to reply.
The words hung heavy in the air and trailed after him as Shirabu moves away and finishes picking up stray balls from the botched serving attempts by the first year recruits. He allows his mind to wonder as boredom quickly set in. He knew that the coaches would have his ass on a platter if they heard him speak down to you at that – Hell, he’s surprised that no one was wringing his neck right now for that stunt with how protective of you the team is.
An image of your flushed cheeks and pink mouth dropping open flashes through his mind. The rubber ball in his hand groans under the force of his grip. Frowning, Shirabu tosses it into the basket and picks up the next one, more considerate of his strength.
The sight was new and definitely something he liked if the tell-tale rush of blood southwards was anything to go by. Shirabu finds himself thinking that he wants to see that face again and again until he’s sated.
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You’ve never been more thankful for your roommate’s stupidly rich father and his tendency to whisk her away on spontaneous trips. She would have asked too many questions when you arrived to your room, looking all out of sorts. You didn’t even think about locking the door behind you, instead rushing to seek the comfort of your bed.
Not bothering to turn on the lights, the moonlight through the open window served as enough illumination for you to get to bed, which you promptly collapse face-first on.
“Fuck.” You groan loudly into the sheets.
You stay like that until you almost feel like yourself again and breathing starts to get hard.
Lifting up the sheets, you slot into a cocoon of comfort, not at all caring that you’re missing dinner tonight. There were study snacks hidden away in the depths of you desk drawers, so you weren’t too fussed.
Turns out laying there in the dark was counter-intuitive to trying to sort out the storm inside your head. Shirabu’s words replayed in your head like a broken cassette, not allowing you a moment of reprieve.
You end up kicking off the sheets in frustration, glaring up at the white ceiling like it was the one to personally offended you.
While you weren’t exactly freaking out over the unexpected revelation that Shirabu catalysed, you were far from calm. You could almost swear you could still smell him, but a quick check assures you that he hadn’t somehow snuck into your room, and you chalked it up to your horny mind trying to torture you.
The more you thought about the argument, the more worked up you got, and the more worked up you got, you could feel your core pulse dully around nothing.
Wrapping your blanket around your hands, you begged for the feeling away. It was bad enough that you got wet in the first place, you didn’t want to further hurt your pride by indulging the fucked up feeling. As the seconds stretched on and your core refused to be ignored, you surrender to the urge with a muttered ‘goddamn it’.
Wanting to get it over and done with as quickly and effectively as possible, you shucked of your shorts and keep your underwear around your ankles, knowing it was going to be done soon and you’d rather not look around in the dark for them.
You frown as you encounter wetness between your folds. Damn, you had honestly underestimated just how turned on you were from the setter’s barbs.
You shrug it off and set to work, pulling out all the tricks to finish quickly. However, it seemed nothing wanted to go your way tonight as your peak evaded you no matter what you did.
Suddenly, knocks at the door startle you out of your frustration. Panicked, you rip up your panties and conceal the noise you made at the feeling of wet cotton rubbing against your clit. You held still and hoped that whoever it was would assume that you’re either in the dinner hall or asleep.
A shit afternoon turned into an even shittier night as the door handle turns and the door creaks open. In a rush, you fling the sheets over your body and face the wall, feigning at being asleep. Hopefully, they’ll get the hint and leave you alone.
Hesitant footsteps trail into your room, the door clicking shut behind the intruder. You silently wished that it was one of your friends. An unhelpful voice in the back of your head tells you that they’d never enter without announcing themselves. You tell that voice to shut up.
The person comes to a stop besides your bed, silent. Trying your hardest to not shiver under their gaze, you do your best to emulate being peacefully asleep.
“You can stop pretending to be asleep now.” Shirabu’s voice rang out, irritated.
Heart doing a summersault in your chest, you curse whatever god was listening. Not wanting him to be in your space for any longer than necessary, you reply.
“Well I was before you came in,” You say spitefully, still not facing him. “You aren’t allowed in here. Whatever you came here for can wait until tomorrow.”
You could almost swear you could hear him rolling his eyes.
“Our seniors won’t get off of my ass until I apologise, and I’d rather get this over and done with sooner than later.” He grits out.
You hear shifting but you keep your eyes fastening on the small mark you left on the wall when you threw your phone onto the bed and it banged into the wall in your first year.
Shirabu snaps. “You could at least have the common decency to look at me while I apologise.”
Content with ignoring him, you bide your time. Surely after a few more minutes of this, he’ll either get fed up and leave or give his shitty apology and leave. In either case he leaves and you’ll be free to ruminate in your own shame at feeling excitement over his presence in your room.
Fed up with your petulant behaviour, Shirabu grasps the sheets concealing you from him and rips them off of your curled form.
“Hey!” You exclaim, shock colouring your words as you twist onto your back and gape up at him.
The reason for your wilful ignorance of his presence comes in the form of a wall of pheromones hitting Shirabu paired with your barely dressed form. He blinks down at you, nostrils flaring as he picks up the sweet smell of your arousal.
His neutral expression is quickly replaced with a darker one as he draws nearer. Getting the gist of what was going on, you watch with bated breath as he climbs onto your bed. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what you were getting up to before he rocked up and Shirabu couldn’t pass up the delicious look of embarrassment on your cute face.
What exactly brought this on, however, he’s not completely sure of. He has an inkling what turned you on, with your odd exit earlier on, and he wants to test his theory out.
The bed dips where his knee meets it. Placing his hands besides your shoulders, leaning over you way too close for comfort, Shirabu smirks down at you.
“You’re fucking filthy.”
Your breath catches. Shirabu’s smirk widens. I got you now.
“Such a horny omega.” He tuts, leaning down more, now close enough that you could see flecks of gold in his honeyed irises. “The team thinks that you’re up here crying and instead I find you getting off.”
“No, I wasn’t.” You say hurriedly but at Shirabu’s ‘really’ look you frown and look over his shoulder, not brave enough to meet his eyes.
Shirabu catches a glimpse of your glistening fingers and grabs them. Your eyes snap back to him, not fighting him as he brings your fingers to his mouth and licks your slick off of them with a hum.
“You taste as sweet as you smell, did you know that?”
You grind your teeth together, refusing to break the stare down with Shirabu. At the feel of his teeth scraping along the pads of your fingers, you release a short breath and glance down to catch his lips quirking into smug smile.
“You have the whole team thinking that you’re something precious to be protected and yet here you are touching yourself to the thought of me telling you just how worthless you are.” He berates, eyes lidded and voice low. You shiver.
Seeing you so complacent under him, Shirabu felt invigorated to explore your body and see how far he could push before breaking you.
A calloused-roughened hand drifts southward and your breathing picks up in anticipation. He ignores your reaction to his touch in favour for pressing the wet cotton against your folds. Teeth sink into his bottom lip at the breathy noise you make.
Not wasting time, he pulls your panties down and tosses them over his shoulder. The position he was in wouldn’t do for what he had in store for you, so he climbed onto the bed and rested on his knees between your legs.
Recognising the flare of embarrassment that you’ve become well acquainted with today, you press your thighs together. Shirabu is unamused with this and you find yourself at the mercy of his sharp tongue yet again.
“No need to get shy now. I already know how filthy you are,” Shirabu says indifferently, prying your thighs apart with strong hands and taking you in.
“Look at how wet you are.” His fingers ghost over your hole, gathering some slick before inserting two of them in one swift move.
You yelp at the sudden move, feeling full from his fingers alone. His fingers were much larger and thicker than yours were, already stretching your walls. It was almost enough to scratch the itch you’ve felt since the argument.
“S-shit.” You stammer, grabbing at his shoulders as he begins to pump them into you.
“You’re soaking,” Shirabu admires the slick dribbling from your sopping hole. “You like being treated like this.”
“Shut up.” You say, narrowing your eyes at him, hating his smug little smile.
He doesn’t verbally respond, instead fanning out his fingers as wide as they go. You throw your head back and give a low moan and his smile stretches wider.
“You can say whatever you want, but your body doesn’t lie.” He presses his fingers together and wind them around each other and starts pumping them in and out of you.
Your chest heaves as you restrain the lewd noises that tried to claw their way out of your throat. You wanted to curse at him for walking into your room without permission. You wanted to pull at his hair for triggering your dirty realisation. You wanted to fuck him for working magic with his fingers.
“Please.” The words slip out without realisation and your eyes fly open, feeling betrayed by your own body.
Has your whole damn body turned against you? It answers your question by sending a wave of fresh slick at Shirabu’s hungry expression.
“Since you asked so nicely.” He says, grabbing your legs and pulling them wider apart, completely exposing you. You covered your face in embarrassment. “I guess even dirty girls have manners.”
A hand leaves your leg for a brief moment and you refuse to look down as you hear a zipper and the sound of fabric being pulled down. But just like with how today has been going, your eyes disobey and stray towards his groin.
Shirabu held his length at the base, but his hand doesn’t conceal the slight upwards curve that you just knew would feel amazing inside. You note with surprise that he’s just a bit bigger than you expected in both girth and length.
Maybe his dick of a personality at times was to compensate for more than his pretty boy looks.
You very nearly choke on your own spit as he rubs his length along the inside your folds that he holds open, slicking himself up. Your juices glisten along his length and highlight the veins decorating the sides, causing your thighs to tense with the knowledge that it was soon going to be inside of you.
Releasing his length, his hands slot in the back of your knees, pull your legs wide apart and press your thighs to your chest. The position has you exposed in a way you’ve never been before. Your face is hot with embarrassment as Shirabu watches at the way your entrance twitches.
“Let’s see if you can take cock as well as you take criticism.”
Shirabu then slams himself inside in one thrust and you bite back a yell. You’ve never felt so full in your life with his rigid length stuffed inside and stretching you so completely.
Shirabu doesn’t wait for you adjust, a scream dies in your throat as he pulls out and rams back in with intent force. Right at the beginning, Shirabu doesn’t afford you the luxury of deluding yourself into thinking this was anything but fucking in its most primal form.
The pressure inside of you built with every clap of your hips. You swore his tip brushed against the entrance to your cervix a few times, wrenching a cry from your lips.
Every noise you made served to spur him on, hands becoming a bruising force holding on your legs. The pace was punishing but you felt rewarded every time his cock dragged out and in, creating friction that had your toes curling and mind clouding over.
The cock pummelling inside of you was much larger and longer than his fingers, the stretch edged with pain that made it hard to breathe. This added a new layer to your ecstasy and had your eyes rolling into the back of your head.
“I wonder how they would react to seeing you being used by me.” He growls, pressing in deep.
“They’d want to join in. You’d probably enjoy getting used and marked up by them. I bet you would even beg for their cum.”
“No –“
“Then why are you getting tighter? You’re such a dirty little slut getting off to the thought of the team using you like a fuck toy.”
“I –“ Shirabu cuts you off again.
“Not that it matters, I wouldn’t them. They wouldn’t know how to satisfy this greedy hole of yours.” The bruising pressure of his hands almost distract you from his long, hard thrusts, reaching much deeper than you thought possible. You let out a loud moan.
“But I do.” He grins.
Taking in your lewd noises, he proceeds to litter your chest with indents of his sharp teeth. A few times he has you clenching down fiercely on his cock as he bites hard enough to draw blood and for tears to well up. The pain was another layer to the decadent feast that Shirabu was subjecting you to at no cost except for your total submission. You’d be lying if you said the thought of submitting to him more often didn’t turn you on, causing fresh slick to rush out and make squelching noises whenever your bodies connected.
He lands another hard thrust that has your walls fluttering around his length. You dig your nails into his shoulders, able to feel his base swell, signifying your tryst nearing its end as his pace grows less rhythmic and more frantic as Shirabu obviously getting close to his peak.
Knowing it wasn’t going to be long before he lost himself, he nosed along the exposed column of your throat, seeking out the sensitive patch of skin. You release a whimper as he brushes against your scent gland and while you were out of heat, it was still incredibly sensitive to the touch of his lips.
His sharp canines scrape against your skin and you pulse around him at the feeling. You run your nails across his shoulders as he does it again, this time applying more pressure.
“Yes. Fuck, please.”
Shirabu laughs cruelly into your ear.
“You think you’ve deserved my mark?” He demands, working through your tightness with a sneer. If you got any tighter, he knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. “Fuck you’re so tight for me.”
The coil inside your gut grows tighter and tighter with each passing second. You were so damn close, but you needed something more. The words to plead for more were lost under his frenzied thrusts. You choose to whine, knowing it will convey enough to him.
“You’re close, huh?” His hot breath washes over your sweaty skin. “Then cum for me. Lets see what kind of face you make now.”
The points of his canines scrape harshly against the scent gland one last time before he buries them into the crook your neck, piercing skin and drawing blood. This time you do shout. You have no idea if it was his name or even a word at all, mind preoccupied as you were pushed off the edge and into the mind-numbing waters below.
Shirabu groaned as blood fills his mouth and your warmth squeezed down on his length hard. Breaking away from your skin, a few beads of blood escapes the puncture wounds as he grips your legs even harder as he tries to work his knot into you.
With one last deep thrust, his knot catches and he releases inside of you. Your voice is hoarse as you whimper at the sensation of him spilling into you, hot and heavy.
Shirabu hovers above you, elbows locked to prevent from collapsing on top of you as he continues to fill you. His characteristically pinched expression is traded for one of bliss and if you weren’t already winded, it would’ve stolen your breath away.
He cracks an eye open to see you staring back with a face similar to the one you made earlier this afternoon. A swell of pride rises within him at how wrecked you looked. Unspilt tears in your eyes, bare chest littered in violet and fuchsia splotches and hair a mess, you’ve never looked so alluring.
If his knot wasn’t already buried inside of you, Shirabu was sure he could go for another round. Instead, he sighs as he carefully lowers himself onto his forearms to give his aching arms a rest.
You hiss as the knot pulls at your entrance with his movement. He murmurs an apology, ragged voice weirdly soothing you. Relaxing into pillows under your head, you let him rest his head against your shoulder.
A comfortable silence settles over your exhausted forms as you both patiently wait for the knot to go down enough for him to slip out so you can have a much-needed shower.
“I swear if you insult me like that in front of the team again, I will maim you.” You say, needing him to know this – whatever this was – is to stay between them and the four walls of the room.
Shirabu huffs a laugh and brings up a hand to roll a pert nipple, drawing out a quiet gasp from you.
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”
“It better be.” You grumble, not bothering to bat away his hand with how stubborn he can be.
You ride out his knot with him messing around with your chest, going between stroking the bruised skin that already ached to flicking your pert buds. You reciprocated by running your fingers across the raised lines spreading across his shoulders, feeling vindicated.
In this quiet moment with no words exchanged except for soft caresses, you let yourself relax under a placated Shirabu.
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Notes: I’m not entirely happy with this but it’s been sitting in my wips for two months and I had to finish it… I may come back and re-write this one day when my head isn’t scrambled by exams and assignments ahaha
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!!
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fanfic-mind · 3 years
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Blood on my hands (all that i've gained and all that i've lost)
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pairing: merthur
warnings: non
status: fanfic draft, Part 1/? (~ 2300)
It’s yet again an hour of need for Camelot. But the weapon they need to safe kingdom and people comes with a price. Only those who prove that they are powerful and wicked can receive it. The knights of Camelot don’t have enough evil deeds to be worthy of the sword. They think everything is lost - until  Merlin speaks up...
A magic reveal story in which Merlin makes good use of being a morally grey character. Because, yea, Merlin-is-the-victim-reveals are swell and all but he is capable of making his own decisions and some of them are pretty shady. There is still a good amount of Uther bashing included.
Somehow they get into a situation that requires someone with blood on their hands - figuratively (otherwise it wouldn't be a problem because seeing how often Arthur and Merlin and also Gwaine get wounded by just existing they probably wouldn't even have to injure anyone)
Maybe a god of the Old Religion guards a weapon they need to kill the magic beast of the week or to destroy a cursed item.
In any case: they are really desperate. People are dying and this is their last hope, their last resort.
To their misfortune, this weapon is guarded by a very cunning and wicked god and they will only give their weapon to someone who has the power and the will to use it for evil deeds
There is a test that must be passed by the one who wants to receive the weapon. They must prove that they did enough evil deeds to be worthy of it.
Arthur quickly fails his test because despite some wrongs he's done he is way too just and noble to be wicked
The only knight that seems to get at least a few moments more of consideration is Leon who has done some terrible things - however under Uther's orders which isn't quite powerful enough
"Ahh, Uther Pendragon," the god muses, "Him i would have given the weapon. Such rage and blind hatred and, oh yes, so much blood."
Arthur grits his teeth and sets his jar. he wonders if his father would be disappointed in him for not living up to this legacy of his. he wonders - not for the first time - why he wanted to be like his father once and how he managed to end up being so different.
The knights discuss their strategy. non of them is wicked enough to pass the test. they have wicked people in Camelot's dungeons. But Camelot is three day rides off and their quest is really urgent.
They could separate and seek for wicked folk, but the chances seem slim and the risk of them keeping the weapon as they receive it seems too big
People are dying and they need to do something now.
"there must be another way to destroy it," Lancelot suggests, though they've been over this. His eyes stray to Merlin, but Merlin seems caught up in thought.
If there was an easier way to do this, Merlin and Gaius would have come up with it by now. asking the god had been their idea in the first place.
"What if there isn't?" Gwaine argues heatedly. "We can't have waisted six days for nothing. This is probably our last chance."
"so what do you suggest?" Lancelot interrupts somewhat irritated. They temperaments are heated at this point. And suddenly knowing each other’s worst deeds doesn’t exactly lighten the mood. "All of us failed the test. i wouldn't have thought that I'd ever be angry about being found too good and noble."
Gwaine shrugs with a grimace. He hadn't thought that he'd ever be deemed good and noble in the first place.
"maybe there's a way out of that," Arthur says. He hasn’t spoken in a while and all heads turn towards him.
"what do you mean, Sire?" Leon asks, looking uneasy as if he already knows and doesn't like it.
"If you're not noble enough, you proof your nobility by doing good deeds," Arthur starts matter of fact. "so, logically, if I'm not wicked enough, i prove my wickedness by doing an evil deed."
The god smiles a toothy smile.
"To murder just anyone obviously isn't evil enough" Arthur says, looking at the god with disgust. "so it must be somthing worse. murdering a friend, for example."
"My king, with all due respect, this is madness," Leon say carefully.
"sir Leon, that's the point." Arthur says sourly.
"is that really it?" Gwaine shouts at the god who watches his outburst unimpressed. "You want us to slaughter each other?"
the god laughs, distant and hollow and the earth seems to vibrate with it. "The weapon can only be taken by those of power who are wicked and cunning enough to wield it." the god repeats his earlier words.
"So there's not even a guarantee," Gwaine says, throwing up his arms. "Arthur, let's just leave and see if we can find something else."
"there is nothing else, Gwaine, you said so yourself!" Arthur returns. His expression is incredibly pained but determined in a way that makes them all shudder. Leon, Percival and Lancelot unconsciously get into fighting stance.
Gwaine takes a few steps to put himself between the king and Merlin who is the most vulnerable
Arthur nods to himself, seemingly coming to a decision in his head.  Tehn he draws his sword . "If either of you kills me while i try to kill you, that might be enough too" he muses
They all stare at him in horror, unable to believe that he will go through with this.
"My people are dying," Arthur says, his tone pleading, "if i have to sacrifice my good conscience to help them - well, it is a price i must be willing to pay. I'm sorry. But all of you swore to protect Camelot at all costs too."
Arthur halts for am moment then nods grimly. "Don't try to sacrifice yourself. I'm sure that's not what he's looking for" Arthur nods towards the stony god who smiles.
"you can't be serious" Mordred whispers.
"I'm afraid i am. Now, it's been an honour. truely. and i hope - i hope I'll still have your respect afterwards. Though, i can understand if you can't trust me again."
"that's enough."
They all turn around. Partly, because they had forgotten about Merlin who has been uncharacteristically quiet the whole time. and partly because they have rarely heard this sort of tone from him. harsh and demanding. a voice more fit for a king than his manservant.
They stare at him and he makes short eye contact with Arthur before he steps forward, in front of the statue that the god is using as a vessel.
"test me." Merlin says. his voice is determined and his shoulders are set.
Arthur let's out a short laugh, because clearly this is absurd, right? Merlin is the best and kindest of all of them. Actually, coming to think of it, if he's really honest, Merlin probably is the reason Arthur is not like his father. Merlin makes him better. Merlin makes him want to be better.
A few of the knights share his sentiments, laughing slightly hysterical with tension but still perplexed over this development.
Only Lancelot steps forward with a frown as if to pull him back, but merlin raises a hand without looking at him and he stops in his tracks.
Arthur who was about to say something stops too.
The god looks more alive than before he seems to stretch himself to his full height as if he has waited for this
"welcome" he starts as he has with all of them. "young warlock, tell me your deeds."
lancelot tenses, casting a worried glance back at the king who stands there, sword still drawn, eyes fixed in Merlin as if he doesn't understand any of this
Lancelot doesn't either. Even if Merlin is a sorcerer - what evil deeds can he possibly have done? Saving Arthur's life over and over without ever seeking credit doesn't have a ring of evil to him.
"I am Merlin, and they call my Emrys." Merlin starts.
Some of the Knights gasp. Emrys is a name they know by now.
Lancelot wonders whether Merlin considers his identity an evil deed in itself. The possibility breaks his heart a bit.
"I was born with magic. I am the most powerful sorcerer there is."
Merlin takes a deep breath.
"i lied to all my friends. I let them think they can trust me, that they know me. But they never will. I could kill them just by looking at them. I am magic and i killed many behind friends backs and before their eyes, but never revealed myself to them"
"I am a slayer of my own people," he continues, his voice hard, "I killed many creatures and men of magic to protect their murderers - the king and his son. I did it out of self-righteousness and out of selfishness because...” for a moment, Merlin halts, but then he continuous with the same hard tone as before, as if something is forced out of him, but he wants to stand for it.
“I loved Arthur more than my own people. i let many of them die even though i could have helped them if i had revealed myself. But i couldn't bear the thought to be separated from him so i stayed quiet and watched them burn."
The god nods Merlin on. They all stand in shock. They know from before that Merlin won't be able to stop telling his deeds before the god thinks he is done.
"I killed the witch Nimueh even though she told me i have to pay with a life to save Arthur's. Instead of giving my life as i promised, i killed her."
"I killed Mary Collins, Afanc, Aulfric, Sophia, Cornelius Sigan, Myror and many more. "
Merlin's voice falters a bit, but he seems to pull himself together visibly, because his voice is clearer again when he keeps speaking.
"My betrayal to my people is so great, my wickedness so deep, i considered to kill a child on the mere possibility that he could threaten what was mine in the future."
Mordred makes a quiet stricken noise.
No one dares take their eyes off Merlin, but Merlin himself turns his head slowly.
There is a gasp of horror when they all see that his eyes are glowing yellow with magic.
Up until now, no one except Mordred and Lancelot had truly believed it.
"I tried to kill Mordred when he was a child and i wish his death even now though he is kind and serves Arthur."
Lancelot looks at Merlin with complete bewilderment as Mordred sobs.
Merlin doesn't answer Lancelot's gaze, he just turns around again.
They can hear him take in another breath and it sounds more halting than before.
"I knew that my friend had magic and i saw her turmoil and her fear of being killed. of being burned by her own kin like all of the others. but instead of helping her, i left her in the dark. I told her to trust me - she trusted my - and then i poisoned her."
Merlin stops for a moment, his voice sounds rough as if speaking becomes quickly more difficult.
"I gave Morgana poison in full intend and watched her as she died and i regretted when she was healed."
"Only i had the power and knowledge to save her, but i turned my head from her suffering, i killed her when she didn't know better than to turn to her sister, it was me that made her what she is today."
There is another short pause. Lancelot is desperate to see Merlin's face. To demand how this all really went. Because though he knows that Merlin is bound to say the truth by the power of the god, he still thinks there must be a mistake or a trick. This is not Merlin. Merlin would never...would he?
"I conspired with and freed the dragon that attacked Camelot which led to the death of many innocent people. I attempted to kill Arthur on multiple occasions."
Lancelot frowns. This one he knows to be untrue. Merlin didn't want to kill Arthur. it was Morgana's doing that he went after him.
"i saved Uther Pendragon's life - more than once. I let him live even though he slaughtered my people. I saved his life even though i didn't have to. I never killed him even though i had many opportunities."
Merlin pauses then, looking up at the god.
"Do i really need to go on?" he asks and it sounds almost indifferent. except they know Merlin and they know how his face looks when he sounds this way.
The god leans their head to one side slowly. the stone his vessel is made of groans.
"You are worthy, young warlock. More than you know. Into your hands i command my sword."
Suddenly, there is noise and light and they cover their eyes, everyone except for Merlin and Mordred.
They can't be sure but they think they can hear Merlin's voice through it all, speaking a foreign tongue. Then, it's over.
When the air clears, Merlin stands alone, the stone vessel of the god has crumbled to pieces, a big sword in his hand. For just a moment, when he turns around to face them, he looks nothing like Merlin at all. His eyes are golden, and his face is grim, lips pressed into a thin line. His posture is straight and majestic and he holds the sword like a warrior. His appearance strikes them with fear. He looks like power incarnate.
The others notice from the corners of their eyes that Mordred kneels before him. and even as they are completely bewildered, they have an urge to do the same.
The next moment though, it's all gone, and Merlin looks like he's never handled a sword before. His eyes are blue and his cheeks messy with dust and tears. He sinks to his knees and the weapon falls from his hands - is pushed from his fingers as if through magic, landing on the ground with a strange sound.
Merlin looks after the sword with disgust clear on his face. Then he looks up and suddenly he looks afraid.
To be continued
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Don’t Treat My Love Like A Habit Part Eight
Previous Part | Next Part | Masterlist Pairing: Santiago Garcia x Reader Rating: Mature (this may change) Warnings: Cursing; a pinch of fluff followed by a smidge of angst Notes: Set before the movie. Not beta-read. Reina is Spanish for Queen. Also there’s a song that comes up later and it doesn’t like come up but the song that I imagined for said scene is this one. Take it or leave it, I trust you. Summary: Pope had come back in such an odd mood - but then he always got a little like that when anyone tried to answer for you or tell you what to do. He didn’t take well to anyone else thinking or acting like they were your boss. 
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He wasn’t usually here when you did this, is the thing. Typically, Pope sent you footage and went back to his place to crash while you combed through whatever it was, dug up anything valuable, if there was anything valuable. By the time all of that was done, Pope was usually conscious again, breezed into the office with coffee from the good place around the corner, and the two talked over the footage. But he was there this time, pacing behind your chair, leaning over you every few seconds, breath ruffling your hair. The first few times, it was kinda cute. You’d missed him, the scent of his cologne, his grumbling. But after the tenth time, you hadn’t been able to discern any pattern. It was like trying to predict a jump-scare in a horror film, and it was starting to wear on you. So before he could even lean over you again, you raised a hand to stop him. “Santi, seriously, you’re making me jumpy.”
“Sorry, sorry,” He mumbled. You felt him rest his hands on the back of your chair, steadying himself. Okay. Better. At least he wasn’t thudding behind you... And then his nail was tapping at the side of your chair, and you groaned, tipping your head back. It rested against his chest as you peered up at him. “Go home, get some rest,” You urged, “This is gonna take a while, okay?” Santiago’s mouth twisted in displeasure before he ducked down, dropping a kiss to the tip of your nose. “Be back later,” He mumbled, stepping away from your chair so fast that your head fell back the rest of the way. You blinked up at the ceiling a few times as you heard him call back, “Text me if something comes up!” And then the door closed. You lifted your head, glancing over at the door. You didn’t know why you were looking at it - he wasn’t going to come back, right? After waiting for a few beats, you shook your head. No, definitely not coming right back. You raised your finger to the tip of your nose, poking it. Where the hell had that come from? No matter where, you sure as hell weren’t telling Frankie. -- When the door opened again, you found yourself perking up. And then you found yourself leaning back when you saw Alex stroll in. “Well don’t everyone rush me at once,” He teased. You rolled your eyes, turning back to your screen. “Whaddaya want, ‘Brano?” “Diego says your boss has some intel,” He said, rounding to lean against your desk, “I’m trying to get in on that action.” “Yeah, well, get in line, because this thing is buffering like a motherfucker.” “Maybe it’s because you’re staring at it. A watched file...Always buffers.” “That sounded better in your head, didn’t it.” “Way better,” Alex conceded, turning and leaning over your shoulder like Pope had a few hours before. Unlike Pope, however, he was able to hold still for more than a few seconds. He even managed to keep quiet for a few minutes before he turned his head, murmuring in your ear, “What are you doing for dinner?” “Something else.” “Something else than what?” “Than whatever you were about to suggest,” You retorted, glancing back at him and finding his face very, very close to yours. He smiled. “Well, it just so happens that I was going to suggest that you stay here and eat alone, so it’s nice to hear that you’re planning on switching it up.” You laughed, unable to help it. “You were going to suggest that I eat alone?” You repeated. Alex didn’t answer; instead, he just let his gaze drift down. “... ‘Brano,” You warned quietly. “Mm?” “What are you doing?” Before he could answer, your attention was drawn by the sound of the door closing. Pope was lingering in the doorway, frowning. “Hey,” You greeted, turning back to the screen. “...Anything?” Pope asked, coming deeper into office. “Not a thing,” Alex answered. “Not sure I was asking you, Zambrano.” Your brows shot up at the tightness in Pope’s tone. Where the hell had that come from? You gave him a look, and he just arched a brow and asked, “Well?” “Just what Alex said. Not a thing.” “You know what?” Alex cleared his throat, “This one,” He lightly pushed at the back of your head, “Has probably been here all day-- That program gonna run without you?” “Yeah, but--” You started. Alex shook his head. “Let’s go get something to eat. All of us,” He added, smiling at Pope, “Come on, I’ve barely been out since I got down here. And if we play our cards right, Garcia, we might find another hitman for you to punch.” -- The meal had started off as the most awkward, stilted experience, but by its end, ‘Brano and Pope had fallen into a more steady rapport. You just leaned back and let it happen. It was preferable to whatever bickering had been going on back at the office. Pope had come back in such an odd mood - but then he always got a little like that when anyone tried to answer for you or tell you what to do. He didn’t take well to anyone else thinking or acting like they were your boss. “Tequila shot, Q?” Alex asked as he flagged the waiter down. “Nu-uh, she hates tequila,” Santiago shook the idea off. Alex turned back to you, surprised. “Really? You had tequila shots when we were back home.” You felt Santi’s eyes on you and you waved off the fact. “I took it ‘cause they were given to us for free. If you’re gonna order me anything, get me a vodka shot-- but also don’t, because one of us is going back to the office after this and it’s clearly not gonna be either one of you.” “Jesus,” Alex muttered as Santiago snorted a laugh. “So what do you think, would Reina have been as good in Fugitive Recovery as she is down here?” Pope asked, eyes fixed on you. “Well what you two are doing down here is kinda like fugitive recovery,” Alex pointed out, “Little more involved, though, my job is very tracking based, what you all do-- this one comparing lab reports and all.” He reached up, yanking a piece of your hair as he said ‘this one’, and your hand came up, smacking him in the shoulder on instinct. He chuckled. “She would’ve been fine,” He added, turning back to Pope. “I would’ve been fine?” You repeated, turning back to Alex, “Jeez, what a ringing endorsement-- Dear diary!” “I’m never paying you a compliment again--” “My ears are burning.” You and Alex stared each other down for a few seconds before Alex turned away to reach for his beer. You felt the weight of Santiago’s gaze on you and you turned to meet his eye to find that he had turned away. You frowned a little. You must’ve been mistaken. “I should be getting back,” You sighed, rolling your neck, “The footage has gotta be done by now.” “Come on, you promised me a dance,” Alex whined, nudging your arm with his. You glanced back at the small, semi-crowded dance floor in the restaurant. “I was kidding,” You shrugged. “Reina doesn’t dance,” Pope mumbled. “She has before.” “You’re a shithead, ‘Brano,” You said, pulling out your wallet. “I’ve got it,” Pope said, shaking his head. “Come on,” You groaned. “Nope. Besides, I pay you, so that’s technically my money anyway, put your wallet away.” “You know I hate that argument.” “Which is why I only use it when I absolutely have to. Put your wallet away, Reina.” “One dance,” Alex pressed. “‘Brano--” “We’ll flip a coin.” You looked at him for a long moment before sighing, “Fine.” Alex fished into his pocket, pulling out a coin. “Heads or tails?” “Heads.” He flipped; you watched the light glint off of the coin before he caught it and flipped it over onto the back of his other hand. He lifted his palm from it, then grinned. Tails. Motherfucker. “Come on-- Come on, deal’s a deal,” He added, standing. You rolled your eyes, taking Alex’s hand as it was offering you and mouthing, ‘Be right back,’ to Pope before Alex pulled you onto the dance floor. Alex wasn’t expecting any fancy footwork, which was smart - you didn’t do this often. The song that was playing was a slower tempo, too, and didn’t require anything more than for you to sway in Alex’s arms as he guided you among the other couples. “Why are you like this?” You asked as the two of you moved. He arched a brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?” “We were having a good time, the three of us.” “We’re still having a good time.” “Alex.” “I wanted to kiss you, you know? If he hadn’t come in. I was thinking about it. I’m still thinking about it.” This maybe shouldn’t have been the shock it was; you’d seen the way Alex had been looking at your mouth, you knew how straightforward he could be. “I could kinda tell,” You said after a few moments. “What would happen if I did it now?” “I’d taste like vodka and cholula.” “Sexy.” “Jesus, ‘Brano,” You laughed, shaking your head and looking down at your feet. You felt him turn his head, nuzzling into your hair as he murmured,  “...Tell me what you want.” You considered. It had been a while. You knew Alex. You were comfortable with Alex, you liked him; you just weren’t sure you liked him the same way he liked you. So you lifted your head, met his eye, and said, “I want to go back to work.” He didn’t frown or push you away; he didn’t stomp off. Alex just nodded. “Can we at least wait for the song to finish?” You nodded before resting your head on his shoulder. You swayed on in silence. “I’m sorry,” You said as it ended. “Don’t be, Q,” He gave you a light squeeze before steering back to the table. The check had been paid, and Pope was gone. Tag list: @justanotherblonde23​ ; @revolution-starter​ ; @emurlemur​​ ; @badbitxhbuckybarnes​
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one-boring-person · 3 years
Text
What's It To You? (Part Two)
Dwayne (The Lost Boys) x reader(ish)
Warnings: bad language, graphic depictions of blood and death, slight nudity (nothing graphic)
Context: Dwayne has another encounter with the werewolves
A/N: as promised here is part two! It turned out very differently to how I imagined it, but I quite like it. I may develop this if I have time, but we'll have to see
Masterlist
Tagging: @thetempleofthemasaigoddess (original requester)
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The roads are eerily quiet, bare except for the lone motorcycle speeding up towards Hudson's Bluff, the near-full moon serving to light the way, even as it is mostly cast in darkness. The figure astride the bike leans forwards over the tank of the vehicle, revving the engine, intent on getting back to the cave faster, knowing the food strapped to the back is getting somewhat cold. His dark hair whips out behind him, flowing smoothly in the rushing wind created by the speed of the bike, allowing the vampire to see clearly.
Around him, Dwayne barely notices the dark forest, paying no attention to it, just as he usually does, never having encountered anything there that may harm him, and not expecting to, either. Internally, he knows that there's no way he'd be able to hear if there were anything there, given that the motorcycle's engine ruined any chance of picking up anything, even despite his enhanced hearing, so he doesn't think too much on it.
He has, however, been plagued by a peculiar feeling since he turned onto this particular road. Something isn't quite right, the hairs on the back of his neck pricking up as a chill runs down his spine, the reflex surprising him; nothing has made him do that, not since he turned, anyway. The vampire tries to ignore it, but he can't fight the pressing notion that he's being watched - and not just by one person, either. 
For the first time, he curses the volume of his motorbike's engine, wishing now that he could hear and acknowledge everything around him, and so assess whether or not he's in any real danger. He tightens his grip on the handlebars, gritting his teeth, beating down the rising unease in his gut, reminding himself that it's not too far before he has to turn off onto the cliff, at which point he'll mostly leave behind the eerie forest, and hopefully the sensation with it. Thankful for his sharp vision, he takes in the sight of a sharp bend, a little way away, taking it with ease as he nears it.
His hand clenches tightly around the brake, the bike skidding to a halt with a sharp squeal.
A pair of glowing amber eyes stare him down, blazing brightly in the beam of his headlight, holding his gaze steadily. Swallowing, Dwayne maintains the eye contact, having taken in the form of the silhouette instantly: a huge wolf, easily the size of a small pony, its body rippling with muscle under a thick pelt of black fur, shot with silver and grey, the creature much more barrel-chested than any normal canine. Its lips pull back slightly over its glistening fangs, the gesture disturbingly reminiscent of a smirk as it releases a low growl, as if laughing at him. 
Dwayne has no idea how to react, feeling the natural instinct of his vampirism rising up in him, his own eyes turning yellow as his fangs push at his lower lip, threatening to expose themselves. He forces this down, until he realises that the hulking wolf before him is not his only problem. At least eight others have emerged from the darkness, circling him like sharks as they snarl lowly, teeth snapping at him as he glances at each of them. None of them are quite the size of the first, but many are close, their bodies each laden with muscles that would put a timber wolf to shame.
Climbing off of his motorbike, Dwayne bares his own teeth, the food forgotten now as he assesses the situation, figuring out his best way out of the threat. Spreading his weight evenly, he watches the wolves carefully, vaguely surprised when he notices them come to a halt at regular intervals around him, ready to spring into the air to avoid any possible conflict. He should've remembered the werewolves, especially after the last month's encounter with the young female back at the chicken race. 
Just as he goes to move, however, two of the wolves start to contort, the largest one, and a much smaller one, limbs stretching and shrinking, joints and bones cracking audibly as they break and reset themselves. Growls and barks escape the two of them, the pelts starting to melt away into skin, paws becoming hands and feet as muzzles pull back into jaws, fangs retracting into natural canines as human features fall back into place, leaving two recognisable people behind. Dwayne has to bite back a sound of surprise as he comes face to face with the two (very naked) werewolves.
He recognises them both from the chicken race, the first being the muscular guy he'd seen with the dark hair, the second being the reckless racer, her expression that of embarrassment and guilt. She stands somewhat behind the taller man, using his bulky body to conceal her own nudity, though her eyes are fixed on Dwayne's as he regards them both, unsure of where this is going now.
The dark-haired man watches him carefully for a couple more minutes, brown eyes taking in every inch of his body, even as Dwayne looks over him, making sure to avoid his lower half, finding himself admiring the curling patterns of ink swirling across broad shoulders, bleeding down onto a toned torso. Bulging arms are crossed over an incredibly toned abdomen, veins standing out even in the pale light of the moon, the man's black hair falling slightly into his face. Since they last laid eyes on each other, the guy's scruff has grown out a little, giving him a much more roguish look, though it doesn't take away from the admittedly handsome cast of his features. 
"You know, you bloodsuckers are a lot harder to find than I thought you'd be." His voice when he speaks is rough and thick, words almost slurred from how heavy his accent is, clearly not having originated from this part of the country, but rather somewhere more rural.
"There's a reason for that." Dwayne replies, evenly, still tense.
The man lifts an eyebrow, lidded eyes trained on him.
"I'd ask you to elaborate, but I'm not stupid." He bites out, adjusting his stance.
"Good to know." Dwayne frowns, "What do you want?"
Dark eyes narrow, head cocking to the side.
"I hate to admit it, but we need your help."
A moment of silence falls on them, the vampire blinking in surprise, the werewolves watching him closely.
"You can't be serious." Dwayne eventually manages, suspicious now of their true intentions.
"Oh, I'm dead serious, as much as it pains me to admit it." The werewolf growls back, gruff voice laced with disgust.
"Please, hear us out, will you?" The racer from before suddenly speaks up, imploring Dwayne with her eyes from behind her leader.
Curious, Dwayne nods after a moment, returning his gaze back to the surly leader as the racer shoots him a quick smile of thanks.
"I'll be quick saying this, but there's a new coven of witches in town. Bad ones. They haven't taken too kindly to us, and I don't reckon they'll be too happy to have four vampires on their asses, either. We want your help getting rid of them." The leader explains, shifting a little.
"What makes them bad?" Dwayne questions, not too surprised by the knowledge of there being new witches in town.
"They're Sanguis witches. Blood witches, but a very traditional faction of them. They've got a thirst for the stuff that shames you lot, but it's not necessarily human blood they want." He informs him, tightening his jaw, "They've killed three of our youngest members already, all to use in their vile rituals, and from the sounds of things they've been doing the same with humans. There's word on the street of them looking for new blood, too. Preferably vampire."
The news strikes a cold feeling inside Dwayne, the knowledge of the Sanguis Witches of old being something he grew up fearing, particularly their ruthless and remorseless methods of collecting the substance they treasure the most: blood. For years, he'd heard the stories of how they brutally slaughtered entire villages, looking for the perfect sacrifice to use in their barbaric rituals, or how they'd string up unlucky victims like cows in an abattoir and bleed them out, alive, chanting through the screams of the dying men, women and children above them. Their presence in Santa Carla is troubling, and totally unwelcome, especially if they have murder on their minds.
"You're sure it's Sanguis Witches? Not just some over-excited witches trying to live up to someone else's standard?" The vampire questions, unsure of whether or not to believe the werewolf.
"We're sure." The girl replies, wincing at the memory, "We found our youngest completely dismembered and arranged in a pentacle, with the remainders of a spell around her. It's definitely them."
Dwayne grimaces at the thought, the arrangement sounding very much like the horror stories he's heard. He thinks for a moment, before deciding on a course of action.
"I'm willing to help, but first I need to tell the others. You should come, too." He says to the werewolves, "But only you two. Not the others."
Scowling, the male werewolf thinks this over, before nodding, gesturing for the other wolves to leave, which they do so reluctantly.
"You'll need to know our names, I guess." He mutters, watching his pack members go, "I'm Trace, and this is (Y/n)."
"I'm Dwayne." The vampire nods at the two, going back to his bike, "Feel like following on? It's not too far."
"Sure."
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tpwkjerii · 3 years
Text
a ghost’s melody
searching for a quiet place to study, you stumble across a seemingly abandoned library and recital hall. when you discover that you’re not as alone in there as you thought and begin to fall for the mysterious boy playing the piano, you start to wish you believed in ghosts before.
pairing: ghost!pianist!taehyung x reader
warnings: character death (not main, except for tae who’s already a ghost lol), slight angst, some cursing, kinda heated makeout session, sfw (PG-13)!
genre: fluff, slight angst
word count: 4.3k+
listen to: claire de lune and adagio for strings
a/n: first fanfic on here lol i hope it isn’t trash & pls enjoy loves!! xx
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Kim’s Library and Recital Hall
At least that’s what you thought was written on the battered storefront. The building’s exterior was aged — the faded letters were peeling, the glass windows were dusty with years of negligence, the copper door handle was rusted from the elements, and the black-painted wood was chipping at the corners.
The store was a perfect match amongst the other ones along the deserted street. It was so ordinarily fitting that anyone could have easily passed it. However, it happened to be exactly what you were looking for — a quiet place to study and somewhere to potentially spend the night since your roommate decided to let you know at the last minute that her and her boyfriend would be in your shared dorm for the night.
With a small shrug, you moved towards the door and attempted to push it open. After a fourth push (that was more tiring than you’d like to admit), the old door finally creaked open. Surprisingly, dust didn’t meet your eyes as you thought it would, and with a brief inspection of the interior, you noticed that it was oddly clean — a stark contrast from its outer appearance. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think that someone was diligently taking care of this place.
Paying it no mind, you moved further into the old store, basking in the silence and mildly soothing aura. The music-themed decorations and portraits of deceased musicians reminded you of your brother, and the quietness was a peaceful contrast from your hectic dorm (and, somehow, your campus library).
Before choosing a desk to work on, you checked your phone for the time.
4:37 PM
Nice, you thought. You should be able to get a few hours of work in while the sun is still up. Hopefully this place still has electricity or candles laying around. You sat down at a large wooden desk close to the storefront and pulled out your textbooks and papers, slowly beginning your studying.
You studied your notes in pure silence for 15 minutes when you heard a noise, but it was too quiet for you to distinctly make out what it was. It sounded like a scuffle, almost as if someone was walking but stopped abruptly. You turned and looked around carefully — maybe this place wasn’t as abandoned as you thought.
After looking around for a few moments and not noticing anything else, you returned to your books, although you paid much more attention to the pepper spray sitting in the pocket of your bag. Once twenty minutes passed, you slightly relaxed and hoped it was just a rodent. With a heavy sigh, you stood up from the desk and stretched, figuring that you could take a break and walk around.
With your phone in hand (and pepper spray in the other), you walked away from the desk and into a random aisle of books. You explored the various titles, noting that you hardly recognized any of them. It didn’t take long for you to realize this store was probably much older than you thought, considering that the most recent titles and portraits were from the late 1800s.
As you explored more aisles, you kept thinking of your brother and how much he would love this place you found. Yoongi always loved music and he never failed to humbly show off his natural talent at it. He once tried to teach you how to play the piano; unfortunately, you were too impatient and annoyed that you didn’t get it right away to ever succeed.
You were wrapped in your thoughts as you aimlessly walked around, now only thinking about how you would love to show your older brother this place. Suddenly, you found yourself at the entrance of a hall, and you stare in awe at the large grand piano sitting at the end. Despite its old age, it looked incredibly taken care of. The black paint was flawless and shined in the low sunlight, not a single chip in sight, and the ivory keys glimmered. You were about to walk towards the enchanting instrument when you heard the floor creak.
You froze in your tracks. That creak did not sound like a mouse, and you definitely didn’t hear anyone else enter this place after you. You tore your gaze away from the piano and turned around, your hand gripping your pepper spray. Weaving through bookshelves towards the table with your belongings, you cautiously looked for the source of the noise. But just as you turn the corner, you hear a gentle melody ring through the air.
Usually, this is the time where you would run. Or, if you were the character in a horror movie, the audience would be screaming at you to leave the store to avoid a tragic death.
But you didn’t want to run. Not because you found potential death exciting or because you wanted to piss off your imaginary viewers. But because the melody that was playing was the same one your brother spent months playing over and over again to perfect. It became so familiar to you in your home that you always associated it with him.
With a rapidly beating heart, you all but ran back to the empty recital hall. The volume increased as you neared the hall, and you held your breath as you finally approached the open doors.
“Yoon-” your whisper was caught in your throat as you made eye contact with a ghostly man. His face was devoid of any emotion, eyebags dark and defined, skin tone ghostly pallor, and eyes sullen and tainted with agony. Yet, he was beautiful. He had round feline eyes, defined jaw and cheekbones, full lips, and dark hair that fell elegantly on his forehead.
You waited as he continued playing the piece, knowing exactly when the end approached due to months of listening to it courtesy of your older brother. As the mystery man hit the last note, he looked back up at you, shock evident in his features.
“You’re still here?” he asked, his deep voice throwing you off guard.
“Y-yes, I am,” you started, finding yourself extremely nervous in his presence. You awkwardly shuffled your feet as you rambled, “I’m so sorry for intruding. I thought this place was completely abandoned, and I had no idea you were here. I’ll get going, so sorry again.”
With that, you turned to run back to your bag and get out. But he moved and grabbed your wrist at an unnaturally fast pace, and you gasped at how cold his fingers were on your warm skin. Goosebumps prickled along your arm as you looked up at him in shock and confusion.
He let go of you with a sheepish apology. “It’s just… it’s been a while since anyone has come by. You don’t have to leave,” he said, hastily adding, “unless you want to, of course! I cannot force you to stay if you do not wish to.”
A soft smile spread at your lips. This man was not nearly as cold as he looked or felt. His emotionless eyes seemed hopeful and his mouth was fixed in a boxy smile. With hope that this was fate of some sort, you told him, “I would love to stay.”
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“What’s your name?”
“Me?” the ghostly man pointed to himself, oddly shocked at the question.
You nodded, adding with a small laugh, “I don’t see anyone else here who could answer my question.”
He breathed out a laugh as he answered, “Taehyung. And you?”
“Y/N. It’s very nice to meet you, Taehyung.”
He grinned at the way you said his name, and continued, “What brings you here, Y/N?”
“Ah,” you nodded and propped your arms up on the table you two were sitting at. “Noisy dorm halls, librarians who don’t care about enforcing quiet rules, and a horny roommate. You?”
His smile grew at your brutally honest answer. He hesitated as he answered, “I live here. I take care of everything.” It wasn’t a complete lie.
Your mouth parted. “Are you Kim Taehyung. As in a Kim of Kim’s Library and Recital Hall?” you joked, relieved that he found your reference amusing.
“Yes, I am Kim Taehyung. I’m relieved you find that interesting,” he responded. You grinned at the way he answered, his tone and diction captivatingly formal.
“Well, you’ve done an excellent job maintaining the interior. The outside though… that could use a bit of help,” you admitted honestly, to which he laughed heartily at. “Do you get much business?” you asked cautiously after he stopped laughing.
He shrugged, the same boxy smile still on his face. “Not much, but it’s alright. The silence is peaceful.”
You nodded thoughtfully, sensing there was more to his answer but deciding not to push it. “It is very peaceful here, and if you ever need some help around here, I’ve got more free time than I’d like to admit.”
Taehyung laughed again, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “I’ll consider it,” he responded genuinely, his voice growing softer for a second. “I’ll have to warn that working here isn’t as great as it may seem. It’s quite boring.”
“Pfft,” you shook your head, “boring? With the piano skills you have? I could spend all day listening to you play while I dust or shit like that.”
He basked in your ability to speak freely and jokingly with him, and at that moment he gathered the courage to ask the question that was lingering on his mind ever since you made eye contact with him.
“Why didn’t you run away when you first saw me?”
Your gaze faltered for a second, but a small smile returned to your face as you answered honestly, “I was going to run, but the piece you were playing reminded me of my brother Yoongi.”
A brief flash of shock passed on his face, luckily unnoticed by you as you continued your story.
“He used to play it so much, and it felt like fate to hear it again in this place,” you paused, looking back up at Taehyung with a sheepish smile and glassy eyes. “You see, as I walked around, I kept on thinking of how much Yoongi would love this place. Books and sheet music and portraits of musicians and silence. It’s just so so perfect for him. But, as much as I want to, I can never show him this place.”
“Why?”
“Yoongi died 3 years ago.”
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[you]
goodnight yoongi. sleep well! i know you’ll do great at your performance tomorrow! mom and i will be waiting for you at the end !!
p.s. seokjin is invited to dinner next week ;)
[best/worst brother ever]
goodnight Y/N. thank you :]. treat me to some lamb skewers after?
p.s. you can text him yourself
[you]
of course, anything you want !!
sleep now, it’s already 3 am
p.s. why would i when i have you? :)
[best/worst brother ever]
ok, mom
[you]
>:(
When you turned your phone off to sleep that night, you didn’t realize that would be the last conversation you would ever have with your older brother.
The house was silent when you received the phone call.
Min Yoongi died in an accident on the way to the recital hall. A drunk driver hit his car, killing him and his friend and roommate, Kim Seokjin. The doctors did everything they could, but he suffered from too much blood loss...
You felt empty. Quiet tears escaped you as you sat in the passenger seat while your mother frantically drove to the hospital. The fresh bouquet of flowers you bought early in the morning to congratulate Yoongi on another performance well done was sitting in the backseat, the bright colors mocking your misery. Labored breaths left you as you ran to his hospital room, and you struggled to breathe when you saw his still body on the bed.
The doctor's solemn words drowned in the background as you fell to your knees. Your hands clutched Yoongi’s in hopes that he would reassuringly squeeze them again and wake up to say that it was just an elaborate prank. But he never did.
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“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Taehyung whispered, offering a hand, which you gratefully took.
You shrugged, responding while wiping your wet eyes, “It’s ok. It was 3 years ago, and there’s really nothing to be sorry about. I’m not even sure why I told you.” You spoke honestly, which was odd since you barely knew Taehyung. For some reason, you felt as if you could trust him with anything.
“So what about you?” you asked after a few moments of silence. “Tell me about you. All about Kim Taehyung,” you finished with a gentle smile, your smaller hand still in his larger one.
“Well, I am 25 years old, a pianist as you saw, I grew up on my family’s farm before I moved to the city to study music with my uncle, and I eventually inherited the place we’re currently in,” he answered, his boxy smile growing as he told you more about himself.
“Wow,” you said, shocked at how much he told you despite knowing you for a short period of time. But you technically did the same.
“How did you like growing up on a farm?” you asked curiously, your hand unconsciously tightening your grip on his.
His eyes lit up as he replied, “It was peaceful. I loved the animals and spending time with my grandmother. The village was nice, too. My friends were always a few steps away,” he paused for a moment, “but when I started to play the piano that my uncle gifted me, I found my new passion: music.”
“So you eventually moved to the city to study music?”
He nodded excitedly in confirmation. “It was hard leaving my parents and grandmother,” he added. “But I tried to go back whenever I could.”
“It’s difficult leaving your family,” you agreed, unsure of what to say next. Luckily, Taehyung expertly carried the conversation.
“So Y/N, how old are you?” he asked, his boxy smile not fading for even a second.
You grinned and responded with the same tone he had earlier. “Well, I am 20 years old, I study Literature and Biology at the National University, I grew up in a city with my mom and older brother, and I found this place by complete chance.”
“You’re more interesting than I thought, Y/N,” Taehyung grinned. “And complete chance? What does that mean?”
“Well,” you started, “I was just thinking about how much I hated my roommate and dorm floor, and I somehow stumbled upon this completely deserted street. To be honest, I don’t even know where I am right now. Yet I’m still here talking to you, is that crazy or foolish of me?”
“No.” His left hand reached up to move a strand of hair away from your face. Your breath hitched and body froze as his cool fingers met your warm skin. “It’s not crazy or foolish at all,” he finished.
You melted under his haunting gaze, and you didn’t even notice how the sun had fallen outside and how the lights automatically flickered on.
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Five hours.
Or at least it felt like five hours of you and Taehyung simply talking. At this point, you were really hoping he wasn’t planning on murdering you because you honestly have never met a guy this perfect. It seemed like he didn’t have a single flaw!
With each conversation and joking remark, you found yourself moving closer and closer to him until you two were thigh to thigh. Your denim jeans met the expensive material of his trousers, and both of your warm hands were covered by his much colder ones (something you chose to chalk down to iron deficiency or other potential medical conditions).
To merely say you were growing feelings for Taehyung would be an understatement — you were falling in love.
Eventually, he offered to show you around the store, considering you only really looked at the front. His hand around yours, he led you towards the back, where there were less bookshelves and more music-oriented displays. There were encased instruments, very old photos, worn sheet music, and more portraits.
“My uncle loved collecting portraits,” Taehyung said when he caught you staring at one of Jung Hoseok. “He said it was like always having a memory of someone, even if they passed.”
“Your uncle was right. Although I think pictures and a camera may be cheaper,” you teased, unaware of the slightly pained smile on his face. You looked around some more, and your smile fell as your eyes landed on a very familiar-looking portrait.
The curve of his lips, strong jawline, uneven eyelids, defined eyebrows — it was like you were looking directly at him. Your breath hitched as you looked at the inscription below the oil painting.
Kim Taehyung / 1877 - 1902
“Taehyung…” you called. He didn’t respond.
“Taehyung,” you called again, slowly turning around, your eyes meeting his panicked ones. “You… You’re …”
“Dead.”
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“What do you mean you’re dead? You’re standing right here! But the portrait. Oh my god. Is this a dream? Have I been dreaming this entire thing? Ghosts aren’t real! Are you a demon? Oh fu -”
“Y/N!” he shouted, his arms wrapping around you to calm you down, his icy skin only further reminding you that a dead man was hugging you.
“You’re so cold! Oh fuck! You’re so cold! I’m so stupid!” you continued panicking, completely unaware of how to deal with this if it really wasn’t a dream.
“Can you please give me a chance to explain?” he asked, his low voice soothing you.
Begrudgingly, you nodded, and melted into his tight grip. It was hard to believe that he was a ghost when you were physically touching him, a complete contradiction of what online conspiracy theories and horror documentaries (and your biology lectures) told you.
“I didn’t lie about anything I told you. I was born in 1877 and I died in 1902. I was poisoned by another musician who grew jealous of my success. I chose to stay in the human realm as a ghost instead of pass on.”
You remained silent, needing a moment to think. Was he telling the truth? But Taehyung didn’t have a reason to lie to you, nor did he have a reason to be honest. And why was he so insistent on explaining himself? Did he have the same feelings as y —
“I’m telling the truth,” he said abruptly, sensing your inner turmoil. “I understand if you do not trust me. It would be hard for anyone living to trust me in this situation, but I want you to know that,” he paused, looking at you with such emotion that it made you want to reach out to him and take all the pain he was feeling away. “That I am being genuine because I care about you the way you care about me.”
You gasped quietly in shock.
“The last living person to enter this place was 60 years ago, and no one ever stayed,” he began sadly. “But then today, you,” he looked down to make eye contact with you, “you came in and you stayed and we talked for hours.”
As much as you wanted to comfort him, you still remained silent.
Taehyung continued, “Even when I was alive, I never encountered anyone who spoke as passionately as you, who was refreshingly honest, or who cared about what I said as much as you do. Y/N, I hope you understand that our time together today has meant the world to me, and I would never betray your trust or presence for anything in the world.
Your eyes teared up at his confession, and you barely managed to whisper, “Today meant a lot to me too.”
Taehyung let out a relieved breath and tightened his hold on you. “I may be a dead man but my feelings for you are true. I hope that you’ll accept me as I am and -”
“Tae-” you attempted to interrupt him, but he cut you off and only tightened the hug.
“And if you do not accept me, I understand,” he finished, his voice strained as he said the last two words.
“Taehyung,” you started, but he interrupted you again.
“Please, if you wish to leave do not say anything else. I fear that I might not be able to take it if you bless me with your voice and presence again just to leave soon after,” he pleaded, his hands gently holding you to his chest as you two still remained in a fond embrace.
“Taehyung,” you started again, feeling his chest tighten as you gently spoke, “Although this is all very hard for me to understand, I do accept you.” He breathed out a sigh of relief. “But,” you said sharply, and he winced at the word, “You need to explain everything for me to truly believe in you. How am I seeing you? How does this all work?”
Begrudgingly, Taehyung released the hug, and looked at you with a cheeky and fond smile. “How are you seeing me? Easy, as a ghost I can choose when I want to be seen,” he paused, “and when I don’t.” As he uttered the last word, his body disappeared in front of your eyes, and a surprised gasp fell from you.
“You! You! What the fuck!” staring as he reappeared, his body once again covering the wall behind him.
He laughed again at your shock, also finding your blunt language endearing. “It’s something all of us ghosts can do,” he said casually while you stood in shock. He continued, “I can also feel sensations like a human when I’m in this form.”
He stepped toward you again, leaving only a few centimeters between your bodies. “For example,” he started, grasping your warm hand and bringing it up to his cheek, “I can feel the warmth of your hands and how they feel on my skin.”
He dropped your hand and bent down, his beautiful face now directly in front of you. For a moment, you two only looked at each other, his strong eyes holding your curious gaze and his cool breath sending a shiver down your body. “And,” he finally said, “I can feel chills as your breath fans across my face.”
He stood fully up again, leaving you both relieved and disappointed. “I can also feel emotions just like I used to when I was alive, although I’m sure you already know that,” he told you, the boxy smile returning to his face. Your heart still recovering from the intense eye contact only a few moments prior, you could only muster a nod in response. “Would you like me to continue?” Taehyung asked.
“No,” you admitted, shocking him as he was ready to explain more.
“No?”
“I believe you, it’s difficult to, but I believe you,” you told him, your voice quiet as you looked up at him fondly. “This is all confusing as fuck, and I really don’t know what the future would look like for us but,” you pause briefly, watching as his smile grew to meet his eyes, “I have feelings for you, and I want to try and make this work.”
Taehyung grinned and wrapped you in a tight hug, the ice cold of his skin no longer sending an unnerving chill down you. He looked down and used his finger to lift your face to look at him. Wordlessly, he closed his eyes and leaned down.
Following his motions, your lips eventually met. Taehyung kissed you with gentle passion, his full lips molding perfectly against yours. His hands moved down to the small of your back, and he pulled you in tighter to deepen the kiss.
This was better than you expected. His cold lips set a fire within you, and the way he moved his lips against yours made you feel as if your chest was going to burst at any second. The moment his lips touched yours, and yours his, you knew that you could never feel anything like it again.
A moment of adrenaline seeped into you as you parted your lips, greedy for more. At this, electricity coursed through you and you felt as if a fire was ignited between you, and as Taehyung deepened the kiss the fire grew, nearly consuming you both whole.
Your lips moved in sync with his for what seemed like an eternity before he broke the kiss, leaving you breathless. He allowed you to catch your breath before he spoke, “I’ve wanted to do that ever since I saw you enter.”
“Why didn’t you?” you asked, a teasing tone evident in your words.
“It would be rude of me to walk up to a beautiful stranger and steal a kiss from them,” he answered, his hands moving to play with your fingers.
“I suppose it would be, but I wouldn’t have minded,” you admitted, making deep eye contact with him once again.
Taehyung smiled at your words, and he waited a moment before saying, “I know someone that I think you would be happy to see again. If you feel comfortable with me, I can take you to him.”
Your eyes widened, and at that moment, you could hear the same melody he was playing earlier coming from somewhere deeper in the hall. In that moment, you remember seeing the book that Yoongi had when he first learned the song, and how the composer was named Kim Taehyung.
A tear rolled down your face as you looked up at Taehyung in shock, his confirming nod causing a choked breath to leave you. Yoongi already found this place.
With the brightest smile you’ve had on your face in years, you gently grasped Taehyung’s hand. “I’ve never felt more comfortable in my entire life.”
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Ignorance is Blitzed (Part Three)
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Ron Speirs x Reader
Summary: When you come into contact with some substance that makes you sick while on a routine building search, Ron realizes he may not be as emotionally detached as he’d thought initially thought.
Warnings: war-typical violence, a (literally) dashing nightmare magpie prince, potty words, angst maybe?, a few ocs but don’t get too attached bbs, a very sad attempt at witty dialogue ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
If you weren’t convinced that Dike was moments from getting himself, you,  and the rest of Easy killed, you would’ve sworn that you were going to kill him yourself.
At least if you shot him, it meant that someone who actually knew what they were doing could take his place, and that meant that something like this would never happen again.
There may not be an Easy Company left to save, in a few seconds….
You, Christenson, and a few replacements had found cover behind the shell of a truck, a few yards up the field from the hay bale you knew Dike to be hiding behind. 
“What in the fuck is happening over there?” Christenson shouted, the replacements trying their best to hold cover while the two of you desperately tried to figure out a way to get somewhere more tactical to alleviate the fire currently being hailed upon all of you like some biblical plague.
“Dike’s being a pussy!” one of the replacements replied before a bullet dinged him in the helmet and he cursed pitchily. “Why isn’t anyone doing anything—?”
You could hear shouting from the hay bale, so you knew your friends over there were still alive and trying to do something.
If we stay here, we’ll die before we can even try to do something helpful.
“What’s CP doing?” you shout to the replacement on your left, grabbing his vest and pulling him down out of the line of fire. “Use you binoculars—!”
With (understandably) fumbling  hands, the young man brings the apparatus to his face and scans the tree line, cursing aloud each moment that passes and he can’t see them.
Anxious energy has you so keyed up your body is trembling, but you know that if you rush him it’ll just stress him out and make it worse.
“Good job,” you say, even though both you and he know that he hasn’t really accomplished anything yet. “I’ve got you covered, just let me know whenever—”
“Got em.”
Both you and Chistenson share a look of minute relief. So far, this was the first thing about this godforsaken day that had gone right.
At least the lot of you hadn’t been left to die.
“What do you see, Nelson?” the other replacement, Grante with an ‘E’, called as he reloaded his gun. “Does it look like they’re on the radio—?”
“Winters is coming—no, wait!”
You spot a runner for the Germans from your peripheral, and without hesitation you take aim and subdue them. 
Six months ago I would’ve shot to wound….what would my family say if they saw me now?
They’d have to talk to you first, and you weren’t sure if that would ever happen again.
“Oh, shit…..it’s your boyfriend—”
“What?!”  
You squint stupidly in the direction of the trees, seeing nothing but suddenly terrified at the prospect of having to watch Nix or Bull or Grant (or whoever else these dicks you worked with decided you were sleeping with) get killed in their stupid attempt at bravery.
Unless he means….
You watch someone burst through the smoke of a target-missing mortar blast, charging like some avenging God of War towards the hay bale shrouding Dike, Lip, Luz, and however many more of your friends were trapped behind before disappearing.
Ron Speirs, you goddamned psychopath.
“Fuck.” you bit out, turning to Christenson and getting his attention. “Any sign of I Company?”
The four of you initially had been part of a bigger group, and your aim had been to hook up along the outer fringes with some of I Company and create a perimeter from which the Nazi soldiers would be unable to escape or send for reinforcements. 
Christenson nodded. “They look like they’re waiting on us—”
“Yeah, well tell ‘em to get in line!” Grante barked unhelpfully, his voice cracking and reminding you just how young he was. “We’re waiting on us, too!”
You hear a shout of your last name, and when you look back to the hay bale you see that Ron and Lipton are waving to get your attention.
When you meet Ron’s eyes you see the fire of battle raging inside of him, and you can’t help but feel relief that Dike was no longer in charge of your fate.
Using hand signals that had been drilled into your head ever since Georgia you tell him and Lip that five of your party are down, but you have eyes on I Company and just need the okay to hook up with them.
You watched as the two men spoke to eachother, and when they turned away from you you imagined they were relaying what you’d said to Luz so he could let Sink know your intentions.
After a few moments, Speirs tells you with quick and precise motions that you are good to go— he has cover fire arranged for your group so you can dash the final 200 yards into the building you knew housed I Company.
You shoot him a thumbs up before turning to Christenson and nodding excitedly.
“Ready, kids?” you ask, and when they voice their readiness you make a dash for it, leaving the shell of protection the car provided behind and running as quickly as you could towards the bombed out farmhouse, the sound of heavy breathing letting you know that at least Christenson was right behind you.
You don’t look back, can’t look back- all that mattered right now was forward and careful and shouting “flash FLASH FLASH!”
The call of THUNDER preceded you and Christenson all but throwing yourselves through the doorway and into the arms of the five I Company men you’d arranged to meet.
“Fuck, where’ve you been?!” one of them is shouting in your face, and you glare at them qyuickly before looking to where a blood-speckled Nelson is gasping for breath in the doorway. Grante was nowhere to be seen, and one look from Nelson told you that the younger man hadn’t made it.
“The salon, getting my hair permed.” you deadpan to the rifleman, finding the CO and shaking his hand.
“Where do you want us?”
He nods and waves Christenson and Nelson over. “Just this way, ma’am….”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
“Ho-ly shit.”
You look up at the I Company CO (Parker, you remember quickly)  parts of a jammed machine gun between your legs as you desperately attempt to fix Nelson’s weapon.
“What?” you ask, fingers moving faster than your mind can keep up with as you quickly dislodge the shrapnel from the chamber of the gun and begin putting the thing back together on reflex.
You had been holding the line for the past hour, and for that hour the same question had been on everyone’s mind. “Tanks? Did we miss a runner—?”
Where the fuck is the rest of Easy? They should’ve been here by now to check in….
When the gun is reassembled, you shove it into the replacement’s hand and move to see what has Parker so excited, hoping beyond hope that you’d see the faces of your friends rushing to meet you.
To your horror, you only saw one face, and it happened to be the face of the man who made a point to be the one who woke you up each morning with a full canteen and the promise of breakfast.
Of course it’s going to be someone important to me, my…..whatever it is he is to me.
 “Where’s everybody?” Christenson shouted, an unfazed Ron breezing past him to quickly grab the ammo and sling it over his shoulder.
Ron goes straight to the CO and starts talking to him in harsh tones under his breath, yet his eyes still search the room until they find yours.
He’s okay, he’s safe and he’s here now. It’s okay.
You give him a nod before moving on to the next jammed weapon that had been shoved into your hands wordlessly by Christenson after he takes one of the German ones from a body next to him.
Fucking Dike. He’d have us fighting with slingshots and pebbles if it meant he got to stay warm at the CP. Half of us didn’t even have weapons until Bill and Babe started repossessing the Army’s shit. If we survive this, I’m going to kill Dike, I swear to God….
You fix the gun, glad it was only a minor fix that was needed this time. When you look back to Ron, he’s tightening his helmet on his head and looking back the way he had just come.
Goddamnit. Of course he’s running back into danger. He’s Ron fucking Speirs.
You shake yourself from your stupor and quickly rush over to him as he picks up the last of his things and prepares to go.
When he looks up at you, you shove the rifle you’d taken off the corpse of a German you’d come across on your last scouting mission into his hands and take his standard issued one away.
“Take this one,” you say breathlessly, as if you were the one who had been running. “It holds more rounds and shoots cleaner.”
He nods, eyes wild with adrenaline as he scans you over for any sign of injury.
“You good?” he asks, and you nod and try to shrug casually.
It’s hard, you are also nearly vibrating with adrenaline and nervous energy.
“I’d ask you the same, but clearly you’ve got a death wish, so—”
Before you can finish chastising him, his rough hands come up to grip your face and he smashes his lips to yours in a rough kiss that’s nearly bruising in its force.
Oh...OH. Oh shit!
You inhale sharply through your nose, head tilting back as he steps into you and puts his hands on your shoulders and squeezed.
You gape at him stupidly when he pulls back and feel the blood rushing to your cheeks in surprise at his boldness.
You hadn’t been kissed since long before Georgia, hadn’t wanted to be kissed or coddled or shown too much affection because in your relatively short life, you’d come to know unreserved compassion as a weakness. 
“Love is nice but it isn’t reliable. Life isn’t a fairytale, sweetheart— everything has a price.
Nothing can hurt you if you don’t let it matter in the first place….”
Well, Mom— I’m doing my best, but I just don’t know if you’re right about this one, not this time….
Ron smirks down at you with such a self-satisfied look you smack him lightly on the chest on reflex rather than due to any actual upset.
“Yell at me later.” he offers when you open your mouth to speak, and with one more quick, breath-stealing kiss he’s gone again, running into enemy fire far too casually for your liking.
When you turn to watch him go you catch Christenson staring at you, a similar expression of shock on his face.
Ok, so I didn’t dream that, that actually happened.
You have to literally shake your head in order to get through the surprise, and when you do a weird pit of anger forms in your stomach.
That fucker better live, because he can’t just do that and run off.
You square your shoulders and grab the newly repaired gun at your feet, going to the hole in the wall and shooting at anything that looks as if it may mean Ron Speirs any harm.
He rolls over a stone fence, and you can’t help but shake your head.
He’s fucking with my plans, that son of a bitch. 
“So, uh….that was—”
“Shut up, Christenson. Just…. shut up.”
You hear the hitch of a chuckle from his direction. 
“Bull will be happy—”
“Shut. The fuck. Up! Keep shooting, you damn fucking child….!”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Ask him how far away their backup is.”
You nod to Dick, dutifully repeating the question to the bruised and bloodied german soldier who sat before a group of you after his comrade had identified him as his superior officer.
You listen to the mumbled reply and nod. “About three hours by foot, an hour if you cut through fields.”
“Ask him for a number. How many miles? How many villages?”
You press him for specifics, but he just spits bloodily at Dick’s feet before calling him something you couldn’t fully translate (but assumed was insulting).
“I’ll take it that’s a no on getting specifics.” Nix smirked, stepping to the soldier and grabbing him bodily by the arm. “I think battalion’s gonna love you—”
You squeeze your eyes shut as Lewis leads the captured man to a truck where the others are waiting to be transported back to wherever they’d set up HQ, pinching at the pressure point at the top of the bridge of your nose in a vain attempt to ease some of the pain of your stress headache.
“Headache?” Winters asks, and you instantly lower your hand and straighten up.
“Nothing I can’t handle.” 
He chuckles at that, giving you a knowing look. “I think you and I both know you could lose a limb and still insist that you’re fit for duty.”
You scoff a laugh. “I suppose it would depend on which limb…. and what duty, Sir.”
He looks at you with all the exhaustion of a first time father, and you laugh in earnest.
“Go see someone if it gets too bad.”
“Sir.” you nod.
You smile as you watch him walk away, catching up with Nixon and falling into step with the man easily.
How I got accused of screwing Nixon and Winters hasn’t, I’ll never understand….
Turning to look back at the war-torn downtown, you catch Grant’s eye and he waves you over.
By the time you get to him, you find that he isn’t alone.
Leaning against the wall beside your friend is Ron Speirs, looking far too at ease for someone who you had spotted running through enemy tanks not an hour before.
“Heard you had an exciting day!”
You freeze, eyes widening as you feel yourself blushing again. 
Shit. SHIT!
“Oh, I….um—”
“I was telling him about the car you hid behind,” Ron supplied mercifully, and you feel relief so instantly that you have to brace a hand against the side of the building in order to catch yourself.
“Oh, yes! That exciting part of my day.”
Chuck looks at you strangely for a moment, bringing a hand to your forehead and holding it there.
You roll your eyes and push his hand away, smacking at it again when he tries to repeat the action. “Charles—”
“Grant, Tab!” 
The three of you turn towards the direction of Malarkey’s voice, the man jerking his thumb back to one of the trucks.
“Got some stuff for you that just got here…”
Giving you one last look, he points his finger in your face like he’s scolding a child.
“This interrogation isn’t over, young lady—”
“Don’t you mean conversation?” Ron asks, smoke from his cigarette floating around his face like fog over a lake.
You nod your head in Ron’s direction in a sign of agreement, and Chuck moves his arm so he’s now pointing at Ron.
“Y/n and I are far past social pleasantries, and I would never insult her by lying...”
You roll your eyes and gesture in the direction Grant had been called from.
“Don’t keep Mother waiting, you know how she gets.”
You watch Grant jog over and away from sight. Ron’s fingers deftly pull your braid out from beneath your collar and smooths it down, following the length of your spine in such a way that no one else would’ve been able to see should they look over suspiciously.
“If you didn’t look like you’d just committed a crime,” he says matter-of-factly. “He probably would’ve just given you a pat on the back and moved on.”
You turn and look at him over your shoulder, the closeness of his face reminding you of how he’d held you when you thought you were dying all those months ago.
“Are you okay?” you ask softly, suddenly feeling very shy around him.
He hums, lips quirking up in a quick smile. “Well, my ‘suicidal death wish’ didn’t pan out as well as I’d hoped, so I’ll live—”
Something in your face made him stop, and with gentle hands he takes your shoulders and turns you to face him completely. You let him walk the two of you back behind the building a bit before stepping in to you again.
Like he had before, in the farmhouse after he kissed me….
You flush at the memory, and you may as well have said what was on your mind because he whispers your name in the way he does when he knows you’re overthinking things(or at least starting to).
Meeting his softened gaze, bite the inside of your cheek before speaking.
“I’m mad at you.” you say, hating the lack of conviction in your voice.
He nods, expression one of consideration as his hands come up to hold your face.
“I know.”
“Because what you did was really stupid—”
“I know—”
“And then you pull a move like that, hey” you cut yourself off when he smirks again, a chuckle in his throat when you glare at him. “Don’t you dare look so damn proud of yourself, I’m yelling at you—”
“Which move would you be referring to?” he goads, and you frown in order to hide the grin that threatens to break across your face. You shake your head in disbelief, leaning back against the side of the building.
“Oh my God.” you scoff out. “Are you teasing me right now? Ronald Speirs, you’re unbelievable”
He smiles down at you, and you let yourself smile back at him and nervously bring one of your hands up to cover his as it slides down to cup the side of your neck. 
Your smile slips as your eyes unintentionally flicker down to his lips again, remembering how they felt against your own.
Shooting a quick look to either side, you slowly raise onto your toes and give him a quick, shy peck. You can feel him grin for a split second before he kisses you deeply and far more thoroughly than you’ve ever been kissed before.
You sigh into the kiss, eyes drifting closed as you wrap your arms around his torso and fist the material of his jacket in your hands.
When you break for air you rest your cheek against his shoulder, hugging him tightly.
“I’m glad you’re okay.” you mumble, and for a moment you think he may not have caught what you said.
“If you think I’m going to let something as stupid as a bullet or a mortar stop me from coming back to you,” His lips are at your temple, and when you pull back to look at him follows you and gives you another smug grin. “you’ve got another thing coming.”
As you open your mouth to reply, the both of you hear Nixon calling your name, loudly asking people if they’ve seen you and which way you’d gone.
You both sigh, and smile at each other at the unintentional synchronization of the action.
“I think your boyfriend is looking for you.” He pulls playfully on your braid when you roll your eyes at him and gently push him away.
“I think I liked you better when you were just quiet and broody and handsome—”
Ron smiles wickedly at that, and you groan when you realized what you’d just said.
“Don’t let it get to your head-”
“Too late.” 
Ducking another quick kiss to your lips, he steps back just in time as Nixon rounds the corner, his words forgone in favor of eyeing the two of you suspiciously.
“What were you—”
“What’s up Lew?” you interrupt, trying your best to not look...what had Ron compared it to? 
Looking like you’d committed a crime….
Giving Ron a scrutinizing once over, Nix looked back to you and raised a brow.
“Dick’s wondering if you can show him how to switch one of the Kraut scopes to a rifle…”
“Sure!” you said, far too brightly. You had a feeling if you looked back at Ron he’d be smirking in unabashed amusement at your awkwardness. “Lead the way…”
With a frown and a suspicious hmph, Nix turned and began to walk in the direction from which he’d come.
You follow dutifully, giving Ron a quick smile over your shoulder as you hurried to catch up with Lewis.
Ron looked beyond pleased with himself, shooting you a quick wink before bringing another cigarette to his lips and lighting it.
“Care to explain that?” Nix asks under his breath once you catch up to him, taking your arm in his like the two of you were at some cotillion.
You smirk to yourself, rolling your lips together to hide the action.
“Nothing to explain, Nixy. Everything’s perfect….”
And for the first time in your life, you truly meant it.
OOF HERE WE ARE AGAIN! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR READING THE RAMBLINGS I THROW IN YOUR DIRECTION AND SORRY IF IT SUCKS
TAGLIST: @itswormtrain, @mrseasycompany​, @softspeirs​
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