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#didn’t go last weak but I had a decent reason. I suppose ‘being with sick mother’ is also a decent reason
floral-hex · 11 months
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drove my mom to the ER.
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superhero--imagines · 3 years
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Part 1 Here! / Part 3 Here!/ Playlist Here!
A/N: Maybe one last part after this?
Ko-Fi l Etsy l Commission Info Here
* You’re sitting on a bench outside, listening to Shoko and Nanami talk about something
* The breeze caresses your face
* It’s so quiet
* You haven’t experienced silence like this in years
* And there’s only one reason why you’re suddenly experiencing it now
* Your eyes stray from the dancing branches that hover above you to the dancing white-haired boy across the courtyard
* He’s talking to Geto about something, laughing as he does
* His sky blue eyes meet yours for a second, before abruptly looking away
* Not the usual flirtatious wink and wave he would normally give you
* You don’t know why, but it’s like Gojo’s lost every ounce of interest he had in you
* It looks like that prank you pulled on him is what did it-
* Apparently Geto had to help get the glass down
* He hasn’t tried speaking to you once since then, and every time your eyes meet he looks away just like he did a second ago
* What a baby, so he can dish it out but he can’t take it when someone uses his own tactics against him huh?
* It’s for the best really, you don’t want anything to do with him
* Besides if that moron just wanted someone who wasn’t going to react or get mad, then he should just date a sex doll
* It’s for the best, really
* So why are you so upset right now
* The prickle of irritation burns in your chest even when you turn away from the two boys, joining in on Shoko and Nanami’s conversation
* On the other side, Geto lets out a low whistle
* “Never thought I would see the day a lady killer like you would get embarrassed because you made eye contact with your crush” Geto grins when Gojo flushes a light pink.
* Geto almost wants to laugh, what happened to the womanizing-god-complex freak who was here just a second ago?
* “Don’t say lady-killer, you know I like men too, I’m an equal opportunity lover” Gojo gloats while running his fingers through his hair
* Ah, it looks like he’s on his bullshit again
* “You better watch out Geto, if you’re too much of tsundere I might fall for you next” the words are emphasized with a wink, and Geto can’t help but laugh
* “Whatever dude, don’t come crying to me when they start to hate you because you’re being flakey”
* Gojo laughs it off
* But late that night, while he’s lying in bed watching the shadows flicker on his ceiling he can’t help but wonder-
* What if you really do end up hating him?
* It’s not that he doesn’t want to be around you anymore or anything-
* He just doesn’t know how to approach you anymore now that he knows he’s in love with you
* “I’ve probably been in love for a while” he mumbles
* He’s not really sure when it started.
* At first it was just for shits and giggles
* Something to keep him entertained, and you just happened to be the most entertaining thing around
* So when did it stop being ‘anyone’s fine’ and start being ‘it’s only fine if it’s you’?
* He sighs turning to face the wall, he doesn’t understand his own feelings
* Yeah he’s got all this money and power and influence-
* But right now he’s just a boy in love for the first time
* And he doesn’t know how to handle that
* “I just don’t want them to hate me” he mumbles, feeling his eyes close shut
* He’ll try to talk to you tomorrow
* Even if it’s just a simple ‘good morning’
* At least it’ll be something
* But to his annoyance, he’s told he has to go save his classmates from a curse
* And then everything with the star vessel happens
* And he doesn’t see you for a while and he thinks-
* “Well maybe this is fine, maybe it’s better this way. They’re probably happy now that I’m not around always annoying them”
* And just as he’s thinking maybe this is for the best, that if someone leaves your life it probably means they weren’t supposed to be apart of it anyway -
* When you come barreling into his life again
* “Oi, Baka prince, where did sensei say this kid's house was again?” You ask, eyebrows threading together as you fidget with your phone
* Yaga-sensei sent you to accompany Gojo on his ‘mission’ to retrieve Megumi Fushiguro
* It looks like the only people who can reign Gojo in are you and Geto
* Not that you mind the impromptu mission, and besides- you don’t think Gojo is someone who should be alone around kids
* Gojo actually flinches when you speak to him, you’d traveled in silence so far, standing side by side without exchanging a word on the train.
* You sigh, you know he isn’t interested in you but the least he can do is be somewhat pleasant
* Even that usual annoying demeanor of his would be fine
* You’re not sure why but that prickle of irritation burns in you again, seeping through in the nickname you gave him
* Gojo doesn’t meet your eyes, those clear blue pupils are averted slightly as a pink blush singes his face
* “I’m not sure, I’ve just been following the cursed energy” he admits with an uncharacteristically shy gaze
* Okay WTF
* Gojo would never let the opportunity to tell you how weak you are for being unable to “even feel this amount of cursed energy”
* Who is this freak and what has he done to the real Gojo Satoru
* “Are you sick or something?” You ask
* Your hand’s already moving to cover his forehead, and you feel like somethings off
* Your eyebrows thread together as your peer closer, noticing a small gap where your hand and his forehead
* Ah right, the infinity he has around him
* You never realized it before but you wonder, can he ever feel anything?
* It must be lonely
* Gojo’s looking down at you, swallowing a lump in his throat.
* The expression on your face looks so tender, and you’re so close he can smell your scent
* And he feels a sudden urge to cry, to bury his face in your shoulder and weep like a child
* He’s watching you open your mouth, you’re about to say something-
* When you both feel a large burst of cursed energy
* Your heads snap to the direction you sense it from only to see a small boy
* You recognize him as Megumi Fushiguro, your target for this so-called ‘mission’
* He’s younger than you expected, he can’t be older than 10
* You turn to Gojo, you’re going to need a plan, someone that young is awfully impressionable. You have to do this with some tact
* But when you turn to look he’s gone
* “Huh?”
* You can practically see the outline of his form where he was standing just a second ago, your neck creaking as you turn to where Megumi-Kun is standing
* “Your father sold you to the Zenin Clan”
* You might appear calm and collected on the outside, but I promise you your soul has ascended to the fourth dimension where you are just screaming into the void
* “Well does it make you mad? Does it-“ Gojo’s waggling his fingers like a god damn perv when you basically apparate to his side and bring your fist down on his head
* “Oi, Baka prince what the hell do you think you’re doing?!?”
* Gojo’s stumbles back, nursing the emotional wound you just gave him and you crouch down
* “Don’t listen to anything that moronic man just told you, he’s got no tact” you tell the boy
* He’s a cutie, like the male version of Snow White.
* Though his expression tells you he’s about had it with this reality
* “Yeah I can see that”
* “Well he might act like a moron, but he’s got a pretty decent heart”
* You spell out the situation to Megumi as tactfully as you can, opting to treat him like an adult.
* “These are your options as I see them, you can go to the Zenin clan, or, that Baka prince already stopped the sale in return for you promising to join our academy”
* You and Megumi get along pretty well, you’re kindred souls
* Besides you both seem to be able to see right through Gojo’s princely appearance
* “Why did you guys leave me behind?” Gojo shrieks, Megumi’s hand is in your own, both of your free hands holding ice cream cones
* Megumi immediately makes a face, it had been so quiet while he was gone too
* You can’t help but sympathize with the kid, you used to feel that way before you got to know Gojo too
* You were just showing Megumi around the campus, helping him get familiar, and you thought you should reward him a little with a treat for being such a good kid
* Besides you like him
* Of course Gojo wanted to tag along, teasing Megumi half of the time like a damn idiot and spending the other half of the time giving flirtatious winks to women who seemed interested in him.
* Gojo’s making a scene and Megumi looks like he’s a second from throwing a tantrum too
* You sigh, you don’t get paid enough for having to deal with these two children
* “Here” when Gojo looks up, bright blue eyes peering over his black glasses he sees a scoop full of his favorite ice cream balancing on top of a chocolate-dipped waffle cone
* “But what about you?” He asks and the questions catches you off guard, since when has Gojo cared about anyone but himself?
* “I don’t want any, I just thought it would be good to get in line while we waited.”
* You didn’t think you would actually get to the front of the line before he caught up though.
* “No! You waited in line that whole time, here we can take share, take the first bite”
* You’ve kept your cool in front of Gojo for years but something about the expectant expression he’s giving you - the tops of his cheeks bright pink- and those bright blue eyes looking at you while holding out the ice cream cone that makes you flustered
* You can feel your face grow warm, geez what’s gotten into him
* To make matters worse you’re having a hard time saying no to him right now
* Something about those crystal blue eyes has you almost mesmerized
* And then Megumi stands up on the bench and takes a giant bite from the cone
* Cue Gojo screaming and crying because, goddammit he was this close to an indirect kiss with you-
* “Why did you do that?” He shrieks, he’s crouched on the ground, face bright red in anger and anguish
* “I don’t know, the green tea ice cream looked good” Megumi shrugs, only for Gojo to start shrieking again
* Gojo and Megumi are about a second from a fistfight when they hear laughter
* The gentle twinkling gets louder and they both instinctively turn towards it
* You’re laughing so hard you’re clutching your stomach, tears forming at the corners of your eyes
* “Geez you guys are like something out of a cartoon.” You manage to say in between laughs
* Megumi’s eyes widen
* He’s seen you smile before, but he’s never seen you laugh like that
* Megumi wonders what he’s thinking right bow
* His eyes trail to Gojo
* Gojo looks at you like you just hung the moon
* Like he’s a child seeing fireworks for the first time
* Megumi will never forget the look on Gojo’s face for as long as he lives
* ‘So that’s what it looks like when you love someone’ Megumi thinks
* Gojo pats Megumi on the head
* “Thanks kid, because of you I got to see something nice”
* You guys grow a lot closer because of Megumi, becoming sort of surrogate older siblings to him and Tsumiki
* “Why did you bring a Kotatsu?” You and Megumi are standing in the doorway holding takeout and oranges
* “Winter time just doesn’t feel right without a Kotatsu, isn’t that right Tsumiki-Chan?”
* The young girl grins as she nods, snuggling deeper into the blanket
* You and Megumi give each other an incredulous look
* Leave it to a little rich boy like Gojo Satoru to buy a Kotatsu for a casual hang out just because it’s winter
* Still-
* You watch as Megumi and Tsumiki cuddle under the Kotatsu, peeling oranges
* The kids seem to be enjoying it
* Gojo pats the spot next to him
* “I saved you a spot (Y/N/N), I promise I won’t bite” but Gojo’s giving you that same teasing grin he always used to give you
* Looks like things are back to normal
* You sigh taking a seat beside him, stealing your resolve as you put up with his incessant teasing
* Everything is back to the way it was...so why do you still feel that prickle in your stomach every time he looks at you?
* And the following weeks that familiar sensation makes appearances several times, leaving you more confused each time
* It’s not until you’re walking in Shibuya, one of your hands holding Megumi’s and the other one holding a Taiyaki full of ice cream that you realize
* “Gojoooooo” the woman in front of you whines “you’re so mean, I can’t believe you didn’t call me, because I know you had a good time”
* The woman’s pouty expression turns wolffish in a second
* Ah, so that’s where he learned to smile like that
* You and Megumi are mostly just enjoying the show, eating your ice cream and watching as Satoru tries to placate this woman
* “I’ve just been taking some time to better myself-“
* You snort, yeah you’re sure he’s been bettering himself with his dozen other lovers
* Honestly serves him right for fooling around with so many people. You’re surprised he’s not habitually in the infirmary for a new STD
* “You see, I’m a father now”
* You sputter choking on your ice cream. Megumi pats your back
* That idiot prince has really gone and done it now-
* Having an illegitimate child,
* Yaga-Sensei is going to kill him
* Not to mention what his clan might do
* Gojo looks back at you with warm eyes
* And you feel that pricking feeling again
* “Megumi is my pride and joy”
* Huh?
* Oh
* OHHHHH
* So that’s his game.
* What a sleaze bag using someone else’s kid as an excuse to get out of an uncomfortable romantic encounter
* Megumi squeezes your hand and you look down
* The look on his face could kill a man
* “I’d never call a pervert like you my Father”
* So Megumi woke up and chose violence today-
* You figure Gojo will laugh and cover it up with some jokes like ‘kids these days no respect for their elders’ or something
* But when you look at Gojo he looks genuinely hurt, those vibrant blue eyes look watery, and that pretty mouth that’s always curled in a grin is curved into a soft frown.
* And before you know what you’re doing you say-
* “Megumi-Chan you shouldn’t be so mean to your Father, he let you have ice cream before dinner didn’t he?”
* .
* ...
* .....
* WHY DID YOU JUST SAY THAT
* Megumi and Gojo are both looking at you with vacant stares
* Megumi is still in shock that you took Gojo’s side in this
* But Gojo’s looking right at you, cheeks holding a rosy tinge
* And then something amazing happens
* Gojo smiles at you-
* Not that wolfish smile he’s been showing you for years as he teases you, or that princely smile he uses to get something he wants
* It’s a genuine smile
* And you can’t help but think he doesn’t look at all like the most powerful sorcerer, he just looks like a boy
* Ah, there’s that painful prickle again
* “I love my family so won’t see you anymore, go ahead and delete my contact information,” Gojo says with a grin
* He walks over to you in long strides, hoisting Megumi up and carrying him all while the woman shouts obscenities
* “Come on (Y/N/N), let’s go home,” he says, his hand moving to hold your own
* And all you can do is let him tug you forward
* Your gaze lingers on your intertwined hands, the heat that radiates from his palm even though there’s an infinity between you both
* Your eyes trail up to look at his broad back, the way he holds Megumi so easily even though he’s pulling on Gojo’s hair
* The prickle intensifies as you watch them
* ‘He would make a good Dad his spouse will be lucky’ you think
* And then it hits you
* Oh
* Oh no
* Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no
* You’re in love with Gojo Satoru
* The f*ckboy extraordinaire
* F*ck
* How did this even happen? You had been so careful, you were even apart of that down with Gojo Satoru club with Nanami and Geto
* Are they going to revoke your membership now?
* F*********ck
* “Hurry up and put me down you pervert!” Megumi shouts, a fistful of Gojo’s white hair in his hand
* “Ora Ora, you shouldn’t be mean to papa like that Megumi-Chan” Gojo teases, not even the slightest bit fazed
* Megumi’s only grabbing onto the infinity around his hair after all, so it probably doesn’t hurt
* “Here Megumi,” you abandon your ice cream without a thought, carefully lifting him out of Gojo’s hold and onto the ground
* Megumi doesn’t say anything, he only holds your hand in his
* “Hold Papa’s hand too Megumi-Chan otherwise I’ll feel lonely” Gojo teases, but you can tell he really does want Megumi to hold his hand
* “If it’ll get you to shut up” Megumi grumbles, but he reached up, taking Gojo’s hand in his
* The three of you probably look like a family, and this time the prickling feels warm, like a tickle across your stomach
* Like butterflies
* F********************ck
* “For F*cks sake, how am I going to get out of this one” you mumble to yourself
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ncssian · 3 years
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A Favor: Part Twenty-One
Nessian Modern AU
Masterlist
a/n: as someone who is physically incapable of reading fics and other long tumblr posts line by line and word for word, i think it’s so fucking cool that a bunch of you regularly, excitedly read what i post. i would not blame you at all for skim reading. thank you.
***
The majority of Cassian’s life was spent battling with the fact of his own existence. First he was fatherless, then motherless, then homeless. Being taken in by Rhys’s parents, who bought him nice clothes and nicer gifts, was like putting a bandaid over a stab wound. It couldn’t change the questions that made up Cassian at his core: was he equal to everyone else in this world, or had he been born inherently inferior? Did he deserve the same happinesses that his friends so carelessly reaped, or should he step back and know his place?
The older he grew, the more he grappled with those questions—until the night he learned who his father was, and the truth behind his existence. That he was likely a product of rape. Nearly driving himself drunk off a mountainside in Monte Carlo was enough to make him realize with a startling clarity: he couldn’t keep asking himself the same questions for the rest of his life. At some point, he was going to have to buck the fuck up and make his peace with the world, whether he believed he deserved to be in it or not. And though it might have taken him a while to reach that conclusion, Cassian can proudly say he did it. Not long into his post-college years, Cassian finally grew up.
By twenty-seven, he was secure enough in himself and his place in the world to not have to deal with those doubtful voices every waking minute. His life was figured out, and his ego was unshakeable. Until Nesta Archeron entered the story.
Now at twenty-eight, Cassian is again unsecured—this time in a less tragic but more confusing way. Because everything he thinks he knows about himself, about life, she insists on proving wrong.
Including the issue of celebrating his birthday.
“I feel like I should have asked this earlier,” Cassian mutters to Nesta as they stand in the cozy resort lobby, “but why is Az here?”
Nesta looks both humiliated and resigned when she mutters back, “He wouldn’t pay for the resort unless I let him come with us.”
“At that point you should’ve just let me pay, babe.” He watches Azriel’s back as he chats up the lady at the front desk while getting their room keys.
“On your own birthday? It would have ruined the point,” Nesta says.
Cassian doesn’t retort that having his brother present at their couple’s retreat also ruins the point. He’s sure she already knows.
Nesta’s reaction when Cassian told her that he didn’t celebrate his birthday was unforgettable.
“No one in our inner circle really cares about birthdays,” he had shrugged. “Feyre’s birthday is the exception because she’s sort of the outsider, and Rhys will find any excuse to worship at her feet. But the rest of us? I don’t know, it was never a big deal.”
As someone who’s never skipped a birthday once in her life, even when she was isolated and ignoring her family’s phone calls, Nesta took this as a personal offense. “I need to get you out of this cabin,” she stated.
Which brings them here, to Colorado’s finest ski resort situated high in the Rocky Mountains. The lobby is littered with overstuffed armchairs and a crackling fireplace, and huge windows look out over the blinding white mountains.
Az starts heading their way, key cards in hand, when Cassian suddenly turns to Nesta. “We need to find him a woman,” he whispers.
“What?”
“We can’t let him third wheel with us for the whole weekend. We’ll never get time alone.” Cassian is set on this new plan, already scanning the lobby for women around Azriel’s age.
“I agree, but—”
Azriel reaches the two of them, tossing a room card to Nesta. “You can stop talking about me now. I’ll be spending most of my time hitting the slopes.”
Cassian and Nesta mumble a halfhearted, “We weren’t talking about you.”
He narrows his eyes at them. “Uh-huh. Just remember whose credit card this is going on.” Picking up his ski gear and duffel bag, he turns for the elevator.
Nesta frowns up at Cassian once Az is gone, more adorably than she probably intends. “Do you think he’s upset?”
He scoffs. “We should be upset at him.” He doesn’t want to have to worry about his brother while he’s on vacation, and Az definitely wouldn’t want him to worry either, but it isn’t something that can be helped.
Despite his irritation, he might go skiing with Az later this afternoon. Just to keep him company.
***
Nesta will give it to Azriel—he’s a man of fine taste, and also generous with his spending. She originally wanted a normal room for her and Cassian, preferably the cheapest one, but Az went behind her back and upgraded them to a fully decked out penthouse suite.
“This is too much for just a weekend,” she tells him over the phone while Cassian is in the bathroom. “How am I supposed to pay you back for this?”
“Why would you pay me back?” he says dismissively. “I’m rich.”
When Nesta tries arguing with him, he only replies, “I don’t take money from poor people,” and hangs up on her.
Which leaves Nesta to enjoy the four-spray shower and heated bathroom tiles free of charge. By the time she comes out of the shower, Cassian has already left with Azriel to hit some slopes before dinner, though not before leaving her a note promising to teach her how to ski tomorrow.
Nesta doesn’t even get to unwrap her towel from her body before realizing her phone is ringing incessantly, all the way from the other side of the suite. Jogging over to the living area, Nesta answers Emerie’s call. “What’s up?”
“Where are you?” Emerie greets without introduction.
“At the ski lodge?” Nesta answers, confused. “I already told you, for Cassian’s birthday.”
“I know that,” Emerie hisses. “I mean what room are you in? This place is huge.”
“Wait—you’re here?” Nesta looks quickly around herself, as if Emerie will pop up from behind the couch.
“Not just me. So is Gwyn.” Nesta hears rustling on the other side of the line, and then Emerie saying from a distance, “Answer for your crimes, Gwyneth. Say hi.”
A new, clearer voice comes over the phone. “Hiii, Nesta.” Gwyn sounds weak, like she is not having fun at all.
“What the hell do you two think you’re doing?” Nesta demands.
“Well, it’s a long story and I need to see you first. Also, I have to pee. Where is your room?”
Five minutes later, Gwyn and Emerie are sitting obediently before the roaring fireplace in Nesta and Cassian’s suite.
Now fully dressed, Nesta stabs a finger at Emerie. “Explain.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Emerie says indignantly. “Gwyn barged into my place at eight in the morning and dragged me all the way here—”
“It was an emergency!” Gwyn tosses her hands in the air. “It still is an emergency. That’s why we’re here.”
“I’m here because Gwyn is scared of traveling alone,” Emerie interjects. “And driving on highways.”
“Guys!” Nesta snaps.
Gwyn makes a whining sound of defeat and drops her head into her hands. After a long moment, she speaks. “He asked if we could go to dinner together. Like, right to my face. And I panicked and said yes, because I couldn’t think of a reason to say no, but obviously I can’t do that. So this morning I cashed in my sick days and told him I was going on vacation for a whole week.” Gwyn looks up at Nesta with pleading teal eyes. “Please can we stay here the whole week?”
Nesta stares at Gwyn, feeling like her brain was just sucked dry. “First of all, who’s ‘he’?”
“Max!” She stands in her outburst. “The love of my life. The man who works on the fourth floor of the library. Do you pay attention to the groupchat at all?”
Oh yeah, that guy. “You came all the way here,” Nesta drawls out slowly, “so you wouldn’t have to have dinner with your crush?”
“It wasn’t just any dinner.” Gwyn flops back onto the couch. “It was a date. I can’t go on a date with him. First dates lead to second dates, and second dates lead to—sex.” She whispers the last word.
“Really?” Emerie frowns, not missing a beat at the mention of Gwyn’s deepest fear. “What kind of dates have you been having?”
“I haven’t been having any dates,” Gwyn says. “Why, how long do you usually see someone before doing it?”
“First date, at most,” Emerie shrugs.
“No,” Nesta steps in, sending Emerie a bewildered look. “Gwyn, you’ve known this guy for a while now. If he’s half as decent as you think he is, he won’t expect sex by the second date. And even if he does—”
“What does it matter?” Gwyn wails. “It’ll come up eventually. And when it does, he’ll think I’m a freak.”
“He won’t get a chance to think anything before I kill him,” Emerie says, eyes darkening.
Nesta says nothing, knowing this is something she can’t advise Gwyn about. Whether or not Gwyn chooses to share her past and unresolved trauma with another man, and whether or not that man reacts in an unshitty way isn’t something Nesta can determine. So she just states for the record, “You’re not a freak.”
“But it’s what he’ll think.”
“Then you shouldn’t be with him in the first place,” Nesta says firmly. Even though she knows better than anyone that it isn’t always that simple.
Proving her point, Gwyn scoffs and looks away. “You don’t get it.”
“What I really don’t get,” Nesta says, “is why you took your lie so literally. Why did you come all the way out here instead of hiding out at home for the week?”
“Merrill sees and knows everything. I can’t lie to her.” Gwyn cringes. “If I stayed at home, she would sniff me out as soon as she got me on the phone, and then I’d really be screwed.”
Nesta cocks her head at Gwyn, squinting her eyes in something akin to fascination.
“I had the same reaction,” Emerie pipes up. She shakes her head at Gwyn. “I’ve never met a more melodramatic idiot, truly.”
Gwyn curls into herself on the couch, looking ashamed.
Nesta sighs sharply, then whips out a hand. “Give me your wallets. I’ll go downstairs right now and see if I can book a room last minute.”
Emerie sits up at that. “Uh… I’m not sure I can afford a place like this.”
“Neither can I,” Nesta says. “That’s why Azriel paid for all of us.”
Gwyn’s eyes go comically round. “Azriel’s here?”
“Unfortunately.” She snaps her fingers at both girls. “Credit or debit, now.”
“So… I’m assuming we can’t just share this huge suite with you guys, huh?” Gwyn says hesitantly.
There might be actual flames in Nesta’s eyes. This is Cassian’s birthday, goddammit. Cassian, who hasn’t celebrated a birthday since he was eleven. “Please don’t push me.”
Gwyn and Emerie, very reluctantly, hand their cards over to Nesta. Emerie hands over two, just in case.
In the end, Nesta doesn’t use any of their money, but charges the new room to her own account. She’ll work it off by putting extra hours into Night Court, she tells herself.
When she returns to the penthouse suite, she spies tracks outlined in melted snow at the doorway. Shit. She barges inside to find Cassian and Azriel standing in the middle of the living area, with Emerie looking awkward on the couch.
“Uh, we just got back—” Cassian starts.
“I can explain,” Nesta interrupts.
A faucet turns off in the distance, and Gwyn peeks her head out of the bathroom door.
“Oh, shit,” Azriel says in delight. “Freckles is here too?”
Gwyn looks like she’s about to turn right back around to the bathroom. Nesta and Cassian both throw Az a baffled look, but Nesta says, “I can fix this. I’ve already fixed it.” She goes over to Emerie and hands her a key card. “You and Gwyn are going to stay on the first floor, and you won’t bother me or Cassian for the duration of our stay. It’ll be like you’re not even here.” She whips toward Gwyn, who still hovers near the bathroom doorway. “And at the end of this weekend, you’re going back to work like the adult you are and taking care of your shit.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Gwyn says quietly, lowering her head.
Cassian comes over to Nesta, whispering, “So, you didn’t invite them to keep Az company or anything, right?”
“I can hear you,” Azriel says.
“Of course not,” Nesta whispers back. “That’s a terrible idea.”
“Really? Because I thought it was kind of convenient—”
“I can still hear you,” Az repeats.
“So can I,” Emerie nods.
“Shut up,” Nesta hisses at the both of them. Grabbing Cassian’s still-gloved hand, she drags him upstairs and away to their bedroom. When the door shuts behind them, she turns to him and blurts, “I’m so sorry.”
Cassian only laughs, taking his ski jacket off and brushing away the wet snow from the back. “I’m not.” He tosses his jacket and gloves over a chair and approaches Nesta, tugging her closer by her oversized turtleneck. “And what did I tell you about wasting your apologies?”
Nesta doesn’t care. “I ruined your birthday.”
“My birthday’s not until tomorrow,” he says with a straight face. “But honestly, I like this a lot more than just you, me, and Az. At least he can’t third wheel anymore, right?”
She shakes her head insistently, frustration boiling in her blood. “Everything’s going wrong.”
“But you solved our problems.” He finds Nesta’s clenched fists and unfurls them with gentle hands. “You got the girls their own room, and now Az can be distracted with those two. We can still be alone. We win.”
Nesta purses her lips, unconvinced, when Cassian adds, “But seriously, though—what the fuck are they doing here?”
She exhales deeply, letting her head drop forward onto Cassian’s chest. “I don’t know,” she mutters. “Gwyn panicked about some personal stuff and thought it was a good idea to come to me. I don’t want to make her leave, though.” Gwyn is being stupid right now, without a doubt, but Nesta won’t abandon her. Neither will Emerie.
God, having friends sucks.
Cassian threads a hand through her loose hair and hums. “Gwyn was smart for coming to you.”
***
Dinner is held outside in the snow and cold, but everyone bundles up and sits down at a table that surrounds one of the multiple fire pits in the courtyard. Cassian convinced Nesta to let Gwyn and Emerie hang out with them for the weekend, because what else are those poor girls supposed to do, and now the women babble over each other as they decide what to drink.
Cassian sits back and takes it in, the sight feeling heartwarmingly familiar and strangely brand new at the same time. Nesta ends up being the one to order everybody’s drinks, and once the waiter scampers back inside, Gwyn releases a terse breath. “Sometimes I still get scared of that tone.”
“I’m always scared of it,” Az mutters, eyeing Nesta from the corner of his eye.
“What tone?” Cassian laughs. He knows Nesta is still a little wound up from her plans going off the rails, but she hasn’t done anything scary.
“I’m used to it,” Emerie says through a mouthful of fries, “but I think that waiter almost cried.”
“That’s how I sound all the time.” Nesta shrugs, sitting back.
“What tone?” Cassian repeats.
Nesta clicks her tongue impatiently. “You know how I talk. I’m straightforward.”
“And harsh,” Azriel adds. “Even aggressive.”
“Watch it.” Gwyn turns stern eyes onto him over the fire pit.
“I have no idea what you all are talking about,” Cassian says. He turns to Nesta. “You sound perfectly normal to me.”
She narrows her perfect brows at him, and Emerie laughs, “I don’t know if that’s romantic or ignorant.”
But now that they’re discussing it, Cassian does distinctly remember Nesta having a sharp edge to her words while they were getting to know each other. Did it disappear over time, or has he really stopped noticing it?
He doesn’t get to think about it before their drinks arrive, followed soon by a dinner of fancy sandwiches.
Cassian cuts his beef sandwich in half and gives the other half to Nesta, and she does the same with her turkey sandwich. They eat and drink around the crackling fire, laughing and talking about tomorrow’s plans (“It’s not your birthday, Azriel,” Nesta says. “Stop asking about gifts.”). Cassian and Emerie talk idly about video games over wine, and even though it isn’t really his thing, he can see her excitement over it and gladly indulges it.
Once everyone is finished eating and is slightly drunk, Gwyn pulls a small sleeve of crackers out of her puffy jacket, followed by a fun-sized Hershey’s bar and a handful of mini marshmallows.
“What are you doing?” Nesta says.
“Making dessert.” Gwyn builds a mini s’more and places it carefully on her fork so she can toast it over the fire pit. When it’s done, she leans forward even more to try to put it on Nesta’s plate. “For you. Thank you for letting me and Emerie stay.”
Nesta jumps, catching the s’more with her plate and batting Gwyn away from the fire pit at the same time. “You’ll set your hair on fire,” she hisses.
Gwyn’s hair remains safe, but now Cassian catches his brother watching Gwyn amusedly from the corner of his eye. “Can I have one?” Az says.
“I’m all out.” Gwyn says while building another s’more, refusing to meet his eyes.
Cassian and Nesta share a look, a hundred words thrown back and forth between them in that glance. She scoots her chair closer to him to slip her cold hands into his warm ones, but while the conversation carries on around the table, she leans in and whispers, “I’m not a busybody but…”
“I am,” he whispers back. “Az is being weird, weirder than usual.”
Nesta nods. “I’ve never seen him so—outgoing.”
Neither has Cassian, but before he can mention anything else, he looks up to find that Gwyn and Azriel’s seats at the table are empty. “How much did those two drink?” he breathes.
Nesta follows his gaze, seeing what he’s seeing: Azriel and Gwyn wandering clumsily around the snowy courtyard. Or rather, Az is trying to chase Gwyn down for a s’more, while she clutches her mini marshmallows to her chest and vehemently yells, “They’re mine!”
Meanwhile, Emerie is half asleep at the table.
Cassian watches as Gwyn nears the towering fir tree at the center of the courtyard and slips. Az shoots out a hand to catch her, but not before her ass hits the stone, hard. He pulls her back up, no longer fooling around, and Gwyn rubs her butt in pain.
Cassian suddenly feels Nesta squeezing the life out of his hands, and he looks over to find fury written across her face. For a heartbeat, he feels worried for Az.
“Go deal with him,” Nesta says lowly. “Before I do.”
Not needing any more words to understand, he stands out of his seat and heads out into the courtyard. He doesn’t know why Nesta thinks Gwyn needs protecting, but it makes him feel protective himself. Approaching the duo, he sees that Azriel finally acquired the leftover s’more ingredients from Gwyn.
“There’s only like half a cracker left,” Az mutters to himself, shaking the baggie.
“Is he bothering you?” Cassian asks Gwyn, who still looks grumpy over losing their skirmish.
Whipping her head to Cassian like he’s her savior, Gwyn nods furiously. “Please make him stop.”
Cassian turns to Azriel with rage in his eyes, a clear What the fuck do you think you’re doing?
But Az shakes his head in denial. “It’s not like that. Look, she’s smirking at me!” He points over Cassian’s shoulder.
When Cassian looks, Gwyn is already walking back to the fire pit, holding her bruised ass.
Az starts, “What a fake little—”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Cassian interrupts. “Yesterday you’re crying over Elain and today you’re flirting with Nesta’s friend?”
Azriel goes serious, his face turning colder than the night air. “How do you know about Elain?” he says gruffly.
“Everyone knows, Azriel.” Cassian stares down his brother, wondering if he’ll finally get him to get his head screwed on straight after these past weeks of secretive bullshit.
Azriel sets his jaw, but a muscle there ticks.
“Will you finally at least tell me what’s going on in your head?” Cassian pleads. “Because I can’t keep guessing.”
Azriel glances toward the dinner table, as if checking to see that no one is paying attention to them. Looking back, he inhales a breath. “You want to know why I left Velaris?”
Like Nesta, Azriel is not one to quickly make himself vulnerable. So there’s no blatant emotion in his voice when he says, “I started seeing her at the end of summer, not long after she broke up with her ex. And it was so…nice after every other relationship I’ve been in has gone wrong. We kept it quiet, and because of that, it was peaceful.” Azriel’s eyes meet Cassian’s twin ones, and he smirks without humor. “But you already know what that’s like, don’t you?”
He does. Cassian crosses his arms, waiting for Az to continue.
“Anyway, we had a good run. For a long time, it was mostly just sex, but I liked her. I liked her a lot.” Az kicks at the snow-dusted cobblestones. “Then Christmas came around, and Rhys found out.” His face darkens as he remembers, and Cassian stiffens, knowing what’s next isn’t good. Sometimes Rhys forgets the boundary between boss and brother.
“He didn’t say anything about it to Elain, of course,” Azriel says. “But he dragged my ass aside and gave me this huge lecture about us using each other as rebounds. Said ‘Feyre’s sister’ deserves better or some shit. I told him there was more to it than that, but he wouldn’t listen. Instead he brought Vanserra & Co. into it, like his business matters had anything to do with me and Elain.” Azriel’s eyes crinkle at the corners in a puzzled way. “So I got to thinking, ‘why would he bring the Vanserras up?’ He made it seem like such a big deal.” The toe of his boot digs a hole into the ground.
Sympathy churns alongside anger in Cassian’s chest for Azriel’s situation, anger at Rhysand for crossing that line between brothers. He’s only momentarily grateful that Rhys never tried doing something similar to him and Nesta.
“I thought she was over that other guy, Lucien,” Az continues. “But maybe she’s not, if Rhys is so concerned about what Lucien’s stepfather thinks. Anyway, that’s why I ran. Because I knew she liked me, but I also knew she didn’t love me. I didn’t want us to cause all that trouble with Rhys just to end up backed into a corner one day, having nowhere else to go because she loves someone else and I’m just a rebound. It would be awkward for everyone involved.” He scratches the back of his neck. “It’s mostly my fault, for always chasing after women I can’t have.” He finally looks up at Cassian. “When you talk to Elain, does it sound like she hates me?” The question is quiet, straightforward.
“No,” Cassian answers, voice rough. Even if Azriel wants to hide his feelings, Cassian won’t. “She doesn’t seem like she hates you. I don’t even think she’s mad at you.” Concerned, anxious, upset—that’s Elain as far as he knows.
“She should hate me,” Azriel says. “She should get pissed, burn my old clothes, and swear to never talk to me again. That’s the only way she can move on.” Maybe even move back to Lucien, is what goes unsaid.
Cassian isn’t so sure about that. Even as he feels for Az, he thinks both of his brothers should get slapped upside the head for how they’ve been acting lately. He won’t be the one to do it, but he might get Nesta to relay a message to Elain. It’ll be the same thing. “I’m sorry,” he tells Az instead. “I know I’ve been hard on you lately. When we get home, I’ll start doing better.” He claps Az on the shoulder and squeezes.
Azriel surprises him by scoffing, looking away in disbelief. “Wow, being compassionate is really a full time job for you, huh?” He claps Cassian’s shoulder back, pulling him into a sudden hug. “You’ve already done more than enough,” he says into Cassian’s ear. “Go to your girlfriend and take a rest.”
Taken aback, Cassian nods and pulls away. He’s about to turn around and leave when Az says, “By the way, I wasn’t flirting with Gwyn.”
Cassian raises a brow. “You were definitely doing something.”
Az rolls his eyes. “I’m not giving her anything she can’t handle. But in case you haven’t noticed, I have no interest in other women right now.” He makes a face. “Especially not her.”
Cassian chuckles. “I believe you. It’s Nesta you need to worry about.”
“Whatever. I’m not scared of her.”
That makes Cassian laugh even harder, but he turns around, ready to go back to said girlfriend. As he nears the fire pit, though, he finds that Gwyn is already there and cuddled up to Nesta. On Nesta’s other side, Emerie now sits in Cassian’s chair, asleep on her friend’s shoulder. He stops in his tracks.
Cassian wasn’t lying when he told Nesta that he was happy about their changed vacation plans—he believes the more the merrier, and he loves these people. Yet he can’t help but wish the two of them could be alone for just one day. Only one.
God, sometimes having friends sucks.
***
a/n: this is a two parter so next chapter we’ll finally be getting more nessian alone time
tagging: @hellasblessed @sjm-things @thewayshedreamed @drielecarla @valkyriewarriors @superspiritfestival @aliveahaahahafuck @cupcakey00 @sayosdreams @rainbowcheetah512 @claralady @thebluemartini @nessiantho @missing-merlin @duskandstarlight @lucy617 @sleeping-and-books @everything-that-i-love @cassianscool @swankii-art-teacher @wannawriteyouabook @awesomelena555 @julemmaes @wickedqueenoffantasy @poisonous-bloom @observationanxioustheorist @gisellefigue08 @courtofjurdan @theoverlyenthusiasticwriter @wolfiixxx @cass-nes @seashade @royaltykxx @illyrianundercover @queenestarcheron @monstrousloves-explodinggalaxies @humanexile @that-golden-lyre @agentsofsheilds @mercy-is-alive @cassiansbigwingspan @laylaameer01 @verypaleninja @maastrash @bow-dawn @perseusannabeth @dead-on-the-inside666 @jlinez @hungryreadingaddict @anidealiveson @planet-faerie @shallowhighwaters @ghostlyrose2 @chosenfamily-valkyriequeens @rarephloxes @readiajin @nessiantrashh @live-the-fangirl-life @ifinallygavein @xoblivisci @sjmships @jungtaekwoonie-is-life @lysandra-tiara @lanyjoy-13 @frosted-crackers @post-it-notes33 @loosingdreams @fromthelibraryofemilyj @18moneytoad @dontgetsalmonella @champanheandluxxury @togreblog @arinbelle @ladygabrielli1997 @meridainthedisneyland
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eirikaanemo · 3 years
Text
Can You Keep A Secret?
Warnings: imprisonment, mentions of starvation and sickness
Note: I haven't actually played Dvalin's quest but I tried to keep it as close to canon as possible. Feel free to leave a comment or message me if you see something wrong.
Venti x GN!Reader
1.9k Words
Your soulmate is secretly Barbatos... now what?
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Everyone has a soulmate. And everyone is born knowing your soulmate's biggest secret. For most people it’s really unhelpful, but for some people it helps them find their soulmate. You’re in the latter group, because yours gives you a name.
You've known your whole life that your soulmate is secretly Barbatos. It's… interesting, to say the least. Of course you'd never dare to tell anyone. Thankfully, asking someone what their soulmate’s secret is isn’t very common. It’s considered to be very rude, so no one asks you what your secret is. They'd think you're crazy!
Barbatos hasn't been around for centuries and you're a mortal. This is the sort of thing you would read about in trashy romance novels! But even though it’s crazy and kind of overwhelming, you know it's true. You don't know if he'd ever accept you or want to be with you, in fact, you’re pretty sure he won’t, but you want to try.
Once that’s settled, you just have to find him. If he's anywhere, it's probably the city of Mondstadt. That’s where he seems to have shown up the most in the past, after all. So you move to Mondstadt. It’s a nice place and the people are friendly. Finding a job with the Knights of Favonius was fairly easy and it paid pretty well.
Unfortunately, the 'Storm-terror' problem starts shortly after you move. He throws the whole city into chaos the first time, and then proceeds to keep doing it regularly. The fear is all encompassing, but that's fine, you try to convince yourself. It will all be worth it when you find him. ‘If you find him’, your traitorous mind whispers.
It's been months, a year even, and you're starting to lose hope. How were you expecting to find Barbatos anyway? Shout from the rooftops for him to reveal himself and whisk you away? He hasn't been around for a long time and you knew that. And to be honest, at this point you've given up.
Going home is the logical thing to do, it’s where your family is after all. But you stay because you made yourself a home here. You have friends: Jean, Lisa, and Kaeya. You have come to love the city: music, freedom, and camaraderie. Well, you love the city except for the 'Storm-terror' attacks. Those aren't very lovable.
What concerns you the most though is that 'Storm-terror' is a dragon. And dragons trend to be important (like, archon important). But no one seems to remember this one. So you research. You visit the cathedral and speak with some nuns. You dedicate some time to listening to bard’s tales, asking them if they know any songs about dragons. One does, and it's surprisingly informational. You spend time at the library, pouring through book after book. And after all this investigation, you've come to the conclusion that 'Storm-terror' is actually Dvalin of the Four Winds. Not that anyone actually believes you
It didn't stop you from telling people your theory though, and being more respectful in how you refer to him, despite all the damage he's caused. Eventually they do start considering it and the city starts catching on. If you keep doing this, you may be able to change the city's perspective of and reaction to Dvalin.
The abyss mage catches on to this, and he just can't let that happen. It could compromise the whole plan. So one day he has Dvalin abduct you and locks you up. And true to your luck, this happens out of the blue while you’re taking a walk that you’d finally convinced Jean to go on with you. Which, of course, reverses all your progress and makes the situation even worse than it was before. Incidentally, this also does the exact opposite of what you’d been trying to do by stressing out poor Jean more.
The abyss mage doesn’t care about anything other than making sure you’re not able to go back to Mondstadt. The mage does not care about human necessities. Who cares if you die? Not him. He hates humans. It's kind of part of his job description.
Your prison is where Dvalin retreats to when not attacking. And the mage has to go report to someone else sometimes, giving you opportunities to speak with Dvalin. He never responds to you, but you can tell he eventually starts listening. You start by rambling about various subjects; then talking about how you know he's Dvalin, and that you're sorry he was being treated like he was, once you know he is listening. Because while you don’t know the whole situation, you know that he feels hurt by how humans have treated him.
After several days of talking to him, he slowly starts warming up to you. It’s a strange sort of bond that grows stronger as time goes on. He starts responding and the two of you actually have conversations instead of just you talking. Eventually you even mention how you know your soulmate is actually Barbatos and that you've kind of given up finding him.
He gives a thoughtful hum, lets you vent out your feelings, tries to think of an appropriate response, then allows you to drop the subject once you’ve worn yourself out emotionally. It’s becoming obvious that your health, physical, mental, and emotional, is degrading faster as time goes on.
One day Dvalin and the mage both disappear for longer than usual. After the mage makes sure you won’t be able to escape, of course. It’s not like you would’ve been able to leave anyway. At that point you’re not able to do much at all.
Little did you know that only Dvalin would be returning. They ended up facing the traveler and their companions in battle, and Dvalin was freed from the mage’s influence. The first thing Dvalin does is take them to help "the one decent human, that he actually cares about". You're in bad shape at this point, starving, sick, and weak. But you’re aware enough to hear Jean call your name and feel someone gather you in their arms before blacking out.
When you wake up you're at the cathedral and are feeling much better. Certainly you are not fully recovered, that will take weeks. That one bard who was able to play you a song about Dvalin is always there. You vaguely remember him being there when you were found. He doesn’t really interact with you much, he’s just kind of there, but he does play peaceful music that helps you fall asleep when you’re struggling to rest.
Then the day comes for you to go home. They’ve done all they can for you and you’re past the worst of it. But you’re well enough to be out and about. “Now you take care of yourself,” Barbara lectures you. “Don’t push yourself, get plenty of rest, drink lots of water, and eat three square meals a day, got it?”
“Got it,” you confirm. “Thank you for taking care of me, I really appreciate your help.” She smiles, wishes you well, and returns to the cathedral. You take a moment to breathe and just appreciate being back home, free of your prison and the small cathedral room they’d kept you in while treating you.
Taking a deep breathe you start on your way home. “Hey!” You hear someone exclaim behind you. “Could you hold on a second?” Turning around, you see the bard quickly excusing himself from a street performance before running to catch up to you. Once he’s caught up, he gives you a smile.
“Hi! I’m Venti the bard! Would you be willing to speak with me about something? It’s kind of private so we would need to go to windrise or something, but you’ll want to hear this, I promise.” He says. “Alright,” you agree, “but I can’t make it all the way to windrise. Would my home do? I live alone so we’ll have privacy.” He nods, “that’ll work great!”
The walk home is quiet but comfortable. The bard’s content to hum a tune as he follows you through the streets. Soon you’re home, unlocking the door to let you and your guest in. You lead him over to the couch where you both sit down. “So,” you say, “what did you want to talk about?”
“Well, I was talking with Dvalin a day or so after we freed both of you and he said you mentioned you came to Mondstadt searching for your soulmate. And that you said your soulmate’s biggest secret, the one that you know, is that they’re Barbatos,” he explains. You feel a pang of betrayal at Dvalin’s actions and some guilt for sharing your soulmate’s secret in the first place.
It probably showed on your face because he quickly spoke up again. “He didn’t just tell me for no reason though. You see, I am Barbatos. I’m your soulmate.” Your head, which had been drooping with the weight of your emotions suddenly shot up as you fumbled for a response.
Apparently that showed too because he continued, “And I’m sorry I made it so hard for you to find me. I’m sorry I almost made you give up on me. Most of my waking time is spent incognito so I can watch over everyone while not being put in a position of authority. I didn’t anticipate meeting you ”
There’s a moment or two of silence as you gather your thoughts. “It’s okay,” you assure him. “I understand why you did what you did and I’ll never hold it against you. How were you supposed to know I was even born yet, not to mention that I’ve been in the area searching for you.”
You take another moment or two to gather your wits. “I will also understand if you don’t want to do anything about this,” you state. “I don’t want you to feel forced into having a relationship with me if you don’t want to. The last thing I’d want to do is be responsible for making you miserable. And that’s not to mention how you’re an archon and I’m just a mortal.”
Your talking speeds up as you start rambling, losing control of the conversation as you feel more and more nervous. Once you realize you’re rambling you shut your mouth with a click. “Sorry about that,” you mutter. “I do that sometimes when I’m nervous.”
When you chance a glance at him, he honestly looks a little offended but mostly just really sad. “Is- is that really what you think I think about this?” He asks softly. “Because it’s not. I absolutely want this. I absolutely want you. I’ve been looking forward to this moment for millenia and I wouldn’t give this up for the world.”
He reaches over and slowly, hesitantly, so as to give you time to escape if you want, gathers you into his arms. You realize that he’s the one who picked you up to bring you home. Your ear rests against his chest as lean against him, and his heart skips a beat as you gently grab one of his hands and kiss it. “I’m glad,” you breathe. “I’m glad too,” he voices softly.
You yawn, feeling the exhaustion from your journey home and the rest of the day hit you. He pulls you close and whispers in your ear, “Sleep well, my cecilia, I’ll be here when the sun comes up and when you wake up.” You fall asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.
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jeonsjiddies · 4 years
Text
apodyopsis (m) | jjk
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summary- apodyopsis (n.) ; the act of mentally undressing someone
alternatively, Jungkook is a nude model in your art class
rating- explicit / 18+ word count-  12k pairing- jungkook x reader genre- smut Warnings- daddy kink, slight degrading?, mild health concerns, very light bdsm?, masturbation, oral (female and male receiving), rough sex, kind of dom!jungkook, a little name calling?, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it bb)
blkjmn & dontaskshhhhh ( weak&wet ™) ;  2020 all rights reserved©
a/n: our lovechild is born! We worked so hard on this, we hope you love it as much as we do. Currently thanking my lucky stars that @blkjmn​ agreed to collab with me, and that she saved my life with that glorious sex scene because I can’t seem to stop writing mushy fluffy smut. I love you so much thank you for being by my side and co-writing this with me. <3
“There’s one last thing we need to discuss before you are signed, Mr. Jeon. Do we need to backtrack for a moment to review, or shall we continue on?” The business contractor asked, using his thumb and index finger to push his glasses up further onto his nose bridge.
Jungkook wasn’t registering a single word that left the man’s mouth. His eyes were glued to the fine print on the page that described the job he’d be keeping for likely most of his (young adult) life, or at least until he was able to successfully rid himself of the guilt that's been resting on his broad shoulders for the last ten years.
He would never be able to forget the way his mother’s face fell every time he was discharged from the hospital. Not only did she have no answers and a still sick child to take home, but she also had a weighty hospital bill to add to the others that she received about once a month. She worked her ass off to take care of him as best she could, even with the gigantic debt she kept under her belt for the entirety of his childhood.
All of this was hidden from Jungkook until he was told he had celiac disease at the age of ten. His symptoms had gotten worse the longer his condition remained unnoticed, even though he would complain to his mother of constant pain everyday, tearful eyes locking with hers as if begging for her to give him any sort of relief.
“Mommy, my stomach hurts!”
“I’m not hungry! It makes it worse to eat!”
“Can you please make it stop, mama?”
He cringes every time he thinks about what he must’ve put his mother through as a child, and how she always managed to push a smile even though she was fighting to make ends meet.
Even after all of that, he was hesitating on signing this contract because he was too shy? Bullshit. He’d be selfish if he were to deny this opportunity because of his underlying fear of being seen naked in front of a large audience of people.
He knew he had no real reason to be afraid, though. After constant teasing in school for being extremely thin due to his illness, he built up the courage to get himself a gym membership when his condition became less overbearing.
He ate more often, built up more muscle, and managed to become more confident in himself and his abilities.
So, what did he have to be nervous for?
Jungkook no longer had any issues with stripping himself down. His body was sculpted perfectly, and he had a massive dick to accompany the figure he had worked for so many years towards.
Sure, everything was all set for him, but not for his mom. Jungkook knew that she barely managed to make her rent last month.
He needed to sign this contract.
“Mr. Jeon?” Jungkok’s glossy eyes were blown wide. He hadn’t moved an inch in the past minute.
“Mr. Jeon…” The man rolled his eyes, obviously knowing that it would take a bit more than calling the young man’s name to get him out of whatever trance he’d put himself in. He slammed his fist down onto the table, and Jungkook’s eyes crossed for a moment before he jolted to his senses.
He cleared his throat, and immediately began sputtering apologies.
“I-I’m so sorry. I’m not quite sure what came over me, I-” The contractor held his hand up, effectively silencing the boy as he picked up the pen that sat to the right of him while offering it to Jungkook with a raised brow.
“If this is something that you are not going to take seriously, then you may escort yourself out of my office. If you’d like to begin your career in this field, then take this pen and sign this contract.” Jungkook didn’t hesitate in grabbing the pen from the man, immediately apologizing for the way he snatched it out of his grasp.
He gnawed on his bottom lip, eyes scanning over the words on the thin paper as if he hadn’t been in this chair reviewing them for the past three hours.
This job paid well, and he had nothing to risk.
Except for the probable denial of any office job he’d try to apply to.
Why would he want an office job anyway?
Probably because--
“Any day now, Mr. Jeon.” He cast an annoyed glance toward the man. Couldn’t he see that he was contemplating on signing the damn thing?
He sighed, stretched his neck from side to side, and lifted the pen to the paper with a shaking hand.
The moment he finished signing, the crumpled sheet was ripped from under his fingertips, and tucked away into the desk of who Jungkook really hoped wouldn’t be his boss.
“It’s nice to have you along, kid.” Jungkook smiled nervously.
“You’ve got a great look, but of course, nude modeling is about what’s under the clothes.” His face instantly began to pale as he gripped the armrests of the chair he sat in.
Was this old dude asking to see him naked? Right now?
“You can step inside of the bathroom behind me to change. There should be a robe hanging on the door. Put it on, meet me outside, and we’ll take a few pictures for your portfolio.”
Jungkook sat still in the chair, staring at the man across from him with those adorable eyes widened in slight panic.
He was trying to pull himself up so he wouldn’t look like a fumbling idiot, but he couldn’t move a limb.
There was no turning back now, and he was fully aware of that.
“Am I… am I supposed to be naked for the f-first photo shoot?” Jungkook asked, his voice weak.
The contractor raised an eyebrow. It was normal for newcomers to be nervous, but he couldn’t understand why it was so difficult for him to follow directions.
In due time, he supposed.
“No, Jungkook.” The contractor sighed, pressing his thumb and middle finger against his temples in distress. Jungkook noted that this was the first time the man had addressed him formally as well, so it was probably in his best interest to go get changed if he didn’t want to get fired before he officially started the job.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He said, standing from the chair as he looked over the contractor’s shoulder to the bathroom. It seemed to be decently sized, and he could really use some time alone to get his nerves settled before he had to… well, pose naked for the camera.
Well, not naked. Not this time. That’s what the contractor said.
He looked toward the man one last time, before he began pushing himself in the direction of the bathroom. Upon approaching it, he could pick up the smell of lavender coming from the candles that were lit inside.
He opened the door, and immediately turned around to close and lock it.
He checked to make sure the door was locked before he pulled his shirt over his head and carefully pulled each of his shoes off.
He checked once more as he unbuckled his pants.
He checked one final time as he threw his belt to the floor.
Jungkook slid his thumbs in between his hips and the fabric of the jeans as he tugged them down toward the ground. He had no issue with this as of yet, seeing as he was still in his boxers.
He pressed his body up against the wall, giving himself something to lean up against as he took his jeans off and threw them toward the pile of his clothes he created on the floor.
The boxers were all that were left.
“Come on, man.” He whispered to himself, glaring at his reflection in the mirror as he began to get annoyed at his own anxiousness.
It was just a couple of pictures, and he’d be covered by a robe. He was acting like a wreck for no reason.
He closed his eyes and yanked the boxers down in one swift motion, knowing that if he hesitated, he probably would’ve just left them on.
Jungkook shivered as the cold air went straight to his dick, and he almost knocked one of the candles over and sent the bathroom up into flames as he lunged for the robe that was near the door.
It was soft and fluffy, and it also carried the faint scent of the lavender that engulfed his senses. It was warm as well, like a heated towel.
Maybe this wasn’t so bad, then.
He noticed that there were a pair of flimsy sandals sitting near the door as he prepared to leave. He was never told to put them on, or to mess with them at all, but he’d rather not walk around with his bare feet, so he slid them on anyway.
He checked his reflection once more, adjusting the robe a bit so it hung loosely around his waist, and so more of his chest could be exposed.
Sure, he was nervous, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to put on a good show.
He ran his hands down his sides, purposely brushing them over his cock as he considered giving it a few quick pumps before he made his way outside.
That’d be sure to leave a great first impression, which was what he was going for, but it’d be obvious that he was touching himself because his face would blush bright red.
He reached down to grab his clothes, folding them somewhat neatly. He grabbed his shoes and sat them on top of the stack of clothes he’d made.
Worry began to bubble in his stomach once he stepped out of the bathroom to find himself alone in the large office room, but he quickly remembered that he was told to meet the guy outside.
He hummed a small tune as he took quick steps toward the office door, placing his large hand upon the knob and opening it slowly, just in case his boss (Jungkook decided to assume that’s who this man was going to become. It’s better to wish for the worst anyway, right?) was right in front of the door.
Once he didn’t feel any force being pressed against the door, he opened it carefully and shimmied his way out of the office. He pressed his back against it to close it, and this small action caught the attention of his boss, who was sitting on a small bench a few feet away from the office.
“Great! You’re all changed.” The man smiled gently at him, clapping his hands together as he stood up and quickly approached Jungkook.
Jungkook stumbled back a few steps, confused by this sudden change of behavior. Was it because he was finally complying, or was it because he was about to be used for profit?
Either way, he didn’t mind. It’d be a hell of a lot easier to work in a less stressful environment, so he’d take what he could get.
“Uh, yeah… I wasn’t sure of where to put my clothes,” Jungkook began, holding up his clothes as he spoke, “so I decided to—“
“Ah, thank you for the reminder!” The man spoke, retreating back toward the bench he sat on to fetch an unmarked black bookbag from behind it.
He handed it to Jungkook, who took it thankfully and with a small smile.
“When do I return this to you?” Jungkook asked, not bothering to look toward his boss as he spoke as he was busy stuffing his belongings into the bag.
“It’s yours to keep, son.” Jungkook closed the bag and stood up, tossing it lazily over one of his shoulders as he raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“Oh, thank you so much.” He smiled sincerely. He was especially thankful that it was unmarked, because if he were to wear the bag out in public, he’d hate for someone to actually read the company name and google it, only to find pictures of him covered with only a robe on the home page.
He shivered at the thought.
“The studio is actually on this floor, so we haven’t got far of a walk at all.” His boss began to walk, and Jungkook followed a few feet behind him as he began to survey his surroundings at each turn they took.
“Now, there will be a handful of people in this room with you. Other models, photographers, of course, lighting specialists, stylists, and a few possible employers.” Jungkook hummed as the man spoke, ignoring every word that was coming out of his mouth as his heart began to thud loudly in his chest.
He didn’t need this explanation, anyway. The average person knows a little something about how a photo shoot works.
Even though he was a considerable distance away from his boss, he was almost sure that he could hear the thudding in his chest.
“Every single one of the people waiting in this room are going to do their best to make you look good, so there’s no need to worry. Relax, and you focus on making the company look good.” He laughed throatily, and Jungkook laughed stiffly from behind him.
‘Make the company look good my ass,’ Jungkook thought.
He rolled his eyes, almost crashing directly into the short man in front of him as they abruptly stopped at a door tucked away into the corner of the hallway they were on.
“This is it. Do you have anything else to ask of me?” Jungkook hurriedly said no, his nerves being replaced by the excitement to show himself off a bit.
“Alright.” The man nodded once before he opened the door, and once again, Jungkook was slapped in the dick with a blast of cold air.
He raised his eyebrows in interest as he surveyed the few models that were scattered about the different sets that were spread apart in the room. One set was sexy and seductive, dripping in elements of crimson and black, another was a bit more fun, which used orange and yellow to contrast against the white, and Jungkook couldn’t even conjure up the words to describe the other sets.
He continued to watch the models pose as if this was natural for them, flinching every now and then at the bright light that would flash every time a picture was taken.
He also noted that all of the models were nude.
They seemed to be masters of their talents, so maybe Jungkook got to leave the robe on because he was an amateur?
“Shit.” Jungkook cursed under his breath. Another cool draft of wind ran through the room, and he scurried to look down and pull the robe over his thighs.
Jungkook heaved a sigh of relief once he successfully covered himself, and his boss quickly strolled over to him to grab the bag off of his shoulder. Jungkook immediately looked over to ask him what he was doing, but before he got the chance, he was being whisked away by a manicured hand.
Everything moved quickly, but this should’ve been what Jungkook was expecting. This wasn’t just about his money.
He was thrown onto a couch near the center of the room, which was white just like the walls.
As soon as his ass touched the couch cushions, there were at least four people crowding over him to add some blush to his cheeks, and add some hairspray to his hair.
He was startled, but he didn’t mind the chaotic environment. It reminded him very much of the hospital he frequented when he was younger, and the thought of him finally being able to help his mom out after so long brought a smile to his face.
After the clutter of bodies went away, Jungkook was left alone on the couch with a camera pointed directly at him.
He gulped, his mouth suddenly dry.
The man behind the camera snapped a few shots of Jungkook to test the quality of the photos, and once he was pleased with what he saw, he stared expectantly at Jungkook with a raised brow.
“Uh…” Jungkook began.
“Take your robe off.” He stated bluntly. Jungkook choked, and immediately looked to where he saw his boss last, but he was nowhere to be found.
That fucker.
“I—I thought that I—“
“You may want to be quick about it, too. Time is money, and the more pictures we take of you, the better your chances are at being promoted.” Jungkook sighed.
If there was one thing he needed, it was money.
Hell, that’s what he got the job for.
He slowly brought his hands down to the sash that was holding the robe together and undid it, tossing it next to him on the couch.
He smirked lightly when he heard a few of the women standing behind the photographer gasp, quickly scanning every one of their faces to see their shocked expressions.
Jungkook could read the women easily. They all bit their lips, winked, or waved flirtatiously as he made eye contact with them, except for one woman.
She smiled teasingly at him, although she was seemingly unimpressed with his level of confidence. She raised an eyebrow tauntingly, pretending as if she didn’t understand why everyone was reacting as if they’d never seen a penis before. Though her cool exterior radiated disinterest, Jungkook could see past her facade, her eyes gave everything away. He could see the desire in her y/e/c irises. Jungkook understood, he felt it too.
Jungkook returned the smile, oddly at ease by her presence. He absentmindedly licked his lips as he raked his eyes up and down the curves of her figure.
She wore a long sleeved shirt that hugged her frame perfectly, a tight skirt that rested a few inches above her knees, and a pair of black heels that made her legs look absolutely stunning from where Jungkook was sitting.
He was sure they’d still look delicious if he were to take a closer look, which he wouldn’t mind in the slightest.
His mind wandered, images of her naked body flashing behind his eyelids. He lost himself in his daydreams of kissing up her legs while she squirmed underneath him.
What the hell is wrong with him? He was made to be the one receiving suggestive glances, but here he was, blatantly checking out the cute girl that was just trying to make him comfortable.
The girl broke eye contact with him, and he immediately looked away as well, squirming slightly in his seat as he felt his cock harden between his legs.
He made no effort to hide it, but he did close his legs a bit to make it less obvious.
He did not just get a boner because he made eye contact with a pretty girl.
Well, on the bright side, he didn’t have to worry about getting himself hard in the bathroom.
He glanced over in the lady’s direction once more, pouting once he noticed that she was no longer paying any attention to him, instead scribbling something down on a notepad she held in her small hands.
Why did he want her attention so bad?
“Alright,” The photographer began, bringing Jungkook back down to earth, “Keep it natural. The more relaxed you feel, the better your photos will turn out.” Jungkook nodded, a bit more eager than he should’ve been to begin his first session.
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“Perfect!” The photographer yelled, snapping one last photo of Jungkook before he closed the lens of his camera and began to pack up his equipment.
Most of the other models and workers filed out already, and Jungkook was overly thankful that it would be his turn to leave this room next.
Jungkook thought the shoot went very well, as it was very easy for him to… keep himself encouraged throughout, thanks to that pretty lady.
He relaxed from his position, in which he was leaned forward, his elbows propped onto his knees as he smirked cockily at the camera.
He wasn’t sure of what to do just yet, waiting for his liar of a boss to make himself shown again.
Especially considering that the man had his clothes and shoes.
Jungkook sighed and closed his eyes, pressing his back into the couch as he breathed in and out slowly. He continued like this for a few moments, until he could hear heels tapping against the floor in his direction.
He opened one of his eyes, taking a peek at who was walking toward him.
Jungkook immediately sat up upon noticing that it was the woman with the sexy legs that kept his dick hard through the entirety of his shoot.
She approached him with a friendly smile, and Jungkook returned her sincerity with a smile of his own.
“Could I take a seat?” She motioned toward the empty spot on the couch next to him. Jungkook nodded once.
“Of course.” He moved over a bit, his cock swinging against his inner thigh as he did so.
It was then that he realized that he was absolutely naked still, so he grabbed the robe that laid over the arm of the couch and threw it on, as if the woman hadn’t already seen everything he had to offer— and more.
“Thank you!” She smiled at him. ”I’m Y/N.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Y/N. I’m Jungkook.” She chuckled at this. Jungkook was confused as to what she found funny, maybe his name?
He gripped the robe between his fingers, nervously running the pads of them over the soft material as he pondered over what could’ve made the tempting woman in front of him giggle so sweetly.
“Why’re you laughing?” She noticed his nerves return, a knowing smirk on her lips as she watched the way he shyly avoided eye contact with her.
“I already know who you are, Mr. Jeon.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. It’s almost as if she knew she was enticing.
“You did some great work today, you know?” She flashed him an adorable smile again.
It was something about the way that ‘Mr. Jeon’ rolled off of her tongue that was driving Jungkook up the wall.
“Look, I know this may seem a bit forward, but you radiate great potential.” Jungkook nodded, thanking her quietly, as she pulled out that notepad that she was scribbling in when she was too busy to give him attention while he was posing sexily.
“I conduct an art class at a community center, and I’d love it if you were to drop by and model for me a bit, since you’ve gotten the swing of things fairly quickly.” She giggled, as she ripped out the page from the small book and handed it to him gently.
“Please, feel free to decline if you’re uncomfortable, but if you’d like to give it a try then give me a call.” She eyed him carefully as he picked up the paper and read over it.
“That’s my personal number, so you can call me whenever you’d like.” Something about that sentence put an image into Jungkook’s head.
“Alright, I’ll get out of your hair now.” She stood up, collecting her belongings as she did so.
“If I never run into you again, then it’s been a pleasure, Jungkook.” She proceeded to walk away, leaving him on the couch alone.
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Jungkook lingered just outside the door of the art room, his stomach twisting with nerves. When he’d first been approached about modeling, he’d laughed it off. It started off with easy stuff, brand deals and commercial advertisements. How did he end up here? Posing nude in front of a group of strangers to pick apart his body for their art? This was the best paying gig he’d ever been presented with… the small advertising gigs had been a couple hundred at best but this one would put a sizable dent in his mother’s debt, easing her misfortune. Jungkook had to do this. For her.
He held his head high and strolled into the room with a confident air, any trace of his uneasiness washed away. He glanced around at the unfamiliar faces, carefully watching his every move. He smiled in a greeting, until his eyes landed on you. His face lit up at seeing your familiar face and your heart clenched at the sight.  Should Jungkook have found comfort in your deceptively soft eyes? No. Did he? Absolutely. Your sharp tongue didn’t phase him too badly, not when he could see the tenderness in your eyes.
“Good morning, Mr. Jeon.” you smiled, extending your hand in an invitation.
Jungkook reached out, enveloping your small hand in his own larger one, shaking it professionally. He reveled at how soft your skin was.
“Good morning, Ms. Y/L/N.” he greeted. “Good morning, everyone.” he addressed the rest of the room. “Please call me Jungkook.”
“Alright. Jungkook here is going to be our model. Long gone are the days of fruit baskets. Here is where the fun begins.” you smirked, sending a raised eyebrow Jungkook’s way.
In spite of himself, Jungkook blushed under your suggestive gaze.
“Now, don’t forget that this is for art.” you emphasized. “The human body is a work of art and I expect you to treat it as such. Take this seriously. Okay?”
Most heads nodded automatically, a few older women rolled their eyes or stole looks from each other, mocking you. You were placing a young, muscular man in front of them without clothes. How did you expect them not to ogle?
“For this particular piece, we’re going to be exploring how to use charcoal to get those little details. Don’t forget your shading!” you chimed happily. “Ready, Jungkook?”
“I think so.” he smiled.
“Show us what you got.” you grinned, stepping back and sitting at your own easel.
Jungkook’s hands trembled a bit as he unbuttoned his shirt, trying his best to 1. Not look like a total basket case and 2. Not make it super sensual. Deft fingers worked their way down his shirt and soon the material was sliding off his body in a way he felt was unceremoniously, but judging from the mouths hanging open around the room, might’ve been a bit more enticing than he’d intended.
Jungkook’s chest was absolutely flawless, in your opinion. You were one of the few who managed to keep your tongue inside your mouth for the show, but that didn’t stop your eyes from wandering over his toned physique. Sure you’d seen him at his photography shoot, but he was wearing a robe and you were trying to be professional. Now, hidden behind your easel, you were free to really take him in.
His chiseled chest, the deep ridges of his toned abs, the smoothness of his skin, the light dusting of hair that teased its way under his jeans. He was a walking wet dream. Your mouth watered as your gaze followed the lines of his V. Jungkook popped open the button of his jeans, tugging the zipper down as well. You’d never been so entranced by a simple movement in your life. The man radiated sexual energy.
He shimmied his hips free of the denim, his every movement captivating his audience.  Firm hip bones, luscious thick thighs, deliciously tanned skin were all slowly revealed as he tugged the jeans off in one fluid motion. Maybe he should be a stripper instead of a model… You shook the thought away, but it lingered. Jungkooks movements faltered for a moment, his eyes seeking yours for comfort. You smiled reassuringly at him, and that was all he needed to tug his boxers over his delicious thighs and let his glorious cock free.
“Holy shit.” you heard from somewhere behind you.
“He reminds me of a lover I once had in Prague. I’d sneak him into my hotel room and we’d make love until the sun came up. I miss being young.”
Jungkook coughed and brought his arm up to cover the flush spreading across his cheeks at the older woman’s inappropriate comment. You bit back a laugh.
“Alright Jungkook, just make yourself comfortable and we’ll start drawing you, okay?” you instructed, attempting to take his mind off of the earlier comment.
“Okay.” he nodded, settling himself on the stool you’d set out for him, resisting the urge to strike a pose he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold.
The room grew quiet save for the scratch of charcoal on canvas as the class began attempting to do justice to Jungkook’s beauty in their renditions of him. You began by tracing an outline of his body, opting not to attempt any details yet. The pink tint that rested upon the apple of your cheeks was hard to ignore, and you weren’t sure you could handle trying to get details of certain areas just yet.
You did your best to ignore the effect Jungkook’s naked body was having on your own fully clothed one. He was ethereal, beautiful, the kind of man you could lose yourself in. He had charisma, a way about him that just drew people in. Or maybe it was just you. Every time your eyes locked with his, it was like he was the only thing you could focus on. Everything else was obsolete.
Jungkook held a power over you that honestly scared you a little, and he didn’t even know he did. He didn’t understand how magnetic he was. Sure, he was sexy and he knew it. He’d obviously spent hours painstakingly sculpting his body to perfection, but it wasn’t even just his flawless physique, it wasn’t just his gorgeous, greek-god-like face. His power was inside of him, his strength, his determination, that spark in his gaze.
Jungkook was different from the rest, whether he realized it or not. He was special. Everything about him invited you in and coaxed you to give all of yourself to him. You couldn’t stop your thoughts from wondering as you lazily sketched the outline of him. How would his skin feel under your touch? Heat flooded your veins as you imagined what his touch might feel like in return. You shook these thoughts away, focusing on the task at hand and trying to see Jungkook as nothing more than art you were depicting. You were going to make certain you got every detail correct. And for that, you needed to focus.
Jungkook forced himself to look anywhere but at the people who were gawking at his naked frame. He couldn’t stop himself from watching you though.  He found himself wondering what you thought of him. He wanted to see what you were doing on your canvas. He wanted you to look at him. As if reading his thoughts, you lifted your gaze and faltered when you found his already upon you. When your eyes met and he bit his lip in a nervous smile, you knew you were screwed.
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The next time you saw Jungkook was a week later. Your class had nearly doubled in size as word spread of the toned man with the impressive cargo. You rolled your eyes to yourself but greeted your new arrivals with the same professional smile. You couldn’t blame them, not really. Would you have passed up the opportunity to see him naked again? Hell no. He was already undressed when you’d arrived, running late after a meeting with the program director congratulating you on your ability to gain interest in your class.
“Sorry I’m late!” you announced to the class, then to Jungkook specifically with an apologetic look.
“That’s alright dearie.” one of the older women commented, and you sent her a gracious smile.
“So! For those of you who are new, you can partner up with someone and observe or you can find your own Canvas located on the tables in the back. If you need any help please let me know, since you weren’t here for the introductory lessons.”
“Does she really think we’re here just to draw?” you heard a whisper from the back of the room.
“I know. I didn’t believe Karen when she told me an asian boy with a giant dong was modeling for her community center art class. I had to see for myself.” another voice giggled.
“If I were 15 years younger, I would climb that boy like a tree. I may be old enough to be his mother, but I could still give him a run for his money.”
“Mmm.. I wonder what he can do with those fingers. I bet he has stamina for days.”
You glanced up at Jungkook, who was actively trying to hide his discomfort, shifting a little on the stool as he attempted to stay still. You cleared your throat, loudly, sending a pointed look to the two women in the back.
“I just want to remind our newcomers that this class is about art, not objectification. Please remain respectful. If you can’t manage that, I’m sure you can manage to find the door.” you nearly hissed.
They shrugged sheepishly and grew quiet. You huffed in annoyance, glancing back at Jungkook again, who sent you an appreciative smile. You nodded, focusing on your canvas in front of you once more.
Once class was over and the others had filed out, you walked up to Jungkook as he was buttoning his jeans. He looked up from his task and greeted you with a warm smile.
“Hey, Y/N.” he grinned, apparently forgetting he still needed to put a shirt on.
You used every brain cell you had to keep yourself from staring at his chiseled chest.
“Hey Jungkook.” you smiled. “Are you okay? Did those women make you uncomfortable? I can ask them not to come back.”
“Oh it’s okay!” he assured you, placing a hand on your shoulder, “I appreciate the offer but I don’t want to be a bother. It did make me kind of uncomfortable but they stopped so it’s okay.”
“Are you sure? They said some pretty inappropriate things.” you pressed.
“I don’t mind that what they said was inappropriate,” he explained, “it’s more that they were talking about me like I wasn’t even here. Like I was some sex doll or something. I don’t mind women finding me attractive, but I do have sustenance.”
“I get it. You shouldn’t be objectified while you’re doing your job.” you told him.
“Kind of hard to remind people I have dignity when I’m standing in front of them in all my naked glory. I can see how that might be distracting.” he winked playfully.
“Ah, there’s that cocky personality.” you threw back at him with a grin.
“Seriously though. Thank you for being on my side.” he told you sincerely.
Electricity shot through your body when he leaned in and gave you a gentle hug. You took a deep breath to steady yourself but that only resulted in breathing in the scent of him, musky and woodsy, yet sweet. It reminded you of cinnamon.  It was intoxicating.
You desperately ignored the ache between your thighs and wrapped your arms around him to reciprocate his affections. His body seemed to relax against yours and the embrace lasted a little longer than a hug between mostly strangers should. He pulled away but held you at arms length to watch your features for a moment.
“See, now that’s the kind of look I don’t mind from a woman. Especially one as beautiful as you.” he smirked, turning and grabbing his shirt off the stool before sauntering away and shooting you a shit eating grin as you stand frozen in place.
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You shot up, waking with a fright. Your chest heaved as you struggled to catch your breath. Images flashing through your mind once more. Your subconscious thoughts led way to the hottest sex dream you’d ever experienced, and of course the star was your male model. You couldn’t stop picturing  his mouth on you, his hands on you. You shook your head to clear it. Alone in your bed, you couldn’t get that cocky grin out of your mind. You tried to fight it, you really did. You tried to redirect your mind anywhere but his plump lips, his perfectly sculpted jaw, the way his warm skin felt against yours when he’d hugged you…
Shrouded in shame but overcome with desire, you let your hand dance down your stomach underneath the elastic of your pajama shorts, your fingers finding their way to your slit. You closed your eyes, imagining it was Jungkook’s fingers inside you instead. You pumped them slowly in and out of yourself.
“Ungh… fuck. Jungkook.” you whined, writhing against your fingers, trying to find that spot that drove you crazy.
You picked up the pace, letting your fingers find a delicious rhythm inside of you, wondering what it would feel like if it were Jungkook inside of you instead. His cock was so pretty. It took everything you had not to stand up and start sucking it every time you saw it.
“Jungkook.” left your lips as your whines got louder, moving your attention to circle at your clit with your juices as lubrication.
You wished you had a picture of him to look at while you pleasured yourself to the idea of him, but you let your imagination take control, replaying images from your dream, and creating new fantasies about the model with the sultry eyes. You were close, and the closer you got to the edge, the louder you became. You swore you could almost hear the faint sound of Jungkook’s labored breathing along with your own, but it must’ve been your imagination running wild.
Your orgasm crashed over you, Jungkook’s name leaving your lips repeatedly, like he was the only thought you could muster when your brain turned off and your high took over. You fucked yourself through it, soft whimpers leaving your mouth as you pulled your fingers out. You padded your way to the bathroom to wash up, climbing back into bed not nearly as satiated as you’d hoped to have been. You drifted to sleep anyway, thoughts of Jungkook and the hope of seeing him again soon on the forefront of your mind when unconsciousness took over.
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Jungkook was early today, you noticed as you walked into the art room. You were the first two to have arrived, you wanted to make up for being late the previous week.
“Hey. What are you doing here so early?” you asked, setting your bag down as you made your way over to him.
“Needed to talk to you.” he responded, voice low and husky.
“Everything okay?” you asked, concern filling your chest.
“No. Everything is not okay.” he hissed, trapping you against the wall.
You shivered at the sudden change in his demeanor, at his body so close to yours, at the dominating tone of his voice.
“I’ve been horny as hell all week.” he grunted, rutting his hips into yours.
“O-oh.” was all you could muster for a response, your body immediately reacting to his movements and sending moisture to your core.
“Imagine my surprise when I got a call from you late Saturday night.” he smirked, lips ghosting over the hollow of your throat, allowing his cool breath to fan against the area. He watched your skin flush crimson and felt your heart rate pick up.
Saturday night? You hadn’t called him. Saturday night you were… oh.
“Do you have any idea how fucking sexy you sound when you’re moaning my name?” he teased, rolling his hips and pulling them back before pinning you to the wall with them once more, his erection pressed firmly against your aching heat.
“I-” you began to explain, but he cut you off.
“Fuck, the way you sound when you cum… I nearly came too. Listening to you fuck yourself for me. Tell me, what were you thinking about when your fingers sunk into that pretty little pussy? Was it my mouth?” he questioned, letting his lips graze along the shell of your ear.
“Was it my cock?” he ground his hardened member into you once more. “Maybe it was my tongue.” he mused, licking a bold stripe from the swell of your breasts to your collarbone.
A whimper was forced from your throat at his ministrations. You were hyper aware of every breath Jungkook took, feeling his body move against yours. You were also aware that at any moment, people were going to start filing through the door for class.
“Jungkook.” you breathed, a warning.
Or was it a promise?
Jungkook groaned, biting down on the side of your neck and sucking a purple bruise into the exposed flesh, then blowing cold air over the injured spot to soothe it. Your entire body shivered. Jungkook’s head turned as he heard footsteps approach the door. With a pointed look directly into your eyes, he stepped back from you and put much needed space between his body and yours, just in time for the first arrival to walk through the door.
You must’ve been a sight to behold, flushed and breathing heavily while pressed up against the wall. You hadn’t been able to make yourself move after Jungkook stepped away. He looked unbothered, but you were about to burst. You could feel your arousal slipping down your leg. You cursed yourself for wearing a skirt.
Jungkook, however, was thrilled with your outfit choice for the day. Especially since once you’d taken your seat at your easel, he had a front row view of your white lacy panties. Jungkook had already stripped naked for today’s modeling session, having put all of his effort into calming his dick down so he wasn’t hard in front of everyone. However, his efforts were moot when he noticed the dark wet patch imprinted on the ivory fabric that covered your heat.
Jungkook bit down on his lip, nearly drawing blood as his eyes latched onto your core. You shifted in your seat, attempting to press your thighs together to find some relief, an action which made Jungkook smirk to himself. Until his cock started reacting. In front of everyone. Jungkook wasn’t sure if he was more turned on or more embarrassed when he noticed your gaze unwavering on his hardening member. Your mouth hung open slightly, drool pooling at the edges. Jungkook chuckled to himself.
The other members of the class were just as astonished as you were, but Jungkook paid them no mind. All he could think about was getting inside of you. He couldn’t stop picturing the way your pupils had blown out just at his words, the way your breath hitched when he touched you. He bet you’d be so responsive when his fingers came to tease along your folds. He wondered how tight you were, if you’d be as loud as you were on the phone or even louder? Surely he could make you scream if you’d been that loud with just your own fingers?
Jungkook gave up trying to control his raging boner the moment he saw your arousal pooled at your core on display for him. Suddenly, he saw your hand sneak between your legs and tease along the ivory fabric. His gaze snapped up to your face, your eyes alight with mischief when they met his own. Your fingers pushed the damp fabric aside and began circling around your clit. Jungkook was the only one who could see from his position at the front of the room.
You were putting on a show for him, torturing him when he could do nothing about it. His eyes narrowed as he glared at you, but your face remained impassive, the epitome of feigned innocence. But like always, Jungkook saw the real you behind your heavy lidded gaze. You couldn’t hide from him, he could read you like an open book. There was nothing innocent about the way you were licking your lips, slowly dragging the swollen flesh between your teeth teasingly.
Your fingers spread your folds so Jungkook had a perfect view of your clit as you began rubbing it in slow circles. Jungkook’s eyes were glued to your bundle of nerves and the way your fingers teased at it. You gathered some of your slick to coat your fingers and lubricate them so they slid along your cunt with ease. Your digits were shiny, covered in your arousal. Jungkook nearly came when he watched in agony as you inserted two fingers into your entrance, pulling them back out and twisting them so he could watch the light reflect off your wetness. You stuck them in your mouth and sucked your juices off seductively before going back to your sketch.
Jungkook could not wait to punish your naughty behavior. He couldn’t wait to wipe that satisfied smirk off your face with an expert flick of his tongue. You had an attitude now, but once he was balls deep inside that soaking wet pussy he was sure you wouldn’t be quite so eager to tease him. You weren’t going to cum until you were crying and begging for it, he’d already made up his mind.
The minutes ticked by excruciatingly slow, each passing second felt like an eternity as Jungkook waited for class to be over. It felt like his dick twitched every time the little hand on the clock did. No matter what he did, no matter what he thought of, Jungkook could not get his erection to subside. His thoughts only led back to the lewd way you’d sucked your own arousal off your fingers.
Jungkook thought he might cry tears of joy when you finally dismissed the class with a chipper wave of your hand and a sweet smile. The second the last person walked out the door, Jungkook shut it and you heard the click of the lock echo throughout the empty room. You swallowed nervously, bending over to grab your bag, earning a hearty laugh from Jungkook.
“Oh baby girl… you really think I’m just going to let you leave after the little show you put on for me?” he purred, advancing toward you quickly until his body was flush against yours, breath tickling the space below your ear. “So naughty, teasing daddy like that.” he tsked.
His fingers trailed their way up your arm, leaving goosebumps in their wake. You shivered under his touch, though it was barely even there. His skin danced along yours, coming to rest at the curve of your breasts.
“Mmm… I think I’d like to taste these.” he grinned, suddenly yanking your tank top down so that both of your nipples were exposed to the bitter cold of the room.
A smirk played on his lips at the gasp that snuck its way past yours. His head dipped, and you thought he’d immediately take one of your nipples in his mouth, you were salivating over the thought of his warm, wet mouth on your perky buds. Instead, his pillow soft lips found yours, his tongue roaming along until you parted your lips and granted him access.
His tongue danced with yours as he brought his hips closer to grind into your aching center. You had never wanted anyone as badly as you wanted Jungkook. The man pressed against you had you brainless and ready to do anything he asked with a  simple roll of his hips.
Jungkook decided he didn’t like being the only naked one, and pulled your shirt above your head. Were you shivering from the cold air or Jungkook’s predatory gaze? Hell if you knew. Jungkook’s nimble fingers had your bra unhooked in a suspiciously short amount of time but you paid that no mind. He flung it across the room and his mouth was on your breast in an instant. Slick tongue working against your erect nipple while the other was massaged by his large hand. Every movement of his tongue, every playful pinch of his forefinger and thumb against your sensitive skin was sending lightning bolts straight down to your heat.
Jungkook’s mouth left your breast with an audible “pop!” since he sucked the flesh as he pulled away, switching his efforts to the neglected side, this time mixing it up by grazing his teeth ever so softly along the most sensitive part. Soft whimpers left you and you effectively became putty in his hands... and mouth. His tongue darted out to give a final flick against your sensitive bud before his hot kisses descended south. He kissed along the expanse of your stomach, slowly working his way down, sucking and nibbling as he went to leave small bruises dotted over your skin. He flipped your skirt up, exposing the lacy white panties that had been taunting him for hours, and the dark wet patch where your arousal soaked through them. Jungkook let out a growl, ripping the ivory fabric from your body and tossing it aside, revealing your pussy to him.
“So fucking beautiful. Better than I’d imagined.” He praised.
Without warning, his tongue darted out and swiped along your folds. Your knees buckled but Jungkook’s strong arms held you up, hands on either of your hips to keep you still and pressed against the wall while he worked his tongue along your slit then against your throbbing clit.
“Shit!” You cried out, body jolting forward and hands coming to rest on his shoulders when his plump lips wrapped around the sensitive bundle and sucked harshly.
Jungkook showed no mercy, devouring your cunt like it was his death row meal, the final wish of a man with nothing to lose. He lapped at your juices as if it were the last thing he’d ever do. Your entire body was thrumming, shaking violently as your orgasm was wretched out of you with no warning.
His name fell from your lips like a prayer, or a curse, you weren’t sure. The only thing you could focus on was the blinding white euphoria his tongue had shoved you headfirst into. You would’ve collapsed if Jungkook hadn’t held you up, allowing you to slowly sink to your knees to meet his posture as your body twitched and shook at the aftermath of your mind blowing high. Your breathing ragged and your eyes wide, you watched the satisfied smile appear on his angelic face. Cocky bastard. Sexy, skilled, ridiculously beautiful cocky bastard.
“Still feeling like a tease?” Jungkook asked, swiping his tongue over his bottom lip as he raised an eyebrow at you. Your chest was rising and falling rapidly, and all of his words sounded like another language at the moment.
“What?” You asked, causing him to laugh a bit at your clearly fucked out state of mind. Although the both of you were stripped down to almost nothing (save your skirt) and on your knees in the ground, it was clear who held the power between the two of you.
“You wanna taste yourself on my tongue?” He offered, already beginning to lean forward as he reached his arm out to pull your body closer to his, but you shook your head, an idea playing in the back of your head as you quickly conjured up a plan that’d have him weak and panting instead.
“I’d rather taste you on my own. Stand up.” You ordered.
He raised an eyebrow, surprised by your cute attempt at telling him what to do as if he hadn’t successfully put you in your place a minute or two ago. He stood nonetheless, vaguely interested in whatever you had up your sleeve. His goal was to make you suffer, but he supposed you could have a bit of fun before he fucked you brainless over that desk that sat a few feet away from the two of you.
You shifted yourself around a bit, as did he, so he now had his back pressed against the wall. You sat submissively under him, although Jungkook was anything but while he had ravaged your sweetness with his tongue.
“You’re pretty with your thighs around my face, but there’s just something about you on your knees.” Jungkook teased, his cockiness never failing to make an appearance as he ran a hand through your hair in appreciation.
You hummed to thank him, a sly smile of your own playing on your lips as you slowly lifted your small hand up to his cock. This small action alone had him tensing up completely, hissing quietly as you squeezed your hand loosely against his length repeatedly until he had to intertwine his fingers with your locks and pull your head up.
“You’d better stop unless you want to walk out of this room with my cum dripping down your face.” He warned.
You shrugged, leaning forward a bit, placing your free hand on his thigh while you stroked his cock slowly, your eyes honing in on the clear liquid that leaked from the tip of his length. You licked your lips at the thought of swiping it away with your tongue, but you weren’t supposed to give in this easily. This wasn’t a part of your plan, but you’d give anything just to keep seeing the expression of pure ecstasy on his face.
You continued to stroke him with your hand, purposely digging your nails into his thigh to see if it’d bring a reaction out of him. A shiver ran from his spine to the tips of his toes as you did this, and you couldn’t help the giggle that slipped past your lips.
“You like a little pain?” You teased, narrowing your eyes at him in defiance as you stuck your tongue out, pressing it slowly against his shaft.
You licked a stripe from his balls to the angry tip, looking up at him through your lashes as you swiped the precum away like you originally intended.
It was just as salty as you expected it to be, but you didn’t mind at all. You closed your eyes as you brought your tongue back into your mouth, pressing your lips together and swallowing slowly as you allowed the taste of him to burn down your throat.
“You taste just as good as you look.” You commented seductively, pressing a chaste kiss to his cock head and swirling your tongue around it once more before you began to spread your lips over the expanse of his cock.
Now, you’d definitely had your experience with this sort of thing once or twice before, but Jungkook was big, and there was no way you were fitting your pretty mouth over all of him, no matter how desperately you wanted to. As much as you were dying to get all of him in your mouth, for your own safety and wellbeing,  you opted to use your hand to continue to apply some relief to what you couldn’t quite reach with your mouth.
“Oh, shit. That’s so good, baby.” You weren’t sure if he was just in the moment, but your heart fluttered a bit at the pet name.
You hollowed your cheeks as you struggled to take more of him into your mouth. You gagged a handful of times, but Jungkook didn’t seem to mind. He even pulled all of your hair into his hands, using it as a sort of makeshift leash as he pushed you further down onto his cock, wanting to hear you gag on him again.
You worked quickly with your mouth, alternating the flicks of your wrists with your hand to keep Jungkook guessing. He had pressed his weight fully against the wall behind him, his leg twitching occasionally whenever you ‘accidentally’ dragged your teeth along the underside of his dick, not enough to cause any real harm, just enough to ignite a spark.
“Oh my God…” He whimpered.
You did yourself the favor of looking up at him while your mouth was stuffed full, your pussy spasming at the sight. His mouth was hung open in a silent moan, his eyes were screwed shut in pleasure, and a few of his sweaty black locks were stuck to his forehead. You figured you could make him cum just like this, but you’d rather be his personal cumbucket. Was it a bit selfish? Maybe, but you couldn’t care less at the moment. He looked absolutely delectable above you.
He cracked his eyes open just as you slid his cock out of your mouth, gathering up the saliva that built up while your lips were stretched around him and spitting it back out onto his manhood. You were deliberately slow with this, wanting him to feel it the moment it made contact with his head. You watched his face as your saliva spilled down onto his shaft, using this as lubrication as you continued to pump your fist against him.
You sank down further onto your knees, only able to give his balls a few licks with your tongue, and a short lived massage before you were yanked backward, head first. Your immediate reaction to this was a rough squeeze to his cock, since it was the only thing in your grasp at the moment. You let out a strangled groan as he clenched his jaw while looking down at you, cock standing at attention as he debated his next movement.
“Get the fuck up.” He commanded you, although he pulled you up off of the ground by the grip he had on your hair on his own.
He pressed your back to his chest, ensuring you felt every ripple of his muscles pressed against your naked skin. Making a path with his hand from your stomach, in between your breasts, then finally to your neck,  he held you firmly against him, so you had no space between your flushed bodies. You felt every rise and fall of his toned chest, his breathing just as ragged as yours.
“I’m going to bend you over that desk there, alright?” He whispered into your ear, his cool breath fanning over your cheek as you nodded eagerly, just wanting him to follow through with his plan instead of telling you the process. After all, actions do speak louder than words.
“When I let you go, I want you to walk over there like a good little slut and bend over. Flip that skirt up and show me your cunt. Can you do that for me?” You felt his cock twitch against your inner thigh, and you nodded again with a quiet moan.
“Go.” He let you go with one word, watching you swiftly walk over toward the desk as he took his length in his right hand and stroked it quickly while approaching you with loud, threatening footsteps.
You weren’t sure how that was possible since he didn’t have shoes on, but it only excited you further. You complied with his orders easily, pressing your cheek against the cold surface of the desk. You  hiked the skirt up a bit around your waist and wiggled your ass teasingly as you waited for him to come ravage you.
“You’re cute, but you’re so annoying.” He grunted from behind you, slapping both of your ass cheeks with his heavy hands, massaging them afterward before delivering two more harsh slaps.
“You work me up in front of a room full of people, and then try to collect your stuff afterward as if you weren’t practically begging me to use you? Bullshit.” He spanked your ass again, relishing in the way you hissed after every hit and gripped the edge of the desk tighter.
“I’m going to make a mess out of you, you know that?” He pressed his chest against your back, pushing his weight onto you as he whispered into your ear.
You nodded, his eyes scanning over the expanse of your back as his long fingers momentarily kneaded your muscles.
“What’re you waiting for, then?” You quipped, although your voice sounded a bit flat because of Jungkook’s body weight. He laughed as he pulled himself up off of you.
Silently, he grabbed his cock and lined it up with your pussy as he pressed the head against your tight hole. You moaned at this, inhaling sharply as he just barely slipped himself inside of you. You whimpered in defeat as he pulled out quickly afterward, not wanting to give you the time to savor the feeling of being stretched out by his length.
“I swear, if you wait any longer then I’m going to fuck myself on your dick.” You threatened shakily, to which he smirked at.
“Is that so?” He let go of his cock. “Be my guest, then.” He shrugged, although you couldn’t see him.
You turned around swiftly, beyond irritated at whatever game he was trying to play. You were turned on, and you wanted to be fucked silly, but he was acting like a brat.
“You know what? Fine, I will.” You challenged, looking over your shoulder at him to see the intrigued smile on his face.
You rolled your eyes, roughly grabbing his cock and pushing yourself back onto him hastily. Jungkook disapproved of this, landing a sharp slap to your right ass cheek he gripped your hips roughly. He held you securely, preventing you from sliding back any further onto his cock.
“You’d better slow down, sweetheart.” He warned shakily, his nails leaving small imprints on your skin as he moved his hands down to your ass. “I haven’t cum yet, and your little hole is so inviting.”
You gulped, although something about his threat to cum inside of you was one step closer to pushing you over the edge.
“Take it slowly. Take me in slowly, so I can feel you.” With this he let go of your ass, watching with lidded eyes as your arousal coated more than half of his manhood.
He licked his lips at this, loving the way your juices spilled onto him, and onto the desk. Perhaps he’d make you lick his cock clean afterwards. That’d be a sight to see.
Your hips stuttered before you could take the last few inches, which sent a gigantic boost to Jungkook’s ego. Of course, he knew he was big, but something about seeing you struggle to take him in fully even after you talked all of that shit previously was egging him on.
“You at your limit, baby?” He mocked you, and as soon as you tried to respond, your voice cracked.
He hummed, chuckling slightly as he slid his hands up from your ass to your back, scratching his stubby nails at your flesh before threading his fingers in your hair once more. He roughly yanked your head back with a malicious smile. Your body jolted at this, which sent the rest of his cock plunging into you in one go.
“God, that’s fucking it. Look at you, swallowing Daddy’s dick like a good girl. You look so pretty stuffed full like this.” You were incomprehensive, your entire being filled with thoughts of Jungkook pummeling your pussy out of existence.
“Not so eager to use that fucking mouth now, are you? Hm?” He asked, pulling your head back a bit further.
Your back was so arched that you could see the ceiling and a bit of his face, and this new position made it so much easier for his cock to brush against that spot that made you a mumbling mess.
“You should be ashamed, really.” He said, dropping his head down to look at your ass as he slowly began to work his hips against it. “Have you got anything to say for yourself?” You were taking him so well, but he couldn’t let his unbothered persona falter just yet.
“Well?” He let go of your hair, and you immediately dropped your head forward, your eyebrows furrowed in pleasure as you struggled to hold yourself up on your elbows while he ruthlessly fucked you.
“You’re s-so fucking big.” You mumbled pathetically, causing Jungkook to twitch inside of you.
“I know. You like Daddy’s big fat cock inside that tight little pussy.  Tell me, baby. Tell me how much you like it. Tell me how good you feel.” He pushed one of his hands down against your back, silently telling you to press your breasts against the desk. You obeyed, hissing as your nipples hardened instantly after making contact with the cool surface.
“I like—o-oh, oh shit.” Your jaw fell slack as Jungkook began to pick up the pace of his thrusts, his expert hips moving with such sharpness that you could feel it each time he pulled back a bit to fuck himself into you again. Although you didn’t do what he asked of you, he didn’t pressure you any further, his only goal to use you as his cute little cocksleeve.
“Spread your legs for me.” You immediately moved to follow his request, unable to balance yourself on your feet now. This was no problem, as Jungkook easily took a secure grip around your waist to keep you pressed against the desk.
“You feel so good around me like that, oh shit.” Jungkook whimpered, his tongue hanging out of his mouth slightly as he jabbed his fingers into your sides and pulled you onto the tips of your toes. You were startled at the sudden change, although it allowed for him to drive deeper inside of you.
“Put your hands on the edge of the desk now. Do it right fucking now.” He growled like some sort of feral animal. You scurried to follow his orders, just as he began to slam his cock so powerfully inside of your cunt that your hips banged against the metal desk with every other thrust, and you knew there would be bruises.
“F-fuck!” You screamed, and Jungkook responded quickly by throwing his hand messily over your mouth to quiet your moans.
“Shh, Y/N. We can’t let you get caught being a little slut.” He chuckled breathlessly, short moans and growls leaving the back of his throat as he continued to piston his hips in and out of you, your ass slapping against his abdomen every time the two of you connected. You were teetering over the edge, desperately wanting to lose control underneath him.
“I’m cumming, I’m gonna c—JUNGKOOK!” You yelled out in frustration as he slipped his cock out of you.
He grunted, pushing some of the clutter on the desk away before picking you up and setting you on top of it, so he could see your face.
“One,” He said, his voice raspy which caused you to shiver, “You’re not cumming unless I get to see your face when you do. Two,” He continued, slipping himself back into you with ease due to how fucking soaked you were, “You’re not cumming until you beg for it.” He reached for one of your legs and placed it over his shoulder, gripping onto it as he sustained the rapid pace of his manhood plunging into your inviting heat.
“I-I wanna cum, Daddy.” You whispered in defeat, a twinkle in Jungkook’s eyes as he was beginning to finally get you where he wanted you. You weren’t begging just yet, though, which was unfortunate for you because you wouldn’t get an orgasm, and Jungkook was going to cum inside you either way.
“You do, Princess?” He whispered back, still holding your leg while his other hand moved to the back of your head. He pressed your forehead against his, your noses bumping as Jungkook fucked you. You nodded, tears threatening to spill out of your eyes at having to hold your orgasm back.
“You aren’t begging for me, baby. Beg me to give you permission to cum on this dick.” You cried out weakly, knowing that you’d have to give in to his rules in order to achieve that sweet release. It was right in the tip of your tongue.
You placed your arms around his neck, hanging them there loosely as you gazed into his eyes, which were full of lust and carnal desire.
“Can I cum o-on your c-cock—a-ah!” You failed miserably to finish your sentence, as Jungkook began pistoning his cock inside of your cunt with such force that the desk began to screech against the ground a bit, knocking at one of the metal racks behind it.
“I’m so close to cumming, pretty girl. Talk fast.” He warned, thrusts quickly becoming unorganized. You nodded.
“Please let me cum! I-Iv’e learned my lesson, I swear I have! I’m so close Jungkook, p-please!” He grunted his approval, nodding once and delivering about a dozen more thrusts before he dropped his head into the crook of your neck, biting down on the skin there as he began to shoot rope after rope of his cum deep inside of your greedy cunt.
You came with him, your body tensing up for a few moments before your release smacked you like a bus, heavy and unapologetic.  Due to the wild fuckfest the two of you had, though, a few utensils hit the ground, and a can of paint was wobbling on the edge of the rack that the desk was smashing against a few seconds ago.  Jungkook finally lifted his head up, leaving a trail of kisses in his wake. He placed one final kiss to your forehead before locking eye contact with you.
“I know for a fact that was the best fuck of your life.” You laughed, shaking your head at the fact that his cocky attitude would never settle. Not even after using up (what you assumed was) all of his stamina.
You didn’t mind it, though. In fact, you were starting to grow fond of it.
“It certainly was, but look at all the—“
The can of paint gave way to the pull of gravity, and tumbled to the ground with a deafening crack, the contents of the can flying out and splattering directly onto you and Jungkook. You knew what it was as soon as it hit your skin, and you immediately wondered why someone would leave a damn can of open paint on the top shelf.
It was brief, a big splash, so neither of you really had time to react to it. When you finally lifted your head up, Jungkook’s chest was covered in black paint, as were your legs and skirt. Seriously, the one fucking day you decide to wear pink?
“—Mess. Look at all the mess.” You finished your sentence with a giggle, thankful that you kept towels in the room during your classes. It’d never come out of your skirt, but at least you could wipe it off of your skin.
Your gaze met Jungkooks and you both burst out in a fit of giggles. You couldn’t help but notice the way his eyes lit up when he laughed, the polar opposite of the domineering man who’d just rocked your world minutes before. This Jungkook was soft, open, lighter. His laughter was the most beautiful melody that had ever graced your ears and you wouldn’t have minded listening to it for a very long time. His joy was contagious, and you couldn’t stop the goofy smile from spreading across your lips as he wrapped his arms around you in a playful hug.
Though his touch still sent electricity through you, this was different. It was sweet and gentle. You let yourself melt in his embrace, drinking in the way he made you feel so secure, so wanted. You sighed happily. You grinned mischievously then, collecting some of the paint off of the surface of the desk and wiping a thick stripe of it across his cheek. He froze in shock then glared at you, a hint of a smile playing on those gorgeous lips.
He reached out to grab you, but you were too fast, shrieking in delight as you ran away from him. Jungkook chased you around the small art studio, his laughter floating through the air like your favorite song. His arms snaked around you and he pulled you close, rubbing his cheek against yours to spread the paint over your skin. Your giggles dissolved as he placed a tender kiss to your lips.
Pulling away and placing a peck on his nose, you began pulling your clothes back on. Jungkook watched you, admiring the way your body moved, how much sweeter you were once your attitude had been properly taken care of. You smiled at him over your shoulder, and he couldn’t recall a time when he’d ever seen such a beautiful smile on any other woman. He couldn’t recall seeing another woman who even compared to you.
Then realization brought a similar smile onto his own lips, and Jungkook thought to himself, that he just might have found the one.
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whalesfallmoved · 3 years
Text
hand over wound (1/??)
half an excuse to play around with form, style, and the second person pov. this isn’t what I typically write, so I’m ahhhhh about it all around. alas, FHR lives rent free in my head right now. only read over it a few times for mistakes, so apologies for any typos.
pairing: ricardo ortega/f!sidestep, pre-heartbreak rating: t word count: 2175 warnings: mentions of blood, injury. typical canon content. 
[read on AO3.]
--
You’re in an apartment that isn’t yours with a man you shouldn’t trust and a gut bleeding out over his nice, expensive bathroom, and that doesn’t sound like the start of a bad joke so much as the start of the end of your life. 
(If you could call it a life, if you could call it anything more than all your stolen seconds ticking down to this moment. Torn stitches— fucking stupid, stupid mistake, this is how they’re going to get you—)
(He’ll take you to a hospital and they’ll look and they’ll know and he’ll know and and and)
Fuck.
Two choices:
One. You can suck it up, ask for a first aid kit—he’ll have one, twice as nice as the one you’ve got and he doesn’t even need it—all those Ranger benefits he keeps trying to entice you with, go team! Maybe even some halfway decent painkillers.
You lock yourself in the bathroom, stitch yourself up clean enough to get out of here without bleeding on his floor, too. You can meet his questions with a hard laugh and a fuck off I’m fine go finish making the food I’m starving.
(and why the fuck did you come here why did you let yourself get swayed by his fast grins and his bright eyes? He isn’t your friend, he isn’t, even if he thinks he is.)
Fuck.
Two. You make a run for it. More questions. Potential for passing out in a dark alley. Vulnerable and wounded until you can get back to your own shitty place and hope to god Ortega doesn’t think to follow you. Which he will, you know he will, and you’re fast but he’s always been faster, just as quick on the draw with a mind of static to take your edge. 
You pull the tight undershirt up higher, flinching at the sight of your own skin, focus on the blood rolling sluggish and hot instead of the flinty orange patterns. The wound’s deep and fresh and curled like a crooked smile. 
Black clothes help. Red splatters vibrantly on the white marble counter, onto the floor, sticks to the soles of your feet (bare, shoes kicked off at the door.) You’ll have to clean that up. How the hell will you do that? With his goddamn bleach white towels? 
God— fucking— fuck.
Okay. You can do this. You just ask. Ask for the first aid kit. Slam the door in his face. Or run. 
You want to run. Feel that rabbit-heart drive bursting up under the skin to book it and maybe that’s what you need to do. Yes. That’s what you need to do. Leave Ortega the mess—you’ve saved his ass enough times you won’t feel bad about it, or at least not so bad you’ll apologize for it later (you never apologize, even when you maybe should) and—
A knock, and you jump, gasp. “Still alive in there?” He asks, that same smile-lilt to his voice. He’s teasing you, a little, but there’s an edge of concern too. 
(shitshitshitshitshitshitfuck)
“Just give me a second.” You bite out, trying to sound put upon rather than panicked. 
Shirt tugged down—fuck, that hurts—and your teeth sink into soft cheeks, hard enough to sting.  
A pause. You wait for the sound of footsteps to move away from the door. Silence, instead.
Exhale. 
“—Hey, are you alright?”
Goddamnit.
“I’m fine,” you drop to your knees and your side screams and the blood gets stickier, you can feel the fabric dragging with every move. Throw open the cabinets. Maybe he was organized for once in his life and put the first aid kit in here (fat chance) and nothing, nothing, just bare bones cleaning supplies. 
Frustration and pain build up, you slam the cabinet with a teeth-clenched groan and the knock comes again, more insistent this time, hard knuckles on hard wood— can’t you just fuck off can’t you leave me alone why did i come here—
“Noa. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. God, what do you want?” You snarl, voice raising to a pitch.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.” Your hand clutches at your side and comes away red, smeary. You have to do something, you have to move. Think. You can’t stay here. 
He’s not going to let you go. You should’ve just run while you had the chance, now he’s just outside the door waiting, on alert, knows you better than anyone (which isn’t saying much but it’s saying enough) and knows enough to not let you just snarl your way out of this. 
Shaky inhale. “Maybe.”
“Okay,” he breathes—relief? you don’t know and it chafes, what’s there to be relieved about?—gives a softer laugh, “no big deal. Just open the door.” 
You don’t want to do that. You really, really don’t want to do that. He’s going to want to help, he’s going to want to see, the way you’ve helped him before.
(warm brown skin interrupted by mods and scar tissue and the expanse of his back, defined muscle rippling under your fingertips— stay still, you snap, smacking his shoulder, and he laughs— ouch, watch it, I’m wounded— and that’s your own fault you idiot, needle/thread, and you lay his stitches so much neater than your own.)
“I… can’t.”
“...You can’t?”
“No.”
“Is it that bad?” His voice takes on a new edge, sharper now, the kind of break down the door, get the job done edge that comes with being a Ranger, you suppose. Not quite hard, still light enough to pass for his brand of charm-sly soothing, but you know better than to fall for that.
“I’m fine. Can you just…” you push up onto your feet, choking down another groan, pain splitting through your side like a disc-saw, “can you just get the first aid kit?” 
You think you hear a faint curse, and then: “yeah, be right back.”
In the space between, panic sets in.
Panic’s a cold emotion, and it’s a sick kind of luxury. You never got to panic before, riding it out out out all silent scream while everyone else’s thoughts and feelings stuck to your teeth, wormed down to the base of your spine. With Ortega you’re alone in your head and the only thing left to do is wait. Fists clench, ease the shaking. 
A few minutes pass, tick-tick-tick, and he’s at the door again, knock softer this time, and please, please, please leave me alone you want to say but you don’t, you just press your palm (red-stark) to your side, and maybe— maybe if you slam it open, it’ll knock him back long enough to give you a head start. You just have to get out—
“Noa.” He knocks again, and you think you hear his breath hitch, maybe, and you want to know what he’s thinking, you want to know so badly but it’s just deafening silence outside the door.
“Yeah… yeah.” 
One hand to your pulsing gut, one hand shaking, the knob unlocks with a soft click, and you’re stumbling back into the bathroom, and he’s there, filling the doorway, eyes soft-hard and brow furrowed. His eyes flick over the counter, the floor (blood splatters, streaks of it) and he lets out another quiet string of curses, “what the hell happened—?” 
He’s moving forward, and you stumble back till your knees hit the toilet.
You both still. Freeze. He’s got you cornered, and he knows it, he must know it, fuckfuckfuck— breathe, you have to breathe.
“You didn’t tell me you were hurt.” He murmurs, softer than before, one hand curled around the green-white first aid kit. Bandages. Stitches. Alcohol.
Maybe you could grab it. Run? No, that’s stupid— he’ll just grab you, shove you back, ask for answers you can’t and won’t give.
Fuck.
Again, you say: “I’m fine,” and feel your lips curl back, a snarl fit for a dog in a ring.
“Yeah, you look it,” he shakes his head, tries to smile, like he isn’t surprised but he wishes it were different, and he’s not going to get mad at you, not yet, we all get hurt in this business but it still can’t be different, it can’t be, asshole, so stop asking, “c’mon, let’s… go in the living room, and I’ll—”
“No,” you snap hard, working around the toilet toward the counter. A little more room that way, and you won’t sit, even though you’re starting to feel it, the shakes and the dizziness. Drip, drip, drip, and your hand curls tighter over your stomach.
“No?” He blinks, more confused than offended.
(you have such a delicate touch, he scoffs as you wrap pristine white bandages over the stitched gash, rough but slow, and you roll your eyes don’t get fucking shanked next time then, and he gasps, mock-offense, brown eyes sparkling, searching your mask for expression he won’t find but you’re smiling, you’re smiling because he’s beautiful.)
“Just give it to me. I can deal with it myself.” 
“Excuse me?”
“It’s not as bad as it looks.” It is.
“Sure it isn’t.”
“It’s just a flesh wound, alright? Someone got a lucky scratch in that last fight. Didn’t think it’d open again. But it’s not that bad.”
“Well, I’m still not going to leave you here to stitch yourself up.”
Fucking— always so stubborn, why won’t he quit? 
“Either give it or I leave. Take your pick.” 
He stills, watching you, and you wonder how you look to him.
Like a scared animal? Wounded little monster he found and picked up for some fucking reason? What does he want with you? What is he thinking? 
His eyes trail over you, clothes all black and layered, baggy enough to hide everything, 
“You’re kidding.” He wants you to be kidding.
“Do I look like it?” You tilt your head back, challenging, stilling up—shoulders stiffen, legs numb, prepared to run or to fight. Like he’s not blocking the only exit, like he’s not the one person in the world you can’t outmaneuver—Sidestep brought down by a head full of silence and a pretty fucking face.
They would laugh at you. They will if this escalates, if he sees. He’s got all his good intentions, it’ll be the death of you. He’ll be the death of you.
“So what’s it gonna be?” It’s supposed to sound like a sneer-snarl but it comes out weak, the razor edge of fear sliding just under your tongue.
But he must miss it. Or chalk it up to something else. “You’re being ridiculous,” he shakes his head, “it’s really not an issue.”
Ortega, always believing the best of you. That you don’t want to inconvenience him. 
He wants to stay.
(you’ve never had anyone who wants to stay before.)
“I just wanna do it myself, fucks sake.” You burst, cutting him off at the finish line, and now you’re up on your feet, reaching with your free hand for the kit, ripping it from his hand.
“Just...” what was the line? “Just go finish making the food, alright? I’m starving.” and he lets you take it, lets you slam it down on the counter. You drop your blood-wet palm and clench it, as if to say see I’m fine it’s not that bad and his eyes drift over you again, harder than before, and he’s annoyed, well that’s too bad.
“Can I at least…”
“No.” 
Jaw clenches. Works. Ortega never knows when to not push, when to not be that wonder boy so full of heart, head first into the action, and you’re small potatoes so what the fuck is he doing here, really, with you? There’s a dozen other vigilantes in Los Diablos that would probably work with him, that would fall for his knockout smile twice as fast and twice as hard.
(oh, you’ve fallen alright, but he doesn’t need to know that.)
But he knows you. He does. More and less than he thinks he does. And he knows you’re not bluffing. You’ll leave. 
Shoulders still raised, jaw still stubborn, he slowly nods and steps back. You feel relief unshutter in your chest. “Alright,” he sighs, slumps.
Does he want you to stay? Or does he just want to make sure you don’t pass out in some grimy back alley to get picked over?
It doesn’t really matter.
(why is he letting this go that easily?)
“If you say it’s not that bad, I’ll believe you,” he nods, and it feels like a lie, sticks around in your skin the way lying does when someone lies with their mouth but not with their thoughts. “Just let me know if I can do anything, alright?” Smile, again, he’s always smiling except when he isn’t, effortlessly charming. 
“...Okay.” You mutter. There isn’t anything he can do, and you both know you won’t ask.
You stand off, not flinching and not moving as he steps back, hands twitching at his sides—to raise them in surrender or grab you, you don’t know, so as soon as he’s through the door you grab it, slam it closed, lock it fast.
Safe. Or as safe as you can be.
Fuck.
30 notes · View notes
bowtied-pasta · 3 years
Text
Splendor and True
You know what it do 😩👌
“So,” Offender began. “Splendor, huh?”
True sighed. It had been a decent night, and now he wanted to grill her for the juicy stuff. It was supposed to just be movies, snacks and a sleep over at his. She didn’t know what she was expecting, honestly. The man was worse than middle school gossip, he wanted to know everything and he always had a way of finding out. It didn’t help that he could read her mind on occasion either.
“Okay, I get it. You don’t want to talk about it, but I think if anyone could help you, it would be me. Us being the same species and you not knowing much about our courting or the like.” He nudged her side gently, trying to coax her into admitting it.
She rolled her eyes, smiling up at him gently in amusement. Nudging him right back. “Don’t lie to me like that, you’re just nosey.”
He rolled his eyes, in his own way. So much like the way she did, but he didn’t have the organs to show for it. Always something interesting to notice with these men. “Okay, yeah. I want the hot, juicy details about my newest little pals not so little crush. Can you blame me? It’s not too often I get to be involved in a situation like this.”
Wearily watching him smile down at her, she felt rather targeted. “I... well. Fine. I do like him.”
He hardly got any time to have a victory moment at hearing he was right as she began spiraling on. “I like him very much but I can’t tell him because oh my god what if he doesn’t like me and he just tolerates my existence in his home until he can help me figure some stuff out and then he’ll send me on my way to do who knows what because he probably just plans to ship me off to my ancestor when we find him and its not that I’m not open to getting to know them when I find them, but I sure would like to stay with him and-“
She silenced when he placed his large hand on top of her head. “Hey. It’s not like that. I wouldn’t tell you to go after him unless I thought he liked you too. I mean, I like to play but that would be kind of cruel.”
She sighed, nodding as she plopped down onto the couch they were sitting on. She had to hand it to them, wherever these guys got their furniture from, it was always comfortable despite it being larger than what she was used to. Her human proportions making her feel like a child when sitting in any of their homes unless she traveled into proxy dwellings, more human sized accommodations always in those portions. “Yeah, okay... I just. Well, it’s like you said. I don’t understand the courting stuff. I’m afraid he doesn’t like me like that, I mean honestly, why would he want me? I may not be entirely human, but thats what I was raised as. I’m weird and I don’t conform to your norms and ideals. He has standing and a reputation, I offer him nothing that would better that.”
“That’s not what he cares about.” True looked over at him, watching as he shook his head and waved off her apparently ridiculous worries.
“Oh yeah?” She huffed, slightly miffed that he continued to brush off her worries without actually explaining why. “What gives you that idea?”
He appeared to think for a bit, over exaggerating by crossing his arms and humming in thought. She knew he was about to do something she would regret allowing, but he moved on before she could stop it. “Oh, you know, probably has something to do with the fact that he’s said things about you to me already.”
Her head shot up, looking at him incredulously. “He talks about me? Well, I mean I guess he would. I am living in his home.”
Tutting at her, he waggled his finger and smirked in her direction. “No, no. You don’t understand. He talks about you a lot. Oh, how did he word that one thing he said the other day? I think it went something like... ‘Oh! True is just so wonderful! Amazing! I don’t know how I got so lucky, finding her first.’”
She stared at him, frozen in astonishment at what he was doing. His voice had pitched upward, the gravel gone from his deep voice as he mocked the way Splendor’s tenor would sound. “Are you being serious right now?”
“Why ever would I kid about this!?” His hand flew to his chest, acting offended that she would accuse him of such behavior. “I am simply telling you of the time he said things such as ‘I just think she’s very cute, with her glasses and such pretty hair.’”
His voice pitched upward again, mocking Splendor again as his hands interlaced and he held them up to his face like the love sick saps in old cartoons, making her jump to Splendors defense. “Shut up, he doesn’t sound like that!”
He laughed, dismissing her rebuttal gently with a wave of his hand. “Oh yeah? Then what does he sound like, huh?”
“His voice is nice! It’s light and it almost always sounds so happy. Sometimes it makes me smile to hear it, even if it’s not me he’s talking to. And he calls me little nicknames sometimes, which is the only reason I gave him a nickname too, not that he knows that. He’s soft and careful and kind. He’s very patient with me, and it’s not just me either, he’s patient with his proxies too. And when he laughs, oh it’s wonderful, I work so hard to hear him laugh, to get him laughing because of me. And… well, his eyes are pretty. I know, they don’t have any color, but the way his eyes are is kind of like... if I look in them just right, then its like stars in a sky of darkness. I’ve only seen his hands maybe once or twice, and I think he probably hides them because of how scary he thinks they are, but I think they’re wonderful. Holdable. Kissable. They’re very pretty, and I can only assume the color tapers off, which must be wonderful to look at. I hope to one day get a chance to look at it myself. And I really like-“Her eyes widened as she slapped her hand over her mouth, whipping her gaze toward Offender who was looking down at her with a cocky grin.
“Got ya to talk, did I?” He chuckled at her. Patting her head as she processed her little splurge of simpery for Splendor. “You might as well keep going, little buddy. Better yet, write him a letter.”
She exhales heavily, crossing her arms and turning her head away from him. “Not that its any of your damn business, but I actually have. He will never, ever see them though. End of discussion. And now that I’ve divulged my feelings for Splendor at your demand, can we please watch the movie?”
The silence that followed was telling. He wasn’t done. No where close to it, in fact. She fought herself to keep her eyes locked to the screen, watching as a guy on screen jumped off of a cliff and into an ocean. She wasn’t sure where the movie was shot, but the waters were very pretty as they crashed against the rock face. Of course, the scene didn’t last very long, leaving her confused about the fate of the man. Though it seemed she wouldn’t find out what happened at all. No sooner than she had let her guard down had Fen appeared in front of the tv with some papers in his hands, making her jump at his sudden appearance, as she thought he hadn’t moved from his spot on the couch.
“Must you always pop in and out like that? By the way, you make a horrible window. We’re supposed to be watching a movie, remember?” She rolled her eyes before eyeing him closely. Taking a look at the papers in his hands, her eyes popped open wide in recognition. “No.”
His smile was answer enough, but he gave one anyway. “Oh, yes. They were quite easy to find actually.”
Shooting up off the couch, she tried to snatch the papers out of his hands before he could hold them any higher, but it was a losing battle as always with most enderbeings. Hopelessly tall while she was hopelessly short.
“Come on, please? You don’t need to read those, I promise they’re no good. Just the rambling of me at three am every day.” She poked and prodded at him desperately as she begged him to give her the papers back. She didn’t know how he had found them so easily, or even how he teleported to her room without alerting anyone to his presence, but she knew those were the letters to Splendor.
He remained silent as he seemed to skim over three of the letters. He took his sweet time, nudging her away with his leg if she managed to distract him too much, but he never looked away from the papers. She was thankful he wasn’t doing a live reading of it while mocking her voice, but this was still embarrassing regardless.
Finishing up the last letter, he merely folded it back into thirds and slotted it back into its envelope and handing her the whole stack with a large grin on his face. “Now that is what I’m talking about. You should just hand those to him, and while I admit staying still would be the most courageous and correct thing to do, you could always just toss them at him and run. Gets the confession out of the way.”
Indignant and fuming, she hugged the letters to her chest and glared up at Fen. “But I don’t know how he’ll take it. I mean… are the letters really okay? Could I really just give him these and expect it to be okay? What if-“
She gets cut off as he groans, dragging a hand down his face in obvious exasperation. “Honestly, you two are just insufferable. I can’t stand this for much longer. Look okay, if you don’t confess then I’ll act as your little birdy and let a certain someone know that a special someone loves them very much.”
The idea was terrifying, and as serious as he looked, she wanted to think he was joking. “He has no reason to like me. He’s so much older than me, not to mention more capable of things as well. I’m…. very human. I’m weak compared to all of you, and I mean… reading intent means nothing if I cant do anything about what they intend to do. I can’t just walk up to him and think a confession will go over well. I have no reason to think he could like me.”
She jolts when he flicks her forehead. Its nowhere near as hard as it could have been, but she yelps and covers the spot with her hand. She startles when he kneels down to her height suddenly and grabs her shoulder. “I don’t know how many times I’m gonna have to fucking say this True, but he doesn’t care about that shit. Never has. All of this,” he shakes the letters in his free hand. “You don’t need to say any of this. I know you think words are scary, so let me help you, okay?”
She took a moment to glance at the letters that would never be delivered. The pretty paper she had written them on bright and colorful and unavoidable. She should have just written them on white paper, then he likely wouldn’t have found them as quickly, if at all. “As long as you’re telling the truth, then I guess I’ll listen.”
He muttered what sounded like praises to the ceiling above him as he stood and led her back to the couch. “Good, now all you have to do is a few simple things, and I promise you’ll make him the happiest man alive.”
————————————
It was now a week later, and she found herself sitting on Splendor’s couch as he started up a movie. Movie nights happened once or twice a month, Splendor’s candy business getting rather time consuming lately, with paperwork and other things she really didn’t understand.
She hadn’t been taught much about his business, but she knew he was very successful and she really liked his products. He had gifted her test products before and had let her sample things before they went out. After having dragged her birthday out of her, he had even gifted her a basket of stuff that she had yet to get through even though it had been quite a while since her birthday.
“You haven’t seen this one before I think. It’s a bit old, in terms of what I’m sure you’re used to watching, but it’s in color.” He laughed as he sat next to her. Getting comfortable in the blankets that were piled around the two of them.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” She watched him nuzzle into the blankets before he handed her the bucket of popcorn to hold. She stuttered over herself as she remembered what she needed to do now that they were here. “Besides… I’m with you, right? Can’t be too bad if you picked it out.”
He took her statement at face value it seemed, and softly hummed before patting her head and hitting play on the remote. For a moment she thought maybe Fen really was wrong and Splendor didn’t like her that way. But just as she was about to zone out while staring at the screen to remove herself into her thoughts, she felt something wrap around her under the blankets.
She stayed still as it did, knowing it was one of his tendrils. She took a minute to enjoy it, waiting for the movie to become a little interesting before leaning against his side. She fought to stay casual when she felt eyes on her, not wanting to appear tense. Next would come the hardest part, but she supposed it was only difficult because she understood the meaning behind such a gesture now.
We she felt him relax again, and she was sure he was watching the movie instead of her, she moved one of her hands through the blankets in search of his tendril. Finding it had somehow wrapped around her under all the blankets and had managed to stay outside of her shirt. Regardless of his mastery with the appendage, she set her mind back on track as she lightly grazed her fingertips over it while in search of the tip.
She found the bell with little trouble and grabbed just under it before bringing it up through the blankets and toward her face. She didn’t dare look up at him, she already knew he was watching her. Fighting through the blush rising on her face and the butterflies tearing through her body that made her jittery and nervous, she brought the bell up for a little smooch.
The near moment her lips disconnected from the bell, she felt herself get pushed gently against the back of the couch and he suddenly had a soft grip on her chin, tilting her head back to make her look up at him. His cheeks were more flushed than normal, his eyes locked on hers as he stared her down while seemingly taking a moment to think on what to say. “Do you mean it?”
Did she mean it? She doesn’t understand how she couldn’t. It would be hard for that to be a mistake, and honestly if it hadn’t of been for Fen’s help then she wouldn’t have even known to do it. “Yes.”
She yelped suddenly when she found herself pulled onto his lap. Blankets tangled around her body acting as annoyances when she discovered she was practically bound by them. Regardless, she couldn’t get away if she wanted to. The tendril wrapped around her ensured that.
“If you’re sure you know what it means.” His face hovered closer to hers, his eyes searching her face for any doubts.
“Yes. I… liked you for a while now. I accept.” Her hands found a comfortable resting spot as her arms rested over his shoulders, only bringing them closer.
Silence ruled for a moment before she felt a hand tangle in her hair. The distance closed rather quickly, despite the softness on the kiss. It was a gentle, loving and warm kiss. Conveying finally being able to do what he had been longing to do for a while.
She was struck stupid when they finally parted, gently panting to catch her breath as her glassy eyes met his again. Letting out a muffled noise of surprise, she barely had time to catch her breath at all before he went in for another kiss. This one a little more desperate than the last. His tongue teasing along her lips until she allowed him to deepen it in her shock.
Shaking and desperate for oxygen, her brain went fuzzy and she moaned at the current assault her emotions had on her body. Light, fuzzy and warm. The feel of his lips on hers and his tongue exploring her mouth was something she hadn’t dared to think about before, but it was mind consuming.
She struggled not to embarrass herself when they separated by leaning back in for more. Finding him a little starstruck while looking down at her. Softly panting while she was near gasping for air. “Well then… uh… this makes us significant others. Yes. Right.”
He chuckled at her, moving his hand to instead begin combing through her hair, watching fondly as it made her melt against him and attempt to lean into his touch. “It makes us mates, schatz. Of course, were not mated, but that can come later. Much later, if you’d prefer. However it works out.”
She hummed, relaxing against his chest as he played with her hair. The movie still playing the background of little interest to either of them anymore. His next words made her eyes open as she tensed though. “Now, who told you about the tendril thing?”
14 notes · View notes
angstyaches · 4 years
Note
em here
I don't want to request anything you have in your askbox already haha so how about some really pukey and sick felix with worried elli? maybe it starts in the car and they think it's carsickness but it turns out to be worse than that?
Here you go, Em! It made me so happy to get a request for these two before I take a break, so thank you! It gets a little angsty, but everything turns out okay.
CW: emeto, sickness, fever, slight confusion, panic attack/anxiety with physical symptoms
___
“This is the last time,” Elliott insisted.
Felix jumped as Elliott raised his voice. He hadn’t realised that he’d been out of it until he forced himself to focus on what his boyfriend was saying.
“It’s the absolute, very last time I’m driving to this place until the actual night of the party,” Elliott muttered, glancing half-heartedly into the side mirror before switching lanes. “Lord, but Nancy’s been dumping these appointments on us left, right, and centre, and I’m sick of it. What if we’d had plans today?”
“Well, we didn’t, darling,” Felix said softly. “And whatever it is, I’m sure Nancy had a decent reason this time.”
“Sorry, boo. I wish I was as good as you are, at assuming the best in people.” Elliott rested a hand on Felix’s knee while the other held the steering wheel. Excitement was lighting up his face, after he’d spent the last ten minutes frowning.  “You and I – we should plan something. Something nice, for when the party-planning fiasco’s blown over. What do you think, boo? Anywhere you’ve been dying to go?”
His optimistic mood, and the mention of travel, should have lifted Felix’s spirits too, but all it did was make him a bit starry-eyed. He stared at Elliott, mesmerised by the dimples that seemed prodded into his cheeks by invisible fingers.
He realised that Elliott was waiting for him to respond, but he couldn’t think of anything to say. Could barely think at all. His head had felt like a spinning top since they’d gotten in the car, and there was a heaviness in his bones that he could no longer convince himself was just from tiredness.
If only a fraction of his discomfort and confusion was showing on his face, then it was no wonder the excited look fell from Elliott’s face.
“Are you alright, Fee?”
Felix gave a short, mirthless laugh. “Do I look as dreadful as I feel?”
“Well, don’t bite me, but – yes, I would say so,” Elliott replied, stealing a few more quick glances as he tried to focus on the road too. “Is it motion sickness?”
“Oh, gosh, maybe.” Felix rubbed a hand across his stomach. It definitely felt a little unsettled, now that he thought about it. He’d be relieved if that was all this turned out to be. “I – I shouldn’t be feeling this bad sitting in the front, but yeah.”
“What did you eat this morning?”
“Not much, just some toast. I wasn’t very hungry when I woke up.” He began to shake his head and lean forward in his seat, rubbing at the sides of his face. Thinking about food – even bland food like toast and butter – was making him feel nauseous. Come to think of it, he’d had a glass of apple juice too, the acidic taste of which was starting to wash back up into his mouth. “Gosh, Elli, I think – I think I need to get out.”
“There’s a rest stop in two minutes, boo, if you can wait that long.”
Felix gave a short grunt of agreement, keeping his head down in his hands and trying to take long, steady breaths. He tried to let up a couple of burps too, which usually helped a lot when his stomach didn’t feel right, but this didn’t feel like nausea brought on by external factors. The more he let himself feel it, the more he realised that there was a deep-set pain in his belly, like all of his organs and muscles were knotting together. The burps were forced – thick with the taste of the apple juice – and not relieving at all.
He was definitely going to have to bring up something other than gas.
“We’re here, boo,” Elliott said, jerking the car slightly as he rushed to park it. “We’re right beside the toilet area, if you need to run –”
Felix was already reaching for his seatbelt and the door handle at the same time. His body swayed a bit as he stepped out onto the time-beaten tarmac, and the faint overcast sky made his head feel even lighter. His thoughts kept floating away; he knew he was supposed to be doing something, but what was it?
“Hey, Fee?” Elliott appeared in front of him and put his hands on either side of his face.
Felix blinked and tried to focus on his boyfriend’s face, his eyes. Oh right, he remembered, feeling a tight cramp shove its way up from the pit of his stomach. He was supposed to be throwing up by now.
He held his own hands to his mouth and shook himself free of Elliott’s. The urge to vomit was steady and slow-burning at first, but he picked up the pace alongside it. The closer he got to the bathrooms, the further up his throat the nausea crawled.
Elliott rushed after his boyfriend once he’d shoved the passenger side door shut. He heard a violent retch as he pushed through the door, followed by an echoing cough. Felix had made it into a cubicle, but there was a short trail of sick on the floor where the show had clearly started the show before being in position.
“Aw, Fee,” Elliott murmured. He laid a hand on Felix’s back, mostly to let him know he was there.
Felix groaned as thick chunks of bread soaked in apple juice coursed up his throat, and he coughed harshly over the mess it made in the toilet bowl and on the seat.
“Made – made a mess,” he whined, pressing the back of his hand to his mouth as he managed to come up for air.
“Boo, I’m sure this dump has seen worse,” Elliott said with a frown. He hated that Felix fixated on unnecessary, irrelevant details while he was sick, instead of just focusing on doing whatever he needed to feel better. He scratched his back lightly. “Are you okay?”
The next sound out of Felix was a pinched sob. “No,” he choked out. “Can – can you clean the floor, darling? I’m sorry, I’d do it myself, I just –”
Elliott flinched back as Felix doubled right over, ejecting another thick wave of sick into the toilet bowl. He clenched his jaw and did as the boy requested, pulling wads of paper towels from the dispenser and mopping up the small amount of sick that had gotten on the floor. He tossed it all in the bin by the doorway. As he turned back to check on his boyfriend, he wondered at the fact that nobody had left or entered since they’d gone in, but maybe other travellers knew how dingy the toilets were, and avoided them like the plague.
“Are you okay, gorgeous?” Elliott asked again, reaching for Felix’s waist as the smaller boy flushed the toilet and turned towards him. He was trembling slightly, and Elliott wondered if he was running a fever; his own body temperature had been so messed up lately that he didn’t trust his own judgment.
“No,” Felix admitted a second time, whimpering against Elliott’s chest before lifting his head again. His eyes seemed unable to focus on Elliott’s. “I – I’m sure it’s just really bad motion sickness. I just… just need a minute to recover...”
“Seriously, boo,” Elliott sighed, putting his hand on the back of Felix’s head. “I think you’re going to need about a day to recover. I’ll bet you and Nancy are down with the same bug or something, and that’s why she didn’t want to leave the house today.”
“You – you think?” Felix rubbed his hands over his belly, as though he could somehow feel out whether that guess was correct or not. “Gosh, could that happen?”
“If it could happen to a witch like Nancy, it could definitely happen to you, Fee,” Elliott said with a sympathetic grimace. Both Felix and Nancy had stomachs as weak as kittens, but Elliott didn’t particularly feel like bullying his sick boyfriend with that analogy right then. Plus, he’d already used up his don’t bite me for the day.
Felix might not have even noticed if Elliott had chosen to tease him, because now that the panic of vomiting had passed, his head was starting to feel like it was detaching itself from his body like a rocket into space. He groaned lowly as Elliott wrapped his arms around him and led him back out to the car.
“I’ll just be a minute,” Elliott said, after settling him in the passenger seat. He rubbed his boyfriend’s back as Felix folded his arms on the dash and buried his head between them. “I’m going to run into the shop and get you something fizzy to sip on.”
Felix flinched as the door closed next to him, his stomach sloshing along with the gentle rocking of the car. He felt what he thought was a sob push its way up from his chest, but what came out of his mouth was a deep, nauseated burp that brought a very bad taste to his mouth. It wasn’t of apple juice anymore either; whatever was wrong with him, it was bringing up whatever remained of last night’s dinner, too. He couldn’t even remember what that was, and as soon as he tried to even think about food again, his stomach heaved.
“Oh no,” he mumbled thickly, lifting his head and reaching for the door handle.
He managed to swing his legs out of the seat and lean forward, his head almost between his knees, before even more thick, sloshy liquid gushed out of him. His head was practically between his knees as the sick splashed over the ground. Felix was worried about getting it on his shoes, but his vision was so full of stars that he ended up closing his eyes, gripping the edge of his seat with one hand and the handle of the door with the other, and trying not to fall out into his own sick.
As soon as he was sure his stomach had settled a bit, Felix leaned back and pulled his feet up to the seat. He rested his chin on his knees, still slumped sideways and facing towards the open door. Just in case. He probably looked ridiculous to anyone who passed by, and he was sure there was a rest stop employee somewhere who would later despise him for throwing up in a car parking spot, but Felix couldn’t bring himself to care.
It felt as though a huge chasm were opening up in his chest and he didn’t know why, or how to stop it. He just tried to hold himself in one piece until Elliott made it back.
“Aw, Fee, are you alright?” Elliott asked softly when he reappeared, laying a hand on his shoulder.
Felix blinked, barely able to open his eyes for the stabbing light of the overhead clouds. His throat felt like it was on fire as he struggled to form words. His eyes were watering, presumably from the effort of heaving up everything in his system; though that certainty started to fade as he nuzzled his cheek against Elliott’s hand and frowned.
“Elli, I… I want my mum.”
The bottle of lemon-and-lime almost slipped out of Elliott’s hand, and he leapt to catch it before it could fall into the new puddle of sick and roll under the car. He stared at his boyfriend’s face as his eyes fell shut again.
“What – Felix?” he whispered, more to himself than anything. For almost a decade, Felix had never said anything like that; he never even wanted to talk about his mother, or any members of his previous family. Elliott had come to accept that it was a part of his life that he just didn’t want to drag into this life, and that was that.
“Fee?” Elliott asked.
Felix didn’t seem to want to respond.
Elliott carefully held his slumped head against his chest as he pulled the boy’s jacket off, hoping it would stop his fever crawling up. Then Elliott tucked the loose plastic bag he’d gotten in the shop into the footwell and rounded the car to the driver’s seat. He unscrewed the bottle of fizz and helped his boyfriend, whose hands were too shaky and whose eyes were too unfocused, take a couple of sips, all the while brushing flecks of mint-green hair back from his face.
Felix leaned into Elliott’s touch again and let out a pitiful whimper.
“You’re okay, gorgeous,” Elliott whispered. “Luckily we’re only about fifteen minutes from home, so I just need you to hang in there a little longer. There’s a bag by your feet, if you’re going to be sick again.”
Felix gave a weak nod of his head against Elliott’s palm.
“I’m… I’m sorry, Fee.” Elliott frowned at the sound of his own voice tapering off into a low sob. “I’m sorry you’re… I’m sorry you’re not with her. I… I did that, I kept you from...”
The sight of Felix’s already-closed eyes scrunching up slightly made Elliott’s stomach twist. What was he thinking, rambling on like this when he should have been focusing on getting Felix back home?
Elliott tried to keep his hands from shaking long enough to get Felix’s seatbelt on. He also rolled up Felix’s jacket into a makeshift pillow for him to use against the door until they got home.
“I love you,” he said. “I’m going to make sure you’re okay.”
Felix murmured incoherently as he lay against the door, hugging his arms tightly to his sick belly. Elliott ran a hand across his faded mint hair, tucking the heaviest of his bangs behind his ear so that they didn’t stick to his forehead.
His own head was spinning as he turned towards the steering wheel. There was a weight on his chest, like a dark cloud full of rain. He unscrewed Felix’s drink and took a couple of sips himself; his body would most definitely reject it if he took in too much sugar and chemicals, but his mouth was suddenly so dry that it seemed worth the risk.
“Fuck,” he muttered to himself. He had to get Felix home.
___
In the end, Elliott barely remembered a thing from the moment he started the ignition at the pit stop, to the moment he turned it off in the townhouse garage. His hands leapt back from the steering wheel, as though he’d just watched it come to life by itself. The ends of his fingertips, along with his feet, tingled as though they weren’t getting enough blood, despite the fact that his heart was in a throbbing frenzy.
He was brought back to reality by a gentle moan from the other side of the car.
“Fuck,” Elliott whispered, turning to undo his boyfriend’s seatbelt. Whatever had just happened, he’d have to deal with it later, once he’d sorted Felix out.
“Elli? I don’t feel good,” Felix grumbled as he sat up slightly. The empty plastic bag rustled as he clutched it in his right hand; Elliott hadn’t even seen him lean over to grab it from the floor. The poor boy was holding his belly with his other hand, and now that he’d been asleep for a little while, his eyes looked like they’d sunk into his face.
“As though I need telling, boo,” Elliott sighed, stroking Felix’s cheek and watching his eyelashes flutter aimlessly at the cold touch. “Let’s get you inside, okay? Then I’ll – I’ll get Ryan and see if she knows what’s going on with you.”
___
Felix belched weakly over the empty basin that he was practically spooning in bed. His arm barely had enough strength to keep him up on his side, but he didn’t dare lie back down until his belly had stopped churning. When his cheek finally sank into the cool surface of the pillow, Felix let his eyes fall shut, though he kept a hand on the side of the basin so he’d know where it was if he needed it.
The bedroom door opened and Elliott came in, carrying water and a thermometer and a few packets of medicine.
“I’m officially a detective,” he sighed. He sat at the edge of the bed and rested a hand gently on Felix’s shoulder. “Nancy’s got the same thing, so I guess you’re both gonna have to just ride it out.”
Felix looked up from behind the basin, peering at his boyfriend’s face. Even though he felt like death – not literally, as he was aware of what actual death felt like – he could tell something wasn’t right with Elliott either. Ever since they’d gotten home, and the fog in Felix’s brain started lifting, Elliott had seemed oddly shaky, breathing a little raggedly.
“Are – are you okay, darling?” Felix’s throat felt raw from the bile that had been surging up repeatedly for the past hour.
“Me?” Elliott’s dark eyelashes fluttered in surprise. He shifted the basin to the floor so he could sit a little closer to Felix. “You’re - you’re worried about me, boo?”
Felix nodded weakly as Elliott brushed a gentle thumb against his cheek. His whole body felt like it was being pulled down into quicksand; thankfully, Elliott’s touch was enough to let him know that he was still just there, on the solid mattress. 
“You’re so sweet, and I’m glad you’re a little more with-it now,” Elliott said, “but I’m fine. I’m almost full-vamp like Ryan, so I don’t think I can catch this.”
“Mmm.” Felix sighed, closing his eyes so that all he could focus on was the motion of Elliott’s fingers. He let out a deep sigh, the grumbling in his gut finally settling down a little. Still, he wrapped his arms around his waist and curled up protectively around his sick belly.
Elliott continued tracing circles into Felix’s neck and down his back. Dark feelings swirled in his chest as he watched his nauseous boyfriend shiver slightly in his semi-conscious state, whimpering and curling a little more tightly around his stomach. Elliott’s heart was like a battering ram on his ribs until Felix’s face became temporarily peaceful. 
“I love you,” he whispered, not because he thought Felix would hear him; he said it because it made the fear a little easier to cope with. The last thing he expected was to hear Felix whisper it back, albeit with a weak hand rising up to cover his mouth.
“Love you so much, darling...” Felix burped behind his palm, his eyes still closed. “But can you get me the basin again?”
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caxsthetic · 4 years
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Haikyuu • Hamilton!AU • First Act, Chapter One
Miya Atsumu. He might be an orphan, a scum, someone that was underestimated by everyone. But one good person brought him to a new land filled with hope, and the world wouldn't be ready for him.
─── ・ 。゚☆: *. WHO LIVES WHO DIES MASTERLIST .* :☆゚. ───
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The blistering heat attacked whoever was unfortunate enough to be outside. People occupied themselves, creating the mixed odor of sweats and salt to be scented all around the harbour. This place was full of slaves being cartered away, drunken men walked around mindlessly just to harass them, a place that was sadly common all over the continent.
Decent parents would never allow their children to get near the harbour, knowing for certain what kind of danger that was lurking around. It was the place where even some adults would try to avoid if they didn't have to go there. Exploitation, slaughters and so many more indescribable actions.
So why would a fourteen years old boy stand proudly in the middle of it? Jotting down what's in and what's out from the ship, making sure that there were no problems at all. He was doing work that was supposed to be given to an adult, but here he is anyway, surpassing all of the workers with how smart his brain was.
His wavy hair was unruly, strands of it sticking on his forehead due to the immense heat. But he didn't care, he worked, he wrote, and put all of his effort into every single duty. He needed to do it, he needed to work hard to survive. Because he was all alone, and he knew for sure that in this world, you couldn't rely on anyone else but yourself.
═══ -ˋˏ *.·:·. 𝅘𝅥𝅮 ♫ .·:·.* ˎˊ- ═══
When he was ten, his father split full of it, debt ridden
Two years later see Alex and his mother bed-ridden half-dead
Sittin' in their own sick, the scent thick,
═══ -ˋˏ *.·:·. 𝅘𝅥𝅮 ♫ .·:·.* ˎˊ- ═══
"Atsumu..." He was just twelve, what did he do in his past life to endure such torture? "Come here, my son, come closer." Was it okay to feel scared? However, he didn't know or recognize the feelings he had internalized at the moment.
His life had always been like this. Every day, there would be some kind of obstacle that he and his mother had to endure. They clung to each other; at least they knew someone was there for them. Atsumu became so numb from how he used to be treated like a scum. His mother always taught him that he had to be tough, and he always listened to what she said.
But right now, he couldn't help but let out a tear as he realised he needed to survive everything alone.
Atsumu timidly walked towards his mother, she looked so fragile, bones protruding through her splotched skin. She worked day and night for him, he didn't even have any idea what kind of work his mother had done in order to survive this long.
She weakly lifted her hand, wishing to caress the son that she would soon be leaving. They gazed into each other's orbs, unspeakable things twirling in both of their eyes. Her palm felt so cold as it touched his skin; she erased the tears that were now cascading down his cheek, gently with her thumb.
There was nothing that he could do. They couldn't afford to go to a doctor, hence the reason why he ran around the neighbourhood in the middle of the night, asking for help. He was so relieved when some of the adults followed him, but once they knew who they needed to help, they turned their back around.
In their neighbourhood, his mother was unwelcomed. Both of them were unwelcomed. He always questioned why she still smiles and greets them, knowing for certain they talked about her behind her back.
"I am sorry, Atsumu." He didn't like it, knowing for certain it was a goodbye, "I need you to remember everything that I taught you, okay?" But he just had to suck it up, nodding as he put a blank facade once again.
She never liked the fact that her son always hid his real feelings. Yes, tears indicate weakness at that time, moreover if the one who shed it was a man. Though, Atsumu never shut his mouth, he always craved for more. More answers, more knowledge, more attention.
Somehow, he never learned how to show what he felt inside. He never wanted to show it anyway. For some people it was a blessing, because with that, people couldn't hurt him. But for people that love him, it was a curse, because they couldn't understand anything under his blank veil. "You should try to smile, Atsumu."
The little boy frowned. Of course he didn't expect his mother to say such things while she knew for sure any second that passed would be her last second on earth.
"Once again, Mother. I dislike the idea of making people know what's going on inside my heart." He blurted it out without filter, feeling certain that his mother would scold him. But he didn't expect her to chuckle.
"And yet you always run your mouth around somehow." The sentence punched him in the face, making him frown even more. Because he knew what she implied, and she was right.
There were no sweet words, not a little pat on the head, not a cent to kickstart his life when she left him, there was nothing. And as he felt the cold air strike his cheek instead of her palm, he knew he wouldn't let anyone else go to his heart.
Because at the end, everyone would leave, and the one he could rely on; was himself.
═══ -ˋˏ *.·:·. 𝅘𝅥𝅮 ♫ .·:·.* ˎˊ- ═══
There would have been nothin' left to do for someone less astute
He woulda been dead or destitute without a cent of restitution
Started workin', clerkin' for his late mother's landlord
Tradin' sugar cane and rum and all the things he can't afford
═══ -ˋˏ *.·:·. 𝅘𝅥𝅮 ♫ .·:·.* ˎˊ- ═══
"Atsumu," The boy that used to stand proudly in the middle of harbour, was now going to board one of the ships. He looked neat, as neat as he could ever be. With a worn-out bag filled with books, shoulder length hair tied up perfunctory, he faced the only man that gave him a chance.
"Kurosu, sir." Atsumu nodded his head softly, staring at the old man whom without him, he would have died from starvation, "Thank you for all the chance that you gave to me. I promise that I-"
"Hey, now..." The older man chuckled a little. He wanted to say something more but interrupted with a cough from the amount of tobacco he consumed everyday without fail. He cleared his throat before continuing, "You always talk and talk, but you don't have to tell me anything. I know that you would be a good man, son."
Son. It was so foreign, never once he felt like he had a father figure. He remembered how his first father acted towards his late mother. Scream, tears, bruises, it was something so common. Something that he wished he never had to see.
Then there was his second father, not abusive physically, but always belittled him and his mother mentally. He despised the name, but alas he was stuck with his last name that he hated so much, for sadly, his entire life.
"I can't help it, sir. You have done so much for me." The strand of his golden yellow hair blown by the wind, sending chills down to his spine, "If you didn't send my gratuitous essay to your comrades, I wouldn't be here. As a new man."
"Not yet." Kurosu smiled a little, proud to see how much the boy has grown for the last couple of years, "You are not a new man, son. Not yet." He put his hand gently on Atsumu's shoulder, patting it like he was his own son. "But once you arrived there, you could be a new man."
At his darkest time, no one believed him. So the one thing that Atsumu could do was to learn everything. Somewhere along the way, his tendencies to work hard without a break caught the attention of his boss. And from there, he was now in front of the same man who valued his life. "Ships in the harbour now, Atsumu."
He was in trance, turning his head to see the ship that would bring him to the freeland. The new land that mayhaps would change his life forever. With a little push on his back, he walked with confidence playing in his eyes.
At this moment, Miya Atsumu didn't know what could possibly happen next. He just knew that he had given a chance for a better life. And one thing he promised himself to as he boarded the ship, was that he would do a million things no other human could do.
He stood in the front side of the ship, wanting to have a clear sight over the water and the land that would be his new home. His eyes blazing with excitement, lips that was usually shown to be a thin line, now twisted into a smirk.
"So just you wait."
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Hamilton Taglist:
@namyari @reogou @meepeo @kitashxnsuke @koutaroulovebot @parisaanelia @sugarspams @melanieacademy @evermorehaikyuu
Reply below if you want to get tagged💕
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i-just-love-spop · 4 years
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...and then I found you. [Part one]
Part two | Part three
“Bow...” Glimmer was white as a sheet now. “I think I’m having the baby.”
“Did your water break?”
“Yeah. ...about three hours ago? ... I think the baby wants out, like, right now!”
“GLIMMER!”
Actually less a request than just the result of me and @darkmasterofcupcakes talking about Glimbow (and stubborn Glimmer that would insist on still working until literally the last minute of her pregnancy) for way too long that spiraled into a huge fic. This is the first out of either two or three parts, depending on how long the rest of this ends up being.
Companion fic to “One night, I wished upon a star...” which completes the title.
Summary: Glimmer is convinced she can get through the rest of the meeting and then have her baby afterwards. The baby disagrees.
Bow is losing his mind.
Their friends are being semi-helpful.
The healer is questioning their own choice of career.
All of the princesses are present but most of them are not that important. Catra and Adora will be more relevant in the second part.
Glimbow-centric, but also has some background Catradora, Seamista and Scorfuma.
I’m going with Perfuma being a trans woman because Rae said she was designed that way, which I like a lot. I’m also using this as the explanation why she can have a biological child with Scorpia, in case anyone is wondering.
[Takes place a couple of years after the end of show.]
(Also, this has cursing in it. For obvious reasons.)
This was fine. This was fine. This was fine!
Glimmer clenched her hands on the edge of the table again.
Shit. Was this supposed to hurt this much?
She breathed in and out, in and out, in and out until finally, after what felt like an eternity, the pain finally subsided.
She didn’t really have much time to relax, though. The time that passed between the surges of pain lessened with what felt like every contraction. They were only about five minutes apart now.
This was fine.
Just another half an hour, then they would be done with the meeting, and she could get to a healer and have her baby.
This was fine! And she was totally focused on what was being said!
“Uhm... Should we, like, pause the meeting, or...?”
Mermista looked at her friend, eyebrow raised.
The entire meeting room was staring at her now.
“No, it’s fine! I’m great! Really! Just go on with what you were telling us about the new trading route!”
Glimmer gave them the world’s falsest smile, clenching her fists again.
“Uhm... we finished that topic about twenty minutes ago? Are you okay? Do you need medial attention? I feel like you do.“
The Queen of Brightmoon shook her head vigorously.
“Scorpia, that’s really, really sweet, but it’s fine! Really! I’m great!“
Glimmer had reached the point where she felt so sick and was in so much pain that she was certain she was about to either throw up or pass out on the meeting room table. Maybe both.
This was fine.
“Uhm... are you sure? Sparkles, you look awful,” Catra cut in.
Adora nodded in agreement.
Both of them were immensely worried about their friend.
“Yes! Totally sure!”
Then the next contraction hit, and it was so painful that she couldn’t keep herself from screaming.
“Okay, that’s it! You’ve never had practice contractions this bad, and I don’t care if the healer said this is normal, we‘re done here and you’re seeing another healer IMMEDIATELY!”
Bow was extremely worried.
Glimmer took a moment to reply, breathing heavily until the pain passed.
“It’s fine, really! I promise! We’re almost done here anyway! Let’s just wrap this up real quick, and then we can go see a healer!”
...right. Practice contractions. That’s what she‘d told him this was the day before. She’d completely blanked out on that until now.
She had had practice contractions before, and in the beginning, she’d really thought that was what this was. She’d taken a long bath to make herself feel better and had then gone to bed.
She’d actually slept relatively well through some of the earlier contractions that hadn’t been quite as long and intense.
Then they’d gotten worse and more frequent and had jolted her up from her sleep about every thirty minutes.
By morning, the contractions been twenty minutes apart, and Bow had been pretty worried that she was having them again – which had been a faulty assumption on his part that Glimmer just kind of didn’t correct.
He’d told her to see a healer, which she’d promised she definitely would... but after this really important Princess Alliance-Meeting that she still had to attend. By then, she’d been pretty certain she knew what was going on, and the baby was still kicking and moving around the same way she had before, reminding her that she was alright, so she wasn’t worried about something being wrong with the baby.
All of this had then led to her telling him that this was just... normal and how it was supposed to be – which it really was, according to the books, at least –, and Bow had just assumed a healer had told her, and she once again hadn’t corrected him.
She didn’t like being dishonest with him, but he wouldn’t have let her attend the meeting if she’d told him, and this was important. Bow was already super protective of her anyway and would have preferred it if she’d just taken some time off of work now that she was getting so close to her due date, so there was absolutely no way he would have let her work today if he‘d known what was going on.
But Glimmer had a kingdom to run.
Besides, the books said that it took several hours up to a full day from the first contraction to your body actually being ready to have the baby, especially if it was your first birth, so she could definitely get through the rest of this four hour meeting and then have her baby afterwards.
Probably.
This was totally, completely, definitely fine.
And then the next contraction hit, and it was that very moment she knew that nothing was fine in the slightest.
The realization that she was having her baby very, very soon suddenly washed over her. It was as if someone had flipped the switch on her relatively relaxed ‘I can do this’-attitude, and from one moment to the next, she went into full-on panic mode.
She instantly went back on her word from before.
“ALRIGHT, MEETING’S OVER, GOODBYE EVERYONE!” She yelled, punching her fists onto the table.
If the others’ attention hadn’t been on her since before anyway, it definitely would have been, now.
She needed to get out of here, she needed to get to the healers and-
Glimmer tried to get up. Her knees were weak and everything hurt, and she immediately collapsed back onto the chair, howling with pain.
“Glimmer!”
Her husband was at her side straightaway.
“I’m okay! I’m okay...”
She wasn’t. She really, really wasn’t.
Bow put his arms around her, and she immediately melted into them and started sobbing.
Stars, why did this hurt so much?
“It will be okay, I promise. We’ll take you to a healer immediately, and... you’ll be okay. Both of you will be okay.”
It wasn’t like that was something he could actually guarantee, but he was doing his best to stay calm because him freaking out while his wife was already freaking out would help absolutely nobody.
Seeing her this scared was still just as terrifying to him as it had been back when they were kids.
“No, you... you don’t understand. I’m okay, really. This is perfectly normal.”
He shook his head vigorously.
“Yeah, no. I appreciate the effort to calm me down, really, but there’s absolutely no way this is normal for practice contractions, you’re in way too much pain and you and the baby could be in danger so please don’t downplay this!”
“No, we’re fine. She’s kicking and we’re both fine. I just... don’t think these are practice contractions.”
“...what?” It a moment for his brain to process what she’d just said. Then his eyes widened. “Wait, you mean-”
“Bow...” Glimmer was white as a sheet now. “I think I’m having the baby.”
Okay, that... that was good, right? That did mean what she was going through right now was actually, really normal and Glimmer and the baby most likely weren’t in danger. But also...
‘Oh stars Glimmer is having the baby!’
Bow was excited.
And also terrified.
“Did your water break yet?”
The amount of time his time took before answering made him really, really certain he probably wouldn’t like what she was about to say, and that she definitely knew that.
...he really didn’t like the answer he got when she finally replied.
“Yeah. ...about three hours ago?” The next contraction was so bad it brought tears to her eyes and almost made her faint. That was it. This was too much. The pain was unbearable. She couldn’t take it a single second longer. “I think the baby wants out, like, right now!”
All color drained from Bow’s face.
“GLIMMER!”
That meant his wife wasn’t just... having the baby as in going in to labor, she was actually having the baby. Right now.
Bow was usually a calm, collected, sensible person. He was currently having a very hard time being either of those things.
“I was just trying to get through the meeting first!”
Admittedly, that didn’t seem like much of a decent justification anymore, even to Glimmer. Her defensive tone wasn’t even convincing herself, much less anyone else. Her voice was still shaking from the pain of the last contraction, and she knew there wasn’t much time for her to take a breather until the next one hit.
“I can’t believe you...” Bow shook his head and groaned, less mad than just in plain disbelief and shock. “How often are you having contractions? How far apart are they? Have you been keeping track?”
She thought for a moment.
"...Like, every minute or two? They're close, that's all I kn-"
She wasn’t even able to finish the sentence before the next contraction hit her, this one even longer and even more intense and painful than the last. She screamed her lungs out.
It hurt. It hurt so, so, so, so much.
Glimmer’s body was on fire, and she was almost certain this was what dying felt like – although, who knew, at this point she all but guessed dying was actually more comfortable and hurt less.
“EVERY MINUTE OR TWO? ARE YOU SERIOUS?!”
Bow was officially losing his mind.
His squeaky voice was pretty telling for just how freaked out he was.
‘Why. Is. My. Wife. Like. This?!’
This was bad. This was really, really, really bad.
Bow loved Glimmer, he really did, but there were moments like this where she drove him completely insane.
He took a few seconds to close his eyes and then took a couple of deep breaths to gather his thoughts. They could do this. They needed to, because he had to make sure Glimmer and the baby would be okay, and him freaking out was not helping right now, so he had to stay calm. He could still freak out later. Glimmer and his daughter needed to be his main priority now.
He was calmer and more collected when he opened his eyes again. He clapped his hands together.
“Okay. Catra, please go get some towels, a sanitized blanket and a bunch of pillows, would you? And Adora, we need a healer. Immediately. And ask them to bring medical supplies for the delivery. Everyone else: GET. OUT!”
Catra and Adora both just nodded and disappeared on their separate ways instantly. It wasn’t hard to grasp the importance of his requests, after all.
“Wait wait wait wait wait, there’s no need for anyone to get out, or for anything else, because I’m definitely not giving birth IN HERE!”
Glimmer was tired and in pain and just wanted her bed. Or any bed, for that matter. Just something soft to lay down on that she could sink into that would make her feel a little better. And she definitely did not want to stay in here of all places!
“Love...” Bow’s voice was soft and sweet and sounded really worried. “You can’t even stand up. Forget it. We’re not moving you. I’d be happy if we could get you onto the table so you could lie down, but I’m not even sure we can manage that.”
Glimmer gulped. She really, really couldn’t imagine giving birth in here. She just wanted a bed – was that really too much to ask?
“I- I could try teleport-” She suggested.
Bow didn’t even let her finish. There was absolutely no way he would let that happen.
“Oh no, you don’t! Glimmer, I love you, but your powers have been acting up for a while now because of your pregnancy, and I have absolutely no desire to help you give birth on a tree!”
He really didn’t want to find out where her attempt to teleport during contractions would possibly land them.
“WELL, I DON’T WANT TO GIVE BIRTH IN THE MEETING ROOM EITHER!”
“Glimmer-”
She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, but then the next contraction hit and this just absolutely, definitely wasn’t happening.
She couldn’t even focus on teleporting long enough to screw it up, which hadn’t happened to her before, ever. And it somehow felt even worse than back when she’d had problems with her powers because of Shadow Weaver’s curse.
The Queen of Bright Moon sunk back into her chair, screaming.
“Okay. Okay, you’re right,” she mumbled after a while when the pain passed. “This won’t work. But I can’t- I can’t give birth in here.”
“I’d prefer it if you didn’t have to, but it’s not a choice anymore, Glim.” Bow was immensely relived that the teleporting hadn’t worked because who knew where they would have ended up if it had, but all of these people in here were stressing him out even more than he already was because of the whole situation. “Could somebody help me get her on the table, and could the rest of you guys PLEASE LEAVE?”
Since Glimmer had said she wasn’t staying in here so nobody had to leave, everyone as currently still standing around the room, either looking at her awkwardly or trying to avoid staring at her even more awkwardly.
“Oh, no problem, I’m out of here I have no desire to learn what I’ll go through in a couple of months,” Mermista commented, dragging her husband after her as she headed for the door.
At least some of the attention of the group shifted from Glimmer to Mermista for a moment.
Bow blinked in surprise.
“Wait... you’re pregnant?”
“Uh, duh? I thought everyone knew that?”
The mermaid seemed a little confused by the question.
Glimmer just looked at her with a pained expression.
“I’d say congratulations, but right now I just feel like I’m dying, so expressing my condolences kind of feels more appropriate!”
Mermista raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t you think you’re being, like, a little dramatic?”
Glimmer gave the mermaid a death glare.
“Either you shut up right now, or by the Heart of Etheria, I swear, the first thing I’ll do after giving birth to this child will be KICKING YOUR ASS!”
Mermista raised her hands defensively.
“Okay. Okay. We were just leaving!”
Bow was a little relieved that there was two fewer people in the room now, but there was still way too many inside for it to be anything close to comfortable.
He growled.
“I swear to the stars, I will shove all of you out of the room myself if I have to!”
“Me and Scorpia can help with Glimmer. Everyone else, you heard him, get out of here!” Perfuma said, gently shoving Netossa and Spinerella who were standing next to her towards the door.
The two of them just waved.
“Alright, we’ll be... on our way. Good luck!” Spinerella said and waved while her wife just gave them an awkward smile.
They had friends that had kids biologically related to them, but they’d never gotten this close to watching the actual birth before. Not that that was something either of them had ever desired to see.
Entrapta on the other hand didn’t move at all. She was mesmerized. She’d never watched anything like this before – well, not with humans anyway.
“Eeek, this is so exciting! Can I stay?”
“YOU ABSOLUTELY CANNOT!”
“Childbirth is one of the most fascinating experiences in nature! It would be incredibly thrilling to see it from up close.“
Bow pinched the bridge of his nose and tried not to scream. He really, really liked Entrapta and went to her for advice when it came to technology a lot. But he also really, really didn’t have the patience to deal with her right now.
...or with anyone, really.
“Well, if you’re so fascinated, just have your own kid!”
She thought for a moment.
“Hmmm... Interesting suggestion.”
“Do me a favor and contemplate it OUTSIDE!”
He was losing his mind. He was officially completely losing his mind.
“...am I making you uncomfortable? I feel like I might be making you uncomfortable.”
Bow was fighting the urge not to just straight up scream for a solid thirty seconds, took another deep breather and looked at Entrapta sternly.
“Listen. You’re great, but right now, I would appreciate it if you could give us a little bit of privacy. Thank you.”
“...right. Sorry. Good luck!“
Bow let out a long-drawn-out sigh when she finally left the room.
Now the only people left in there were Scorpia and Perfuma – well, and Frosta, because she was waiting for them, but she was facing the door and seemed to have absolutely no desire to turn around again.
This was better. Still not even close to ideal, but better.
“Can’t I at least try to climb the table myself if I have to give birth here?” Glimmer protested. “I’m not a baby anymore!”
But the protest was quiet and weak because she was tired and hurting and pretty sure it would fall on deaf ears anyway.
“Right. You’re not a baby, but you’re having one, and you still can’t stand up, so you’re not climbing anything.” He kissed her forehead. “I love all of you, including your stubborn nature, but right now I need you to not be stubborn for once in your life and let us help you, okay?”
She grimaced, but let them lift her onto the table without protest afterwards.
That she was lying instead of sitting now felt a little better, but really just very slightly. She still wanted her bed. Or maybe just to straight up die so the pain would end. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could take this.
...had the pain been that bad from the beginning? How in the galaxy had she sat through several hours of that?!
Her panic got worse by the second as the pain also worsened, and she became more and more certain that she was actually going to die, right here, in the middle of the fucking meeting room table and that she would never get to meet or hold her baby or-
She felt Bow‘s hand in hers, his soft, loving voice pulling her out of her thoughts and back into reality.
“Hey... I’m right here, okay? Shhh. You’ll be fine. I promise you’ll both be okay.”
He was sitting next to her on the table now.
“It hurts so much...”
“I know. I know. The healer will be here soon. You’ll be okay.” She put her head in his lap. He ran his fingers through her hair. “Just breathe...”
And Glimmer did just that, trying to tune out all the background noise and the pain as she breathed.
Bow looked up at Scorpia and Perfuma, on hand still on Glimmer’s hair, the other one squeezing hers.
“...thank you for the help.”
“Always. Can we help you with anything else?” Perfuma asked.
“Not much, we just really need Adora and Catra to be back.” He hesitated for a moment. “Although... I mean, you two are the only ones out of our friend group that have actually had a baby so far, so any advice you could give us right now would be appreciated?”
Scorpia smiled sheepishly.
“I wish we could, but... I actually had Thorn in a medical chamber, so this isn’t really comparable to begin with. And also, I had a c-section, so I don’t think anything we could tell you would be especially helpful right now. Sorry.”
Almost all Scorpioni-children were brought into the world via c-sections because the chances of the child accidentally harming the mother during birth with their pincers and stinger was pretty high, making natural birth too dangerous in most cases.
“She’s right. We could offer you some parenting advice later on, though,” Perfuma added. “But I think we should leave you two alone here for now, anyway.”
“Yeah, that would probably be for the best. Thanks again, you two.”
“Anytime.”
A calming scent of lavender remained in the air when the two of them left.
“Will... will she be okay?” Frosta asked softly when Perfuma and Scorpia walked up to her to leave the room.
Frosta still had her back turned to the whole situation but Glimmer’s agonized cries were hard to ignore. She was genuinely terrified.
Perfuma rubbed her hair.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine, don’t worry too much about her, okay? Glimmer can handle herself. She always could.”
“Yeah, okay, I guess that’s true...” Frosta admitted, still somewhat skeptic.
Not that she’d spent much time prior to this thinking about childbirth, but she’d never imagined it was this painful.
She shuddered.
Scorpia put one of her arms around the ice princess.
“Come on, kid. Let’s give the lady some privacy.”
”...okay.” If anyone else had called Frosta kid, especially now that she was an adult, she’d have smacked them on the head with her ice fists. But Scorpia and Perfuma were her moms, so she could let it slide when it came to them... Maybe. “Since I doubt we’ll continue with the meeting today, can we pick up Thorn from daycare now?” She asked when they’d left the room.
Perfuma hugged her daughter, her eyes sparkling.
“Awww, are you missing your little sister?”
“Pffft, no.” Frosta crossed her arms, but Perfuma looked at her with so much love in her eyes that she caved immediately. “Okay, I totally am! Can you blame me? She’s so cute and I love her!” She admitted, her face turning beet-red.
A second later, Scorpia had pulled her wife and her daughter into a crushing bear-hug.
“I love you guys so, so much.”
Perfuma immediate hugged her back.
“We love you too, lightning rose.”
Frosta was just kind of stuck in the middle of the hug between her adoptive mothers.
“Air is still a thing I need, even now that I’m an adult!” she reminded them, only half-serious. “You two are squeezing me to death!”
“Right. Sorry,” Scorpia apologized, relinquishing her grip a little.
When the three of them separated, they were all laughing.
Bow was just glad that he was finally, finally, finally alone with his wife.
He just hoped Adora and Catra would be back really soon, because despite having read a lot of books on pregnancy, labor and delivery over the course of Glimmer’s pregnancy, he had serious doubts he would be able to deliver their baby on his own.
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valkyrieofsmut · 4 years
Text
Captive Love   24
UF!Sans x Reader (or Frisk if you wanna)
Summary: Sans is full of self hatred, and decides to do the 'right thing.'
A/N: Oh boy, drop this stuff like it’s hot! I’m trying to get all caught up to where I’m supposed to be- or where I’d planned to be, anyway. But, it is (American) Thanksgiving- pretty much a time for gluttony- and it’s new here, but sorry there’s not a bunch of new stuff for all of you who’ve been staying caught up on Ao3!
Masterlist      Series Masterlist
Story
Sweetheart goes home.
What the hell did he even think a worthless monster like him was doing with someone like (Y/n), anyway? Did he think he had a chance? That she'd ever even look at him if she had any other choice? 
He didn't deserve her. He didn't deserve anyone, but especially not her. He deserved to dust, that's what he fucking deserved. 
Sans drained a glass of Flare-wish, one of Grillby's custom made alcohols, and it hit deep in his bones, making the hum of his magic a bit more obvious. 
It was supposed to bring your happier feelings forward, but it was just depressing him more as he realized that most of his happy thoughts were for the same reason he was feeling low in the first place; (Y/n). 
"Hey, Sansy. Two days in a row, huh?" The usually drunk bunny asked as she sat next to him. "Don't usually see you here this much anymore. Hey Grillbz, gimme a Hot shot Flamethrower, I wanna get wasted, quick!" She turned back to Sans, looking him over. "Your brother kick you out or something?" 
Sans just gave a noise in response. 
"What happened to your pet? She was cute." 
Red eyelights fell on the bunny awaiting her drink, a show of animosity covering his sorrow. 
"Thanks, Grillbz," she gratefully accepted the tall glass in front of her before looking back to Sans. "What's with the look? Oh- wait! Gf gf gf… Is she mad at you or something? Refusing to be good?" 
"shut th' fuck up!" Sans snapped. 
"Oooo, got a nerve, huh?" She asked as she laughed. 
"ya don't know what th' fuck y're talkin' 'bout! she ain't got anythin' ta do wit why i'm here!" 
"Suuuure," she said, taking a sip of her drink before taking a big gulp and murmuring, "mmm, warm." 
She'd taken only a couple of steps toward her usual booth when Sans yelled, "i jus' wanted a fuckin' drink! why d'ya gotta ruin it?!" 
i ruin everything, his mind whispered. i ruin everything… 
He disappeared quickly through a shortcut. 
(Y/n) heard the door open downstairs and took a breath. 
She hoped that Sans was in a better mood. She still really needed to talk to him. She wasn’t quite sure if she’d gotten her answers before, but she remembered how hurt the flashes of honest emotion across his face had been. 
Sans appeared through the doorway, looking pissed- and extremely miserable. 
“doll- i…” He took a breath and bolstered his resolve. “doll, i came ta tell ya ya can go home.” 
She didn’t need to be there with him. She needed to be somewhere safe, where she wouldn’t have to deal with beings like him- disgusting, lowlifes that didn’t have a good or decent bone in their whole being. Those who would hold her captive just so they could continue to see her pretty face, knowing that they’d never get the chance otherwise. The ones that would try every deceitful trick in the book just to see the beautiful smile grow across her face. 
(Y/n) looked at him in confusion. “You… think it’s safe now? But- the sun is setting! I thought it was more dangerous to go out at night!” 
Sans couldn’t meet her eyes, drunk enough that he swayed a bit, had lower inhibitions, but he was still lucid enough to know what was right, what he had to do… 
“don’t worry about it… it’ll be fine…” 
“Sans- you’ve been drinking again, it might seem like it’ll be fine, but it’s not going to be if we go out and try to walk through town. You and your brother were right- walking through town even in the middle of the day was dangerous.” 
Sans didn’t lift his eyelights from where they’d landed. 
“And- and I just wanted to talk about what happened yesterday, I wasn’t trying to-” 
“it doesn’t matter,” he cut her off. 
“I-it doesn’t- Sans- I need to know what kind of relationship-” 
Stars- shards of glass dipped in lemon juice and hot sauce were being shoved through his soul. 
Like he could ever have a real fucking relationship with her! 
She was too kind, too sweet- too perfect!
Someone like him would never have a chance with her! If nothing else proved it, the way that she flinched every time he got close did! 
Even if she was willing to play into his fantasy and pretended to want to be with him, he hated that fake shit. The thought that anything that would resemble a relationship between them would be all fake on her part made him feel sick. It made his soul twist in such a way that if it was physically twisting, it would look like a pretzel instead of a soul. 
“there ain’t a fuckin’ relationship,” he barked out, stopping her words short. 
“There… isn’t…? N-not even a friendship…?” (Y/n) asked quietly, trying to hide the hurt in her voice. 
“don’t- don’t fuckin’ act like ya’d actually want ta be wit me, doll. wouldn’t be doin’ either a us any favors.” 
(Y/n) was so confused, so hurt… 
He didn’t think there was any relationship between them? 
They’d at least basically become roommates, or slumber party friends, since they slept in the same room. 
What they’d done- did he think of it like picking up a stranger in a bar and taking them home, never intending to see them again? 
Oh- was she… cramping his style so he couldn’t bring other partners home…? 
It was like the icy edge of a sharp icicle had fallen and stabbed through her heart. 
This hurt worse than the first time her ex had betrayed her trust and hit her. 
“I-I-I…” Her lip trembled, and her voice quivered with it. 
“get yer shit, i’m takin’ ya home.” 
His voice was rough, forceful… His mind was made up. He was getting rid of her. He’d… finished with her, gotten bored… Time to take the trash out, throw her to the curb and find a new interest… 
(Y/n) stuffed her few clothes in a bag, pulled on her shoes and jacket and shrugged. “Guess that’s it…” 
He stepped close to her, looking a bit regretful, and she almost thought he was going to change his mind… 
Sans wrapped his arms around (Y/n), crushing her against him. It was going to be the last time he’d ever get to hold her, so he was going to take it in for as long as he could. 
His soul was rushing, throbbing fast, and he shoved it back into place as it tried to reach out to her to relieve the ache. 
He didn’t need her. 
He just needed his brother to be safe, and that’s all he could ever ask for. 
Having emotions was bad. 
Love was stupid. It was dangerous, for you, and the one you loved. It would get one or both of you dusted. 
Sans didn’t need her. She was weak. She made him weak. 
She was his weakness… 
i don’t need ‘er, he told himself, jus’ take ‘er back, drop ‘er off… don’t go lookin’ fer ‘er… 
He took a deep inhale, pulling in the smell of her, and felt his body tighten, trying to get her closer. 
He’d never take her back if he didn’t do it right now. 
… So he did. 
(Y/n) was confused, Sans was holding her close, and not letting her go, even though he’d sounded upset at her, plus it had felt like they’d just gone over a rough wave on a innertube, or raft, or something else that floated, making her stomach dip, though they hadn't moved. 
She pulled back and looked around, her eyes nearly bulging as she saw the street about seven blocks from her apartment. No time had changed; the sky was barely lit, as it had been through the window at Sans and Papyrus’ house… The street was nearly empty, but that was most likely because it was a questionable neighborhood in the dark with limited streetlight. 
“Wh-wh-” she took a breath to compose herself. “What the hell…?” 
Sans dropped his arms and stepped back. 
Now he just had to get the collar. 
Then he could leave, get out of her life… never see her again… 
(Y/n) pinned him with a questioning glare. “How the hell did we get here so fast, Sans?” She asked, dangerously calm. 
“took a shortcut,” he told her. 
“I thought it was a trek through the town full of monsters back, that would most likely get us killed, especially at night!” She accused, the used feeling coming back, its sibling, betrayal, growing at its side. 
“yeah, it is, if ya walk.” 
“How did we get here- are we really here?” She was having trouble understanding what had happened, since not much was known about monsters. Was this something they could all do, or just Sans? Was it real, or an illusion? Had she been in the same area the whole time she’d been ‘gone’?! 
“i told ya; i used a shortcut. got us here faster.” 
“And… you what? Just found out about it at the bar?" Suspicion was starting to build a wall of bitter feelings in her chest. 
"this's where i met ya," he admitted, "so i knew where it was." 
(Y/n)'s jaw was tightly clenched as she tried to restrain herself. "You… could have… brought me back- at any time?!" 
Sans felt her anger hit him like a dark wave. 
He needed to be quick- he just needed to get the collar and go, while he could still remember her softness and the memory wasn't overshadowed by her anger at him. 
"You're such an asshole! I can't believe I ever-" She cut herself off, her jaw clenched and hands tightly fisted. 
Sans moved to take the collar from her, but she smacked his hand away. 
"Why didn't you just do this before?!" She demanded. 
Anger flashed through Sans at the smack, mixing with his lowered inhibitions and flaring up. "maybe i fuckin' shoulda!" He yelled back. 
He was quick enough this time that he was able to unlatch the collar and it slipped from her neck as he drew his hand back. 
(Y/n) raged, her hand snapping forward, grabbing whatever was in his hand and threw it down at her feet. 
"You're a real fucking asshole!" She yelled at him. 
"yeah?! well y're no fuckin' ray a sunshine either!" 
Ooo… that was so untrue it made his soul twinge. 
He realized that he had to get out of there before he said something he'd really regret, and disappeared through another shortcut. 
(Y/n) gave a loud noise of rage, pitching the bag in her hand at the spot he'd just stood. 
How could he do that?! 
Just keep her there for no reason?! 
The only explanation she could find was that he had meant to use her the whole time, and had just been keeping her there until she'd complied. 
She gathered the things she'd thrown on the ground and stormed home, hoping the landlady was awake to let her in. 
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pruinesce-a2 · 4 years
Note
about all your recent posts for fuyumi i can understand how she feels & the constant fear & anxiety she has. to have incompatible parents & your the eldest so it's always a small trigger could make everything fall apart & your trying your best to keep everything together. you over analyze everything action and word to know if things are still okay or is something going to happen? to want everyone and everything to be fine. the amount of responsibility (1/2)
and sometimes you do want to just crash but you physically can't because it's how you've trained your mind to be always 'breath ur fine breath it's okay breath & get up & fix things it'll get better one day. maybe' you wish you had someone who could take off the weight for just a little bit but what if they don't do it right, what if that means i'm getting weak what if what if what if and it is just a nightmare (2/2)
Also because fuyumi's situation reminds me of mine, you feel terrified of romance and don't believe it actually exists, you have the fear of this repeating but with your own family and you dont want your kids to go through the same thing. Also you've never been responsible for only yourself so you're wondering if you ever will figure out who "you" are really. There's so much of yourself defined by the situation you are in that if it's gone, you don't know who you are (3/2 😭😭)
i’m incoherent bc i just got outta class but yes to pretty much all of this. and also, my friend, me too ! fuyumi is a HUGE comfort character of mine because i relate to her so much for the same reasons - and now i wanna go bit by bit n talk about all the stuff you mentioned because i’ve mentioned it in pieces on this blog but never in full and i just go crazy thinking about her. 
trigger warnings for child abuse, death, and just. general unpleasantness.
first of all in all honesty, there’s really no situation in which endeavor could ever be compatible ( which isn’t a jab at you - just want it to be clear that this is beyond parents that don’t get along ! ). he’s straight up abusive and drove his wife to a complete mental break, as well as, as i’ve said before, y’know. beating the shit out of his kids. i wanna also clarify some things on the timeline before i get started ( i’m not sure if you’ve watched/read bnha, but also this is for my mutuals that haven’t ) - fuyumi is now the eldest living. the todorokis had four kids: touya, the firstborn, then fuyumi, then natsuo, and then shouto. and i want to follow that by linking you to this page, where we find out that..... touya died AFTER rei’s breakdown and subsequent hospitalization.
AFTER.
i honestly don’t know the timeline of touya and shouto’s training.... bc in this panel we see that baby touya didn’t have any burn marks, no bandages, he was fully capable of playing and running around. i also think if he would have been trained the same way shouto was, rei’s break would’ve come a lot sooner, and we wouldn’t have panels like this - i think before shouto, while the todoroki family was incredibly dysfunctional, they still had some semblance of a normal family, and that’s why fuyumi is so desperate to try to have a family again; because she knows and has seen that they were a family, or at least were in her understanding as a child. this seems particularly reinforced for me because natsuo, in the light novel, talks about how he always wanted endeavor’s attention as a kid! he thought it was unfair that shouto was the one who was getting it all, so it implies to me that.... one, they had no idea at first, and two, they had to have had at least a decent relationship with him before.
so i think what happened was.... after shouto’s quirk manifested, endeavor began to change. he started training shouto because he developed the quirk he wanted, all that stuff we already know, and the stress of it all drove rei into pouring the boiling water on shouto, and then we know she was put into psychiatric care. fuyumi was 12.
rei leaving was, obviously, hard on all of them. i think fuyumi was the most disconnected from her mother, because rei saw so much of herself in fuyumi and couldn’t stand it at times. natsuo in the light novel also mentioned he didn’t mind the lack of attention because he had his mom! so it hurt fuyumi, a lot, but she was able to be strong for them because a) she was older and b) she and her mother had a strained relationship anyway.
i headcanon fuyumi was the one who found rei and shouto. she heard the kettle whistle, the screaming and crying from the kitchen, and when she rounded the corner she saw her mother and shouto on the floor as we’ve seen in canon. it was incredibly scarring. fuyumi gets frequent flashbacks and invasive imagery from this event, especially when she hears that kettle whistle / sees her brothers in the kitchen. i’ve said it over and over but she hates them being there, shouto in particular - and i think this is backed up in the light novel when she immediately makes the boys leave the kitchen after shouto tries to come in and help.
i also think endeavor thought shouto was ruined after that. his “masterpiece” was ruined because there was a very strong possibility he’d never recover from that injury, and so endeavor, in desperation, turned to his first-born son as a replacement. his wife definitely wasn’t going to be giving him any more kids, and shouto as far as he knew was out of commission. fuyumi had an ice quirk and natsuo was practically quirkless, if not ENTIRELY quirkless. but touya.... had his flames. i don’t think endeavor initially wanted to train him because he wasn’t the perfect combination that he kept trying for with rei - but here, he’d reached his own breaking point, and touya was the only option left to continue his legacy.
but it’s implied endeavor pushed too hard, or was somehow directly involved in touya’s “death.” i put this in quotes because y’know, dabi is a todoroki theory. and this obviously just made things worse. i’m linking to this page again because it says that rei got worse, too, so much so that she couldn’t see shouto anymore - but it also implies to me that natsuo and fuyumi would still visit. but anyway ! touya dies, rei gets worse, and surely soon after endeavor finds out that shouto, while he’d have that scar on his face, would recover... and still be able to be trained.
so ummm.... now i can talk about fuyumi. all that and we’re JUST getting to her.
i’m kind of starting from the last ask here, but you’re entirely right - since the age of 13, fuyumi has never been able to define herself. from here on, she was entirely shaped by her trauma, and by roles she was never supposed to have fulfilled - i.e., motherhood. as a reminder, shouto was 5-6, natsuo was 9-10, and fuyumi, at age 13-14, truly began to step in rei’s place. so fuyumi starts taking care of the two of them while touya was the one who became isolated while he was trained. and like i said in a couple other posts, her brothers rejected her mothering them at first - i.e. natsuo lashing out and saying she’s NOT their mother and shouldn’t act like it, and shouto begging for their mom all the time and not understanding where she went. fuyumi barely had her own time to process what was happening and process the loss of her mother.
and then touya died. fuyumi probably feels partially responsible for his death, too, in the same way she and natsuo have said felt responsible for not helping shouto - she often thinks she could’ve done or said something to prevent that, too. and as you said, she overanalyzes everything and she’s incredibly hypervigilant to her father’s moods, because his satisfaction is, essentially, paramount to survival. touya died because he couldn’t meet her father’s standards, or maybe because he made endeavor angry, or whatever the case.
and you’re also right about the fact that she has no one to share the burden with - or, at the very least, feels like it. the one time natsuo tried to make it easier on her by cooking dinner, their father forbade him from never doing it again. i can only imagine what this fight looked like, and how scared fuyumi was of something so small turning into something irreparable. fuyumi says on this page they “take turns”, but i only think it ever happens when endeavor’s not home.
not to mention, as a defense and coping mechanism, became the image of a perfect mother to her brothers, and a perfect daughter to her father. always putting the boys first - i headcanon when either of them were sick, fuyumi would stay home from school to take care of them. always making sure her father was pleased and mediating between him and the boys. she developed this personality that consists of nothing but love and gentleness and understanding. i talked about this in my post about her and complex ptsd, but i’ll add the relevant excerpt here, too:
it’s also very common for these survivors to re-experience emotions from trauma intrusively - particularly when triggered. these feelings are often disproportionate to the present situation, but are equal to the intensity of what was required of them at the time of a trauma – also known as an emotional flashback.
fuyumi’s trauma has always put her in situations where she plays the peacemaker, the level head, the kind and gentle and understanding one. and because fuyumi is CONSTANTLY re-traumatized and exposed to her triggers because that entire house is one, it’s become her entire personality.
so fuyumi doesn’t really get to discover herself, at all, outside her trauma. her live revolves entirely around her brothers and her father. i think this also contributes to her desperation to repair her family now, because.... she doesn’t know what else is beyond that.
she’s stuck here. she can’t heal or move on right now.
fuyumi is a busybody because she KNOWS if she ever stops moving, she’ll crash, as you said. and it happens on occasion - but always behind closed doors. she has these.... quiet breaks, before she’s “fine” and moving on the next day. shouto and natsuo have never seen this side of her. she keeps this perfect facade of being put together tight under wraps.
i think the last thing to address with this ask is the aspect of romance and family - and once again, my dear friend, you’ve hit the nail on the head ! to start, fuyumi is deeply afraid of romance. she’s in love with the idea of it, as we can tell from her obsession with soap operas and trashy novels, but in reality it takes a long, long time for fuyumi to ever feel comfortable enough to define or initiate things between herself and someone else. it’s why she’s also always involved in people who are very straightforward, who won’t keep secrets from her, because she needs clarity in a relationship always. not to even mention a family of her own - fuyumi is so terrified of becoming her mother. even now, it’s why she refuses to let her brothers in the kitchen with her - because she knows how alike they are.
what’s really incredible to me is that despite all of that, fuyumi’s love and optimism and empathy and all that kindness and gentleness for the world is still very real and true. you can see it in the way she smiles, it’s in the way she sees the little things in people and remembers them, it’s in the unconditional love and understanding she gives to her friends and partners, the care she takes in tending to the family garden, the attention to her students - she truly embodies the good of humanity, the good of people - an aspect of her character that i love is how entirely mundane she is, and yet... she’s so, so special. her path to healing will always begin with forgiveness (though once she’s able to get away from endeavor, she’ll never be around him again), because she’s not a person that can live with anger in her heart, and i will always love how that’s presented as an entirely valid thing to do.
as a final addendum to this post, nearly no one knows about any of that. fuyumi won’t talk about it unless it’s entirely unavoidable, and even then she tries to make excuses and dance around it. like.... she stops up, she can’t speak. she freezes and completely stops functioning. ironic considering how openly her brothers will talk about it.
so anyways. i don’t think you expected this long winded answer, but i couldn’t help myself. thanks for sending this in !
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hibiscusangel15 · 4 years
Text
Why Tragedy Exists
An angsty @ichirukimonth 2020 fic this time.
Summary: When you spent your whole life fighting, what was there to do when you had nothing left to fight for? What purpose did Kurosaki Ichigo even have in this world anymore?
Ichigo’s life during the seventeen months without Rukia. For Day 7 of Ichiruki Month 2020.
Rating: Teen
(Belated) Day 7 Prompt: why are you full of rage? because you are full of grief.
Also crossposted to FFN and AO3!
When you spent your whole life fighting, what was there to do when you had nothing left to fight for? What purpose did Kurosaki Ichigo even have in this world anymore?
“Hey, bleached-hair kid! I’m talkin’ to you, asshole!” Another faceless thug snagged his collar. Yet another nameless gang gathered to back up their cookie-cutter character of a leader.
He shouldn’t be here. He didn’t want to be here. But where else did he have to go?
Another meaningless scuffle. Another bruise, another scrape, more blood to be cleaned later.
Flurried fists and tiny pocket knives and screamed obscenities never seemed so dull before.
Other boys his age often picked fights with him. Had done so as far back as he could remember. All over trifling, inconsequential matters that seemed so laughable to him now. His hair, his attitude, his existence was all wrong.
Only now he had the strength to take them all on by himself. Only now did he choose to fight them for no reason at all.
Chad interfered in one of these fights once. For a moment, they were a team again. They fought side-by-side without the burden of death or the balance of the worlds looming over their heads. This was just a brawl on the street. Nothing more, nothing less.
Once Chad called an ambulance for all the knocked-out thugs, he offered to treat Ichigo out to some food.
Ichigo said nothing. Didn’t even thank him. Just spat out coppery blood on the concrete and stalked off without looking back. Chad wouldn’t chase after him or insist, he knew. Knew all too well how to take advantage of his friend’s inherent kindness.
He never felt more disgusted with himself.
Time moved on. Everyone around him recovered. They all got over the horrors they’d just barely survived. Only he remained stagnant, falling behind, grasping at something forever out of his reach.
He never thought that saving the world would be so thankless.
Tatsuki once invited him to watch her karate team practice and give them a few pointers. None of the upperclassmen were all that stoked about it, but they’d heard about Kurosaki’s reputation. One of them even challenged him to a fair match to test his skills.
He nearly refused. Until the guy went on and on about how Ichigo’s only fighting experience came from fights in the street. How a punk like him couldn’t possibly have learned the discipline or technique a real warrior possessed.
Tatsuki told this smug upperclassman off, stabbing him with reminders that he didn’t even qualify for nationals last year. The upperclassman—Ichigo was never very good at remembering names—snapped something at her, and it was only then he stood up and accepted his challenge.
Ichigo took him down in a few minutes. Then another upperclassman claimed he cheated and demanded a match with him, and another one after that. Their pride as one of the top karate teams in the nation was staked on this.
Unfortunately, these guys were all weak.
None of them would last a day being a Shinigami.
They begged and begged him to join their team despite all their injuries. Despite how afraid of him they all were. To them, to normal humans, Kurosaki Ichigo was little more than a monster.
So he refused. Such things simply didn’t hold his interest anymore.
And then they offered to pay him.
Ichigo hadn’t had much need for money before. Though his father didn’t make much running the Kurosaki Clinic, his family lived comfortably enough.
Now those bills waved in his face meant something else. Something new to latch onto.
With enough money, he could move far, far away from Karakura Town. He could leave everything behind. Go to a university where no one knew him. Start fresh. Start anew.
Ichigo could forget last year ever happened. He could finally forget her.
He took the deal, but made his own conditions as well. This much would only pay for the week. He wouldn’t ever be considered an official member of the team, so they couldn’t ask him to participate in competitions.
They were not comrades. They were not friends.
Word got out about Ichigo’s “services” to the other sports teams at Karakura High.  Soon enough, he found himself making weekly and bi-weekly contracts to help them out during practices.
It was a decent way to make money, he supposed. Looking into how much apartments cost outside the city, though, he knew it wasn’t enough.
He’d have to find another job soon.
Ichigo was out with the track team when he spotted Ishida alone in the park. No, not alone. He couldn’t sense the enemy, but the pocks in the grass and suspiciously trampled playground equipment more than spoke for itself.
He didn’t know what he was going to do when he took off. Instinct never really left much room for rationale, after all.
He leapt high over Ishida’s head, grunting in surprise when his foot connected with an intangible figure. The earth rumbled underneath as a plume of dust kicked up a few feet away.
Definitely a Hollow. A big one.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Kurosaki?” Ishida snapped. His arms were extended before him, holding a bow Ichigo couldn’t see anymore.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m helping you! The least you could do is thank me.”
Idiot! I’m not going to thank you! The echo of her voice rang so unbearably clear in his mind. He wished he could cast it aside, wished the memory of her would not linger in every little thing he did.
Ishida's eyes flickered away, and he leapt a distance much wider than any normal human would’ve been able to cover. A fist-shaped crater bloomed before him. Ichigo raised his arms to block the debris flying past, choking on the dust swirling in the air.
As a habit, he reached behind him for a sword that did not exist anymore. Would not exist ever again.
Fate was once again the millstone, he the grist. It turned relentlessly, endlessly onward, further away from her and back again.
Powerlessness. Normality. Both synonymous with complacency.
Both equaled death.
“You’re only getting in the way, Kurosaki! Just back off and let me handle this for once,” Ishida yelled.
Ichigo watched him mimic pulling an arrow back, deliberate and steady. Watched Ishida fire that shot above his head. There was no fanfare, no sense of accomplishment to accompany it. He didn’t even know where the Hollow was.
“Is it...dead?” he asked, his voice uncharacteristically soft.
Ishida lowered his arms. “Yes.”
“I see.”
Silence weighed in the air far heavier than any reiatsu ever could.
“Hey, do you ever feel bad about the Hollows you kill?”
Ishida frowned at the question. “What do you mean?”
It was pointless to ask him this. It was pointless to continue.
“Quincies completely destroy souls with their arrows, right?” Ichigo clenched his own shirt in a fist. He had to stop talking. “Don’t you ever feel bad that any random Hollow you killed might be some lost soul in pain?”
Ishida studied him for a wary moment then shoved his glasses further up his nose. “It can’t be helped. If it comes down to saving a Hollow or an innocent soul, I’d choose the innocent one without hesitation. Surely you’d do the same, Kurosaki.”
“I could save both of them.” The words were so quiet, so riddled with hollow confidence. “I’d save them both without even thinking about it.”
“Funny, you once said to me that you knew you couldn’t protect everyone.”
His friends didn’t always have the right words to say. He couldn’t expect them to understand.
And yet….
“But I did save everyone! I saved Karakura Town. I saved the entire damn world as we know it. What makes you think I couldn’t save two souls at once the way I am now?”
His chest ached. The strain was unbearable. He was drowning.
“Are you calling me weak? Do you think I’m so incapable of protecting anyone that you’d rather cast me aside than even let me try?”
Ishida looked away. “Quit putting words in my mouth, Kurosaki. I never said any of that.”
“Oh yeah? I’m in the way? I should back off?” He trembled with directionless rage. “All of you guys think I’m some weakling that needs to be protected. That I can’t fend for myself anymore. And I’m so fucking sick of it!”
“Uh, h-hey, Kurosaki, are you okay?” the captain of the track team asked behind him.
Any idiot would know he wasn’t.
Ichigo turned away. “I’m fine.”
The captain paled at the sight of his scowling face. “Um, you can finish your conversation with your friend—”
“We’re not friends.”
Ishida sucked in a sharp breath, but said nothing. Did nothing. Again.
“Kurosaki!”
Ichigo didn’t turn back. How could he? They’d all turned their backs on him. It only seemed fitting he return the favor.
The wheel continued to turn.
Finals were a pain to deal with, especially with all those remedial classes he had to take for missing so much school before. Though difficult and boring, they weren’t entirely unmanageable.
He hadn’t really talked much to the others in a while. Better to distance himself now. Better they all learn to let him go so he’d have no further reminders of the last year. Of her.
It was stupid to think they’d ever go so quietly, though.
“Ichigo!” Tatsuki called to him on the street.
He stopped walking but refused to look back.
Several sets of footsteps scraped along the concrete behind him.
“You’ve been avoiding us for weeks now, Kurosaki,” Ishida said. “But now that Finals are over, you can’t hide from us anymore.”
“I wasn’t hiding from any of you. We’re all in the same class,” Ichigo replied, keeping his tone unaffected.
“You know that’s not what we mean, Kurosaki.”
Fate was cruel in each revolution. In each turning of the wheel, he would always be crushed under its power.
“Kurosaki-kun,” Inoue piped up, her voice wavering just a bit. “You’ve been acting very strangely since...that day Kuchiki-san left.”
Her name. The mere sound of it dragged him down when he’d tried so desperately to claw himself to the surface.
He hadn’t said her name in months. Didn’t even dare to think it.
“Ishida-kun and Sado-kun and Tatsuki-chan told me everything that’s been happening with you. And...we’re worried.” Her voice bubbled and warped, and he was drowning again. “We don’t know why you’re pushing us all away, Kurosaki-kun.”
They didn’t know? They really didn’t know why he couldn’t bear to be near them?
“I can’t stand the way you all look at me.”
Such a disgustingly petty reason. Such a terrible excuse. When even he couldn’t stand to look at himself anymore.
“Ever since I lost my powers, you’ve all been acting like I'm fragile and useless!”
Enough.
“I can’t stand it!”
Shut up.
“I don’t want your pity!”
Please stop.
“I can’t wait to get the hell out of Karakura Town so you all can finally leave me alone!”
The rain would follow him, though. That cursed rain would always follow him.
He was drowning. Why couldn’t they see?
Tatsuki was the first to speak. “You’ve always been like this.”
“...What the hell did you just say?”
Even now he refused to look at them.
“What, does being mad all the time make you deaf, too?” she snapped. “I said you’ve always been like this, Ichigo. You don’t know any other way to express your grief outside of lashing out.”
“Is that right?” Ichigo stood up straighter. “And what makes you think I’m grieving, Tatsuki?”
“Don’t you dare act like I don’t know you, Kurosaki Ichigo!” Her voice rippled through the water. “We’ve known each other for so long—we’ve been friends for this long—and you couldn’t even bother to tell me what was going on with you from the beginning. I had to learn about all this Shinigami stuff after the fact! And not from you, either! From Orihime! From Chad and Ishida! But you didn’t tell me anything! Not when you left to rescue Kuchiki-san, not when you went to save Orihime…. I know you’re grieving because this is the exact same thing you did when your mother died!”
Ichigo finally whirled on them, eyes burning with so much fury it was difficult to look at him head-on.
Ishida stepped in front of her, arm outstretched like a shield. “So you’ve become the sort of person that would attack your friends over something like this? Do you think Kuchiki-san would be happy if she knew she’d left you in this sorry state?”
They kept saying her name so freely. As if she was so commonplace. As if his heart could bear that burden.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Didn’t she tell you she’d be watching over you, Kurosaki? Do you think she’d approve of anything you’re doing now? All your fights. Your rage. And for what?”
Ichigo gritted his teeth. “I don’t need her approval! I don’t need anything! I’m happy without her! I’m happy I’m finally normal!”
Ishida’s usual calm demeanor cracked, and his face twisted into a scowl. “What you’re doing isn’t normal, Kurosaki! Constantly picking fights with strangers, ignoring all of us, butting into simple Hollow fights—”
Inoue sucked in a breath. Clearly there were some things the others hadn’t told her.
“Does it make you feel strong, Kurosaki? Does it help you forget that, just for a moment, you aren’t completely pathetic?”
Ichigo punched him square in the jaw. His glasses flew off. A sickening crunch sounded under his foot when he took a bewildered step back.
Inoue ran to him immediately. “Ishida-kun!”
Tatsuki grabbed his arm, tried to pin it behind his back and get him to submit. Ichigo wrenched his arm out of her hold and turned to shove her away.
Chad stepped in between them. There was that awful pity reflected in his eyes again.
Ichigo wanted to wipe it away.
Chad took blow after wild blow to the chest, to his stomach, each one more frustrated than the last. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, but he did not move. The pity in his eyes did not change.
Ichigo shoved Tatsuki to the ground when she tried to intervene again. There was yelling. So much yelling. None of it was enough to pierce through the rain. It wasn’t enough to save him.
His hand suddenly bounced off an invisible barrier, bruising the knuckles and his pride all in one shattering blow.
“Kurosaki-kun…” Inoue muttered, her voice cracking.
She flinched when he glared back at her. That look on her face made him hate himself all the more.
It was the same look she wore when he first protected her with his Hollow mask. It was that look every other human threw his way.
Monster.
“Please...stop this.” Tears spilled down her face. Ishida wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders, and she folded into the embrace. “We’re your friends! So please….”
Ichigo couldn’t take it anymore. All his sorrow and grief and aimless rage collapsed around him and he screamed.
Chad caught him before he sank any further. “Ichigo!”
“I can’t…. I don’t….”
He couldn’t breathe. He was drowning. He was dying.
A steady hand squeezed his shoulder, another placed flat on his back. They held him above the water. They lent him their strength.
The rain still echoed around him. He still struggled to stay afloat. But maybe now he would rely on his friends to protect his heart.
A single tear crashed to the ground as bright as a falling star.
“I’m sorry.”
                                                        * * *
Quiet mornings were practically nonexistent in Karakura Town.
“Maaaaan, I can’t stand not talking about this anymore! Doesn’t it drive you insane?” Keigo screeched while walking alongside Mizuiro.
Mizuiro scrolled through social media on his phone, only half-listening. “I’m not sure what you mean, Asano-san.”
“Don’t you ‘Asano-san’ me again, Mizuiro! I’m talking about all the weird stuff Ichigo and the others did a while ago! I mean, I know Ishida and Chad and all the others said it’s better if we don’t talk about that stuff with him, but c’mon! How’re you not supposed to talk about ghosts and monsters and Shinigami after finding out they exist? It’s impossible!”
“Considering your track record, I’m surprised you managed to hold out for this long.”
“Now what’s that supposed to mean? I can be sensitive to others’ feelings!” Keigo insisted. “But it’s been forever. Ichigo might be okay if I talk to him about it now.”
“Might be?”
“Don’t make me second-guess myself, Mizuiro! I’m gonna talk about this so much, even I’ll get sick of hearing about it!”
Mizuiro finally looked up. “Everything that happened to us was pretty unbelievable. Sometimes I want to believe it was all some weird nightmare I had. But...I don’t really want to talk about it. There isn’t much left to be said anyway. Not if reminding Ichigo of it all will just depress him.”
At this, Keigo’s enthusiasm deflated. “Well, yeah, I guess. But don’t you wanna know what he thinks about Rukia-chan not coming to visit all this time?”
What a tactless idiot.
Mizuiro’s smile was more polite than genuine. “I think she’s the main reason he’s been feeling down.”
“What? So you’re saying that they—”
“I’m not saying anything, Asano-san.”
His cold facade nearly fell at Keigo's childish pout. Honestly, if he wasn't able to pick up on these things after all the time he'd known Ichigo, then there really was no hope for him.
Keigo didn’t get a chance to talk to him until lunchtime.
“I wonder what Rukia-chan’s up to.”
Ichigo nearly spit out his juice. “What’s Rukia got to do with anything?”
“I’m just saying, would it kill her to pop in and say hello from time to time?” Keigo flopped about on the floor like a fish. “Don’t you think it’s cold of her to not show her face even once since then?”
Yes.
“It’s not cold,” Ichigo replied.
Liar.
“She’s not in charge of Karakura Town anymore, so it’s completely normal for her to not hang around.”
Keigo squinted up at him. “You don’t miss her?”
More than anything.
“No reason to.”
He rattled off the same bullshit excuse he always did whenever anyone brought this up. He always wanted this slow peace. He didn’t need his powers anymore.
He didn’t need her in his life.
Before today, when was the last time he’d spoken her name aloud? When did Rukia become someone who never left his mind?
Ichigo stared up at the sky. Dark clouds blurred through a once-clear blue.
A black butterfly fluttered past. His absent hand trailed after it, chased it in the hopes it would perch itself on his finger. It flew up higher, further than he could reach, and he slowly let his hand fall away.
Fate turned on relentlessly. It would not falter, would not pause even for them. He had wished, foolishly perhaps, that he could go back to the moment Rukia disappeared from his eyes. Go back just to tell her everything he could not say.
He loved her.
He loved her with every fiber of his weak human heart.
The wheel kept spinning. The butterfly grew more distant.
Rukia would not come back to him.
The wind picked up, and he finally turned away.
I wonder if I can keep up with the speed of a world you’re not in.
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eulaties · 4 years
Text
my opinion about true beauty
lowkey this is gonna be a post where i rant about true beauty’s (webtoon) downfalls. obviously do not interact if ur gonna disagree, because i dont want any unnecessary discourse. (also im not posting this so i can be convinced that true beauty is actually a good webtoon - i just need to get this off my chest.)
first of all...let me address the weak writing and plot. it really seems as if the author is just shifting focus to boy drama and not actual character development/plot that would be actually interesting? i also get the feeling that the plot is literally going nowhere. i don’t have any excitement for what’s going to happen next - it’s either way too predictable or i know something mundane is going to drag on for multiple episodes. and plus, it’s not like “true beauty” is a feel-good cliché story (if it was, i would understand why people would defend it, because it could be a comfort webtoon). no, instead, it really drills in that if you don’t fit into society’s beauty standard, you’re ugly. if you’re slightly overweight? you’re fat and you’re ugly. you have acne? ugly. you have stretch marks? you have hair on your arms and legs? you have bushy eyebrows, small eyes, a wide face, and you wear glasses? absolutely disgusting.
(please note my personal opinions do not reflect anything i said up there. im just stating what i perceive true beauty is trying to say.)
according to this webtoons, if you’re not skinny, thin, tall but not too tall, have good skin, big eyes, etc. then you’re fucking ugly. which is such a jarring message? especially because the author really drills this in at the beginning of the webtoon (which i initially excused because i thought that the author would address this later down the road and have jugyeong have character development...haha no). and also, get this - you’re human and it’s natural to have those things??? i don’t understand how any of that makes you ugly. it doesn’t. and it’s such a bad message to be giving out to younger audiences who are easily influenced by the media they consume !! this really just preys on people’s insecurities. so fucked up.
now let me talk about jugyeong specifically. she’s such a bad role model. okay, at the beginning of the webtoon we see her discover makeup and then have a “glow up”. then we see her struggle with her insecurities. that part of the story was fine, because it at least showed a human side to jugyeong. also, she actually had personality. she had a passion for horror, wanted to pursue being a makeup artist, genuinely enjoyed helping other people, didn’t judge people off of superficial beliefs, etc etc. then, the time skip happens and literally all of jugyeong’s personality is wiped away. and now she has literal cardboard as her personality. all we know about her now is that seojun is her boyfriend!! this is her first relationship!! literally nothing else about her bc shes boring af now!! she’s a hypocrite and treats people she sees as “ugly” worse than her!! where did all of that character and personality from before go? it’s disappointing to say the least.
and don’t even get me started on seojun and suho, who are fighting for a girl who isn’t even wife material. not even gonna lie i don’t want either of them to end up w her. seojun, i acknowledge, has gone through a lot of character development and has actually changed & also has admirable ambitions. his relationship with jugyeong, however, is obviously not going to last at all. suho, on the other hand, is a nice person/the ONE decent person in this webtoon. unfortunately, i do have to acknowledge that outside of that, there’s not really much we know about suho (other than his dad being sick). and he has gone thru literally no character development. 
(shoutout to suho and aiden for being the only reasons i read this far tho, lmao)
i also want to address the title dilemma - by which i mean that “true beauty” is actually meant to be called “the secret of angel” or smth like that. which is like...okay the title is misleading which is so weird esp because this is one of the most popular webtoons on the site? i dont understand why they would purposely change the title if not to mislead people. also, i see some people defending the bad writing/characterization/clicheness of true beauty by saying that it’s supposed to be like a k-drama/reflective of korean culture...which is, by the way, so fucked up. first of all, k-dramas are not synonymous with shitty writing and characters. ALSO, get this: just because it’s korean, it doesn’t excuse any blatantly bad and superficial messages it gives out. especially because beauty standards in korea are toxic as hell.
so, think of this as my “breakup letter” to true beauty. what a shame, too, because i’ve been following this weekly for 2 years straight (since 2018!) and it’s just so goddamn disappointing how much true beauty has rapidly decreased in quality since.
(see “the man who cleans up makeup”/
“the makeup remover” webtoon, which is so much better and also gives off so many good messages WHILE ADDRESSING THE ROLE BEAUTY/MAKEUP PLAYS IN KOREAN SOCIETY.)
goodbye true beauty. hopefully you get better writing, characterization, and a better author one day!
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hecohansen31 · 4 years
Text
Bad Kind Of Butterflies:
Werewolf! Duncan+Half Witch-Half Werewolf! Reader.
(A/N): Hello there, lovelies!
This is the second part to this ask!
I am in a rather ‘Duncan Shepherd Mood’, in fact other than this entire series (as always: let me know if you want more and if you have any special asks about this couple) I am writing another and I hope to be writing another about Michael.
I took a bit of a pause from asks, I have just two in my inbox so I am chilling a bit, and having a bit more of fun with original things, which I hope won’t be a problem for you lovelies!
With this being said, I hope you’ll enjoy this!
WARNINGS: Mention of Past Trauma, Problematic Family Relationship, Mention of Murder, Talk About Abortion/Pregnancy/Babies (if anything about this triggers you, this might not be the fic for you)/Light Angst-Fluff.
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Your meetings with Duncan had become more frequent after your first ‘mating’.
But you both didn’t assume they were nothing more than simple ‘stress-relievers’ for each other, about which you wouldn’t talk about, ever.
And you also didn’t talk about the cuddles that came after everything had ‘gone down’.
You blamed it on Duncan’s improving skills, having made him an impeccable lover, who, instead of his younger self, was always ready to listen to her, appreciating your body in a way that nobody had ever did, almost as if he knew its reaction before they happened.
He knew just exactly what had to happen to make you gasp and hold your breath, meanwhile her stomach went taunt in anticipation.
You hoped that he felt the same way towards you, although you had only half the experience he had gained, but you made up for it with sarcasm and wittiness, with those laughs that made Duncan move your drenched hair from your face, smirking at you, before he bit aggressively your lips, as a way to tell you to shut up.
You never did.
Even that morning your coupling had been like that: you had spoken back to him, and he had taken it to himself to make you blush with the way you screamed his name, pleading with him for just that missing piece he wouldn’t relent to you.
Although you had to admit that it had been cut short by the ringing of your alarm, since that day you couldn’t stay at Washington but you had a scheduled trip to New Orleans, and although Duncan had protested and suggested you just spent the day with him, you had denied his request.
‘I have important things unlike you’.
You had meant it as a joke, but Duncan hadn’t laughed, probably having hit a sore nerve, the one of his family and his business in it, one of the other reasons why he had been hounding you as a lost soul, wanting desperately to feel something alive, which wasn’t a lie.
And you had indulged him.
You didn’t know if it was because you got some kind of sick satisfaction with the way he begged you desperately for more, when it was your turn to reign him or because you were developing a sicker affection towards the boy who had broken your heart.
Either way, the trip to New Orleans was needed also to clear your head from those notions.
But the thought of Duncan stuck farther than you had thought.
‘(Y/N)’ called her Cordelia, evidently since you had gotten distracted thinking about your ‘almost-relationship’ with Duncan ‘… is everything alright, sweetheart?’.
‘Yes, I am sorry… I have just been… a bit… on cloud nine, lately” you mumbled, meanwhile your ex-headmaster looked surprised but didn’t say anything, anymore, just gently pushing the cup of tea she had gotten ready for you, in your hands.
“It happens to everyone, sometimes” she smirked, mostly noticing the way your cheeks lighted up, lightly dusting pink over them “… even more when we are bothered by something”.
“I just… I am doing fine… like really” although you were still mourning the loss of your father and trying to find any clue on his death, you were… for the first time ever breathing.
Although you had to admit that you had thought you would again waste yourself in Washington, it hadn’t happened.
The challenge had made you blossom and grow, and you couldn’t help but feel like you were slowly reaching a new generation, where peace between different magical creatures was possible.
And then there was Duncan… but your preferred not to put him in the category of good things, since the last time you had… it hadn’t turned out well…
“… still I feel like something is strange about your body” mumbled Cordelia, as she brought the up the cup of tea to her lips, barely wetting them with the tea, before she sent you a rather questioning look, making you almost feel naked “… would you mind if I check it? I wouldn’t want it to be anything dangerous”.
You nodded, although you hadn’t felt anything bad happening to your body, except a general tiredness, which might have been caused by the fact that you found it extremely difficult to fall asleep at a decent hour and not wake up at the crack of dawn.
But Cordelia might get something to help with sleep or to energize your body.
What you hadn’t expected was the outcome of Cordelia’s quick check-up, after she examined your heartbeat and your stomach, where she obviously found a rather interesting news, since she brightened up, pushing her hands lightly onto your stomach, meanwhile you felt a light tickle onto it, as the light showed a little shape in your stomach.
You were rather shocked and immediately looked at Cordelia, worried, but she held one of the biggest smiles you had ever seen, although it was tinged with a soft dash of nostalgy.
“Is something wrong?” you asked worried that it might be some kind of tumor or bad cells or mass “…should I be worried?”.
“Nothing too bad, lovely” giggled gently Cordelia, leaning closer “… I should actually say ‘congratulations’, since you are pregnant, (Y/N)”.
“What?!” you were shocked, to say the least, and immediately rushed to mumble “… I haven’t… I…”.
“… had sex?” tried to complete Cordelia “… I don’t believe that this is an immaculate conception and I am pretty sure you are with child, (Y/N)”.
“I have used birth control, I can’t… this is not possible” because you had had unprotected sex with somebody else, in the past, with your previous partners and nothing… no baby had come from it.
“Birth control might work, but not always…” she mumbled, explaining it as if it was the most natural thing ever, meanwhile you couldn’t even process the fact that a baby was growing in your stomach “… and there might be some situations which might lessen the birth control’s effect”.
You thought about what might have made your birth less effective: you had taken it perfectly and hadn’t eaten or taken any other drug.
The only thing that had changed was… that you had had sex with Duncan on his heat.
Which might have blocked the effectivity since heats were made for females to become pregnant.
And this didn’t absolutely allow any exceptions.
As realization appeared on your face somehow, Cordelia realized your uneasiness on the entire topic.
“You don’t want it?”.
It wasn’t that you wanted it or not… you just…
It was all so confusing, since you had just gone to Cordelia for a quick check-up and you found out you were with child, from the man who hated the same nature that you would have partially passed to your child.
“... I just… I am confused” you spoke, breathing out loudly, meanwhile Cordelia pushed gently an hand onto your stomach, linking with yours so that you could feel the small little thing was creating in your stomach, leaving you no choice but acknowledge that you weren’t alone anymore “… I never thought about it… I never thought it would happen… so early…”.
“I know that you are confused, sweetheart” softly cooed Cordelia, although she didn’t know by experience she must have realized she was slowly panicking and moved to collect the tea, pushing it into your hands “… but you don’t have to do anything”.
Which was the opposite of what was going through your mind: should you keep the baby?
A part of you didn’t even question it: like Cordelia getting pregnant for you was supposed to be pretty difficult, it was part of being half witch and half werewolf, so you should have just taken this as a miracle, not to talk about the fact that, although you were pretty young, you were established in life.
But at the same time, the thought of another ‘little you’ living in Washington made you sick, alongside the thought of explaining to Duncan that he had gotten you pregnant.
It would have been awkward.
“You can stay here for a bit, I’ll handle Washington in the meantime, if it’ll make you feel better” suggested Cordelia, meanwhile she adjusted your shirt to give you a bit of modesty “… you can stay with your sisters, if you feel more comfortable”.
And although she wasn’t saying, she was obviously implying that you would avoid the father of the child.
Which would have been a good idea.
But you just didn’t feel like hiding anymore.
Washington had been good for you, because it had broken you out of your comfort zone and gotten you to raise your voice to get what you want, which was rather nice, although tiring.
But when had you ever chosen something easy?
“Thank you, Cordelia, but I prefer to go back, I have things to do, and it’ll help me to clear my head for the decision” one you wouldn’t make lightheartedly.
Cordelia nodded, although you saw that she was sad that you wouldn’t be staying but didn’t stop you.
You knew she hoped that you would keep it, as the child she had never been able to have.
But you wondered whether she would have kept this idea had she known to whom also, the children belonged.
She suggested you a few good vitamins to keep you and the baby healthy and told you that in case you intended to end the pregnancy to let her know so that she could accompany you there.
‘It isn’t something women should do alone, and not because we are weak or not strong enough but because… we sometimes… pretend to be stronger than we have to be’.
You had just hugged tighter and thanked her for everything.
On the way back home you had thought that the first step, before you thought about keeping it or not, was talking with Duncan, not because you’d obey anything he might think about the pregnancy, but you thought it would have been nice to actually tell him about it.
And not withhold information like his family had done with him.
You already knew that Duncan, if you decided to keep the child, wouldn’t want anything to do with them, but you felt like it would be at least nice to warn him that in nine months he might see a little Duncan by your side.
Your mind spiraled down onto darker thoughts about Duncan telling you to quit the pregnancy, exactly with the same ‘gentleness’ he had used, a lot of years ago, when he had broken up with you.
In that case, although it was petty, you thought about keeping the baby just to spite him.
You gave some rest to your mind, quickly setting up the table as you arrived home, meanwhile you tried to cook something, mostly to eat the vitamins that Cordelia had given to you, since you didn’t feel hungry.
But just as you were setting up the glasses, trying not to burn the quick soup you were making, the doorbell rang and you rushed to get in a bit weirded out by the hour of this visit, but you had some people coming at your house at even worse hours, mostly Faes since they didn’t have the knowledge of time, as humans.
… and Duncan.
… who was standing at your door, looking at you as if he had just swallowed a frog and with a dossier of papers in his hands.
“Well, did you miss me already?” you joked, thinking that this was definitely the Universe sending you some kind of signs that you were thoroughly fucked.
“More than you can think sweetheart…” although his tone was tired and sarcastic it held some sweetness in it that got you blushing softly “… I have some things to discuss with you, if you have the time”.
You just opened further your door, turning to check onto your ‘newly-burned’ soup.
“… still trying to cook, (L/N)?” he joked, passing you to the kitchen to take in the little massacre that your soup was, before he moved around the kitchen to collect various items to cook, both of you, dinner, meanwhile you looked at him shocked.
“I am truly scared that you know where all my things are” you mumbled softly, meanwhile he moved onto you, pushing lightly his body against you to collect something on your shoulder.
“Oh, don’t complain, beauty” he replied, meanwhile he started up the water where you would boil pasta for the night “… mostly when you get amazing pieces of food each day for free”.
“Oh, please excuse my arrogant ass but I thought that my hospitality was a payment enough for all your services” you sassed him back and he laughed loudly, making him smirk lightly “I am supposed to be good at cooking, I used to be amazing at potions”:
“Potions and food are two completely different things” he reinforced immediately, making you smirk lightly “…please don’t confuse yourself, I wouldn’t want to be turned in a bat”.
“I was thinking more of a donkey, like in the ‘Metamorphosis’ by Apuleio” Duncan literally sent you the blankest look ever, and you then refocused on the files of paper that were set onto your kitchen table “… but what are you doing here?”.
‘Please don’t tell me you realized that your heat might have gotten me pregnant’.
Duncan seemed almost taken aback but set back the cover onto the pot and then let the entire thing cook itself for quite a bit.
“You are not one for small talk, aren’t you?” he joked, with a sad smile onto his face.
“You used to think it was my best trait” you shot back, meanwhile you sat down onto your side, collecting in the meanwhile two glasses and a beer for Duncan and a bottle of water for you.
“.. then you grew tits” your harsh glare was enough to tell him not to joke about this “… but you are alright there is no need to talk around this question...”.
He then pushed the dossier with the papers towards you, to make you read them, meanwhile a hand went to your stomach, almost absentmindedly.
The dossier had two documents: one had your father’s paper, the one he used for the official documents and you had kept as an emotional comfort.
It was a decree to be proposed to the assembly of the clans, about the inheritance of the role as the alpha of the clans.
Although you weren’t one of the competitors, the document suggested you as your father’s successor, mostly because of the inability of the competitors: Duncan was not considered anymore eligible because he wasn’t a direct descendant of the Shepherd clan, which you knew must have broken Duncan’s heart.
But worse than that, there was also the refusal of Bill Shepherd, Duncan’s uncle and actual leader of the clans, since, from what your father had written, ‘he wasn’t able of any sympathy towards any different magical creature that wasn’t a werewolf and is actually more than happy to let a war happen to keep his family on top of the social ladder’.
They were strong affirmations, but you knew of your father’s opinion of Bill: he might tolerate Annette, but, to him, Bill was the worst thing that could ever take form as a werewolf.
But what shocked you was that your father had suggested that you took his place, although you weren’t in any way equipped and he should have known better, mostly because he had been the one who had told you to run away and never come back.
“… I found them, meanwhile I was looking through some stuff at my… Annette’s apartment…” he didn’t stay there anymore, avoiding it like the plague, preferring to stay either at his apartment or at yours, the most chosen “…I just needed some new paper and I…”.
“Did you nose around, Annette’s stuff?” although it might not seem the most terrible thing ever, you knew that it had taken a lot of guts for Duncan to do that, mostly if you thought about how attached he had been to his mother.
“Not exactly… I was nosing through my stuff, in Annette’s house” he replied, before he moved the other document towards you “… but this is more interesting and is what caught my eye”.
You set your sight onto the other document, finding it wasn’t anything related to what you had read before, finding it was an actual receipt about a purchase of a substance.
You knew the substance because you had studied it and it could be definitely one of the few you could use to fake a heart-attack and avoid it being detected.
It wasn’t a direct clue to her father’s death, but it definitely showed much more clearness, alongside matching your opinion on your father’s death.
“… it is a receipt for a substance I made some researches about, it is used for poisoning… it can be sold on the black market online and my uncle Bill has ordered some, enough to kill a man”.
Duncan was offering her both the reason and the weapon of the murder of his father, but you didn’t understand why he had come to you, instead of burning the documents.
He wasn’t faking the things: you could see the authenticity of the documents and you couldn’t see a reason why he would give you fake documents that would incriminate his family.
“Duncan… you just… are you sure…?”.
“For all my life I fucking had to listen to what that asshole asked of me, he treated me like shit and even worse, but…I never thought… your father… he was… he was nice with me I would have left the lead to you… I mean… not without a fight, but… I understood why he hadn’t wanted Bill beside him… he is…”.
Duncan’s shoulder shook with anger and again your hand gripped even tighter your stomach, in a rather protective stance.
“… what I am saying is that… my family has wronged you in so many ways, and I hoped that this could somehow right all the wrongs, although I know it isn’t possible, I hope it is a start”.
You still didn’t understand Duncan’s complete motives, but you took the documents, since you were sure that Cordelia could control them and look for clues, better than you, in your state.
Duncan let you took them, a look of total despair on his face since you were more than well aware that he must have been feeling extremely shitty at an even worse realization that his ‘parents’ had lied even more to him, showing him even darker skeletons in his wardrobe.
You, on your own, didn’t know what to do.
You didn’t honestly understand whether you should be pissed off, angry or scared: the thought that Billy had murdered your father didn’t make you feel almost anything…
You had already processed that the Shepherd might have had some kind of involvement in the whole things, but to see it was real, it was too shocking for you to register it fully, hence you didn’t know how to react, preferring to wait for Cordelia’s opinion on the matter.
You didn’t want anger or sadness to cloud your view of the entire thing.
You just couldn’t.
“I know this is too much to take and…” Duncan wasn’t even looking at you anymore “… but I understand if you… don’t want to see each other anymore”.
You didn’t know whether it was the frail way his voice trembled, clearly full of emotion or the fact that you sit couldn’t hold it anymore, but you blurted out.
“I am pregnant”.
Duncan looked at you confused, and you were just able to mumble:
“I am with your child” again an even more confused look “…you put a bun in my oven”.
Duncan finally reacted, paling immensely and you rushed to his side, worried he might faint.
“… I … you… child…” he mumbled, barely able to link the three things together, and your mind started rushing.
“Yeah, we did a child, and I know it’s yours because you are the only one I have been with” she wouldn’t have been surprised if Duncan questioned the paternity of the baby “… the birth control didn’t work because you were in heat, not saying it’s your fault, but I wasn’t expecting it exactly like you”.
“Have you decided what to do?” Duncan’s rough voice tickled your ears “… I mean… are you going to keep it?”.
“I don’t know” you mumbled honestly, setting up on the table in front of him “… I haven’t… for me it is difficult to have children, so I am thinking about keeping it, although I don’t want them to grow up here, so maybe…”.
“Why wouldn’t you want them grow up here?” Duncan seemed more involved than you had thought.
“Duncan, they would be exactly like me and I didn’t have a happy childhood” you didn’t want your child to go through the same thing as you, if you could avoid them at least that.
“Much has changed, (Y/N)” spoke Duncan, his voice sure and determined “… and much has changed thank to you, now somebody like you would be accepted, I am sure”.
“You don’t understand Duncan… you are not…”.
“I don’t fit in exactly like you” he interrupted you “… I am the forgotten son of a maid raised by somebody who just wanted him because of need… I don’t think that anybody truly fit in, but as you as a mother and a coven leader… you can change this place, you have already started”.
You didn’t know if it was the flattery that Duncan was playing or your hormones just fucking everything up already, but the discourse truly moved you.
“… if I do keep it, you don’t have to have an active role in their life” you mumbled, knowing this might be a pressing matter for Duncan “… I won’t disclose that you are their father or want anything from you, if you don’t want it”.
Duncan looked almost hurt by your affirmation, but he didn’t react, just simply reached out for your hand, grabbing effectively your attention.
“… if you do keep it, and I am saying this only if you truly feel like keeping it…” he raised his eyes to meet yours “… I would like to be a part of his life”.
This shocked you, because you hadn’t expected in the slightest Duncan to act like that.
“… maybe it is the fact that I don’t have a family myself, so I am trying to latch onto anything that might seem a family, or maybe it is the fact that I don’t want you to go through this alone and maybe… I am curious what it is like to be a father, my wolf certainly won’t forgive me, if I just abandon my puppy”.
Werewolves treated children as their most-priced-possessions, so Duncan was definitely right that it wouldn’t have approved.
You felt tears pricking at your eyes, and when Duncan reached out to softly dry them, you just pushed yourself a bit back from his hold.
“It’s the stupid hormones” you mumbled, pushing yourself to dry your tears with your sweatshirt’s sleeves, meanwhile you jumped off the table and pushed yourself onto the floor, with Duncan looking at you worriedly, proving the overprotectiveness that wolves felt towards their pregnant mates “… I am sure that you’ll see plenty of this”.
“I am willing to see many of these more, just please don’t cry for me, ok?” he mumbled gently caressing your side in a reassuring matter “… it breaks my heart”.
You wanted to throw back in his face that he had broken your heart already and made you cry for him much more than he had simply thought.
But you held your words: if you wanted all this to work, you would have both to swallow some pretty awful things.
Starting from the fact that the man who had killed your beloved father was his uncle.
Maybe this was all too fucked up for a child to grow up in.
“Can I?” mumbled Duncan suddenly, pushing himself away from you and gently pointing to your stomach, clearly asking if he could feel the baby and you just nodded.
Immediately the man was down on his knees, raising softly the thin cotton of your shirt, and lowering lightly your jeans, finally coming to contact where the little bub was supposed to be.
“Hey, little one…” you honestly wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the situation but were completely swept in by Duncan’s sweet tone “…I am your sperm donor, I don’t know if your mom will ever allow you to call me dad”.
You rolled your eyes, but Duncan was right, although he might make an appearance in the bub’s life, if you decided to keep it, you didn’t know if you could have him be a proper dad for him, mostly with all the mess between your families.
And their past.
“… but I already like you, and I am low key proud of you, although I don’t know if you are a little girl or a little boy, I don’t mind… I mean you could be both… me and your mom have worked so….”.
You slapped Duncan’s ear to make him stop the line of profanities that he was uttering.
“Not in front of the child!”.
“Our child is the size of a peanut” he replied, sending you a meaningful but joking look and you knew it was enough.
But you were greatly moved by the mention of ‘our child’.
Duncan spoke more ‘gibberish’ (which your hormones found tear-jerking) at the child and by then it was late enough that he also realized that it was too late for him to stay.
He wished you both ‘goodnight’, gently kissing again your stomach and your forehead, in a ‘goodbye’ kind of way, his step joyful as he reached the car.
And your heart sunk once he wasn’t there.
An important decision was to be made that night.
---
I am tagging a few person I think might like this!
@blakewaterxx, @codyfernmorelikedaddyfern @dyns33 @serenitybloodmoon @emmyrosee @lovelylangdonx @kaetastic @1-800-bitchcraft @ladynuwanda @so-langdon @lathraios @rosegoldrichie​
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deejadabbles · 4 years
Text
Spells of Defiance (Atem x Reader x Yugi) Chapter 5
Five: Friends
One //// Two //// Three //// Four //// Five //// Six //// Seven //// [Eight coming soon] 
Summary: The Circle of Magicians protects the world from rogue, murderous fey. The police who keep bloodsuckers and flesh-eaters in check. You’ve hunted vampires for years, earning a reputation as one of the best magicians in that field; but what happens when an encounter with a particular vampire makes your already fragile loyalties split?
Supernatural/Demon Hunter AU. Vampire!Atem x Reader x Incubus!Yugi (yes, a polyamorous relationship). Warnings for cursing, vulgar language, violence, and some sexual themes.
A.N.  Here's one of the songs I play on repeat while writing this series, in case any of you are interested! 
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“Why didn’t you tell us you’ve never been to a movie theater before?!”
You actually couldn’t help but snicker at the look of pure exasperated incredulity plastered on Yugi’s face as you and the boys walked down the city street together. He looked downright horrified that they hadn’t treated the occasion with more care.
“It’s not that big of a deal. Besides, I could list the “fun” things I’ve done outside of the Circle way faster than I could list the things I haven’t done.”
Yugi sighed, looking beyond disappointed, “I just wish your first movie experience was something better than “Mimi the Neko’s Summer Vacation”!”
Again you chuckled and did not miss the amused grin on Atem’s face as he shook his head at Yugi. “It was a cute movie! Don’t feel bad, I liked it.” You gave Yugi a playful nudge with your elbow and were happy to see him grin back at you, finally putting the first movie debacle to rest.
The streets of Domino were alight with the neon signs and other pedestrians enjoying a night out. People with shopping bags, takeout containers, and various other holdings walked down the street, passing the vampire, the incubus, and yourself without any care. Not that any of them knew what the three of you were, but still. From what you remember of the walk over you were still five or so blocks from home, but the night air was cool and the company was more than pleasant. The way Yugi and Atem held hands as they walked made you smile for some reason, and despite the people bustling around you, it felt as if you three were walking in your own little bubble.
Then, you saw Yugi’s eyes go wide with delight as they landed on a cart parked on the very edge of the sidewalk. “Have you ever had ice cream before?” he asked, turning back to you with an expectant grin.
You opened your mouth to answer- but found yourself hesitating when your mind seemed to stall. You had been on the verge of saying yes, but, even as the answer came to your mind, the memory of eating the frozen treat did not. Surely you had tried it while out on missions. The Circle had given you a small allowance after all, and you often used it to try new foods. Perhaps the memory was simply wrapped up in the back of your mind somewhere.
“Yeah, I think I have,” you answered after recovering from the momentary falter.
Though he must have noticed the odd moment, Yugi elected to ignore it and instead grabbed your hand with his free one and pulled both you and Atem towards the icecream cart. He asked- no, more like told you to get whatever flavor you wanted as he looked over the few options available. Again Atem was smiling at his boyfriend’s cute behavior and gave you an understanding wink as he asked for an orange pop. Eventually, Yugi got a double scoop of strawberry on a waffle cone and you got the flavor that sounded most appealing. Again you couldn’t recall the flavor you had tried in the past but were certain you had done so before.
As you and the boys resumed your walk, treats in hand, Atem quickly took notice to you giving him an interested look. “You know I’ve never seen a vampire eat regular food before,” you commented.
Atem hummed, “Yes, I don’t suppose you would have. After turning, our taste buds are dulled to...regular foods. Most aren’t appetizing to me in the slightest, but there are a few foods, ones with potent tastes, that I’ll eat upon occasion,” he waved the popsicle to accentuate his words.
“What he’s not telling you, is that all of those foods are sweets,” Yugi interjected with a giggle, “He must have had a major sweet tooth back in the day.”
The information made you laugh, especially when the vampire in question looked almost pouty at being outed. “Careful, Yugi, or I’ll tell her about how childish your eating habits were when we first met.”
“Hey, my diet wasn’t that bad!” Yugi countered.
“Hamburgers, cheetos, and ramen cups are not a diet, my love.”
The monotone in which Atem delivered the burn was it for you, especially when Yugi’s mouth dropped open with a profound blush! You burst into laughter and almost pitched the last of your ice cream to the ground as you covered your mouth to stifle the giggles. You expected to hear Yugi say something sassy back, but after a few moments where you recovered from your humorous outburst, you looked back over at your companions and saw both of them smiling at you. A warm flush of your very own slithered onto your cheeks, but before you could be too embarrassed, Yugi sighed with a shrug.
“Hey, at least I make decent meals now.” He winked at Atem, “After his constant nagging to eat better I didn’t have much choice.”
“I did not nag-”
“Besides,” Yugi’s bright smile refocused on you, “now it’s not just me I’m cooking for, so it was worth it in the end!”
You had to swallow something that had formed in your throat before answering, and even then you only managed a weak, “Right,” as the three of you continued on your leisurely walk home.
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Later that night, Yugi hummed happily to himself as he buttoned up his star-patterned PJ top to get ready for bed. He was quite amused that you had insisted that everyone get enough sleep that night when you three got home, stating that tomorrow might be a harrowing day. Just as he did with Atem, Yugi found it cute when you worried.
Atem was straightening up their sheets, his own mind working out the knots of the day’s events. A lot had happened that day and he wasn’t sure if he had properly processed the...potent emotions rolling about in his head. Now in the relative silence of their room, Yugi distracted with his own thoughts, Atem’s mind was wandering.
He still wasn’t sure what to make of the argument he’d had with you earlier. Yugi had once accused Atem of being too “self-destructive” (ironically, during a heated argument of their own) and at the time Atem couldn’t quite understand how to see things from Yugi’s perspective. To understand why such behavior would hurt him so much. Now, seeing you so willing putting yourself in unnecessary danger, Atem understood. He respected that you could more than hold your own in a battle, in fact, he was quite thankful that he had never been your target in a physical fight, but that did not mean he could stop himself from worrying over your safety.
Then there was everything regarding Marik. How the memories of that blood-soaked night still flashed in his mind’s eye. The bodies littering his family home, friends and loved ones alike. The screams ringing in his ears as he tried to get his mother and handmaid out of the house unnoticed. The way Marik whispered sick taunts in his ears as the vampire’s followers held his father down, making him watch as Atem took his last, painful, bloodsoaked breaths as a living, mortal man.
It hurt. Even after all these centuries, the memories hurt. But still, it had felt right to tell you, to open up to you. It had felt good, much like it had when he told Yugi about his past as the young incubus wrapped him up in a warm embrace. And despite the emotional turmoil he’d faced that day, Atem felt...hopeful. He was closer than he ever had been to bringing Marik’s mad schemes to an end, he could feel it. And for the first time in centuries, Atem wasn’t alone while trying to do so.
“It’s nice to see her opening up.”
Yugi’s light, cheery comment brought Atem out of his musings. He looked over as the incubus plopped down on the bed and elaborated in his comment.
“She always seems to have that moment of surprise when she does something, like call this place home, or open up about her past, but she’s still letting herself get closer to us.” Yugi took in a slow breath, his eyes staring unfocused but wistfully at nothing as he thought. “It’s nice, seeing her laugh too. When we were breaking you out of the Sanctuary some jerk of a magician started making these awful comments at her, so I decided to pay him back by putting an hour-long loop of gay porn in his head. When I told her what I did she laughed so much, I just,” Yugi shrugged, chuckling himself at the memory. “You could see that she isn’t used to letting her emotions out like that and she just looked so cute when she was laughing. Just like she did earlier tonight. I like making her laugh...” Yugi’s voice trailed off the longer he spoke, and Atem felt his chest flutter a bit at how sweet Yugi looked as he reminisced.
The vampire smiled as he sat down on the bed next to his lover, “Yes, it is nice seeing her open up to us. It can’t be easy, growing up in the Circle as she did. I’m sure there is so much more about her past that we don’t know about, but still, she’s kept her heart true and noble. She’s...quite amazing in that respect.”
“...You really like her, don’t you?” Yugi asked, tone quiet and eyes staring unfocused on the carpet beneath their feet.
Atem felt himself stiffen, his mind stalling as he realized that he should try to think of some response that would put any...worries Yugi might have at ease.
As if reading Atem’s mind, Yugi quickly said, still in that quiet tone, “You don’t have to deny it, Atem, even if I couldn't sense emotions, I can see the way you look at her. But,” his voice became a bit louder and more firm, as if trying to make sure Atem didn’t misunderstand him. “But it’s okay because...well…” The incubus shifted his position and faced Atem more fully, grabbed his hands and made Atem meet his eyes. In them, the vampire saw something sure and true, something simmering with passion and conviction, urging Atem to understand his next words. “It’s okay because I understand. I really like her too.”
Atem’s eyes went wide at that. “Yugi…”
“I know it’s a bit odd, but, I’m not even jealous when I see you looking at her like that, because I know that I feel the same way. Having her here with us, I don’t know it just feels...right. Like this is the way it was always meant to be. We haven’t even known her that long and it already feels like this is the way it was supposed to be.”
After a moment where Atem’s mind fully processed what Yugi was saying, the vampire tightened his grip on Yugi’s hands with affection. “I won’t deny it. From the first moment I met her I felt...captivated by her. Her strength, her wit, her noble heart, her beauty- all of it drew me in in a way that I could never explain.” He wanted Yugi to understand exactly what was in his heart, he needed Yugi to know every layer of these feelings, and know that feeling this way would never- could never diminish the love he felt for Yugi. Atem reached up and cupped Yugi’s face between his hands, relishing the sweet smile and almost teary eyes the incubus gave him. “In all my years on this earth, the only other person I’ve felt such a deep, immediate connection with, is you, Yugi.”
In response, he chuckled, smiled even wider, and placed his hands over Atem’s. “I feel the same way.”
Overcome, the vampire pulled his lover in for a kiss, spilling all his passion and affection into the intimate contact. Yugi met him with the same and wrapped his arms around Atem to pull him as close and physically possible. It was a sweet parallel to the first time they had confessed their deeper feelings for each other, and though the one they were admitting passion for was missing in that moment, they still relished the loving air. It had to be a positive sign that these admissions ended with sweet kisses instead of hurt feelings, didn’t it? But, all this simply raised even more questions, which Atem addressed after they finally broke their kiss and Yugi slid down to rest his head on Atem’s chest as they still held each other.
“So, what steps do we take now that we know our feelings for her?”
Yugi thought for a moment, allowing his mind to think of all the paths that may lay before them. “Well...if you’re open to it...I don’t mind the idea of- you know, opening up to her about all this and seeing where things go from there.”
“You mean...ask her if she wants to be with both of us? Together?”
The incubus nodded, still held against Atem’s chest, “Yeah, I mean, there are some relationships that are between more than two people. Are you okay with that idea?”
Though the answer wanted to fall from his lips the moment Yugi asked, Atem made himself hold back just a moment, so he could think it over without haste. Such a thing should never be decided in the heat of the moment without thought, or feelings could get hurt later on.
Even after allowing himself that practical moment's though, the answer was still the same. “Yes.”
Yugi gave a content sigh, “Glad it wasn’t just me, I was worried you’d think I was being a stereotypical unfaithful incubus.”
“I would never think that, Yugi,” Atem assured with a tender kiss on the top of Yugi’s head.
A bit of silence passed, Atem allowing himself to picture a future with both you and Yugi at his side, while Yugi let his mind work on another worry and concern over this whole situation.
“I don’t think we should tell her about our feelings yet.”
Atem blinked at Yugi’s sudden change of heart, “Why?”
“Well, think about it,” Yugi finally leaned back from his boyfriend’s chest and looked him in the eyes again, “I don’t want us to overwhelm her too soon, you know? The fight you two had today says that she’s barely getting used to the idea that people care whether she lives or dies! If we tell her all of this now, while she’s still getting used to being around people who care about her at all...I don’t know, I just don’t want to spook her.” Almost immediately Yugi made a frustrated noise and rubbed the back of his head in shame. “That sounded weird, she’s not a deer we’re trying to feed in the forest, but I just think that…”
“You’re right, Aibou,” Atem said, trying to put his incubus’ worry at ease. “We need to give her time. Time to get used to her new life, to us, time to sort out her own feelings before we overwhelm her with our own.”
Yugi sighed in relief that Atem understood and nodded his head with a smile. “Exactly.”
“And in the meantime,” the vampire started as he held Yugi tight again and laid both their bodies back against their soft mattress and pillows, “we simply need to be there for her.”
The incubus gave a sound of agreement as he closed his eyes and lazily wrapped his tail around his and Atem’s intertwined legs. They drifted off to sleep like that, happy and content and...hopeful about the future.
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It wasn’t until you shot a glare over at the hair salon next door that you realized you were on high alert for Yugi’s overzealous fangirls as you helped him open up the shop. You had told him you would set the sign and display table outside while he did the rest inside and you supposed it was your subconscious need to protect Yugi from the unwanted staring that prompted you to do it. Your effort proved to be for the best when you saw the short blond wander outside for a smoke break- and frowned with a displeased sigh when she saw you instead Yugi. You put on a smile you knew must have looked fake as you waved at her, and her scowl only deepened. Satisfied with how she actually turned her back on you, you went back into the shop after setting up the sandwich sign.
“Thanks for doing that!” Yugi’s cheerful voice chimed from the counter, “I’m all ready here, so you can go ahead and flip the open sign if you want.”
You obliged, then wandered over to the front counter, hopping on to it and turning to Yugi. “So, is your werewolf friend still going to meet us today?”
“Yup! He’s a good guy and always willing to help me and Atem, I thought having his nose would be a good advantage while we’re staking out the possible hideouts, not to mention it can’t hurt to have a werewolf when fighting a vampire, right?”
You nodded, “Right. I usually cast a detection spell to get an idea of how many beings are in a building, but it’s best if I can save my energy for any actual fighting. Plus, his sense of smell will help us know if there’s just vampires inside, or if there’s any human bystanders we have to worry about.”
Yugi agreed with your words, then after a moment, seemed to hesitate. “Um..there’s something else I think I should mention about our friend. We told him about you, and how we trust you, but he’s had some bad run-ins with the Circle before, so he might be a bit suspicious of you at first.” Obviously he had meant for the words to come out differently, because he looked a tad panicked as he amended, “I mean, he won’t be super hostile towards you or anything! He’s not a bad person, it’s just that he might be wary of you at first.”
“It’s okay, Yugi, trust me I understand. Most fey aren’t going to like me, ex Circle or not.” Wanting to move on from his concern you changed the subject by saying, “So what are you going to do about the shop today since we’ll be leaving before you close?”
“You remember how I mention having a witch friend the other day? She sometimes helps me with the shop, so she’ll be watching it for us today. I can’t wait for you to meet her, I have a feeling she’ll like you a lot!”
Why did that comment almost make you want to do a double-take? Yugi seemed so sure of his statement, accentuated with that bright grin of his. “What makes you say that?”
His grin did not falter, “Well, she’s an easy person to get along with period but I think she’ll love how spunky you are, I think you two will be like peas in a pod!”
Your cheeks felt a bit warm suddenly and you found yourself rubbing the back of your neck, unsure how to answer. Yugi may have taken pity on your speechlessness and told you a bit more about both friends you’d be meeting, but his first customer of the day came in then and the conversation came to a halt.
For the next couple of hours, you simply helped Yugi around the shop, though there wasn’t much to do beside straighten up a few shelves. You of course eventually checked on the daylight ring you were making for Atem, after giving it plenty of time to absorb the rays of the sun. When the sigils on the metal glowed faintly as you touched it you sighed in relief; the enchantment was complete. It may not be the high-quality magic that would keep Atem safe from the sun for hours on end, but it would work for today’s mission.
Ring in hand, you contemplated whether you should warn Atem to still wear long sleeves and a hat as you walked back out into the main part of the shop. The sun might still irritate his skin, so the extra layer of cover might do him good. According to Yugi, his friends should be there soon so it was best to prepare now.
You were about to turn to the door leading upstairs so you could talk to Atem, but you were stopped when Yugi called out to you from the front of the store. Turning, you saw the incubus standing in the center of the store next to a young woman with short brown hair. She wore jeans with a stylish blue top that matched her eyes and she gave you a friendly smile the moment they met your own.
Yugi said your name before waving at the girl, “This is Anzu, the one who’ll be watching the store today! Anzu, this is the new friend I told you about over the phone.”
“Nice to meet you!” The woman- Anzu greeted as she closed the distance between you and held out her hand.
You took it and offered her your own smile, though you were sure it wasn’t as warm as hers. “Nice to meet you too, Anzu.”
“Were you about to take that up to Atem?” Yugi asked, pointing at the ring you were fidgeting with in your other hand.
“Yeah, I was going to warn him that…” you trailed off, casting a cautious glance at Anzu, who’s smile never faltered.
“Oh don’t worry, I know about the boys and their cute fangs and wings,” Anzu assured with a wink, “Judging by the crests on it, I’m guessing that’s a daylight ring?”
You didn’t bother hiding your surprise at her knowledge, “Yes, it is. I was just going to warn Atem that he may still want to cover up a bit before going outside. The sun might irritate his skin.”
“I can tell him for you,” Yugi offered, holding out his hand for the ring.
You faltered for a second, something told you that Yugi was trying to give you and Anzu time to talk. Still, not wanting to seem rude you handed the ring over with a “thanks”, and just like that Yugi was dashing through the door and up the stairs.
Not much silence passed in his absence before the obviously sociable Anzu continued your conversation. “You must really know your stuff to be able to make one of those. Enchanting’s never easy.”
“Eh, it’s not as good as it could be, but it’ll do.”
Anzu’s smile faltered a bit and she tilted her head at you. “You don’t have to downplay your skills, you know. I think that’s the Circle’s influence coming through.”
You couldn’t help but tense at her words. Yugi had called her a witch, but the term usually applied to humans who dabbled in the tiny bit of magic they were able to tap into. Given her knowledge of enchantments, the boy’s true races, and the Circle, this was obviously no ordinary white witch.
She must have sensed your tension because she held up her hand in pleading defense. “Oh, sorry, I guess Yugi didn’t mention that he told me a bit about you. He told me how you helped Atem escape execution,” her eyes drifted down to your scarred palm, “how you left the Circle in order to help them.” Her eyes snapped back up to yours and you were surprised by the profound sense of understanding that played in her gaze. “Yugi really wanted us to meet because he thought it might be nice for you to know another spell slinger who’s free of the Circle.”
“Wait...you-?”
“No, not me specifically, but I know a lot about the Circle and how cruel they are. My grandmother was like you, she was brave enough to leave them and start a new life.”
You knew you must have looked silly at how surprised you were at the statement. Magicians had been known to leave the Circle before, but it wasn’t common and the few times someone did, it was kept as quiet as possible. Even after a moment, all you could manage to say was, “Oh.”
Anzu was still understanding and patient with you as she went on, “Yeah. From what she said, it wasn’t easy starting over from nothing, but she managed it. Eventually, she even got married and had a kid, my dad. She made sure to tell me and my dad everything we needed to know about the Circle, just in case we crossed paths with them. She also taught us how to use our magic. I’m sure I’m nowhere near your level, but I know a thing or two.”
A smile found its way onto your face, “Now who’s downplaying their skills?”
Anzu giggled at that and you found the laughter infectious as you let out a small chuckle as well. “Well, I know you’re still probably getting used to your new life, but, if you ever want to talk to another non-circle magic-user, feel free to come to me, kay?”
“Thanks, Anzu, I appreciate the offer.”
You did, truely, she seemed like a genuine and kind person. So far Yugi and Atem had been a surprising source of solace the few times you had talked about your life in the circle. Talking with Anzu may not come as naturally, but getting to know her when you had the chance couldn’t hurt. Several questions about the girl's life outside of the Circle came to your mind, but for now, you started with a simple one.
“I’m curious, Yugi called you a witch when he told me about you, is there a reason you’re using that title instead of magician?”
Anzu gave a shrug, “Well, it’s partly because it helps me stay under the Circle’s radar. Go around calling yourself a magician and they’ll get pretty interested in you. But besides that,” Anzu lifted her chin proudly, “I like the name because it sets me apart from them.”
You smirked at the bold and proud statement, yes, you could see yourself getting along with Anzu just fine. When she turned towards the counter and went to set her bag down behind it, you followed her, noting that Yugi was taking his time fetching Atem. Anzu had apparently decided not to ask anything too personal of you yet, because her next question was simple enough.
“So did Yugi tell you anything else about me?”
“Not really, besides that he helped you find a missing girl in your coven once. And that you help with the shop sometimes.” Not wanting the conversation to taper off awkwardly, you continued with, “So how did you and Yugi meet?”
“Oh, we’ve known each other since we were kids. My family knew Yugi’s so we were always going over to each other’s houses and stuff,” she let out an almost exasperated laugh, “If you ask me I think Yugi’s grandpa was always interested in my grandmother. He was always flirting with her even with us kids in the room.”
You smiled at the thought. Yugi may not be the hopeless flirt that people usually thought of when the word ‘Incubus’ came to mind, but he certainly had his own charm and you had no doubt that he could turn it up when he wanted to; obviously he learned a thing or two from his grandpa. “Yugi’s mentioned his grandpa before, I guess the two were really close?”
“Yeah, they were,” Anzu’s smile didn’t leave but her eyes had a more serious look to them now. “His family wasn’t the stereotypical stuff you think of when you think about incubi and succubi. That’s why my family was so close with them. They really cared about and loved each other, and you can tell it made Yugi into a great man.”
You felt warm at the thought, the way Yugi welcomed you into his home like an old friend, how devoted and loving he was towards Atem, his bright eyes and smile, everything about him confirmed what Anzu was saying. Not for the first time, you found yourself wondering what had happened to Yugi’s parents, but more so you found yourself glad that Yugi had been given such a loving family. “Yeah, he really is.”
After a heartbeat, your eyes met Anzu’s again, and you were a bit taken aback by the knowing look twinkling in her eyes. Before you could question it however, the sound of Yugi and Atem finally coming down interrupted you. Anzu was an interesting woman, you’d have to take some time out to get to know her more when you had the chance.
You looked over your shoulder and found Atem trailing behind Yugi, who had slipped on a blue jacket. Atem had heeded your warning about wearing extra protection to some extent. He wore a long-sleeved shirt and thick jeans tucked into his boots, but he apparently wasn’t fond of hats and had swapped that accessory out for a pair of sunglasses that would keep his eyes from hurting.
“Wow Atem, aren’t you looking stylish,” Anzu chuckled.
The vampire gave the witch a smirk, “Hello, Anzu, I see you’ve met our new friend.”
“I have,” Anzu gave you a little wink, “I can see why you’re teaming up with her, she looks like she knows her stuff. Tough too.”
“That she is.” You noticed out of the corner of your eye that Atem fiddled with his daylight ring a bit as he said that, but the moment was quickly over when he turned to Yugi, “When is Joseph going to arrive?”
“Any minute now, you know how he is,” Yugi assured with a smile.
At their words, you noticed that Anzu's cheerful demeanor seemed to waver and her voice was less chipper as she said, “Are you guys sure you don’t want me to come with you? I don’t mind holding down the fort here, but I hate sending you guys into danger like this.”
Yugi, who had gone behind the counter while you three waited, put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Anzu, we’ll be okay. We have a vampire, a Circle trained magician and a werewolf on our side!”
“Don’t forget about yourself, Yugi,” you added, “I’m sure those claws of yours aren’t just for show.”
You weren’t entirely sure, but you thought you saw pink creeping up from under Yugi’s collar- unfortunately you were all distracted by the scene when the shop’s bell clanged as the door was swung open.
“Alrighty, who’s ready to hunt some vampires!”
Startled, before your mind could register the words you spun on your heel, raising your hand and repairing a spell. Your mind yelled at you to stop when your eyes landed on a tall blond standing in the doorway with his arms wide.
“Really, Joey?” Anzu hissed at the newcomer, “There could have been customers in here, why are you going around yelling about vampires?!”
After closing the door with a kick of his heel, the man stepped inside. “Oh, hey Anzu! What’re you getting worked up about? Not like any humans would have assumed I meant real vampires anyway.”
Both Anzu and Atem sighed while Yugi only grinned at, who you would assume was their werewolf friend. The incubus opened his mouth to introduce you, but apparently this Joey was a step ahead. His eyes landed on you and with a raised brow, he started circling you.
“So, you’re the mage Yugi told me about?”
It took much- no, all of your self control not to turn and glare at him as he circled, his demeanor not exactly predatory, but not friendly either. “I am. You must be the werewolf.”
“That’s right. You got a problem with that?”
Atem gave a firm and warning call of Joey’s name, but you held up your hand as the man stopped in front of you again. Your eyes were firm on Joey’s, not challenging, but not meek or submissive by any means. “So long as you don’t sharpen your fangs and claws on humans, I don’t have any problem with you.”
Joey made a noise, something more human-like than a snarl, “I don’t hunt humans! I ain’t some animal!”
“Then we don’t have a problem.”
He stared back into your eyes for a long moment, and even under their intensity, you never faltered. The air was growing tense, you wondered if Yugi was about to jump in, the ever calm peacemaker, but then the wolf closed his eyes and let out a hoot of laughter.
“I like her! She’s got guts without bein all high and mighty like the other spell slingers.” He reached out and clapped you on the back, “If Yugi and Atem say you’re alright, then you’re fine by me.” Anzu and Yugi both seemed to let out a breath at that, and Joey turned to them and Atem to elaborate on his first question. “So, where’re we going hunting? I’m itching to take out some human killers.”
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You hoped that Yugi had warned Joey that all these possible hideouts were only maybes and that there may not be any actual vampire killing that day, because the wolf seemed all too eager with this ‘hunt’ as you arrived at the first house. Atem actually had to pull Joey back from storming the front door, which left you wondering if bringing him along was actually a good call or not. Thankfully, when Yugi asked their friend to sniff the place out before doing anything rash, he seemed quite fine with the more cautious approach.
He walked the perimeter with the rest of you, his nose wrinkled and body hunched. You were glad it was the afternoon on a weekday, or the neighbors in this suburban block may have a question or two for your little group. Eventually, Joey leaned back, looking a bit disappointed as he said that there wasn’t even a trace of a vampiric scent around the property. Well, one down, four to go.
The next house wasn’t any better. The only thing different there was that Joey didn’t try to go in the front door and that there was a very protective cocker spaniel barking at you four from the windows the whole time you circled the house.
You were starting to really worry that your investigation was a complete bust as you arrived in the neighborhood for the third house and apparently you weren’t doing a good job at hiding your unease.
“You okay?” Yugi asked from beside you on the well-kempt sidewalk.
“Yeah, just worried all this trouble will be for nothing. I hate the idea of wasting everyone’s time.”
Yugi’s brows furrowed, “You don’t have to worry about that. Even if Marik isn’t hiding in any of these places, things like this take time, we know that.”
“I would have thought you would be used to investigations leading to dead ends at times, what with the nature of your job,” Atem chimed in from behind you.
You let out a short sigh, “True, but that’s when I’m by myself, not when I’m working with others.” Others who are relying on me to actually be of use, you added internally.
“Eh, don’t worry about it!” Joey assured, “If anything it’s just nice for Atem to get out in the sun!” He turned to the vampire in question, “It’s still weird though, seeing him out in the daytime, I don’t think I’ve even seen him awake when the suns up!”
“He’s awake, Joey,” Yugi cut in, “he just stays up in the apartment until sunset.”
You looked over your shoulder at Atem, wanting to see his ring, though his bare hands were tucked into his pockets. “How are you doing, by the way? Ring holding up?”
He nodded, “It’s holding up just fine. Trust me, I’ll let you know if I think I’m about to catch fire.”
“Please don’t joke about that,” Yugi groaned as your group finally came upon the third house.
It was a two-story brick building, not too large but not too small, and it was tucked away at the end of a dead-end street with a large yard separating it from the nearest neighbor. You took notice of the way Joey’s demeanor changed in a flash as you came up to the side of the house.
“Oh, there’s definitely a vampire in there alright.”
The rest of you seemed to tense under Joey’s words, though you were all relatively safe outside in the sunlight. On a closer look you confirmed that all of the curtains in the house were drawn tight, allowing no rays of light to come in, or for anyone to peak out.
“Can you tell if anyone else is in the house?”
Joey sniffed the air, drawing in deep, “I’ll have to get closer to tell.”
With that, the wolf stepped over the stone hedge lining the front yard. You were about to hiss after him, telling him to stay low and out of sight, but he was apparently more cautious than you first thought, and was careful to stay between the view of the windows as he went. You and the boys made to follow after him and you took a tentative look around at the two closets houses.
Your heart nearly jumped in your throat when you saw a face peeking out at you from across the street! It was an old man, looking at your suspicious group with a furrowed brow. You gave him a wave; oh yes, nothing to see here, just four strangers wandering into your neighbor’s yard, everything’s fine! He must have thought so in the end, because he simply shook his head and let the blinds fall back into place.
You were thankful that I line of trees kept you mostly shielded as you and the others walked around the house, Joey’s nose never resting. When he came to the back of the house he paused by a bush and motioned the rest of you to lean in.
“This is weird, I definitely smelling one vampire inside, but there’re older, staler scents, some human, some vampire.”
“Perhaps some of Marik’s servants have come and gone,” Atem suggested under his breath. The hard set of his jaw and the way his shaded eyes stayed on the back door to the house almost concerned you.
“Maybe, but either way we’re still going inside. I suggest you boys let me go in first,” you more said than asked.
“No,” Atem’s fangs were showing as he practically growled his next words, “Marik may have traps waiting inside. If he does, then I should take the damage from them. I can heal from practically anything, you can’t.”
Oh not this again. “Or how about we avoid any traps altogether. I’m a big girl, Atem, this isn’t my first time storming a vampire’s lair.”
You didn’t give him time to answer or argue, because you immediately rushed up to the back door, crouching low under the windows. You heard the three of them follow as you grabbed the door’s handle. There were several ways to get in, and though most magicians would have likely picked the lock or busted up with their bare hands, you relied on your talent with fire. Within seconds the thin metal of the knob was melting and sliding onto the stoop.
As quietly as you could you pushed the door open and took your first scan of the house. A kitchen lay before you, small for the nicer suburban houses, but this wasn’t the best one on the block by any means. Dishes were piled up in the sink and the stale smell of a neglected home filled the air.
Satisfied that nothing was going to blow up at the doorway, you stepped inside and the boys followed. Just off of the kitchen was a short hallway with two doors off of it and a staircase on one side.
“The smell's coming from upstairs,” Joey whispered to you.
Yugi opened his mouth to say something but you held your finger to your lips. It was almost impossible to sneak up on a vampire, even when they were sleeping, but you still wanted to keep as quiet as possible to postpone your detection. As you stepped towards the stairs at a slow pace, you looked over at Atem. He had taken his sunglasses off and he looked primed and ready to bolt up the stairs at a moment’s notice. There was something else though, something like suspicion in his eyes. Maybe he thought this was all too easy and, honestly, you might have to agree with him.
Your foot had just landed on the fifth step of the stairs when a loud BANG sounded overhead. Someone behind you jumped and your knuckles turned white on the railing as your ears strained to listen.
Growling.
More than that, it was a snarling desperate noise that was soon followed with another bang.
“Something’s trapped up there,” you whispered and another thud succeeded your claim.
“Someone trapped Marik in his own hideout?” Joey asked.
“I don’t think so,” Yugi answered, his eyes staring into the dark landing above. “I think it’s something else.”
Atem stepped up beside you, “Let’s find out.”
Since there was extremely little ambient light ahead, you lit a small flame in the palm of your hand before stepping up to the landing. The growling and banging were louder now, and it seemed to grow more and more erratic as you stepped down the hallway. It wasn’t hard to find the source of the ruckus, even among all the closed doors. The shaking wood and padlock over the door were dead giveaways. The metal screws holding it together were ripping away from the wood more and more with every thud and snarling growl until-
“Get down!”
You saw Joey grab Yugi as he threw himself out of the way of the flying door and something came charging out! In a flash of red and snarls the thing lunged at Atem before he could move. The vampire grunted in pain as he toppled to the ground with the thing and you saw that it had clamped down on Atem’s arm. Though the humanoid thing had him pinned, Atem still had the upper hand as it spilled his blood. With one swift hard punch, he broke its nose, sending it skittering back, hissing and spitting with pain. Joey grabbed it before it could recover and tried to put it in a headlock, but the thing struggled and writhed so much that it escaped his grip- though the cost was a sickening snap; a broken limb.
It tried to claw at Joey with it’s one good hand but with a harsh wave of your own, you sent the thing flying back into the dark closet it had been trapped in. A howl of pain and angry hiss in the dark later and it was lunging back at you from the shadows. It was too easy to grab the beast that time. The horrid creature was weak, broken, starving; acting on pure instinct and need to feed. And though you hated the fact, the merciful thing to do was to put it out of its misery. Before it could break free of your hold you gave it that mercy with one quick snap and it fell to the ground with its neck bent unnaturally.
As you and the boys watched it- no, the man’s face, which had been twisted and contorted like an animal’s, slowly returned to something that looked human. The man’s clothes were tattered and bloody and some obvious marks of abuse lay across the skin you could see. Maybe if you had gotten there days ago, you could have helped him, but not now, not after what Marik had done to him.
“A revenant,” you said with a defeated sigh.
“A- a what?” Yugi asked, not being able to take his eyes off of the body.
You made him look up at you, he didn’t need to see it, didn’t need to think about what the man had been put through before death. “How much do you know about vampires and how they’re turned?” you asked. Yugi shook his head, and his second-long glance at Atem told you that his resident vampire didn’t like to talk about it. “Well, there’s a reason the whole world isn’t overrun with vampires. Even if one tries to turn a human, there’s no guarantee they’ll survive. Most die during the process, like a virus tearing their bodies apart. Others who don’t turn into full-fledged vampires, but are a little too strong to die, turn into revenants. Their minds are gone, and they don’t even have the strength, speed, or healing powers that full vampires get. All they can do is act on their need to feed on blood. They’re husks, unable to think or feel, and usually too weak to survive more than a couple of days after being turned.” You let out a heavy sigh and ran your hand over your face. “Bonz said that Marik’s been taking humans from all over town. He probably tries to turn them all so he can grow his horde of minions.”
Joey’s eyes met yours, “So, when this guy didn’t look like he was going to turn full vamp, Marik locked him up in there and waited-”
“Waited for us to find him.”
Atem’s cut in made the rest of you look round, and you saw Atem, with his jaw clenched, staring into the dark depths of the closet. He stepped forward and turned on the light so the rest of you could see. There, scrawled in the sickly brown of dried blood on the wall, was a message. “You’ll have to try harder than that, your highness!”
Atem’s chest was heaving as he stared intently at the wall, his gaze looking as if it might start burning holes in the offwhite painted wood.
Beside you, you heard Joey question, “Your highness?”
“It’s...it’s what Marik calls Atem,” Yugi answered lowly.
The words were barely out before Atem let out a roar and drove his fist into the wall. The plaster gave way easily, looking like a busted eggshell as blood dripped down his forearm. A moment later Atem wrenched his arm back and you could see the bones and abrasions already healing. If only whatever was raging inside him was soothed so quickly.
Without a word, Atem turned on his heels and stormed down the dark hallway. Yugi, looking so forlorn that it almost broke your heart, watched him go for a second before turning to you and Joey.
“Give us a minute, kay?”
You and the wolf nodded as Yugi went after his lover. Once he was gone you turned your sights back to the body at your feet. He was young. Pale skin, head shaved, and marks on his lips, nose, and ears that said he likely had had numerous piercings. Marik, or rather, his followers likely picked him up at some rave club with the promise of a good time. Still, no matter the age, or lifestyle, no one deserved this.
“Can you do me a favor?” You asked, looking up at Joey, who nodded. “Can you go get a bowl of bleach water and a rag? We’ll need to clean that up,” you jerked your head at the bloody message.
When Joey started back down the stairs to do just that, you turned your sights down the row of doors in the hallway. After trying three of them, you found the linen closet, and took a nice silken white sheet from one of the shelves.
With as much respect and care as you could manage, you started wrapping the young man’s body up, arranging his limbs in a dignified pose. It wasn’t much, but it was better than rotting away in a messy heap until the owner came home. With some effort, you cast a teleportation spell and moved his body to the nearest hospital, where he might at least be returned to his family if he had one.
Seconds later Joey returned with the requested items and it didn’t take much to scrub the blood away. Bleach didn’t hide blood residue completely, but at least now when the owner returned from his work trip, he’d simply think his home was robbed and not the sight of a murder or two. You explained as much to Joey as you two walked back downstairs together.
Wanting to give the boys some more time alone, you took a moment to examine the kitchen. It was messy. Dishes stacked high, half-cut veggies lying rotting on the counter, containers of food open and forgotten on the breakfast bar. Very odd, considering vampires didn’t have to eat food and these certainly weren’t the potent types that would appeal to a vampire. And you highly doubted any homeowner with a professional job would be this sloppy before leaving on a work trip.
“Joey, you said that you smelled several human scents in this house?” You asked.
The werewolf gave the air a short sniff, “Yep. And it’s not just the owner's scent either. They’re just as fresh as the other two vampire scents I’m smelling, and I’m assuming one of them is Marik’s.”
“Interesting. Well, at least this whole trip wasn’t for nothing.”
“Huh?”
For now, you only answered him with a smile before turning and wandered back into the other rooms of the house. It didn’t take much to find where Yugi and Atem had gotten to, however, when you turned the corner of said room your heart gave a bit of a flutter. They were standing close, Yugi’s hands cradling Atem’s face as he whispered soft reassurances to the vampire. Atem had his eyes closed against the affection and held his hands over Yugi’s, letting himself calm his breathing, calm his anger, under the incubus’ care.
The scene was so tender, so intimate, and found yourself having to snap out of your staring state. You turned to leave them be but the moment you whisked behind the door frame, Atem called out to you.
Feeling more sheepish than you ever remember feeling, you leaned back into their sight, “Uh, sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude.”
“You didn’t,” Atem assured gently. He turned, still holding one of Yugi’s hands in his own as he asked, “So, where does this leave us? I doubt Marik has left anything behind that might help us find him.”
“Actually, he did. He really needs to learn to clean up after himself, or rather, clean up after his traveling companions. There’s evidence that humans and one other vampire were staying here with him.”
Atem raised an eyebrow, “Wouldn’t those humans be the ones he’s been killing and trying to turn?”
“I doubt he’s feeding the ones he’s killing.”
“So how does that help us?” Yugi asked, trying to sound hopeful.
“One thing that’s always hurt my investigation before, was the fact that even Marik’s followers don’t seem to know anything about him. Even though they’re doing his bidding, they don’t seem to have much interaction with him. But Joey’s nose and the mess in the kitchen proves that he has at least a few close followers who’re staying with him. Chances are one or all of them are the ones who go out and do his dirty work.”
Yugi smirked, “So if we find them, we’ll find Marik.”
“But how exactly do we find a lead on these close followers?” Atem asked a bit briskly.
That was the part that made your stomach clench like a vice. You knew you wouldn’t be able to avoid it for long, not with your limited resources now that you were severed from the Circle. The mere thought of this resort made your skin crawl a bit, but, you just couldn’t stand seeing Atem so upset at the loss of a lead. If any of your contacts had any info about these special lackeys, it would be the long-haired city lord himself.
You let yourself heave a heavy sigh, “I think it’s time we pay a visit to Pegasus.”
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