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ghostandsoap · 1 year

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Call Signs

Simon “Ghost” Riley x Fem! “Gecko” Reader (Ft. John “Soap” MacTavish)

Tags: Angst. Gunshot wound. Blood loss. Shock. Hypothermia. Major injury. Mentions of death.

Word Count: 4.6k

A/N: So I’m not totally sure how accurate some of this is. Also, I’m not sure if parts of this are canon? Read with caution LOL.

“Stay where you are. I’m on my way.”

⋆˙⟡ ♡⋆˙⟡

⋆˙⟡ ♡⋆˙⟡

Military call signs. Clever, crafty, and specific to the person they’re associated with.

There was one main, golden rule when it came to call signs: don’t complain about your own call sign, or else they’ll give you something worse.

Yours wasn’t exactly one that you were thrilled with in the beginning. It wasn’t as badass as you would’ve liked. If you had been given the opportunity to choose, you would’ve chosen something a little more…tough. But once the name stuck, you were stuck with it. You didn’t dare let even a single word of distaste fall from your mouth. If anybody caught wind of you complaining about it, they’d give you something to really complain about.

Over the years, you had heard some good ones — some more creative than others. Depending on the person, sometimes it was easy to tell the reason behind their given name — other times, not so much. You had some friends that you still didn’t know the reason why they were given their call sign.

For example, Soap was just Soap.

In the time that you had known him, you had begged Soap to tell you where his call sign came from. You had even rattled and poked at Captain Price a bit to get him to give it up. But both of them always gave you the same answer.

It’s classified.

With that answer, you refused to tell anyone the reason behind your own call sign. If they weren’t going to tell you about theirs, then you weren’t telling them about yours. It was only fair, you weren’t telling anybody. Nobody knew.

Well…nobody except–

“Gecko. This is Ghost. How copy?” The syrupy-thick voice seeped through your ear that was still ringing from gunfire.

You were cold – miserably cold. You were chilled all the way to the bone to the point where your skin was numb to the touch. The sound of rain registered with you. The sky was pouring buckets, which explained why you were so freezing. There was no telling how long you had been passed out and exposed to the elements. Not a single part of you was dry, despite all your layers underneath and over.

There was pain somewhere. Your groggy state made it difficult to figure out exactly where you were hurt. To be honest, it hurt just about everywhere. A searing sensation settled in your side, but it was migrating all over. Based on the large red spot leaking through that area, you had a really good idea then of what it was.

“Gecko, do you copy?” Another voice spoke that you knew to belong to Soap.

His voice sounded a million miles away, even though it was literally right in your ear. When your eyes opened, you were eye-level with the ground. You were met with a harsh pavement underneath you, muscles trembling with exhaustion and low temperatures. It took a few seconds for your vision to clear, and it took even more effort for you to raise yourself up even to make it onto your elbows.

When you were able to take a glance around, it wasn’t any less unsettling. The slick streets of Las Almas weren’t very pleasant in the dead of night. Even worse, you didn’t know where Soap and Ghost were.

It all came flooding back to you. Graves turned on the team. He tried to kill all of you. You, Ghost, and Soap managed to split up and narrowly escape. It was chaos, the kind that shaved about 15 years off of your life.

“C’mon. Where are you, Gecko?” Ghost asked in an aggravated, yet worried way.

His question was more out loud and to himself more than anything, but it occurred to you that it probably would be nice for him to hear you.

“I’m here,” You groaned, throat dry and scratchy. “Just barely.”

“Oh shit. You’re alive!” Soap replied, and you swear you could feel Ghost relax from wherever he was.

“What’s your status?” Ghost demanded.

You were not telling Ghost that you were hurt if you could help it. It was certainly against protocol, but you didn’t need Ghost getting all worked up when the three of you needed to find one another and get the hell out of there. You knew how he could get whenever you were hurt.

“Where are you both?” You rolled onto your knees, ungracefully managing to get on your feet.

You felt any and all blood rush from your face, an overwhelming feeling of nausea taking over your stomach. The bleeding in your side was definitely a problem. You stripped your outer jacket off, wrapping it around your waist and tying it as tight as you could possibly stand it. It wasn’t like the jacket was useful any other way, considering it was soaked.

“No fuckin’ idea. I’m in and out of these shops,” Soap grumbled. “I’m soakin’ wet.”

“Me too,” You managed to laugh, but it came out as more of a struggled exhale. “Ghost, what’s your location?”

“The church. Soap’s finding his way here,” Ghost said. “What’s your status, Gecko?”

You knew he’d ask again. He always knew when you had dodged a question.

“Just a little rattled,” You lied. “Where’s the church?”

“It’s in the square. Navigate through the shops, they’ll lead you there,” Soap said. “Stay sharp. Shadows are everywhere.”

Survival mode has kicked in for you. You had one objective.

Find Ghost. Don’t get killed.

“Will do. Ghost, I’m coming to you.” You announced, beginning to take the first few steps to get yourself moving.

There was a brief moment of silence before he answered – and he gave an answer that you knew had Soap raising a brow.

“Please be safe.”

A shudder vibrated down your back, and it wasn’t from the bitter cold rain.

Being involved with Ghost was…complicated. It was a forbidden love in a lot of ways. There was a certain disapproval when it came to 2 members dating within the force. It caused drama sometimes, tension other times. Not to mention, it would be painfully awkward for everybody else if the two of you were to break up.

But the connection was undeniable. It astounded you just how in touch you felt with him. He did everything he could to protect you, to make you feel safe in an otherwise dangerous world. He spent every spare moment with you. He spilled all of his most pressing thoughts to you, knowing his words of vulnerability were safe with you. Talking to him was easy, spending time with him was easier.

Loving him was easiest of all.

Despite your likeness toward each other, it was a mutual understanding that no one was to know. Ghost didn’t fancy all the teasing, and you wanted at least one part of your life to be private. In front of others, you were Gecko and Ghost. When alone, you were Simon and [Y/N].

In a lot of ways, the secretive aspect of it was fun. You liked sneaking around with Ghost in the late hours of the night, tip-toeing around sleeping comrades in an attempt at a moment to yourselves. The nonchalant glances…the discreet, yet lingering touches…the whispers of words of affection. It was all something you couldn’t help but get a kick out of. Anybody in their right mind would find it even a little bit entertaining.

But in all honesty, suspicions from the rest were becoming more and more.

Price had known immediately. Not even three days after you and Simon decided to give it a try, he could sense that something was different. He couldn’t really explain it. He could just see it in Ghost’s behavior that he was preoccupied with something…someone else. Something that had been sprouting for a long time was now beginning to blossom in front of the captain’s very eyes. Price was a respectful man. He wasn’t one to get in the way of something that wasn’t his business. He kept an eye on the situation here and there, more for a status update than anything.

It took Gaz about four months. He suspected nothing in the beginning. He managed to miss all the signs at first. Who could blame him? He didn’t know he was supposed to even be looking for them. He didn’t catch any real changes in behavior or attitude. In all honesty, if he hadn’t witnessed it with his very eyes – he might’ve never known. It had been a quick gesture. So quick that Gaz might’ve been able to convince himself that he was mistaken if it hadn’t been so blatantly clear.

Gaz had passed by a bit quicker than he normally would, catching a quick glimpse inside the room he hadn’t planned on entering. What he saw was a kiss being planted on the cheek of Ghost’s mask, and a light laugh from the man as you did so. Gaz had stopped dead in his tracks, stunned at what he had seen. He was tempted to turn around and question you, but he knew better. Gaz figured if he hadn’t been told outright, then it probably wasn’t for him to know. He kept it in the back of his mind, however, and after that, he began noticing everything.

And as for Soap, the poor lad had yet to connect the dots. He had heard some chatter here and there about Gecko and Ghost “getting it on.” Soap didn’t believe it. He hadn’t seen it or heard it for himself, so in his mind, the rumors were null. That didn’t mean that Soap didn’t like the idea of his lieutenant and one of his closest friends seeing each other. He entertained the thought here and there. He supposed that Gecko and Ghost had a nice ring to it, and it was something that he liked to snicker about. Overall, Soap didn’t think about it too much. There was no way that “LT” and the infamous Gecko were together. Almost a year into it, and John MacTavish was oblivious.

It hadn’t taken you long to develop feelings for Ghost. Suddenly, you were worried about where he was and him getting hurt more often than not. This was one hell of a career to be in when you were an anxious worrier. This job had changed for you. Before, there was no fear of living or dying. It was just you. It was all you. But when there was someone else in the cards?

That changed things. That really changed things.

That seemed to be the only fight that you and Ghost ever had. It was always the same one. One of you fell ill or became injured, it was due to defying an order, the other was scared to death that something worse could’ve happened, and most of all – you both wished that the other would be more careful.

“Careful” was a funny word in this business. No matter how careful you were, that didn’t automatically make you safe.

Roaming the streets of Las Almas while lethargic, unarmed, and bleeding was a definite reminder of that. You followed Soap’s advice, weaving in and out of the stores and getting whatever supplies you could get your hands on. A homemade weapon was better than no weapon, in your mind. Avoiding any and all Shadows was your main goal. There was no chance of you getting out of that alive, if this bullet lodged in your side didn’t kill you first. You hoped that Soap had made it to the church by now. It made you feel better to know that they were together.

The rain showed no signs of letting up anytime soon. You figured it was fine. It wasn’t like you could get any more wet than you already were. It at least made enough noise to conceal your footsteps, which you didn’t have much control over due to the splitting pain in your core.

You just had to get to the church. Get to the church, get out of here, and get patched up. You’d be fine. You’d survived worse. You weren’t going to-

There was a flash of white over your vision. While brief, it was enough to startle you to a complete halt. You staggered out of the coffee shop, leaning against the back door for support. This was bad. This was really bad.

“Ghost…” You squeaked.

Breathing suddenly became overly difficult. Every gulp of air was a struggle to get the next one. There was a significant wobble in your knees as you stumbled into the nearest alley for cover, knowing your legs were close to giving out. It was notably colder in the space between the two buildings, but the feeling of your soul being slowly sucked back into the universe made that seem minor.

“Talk to me. Where are you?” Ghost asked.

That was when you collapsed, landing on the wet ground with a thud. A whimper escaped from your throat at the impact. Clutching your wounded side was all you knew to do. Your jacket used as a makeshift way of putting pressure on it was proving ineffective.

“The alleyway,” You strained. “Left of the coffee shop.”

Ghost and Soap both heard the trouble in your voice. Ghost had only heard that tone once before — and it was when something was really, really wrong.

“What’s your status now?” Soap questioned.

Lying was no good to you now. They were going to know one way or the other.

“I’m down,” You swallowed. “Must’ve been hit at some point when we got away.”

There was no way you were making it to the church. You were as good as gone as long as there was still a bullet in your torso. Bleeding out in the streets of a run-down town in Mexico wasn’t how you had envisioned going out. That was a conversation you had held with Soap more than once. Everybody had their preferred way of dying. You had always hoped that you’d meet your demise in a more memorable way. Maybe in a missile explosion or getting ejected from a helicopter in a hot pursuit.

Dying alone was the part and the possibility that always scared you the most.

This wasn’t what you had in mind. Bleeding to death by yourself in an alleyway in the middle of a run-down town in Mexico wasn’t what you had wished for. You knew the day would come…and the day had finally come.

But not if Ghost could help it.

“I’m coming to get you, Gecko. Don’t move,” Ghost remarked sternly, and you could hear that he was on the move. “Soap, we’ll meet you at the church.”

“Copy.” Soap confirmed.

“N-no,” You coughed. “Ghost, don’t leave your location if you’re secure.”

“None of us are secure. I’m not leaving you,” Ghost said sternly. “Stay where you are. I’m on my way.”

Arguing with Ghost was usually a lost cause. When Ghost was set on something, he was surely going to stick with it. It was a waiting game now, and it was one of the most helpless feelings to know that you were relying on somebody else to save your ass. You knew that Ghost would be there in half the time that it probably should’ve taken him, but when you’re dying, the minutes feel like eternity.

This wasn’t the first time that you had been in situations like this. Everybody had their fair shares of “I almost died” stories. But this was different for you. This was the closest you had ever been to not living to tell this story.

Panicking was most definitely not the way to handle this situation. Very rarely was panicking ever helpful in a dire, critical scenario like this. It was the most eerie feeling – literally feeling yourself dying. The blood loss was becoming less, but only because you were running out of blood to lose. Your heart was beating slower and slower by the second. Breathing was now a voluntary action. As the adrenaline wore off and the reality of the situation set in, your anxiety crept over you and infiltrated any room for collectedness that you had left.

“G-Ghost.” You sighed, a layer of tears pricking at the base of your lashes.

Ghost heard the near sob in your words, putting an even faster pep in his step.

“Almost there, Gecko. What’s wrong?”

“I’m…I’m scared.” You admitted, hot tears mixing with the fresh rain water on your cheeks.

Ghost’s heart shattered into a million pieces, catapulting into every vessel near it like the strongest of shrapnel. He couldn’t stand the thought of you alone and scared.

“I know. Just keep talking to me and Soap,” He breathed, trying to stay calm for you. “I’m coming, G.”

‘G’ was a nickname inside of a nickname. Ghost only used it sparingly, and it was usually when he was trying to be supportive or sympathetic without giving your secret romantic endeavor away.

It felt silly to say. Generally speaking, you didn’t really have the right to be afraid. It was the pure passion for your job and your own willingness that put you in dangerous situations. It was your own free will, your own decision that you made the same choice on every single time. It was one thing to be scared when you ended up here accidentally. It was another when it was a consequence of your choices and actions. Courage and strength were supposed to be your strong suits. They were the characteristics that you were supposed to fall back on every time.

Yet here you were. Scared to death of dying – something that you had thought about and been preparing for since you started this gig.

“Simon, I-I…I don’t want to d-”

“It’s ‘cause I clean house quickly.” Soap’s voice echoed in one ear and out the other, suddenly and abruptly.

What?

Even in a near unconscious-like state, you were still well aware of how that needed some clarification.

“S-say again?” You stuttered, the corners of your vision beginning to go foggy.

“Soap. ‘Cause I clean house and buildings with speed ‘n accuracy,” Soap repeated. “That’s why they call me Soap.”

Soap!

It made so much sense. You were almost embarrassed that you didn’t think of that yourself. You knew it was Soap’s way of distracting you – keeping your mind off of dying.

“That’s a good one,” You nearly wheezed. “Thought it was because you were a bath man.”

“Thanks for that image. Won’t be able to unsee that one,” Ghost piped up. “Almost there, Gecko. Hang on for me, yeah?”

Ghost’s voice was strained as if he were running. Using every ounce of speed and stamina that he had to get you as fast as possible. He couldn’t lose you like this.

He refused to lose you like this.

“It’s because I’m quick on my feet, and because I can scale a building faster than anybody.” You croaked.

“Ah. That’s why they call you Gecko?” Soap chuckled, and you could hear the amusement in his words.

“Came up with that one myself.” Ghost smirked.

“Some people might even say geckos are kind of cute.” You joked, but didn’t quite have the energy to laugh.

“I’d agree with that,” Ghost countered, and you could sense Soap’s internal confusion from forever away. “I have a visual on Gecko. Almost at the church, Soap?”

“Affirmative, Lt. Meet you there.”

Sure enough, Ghost appeared from seemingly nowhere, like a sent guardian angel. Your vision had tunneled, so you couldn’t see much out of your peripherals. He had never seen you so weak and close to going out on him. His eyes behind the mask were wide and dark, focused on getting you out alive.

“Nice to see you, Lieutenant.” You shivered.

“Glad you’re not a goner,” He returned, removing the glove from his right hand and pressing his fingers against your cheek. “Shit. You’re freezing.”

“How bad do I look?” You slurred, and you fought to keep your eyeballs from rolling back into your head.

“Probably not as bad as you feel. You’ve lost a lot of blood.” Ghost said, working quickly to get himself arranged to carry you.

“Did you see any Shadows on the way?” You gulped, eyelids beginning to flutter.

“They’re everywhere. We need to get going,” Ghost scooped you up effortlessly, as if you weighed nothing and weren’t dripping wet through multiple layers. “C’mon, love. Let’s get you out of here.”

The journey from the ground to up into Ghost’s arms felt like an airplane takeoff. You were close to slipping out of consciousness.

“We’ll get to Soap and get a vehicle out of here,” Ghost explained, readjusting his arm underneath your knees. “You’re going to be fine, Gecko.”

“G-Guess I wasn’t quick enough this time, huh?” You gave the faintest grin, and Ghost couldn’t help but laugh at your stupid joke.

“Shut up.”

There was relief in knowing that you were with Ghost. Your chances of dying hadn’t changed, but if you were going to die, this was a better way of going out.

The fog in your vision became thicker and thicker until you couldn’t see or hear a thing. The darkness surrounded you, sucking you deeper and deeper into nothingness.

⋆˙⟡ ♡⋆˙⟡

The next time your eyes opened, you weren’t met with the dim streets of Las Almas. There was no smell of rain or taste of blood and sweat. The smell this time was sterile air and cheap (but clean) bedsheets. You couldn’t taste anything due to the worst case of cottonmouth that you had ever experienced. The beeping music of an EKG reader and distant chatter was the real giveaway.

The muscles in your legs were stiff, mainly because you hadn’t moved them in so long. A grunt was all you could manage as you shifted, a new type of discomfort erupting where you had been shot. It was all wrapped up now (professionally and medically wrapped), clean and taken care of. There was an IV in each arm, one administering fluids and the other what you could only imagine to be some kind of pain medication. The white walls and tan floors were weirdly comforting…a sign to let you know that you were safe for now.

The best sights of all were the ones seated to the left of your bed.

Ghost’s arms were crossed, ankles crossed over each other, and his head lowered and his breathing steady. His outer skull mask was nowhere to be seen, but his balaclava was clinging to his face as always.

Soap was also snoozing, but less peacefully and quietly. His head was tilted back as far as it possibly could go, his arms draped at his sides, legs stretched all the way out, and snoring so loud that you were surprised you hadn’t already heard it.

You were gentle as you called to Ghost, considering he didn’t always react calmly when being woken up.

“Hey…” You rasped with a dry throat. “Ghost.”

His eyes snapped open, flickering up to you instantly. A monumental wave of relief visibly crashed over him, filling his veins and relaxing his heart.

“You’re awake,” He leaned closer, taking your hand into his. “You’re okay.”

“What…how long has it been?” You asked, bits of your memory coming back to you.

“A few days…four I think, ” He answered with a nod. “How do you feel?”

Honestly, you weren’t sure. Physically you felt terrible, but better than when you were dying of shock, cold, and blood loss. Mentally you felt fuzzy and groggy from being out so long. Emotionally…well, only time would tell.

“Like shit.” You admitted.

“Not surprised.” He grinned under his face covering.

There were a few beats of silence. You took a few glances around, getting familiar with your new setting. Ghost, though, never took his eyes off of you. They were a light shade of red, and even his balaclava couldn’t hide the dark circles under them.

“Have you slept at all?” You asked, knowing good and well he hadn’t left your side.

“A little bit here and there,” He said, motioning his free hand towards Soap. “This is the most sleep Soap’s gotten this whole time. He’s been out for about 30 minutes.”

Soap was indeed out like a light. You couldn’t imagine how tired the two of them were. There was another stretch of silence. This one lasted longer and was much more tense. This wasn’t an easy encounter. How were you supposed to act when you had barely scraped by with your life?

“Simon?”

“Yeah, love?”

“How close was it?”

Simon stared for a moment. No formation of an answer to your question occurred for a second or two. He didn’t like that question. He had avoided thinking about it until now. Ghost knew that he’d have to do his own mentality check in with himself in a few days. He had almost lost the most important person in his life…he’d need to deal with that.

“Too close.”

Another silence. Another silent thank you that you were here to see another day.

“You were…hypothermic, in shock. You lost a lot of blood before and during surgery,” He said. “Doc said if it had been any later getting you help-”

“Hey,” A groggy voice piped in, unaware that he was interrupting. “Gecko’s up.”

Soap’s eyes were just as bloodshot as Ghost’s, but Soap’s personality was wide awake.

“Happy to see you again, Sergeant. My apologies for being absent from our reunion at the church.” You grinned.

“Yeah, yeah. Left us to do double the work,” Soap chuckled. “Feels weird callin’ you Gecko now that I know where it comes from.”

“Soap doesn’t have the same ring to it, I have to say.” You fired back.

“Agh, I’m crushed. Right in my pride!” He shrieked.

The three of you shared a soft laugh. Nothing like Soap’s comedic relief to break the tension. You felt okay. This was just one of those things. One of the things that you signed up for with this job. It didn’t make it any less unnerving, but now you felt like you could really move on from this.

And you were thankful that you had lived to tell the story.

There was a sudden itch in your throat. An annoying tickle that reminded you that you hadn’t had a physical sip of water in four days.

“Do you think that I could get some water?” You wondered aloud, nearly choking on your own words from the parched feeling.

Ghost hadn’t left your side when you were knocked out, and he surely wasn’t leaving now that you were awake.

“Johnny, could you-”

“Yep! On it.” He scurried out and down the hall without another word.

That left you and Ghost. The man that saved your life by risking his own to come back for you. You didn’t even want to think about what you would’ve done if Ghost had gotten killed at your expense. At least you would’ve died together, but that hardly sounded right or fair. Ghost deserved so much more.

“You scared me.” Ghost confessed, not even hiding the worry in his voice.

“I know…I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault, doll. Just…” He sighed. “Just really thought that I had lost you this time.”

There wasn’t anything you could say to make him feel better. You knew that because you had been in his shoes. His head wasn’t in the best place. You knew that even better. But if there was one thing you knew for sure, it was that you loved him more than anybody else ever could.

“Thanks for coming back for me.” You whispered, a sudden set of tears slipping down your cheeks.

Ghost raised his balaclava. The material stopped just under his nose, his bare lips coming to press a kiss to the back of your hand. He made a solemn swear to himself in that moment that he’d never take you for granted again. He’d never get too comfortable with having you around and at his disposal.

Because fate was far too cruel for that.

“Always.”

8K notes · View notes

gh0stsp1d3r · 1 year

Note

Ooo hiya!! (I ranted a lot lol)🥰🍊💜

Can I please request a Tangerine x fem!civilian/innocent!reader where she was on the Bullet Train. She was walking to her seat, and when Kimura ran into the snack cart, he also ran into her, causing her to trip, falling onto Tangerine’s lap and him catching her (oh he would have a field day lol). Y/n being like 😳 as she realizes she’s been sitting on his lap for a good 10 seconds staring at him with wide eyes, her hands on his chest (once again, he’d have a field day lol, soo much flirting would ensue, he’d enjoy how flustered she’d get). Her stuttering, apologizing, and jumping up out of his arms and scurrying to her seat, which happens to be right across from Tan and Lemon’s.😂 He then spends the whole time on that train protecting (and flirting with) Y/n and when Lemon, Tangerine, and Y/n escape the train (Tan carrying a very scared Y/n), Y/n doesn’t want to leave Tan + they bring her to their safe house with them🥺

I love this.

Flustered

This was the last situation that tangerine had been worried about while on any mission.

You had been walking, and a nice lady with a snack cart was behind you. But suddenly, you didn’t hear or see a man behind you. He pushed you aside.

“Oi! Watch where you’re goin’.” Another man said. Except the voice was much closer. You didn’t even realize you were in his lap until you looked and opened your eyes.

“S- sorry.” The other man apologized and quickly walked away.

“You alright, love?” The man asked, he had a hand on your back and tried to help you get up. You stared at his eyes, trying to find words.

“I- uh- I- yeah! I’m fine. Thanks uh, for catching me. Sorry, for the…” You laughed nervously after a little and quickly stood up.you looked around and sat back down at your seat. Which was right across from him and some other guy.

He smiled. He noticed that you seemed flustered, and decided to use it to his advantage.

“It’s quite alright, no worries, darling. I would say it’s more lucky to have a pretty girl fall into your lap, wouldn’t you think?”

Pretty? You thought. And Lemon scoffed at him.

“I- well- uh- thanks. Your also pretty.” You mentally winced as the words came out your mouth.

“You seriously trying to pick up a girl while on a job?” Lemon asked him quietly, quiet enough that you didn’t hear. You looked out the window and had your headphones in.

“I’m not. They just happen to fall in my lap.” He glanced at you.

“Wow, that was surprisingly clever.” Lemon rolled his eyes, And tangerine just sent him a scowl.

“Just sayin’, mate.” He laughed at his anger.

“Whatever. Can we get back on task?”

“Sure, sure, sure.”

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

After some talking between you and tangerine, he learned your name and you learned his. Yoh even learned that the guy next to him was his brother, Lemon. You both said your stops were Kyoto station.

Some man pointed a gun at Lemon, and another man sat next the both of them. That man died, and you were left confused and scared.

You decided to sleep it off, and getting off at the next station. Maybe you were dreaming, and you would wake up when you went to sleep in the dream.

(Let’s just say in this that Lemon, Ladybug, and Tangerine left early like Ladybug suggested)

“Hey. Wake up.” Someone shook you, and you looked confused, until you saw tangerine.

“Tangerine?” You muttered.

“Yeah, uh, we should get off. Like right now.”

“We’re there already?”

“Uh… yeah. So, c’mon, hurry.” He grabbed your hand and tan quickly, and the doors started to close but you guys luckily beat it.

“That was a close one, mate.” Lemon said.

“Aren’t you the same guy that pulled a gun on him?” You mumbled, and pointed to ladybug.

“Oh. Yeah. But we’re all good now.”

“So now what the fuck do we do?” You asked.

“I have a safehouse nearby.” Ladybug said.

“I’m sorry, who are you again?” You asked.

“I’m.. ladybug.”

“What’s with all the weird names? Lemon, tangerine and ladybug?”

“We’re contract killers. They’re just nicknames.” Lemon said plainly.

“What..? Seriously?”

“Not me. I just usually do snatch and grabs, Y’Know, steal things, but I’m covering someone.” Ladybug said.

“Why’d you take me out the train early?” You asked Tangerine as all of you walked to the house.

“Cause the rest of the train is full of murderous bastards that are all about to die. You seemed like the only trustworthy person on there.”

“Nah, he just wants to take you on a date.” Lemon said, laughing as his brother hit him in the arm.

“That too, I guess.” Tangerine said.

“Okay, so let me get this straight, first I somehow run into you because some guy ran into me and I fell in your lap, Ladybug pointed a gun at your brother and it’s all good now, some guy was dead next to you, you all are contract killers, and the train was full of murderers?”

“Yeah. Basically.”

“And now you wanna take me on a date.”

“Yeah.”

“Weird.. but Sure, why not.” You shrugged.

Sure, maybe you were going out with somewhat of a stranger, but it was a cute stranger, and he just saved you. You were glad you fell into his lap.

(I don’t like this that much but hopefully it’s not terrible)

#tangerine x reader #bullet train #bullet train x reader #aaron taylor johnson #tangerine bullet train #aaron taylor johnson x reader #tangerine

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lovingseventeen · 7 months

Text

svt being green flags early into dating

a/n: dating boys who aren’t seventeen? i don’t recommend KIDDING but it’s tough out here. ngl i wrote this in one dash bc i’ve had it with boys

- picture these hcs as the talking stage/unofficial dating era but you guys are interested in each other

seungcheol:

❥ saw a quote recently that described a man as “alpha male energy without being an incel” and i think this pertains to cheol too

❥ never let’s you pay, picks you up in his car for your dates so you don’t have to commute anywhere and to ensure you get home safe

jeonghan:

❥ teases you but never crosses a boundary

❥ makes clever jokes but they’re never the kind of “dark humor” that’s just disguised as something problematic

joshua:

❥ he’s a prince, a walking green flag even

❥ hence the princess treatment that you tend to get

❥ always offers his hand to you when you walk on anything that could be precarious

jun:

❥ he’s a little silly but he’s very aware of when is a good time

❥ knows exactly how to cheer you up depending on the situation

❥ maybe you get funny voice jun or an attentive jun gently holding your hand and asking what he could do to help

soonyoung:

❥ consistent energy towards you

❥ you see him bounding towards your date meeting spot with the biggest grin on his face - the same genuine grin as the one on your first date

wonwoo:

❥ the best listener and he’s good at following up with you so you know he cares

❥“oh yeah how did your test go? the one you kept staying up for”

❥“did you end up talking to your boss about your hours?”

❥“did you end up getting the tickets for the concert you wanted?”

jihoon:

❥ his schedule may be busy but he does try to make time for you and he communicates when he can’t

❥“i’m a little tight this week but i moved some things around so i’m free saturday night, do you want to get dinner?”

❥“our day off is coming up, are you also free that day? i was thinking spending a day at home together?”

❥ he’s a little extra sappy when he can’t free up time

❥“we’re doing our dome shows this week, i’m so sorry i can’t see you, darling”

seokmin:

❥ also has very good, enthusiastic, energy towards you

❥ loves to text you consistently without being overbearing either

❥ good mornings and good nights are precious to him

❥ tells you unsolicited updates about his day and hopes you’ll do the same

❥ i stubbed my toe - remember to be careful sometimes!

mingyu:

❥ what can i say- he never lets you do anything in the sense that he doesn’t ever want you to feel the need to lift a finger around him

❥ your steak? do you want him to cut it for you?

❥ you need to build your new bookshelf? no you don’t, he’ll do it

minghao:

❥ so casually a gentleman

❥ tends to guide you by the small of your back when you walk together (he’s also always walking on the side closest to the road)

❥ it’s kind of a nice little reminder he’s there

seungkwan:

❥ he always brings an extra something in case you need it on your dates

❥ if it’s chilly outside and you’re talking a stroll around the park, he’ll an extra pair of gloves for you or an extra scarf

❥ or if you’re doing an active date, like trying volleyball maybe, he’ll bring an extra pair of kneepads for you

vernon:

❥ maybe he’s not the best with words but he’ll always send you little recommendations

❥ whether it’s a movie, a song, or a video, it’s his way of telling you “this reminded me of you”

❥ even in most casual instances, he’s thinking about you

chan:

❥ always takes care of planning dates

❥ while of course he wouldn’t stop you from planning a date, he also really enjoys thinking of where to go and what to do so he can just show you a good time :)

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slytherinshua · 5 months

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SEVENTEEN ATLA HEADCANONS

genre. headcanons. avatar the last airbender au. warnings. none. featuring. ot13 seventeen. wc. 1.6k. (around 100 words each) request. no. a/n. obviously i've been on a svt atla kick since burnt promises, second chances. i'd be open to writing fics for any of these small headcanons if anyone is particularly interested :)

SEUNGCHEOL

Ugh, Cheol is really hard. I kinda see him as any nation and also none at the same time. For the lack of other Water Tribe on the list, I’ll give him Water Tribe, but I don’t even think he’s a bender. He’d be a passionate hunter of the Southern Water Tribe, and a very good one, but not a bender. He’d always be eager to help out and fit his role as a true leader. He’s looked up to because he protects his people without fail. He’s good at strategics and known for his bravery. I see him fitting a role like Sokka’s father, but I don’t see him as anything glamorous like Water Tribe Royalty. He’s down to Earth and humble and honest. He leads and the people follow.

JEONGHAN

Jeonghan is an airbender. He’s witty and intelligent, and a great asset to his nation. He’d be in an Air temple close to the Earth Kingdom, and he often helps out with strategics if they ever need it. Definitely a kind and angel baby, but if there’s anyone who needs dealing with, he will personally take the task up. He’s world renowned and has allies and friends in every single nation. When he’s not busy, he’ll spend his time travelling around and immersing himself in the different cultures of the nations. He’s beaten Water Tribe hunters at their own hunt, evaded earthbender attacks in the ring because of how light he is on his feet. And his agility and wit proves to be useful whenever he goes head to head with a firebender. He can often predict their next moves and avoid attacks before they’re even fired at him.

JOSHUA

Joshua is Water Tribe!! Definitely a Water Tribe prince, or even a poor boy from the Northern Water Tribe whose parents couldn’t afford water bending lessons for him, so he would sneak around and watch lessons without getting caught. He’s mostly self taught, so he’s not exactly the best, but he can still hold his own. If he’s a Water Tribe prince, then he probably got bored with water bending very quickly as a child and started figuring out ways to skip his lessons lol. He knows clever ways to bribe or fool his masters into letting him slack off, but he also has to build enough skill to show at least a little improvement. He’s probably more interested in carving proposal necklaces to give to his future girlfriend than improving his bending skills.

JUNHUI

Jun is Fire Nation, and he’s extremely talented at Fire Bending. He probably runs a tea shop with his family and takes lessons on the side; just a regular middle class kid. He’s not aiming for a military position or anything high up, but he uses his skills to help him in daily life. He might have friends from places higher up in the city, and because of that, he got to take a visit to Royal Fire Academy for Girls. Definitely turns some heads— practically the whole school is crushing on him by the end of the 2 hour visit, and he enjoys the attention that he wouldn’t usually get at home. It’s safe to say that he’s invited back given the significant improvement in attendance and performance after his initial visit.

SOONYOUNG

Another airbender, only because he’s so agile. Like the spider choreo really makes me see him as someone who just likes to swing around upside down for fun. He’ll play pranks on the older monks, or just anyone he can get his hands on. He’s a lot like Aang in that way. He definitely creates his own airbending moves, because he is a choreographer!!! Somehow takes a trip to the Earth Kingdom because it was his life goal to see a tigerdillo in real life. Once he meets one, he somehow adopts it, and settles down in the Earth Kingdom from there on! He’s perfectly happy, and can he even pose as an earthbender if he’s smart about it.

WONWOO

Anyone could probably guess that I see Wonwoo as Fire Nation. I wrote an entire 14.5k fic about it which is expecting a part 2, but I just think he fits it so much? Especially in a role like the Fire Lord or some notable higher up who is skilled at firebending and definitely owns a dragon (if we’re talking a time period before/during the dragon hunts). He’d be the type to just be a natural at it and reach a high mastery at an early age. He’s such a skilled fighter, and definitely knows how to control his flame. He prefers to study directly from dragons instead of old masters, whose teachings feel regurgitated and watered down, which sounds pretentious, but it’s one of the reasons why he got so good.

JIHOON

I see Jihoon as an Earth bender. He’s short and stout but HE'S SO BUFF. He definitely has the density in him to move some rocks, he’s practically built like The Boulder but without the height????? I definitely see him as part of the royal guard, but definitely not an Earth King. He might teach Earth Bending or get posted out on the coast near the Fire Nation or something— but he definitely has a military position. Somewhere where he can use his earthbending to its full potential. Not the most talkative, but definitely the most efficient, so he climbs the ranks like nobody's business and everyone knows to respect every word that comes out of his mouth. If you say even a word about his height, he’ll throw a rock at your head before you can finish the sentence.

SEOKMIN

It was hard to pick between Water Tribe and Fire Nation for Seokmin, but I think he’s ultimately Fire Nation. I see him as an actor for plays, and he definitely uses his firebending to win over the audience. It got to the point that even though he’s from a small town in the Fire Nation, he became a household name and got increasingly popular until he eventually found himself acting in front of the Fire Lord. Once he got rich enough from it, he got a spot in the most infamous acting troupe in the Fire Nation. His favourite role to play is, of course, the Dragon Emperor in Love Amongst the Dragons.

MINGYU

Just a bulky earthbender I don’t know what to say. He probably got recruited to some military position because he’s fit and can hold his own in a fight, but boy’s just really a sweetheart. He doesn’t enjoy smashing people with rocks, so he tries to get out of the military as soon as possible. He instead works as a carpenter of sorts? Builds elaborate structures with his earthbending, and has a surprisingly artistic touch to his creations. Popular with the older ladies because he is a gentleman.

MINGHAO

I see him as an airbender, but I cannot imagine him with a bald head LIKE HELP. But let's say he is, and for aesthetic purposes, keep the long haired Minghao. He practically floats and flies through the air with his airbendings. He’s probably more of a lemur guy than a sky bison guy. I can imagine him having 1 or 2 lemurs who he spends most of his time with. Obviously very light on his feet and into meditation. He’s one of those star students in the class that the teacher picks as an example for the other students to watch and learn from.

SEUNGKWAN

A waterbender, and he’s good because he focused and studied the traditions of it. He knows the importance of the basics, and when he’s teaching, he can get mad pretty quick if he catches a novice waterbender doing a technique lazily. He teaches them the hard way, making the floor an ice rink or slapping in the face with a water tentacle if they make a silly mistake. But he’s a respected master. (Not to say that he’s old, but he holds the respect of an old master). Also a great healer for the Water Tribe. He thinks it’s important for the men to not just learn how to fight with spears and slices of water, but also to heal the tribe, and he offers his lessons to the women of the tribe as well.

VERNON

Another Fire Nation boy. He’s so skilled he can redirect lightning and all that jazz. He’s a worldwide guy too, so he’s definitely familiar with the other nations and their bending to a certain extent. (Like Iroh, studying the Water Tribe helped him with creating new techniques within firebending). He has a dragon because he’s hot like that, and would hold master firebending classes lol. Definitely has connections to the Royal Family and I could even see him serving as a personal guard or something of that sort. His skills aren’t to be wasted, so he can snag a high paying position practically anywhere he wants.

CHAN

Earth Kingdom kid from a poor family™, I mean it’s just so clear in my mind. I imagine his mom runs a corner store, and he likes to use his very limited earth bending skills to make the shop look prettier. If the wooden tables break down over time, he’ll earth bend a makeshift counter to display the trinkets for sale. He’s quite charming even though he doesn’t have much to say about himself. In the lower class of the Earth Kingdom, practically everyone knows him because he likes to go around and make new friends when he’s bored. He’ll help out the elderly if they need it, and flash a toothy grin to anyone he comes across.

↳ svt taglist: @kangtaehyunzzz,, @eternalgyu,, @ddeonudepressions,, @hannahsophie0103,, @minholing,, @shuabby1994,, @icyminghao,, @98-0603,, @weird-bookworm,, @candewlsy,, @wonwooz1,, @cyberpunksunwoo,, @haecien,, @amara-mars

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nebbyy · 2 months

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Leo Valdez x Child of Aphrodite!reader

A/N: I haven’t got much to say this time, just a reminder that requests are open and will remain this way for some weeks at the very least:))

Warning: absolutely none (maybe some swearing? But like, two bad words), just pure fluff. Also, reader uses female pronouns

It was kind of against your destiny to fall in love: Aphrodite is bound to never return Hephaestus’ love, so that they’re stuck in a loveless marriage. With the two of you, it’s the total opposite

The exact same MOMENT you see the boy in camp, disheveled look, face covered in machine oil and dust, you’re, absolutely smitten

It’s the classical “she fell first, he fell harder” type of trope

He notices you pretty early on too, but he doesn’t even try to approach you at first

I mean, no way that the prettiest child of Aphrodite could ever even look into his direction, you’re wayyyy over his league

It takes Piper’s help to start things up, when she accidentally stumbles upon Leo while she was taking a walk around camp. “Oh how rude of me. Y/N, this is my best friend, Leo”

It would be embarrassing to write down just how much he’s stumbled on his words the first time the two of you talked, just because of how he was absolutely captured by your godly beauty

He comes to find that you’re also a lot more than you’re looks: you’re funny, smart, clever, strong as fuck, and one of the best friends Leo has ever known

It doesn’t take long for him to realize that he’s completely and irrevocably in love with you, but oh boy how long does it take him to confess it to you

He had prepared this big, fancy plan to take you by the beach, with candles all around, a circle of rose petals and in the center of it a picnic filled with all of your favorite foods waiting to be devoured

Too bad he didn’t check the weather that morning, or he would’ve seen that a storm was expected right on that evening. He might’ve asked for Percy’s or Jason’s help too, maybe they could’ve done some big-god shit to prevent the rain

Nevertheless, you both found yourself soaked wet, standing by a line of extinguished candles, the petals long gone with the wind, and the food watered down to a soup

He wanted to drown himself in the sea right then and there, but he was quickly stopped by your laugh coming from behind him

Oh gods, where you making fun of him? Did you figure out what his intentions were? It must’ve been it, I mean, how could you ever want to have anything to do with him other than simple friendship, he’s been so stupid so reckles-

His track of thoughts was interrupted by your hands grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling him in for a loving kiss, your skilled lips so soft and comforting against his much inexperienced ones

“You could’ve just told me you liked me at Camp, you know.”

“Wait, was it that simple?”

You laughed again shaking your head at his cluelessness, and he swore the sound of your laugh could’ve been the only thing he needed to live from that moment on

Okay no maybe food too, but you get the idea

You spend most of the time chilling in cabin 9 while he works on his projects, chilling in his bed or peaking at what he was doing

He definitely calls you dove for obvious reasons

Best believe that as soon as you guys are a thing all his flirting with every girl that moves is OVER my boy does not come from the streets he’s a loyal mf

After the curfew you usually sneak out to chill in some secluded area in the forest, and cuddle for hours in the moonlight

And whenever it rains, you waste no time to go at the beach and dance in the rain, reminiscing about the day you two got together

Oh, and get ready to see Leo as an emotional wreck anytime one of you is on a quest, when he’s unable to text you or hear anything from you for days or even WEEKS

He’s sure that’s worse than Prometheus’ destiny

Overall it’s like a golden retriever - siamese cat relationship, 10/10 would recommend

#percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo cabins #pjo tv show #pjo #writers on tumblr #fluff #my fic #heroes of olympus #pjo hoo toa #leo valdez #leo valdez x reader #leo valdez x y/n #leo valdez x you #piper mclean #gender neutral reader

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blues824 · 10 months

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Oooh, how about Jack x Little Red Riding Hood!Reader where she meets him in the woods surrounding Ramshackle on her way to deliver baked goods to Ace and Deuce who are sick, please?

Female reader, not Yuu! You are in the Pomefiore dorm because I said so.

Jack Howl

Once you heard that the idiots were sick after being kicked out of Heartslabyul once again in the rain, you knew that you had to make them a warm meal. With permission from Vil, you whipped a few things up in the kitchen and you texted Yuu about you going to Ramshackle before you set off to deliver the goods.

It wouldn’t be that long of a journey, but you decided that since it was a bit chilly outside, you would bring your red cape that your grandmother had made for you when you were a young girl. You threw it on, grabbed your basket, bid your dorm-members farewell, and then you set out to Ramshackle, where Ace and Deuce were. Yuu really was too kind for their own good.

The only thing that you hadn’t considered was you hadn’t been to the dilapidated dormitory on your own. Usually, Trappola would lead you, and you wouldn’t be paying attention. So, as a result, once you went through the mirror, you ended up getting lost. You decided to stick to the path within the woods, but you had to admit that you had no idea where you were. Worst part was that there was no reception.

Your imagination started to run wild, and the dark forest was starting to creep you out. You were alone, but it didn’t feel like it. It felt like there was someone in the trees, watching you. Every noise you heard made you jump. You were cursing as you stepped on a branch on the path, and you whipped your head in every direction. The branches looked like they were reaching out to you, the pattern of the bark of the trees looking like malevolent faces.

Maybe, the worst part about this was being alone and that you were conjuring all of this up. Your grandmother created your red cape so as to protect you from harm, so you had nothing to worry about. The fabric was imbued with a protective charm, and your family swears by it. To be fair, you weren’t dead yet so it must account for something… right?

Suddenly, you heard footsteps behind you. You had your hand on your pen, ready to draw and use your magic, when you turned around. Turns out, it was one of your classmates, Jack Howl. You let out a huge breath of relief before laughing at your ridiculously overactive imagination. To be fair, you didn’t know him very well, so your guard was still up.

“Oh, I didn’t expect you to be here, Howl!”

“I didn’t expect you to be here either, L/N.”

“Are you going to Ramshackle to visit Ace and Deuce as well?”

“Yeah. I can’t believe those idiots managed to get sick. What do you think they got in trouble for?” You both started walking down the path, side-by-side. It did not escape either of you that this was the longest conversation you ever had with each other, but neither of you thought it valuable to mention.

“I’m pretty sure Deuce was dragged into it, but Ace probably stole a tart. Either that, or they failed Professor Crewel’s test.” The exam was incredibly difficult, but you didn’t have the opportunity to offer tutoring. You were the top of the class, mostly due to being under Vil Schoenheit’s tutelage, with Jack being above average in that class. You’ve noticed him sitting across from you, and you admired how focused he looked in class.

What could you say? He was hot, and you just so happened to notice!

“What’s that smell? It smells… nice?” You were confused as to what the wolf-man was inquiring about, until you remembered the baked goods that were in your basket as well as the containers of soup.

“They’re treats that I baked for Ace and Deuce! I felt bad when I heard they got sick, so I decided to bring them something to make sure that they get better!”

You were so cute, was what Jack thought once you said that. He also noticed you in class, and he knew that you were clever and incredibly smart, and you looked absolutely beautiful with your red cape. And apparently you made really good food because the smell of the treats within your basket could have made him drool. It smelled absolutely delicious.

It was unfortunate that he hadn’t talked to you much before, but to be fair your paths don't cross too often. You both were kept busy with your Housewardens as well as your classes and extracurricular clubs. Plus, Jack thinks that any free moment could be spent productively, and you seemed to use that philosophy as well. Even if you don’t, neither of you go out of your way to speak to each other.

Well, no time like the present.

“So…” You both spoke at the same time, making you giggle. Hearing the angelic sound made the wolf’s ears perk up and his tail wag, subconsciously happy that he made you smile. It took all of his willpower to get it to stop, but you noticed and thought it was absolutely adorable. You decided not to mention that either.

“You go first,” he quietly offered.

“Why, thank you! Anyways, I thought I was lost until you got here. If you could, would you please show me which way is the correct way to go?”

“It’s down this path. Would you like me to carry your basket for you?”

“I’m fine!” Again, you didn’t know him very well. From what Yuu had told you, he did help with sabotaging Savanaclaw’s plans to cheat, as well as assisting with both Leona’s and Azul’s overblots. Your instincts told you that you could trust him, but you didn’t want to take any chances. It wasn’t the first time where your instincts told you that a wolf was trustworthy.

This little adventure of yours actually caused you and Jack to get closer to each other, sparking a wonderful friendship, and eventually a relationship.

#twst #twst x reader #twst wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland #jack #jack howl x reader #jack x reader #jack howl #disney twst #twst jack x reader #twst jack howl x reader #twst jack howl #twst jack

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borderlinebox · 1 year

Note

One shot request 💗🙏

Imagining reader sometimes reciprocating chishiya’s way of affection that shows that he cares but not in a petty way

Like in the morning he makes them their favorite drink before he goes to work? they’re waking up earlier than him and (failing to stay awake) trying to make his coffee without accidentally losing focus and mess up 😭 (in the end the taste of the coffee sucks but is he gonna tell them that? Yeah probably)

him occasionally bringing food and soda drinks from the vending machine for reader bc they tend to forget to take breaks every so often? they’re pulling their sleeves back and ready to make homemade lunches for his long shift at the hospital

Post it notes on the fridge? Post it notes on said lunches (what’s written on it? it’s either words of affirmation and encouragement or just messing with him with the nickname doc)

Does he finds it endearing? ig (yeah)

Reciprocate

Summary: You reciprocate Chishiya's way of affection.

Pairing: Chishiya x Reader

Warning: fluff <3, reader being so in love, complete utter cuteness and affection, a bit funny, goofy reader being dumb in a cute way, not proofread! , chishiya says 'thank you' ?!??!11?1, lil ooc!chishiya

A/N: giggling like a real child rn <3 <3

Feedback is highly appreciated!!!

Trial #1 - Morning Coffee

You knew Chishiya wasn't a very showy person. Especially when it came to his feelings. So whenever he showed you some kind of affection, no matter how subtle it was, you always took note of it.

All the small details mattered.

Everyday, Chishiya would wake up early and make you your favorite drink every morning he got a chance to. Which was less than often, due to his job. But he always did when he had the extra time. You would wake up just before he'd finish it and leave for work so you can take your drink while it was still hot.

The problem was that your boyfriend would almost always get up early in order to start and leave early.

And you on the other hand, took your time with your beauty sleep.

So you decided to come up with a plan that would be so effective and greatly efficient. Something so clever that even you were so stunned that you came up with this idea in the first place.

You decided to stay up all night.

Now, it seemed quite hard at first, especially having to sleep next to somebody and try to not wake them up, but you were more than determined to try something like this. You honestly weren't even allowed to work past midnight when Chishiya was home because it would, and you quote, 'dIsRUpT yOUr heAltH'.

Which you also called him a hypocrite for.

It was starting to seem quite difficult to do, but once you pulled through the first phase where Chishiya would start to fall asleep, you felt accomplished. Now you were gonna have to not move for the next 6 to 8 hours.

For the first few minutes and into hours, it was going quite fine.

You shifted from time to time in order to not feel numb, but you were still not really tired. Instead, you decided to use your imagination and have debates on yourself whether reality was or wasn't real at all.

It was a fun debate.

You got immersed in your thoughts that you managed to get through a few hours.

But then you started to feel the tiredness grip you tight and slowly pull you closer so you could succumb to the pleasure of sleep. Then for the next few 10 minutes, you were fighting this need for sleep - In which you called it weak.

You could feel yourself blinking slowly as slumber started to take you hostage. And after more battles, you had actually closed your eyes and took a rest.

However, out of all the days, your body's inner alarm clock woke you up an hour before Chishiya would wake up. As you looked at the alarm clock beside your bed, you internally cursed and immediately shifted out of the bed, trying to get out as quiet and softly as possible.

You didn't want to wake him up yet - that was the point in all of this.

After about 5 minutes of quiet shifting, you managed to get outside your door. Which took you an embarassingly long time due to how tired you still were.

You started making his usual coffee. It wasn't anything too difficult or anything, but you could definitely still do it.

If you weren't too sleepy right now.

Every dozen seconds, you could feel yourself slip away and you didn't even pay attention to how much coffee you were already adding in. Or anything, for that matter.

Ultimately, it became a failure.

However, you didn't exactly know that.

Just about when you finished, you were waken up by the sound of your bedroom door opening. In a reflex, you started to slouch-lean onto the counter and smile awkwardly.

"Morning, Chishi." You waved lazily.

"Why are you awake?" Chishiya said, more in a statement than a question. He could tell from the two coffee cups on the table that you made coffee. He just wanted to know why you bothered to do this.

"I made coffee!" You slurred, pushing one cup towards him and patting the seat next to you. "Ffffor you."

He made his way towards you, taking a peek at his own coffee, which looked quite different from his usual. He looked back at you. "It's.. quite different."

"Cause I made it." You smiled.

Chishiya eyed it for a while before taking it and bringing it up to his lips and taking a sip. He place it back down and clicked his tongue.

"Yeah, it tastes bad." He stated nonchalantly. Sometimes his brutally honest nature kind of made you feel bad.

"That's not true," You took the cup and sipped it before putting it back. "Yep, that's not good."

You placed your head in your arms and sighed. "Sorry, I just wanted to make you something."

Chishiya smiled softly, not that you could see it since you were busy sulking.

"Well, you certainly did try." He shrugged, "And I guess that's enough. Now I'll make the coffee this time."

You watched him as he re-did everything. You were a bit saddened that you weren't able to give him something of a gift. But you were happy that your effort was acknowledged at the very least.

He placed your cup down in front of you while holding his own. In light embarrassment, you peeped out a small and tired 'thank you' to which Chishiya gave a small endearing nod at you.

That morning, not many words were exchanged after. But you knew he was somewhat grateful of your reciprocation.

But you vowed to try harder next time.

‎

Trial #2 - Lunch Box

‎

Your eyes flickered open. Darting them to the side, you looked at your alarm clock.

It was an hour early. What a miracle.

All senses of tiredness left your person and you decided to try and do something for Chishiya again. The coffee you made yesterday was a total bust though..

You wriggled out of bed once again and made your way to the kitchen, deciding to something even extra for your lover.

You decided to cook for him. You don't have the world's worst skills and you can read so that was a plus.

Besides, when Chishiya came home yesterday, he had informed you of the long shift he was going to have today. You weren't just gonna let him starve in the hospital; he'll just shrug it off when someone asks why he hadn't eaten yet. It could be just your overthinking but it could happen.

You opened the fridge to find some other ingredients but came across your favorite drink, which Chishiya had gotten for you when he came home. He already kept tabs on the things you liked and disliked. You found it sweet.

Maybe you woke up earlier today because of your subconscious beating you the fuck up and do something in return.

You continued on to create his lunchbox. True to yourself, you were going to miss him when he goes - You always do.

You took the time with your work and smiled happily as it was finished. Now you were just washing the dishes as the rays of light from the sun hit the window and shined through the small open drapes from your living room. You enjoyed these moments. When everything is peaceful and silent - A great thing for you.

As you cleaned up, you heard some shuffling behind you, causing you to turn around, seeing Chishiya standing there, with his jacket on from last night.

"Awake early again?" Chishiya asked sleepily, still quite tired - he didn't look like he got much shuteye last night.

"Yup!" You turned around. "I made you breakfast and a lunchbox!" A giddy and excited smile was present on your face.

"Is that so?" He asks with a unostentatious smile, looking over to the cute box you prepared. You hadn't placed the lid on yet. "Well, it looks better than yesterday's" He teased blankly which earned him a small, embarrassed playful nudge to his shoulder.

"I'm sure its better!" You said and went back to the kitchen to prepare the food, leaving Chishiya sitting down to watch you.

He sat on the stool, watching you prepare other things. Your movements were a little slow and it was obvious that you haven't been getting much sleep lately. But you looked quite content with what you were doing.

"Hey…" Chishiya said breaking you out of your train of thought.

"Hmm?" You hummed, turning around to face him.

"Thank you." He muttered out sincerely, but it was even barely a whisper.

You fully turned around with a shit-eating grin. "Oh? What's this? THE Chishiya Shuntaro saying 'thank you'?"

Chishiya only rolled his eyes and ignored your comment. Honestly, you would always indulge in every domestic moment you got with him, since it was so rare to even witness him like this So, if it was going to come up again, then it must've really meant a lot to him.

Turning around, you finished up the dishes, "No problem."

You finally answered, absolutely joyful. Not only did you succeed this time, you got a thank you from him, but what you never knew was the multiple silent thanks and appreciative looks he gave you whenever you weren't looking. Maybe it just wasn't the time for you to see them yet.

Trial #3 - Post It Notes

Chishiya had finally gotten a small lunch break from his excruciatingly stressful work today. Dealing with complaints, cranky patients and even crankier visitors certainly wasn't easy as many people said it could be. He also had meetings and meetings where he just couldn't get any free moments in between because of some stupid ass excuse.

But he finally got a moment to appreciate the sheer silence of a room and the lunch you had prepared earlier.

He searched for the bag he brought on his desk and pulled out the box.

..Weird. He opened the cellophane around it and found a small post it note that seemed to hang loosely on the lid. The handwriting was quite messy which probably happened due to how tired you looked when you were done. He wasn't complaining though.

He reached the paper and picked it up.

' take a break, doc! ' accompanied by a drawing of a winky smiley face with its tongue out.

Would he be lying if he said he didn't find it cute or endearing? Maybe. Was he smiling? In his head, sure yeah. Was he going to throw the note away?

Chishiya folded the note and placed it inside the bag where he once found it and began indulging his break time with the lunch you had made for him today. But as it turned out, it wasn't the only thing you made today.

Sooner than later, he had finished his meal and went to place the now empty box back into his bag. Your cooking was good, average at least, but good. Before he placed the food box in, he noticed another note that was left in the underside of the bag.

'mwah <3' was all it said, but he noticed there was a writing on the back of it, 'turn it around!'

Seemed like it was supposed to be set facing a particular side.

Chishiya was silently enjoying himself with these notes until the door snapping open caught his immediate attention. "Doctor, a patient's calling for you." A nurse said witha bead of sweat falling down the side of their face. Chishiya nodded and sighed before quickly placing the contents of the bag back inside.

Just as he was being reminded of taking a sweet break and reading the sweet notes, he had to turn back into a doctor again.

Trial #4 - Forbidden Words and A Truth

11:28 PM

Chishiya stood in front of the apartment door both of you had shared, almost completely wet from the rain while he was coming back home. He was searching for the keys inside his wet jacket's pockets, wriggling his hands into any empty space he could find.

"There it is," He whispers out with a hidden victor behind his voice and takes it out of his pocket, more than ready to change and just head to bed.

By now, he guessed that you had already slipped off to bed by now or decided to be rebellious and watch some tv. But considering there were no noises of loud laughter or sobbing from the inside, you were probably fast asleep.

Chishiya unlocked the door and quickly stepped in to be greeted with the dark blue hued room. The only light coming from a small lit lamp in the corner of the living room and the moonlight that shined through the peak of a curtain.

He quietly closed and locked it, making it past your kitchen counter to put his bag on top of it.

However, before he could retreat into the comfort of the sheets and you in his bedroom, he noticed a note written on the fridge.

'Welcome home :) there's fruit inside'.

And when he opened the fridge door, there was indeed fruit - Cute, tiny pieces inside a bowl.

Chishiya stared at it, only now his mind wandered off to the thoughts that wondered why you had decided to do all these wonderful, small yet meaningful things? He definitely finds it utmost endearing but he was never going to tell or show you that. And it appears that you were more than happy to be up to the task of implementing his affections.

Maybe he just wasn't used to this kind of reciprocation.

Closing the fridge door, he shoved his hands into his pockets and walk to your bedroom with things he wanted to say to you. He changed his fit-wear and made his way to sit on the bed you two shared.

He watched your sleeping figure - the way your chest heaved up and down, the small snores, and anything that reminded the world that you were human.

He loved all of you. Something he would never admit to your face, not yet.

Chishiya leaned back onto the headboard and sighed, placing a hand and caressing your hair. "I just wanted to tell you something, Y/N. And I hope you're asleep as I do so. I was awake when you made me coffee, and the time you made me breakfast. I was awake when you didn't know. But you looked so happy as you did all those things for me, even when it was terrible." He chuckled onto himself, his tired eyes falling on you before he muttered those three iconic words under his breath.

Things he thought he'd never say.

#aib #alice in borderland #chishiya #chishiya shuntaro #chishiya x reader #chishiya shuntaro x reader #x reader #aib x reader #alice in borderland x reader #oneshot #box writes #fluff #chishiya fluff

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ma1dmer · 7 months

Text

Elden Ring - Sorcerer Rogier NSFW

oh no, a cute mage, my weakness

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex): he is thorough and careful with you, will ask you if you are okay and what you need of him after you two are done

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s): hands ,he loves your hands, he loves holding your hands and intertwining your fingers together when he is between your legs, or sliding your fingers in his mouth, tracing each digit with his clever tongue, he loves feeling your hands gripping his hair or his clothes when you get close and it never fails to put a cocky smile on his face

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person): he'll tell you that he loves the intimacy of finishing in you, how it brings you two closer, and how honoured, you trusting him like this, makes him feel ,how its more convenient too because there isn't any clean up ,and sure its all mostly true but also its all just excuses and his cheeky grin can't hide that he just finds it really hot

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs): he has definitely spent more than a few nights fantasizing about some possible, group pairings, he never really got the courage to explore group sex or threesomes, but its definitely a thought that lingers whenever he sees someone attractive showing interest in you, he loves showing you off too almost encouraging people to hit on you

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?): he has some experience, some stolen kisses in his travels, a couple of arrangements with fellow scholars

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual): he doesn’t have a specific preference, quite adaptable considering the circumstances, but ideally on your sides in a comfortable bed snuggled up together

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc): he does enjoy some light banter, wants you to be fully comfortable and happy with him

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.): he is not that hairy so he doesn't really have to do much, he does enjoy being a bit more natural too

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…): he can be very passionate, there is some giddy excitement that make him slightly clumsy but still, he tries, and for most part he succeeds, his words more than make up for it

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon): he often fantasises about being caught by you, plays this daydream of you walking in on him, how your eyes would meet and how he'd give you a show, his eyelashes fluttering as he asks for your help maybe with more confidence than he would muster in real life

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks): voyeurism/exhibitionism, threesomes, somnophilia

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do): there is some intrigue with the idea of being walked in on, but realistically he tries to pick spots where he is at least 99% sure you won't be caught or in danger

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going): he enjoys a bit of edging, likes when you two flirt and tease each other until one of you finally snaps, so far he takes pride in keeping his composure for the longest

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs): knives, blades, needles, he would rather stay away from anything too sharp while you two are naked and vulnerable

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc): he does enjoy spending time between your legs, takes his sweet time alternating between various things to see what'll elicit the strongest reaction , he watches you carefully from his spot on the floor and can't help but smirk against you when you throw your head back in pleasure

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.): slow and sensual, he wants to savour things ,if you whine for him to speed things up ,he'll simply chuckle and try to distract you with a compliment or something before resuming his torturous pace

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.): he does enjoy them a lot, likes pulling you in dark corners and leaving you fumbling to fix yourself up after you two are done

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.): yes and no, he loves the idea of experimenting, will let you talk him into just about anything or the opposite, but might chicken out last minute if he is left to think about it for too long

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…): he likes more relaxed and languid love making, so its usually one or two rounds under the moonlight before you both drift off to sleep in each other’s embrace

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?): definitely enjoys and understands how toys can enhance both of your experiences, if he could ,would definitely get something remote controlled too, just, out of curiosity ya know, wink wink

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease): he loves teasing you and then feigning ignorance, especially outside the bedroom ,he loves whispering things to you when you aren't fully focused and then claiming he is not aware of what you are talking about, but the smile on his lips is full of mischief

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make): he has such a pretty voice ,and he doesn't hold back with it, he moans and sighs and mumbles under his breath

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice): definitely a switch ,usually gentler when he tops ,but doesn’t mind being manhandled a bit when he bottoms

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words): very average and it flushes really bright red at the tip

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?): its a lot of pining, a lot of longing glances, and coy smiles and accidental brushing against each other with him, maybe his voice drops a bit lower when he explains something to you or he holds your hand for a tad longer than normal after helping you get up or climb down from something

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards): he sleeps very soundly, his breathing even and slow and he barely moves, if he falls asleep one way , that's how he stays for the rest of the night

#elden ring x reader #elden ring smut #elden ring #sorcerer rogier #sorcerer Rogier smut #sorcerer Rogier x reader #er smut #sorcerer Rogier elden ring #.writing

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why-what-no · 1 year

Text

Being George’s Soulmate Would Include

Pairing: George Karim x Soulmate!Reader

Warnings: None

Notes: So this is the: “Whatever you write on your arm shows up on your soulmate’s arm au”

Requested by: “Iambobtheoriginal” on Wattpad

Ever since you were little, you were uninterested with finding your soulmate. Your parents had only been together because of it, never truly falling in love. Bound to each other against their will.

That was uncommon in soulmates, but it still has been known to happen

Ever since George had been little, he had been scared of finding his soulmate. He laid awake at night worrying that his soulmate wouldn’t understand him, that they would find him annoying. That because of that they wouldn’t fall in love with him

That was also uncommon in soulmates, but it also still has been known to happen

So neither of you made contact while growing up. It would have been easy, just to write on your skin to send a message and learn who the other was… both neither of you wanted a soulmate enough to write the first message.

So, there was nothing stopping you from - when you joined Lockwood and co - immediately beginning to have feelings for their researcher

George was just so cute, so clever, so effortlessly funny. There was nobody else quite like him, and the two of you immediately became very close

George couldn’t believe someone as amazing as he considered you wanted to spend time with someone like him. You knew him so well, and he began to no longer be able to imagine life at 35 Portland row without being in your company every day.

Both of you fancying the other, but both too scared to admit it. Between how in awe you were of each other, and the stigma of getting in a relationship with someone who isn’t your soulmate, neither of you felt like you could say anything

But you couldn’t help how you felt.

Months after you had arrived to 35 Portland row, now fully in love with George, you nervously mentioned soulmates to him.

You were relieved when he shared your dislike of the whole idea of soulmates. But as you left the room to grab a book, Lockwood passed you in the hall.

“Heard you lovebirds talking about soulmates.” He said with that cheeky grin he usually had.

You ignored the lovebird comment. Lockwood tried so hard to be your wingman after you had tiredly confessed your feelings about George to him late one night. “Yeah, and?”

“Nothing, just thinking of your poor soulmate,” he chuckled. “They’re waiting for you and you’re falling in love with your best friends.”

You knew Lockwood didn’t mean anything bad. He disliked the idea of soulmates even more than you did, hating the idea of having to let someone in emotionally without it being his choice. But you couldn’t stop the guilt while remembering what he said.

So that night, you took a marker to your arm.

Hi, you wrote. I’m sorry, but I love someone else. You haven’t written anything to assume it doesn’t matter to you, but I just wanted you to know.

You got a reply back quickly: Good to know, so have I. Good luck with your relationship.

The reply was short and curt, but you couldn’t help but sigh in relief. No need to feel guilt. Your soulmate, whoever they were, was just like you

Not only that, but you felt encouraged. You decided to finally admit your feelings to George. If Lockwood supported it, and your soulmate supported it, then it was the only rational choice.

The two of you went for a walk in the morning. You liked going out to get fresh air in the morning and George always tagged along to spend time with you.

Your cheeks felt warm as you tried to figure out what to say to him, trying to figure out how to admit your feelings

However, you were beaten to the topic by an equally nervous George. He turned to you suddenly, palms sweaty. “(Y/N)… I… would you want to go out sometime? Like, on a date?”

Taken aback but overjoyed, you couldn’t hide the happiness on your face. “I’d love to.” You told him. “I wanted to ask you the same thing, honestly.”

George grinned, obviously relieved. He leaned forward to kiss you, making you so glad that you had been honest with your soulmate. That you had been able to met and fall in love with George.

His kisses were perfect, drawing emotions out of you that you never thought you could feel.

But he seemed worried when the kiss ended. “But don’t you think that it’s wrong to do this when you have a soulmate?” He asked.

You grinned. “Don’t worry about that.” You told him, pulling up your sleeve to reveal the fading but still legible conversation with your soulmate.

However, while you thought he would be relieved, George just stared at your arm, slack jawed in shock.

As you asked him what was going on, he pulled up his sleeve.

… To reveal the exact same conversation.

You didn’t say anything. You couldn’t form words. You just started laughing in shock.

“Why are you laughing?” George asked, but there was still a grin on his face from the ridiculousness of the situation.

There were tears in your eyes as you tried to catch your breath. “We’re bloody idiots.” You cackled. George couldn’t help but begin to laugh along with you

Eventually you both calmed down. “I could have known you much earlier.” He said, no more amusement in his tone.

That made your smile drop slightly. “But because of this, I loved you for you,” you reasoned with him. “Not just because we were fated.”

“You loved me?” George looked a little surprised, but began smiling again when you laughed and nodded. “I love you too.” He admitted, pulling you close to him.

“Forever.” He told you, kissing you again.

#lockwood and co headcanons #Lockwood and co #lockwood and co x reader #George Karim #george karim x reader #george Karim Headcanons #Lockwood and co george #Lockwood and co George x reader #Lockwood and co George Headcanons #Lockwood and co George Karim #Lockwood and co George Karim x reader #Lockwood and co George Karim Headcanons #Lockwood and co George x reader Headcanons #Lockwood and co George Karim x reader Headcanons #George Karim x reader Headcanons #Anthony Lockwood #soulmate au #George Karim x soulmate!reader #soulmate Headcanons

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fukurofanfics · 9 months

Text

Fukuro Part 8: Making It Up The Right Way

A/N: I know it’s been a thousand years since I last posted, but get over it. Looking back, I’ve noticed that this story has mostly been sexual content so far, next chapter picks up with more of the storyline as opposed to Kaito just fucking everyone. Enjoy! (Also thanks for 100 followers. Shoutout to @ggidolsmuts, his reblog of part 6 really helped me)

Warning: This series contains graphic depictions of violence, graphic sexual content, and adult language throughout. It is not intended for persons under sixteen. Reader discretion advised.

(Also, I’m writing according to what I think the characters would be like in real life, so they might not always be in character. Some character traits are made up by me, such as Jiwon’s affinity with computers.)

Chapter 8: Making It Up The Right Way

It was a while before Yiren woke up, she slept for a good bit. Jiwon and I brought her down to my large bed and covered her up. Jiwon went away and I stayed with her.

I felt at peace then, with her slumbering next to me and me sitting there with her, watching over her.

Finally, she stirred drowsily and her eyes opened a fraction.

“Kai?” She mumbled sleepily.

“I’m here, baby.”

She reached out a hand and grasped mine.

“Had a good rest?” I asked gently, scooting closer to her and laying down, pulling the blankets over myself.

“Yes.” She replied. “I was tired.”

“You came four times, I’m not surprised.”

“Was it four?” She chuckled softly. “I lost track, it was so good.”

“I know.” I said. “How do you feel about tonight?”

She smiled and snuggled up to my chest.

“Good. I’m all rested up.”

“You know what we haven’t done in a while?” I asked on a completely random note.

“Hmm?”

“Gone outside. Or done anything outside of this cube.”

“Kaito,” she said, in tones of a mother scolding her child, eyes still shut, “what are you planning?”

“I don’t like the thought of the risk, but it’s been too long since we did anything. We might as well while we can, before we’d be in mortal danger.”

I could literally (figuratively) hear the eye-roll and she smiled.

“What are you planning?”

“What do you say we go out tonight for dinner? Like, real dinner with actual people?”

“Sounds good to me. You sure we won’t get accosted by an eight-foot-tall behemoth with five-inch claws?”

I laughed.

“I can’t be sure, ever. They pop up in the most random spots. They can smell the toxin in my sword, they follow me everywhere.”

“If they can smell the toxin and they know it can kill them, why attack to start with?”

“They view me as a threat and want to take me out if possible.” I explained. “I don’t exactly make it easy for them, and to attack me is suicide. If they attacked one of you, I wouldn’t rest until I’d hunted down every last one or died trying. They’ve already taken my parents, I couldn’t stand it if they took one of you. They’d probably also hold one of you hostage to draw me in. They know I’d come for you, they’re very clever.”

“Well, let’s hope that doesn’t happen, then.” Yiren said.

Her soft, silky hair rubbed along my arm and shoulder and without a second thought I reached up and started stroking her head. She sighed in contentment.

“Maybe. I’ll see what the others think about it. This is very relaxing, by the way.”

I smirked. “It is for me, too. You know petting an animal, like a dog or a cat relieves stress and anxiety?”

“What, am I just your stress toy now?”

“Maybe you are my toy, just a different kind.”

“Oh, so I’m just a fleshlight.”

“Yeah.”

She snorted and slid her bare arm over my stomach.

“Well, since when did a fleshlight want to be used?”

At the same time, I felt her thigh slide over my own underneath the blanket. Some moisture was palpable closer to where her panties were.

“Been dreaming about that ‘usage’?”

She scooted over and settled between my legs, her back to my chest.

“Yes.” She didn’t even hesitate. “I was dreaming about you.”

“Yeah?” I said in a lower voice, sliding my hand over her leg. “What did I do?”

“You fucked me so hard I screamed out in pleasure,” she said seductively, hand slowly drifting towards my waist, further in. “I squirted all over you.”

“It’s not like I couldn’t tell,” I said, dropping my hand lower and drawing a gasp from her, “you were moaning in your sleep.”

“Was I?” She asked. “Makes sense.”

“It’s going to happen tonight.” I said sensually, teasing her already-wet pussy with two fingers. “You, Jiwon, and I are going to fuck. A lot. Both of you are going to squirt all over me.”

She did nothing but moan in reply at the finger swirling her clit. Seeing my opportunity, I plunged my fingers into her already wet pussy, and she bit her lip hard to keep from shouting out, as we could be heard. Among my feelings of intense arousal, it reminded me that I hadn’t seen Sihyeon or Hwang-ja since they had fucked. I supposed that would put an end to my plans to fuck her. I was not sad about not having to listen to Eun-ji’s words earlier all over again.

“Kai,” Yiren gasped, clutching at my arm as I mercilessly rubbed at her g-spot, making her cry out, “Kai, I’m gonna cum, I’m fucking cumming! Oh, I’m so close, don’t stop!”

Her words spurred me on and I pumped her pussy faster, bringing her to her fifth orgasm of the day full on and eliciting a muffled scream from her as she hastily turned her face into the pillow to stay quiet.

Surprisingly, I wasn’t really thinking about the here and now, I was thinking about Eun-ji. I still needed to talk to her, there was no use putting it off.

She was slowly returning to reality by the time I turned back to her.

“Sorry, Yiren, I’ve got to go, there’s some business I have to handle with Eun-ji.”

“You go, Kaito.” She replied, tracing her own abs with an idle finger. “I know what the ‘business’ is, Jiwon unnie told me what happened earlier.”

“Did she?” I muttered, getting off the bed and putting on my shirt, not that it would be needed for much longer. “Well, then you know what’s happening. I’ll see you later.”

My new earpiece suddenly filled my ear with the voice of Joonhon, my head servant and overseer of the entire bunker’s function.

“Mr. Kobayashi, sir, the voice activation in the elevators is fully functional and ready for use. We’ve finally gotten it to work.”

I pressed the speak button on the small device and said,

“Joonhon, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times. Just call me Kaito. We’re friends, I prefer to be called by an informal name.”

“Sorry, sir. Kaito.”

“That’s better. That’s great, I’m heading to the elevator now.”

Yiren waved after me as I stepped into the elevator, and the last image I saw before it was cut off by the doors closing was that of Yiren’s adorable face looking back at me and winking.

“Floor three.” I said to the elevator, and a small screen lit up with green on black text and a photo of me:

Kaito Kobayashi

Identity Confirmed

Floor 3 Access Granted

“Confirmed.” The elevator’s automated voice replied, and the elevator started moving.

“Good job, Joonhon.” I said into my earpiece. “Very impressive.”

“Thank you, sir. Have a good day.”

“You too, buddy. Pyeonghwa.”

The elevators opened to reveal Yurim and Se-Rim doing their nails.

“Have either of you seen Eun-ji?” I asked, interrupting their giggles.

“Yes, I think she went up to the roof.” Yurim said. “Said she wanted some time to think.”

“A bit odd if you ask me,” added Se-rim, “but then again, we’re all pretty stressed out lately.”

“Okay, thanks.”

I headed back into the elevator and after telling it “roof”, it started to move.

I arrived at the roof and the doors opened to reveal Eun-ji standing there, waiting for it to arrive to her. She gave a small yelp and jumped back, my appearance taking her by surprise.

“Kaito?!”

“Yes?” I said, taking a step towards the exit. “Were you going down?”

“Erm, actually, I was looking for you.”

“Me?” I said, truly taken aback. “Why were you looking for me?”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

I stepped out of the elevator and followed her over to the couch. Maybe I wouldn’t have to do anything, maybe she would do it all herself. I knew what she wanted to talk about, and there was no doubt she was going to want to make it up to me.

“So,” she said, swallowing, “I wanted to talk to you about this morning.”

“Yes, I figured.” I said.

“I said a lot of things that I didn’t mean, that I regret ever even thinking of saying.” She continued. “And I wanted to apologize.”

I remained quiet, waiting to see where she took it.

“I’m sorry, Kaito.” She said, looking me directly in the eye. I spotted tears welling in her eyes as she spoke, and her bottom lip trembled . “I really never meant to say it, I know you do care, that’s why we’re here. I know you care more than anything.”

She got off her seat and wrapped her arms around me, and the sincerity of her words vibrated in my bones. I knew she meant them.

“Forgiven, Eun-ji.” I said into her ear, patting her on the back. “I’ll not pretend I wasn’t hurt by it, but I can’t pretend I never say things I don’t mean, either. Everybody makes mistakes, I can’t fault you for being angry. I know you didn’t mean it.”

She disengaged and sat back down.

“I still feel bad, though, even when you forgive me.” She said, voice choked up, a single tear running down her cheek.

With that she just broke down. She flung herself into my arms and started crying, and to me it felt like some kind of emotional dam had burst within her. It felt like an eternity that she sat there and wailed into my shirt, and I found it very hard not to join her in remorse.

It made me feel awful. Maybe I had been too hard on her this morning, but whatever it was I felt awful.

“I’m s-sorry,” she said, wiping her eyes on her shirt, “it’s just I’ve been so stressed and scared, and the thing this m-morning-“

She couldn’t finish the sentence and lost it again, sobbing into my chest.

“It’s okay, Eun-ji.” I said, making a supreme effort to keep my own voice steady. “It’s alright. I’m here, there’s no need to be scared.”

After a bit she fell into silence.

“I’m sorry.” She said once she had calmed down.It’s been so stressing since we came, I’ve just been keeping it inside. There are so many things I’ve just kept to myself, it just all flooded me. The thing this morning was the last straw, I just couldn’t take it.”

“It’s okay.” I said firmly. “Eun-ji, listen to me. You have nothing to be worried about. Nothing can reach us here. I would give my own life for any one of you, it would be over my dead body that the Fukuri would touch you. You’re safe here. As for the incident this morning; I forgave you. I know you didn’t mean what you said. You are an amazing person, and nothing you do will ever change that. I love you, and nothing you do will ever change that. Don’t keep your emotions away from me like that, it’s not good. I don’t ever want you to feel like you can’t talk to me. If you’re feeling down, talk to me. I’ve been through a lot in my time, I can understand what it feels like.”

She looked up at me, and the gratitude in her expression made me feel much better. She looked adorable, and her vulnerability in that moment strengthened our bond.

“Thank you, Kaito. Thank you so much, for everything. For spending your time, money, and effort getting us here, for saving us, for being so understanding and kind. You’re a really great guy, Yiren is lucky to have someone like you.”

Her words to me were more heartwarming than almost anything I’d ever heard. She sat back from the embrace on her knees and looked at me.

“So how can I make up for what I said?”

I returned her gaze, surprised. “What?”

“I said,” she repeated, “how can I make up for what I said? You’re extremely kind for letting it go so quickly and so easily, but I want to do something to make it up to you.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Well…” she trailed off, and I noticed a blush growing rapidly in her tear-streaked cheeks. “I had one idea…because of the topic this morning…”

Understanding blazed though my brain and I was shocked, though it was what I came up here for in the first place.

“Wait - Eun-ji, you’re not suggesting-“

“Yes, I am.” She confirmed, starting forward.

“Wait!” I said hurriedly as she reached for my waistband and she paused, one eyebrow raised. “Stop, you don’t have to - I’m not asking you for - you don’t need to do this.”

“Well, that’s the thing.” She said, hooking her finger inside my pants. “I want to.”

What a change from this morning. A comparison from earlier, when she exploded because I fucked Yiren, to now, when she was trying to fuck me herself.

I paused. “You’re sure you want to do this? I don’t want you to feel obligated to.”

“I’m sure, Kaito. I deserve it for this morning,” she said, and put a finger to my lips when I opened my mouth to protest. “and you deserve it for being so understanding.”

“You’re absolutely positive you want to go through with it?” I asked in a last-ditch attempt to prevent it. I didn’t want her doing this because she felt compelled to because of this morning. I had to forcefully remind myself of why I came up here to start with. “If you go through with it, I won’t hold back.”

“Good,” she said lustfully, “I don’t want you to.”

With these words she yanked my pants and boxers down over my legs and to my ankles, releasing my partially-hard cock.

I took a deep breath. If this was what she really wanted, that’s what she was going to get, no mercy included.

She gave a yelp as I grabbed her head by the hair and pulled her face into my crotch. Her tongue nimbly darted out and ran along my balls. She had clearly had some experience with this. It wasn’t on Jiwon’s level, but still good enough that it felt incredible. She hadn’t even started sucking my dick yet.

She let out a moan as she sucked on my balls, rapidly making me hard as a rock. Now that we started down the road, we weren’t going back. I hadn’t been kidding about not holding back. I lifted her head and pushed my cock into her mouth, spearing her lips open and gagging her at the back of her throat. But apparently that was just a taster.

She got up, walked around to the side of the couch, slid off her skirt, panties, shirt, and bra, bent over, and slid herself over my legs in a position that highlighted the curves and rounds of her ass, hips, and thighs.

“I don’t feel obligated to do anything,” she said matter-of-factly, “but I need to be punished. And before you object,” she added, not even having to look at me to know I was about to dispute it, “nothing you say is going to change my mind on that.”

My objection fell dead on my lips and I sat unmoving.

“Well?” Her inquiry rose on the air. “Are you going to get on with it or am I going to sit here all day with my ass out, waiting for you to do something?”

I hesitated still. I didn’t feel like it was my place or my right to punish her for saying something she didn’t mean in the heat of the moment, especially in this way. But her alluring nude body was drawing me in like a fish on a hook, and I was finding it increasingly difficult to resist her.

She looked sideways up at me with a seductive look, turning to her pure sexiness for help.

“I was a bad girl, and shouldn’t naughty girls be punished?” She said, intentionally making her voice lower and more breathy. “This girl needs to be spanked.”

“You know what?” I growled, primal instinct as always winning the battle against reasoning and gentlemanliness. “Have it your way.”

She bit her lip and I gave her ass a hard, sidelong swat with my hand. She yelped in both pain and pleasure and I waited, seeing if she was alright. She gave her ass a wiggle, silently spurring me on. I smacked her three more times before deciding on a different method. There was a cabinet that happened to have a hairbrush sitting on it nearby, so I reached over and grabbed the brush, flipping it so the flat end would hit her.

She uttered a yell as the brush struck her, making her ass ripple on impact. I paused again, making sure she was still comfortable with it before going on.

“Spank me harder!”

I gladly complied with her shouted demand, smacking her ass with the hard plastic again, and again, and again. I lost count of how many times I spanked her, her ass turning redder and redder. She yelped and moaned and shouted out, whether in pain or pleasure I didn’t know or really care. Occasional cries of “harder” or “more” came from her, and I let my instinct hotwire my brain. My hand briefly grazed her naked pussy and I was shocked to see how wet she was. Clearly the spanking was turning her on to that point. Her body quivered and her hands gripped the couch or my thigh each time the brush hit her, and she kept egging me on.

“I’m about to fucking cummm-“ she moaned out, clutching at my leg. I tossed the brush to one side and slid my fingers down her pussy, ending on her clit and circling it swiftly. I ran the fingers back along it until I reached her entrance, which I slowly teased before plunging them inside. No hymen barrier blocked my entrance, so I knew she was not a virgin.

“Not a virgin, eh?” I said while she gave a pleasured whine, thrusting my fingers at a quick pace. “So you are a slut?”

“Only for you Kaito, only for you!” She whimpered. “I’ll be your slut, all of this is yours!”

“You’re fucking right it is,” I growled in her ear, giving her ass a hard slap with my free hand. “You’re mine.”

Something inside her snapped at my words and she climaxed with a scream as I jammed my finger into her g-spot. Her juices splattered my hand and coated my forearm as they sprayed out of her, and the tension relaxed as she fell limp against me, chest heaving.

“That was - fucking amazing,” she said, taking deep breaths, “you’re so good.”

I let her recover sufficiently before moving. I made her kneel on her knees, face resting on the couch. Her shining, sopping wet heat was facing me and I was still horny, so I positioned myself, lined up my tip with her entrance, and pushed in.

Where her face was, her mouth opened and a whimpering moan left it as her eyes closed in pleasure.

I slowly forced my way into her tight pussy, pleasurable resistance meeting me every centimeter of the way, until I bottomed out inside her.

“Fuck, you’re so tight,” I groaned through clenched teeth, my head tilting back as the feeling overwhelmed me. She was tighter than Jiwon by far, but not quite as tight as Yiren.

“Oh, it’s so deep,” she gave a soft, blissful hum as I filled her up, juices leaking out around the edges of my cock. She turned around and gave me that seductive stare, biting her lip. “Now fuck me.”

Raw, animalistic lust was the only thing I felt as instinct took over, and I jabbed my hips into her as hard as possible, a wet clap resounding around the roof. She cried out, reached around, and spread her ass cheeks, allowing for further view of my cock disappearing inside her.

I took the cue and started fucking her hard and fast, going for pure power in my thrusts. Her body was like a drug, addictive and inebriating, and I leaned forward.

“I’m going to make you fucking pay for this morning,” I growled roughly into her ear, pulling her head back by her hair to let her hear me over her own cries.

“Yes!” She yelled, turning her head and looking at me with desperate eyes. “Make me pay, punish me! Fuck me like I’m your little slut!”

“You get me wrong,” I said forcefully, her lips brushing my cheek, “you are my little slut, like it or not.”

She gave no reply except a string of mindless moans, unintelligible whispers that still held more meaning than words.

I grasped the ponytail I had formed her hair into and pulled harder.

“Say it! Fucking say it!”

“Y-yes!” She screamed out, fingers holding the couch like a vice. “I’m your slut! Fuck me however you want, I belong to you!”

Funny how just a taste of my cock had reduced all three of the members I had gone after to screaming, moaning sluts who begged me to dominate the. Each had had a different way of phrasing it, but all had the same message. Make me your slut.

I let go of her hair and reached around to her bouncing breasts, squeezing and groping her and heightening her pleasure.

Pulling out, I turned her over onto her back, and she gave a disappointed moan before I quickly plunged back into her, the moan turning to a breathy, satisfied shout. I let myself rest on top of her, driving my shaft deeper and deeper with each thrust.

“Oh my god yes, yes, f-fuck!” She screamed as I bottomed out inside her. “Fucking pound me! Pound my little pussy!”

“Shut up and take my cock!” I groaned through my teeth, knowing she was trying to coax the cum out of me with her dirty talk.

She bit her lip as I gave her breast a slap, eyes closed and hands gripping my back. I felt myself nearing my peak, and she was lasting longer than I thought she would but I could still tell she was close as well.

“Cum in me Kaito,” she gasped into my ear, bucking her hips up into me, thighs flexed around my waist.

I let out a moan myself as her walls clenched around me, but the expression on her face, her eyes closed, eyebrows angled upwards, her mouth open, was what sent me over the edge.

“I’m - fucking - cumming - FUCK!”

I managed three words and one yelled obscenity before slamming my cock into her, as deep as I could, and blasting her walls with my cum, giving a groan through my teeth as one of the most intense orgasmic highs I had ever had hit me like a truck.

I felt her juices hit me, but no sound came from her except a tiny squeak as her voice failed her. Her nails raked my lats and her legs gripped my middle very hard, her entire body trembling in pleasure. Then as soon as it came it stopped. Her thighs relaxed, her hands fell limp to her sides, and her pussy relaxed around my cock, still rapidly pulsing along with her beating heart.

We only got to enjoy the afterglow of our passionate sex for a minute or so before Joonhon’s frantic voice blasted into my ear again.

“Kaito!” He shouted.

“Joonhon, what the fuck!” I said, waving away Eun-ji’s questioning gaze and rising from the couch. “What is it?”

“Sir, you remember Makoto Takahashi?”

“Yes, why?”

I did remember him well, he decided to devote his life to helping the Fukuri a while ago, and had tried to kill me.

“He’s resurfaced; he sent our server a message.”

“What did it say?” I asked warily, knowing that this couldn’t be good.

“He wants to talk to you, in person.”

“Tell him I said to fuck off. I don’t associate with dickheads like him.”

“I’m not sure that’s advisable, sir. He’s threatening you. He has the Fukuri on his side, as I’m sure you know, and he says he’ll bring them to us if you refuse.”

I hesitated. I didn’t want to see him, but by refusing I was risking the lives of myself, Everglow, and everyone else in the bunker. I couldn’t do that.

“Get the guards ready, Joonhon. We’re going to meet this motherfucker.”

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tamelee · 3 months

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Hi, do you think they'll make S and N straight in the live action movie? Like making S nicer to Sakura or not even keeping the kiss or enforcing the idea of S and N being "brothers",... Anyway, I expect nothing but still... it stings.

Hi~ Yeah I feel you.

Oh I have many expectations- 's just that not a single one is any good.

It’s highly possible they’re going to push contrasting narratives. Unfortunately. Though I don't see the point in forcing any of these ideas into a movie, because there's simply no time. It will have no meaning either way unless 'romance' is going to play a significant part in it... which also wouldn't make any sense.

It's a lose-lose for all of us no matter what you ship...

However, they’ve always done it with filler (everything aside the source material and... arguably Kishimoto's add-on's) as well as marketing material. Some is still subtle enough so people can argue about it, but argue they will. (Ah! Isn’t that so very clever?) It isn't for nothing they used to force Naruto on Sakura aggressively and love to make him look like an idiot in filler, or introduce random girl characters as part of a new movie-plot so he can not only be the Hero to save the day, no, he can be their personal Hero. Because, oh, isn’t he actually so handsome now that he saved me? It’s a lame way to check off the romantic elements they for some reason always need to add in and give to Naruto, disguising it under the excuse of “character-arc-stuff” because Naruto can't evolve even a single belief unless the girlies’ minds change about him first. Let alone narratively it destroys Naruto’s character, because a huge "problem" is that he’s people-pleasing his way to being liked and pretty much all filler I’ve come across only strengthens this flaw (I saw ‘flaw’ lovingly btw). Name a single thing that faithfully stayed true to the Manga and wasn’t made by Kishimoto:…

… right.

Imo, best case scenario? They just leave out everything beneath the surface, pick a single Theme, focus on the Shinobi in a way that still allows for a bit of believable growth in these characters. Something that can still show the current while pushing for some realization and round it out somewhat satisfactory in the end. If they’re going to try anything beyond that, it’ll fail.

Kishimoto created art, but the sole decision for an adaptation means art is now ground through a giant meat-mill of great team-effort and commerce. Every medium functions differently and this decision alone comes with many problems. (Length ’s an important one. Structure too.) You can already see it in the interviews that are held about this project. Too many people are involved that have influential say about the outcome of the creative decisions. There’s also the lovely men in suits that have all the control and yet have zero creative-skill although they’d like to believe otherwise. Studio’s by itself have their own politics. This never bides well for adaptations. Very rarely is it acceptable. Very often it’s disappointing. Almost always it’s a high-budget fantasy. And yet they always know that fans are going to be critical and still not care.

Stubborn as hell.

(It’s different when it’s not really an adaptation, but more inspired by an existing story. HTTYD for example is very, very loosely based on a book-series— it has little connection, but there’s obviously still a story idea in there… )

#asktamelee #naruto talk

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firein-thesky · 11 months

Text

Act I, Part II

|| kaeya alberich x afab!reader || E/18+ || hurt/comfort/fluff || wc: 13k || ao3 || masterlist || <- Act I, Part I ||

When you, a beloved artist and performer of Mondstadt, attract the attention of the Fatui, there is only one person you seek out for help; the infamous Cavalry Captain of the Ordo Favonius, Mondstadt's beloved bastard.

minors and ageless blogs dni, 18+ only

❀ for you are the world (as i am in pieces) - @lorelune ❀

a/n: this is the second part to act one because tumblr would not let me post in one! this is apart of a lovely collab with my buddy @lorelune that you should check out!! i've linked their fic above!! thank you so much to @acerathia for beta reading this!!! this is the first act of three that will be posted!! everything will also be on ao3!! thank you so much and i'd love to hear your thoughts!! <33

tags: afab reader (she/her pronouns but is rather gender fluid/binds her chest sometimes and presents both femme and masc), alcohol use, mentions of kidnapping, mentions of stalking/full on stalking from the fatui to the reader, eventual smut (not in this chapter), mentions of heartbreak/abandonment issues, bodyguard au technically, fake dating au technically

SCENE VI

Dawn Winery in the early morning. The sun has barely risen over its hills. The sky is still cool and blue, the light watery as it pours into the study. Diluc is hardly awake at his desk, hair still tousled and eyes heavy. He was up late last night and we can tell. Kaeya enters from downstage right and keeps his back towards the audience.

“It’s too early, Kaeya,” Diluc’s voice is a rough scratch.

“I’ll be brief,” Kaeya says with too much bounce in his step. “It’s important.”

Diluc raises vermillion eyes up from the paperwork on his desk and levels him with an unimpressed look, but he is silent. Waiting.

Kaeya can’t help the slight smile that tugs at his mouth. He can’t help himself; he’s a younger brother, “you look awfully exhausted.”

“Get out,” Diluc grouses.

Kaeya fights his urge to laugh, “that’s not why I’m here.”

“Then get to the point.”

With some pain, Kaeya manages to say, “I need your help.”

Diluc narrows his eyes, “with what?”

Kaeya says your name, slowly, carefully.

“Whatever it is going on between you two, I don’t want to know–and you better not be toying with her, she’s already been through too much heartbreak to–”

“No,” Kaeya says quickly, “there’s nothing between us. She’s in trouble–our relationship is a ruse so that I have an excuse to be at her side to protect her.”

Diluc blinks slowly.

“She’s in trouble?” He then asks, “why wouldn’t she–?”

“She’s being very clever and very cautious. The Fatui are watching her every move.” Kaeya explains, “we’re trying not to alert her watchers that we know.”

Diluc’s brows furrow, “what would the Fatui want with her?” He asks, “I know she’s been trouble for them before but I can’t fathom what they’d so actively pursue her for.”

“I’m trying to find out,” Kaeya says, “but they’re getting more aggressive. The other night I interfered with a chase.”

“A chase?” Diluc asks.

“They were chasing her on her way home from Springvale. I’m not sure what they would’ve done if they’d caught her before I got there. Point being,” Kaeya draws in a quick breath through his teeth, “I need more eyes on her.”

“Does Jean know?” Diluc asks.

“Yes and I plan to enlist Venti, too. Anyone who is close to her that we can trust. It’s imperative we don’t alert them.” Kaeya continues, “It’s not abnormal for you or Venti or Jean to hang around her when I can’t.”

“That’s why she’s been coming home with you.” Diluc says slowly.

“Yes,” Kaeya agrees, and then he looks at Diluc wryly, “did you think we were sincerely together?”

“Well, I wouldn’t put it past you,” Diluc responds and there is an edge to his voice that Kaeya bristles at.

He pokes at it, “jealous?”

Diluc shakes his head quickly and the furrow of his brow makes Kaeya think he is almost confused by the insinuation, “not at all. Concerned, if nothing else. Like I said, she’s been through heartbreak already.” Diluc leans back, eyeing his brother, “and well, your reputation precedes you.”

“And which is that?” Kaeya asks and though his voice is cold, affected, there is a thorn in it.

“Of a heartbreaker.” Diluc replies bluntly, and then he chides, “don’t play dumb now. You can see why I’d be concerned for someone known as Mondstadt’s Heart in your company.”

The irony isn’t lost on Kaeya.

“You wound me,” he drawls, eye flashing in the morning light. “I’ve nothing but good intentions with her. I’m trying to protect her.”

Diluc hums as if he doesn’t believe him and perhaps, if Kaeya were in a worse mood, he’d goad him further. If the day wasn’t waiting for him and he didn’t need Diluc’s help and it wasn’t for the sake of your safety, Kaeya would try to get him to say the word he is certain that Diluc is thinking of him;

Liar.

But instead, Kaeya says, “I trust you’ll keep this a secret. Play along when we require it. And most of all, watch out for her until we can get this resolved.”

Any bitterness or anger or irritation in Diluc melts now. His head dips into a sincere nod, “of course. Anything she needs.”

Ever the noble knight, Kaeya thinks dryly, looking at his brother’s strong but kind face. Bitterness twists somewhere inside of him for some reason, makes his shoulders square. Still, for you, he cannot help but say with sincerity;

“Thank you.”

And when he turns on his heel to leave, his face is a mask, except for the small, downward draw of a puzzled brow.

His mind swims and his heart is a thorn somewhere in his chest for reasons he can’t name.

But as he always does, he quiets both. Hushes them harshly, like telling secrets as a child, and looks ahead, even if he desperately wants to glance behind him.

***

POSTFACE TO SCENE VI

Streets of Mondstadt again but a late afternoon hush has fallen over the city. Orange-dark and soft. Children are being called home. People are wandering home from work. The day is ending sweetly.

“I have to grab my diary again.” You tell Kaeya and you’re careful to keep your voice light.

Kaeya tilts his head and considers you, “when did you hide it again–?”

“A day or two ago. I hid it in the morning.” You respond.

“Wouldn’t I have been with you?” He asks.

You shake your head, “it was when you were checking in with Jean.”

“You little sneak,” Kaeya says, looking at you in a newfound light. “You’re quick. How did you get to the Cathedral and back in time?”

You open your mouth to respond, but promptly shut it when he suddenly stops your brisk walk by grabbing your upper arm, “and didn’t you learn your lesson? I thought we decided you shouldn’t go off on your own anymore.”

You pull at him a little, but he tightens his grip, unrelenting. “It’s dangerous.”

His voice has gone stern and lower and you do feel properly chastised as he gazes at you. He’s being serious for once; the easy, light-hearted tone replaced with something richer and darker.

(And Archons help you, it does something to you, to see him serious and stern, voice pitched like that for you. You flush darkly.)

“I’m sorry,” you say, “but I was quick. And it wasn’t–”

“I didn’t think I’d have to worry about you wandering off like a child. Or deliberately sneaking away–”

“I’m not a child!” You say, now with more fire beneath your own voice. “And I didn’t wander off–!”

“You went back to the Cathedral.” Kaeya accuses and you shake your head sharply.

“I hid it at the Knights headquarters.” You say and finally pull your arm from his grip, “and I didn’t disobey you, since you’re going to get all worked up about it.”

You turn away from him with your nose in the air, perhaps aware that you’re acting a little churlish. You can hear his huff as you walk away.

(Desperately, you want him to follow. Your heart sings it; follow, follow, follow. And he does, but–)

You can tell he isn’t willing to admit he’s wrong.

“Why do you keep hiding it, anyways?” He asks.

You don’t answer him.

When he realizes the game you’re playing, he shakes his head, “you’re a brat.”

You round on him, cheeks heated, and just to dig in, you say, “and you’re a brute. Don’t speak to me like that. And don’t handle me like that, either.”

Kaeya’s brows quirk in surprise. You feel as if he can’t help himself, “Mondstadt’s princess is too fragile for a little scolding?”

“I’m not fragile,” you snip back, “and I didn’t deserve that scolding.”

An unbearably handsome and smug smile crosses his face, “but you are a princess?”

Heat tears down into you with a vengeance. Oh, he’s so–

“You’re insufferable.” You tell him, turning away once more, but you’ve lost much of your temper. Especially as he lazily follows after you, even more so when he smoothly drawls;

“Sorry for being a brute.”

“I’m not going to apologize.” You quip back and you’re met with his laugh, sweet and low and husky.

You can feel your ears burn.

He catches up to your side and because the two of you are in public, he slips his hand around your waist and pulls you into his side. “Fine,” he agrees, “I’ll concede when I know I’ve lost.”

A smile twitches at your own lips and you tuck into his side like you might belong there. You can still feel that heat, deep and burying itself beneath your skin. You try to stifle it. You think it’ll only grow, with the way his hand slides along the bend of your hip.

As you approach the Knights’ Headquarters, he finally asks, “another secret hiding place of yours?”

And you finally answer him, “one of many.” Then you decide to add, “and I hide it because you’d be surprised at the amount of people who’d like to take a peek at my diary.” You dare yourself to finally glance at him, afraid that you’ll see how handsome he is.

(Your fears are confirmed most terribly.)

“Venti is the biggest culprit, anyways.” You continue.

He laughs now easily. And then he hums, “I’ll be honest, my interest is piqued now.”

You shove him a little, laughing yourself, and dart off.

Your heart sings follow, follow, follow–

And he chases and chases and chases, at your heels, on your skirts, and all over Mondstadt.

***

PRELUDE TO SCENE VII

In an old, cramped costume and prop room, shadowed except for the gold light from an old lamp with a frilly shade. Light bounces on sequence and shimmering fabric, ruffles and furs are bronzed, patterns pop and feathers poke out from the layers and layers of costumes. Bits and bobbins are scattered around; oddities and prop-weapons are tucked into corners.

You are wading through the sea of fabric. Klee, a burst of red in a wash of silver and blue costumes, pokes her head out excitedly.

Kaeya leans against the doorway, watching the pair of you. He’s shadowed so heavily to the audience that we can’t quite make out his face; perhaps just the slip of a fond smile.

“Look! Look!” Klee cries happily, pulling a gown of liquid silver, shimmering material. It looks like starlight. “So sparkly!”

You and Kaeya had agreed to take her with you for a while after Jean had caught her attempting to sneak away from her room again. Though you spend less time with Klee than Kaeya tends to, you’ve still aided Jean with her quite a bit. She loves to come to your shows and in the summer months, when there are arts camps that your troupe leads, Klee is often among the participants.

(She does, in fact, cause some chaos, much to the dismay of your fellow actors. You adore her all the same; besides, you’ve always liked a show with a bit of a bang.)

“I wore that once,” you tell Klee, “I played a princess from the moon in that play.”

“A princess!” Klee exclaims, bunching the fabric in her small hands. “Did you have a crown?”

You hum, pausing in your original search for a particular costume for one of the shows you’ll be performing in during Windblume. “I’m sure it’s around here somewhere,” you say then and you turn away to begin hunting amongst all the objects. You open trunks to rifle through them, pulling out all sorts of items; wooden swords and plastic wine glasses, candles, and even a babydoll.

Klee picks up one of the wooden swords immediately.

“That was for a show about pirates.” You tell Klee.

“Argh!” She cries, brandishing the swords, much too large for her, towards Kaeya.

“A fearsome pirate!” He says and picks up the other wooden sword to hold it up to her own, “are you here to steal my treasure?”

You smile to yourself and fondness blooms like a flower inside of your chest; for Klee and for Kaeya, how eager he is to jump into her theatrics.

“No, you be the pirate!” Klee then says, “you have the eyepatch!”

This makes you laugh, full and warm in the small, cramped space of the costume room.

“Alright, I’m here to steal all your treasure!” He says, readjusting his sword to a playful fighting stance. He glances at you, just behind Klee, and then adds, “and I’ll be kidnapping the fair lady behind you.”

The smile he gives you is roguish. Devilish. Your heart flutters like a bird’s beating wing.

But, you are nothing, if not an actor.

“Oh, no. Captain Klee,” you say seriously, wide eyed and she looks at you as you plead, “you have to save me!”

“I’ll protect you!” Klee promises, “and the treasure! You’ll never get past me!”

This begins a battle of wooden swords, where Klee uses both hands to swing at Kaeya wildly. He parries gently, careful with each pass of the fake sword, but crying out with effort sincerely as if she’s delivering blow after massive blow.

Klee, wild little girl that she is, begins to knock over costumes, racks of clothes, and lone props set half-hazardly against the walls.

Kaeya, seeing the disaster, pretends to let one of Klee’s blows knock his sword from his hand.

But then, in a quick burst, he’s gotten the sword from her own grip, too. And she squeals, “run!”

What ensues then, is nothing short of chaos, as you and Klee run around row and row of costumes. You’re dizzy with laughter as you round prop furniture and fake carriages and Archons knows what. Kaeya chases eagerly and Klee takes your hand, pulling harder.

You’re thankful you’re dressed in trousers today, a blouse not dissimilar to the kind Kaeya wears beneath his coat.

It makes for easy movement, so the two of you rush and dart among the wild colors and dramatic paintings left to gather dust; all once a part of a story, a play, a show, and now perhaps long forgotten.

You throw a skirt at Kaeya’s head and he pretends to be deterred, Klee laughing and pulling on you harder, running away again.

Your chase comes to a halt when he finally manages to corner the two of you. Klee stands bravely in front of you.

“It looks like I’ve got you cornered, Captain Klee.” Kaeya says, stepping towards the two of you.

But you catch the little glint in her eyes. You know it well.

In an instant, and with a great battle cry, she launches herself at Kaeya.

As easy as ever, he catches her, swings her through the air and her peels of laughter are bright and pinging off the walls.

“You made a brave last stand.” Kaeya says, wrangling her until he’s got her around the waist, hanging upside down as she laughs herself breathless. “But it seems I’ve won. I’ll be taking the fair lady and treasure now.”

Kaeya looks at you, a lightning crack of blue in the dark. Heat swarms your cheeks for reasons you wish you didn’t know.

Klee squirms, “no! It’s not over yet!”

Kaeya snorts at that, “Klee, I’ve got you upside down.”

But she kicks in his hold– “be careful!”

You rush towards the pair of them, reaching to catch her as she slips from part of Kaeya’s hold with all her fussing and fighting now. She wriggles and kicks with all her might.

He rights her just as she frees herself and in the process of all her flailing, and all the two of your attempts at keeping her from falling, she takes the three of you down in a heap.

Thankfully, your fall is softened by costumes strewn about from all the previous fighting. Klee falls on top of you and Kaeya just barely manages to catch himself, twisting his body at the last minute to fall onto his side beside the two of you. He grunts and you yelp a little with the weight of Klee.

And then, when the dust has settled, Klee begins to laugh again.

You turn to look at Kaeya, who looks at you in return.

You share a silent conversation;

Are you okay?

Yes, are you?

And then your own laugh is pulled from you and your arms come around Klee, laughing with her fully. Freely. For a moment, you can feel Kaeya looking at the two of you. You can feel the weight of his gaze, the ache of fondness, of warmth.

But then Kaeya’s laugh joins in the symphony, lower, softer, but so genuine it makes you want to bottle the sound and keep it. You want to be able to pull that sound from him all the time, for everything.

You fall back into the heap of costumes, laying on your back with a contented sigh, and Klee climbs eagerly over you.

Kaeya, after a moment, falls back with you.

His shoulder brushes against your own.

And he pulls Klee from your stomach to lift her again, another bout of her laughter erupting like twinkling bells.

“Perhaps you’ve won this one, Captain Klee.” Kaeya says, setting her back down gently, even as she squirms to sit up atop him.

She pulls at his ears and he twists a little, “I’ve defeated the pirate!”

And then you notice, just beyond Klee’s head, high above on a shelf;

“The crown!”

Klee is up in an instant and Kaeya is quick to follow her.

He offers his hand to you, which you take. You let yourself be enfolded in his grip a moment, to notice the calluses on his hands, and the way he overtakes your own. He pulls you up from the ground.

You have to look away–from him, from his hand over yours.

This time, when he lifts Klee up to get the crown, no one falls over.

And then carefully, you’re affixing the silver crown to her head. Its sheen is glossy and bends and curls in half-moons all over, swirls of astrology. Opal and fair blue jewels dot and sparkle among it like stars.

It’s a little big on Klee’s small head, but nonetheless, you gasp, “oh, you look beautiful!”

“Princess Klee, what shall be your first decree of the kingdom?” Kaeya asks as he holds her up on his hip. Her small arms are wrapped around his neck. The sight is precious, so heartwarming that your smile almost aches. “As a Knight, I’ll see to your orders immediately.”

“That we get ice cream!”

Kaeya and you share a look and you can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of you.

“Ice cream?” Kaeya asks, “but you haven’t even had lunch.”

“You said as my Knight that you would see to my orders immediately.” Klee responds and Kaeya looks at you, perhaps a little surprised, as you laugh even harder.

And then, “you’re not going to disobey the princess, are you?” You ask him.

“Yeah!” Klee agrees, “do you want ice cream, too?”

Kaeya eyes you. Your smile is a cat’s curl, sweet and mischievous, “I’d love ice cream, Princess Klee.”

“See! The moon princess says we should get ice cream, too!” Klee announces.

Kaeya’s brows arch upwards as he looks at you, “oh, you’re a princess now, too?”

Your smile is wide, “apparently.”

His own grin is fond, despite the way he pretends to be reluctant, “in that case, who am I to deny the wishes of not one, but two princesses?”

“Yes!” Klee exclaims and wriggles in his hold so that he’ll set her down. She rushes towards the door, “lets go right now!”

Kaeya looks at you, “did you find what you’re looking for?”

“Not at all,” you say with a smile, “but I’ll figure it out. It seems we have more pressing matters to attend to.”

Kaeya looks back at Klee and perhaps, this is the most open you’ve seen him; with Klee and with you. He adores her. He turns back to you.

He looks at you with such warmth.

Then he smirks, crooked and handsome, “then after you, princess.”

You feel a prickle of warmth among your cheeks, the tips of your ears, as you turn to follow Klee out the door and into the afternoon light. It’s so bright for a moment that you have to blink against it, before all the world enfolds before your eyes.

And with the crown wobbling atop her head, Klee bounds towards ice cream. You follow after her eagerly, taking up her little hand. Kaeya rounds the back, right on your heels.

He watches the two of you, softened like the sweet ice cream, maybe by the sun–maybe by the girl in your arms.

Maybe by your own softness and the light that touches you, that reflects back onto the world.

SCENE VII

Darkening evening; somewhere in the countryside of Mondstadt, far outside the city gates. The tall grass sways. You and Kaeya are on a picnic blanket. There is a bottle of wine between you. If it was real, it’d be a perfect romantic evening.

Later, our world should be revealed through the eyes of Kaeya; unknowing and naive for once. Startled with its sudden beauty. We should also ask, has the world always been this magical? Have I missed it all along?

“Windblume is soon,” you comment, “rehearsals will pick up in preparation for it–sorry for making you walk out to Springvale so much.” You’re reclined back into the blanket and Kaeya has been careful not to look long or hard at you. He knows you’ll look fetching and lovely.

“The walk is nice,” Kaeya replies to appease you, “I don’t mind. Besides, Venti’s with you for many of those, isn’t he?”

You take a swig from the bottle before passing it back to him. His fingers curl around the neck, brushing your own. You swallow slowly. “He is, thankfully. Though I’m not sure how much help a bard would be in danger–us artists are all rather useless.” You joke, “lovers and not fighters, you know?”

Kaeya presses the bottle to his lips and thinks of your own on it before he takes a rather large sip himself.

“I think Venti would surprise you,” Kaeya comments and then he tilts his head, careful with his next question, “what all do you know of Venti?”

You laugh a little, surprised by his question, “what do you mean?”

“He’s–” Kaeya struggles to find the right words, “strange, isn't he? He has a strange…history.”

“Do you know it?” You ask.

“Do you?”

You laugh again, shaking your head at him, “you’re always doing that.”

“What?” Kaeya feigns innocence.

“Avoiding my questions,” you wrap your hand around his that still has the wine and pull it from his grasp. “In truth, I don’t know much of Venti’s past. But I know who he is now and that’s what matters to me.”

Kaeya hums lightly, watching as you take another slow pull of wine, throat working. He looks away.

“He is strange, though.” You agree, “I’ve always had…a sense of him.”

“How so?” Kaeya asks, eyes glancing up at the stars above him.

“He’s otherworldly, isn’t he? Or…he seems rather old, sometimes.” You shake your head slightly, “I can’t quite put my finger on it. But sometimes, I don’t think he’s human at all. He feels timeless.”

Kaeya can’t help but smile to himself. You are very clever. So keen.

Once more, he is struck by how easily you seem to be able to see through everyone, even without fully knowing.

Instead, Kaeya says, “I don’t know, he seems rather immature to me. A drunkard.” Then, he swipes the bottle back from you.

You laugh, full and lovely, “oh, says you! You’re one of his best drinking buddies!”

Kaeya takes several more deep pulls of the wine as if to prove a point, only to get you to laugh again, which you do, before you reach to pull it back from his lips.

“Don’t drink it all! I still want some!” And now it’s his turn to laugh, the taste of wine tarte and sweet on his lips, as he pulls from your reach. You topple closer to him as you grab for it and he carefully pulls it away from your grasp once more.

Kaeya plants his hand on your shoulder to hold you away as he takes another long pull of wine. Some spills from his lips and he can feel it on his chin, dipping down into his throat.

He finally hands you the bottle when he’s finished, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand.

And you’re looking at his throat.

He uses a knuckle to trace up the line of wine, and sucks it clean from the skin there.

His throat will be sticky and smell boozy and sweet until he returns home with you but for now, you are looking closely at his throat.

He wonders if you’re thinking what he is. He wonders if you know how expressive you are, the sweet rounding out of your eyes, and the parting of your lips.

You blink, as if clearing your pretty little head and then take a sip from the same bottle his own lips were just at. He lets you nurse it now since the pleasant flush of wine is already rising to his cheeks.

You tip your head up towards the heavens and are awash in the lavender honey glow of the sunset. The sky is starting to darken, plum deep and rosy. It watercolors across your features, swims in the depth of your eyes.

“The sky is so beautiful,” you say with soft awe.

It’s like you’re seeing it for the first time all over again.

It takes Kaeya great effort to drag his eyes away from you and up into the sky that has stolen your attention.

It is beautiful.

“I may be biased, but I think the sky is best in Mondstadt.” You continue.

You take another swig of wine and he watches you wipe at the corner of your mouth this time, eyes following your hand, the flash of your tongue.

“I won’t argue,” Kaeya agrees softly.

“I think it’s all the open fields and hills. Everything is just so–” you let loose a breath, “free.”

He can’t say he harbors the same amazement for Mondstadt. His feelings towards the nation have always been more convoluted than that; though he has grown into the seemingly charming Captain of the Knights, one of Mondstadt’s pride and joys, he does not quite feel the same adoration for it.

He does not feel as connected as you are, as rooted so solidly here.

As the sun slips away, you finally say, “would you like to see something?”

Before he can answer, you’re standing, opening a palm up to help him stand as well.

He looks at your open palm, so vulnerable, so unscarred and untouched.

He takes it with uncertainty and almost tentativeness he can’t quite understand. But then you’re hauling him up and pulling him along.

“Where are you taking me?” He asks.

And you turn to smile over your shoulder, impish and lovely, “it’s a secret.”

If there is one thing Kaeya is good for, it’s secrets. He allows himself to be led over hill and slope, round and over, through a thicket of trees.

He has a strong sense of direction and lay of the land, but even now, he feels rather–disorientated. Lost. He holds tight to your hand.

“Where are we?” He asks now.

“I told you,” you reply, “it’s a secret.”

“You do know, don’t you?” Kaeya drawls.

You laugh, “yes, I know where we are! It’s not much further.”

And then, as if the world had listened to your voice, you bring him around a loping bend, which opens up to a small, glittering lagoon. Trees droop and shade it, specifically a large, curling willow tree that hangs overhead. Blossoming trees of pink and white scatter their petals into the still, midnight blue water. Stars reflect on the surface, sparkling like diamonds.

Kaeya blinks in surprise. It almost feels like an entirely new world he’d been transported into.

More than that, he can’t believe this isn’t on his map. He doesn’t think he’s ever heard of a place like this.

You wander to a small outcropping that leans out over the water. You peer down into it, then back at him. “Isn’t it lovely?”

“How did you find this?” Kaeya asks, coming to your side in order to peer into the water. It’s nearly clear. And if it weren’t for the dying light, he’d be able to see clear into the bottom of the lagoon. More than that, what he can see are flashing, striking stones at the bottom. Like jewels, they glimmer and glow, refracting and transforming the light and water.

It’s like the sky underwater.

You pull your gaze away from the pond to look at him, to perhaps peer right into him in that uncanny way of yours. He fights the urge to squirm.

But you smile, and you say, “if you listen closely, the world will reveal its secrets to you.”

Kaeya tilts his head, surprised. And before he can be clever or smart-mouthed, you continue, “I know countless hidden places all over Mondstadt.”

“Do you explore often?” He asks, trying to make sense of this. Of you.

You shake your head, “not particularly. I told you–if you listen and you look and you’re open, all will reveal itself to you.”

Kaeya doesn’t have the heart to argue with you. He doesn’t think of the world as magical as you do. And yet, you are the one who has found this place, magical as it is–

You suddenly begin to unlace the front of your corset. You pull roughly at it, until it loosens enough for you to slip it off and let it fall into the tall grass, beside the bottle of wine you’d set down.

Then, you begin to pull the sleeves of your outer dress off, down over your shoulders to pool at your waist–

“What are you doing?!” Kaeya laughs in disbelief, turning his eyes away momentarily, until he realizes you’re at least still in a chemise.

“Going for a swim,” you say easily, shimmying that outer layer completely off and stepping right out of it. You toe off your shoes and bend over to roll your stockings down your thigh.

Kaeya, for a moment, can do nothing but gaze at you.

As if you can sense it, you pick your head up to catch his gaze, looking up at him from beneath your lashes, still bent over with your back in a pretty curve. “You’re not going to make me swim alone, are you?”

You’re such trouble, he thinks with a squeeze of his heart.

He shucks off his coat to let it fall into the grass.

You grin wildly, standing again and without another moment, leap off the outcropping and into the pool below.

The splash is big and upends the calmness of the water, splattering drops everywhere.

Kaeya watches you resurface as his fingers nimbly take apart his shirt, button by button to reveal his bare chest. He strips himself of boots and socks.

And perhaps it's the wine, but he even goes to unbutton his pants, catching your eye from the water. Your eyebrows quirk in surprise and you say to him, “you should’ve told me you wanted to skinny dip!”

He laughs, hearty and warm, “I don’t. But I’d rather not walk home in wet pants.”

Carefully, he pushes them off, leaving himself in just his dark briefs, revealing the muscles of his thighs. The chill of the evening air.

He jumps in right after you and you shriek a little as he lands almost beside you.

The water is cold, the plunge of it shocking his senses with a jolt. He pushes to the surface and breaks it, pushing the mess of his midnight hair away from his face.

“It’s freezing!” Kaeya says.

“I thought you were good with the cold,” you respond and just to torment him, you give a splash to his face. He blinks back the water from his eye.

Kaeya splashes you back immediately and you laugh. You wipe the water from your face. “It isn’t so bad.” You get out but your teeth are beginning to chatter and now it's Kaeya’s turn to laugh at you.

“Do you swim here often?” He asks.

You shake your head, “this is the first time–I had no idea the water was so cold!” You dunk lower beneath the water, “have to keep moving, I suppose.”

And then you disappear from beneath the darkening surface. Kaeya can hardly see the bottom anymore as the last rays of light fall from the sky, but he can feel the current, the push and pull of the water around his legs as you move.

You pop up on the other side of him, further away, dripping and shining in the beginning light of the moon, petals clinging to your bare chest and shoulders, tangled in your hair.

He slips beneath the surface as well, quiet as can be, and blindly swims towards you in the dark. His hands reach, seeking–

They skim your legs until he gets his palm around your calf. He can hear your shriek of laughter, far away and soft, warbly to his ears. He pulls lightly and you kick, playful, giggles spilling out, and he swims for them now.

He emerges right beside you and instantly, you’re on him, pushing his shoulders down momentarily to dunk him.

He squabbles for you, with you, hands coming around your waist to pull you under and back up. You’re laughing wildly, fighting and twisting with him in the water.

You kick away from him, dive beneath the water and without thought, like he’s a child again, he follows you.

The cold fades.

And he’s laughing, “you little brat,” he says right after you use your feet to kick up a large splash back at him.

He shakes his head, water flying free from him and onto you.

“You dog!” you laugh, but this time, when you disappear beneath the water, you don’t resurface right away.

The water goes still, except for his wading.

He glances around, listening for you, waiting. He can hear the thud of his heart. The hoot of an owl. The world, soft and hushed at night.

Your secret world, he thinks with amazement, just as you grab his leg from beneath the water. You don’t have the strength to pull him under at all, so you use him to pull yourself back up. Hand on his waist, then up on his chest, his shoulder, until you’re in front of him once more.

If he was a better man, he’d band an arm around your waist, pull you in tight.

If he was good and unmarred and open like you were, he’d feel you flush against him and know you the way you seem to know the world; eagerly and with all the love in your heart.

Perhaps, selfishly, he has the urge to do so.

He can’t decide if it’s fleeting or not, if he just wants to know what you’d taste like or what sort of sound you’d make against his lips. Or if something else shifts and simmers beneath his skin. He thinks you must draw that out in everyone, that half the world is likely in love with you, anyways.

He’s no special man.

There are better ones than him that should have you. Hands like his shouldn’t hold you, nor lips like his to kiss you.

You are slick with petals and moonlight, shimmering in his vision. As the night wind brushes past you, you begin to shiver all over.

“You’re going to catch a cold,” he says.

“So will you and then we’ll both be sick and miserable together.” You flash him that smile again, the mischievous, elated one.

Kaeya shakes his head, “come on,” he urges, “we should head home before it gets any later.” He watches you shiver, teeth chattering, “And you get any colder.”

Finally, you listen to him and let him corral you out of the water.

It is cold with the sun set and dripping wet. He redresses swiftly, but pauses when he reaches his coat.

He dusts it off and then drops it over your shoulders.

“You’re cold, too!” You protest instantly, looking up at him and he can feel the way his shirt clings to his wet chest.

“I like the cold, remember?” Kaeya responds and he affixes it to you, bundling you deep into it, grabbing it by the lapels to pull it shut around you. Perhaps half for your modesty; half because he’s an awful scoundrel and he knows all the world would love to see you like this. And he does not want them to.

“Now, shall we go?” He asks and he offers you his arm.

Your eyes are light, near glowing with the moon and stars, “we shall.”

He escorts you home like a perfect, honest gentleman. His hands don’t stray and his eyes don’t, either. You sing and chirp like a bird. It fills up the night sky.

But you’re in his coat and he thinks of your own hand on his hip, on his chest. He thinks of your laugh and wicked smile. He thinks of you like a nymph, in the water under the moonlight, in his dreams covered in petals.

He thinks of you like a child does, alight and carefree.

He thinks of you with a strange, tremendous fear.

If you listen closely, the world will reveal its secrets to you.

He wonders if you could hear his heart at all, wonders if you can hear it now, across his apartment, all the way in his bed. You must, because it takes up all his chest, thuds deep inside him like a bell tolling, like a drum from a song he only knew as a boy.

And he wonders what it’d reveal to you, if you ever manage to catch its melody.

***

SCENE VIII

Outside of Angel’s Share, towards closing hour. A gold street lamp illuminates our world. Otherwise, it should be dark. The hush of the patrons from inside is a dull, low roar. We should feel alone on stage, though. Singular.

All it takes is a moment.

A split second that Kaeya disappears inside of Angel’s Share to replace your empty glass of wine with another full one. You’d wanted air, tipsy and flushed, and previously giggly with Kaeya and Venti.

From around the corner, in the darkness of the street, a man appears.

Instantly, your hackles rise. Your intuition is a sharp, prickly thing inside of you. It catapults your heart into a race.

You try to soothe yourself; you tell yourself you’re paranoid.

You greet him like you would any Mondstadtian.

“Hello. Coming for a drink?”

But he doesn’t respond.

Your smile drops from your face. Something inside of you sharpens and you notice the slightest move of his muscles.

You think all prey must know the heartbeat before their predator pounces. They have to, if they’re going to outrun them.

But the door swings open and Kaeya is out into the night once more, wine in hand.

His eyes lock solidly on the man and he must know, Kaeya is too clever and too keen of a man to not know.

His arm slips around you as he hands you the glass of dark wine.

Strangely, he kisses your cheek in greeting, and then he asks you, and the man, and to the night, “made a friend already?”

“It seems,” you respond and you pick your smile up, though it feels wobbly, and try to plaster it back on your face. “So?” You prompt the man carefully, your voice thinner than you prefer, so small, “you’re coming for a drink?”

The man is frozen.

But finally, he says, “just walking past. I’ll be on my way.”

“Good evening to you!” Kaeya calls jovially, squeezing your waist. The moment he is out of earshot, Kaeya is looking you over. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” you breathe, “he didn’t do anything.”

Kaeya glances towards the figure, growing fainter, “go inside to Venti and Diluc.”

There’s something strange in his tone, in the command.

Fear crawls up your spine like a spider on spindly, tickling legs. Goosebumps erupt all over the nape of your neck. Your breath goes tight.

“But–” you start.

“Go,” he says, with more of a bass in his voice, deep from his chest and he presses at you, urging you inside. “I’ll return shortly.”

A firmer nudge towards the door makes you stumble. You glance back at him.

He waits until you disappear back into the tavern and immediately, your eyes flicker over the small crowd, finding a burst of red hair.

Venti is right beside Diluc.

You rush to them.

Instantly, Diluc must know something is amiss, because he comes around the side of the bar to meet you halfway, to pull you away from the crowd.

He pulls the glass of wine from your hands and sets it aside, lost.

“What is it?” He urges gently, large, calloused hands opening to take yours.

“A Fatui member–” you get out, “I think Kaeya went after him.”

Venti appears at your side as Diluc peers above your head, at the door, as if he may be able to see through it.

He curses softly, “are you hurt? Did they do anything to you?”

“I’m alright, Kaeya came out and scared him off, I think.” You answer but you can feel the quick flutter of your heart, the press and squeeze of it desperately in your chest that suddenly feels too small for it.

“Venti?” Diluc starts, but Venti cuts him off, as if he’d known Diluc’s thoughts;

“She’s safe with me.”

In an instant, Diluc has slipped from you as well, rushing towards the door and into the night before you can even call after him.

“Come on,” Venti says, taking your hands to lead you further away from the crowds and up to the top level. He makes you sit, pulling a chair up beside your own.

“Should they have gone after them-?” You ask distantly, your own eyes drifting to the door as if you might be able to see them now. “Isn’t it dangerous?”

“They’ll be able to handle it!” Venti replies, rather chipper, but then he softens, “you don’t have to worry about them.”

You catch your lip between your teeth. Your mind races with images of fights, of one of them getting injured. You imagine a Fatui member stepping through the door for you instead of Kaeya or Diluc. You imagine they never step through the door again.

Kaeya said he’d be back but–

You can feel your fear grow large and strong inside of you, some old wound that bursts open.

He won’t ever come, like he said he would.

Your breath gets caught somewhere, ribs stuck on a sharp little inhale. You can hardly think straight, only can imagine waiting here. All night. All morning.

You get the absurd idea that you’ll wait here forever, in limbo, for a man to walk through the door.

“Hey,” Venti nudges your knee with his, “they’ll be back soon. They’ll be okay.”

“You’ll wait with me?” You ask and your voice is surprisingly small.

“Of course,” Venti replies, “I’m not going anywhere!”

And he does wait with you as your worry grows larger and more untamable, bramble thick and thorny inside of you. You’re near shaking and he tries to say, again and again, in his sweet voice, that they’ll be okay. They’ll be back soon.

But the tavern empties until it is just you and Venti. The moon rises high in the sky.

And you pace. And you wait. And you wring your hands and bite your lip bloody.

Venti tries to soothe you to no avail.

The night grows long like a transforming beast.

But in an instant, it’s all vanished–

The door swings open and you rush to the railing, heart jumping wildly, to see who it is.

Kaeya and Diluc waltz back into the tavern, bickering with each other. You can hear their voices, low and heated with tempers.

You rush down the stairs and for a moment, you want to rush right into Kaeya’s arms. You have the urge to find him there, solid and warm beneath your touch. You want him to bundle you up, to soothe you.

But you stop yourself, a little flushed and out of breath.

“You’re okay?” You get out, eyes finally flickering between them.

“Totally fine,” Kaeya says smoothly, “though, rather empty-handed.”

His remark is towards Diluc.

“Oh like it’s my fault that–”

“It is!” Kaeya instantly snaps.

“We wouldn’t have been able to–”

“Did you find anything out?” Venti interrupts their fighting.

“Nothing of good use,” Kaeya responds, “the Fatui member circled back to the tavern, presumably to continue to keep an eye on you.” He huffs, “and if anything, is more suspicious that we’re onto them because of Diluc–”

“It’s hardly suspicious to see me around my own tavern.” Diluc drawls.

Kaeya catches your gaze and his face transforms. He must realize that you’re still shaken and afraid, that you look smaller than usual, because in an instant, he’s shrugged out of his own coat and thrown it over your shoulders once more.

“Perhaps I should get you home, hm?” He says, once more carefully bundling you into the garment, wrapping it around you like a cloak. He puts his hands on your trembling shoulders. “Enough excitement for one night.”

“I’m sorry–”

“Ah, ah, ah,” Kaeya scolds softly, “there’s no reason to apologize. You’re frightened, which is a completely normal reaction to have.”

You can feel Diluc’s eyes on the two of you. You stop yourself from cinching your grip around Kaeya’s wrists, hands still on your shoulders. You stop yourself from clinging to him desperately.

He then looks to Diluc and Venti, “Diluc can fill you in. We’ll be leaving.”

“I’m going to tail your follower,” Diluc says, “I’m going to stay out and search for answers.”

“Diluc–” you start, shaking your head.

Kaeya frowns momentarily, brows furrowing. He sends a fleeting glare to Diluc. But when his gaze returns to yours, he softens, and coos, “he’ll be fine. We should head home. It’s late.” And then to Diluc and Venti, “We’ll be in touch.”

You want to take his hand. You want–

His hand on your lower back guides you out of the tavern, into the crisp night once more. Instantly, you glance around, and search for your wretched shadow. Your heart stumbles into a strange little tempo.

“It’s alright,” Kaeya murmurs, pulling you in closer.

Without Diluc and Venti, under the guise of your false relationship now, you lean into the touch and into his side.

For a moment, the world is silent as you begin the familiar trek back to Kaeya’s apartment. The night is as it always is; the stars gaze down upon you in silver pricks of light, cold and distant. The streets are dead at this hour and you can hear the faint, soft hoot of an owl.

Your mind churns, spinning over itself in a tumble, and all it can seem to repeat now is don’t leave, don’t go away, don’t leave, please stay.

Belatedly, you realize you’ve been led into Kaeya’s apartment, which has become a great source of comfort to you. You exhale hard. You feel as if someone has loosened all your strings and you drop like an unmoored puppet.

Kaeya carefully removes his coat from you.

“I’ll run you a bath.” He says gently and he moves to slip away from you.

“Kaeya–” his name bursts from your mouth before you can stop it.

He turns, expectant, waiting.

You try to unstick your voice from where it clings in your throat.

And when you do, you surprise yourself to say, “I didn’t like when you took off and–”

Left me.

You don’t know why, but the phrase itself is enough to make tears build to a sharp pressure. You can feel it behind your eyes, in your nose. Your throat closes in tight with it, swallowing around the new lump caught in your throat.

“I was scared you wouldn’t come back.”

Desperately, childishly, you fight back tears for some reason.

Your lip wobbles.

Quickly, you press the heels of your hands into your eyes, “‘m sorry–I don’t know why I’m–”

You don’t catch Kaeya’s face; you don’t see the understanding that washes over him, the sudden softening of his whole body. Slack with his realization.

He goes to you, crosses the space he’d put there in the first place, “I’m sorry to make you worry.”

His hands touch your shoulders, and then they slip up, pinkies against your own, before his hands fold over yours and gently, as kindly as possible, he pulls them from your face.

“Oh, darling, don’t cry.” Kaeya hushes softly, “I’m fine–Diluc’s okay. We came back.”

You sniffle, “I know–”

“It’s alright,” he murmurs, and then you’re in his arms, being tucked into his chest. Your hands are up, before they settle, curling into the front of his shirt. He tightens his hold on you, presses your face into him, cradles you to him. “I’m sorry,” he soothes, “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

You exhale hard, rough, through the ebbing of your tears.

You can feel a bruise somewhere, blossoming deep inside of you, growing into its own fierce ache because something has just prodded at it.

In truth, you feel as if you could fall apart in his arms, that you could start crying and perhaps never stop. But you cling to him and you cling to your shaky breath, trying to force it into being even and slow, trying to tame the beast of your fear. Of your hurt.

You manage to muffle into his chest, “will you stay with me tonight?”

And he knows what you mean; he knows you mean, will you keep watch of me? Will you protect me? Will you stay until I close my eyes?

Will you still be there when I open them again?

“Yes,” he promises gently, and then he pulls away to inspect you, to catch the watery, raw look in your eyes. “I’ll even tell you another story.”

And you laugh, let it burst from your aching chest in a rough sound. He smiles, too, at the corners.

You tuck yourself back into his arms, though, unable to leave. He does not press you.

He just holds you.

And you can hear the drum of his heart in your ear, the steady beat, and the little skip, before he lets out a slow breath and evens it once more. Carefully, he keeps tempo, and carefully, you listen.

You wish you could fall asleep to the sound.

Instead, you finally manage to say, “I’d take a bath, too…”

And now Kaeya laughs, lovely and warm and in your ear. He squeezes you affectionately, sways a little with you in his arms and you teeter with him, lifting your head from his chest to look up at him with a horribly fond smile, and tears caught somewhere on your lashes.

He pulls away so that you can stand on your own two feet. Cold rushes in. You want him back, you want him back–

But he makes a show of dipping into a little bow, “of course, princess, and shall I carry you there as well?”

And he looks like the prince you imagine in the stories he tells.

Your laugh chases away your tears, the way the sun will chase away the night. The way a fire melts snow and ice, the way all the world softens when you know what you’re listening for. Your heart aches something fierce and when you fall asleep that night, to the sound of Kaeya’s smooth, rolling timbre, and you wish he’d stay until morning.

You wish you’d wake up to the sound of his heart beating, wish you could hear it again and memorize the sound, the symphony that you strain to hear in the crux of his so well-guarded chest.

In the morning, he’s gone from his place in his bedroom, like a ghost, like a dream. But again and again, you search for him.

He hasn’t left. He’s in the kitchen. Not far, but not close. Somewhere in the middle, in limbo, in another world entirely.

But again in the morning light, he turns to find you standing in the arch of his doorway, in his clothes, like perhaps you’ve always belonged there afterall.

***

SCENE IX

Kaeya’s apartment, night, blue moon in the window. Heavy and lovely. There’s water running in the bathroom and Kaeya waits for you outside. We see his profile as he stares at the leather-bound diary we’ve come to know as yours. It tempts him.

Kaeya is too curious and too cautious and too distrusting to let your diary lay out in the open while you prepare for bed.

In an instance, he’s swept it up.

He isn’t quite sure what he’s going to find but he certainly wasn’t expecting–

Notes to a song scribbled halfhazerdly on the page. Lyrics beneath it. A comment in your looping handwriting, as if added later;

I don’t think I’ll sing this one ever again after Liyue.

And then a diary entry, dated nearly two years ago.

Retuning home after everything and being celebrated when I nearly ran away from everyone for a man who left me at the altar. I was so ready to leave them all behind and disappear. I always dreamed of running and running and running. And yet, they’ve welcomed me home into their arms again. My guilt is tremedous and shivering and hungry. I don’t think I’ll ever–

Kaeya shuffles through the pages, startled, perhaps with it’s honesty.

Another page is a poem, half crossed out;

Wishless, loveless

Love to wish

On a love

That will never come

I imagine you running to me

Open armed–

Wishing you’d shown up that dawn.

But like a child

I cry

And cling

To stars

On wishes

On a love

That wil never come.

Something stirs inside him. He shouldn’t be reading this. And yet, he must know. Kaeya frowns and skips away, pages ahead, searching for more–there must be more than just your own thoughts. Another diary entry dated nearly a year ago.

Admittedly, it was horribly foolish of me to sleep with Rosaria at all, but if she asked again–

Kaeya’s brows jump up in surprise, mouth popping open. He skims the page.

I keep admiring the marks she left on me in the mirror. I keep thinking of her pinning me against the wall again and–

Kaeya is startled by the curl of jealousy that drifts through him. He’s half tempted to read on but also something inside of him sours. He doesn’t want to think of you with someone else. He doesn’t want to think of Rosaria’s marks all over your body. He flips a little further through the pages, before the door to the bathroom finally pops open.

“What are you doing?” You’re clean faced, ready for bed, and he can smell the rosy lotion you use. Powdery soft and delicate.

Well, he’s been caught red handed, hasn’t he? Might as well–

“Reading your diary.” He drawls, holding it up cheekily.

“Kaeya!” You squeal his name in a way that makes him want to hear it again, and again, and again until your voice breaks with it. You lunge for him and he dances away nimbly.

He flips to another page, more recent, and catches his name on the page. He reads it aloud;

“It doesn’t help that Kaeya smells nice, either. And his voice–his voice drives me wild. I could listen to him–” Kaeya is grinning from ear to ear, holding the notebook from your reach as you paw and clamber for it, “is this what you think of me?” He preens.

“You’re so–!” You cry, fingers digging into his wrist as you wrestle with him for the diary, laughing through your struggle as he easily flips you around with a gentle twist of your arm. You squeal again and he feels like being selfish so he presses until you yelp a little. And then your back is to his chest, one arm caught by his hand and pressing gently into your lower back, while his other holds the journal in front of your face.

He leans in close to read more, hooking his chin over your shoulder, “And his hands are so large and rough. He’s like a real-life prince. Charming and brave and kin–”

“Kaeya! Stop it! Don’t read anymore!” You’re laughing but your voice is going shrill and high, terrified. “You’re the worst!”

Kaeya snaps the journal shut, if only to appease you, “ah, that’s not what you really think of me now, is it?” He purrs.

You toss him off, finally wrenching the diary from his grasp and darting across the room. You turn to face him, clutching the journal to your front. Your hair is a wild mess. Your chest is heaving a little, skin revealed by the pretty little ruffled nightdress you wear to bed.

“You’re a scoundrel,” you accuse breathlessly.

He feels it, looking at that exposed skin and the way you’re panting.

“Not a prince?” He sings.

“Kaeya!” You shriek again and for a moment, he thinks you’re going to throw it back at him. But you still yourself and try to glare at him without laughing, “what else did you find out?”

“Not much,” Kaeya lies, eye glinting, smirk crooking across his face sharply, “but you and Rosaria, huh?”

He watches your mortification blossom in a slow realization.

“That was a one time thing.” You get out.

“Doesn’t sound like you wanted it to be–”

You do throw the journal at him now and he laughs, and you laugh, even as you stomp back over to him and allow him to hand it to you gently. He smooths down all the ruffled pages, too, pressing it back into your palms.

“I am sorry my curiosity got the best of me.” He says, schooling his features.

“No you’re not,” you tsk, half-heartedly glaring at him.

“Not particularly,” he agrees, “does it upset you, though?” He presses gently.

You think about it for a moment, nose scrunching up in thought.

“Not really,” you finally settle on. “Though embarrassing, it’s not anything I wouldn’t tell you. Or eventually tell you.”

Your honesty nearly blinds him.

“Really?” He asks, startled.

You nod, “really. All you had to do is ask, you know?”

Kaeya hums lightly but this has struck him very keenly. He suddenly feels very serious and somber. He wants to scold you for it, for some reason. Don’t you know you shouldn’t just–reveal everything? To him, of all people? Don’t you have self-preservation? Aren’t you scared?

Is there nothing in the world you could want to hide from him?

Are you really–as candid as you seem? So open?

You bid him goodnight in a sweet voice.

And the thing that gets him the most, is that you don’t even take your diary with you.

You leave it out on the coffee table, where it’d been when he’d first swept it up.

He doesn’t dare touch it now.

Worse than that, he can hardly sleep, with the journal beside him. And the moon high and large, gazing down at him curiously, as he thinks about you over and over. In his bed.

As an open book.

***

SCENE X

Angel’s Share once more as we know it, softly lit at night. Quieter than usual, perhaps duller than usual, too. You’re nowhere to be found. Kaeya and Venti are at the bar that Diluc is behind. Kaeya gives the audience his shoulder, a quarter of his face but no more.

“Oh, she hides the diary as a joke for me–it’s like a game!” Venti laughs. “I’m sure I know everything in it. She doesn’t really keep secrets, you know?”

Kaeya is well aware of the games you and Venti play now. He swears the pair of you only communicate in music notes, riddles written in iambic pentameter, and wild goose chases.

“I find that hard to believe,” Kaeya responds curiously.

“Not everyone is like you.” Diluc says dryly and Kaeya feels particularly prickly tonight so he squares a look at Diluc and responds;

“It’s not as if you’d know.”

Venti is quick to jump between them before Diluc can retaliate, “well, she really can’t keep a secret. Which is funny because I think everyone in the world trusts her with them. Secrets flock to her.”

Kaeya swallows a swig of wine, “what do you mean?”

“Everyone opens up to her. All the time. Before performances, after them, just in the tavern or while she’s buying eggs. She holds all of them.” Venti explains. And then he smiles as he realizes something, “I suppose, with you around lately, people aren’t as keen to share.”

“I can pull secrets out of people.” Kaeya defends.

“Yes, because you’re clever and silver-tongued. You swindle secrets. She just–” Venti has a gleam to his eyes, “catches them and holds them. They’re freely given to her. Perhaps even she knows them without being spoken.”

Kaeya hums lightly, tilting his head, “that sounds exhausting, to hold everyone’s secrets.”

“She seems more well rested than ever with you.” Venti responds cheekily.

Diluc scoffs.

Kaeya’s jaw locks. He tries to remain light when he snarks, “I don’t suppose you’re going to lecture me about being careful with her, too?”

He’s gotten it from Diluc and Jean. His Acting Grand Master had given him the spiel just the other day, after she’d noticed the way the two of you had been bickering and giggling together. He’s sure he knows what it looks like.

The wretched part of it is they’re not completely unfounded.

Kaeya is perhaps pushing his luck with you–like any cheat and braggart and trick would.

But he knows, deep down, that he cannot be with you in any way. He knows you are too good, too sweet, too lovely for the likes of him.

It doesn’t stop it from bothering him, though.

But Venti laughs merrily, “not at all! I’m going to warn her to be gentle with you.”

“With me?”

“She’s going to eat you alive.” Venti promises with an impish grin. “You don’t stand a chance.”

“I doubt that.” Kaeya responds but he can feel something trepidatious in the pit of his chest. His poor heart gives a strange pull. And he knows, in the way that he always does when he’s looking for information, that this is somehow true.

It rings in his ears.

“You’ll see,” Venti says merrily, “and when you realize it, you’ll think dammit! That stupid Archon was right!” Venti then casually pushes his empty glass towards Diluc, “another, please, bartender!”

And as a man from a godless nation, Kaeya shivers.

“Venti, I think you’ve had too much to drink.” Diluc shakes his head.

Venti sighs dramatically, before swiping Kaeya’s glass. And for once, Kaeya doesn’t protest or squabble with him for the last bit of his wine.

“Does she know what you are?” Kaeya asks, suddenly feeling very sober.

Venti peaks up from the glass of wine, wiping his chin with the back of his hand, “not officially! I’ve never told her. But she just knows.”

Kaeya hums, unamused. Unsatisfied with that answer.

“How long have you known her?” Kaeya presses.

“A few years. We’ve become very close in recent years. I haven’t had a best friend like her in a long time–”

Kaeya suddenly turns his cold gaze to Diluc, “and what about you? Does she know?”

Diluc goes very still. And he must be able to sense Kaeya’s sudden shift in mood, his sudden restlessness or–or sharpening. He’s agitated. He can feel it beneath his skin.

Diluc doesn’t dare play dumb. “No–she knows we fought, that’s all.”

“You haven’t told her? Since she’s so easy to open up to–”

“Kaeya.”

“Well?”

“No.” Diluc says again, harder this time, “she doesn’t know anything.”

“Don’t get jealous,” Venti says and Kaeya doesn’t know how much more he can stomach for the night. His gaze, icy and hard, flicks back to Venti. And he continues, “she was the world’s first before she was ever yours.”

“What are you–” Kaeya snaps, feeling suddenly protective of you, “she’s not mine. Or the world’s.”

Venti shrugs lightly, “she’s always belonged to the wind. She’s always belonged to the world.”

Kaeya fights the urge to snap back, gnash his teeth a little, but the Archon continues softly, as if Kaeya is no longer there at all;

“And truthfully, she’s all I hope for in the world.” He sighs a little, looking elsewhere, far away, decades away into the past or future, Kaeya can’t tell. And what it takes, to put that look on an Archon’s face, Kaeya will never know. But he does know he agrees with an Archon, for once, when he says wistfully;

“She’s the very best of us all, I think. And the world is very lucky to have her.”

#kaeya x reader #kaeya alberich x reader #kaeya x you #kaeya alberich x you #kaeya x y/n #kaeya alberich x y/n #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact x you #genshin impact x y/n

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siren song - chapter 5

Masterlist

previous chapter: chapter 4

next chapter: chapter 6

A/N: Sorry for the wait, guys!! Likely it won't be that long in between updates in the future because I am also obssessed with this story. Also, you can't tag more than 100 people on a post so I'm doing the rest in the comments and I'm hoping it works!! Thank you for all the love on the story, it means the world to me ❤️ Also this is a tad bit shorter than usual but next chapter will probably be really long so it should even out!!

Siren

August 30 2022

2100, Classified location, Las Almas

The darkness of the night surrounded you, only broken up by headlights from the two cars you and the rest of your team exited from. The illumination allowed you to take in the desert around you, the dry sand and the occasional cacti. Nothing could be seen for miles and the only semblance of life seemed to be the call of nearby coyotes. It was such a deserted space, you almost expected a tumbleweed to roll by.

You leaned against the side of one of the cars and watched Ghost do the same at the other vehicle.

Soap and Alejandro dragged a struggling Hassan from the car near you and into the middle while Graves set up a laptop on the ground.

“On your knees,” Soap ordered, pushing Hassan to the desert floor along with Alejandro’s help.

“Y’all got a clear picture?” Graves asked after setting up the video call with Shepherd and Laswell. Alejandro yanked off the black hood covering Hassan and stayed standing behind him, gun at the ready.

“Crystal,” Shepherd’s voice rang out from the laptop.

“All set,” Laswell confirmed.

“Alright, we are live, folks,” Graves said, walking over to join Soap in standing in front of Hassan. Graves hooked his thumbs into the front of his vest, giving off an air of ease.

Before Graves could utter a single word, Hassan spoke up first.

“Do you speak Arabic?”

“No,” Graves replied.

“Farsi?”

Graves looked up in annoyance before leveling a bored stare at Hassan. “No.”

“Course not. Then I’ll speak you bastardized medieval English,” Hassan gave a small smile, “because you are all uneducated street dogs.”

Graves looked down and shook his head in mock-disappointment.

“Ah, see… we’re getting off to a bad start here, Hassan.”

“You are talking to a Quds Force officer.”

“You’re the commander of a foreign terror organization,” Graves stated.

“I can say the same to you,” Hassan replied. His attempts at provocation failed, with none of you reacting to what was a very pathetic attempt at cleverness.

“What’s your target, ‘Major’?” Graves asked, tacking on the last bit with thinly veiled sarcasm.

“What was your target when they sent missiles to my land?”

Graves shrugged before looking back to Hassan. “Oh well, wild guess… To nail your ass.”

“So insolent and foul-mouthed,” Hassan said with distaste, “You will learn to respect me when your nation sees fire.”

Graves took a step forward, getting even closer. “You are in bed with the cartel, Hassan. If you disappeared, no one would know where to look for the fuckin’ stain.” The last bit was said through gritted teeth; personally, you wouldn’t have shown any sense of anger or frustration with a man like Hassan who clearly craved it. In your opinion, nonchalance and indifference would work best, but alas, it was not your interrogation.

Hassan laughed. “I have no doubt you’ll take pleasure in torturing me.”

Soap interrupted the back and forth between Graves and Hassan, asking, “Who’d you get American missiles from?”

Almost immediately, Shepherd cut in. “I don’t care who they’re from, I wanna know where they’re going.”

You furrowed your eyebrows slightly; surely, he would want to know who the supplier was in order to prevent more from getting into the wrong hands. It struck you as odd, the hardness in his voice. Maybe you were reading into things too much, but based on the look on Soap’s face, you weren’t the only one.

Graves stepped away from Hassan and looked at the immediate, desolate surroundings. As if on cue, coyotes began howling.

“Take a look around, Hassan,” Graves said, now bending to be eye-level with Hassan. “Now, you can either become part of the food chain or you can start talking.”

“I’m a hostage here. This is illegal.”

Alejandro placed a firm hand on Hassan’s shoulder. “You’re a prisoner of war.”

Hassan attempted to rear back and look at Alejandro but was stopped by the hand on his shoulder.

“Iran is not at war with Mexico. I’ve broken no laws. These men and their commanders are the law breakers,” Hassan declared, looking at every one of your team.

“You and your beloved General Ghorbani broke every—“ Soap was instantly cut off by an enraged Hassan.

“Do not speak his name!” he roared. “You executed him and you will pay for your crimes!”

This outburst brought a lazy smirk to your face. You simply could not stay back any longer, not when it was finally getting good.

You sauntered up next to Soap and Graves and joined them in towering over Hassan.

“Men,” you said humorously, your smirk never faltering, “always so dramatic.”

Hassan lunged towards you, causing Alejandro to tighten his grip and Soap to aim his gun at Hassan but you didn’t move. You simply chuckled as he spit out something you assumed to be an insult. You were not afraid of this man. You were not afraid of many men, not anymore.

Before you could say anything else, Shepherd’s voice, full of frustration, came through the laptop.

“I want this bastard in permanent custody or looking up at the goddamn grass…”

“General,” Laswell cautioned, “killing Hassan is an act of war, keeping him is illegal. Right now, he is too hot to hold.”

“Tell me you’re getting something actionable, Laswell.”

“Working on it. Stand by.”

Graves walked to the laptop and placed it on the hood of the car that Ghost stood next to.

“Actual, let me finish this,” Graves implored.

“There is nothing I would like more,” Shepherd admitted. “But Laswell’s right. Without proof we need to turn him loose. See where he leads us.”

“He’s right here. You can’t be serious,” Soap said incredulously.

“I’m afraid I am, son.”

At that, Hassan smirked.

Out of the corner of your eye you could see Ghost looking down at Hassan’s phone. “Did we get anything from his phone?”

“Affirmative,” Laswell answered. “We got a hit.”

“Good,” Shepherd said. “Now take him back and let him go.”

Alejandro threw a hood back over Hassan’s head and dragged him up. On the way, Ghost slid the phone into Hassan’s jacket pocket while Soap shut the laptop, killing the connection to Washington.

——

Siren

31 August 2022

0800, Mexican Special Forces base, Las Almas

No orders had been given after letting Hassan go. You assumed others in the task force besides your fellow Sergeant and Lieutenant were on the lead from Hassan’s phone. You instead were to wait for further instructions and remain in the base along with the Mexican Special Forces and Shadow PMC boys. You seemed to be one of the only women around, and it seemed several pairs of eyes followed you wherever you went.

Except when Ghost was around apparently. Only at breakfast when you sat in silence with your team did you see people look at you then quickly avert their gaze.

The joke was on them, though. They may stereotype based on Ghost’s menacing aura and mask, but the most dangerous kind of person is the one you’d never expect.

Feeling a little restless, you found yourself training. First, to warm up, you decided to practice throwing knives. You were pretty confident in your skills, but it never hurt to be repetitive.

You began with the closest dummy, aiming for every major artery you could hit while your target was stationary. However, you, as well as anybody knew, that rarely did a perfect shot line up. Most of the time, you dealt with people running towards or away from you, which is why the moving feature of the target dummies was so useful. As it moved back and forth, you carefully but swiftly took your aim and hit the mark, this time only trying for the heart or head; any fancy knifework was not worth the possibilty of missing your mark, something you knew from experience.

You smiled at your own skills. You weren’t always like that though; You became good out of necessity, not fascination with the craft. However, the necessity was the best kind of teacher, where one missed mark would lead to death and every hit was a step to freedom.

As you walked up to retrieve the knives, you felt the weight of someone’s gaze on your back. A few of Graves’ boys were standing around, looking at your handiwork. And in the way back, you saw a familiar, masked face watching you too.

—

After an hour or so of doing knife work, you left to explore the other training facilities. It was a large base, one that had extensive opportunities for skill improvement that you fully intended to take advantage of.

You found the hand-to-hand area fairly quickly, on account of Soap and Ghost trying to take each other out. They were covered in a layer of sweat, indicating they had been at it a while.

“C’mon Johnny,” Ghost drawled out, “you can do better.”

“Go fuck yourself, Lt.” Johnny replied, attempting to land a punch in Ghost’s side, only to be blocked with ease.

You sat on the sideline and watched as they battled it out. In all honestly, both were very good, with only a handful of blows landing for each of them.

Eventually though, Ghost had Soap in headlock of sorts on the ground and Soap tapped out.

“Damn, Lt.,” Soap said, catching his breath. “gonna put me out of commission.”

“Nah, I think you still got some fight in you,” Ghost told him.

“I think I’m done for today,” Soap said. “Maybe we can rematch another time.”

“Alright, mate.”

As Soap walked off, Ghost grabbed his water and lifted the balaclava just enough for him to place the bottle to his lips.

You unabashedly watched his Adam’s apple move with each drink and stared at his lips as they cradled the bottle rim. Never before had you been so fascinated by a pair of lips, especially ones not belonging to a target. And even then, you were more interested in getting their lips on you so you could distract them enough to get what you really needed.

This time though, there was no ulterior motive to watching your superior officer. Just pure intrigue, one that you weren’t sure whether you wanted to fuel or douse with water.

Ghost finished his drink, pulled his balaclava back down, and turned to you. You did not startle when he looked straight at you; you figured he knew you were there from the moment you entered. He seemed like someone who was always aware, always on guard, just like you.

“Siren,” he greeted as you walked towards him.

“Need a sparring partner?” you asked, stopping to stand in front of him.

“You want to fight?” Ghost’s voice made the question seem more like a statement.

“Think I can’t handle you?” you questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m sure you can handle me just fine, Sergeant,” he said with a low timbre that made a pang of desire to go through your body. “Just making sure.”

In lieu of an answer, you backed up to stand across from him and stood at the ready. He nodded at you and and you returned the gesture, signaling that you were ready for whatever he had in store.

He was large, but you were fast and a quick thinker. There had been many times that called for hand-to-hand and almost always, your opponent was bigger than you; this was no different.

Like in all the movies, you began just circling each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

“You’re holding out on me, Lieutenant,” you baited.

“I could say the same,” he replied.

You circled each other on the mat a few more times before you finally decided to make the first move.

You approached quickly, acting as if you were going to punch him in the face but instead went for a gut shot with your other fist. Not your best move, but the fight was just getting started.

He grabbed your wrist before it made contact with his stomach, his grip bruising.

You easily broke out of his hold but not before he threw a swing your way. You leaned out of the way, barely, and instead kicked him in his side. His hand briefly encircled your ankle before you yanked it back, not allowing him to end the fight just yet.

Almost immediately he was on you again, this time actually landing a hit with a knee to your stomach. You briefly doubled over and he unsuccessfully attempted to follow up by grabbing you, only stopped by your quick recovery.

You traded blows back and forth, with each hit becoming more and more passion-fueled.

After a few minutes he finally got ahold of you fully by grabbing your ponytail and pulling you by it. In your attempt to free yourself he grabbed both wrists and held them in one hand.

Ghost held you against his body, with you facing away from him. One hand wrapped around your throat while the other was occupied keeping your wrists from breaking free.

“Mmm, kinky,” you purred, arching your back to press further into his hold. “But you’re going to have to try harder than that to impress me.”

“Oh yeah?” he asked, tightening his grip around your neck.

“Yeah,” you answered, going limp in his arms. Caught off guard, his grip faultered, allowing you to break free from his grip and sweet his feet from under him. You wasted no time straddling him and pinning his wrists above his head.

You didn't get to celebrate the small victory, though, because within seconds he was flipping you over, putting you in the same position. You attempted to buck your hips up and free yourself but he didn’t budge.

You let yourself go limp once more, this time in mock-defeat.

“Give up?” Ghost teased, bringing his masked-face closer to you.

You knew you weren't the only one to feel the tension constantly tying the two of you together; he played dirty, as evidenced by yanking on your hair. You wouldn't show him any mercy just because the two of you shared moments

You widened your eyes in feigned surprise at the closeness. He stopped so close that you could feel his breath brush against your lips, and you could see individual fibers sticking out of the balaclava.

You made your breath hitch, causing him to glance down. You bit your lip and watched his gaze follow the action. You wanted him to feel like a predator, finally catching his prey; like he was in control.

He brought your wrists together so he could hold them together while his free hand found itself around your throat once again. You leaned into the touch, and he slid his hand upwards, thumb moving to touch your bottom lip. You opened your mouth slightly and he took it as an invitation to slip it in to rest on your tongue. Without pause, you hollowed out your cheeks as you sucked and caressed it with your tongue, eliciting a very quiet groan from the man above you. He took his thumb out from your mouth and dragged it down your chin and neck, stopping at the top of your tank top on your chest. Ghost’s eyes were a wildfire, and you would be lying if you said you didn’t want to be utterly and completely consumed by it.

However, you needed to prove to him that you could handle yourself just fine.

Right as he breathed in to say something, you quickly headbutted him as hard as you could and in the confusion, brought your legs to your chest and pushed him off completely.

You scrambled to jump on top of him and lock his head in between your legs. You tightened your hold as he tried to pry you off of him to no avail.

“Give up?” you mocked with a smirk.

He patted the mat twice with a hand and you released him from your hold.

You both got to your feet, both breathing heavily, and you reached out a hand.

Ghost grabbed it and shook it firmly. Before letting go, he pulled you closer, bringing you within inches of his face.

“You play a dangerous game, Siren,” he warned quietly.

“I invented the game, Ghost,” you told him with a coy smile.

For a moment, everything was still. It felt like that tension was finally going to snap, and maybe you could finally get him out of your system. His eyes dropped to your lips again and you took a small step closer. It felt like walking a tightrope, this back and forth with him.

But instead, he dropped your hand, eyes roaming beyond you and to the group of Shadows and Graves that just walked in.

Without another word, Ghost left, leaving you to relish in your victory and think about the taste of his skin.

—

Later, you finished off your training at the range once again, this time using an MCPR-300 sniper rifle for a change. You were doing fairly well, managing to hit the bullseye for a majority of the shots when you heard someone walk in behind you.

“It’s me.” Soap walked up, taking the window beside you and pulling out his own rifle. “Pretty sweet facility, eh?”

“Absolutely,” you replied. “Haven’t practiced in something this nice in a while.”

“I thought the Americans were all about the military,” he commented, attaching his scope.

“Oh, they are,” you reassured. “I’m never in the same place for very long so I don’t get to experience it much anymore.”

Soap lined up his rifle for a shot. He took aim and fired, hitting the target in the head. You took a turn, running through the same ritual. Breathe, aim, fire.

“But not in the beginning?” he asked.

“No, I joined just like everyone else,” you told him.

Both of you traded shots back and forth for a bit. You let the silence sit, knowing that he likely would drop any questions if you stayed quiet. But a part of you geniuenly was curious about your teammates; the only time you ever got to know people was reading their file right before being tasked with killing them. It was a lonely life, not that you minded most of the time. You decided that you would let yourself be companionable, just for the time being, just until you were alone again.

“Why’d you join?” you asked him.

“Cousin was in the British Army and I visited him a lot,” Soap told you. “I wanted to join too. I even lied about my age a few times, but I got caught every time.”

You chuckled at the thought. He laughed as well, but a blush spread up his neck in embarrasment at the tale.

“You?” he asked.

You shrugged. “Not much else to do. Didn’t know my parents, aged out of the system. It was something to do and something to keep food in my stomach.”

“Damn,” he said quietly. You figured it was out of pity and not only did you not want it, you didn’t want to bring down the entire conversation. It was a lonely upbringing, yes, and not the easiest either. But at the end of the day, you survived. Your time growing up didn't even make it in the top fifteen of the more less-than-ideal situations you had been in. It really was a matter of perspective. And to Soap, who has no clue about the rest of your life, you knew how it sounded and why he reacted in that way.

“Doesn’t really bother me,” you told him. “Maybe back then, but I’m glad I joined. I’m good at what I do and I’m not sure who I’d be without it.”

The last bit was a little more than you intended on admitting, but you trusted these men to watch your back, it wasn’t too much more to let them have a glimpse of your true self, whoever she was. Between the different masks and personas, you sometimes got a small taste of who you used to be, but for the most part, she was long gone, hidden away.

You stood in the silence together, both of you continuing to practice. It was nice, the feeling of camaraderie. It made you a little melancholy to think of going back to working alone. It was inevitable though; most jobs you did called for deep infilatration and just you. Recently, your assignments had been shorter, not requiring you to integrate yourself seemlessly in a targets life, but you have had your fair share of them over the years.

“Siren?”

Both you and Soap looked to the Shadow who walked into the range.

“Yes?” you answered.

“General Shepherd is asking for you.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll be right there.” you told him, beginning to disassemble your gun.

“Wonder why,” Soap muttered after the mercenary left.

“No idea,” you told him.

—

“General,” you greeted as his face popped up over the video call.

He sighed.

“Siren, I need a win right now,” he began. “There are some… unfortunate events that have occurred that are keeping Laswell away. It’s being taken care of, but we need more on these missiles.”

You wanted to ask about Laswell, but his tone was enough to deter you. Surely, you would hear about it soon anyways.

“Go out and be my eyes and ears,” he ordered. “No need to exterminate any of the locals, but wear a wire or something for Mexican Special Forces to listen in and translate. See if you can hear anything about the head of the cartel. I have a feeling that will be the next place we have to look.”

“Of course, sir,” you told him. “To clarify, you want only me to go?”

“Is that a problem?”

“No, of course not. Just double checking.” You could just imagine how annoyed Ghost will be. He's already shown that he wants you to have backup, though if the roles were reversed, he would refuse it for himself. This time, though, your hands were tied, even if you did want someone watching your back.

He nodded and ran a hand down over his face. He looked about ten years older than usual and clearly has had some difficulty sleeping if his dark circles were anything to go by. “I need this done tonight. I want a debrief when the night is over.”

“Yes, sir.”

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