#they couldn’t be further apart and yet share so many similarities | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

goodday-goodmorn · 6 months

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Back on this account: Prefacing this that this work was wrote in like a day and like most of my things- i was too lazy to edit lol. The concept form todays work was injected into my brain by good old @auspicioustidings, check em out- they got some cool concepts and fics. (Particularly Firewatch- chefs kiss to that series), lots of soft, dark, kidnap-y, COD content 👍

Without further ado i present my impulsive thoughts on a page:

——————

“Committed to the Bit.”

words: 4.7k

Summary: You’re at an utterly boring halloween party, about to leave when some scottish man dressed as a solider comes slinking into the bathroom and really goes ham with his whole ‘This place is dangerous, you aren’t supposed to be here- we gotta get you to safety’ act. Weird pick-up line approach but hey it fucking works. He’s just charming enough for you to play along with his bit. Because it is just a bit… right?

This party was kinda dull. Which really was a shame considering how high your expectations were. From what your friend said- it was supposed to be an immersive experience. The hosts were apparently old collage buddies with your friend who were halloween fanatics.

You friend has absolutely hyped them up, talking all about how when they threw parties they got into them and would always play up whatever dynamic they were going for with their costumes. Even to a level of mild public humiliation.

She once recounted the story of how one year, when dressed as a pair of vampires, they full on acted as though they were melting when someone brought a side of garlic breadsticks with the pizza. Fully committed to the bit it seems.

Because of the hosts being so dedicated to their act, of course it wasn’t uncommon for guests to act in a similar manner. Even those who didn’t have a running gag for the night were overall relaxed and had a good time being apart of the fun. It was a non-judgmental zone, filled with pretty decor and open people.

So of course, after hearing all about the welcoming and fucking amazing vibes of these parties- you had agreed to meet up with your friend at one.

Normally, you weren’t really one for parties, especially halloween ones because it was typically full of judgey, horny, strangers who would consider you weird- and you’d have to small talk and the songs almost always sucked because of course they couldn’t play actual halloween songs even if it killed them.

But after many reassurances from your friend, including videos and photos she had graciously provided you- you went to one.

To say you were disappointed was an understatement.

The costumes were amazing- high quality and expensive, hell the place was fucking stunning, all decked out in halloween gear and dark lighting. Even the building itself seemed perfect for this sort of thing- winding corridors, random locked rooms, ominous men in suits. Oh and don’t get you started on the snack table, shit was heavenly even if you were the only one touching it. The aesthetics of the party were great, But…

The vibes were way off. There was no rambunctious fun laughter and people grooving on the dance floor. Everyone seemed oddly reserved. Committed to their bits for sure, but well… there wasn’t much ah, variety to everyone’s act.

They all shared a similar vibe of like- domineering power. Which was definitely pretty fucking hot when it came to some people, (looking at you fancy vanpire lady), but it got boring after a while.

Safe to say your attempts at socializing were pretty shot. And what’s even worse, your friend? Yeah she didn’t even show up.

Tragic truly. You would call her to see if she made it here yet, but your phone was dead- and talking to any of the other party goers was a song and dance you didn’t wanna attempt again.

So here you are, in the bathroom, sitting by one of the sinks and charging your phone.

How lame.

You sigh, standing up to check yourself out in the mirror. At least your costume is fun, it’s a reference that only really you and you friend would get, but still, it made you happy to wear. It was a royal outfit, you looked like nobility, nice and fancy. Perhaps a barron, or maybe a princess, or a king- really it was up for anyone's interpretation. You fix up the head accessory, then fuss with your hair just to have something to do.

Maybe you should just leave, you were getting pretty bored of everything.

And it’s at that moment, as you’re sinking down to the bathroom floor to grab your charger that the most interesting thing of tonight bursts through the door.

You look at him, blinking once then twice. He does the same.

Eye candy.

That’s the first thought that comes to mind. Without an ounce of shame you let your eyes rack over his form, fitted in some sort of military outfit, tactical gear and even a prop gun. He makes it look damn good.

And then you stop admiring the hunk of prime meat in front of you because starring is rude. (Even if he is fucking amazingly charmingly rugged and god damn what you wouldn’t give to run your fingers through that mohawk of his and just tug-)

“That’s a good fucking costume.”

He pauses, looking at you with something confused and a bit bemused. And like an idiot you just can’t keep your mouth shut and blurt out more shit.

“Did ya have to bust through the door though? I mean like- don’t get me wrong it was cool as shit- really adds to the character here, big, hot, ah… military? guy.”

You wince, you’re making a fool of yourself. Luckily the man doesn't seem to mind.

(Johnny takes one look at you, your bag in a sink, your phone charging in the bathroom outlet, your clearly partly homemade costume that shows way more care than any of the other people in this joint and easily figures out-)

“L.T, Found a civvie.”

He mumbles into a- oh shit he’s got an earpiece and everything. Now that is cool. You tell him as such.

“Okay that is so fucking cool. Dude does that thing actually work? Man. How long did it even take for you to get this whole costume?”

He studies you with an odd look for a moment. You wonder if there’s actually anyone talking to him in that earpiece. Must be with the way he pauses. Slowly, he speaks; gentle.

“Not a costume lass. We ought to get you outta here, it's gonna be a shitshow soon.”

You blink. And then, you smile.

“Rightttt, not a costume. I getcha.”

“Not joking bonnie. This place is dangerous, filled with snakes. How did a wee thing like you even get in here?”

You smile, a bit pleased to banter with the first person who isn't doing the same old same old, ‘i know more than you, ooo im so big and powerful and scary’ act.

“Took a carriage ride and promised my roommate I'd be back by midnight.”

He eyes your royal esc outfit, not cinderella by any means but it still makes him smile slightly. (And boy if that isn't a sight, him looking you up and down and looking at you like that?)

“Cute. Then allow me to be yer escort princess.” He jerks his head in the direction of the bathroom door.

The statement is said with just enough sarcasm to make you bite down a grin. Hes very committed to this whole military operation act. And honestly? You were ready to leave anyway. Not to mention this guy was the only one who’d gotten your interest all night.

You grab your things and stuff them in your bag, slinging it over your shoulder tightly.

“Follow me, and ye gotta be quiet. Cant let anyone see us.”

You are more than willing to go along with his silly bit. And so you give him a clumsy salute, with a good natured smile.

“You got it captain.”

“Sergeant.”

He corrects you with an amused little puff of air. Clearly- hes just as pleased to have someone indulge him as you are to have someone interesting to talk to.

“You got it sergeant.” You repeat back with a graceful little half bow and amused smirk.

He turns back to the door, hands on his gun and before you go out you grab onto his arm.

“Wait!”

He turns to you with a raised eyebrow, eyes sharp, focused: wow hes a really good actor and hes got really pretty fucking eyes-

“Lassie?”

Oh yeah you can't get lost in his eyes just yet.

“Can I have a gun? For safety and all that- totally.”

“Hen… i don't think-”

“please sergeant? I promise I won't break it or anything! I just wanna get more into character ya know? pretty please Sir…?

…

(Johnny is not a good man. And fuck when he hears you call him by his rank, sir, asking so sweetly- your hands clasped in front of you- looking at him with a sheepish grin and pleading eyes. He wants to give you a damn bazooka if it means you keep talking sweet to him. Ghost is in his ear, telling him he better not bloody dare.)

(So of course…)

“You keep that safety on boonie. Hold it like this. If you gotta use it, don't be shooting or you’ll blow yer eye out. You toss the bloody thing in the direction of whatever it is you’re tryna hit- or you hand it to me. Is that clear?”

You nod vehemently, assuring him with little, yep’s and sure’s, and got it-’s. He raises a brow, mostly cause hes not sure if you’re actually taking this seriously. You take it for something else entirely though and then quickly say-

“Yes sir. Understood.”

(...Johnny is both damn disappointed hes on a mission, and greatful as fuck, because the only thing he wants to do is push you up against that wall, sneak his hands down your silly little costume and tease you until you’re a squirming mess. Asking you if you understand how hard hes gonna fuck you and hear your breath hitch as you answer back with a wanton “Yes sir”—)

“Sergeant…?”

You stare at the fellow and his intense gaze, wondering if you took it too far. Hes committed to his bit sure, but you didn't mean to overstep and make him feel like he had to give you a gun. Clearly they were expensive props, detailed and metallic and heavy.

Instead of speaking to you, he speaks to his earpiece, “just a precaution L.T, what if her majesty gets cornered? Little lass don't have a lick of combat training.”

You -far to ready to add to this stupid little bit- chime in,

“Yeah, they only teach you fencing and the waltz where i'm from.”

Johnny grins, “Com'on L.T”

(As much as Ghost hates to admit it- Johnny is right. And so be begrudgingly relents. It seems everyone is amused by how utterly oblivious you are because Gaz spares a laugh and a cheeky comment after Ghost's gruff voice.)

“Soooo… what's the verdict Sergeant? Did your uh… LT? That's lieutenant right-? Does he approve?”

In response, Soap carefully positions a gun in your hand, telling you with an edge to keep your fingers away from the trigger. (Safety is on of course, Johnnys not an idiot all the time.) You nod, holding onto the gun and feeling so cool.

Like that the two of you are off, sneaking around the winding corridors and hiding.

Honestly? This is the most fun you’ve had since you got here. Its all you can do to not bounce on your heels when you follow Soap around.

He's just so into this, that you can't help but be sucked in. Speaking in low tones to his ear peice, making sure you stick close, talking about positions and other military jargon that goes over your head. Oh and he does it all with this charming smile, like the situation is serious yes- but like he's still making sure you’re having fun. Trying to keep you comfortable. The energy is tense but in a good way. Electric even.

You find yourself holding your breath whenever you hide behind a corner, or when he tugs you to him and holds you still- god it's just so thrilling. Maybe because you’ve had a boring night, and cause he's charming and fun in all the right ways- but you’re having a blast.

Even when things seem to get even more tense.

You and Soap are currently nestled away in a little nook, a back corridor, a dead end. Soap curses, speaking into his earpiece. You can hear footsteps, someones coming. And if they see you and Soap- you'll surely be compromised.

(Which means your little game will likely come to an end. Most of the party people here are judgmental, ergo they probably won't appreciate your little roleplay. Its in this moment that you decide- fuck it, you dont want this to end.)

“Sergeant!” You whisper harshly, tugging off your fancy coat and draping it around him, “I’ve got a plan- trust me.”

He looks at you, mildly conflicted, he's about to say something but the footsteps are getting closer and you really need a cover story for why you’re lurking in a dark corner away from the party. You can only think of one reason two people would sneak away at a party.

Sue you for getting too into this silly game of pretend, but adrenaline spikes and next thing you know; you’re kissing him.

Rough and messy, needy. You let out your best wanton muffled moan. His eyes are wide, and for a moment you spiral, realizing what you’ve just done. Sure you were playing pretend and he was committed to the bit but you just kissed him for fucks sake- sexually harsssed him!

Oh god hes gonna hate you and you just ruined all that fun banter and any shot at ever speaking to the only decent person you’ve met all night—

He’s kissing back.

With sudden haste he pulls you close, kissing you back with a ferocity that short circuits your brain for a moment. His knee slots in between your legs, entangling you two, and then there's a soft thud as his back hits the wall.

Holy shit.

Your heart races, a slurry of adrenaline, of elation because he was playing along with your silly cover story, of something hot and molten because he was running his hands along your outfit desperately.

Amidst the heat of it all, the grinding of his knee between your legs- you don't even notice the fact that the footsteps stopped. Johnny does though. He breaks the kiss with a purposeful loud noise, when he sees your dazed and confused expression however- he quickly aims for your neck before you can say a word and accidently give away the clever cover story you thought of.

You gasp, the noise does wonders. He can hear whoevers about to round the corner shifting about, obviously realizing what's going on and debating if they should check to be sure or spare their eyes of the sight.

So of course, Johnny helps them decide by laying it on thick.

“Fuck atta girl hen, wanna hear you fall apart f’ me.”

He presses you against his knee, nibbling at your skin to make your breath stutter. Thankfully, you catch his words and seem to get at least to some level what he's doing.

So of course, because god damn it- you’re in the thick of this silly military operation act now- you’ve gotta commit. You moan out the worst thing you can think of to make someone go away. Which is of course—

“Daddy!”

(Johnny can hear Gaz fucking roaring with laughter over coms. It takes everything in himself not to laugh then and there. Luckily, having a pretty little thing pressed against his knee and trembling provides a good distraction. Still, he can't repress the grin.)

“Yeah? Need something kitten?” He captures your lips again, a quick kiss this time, just to leave you breathless for your next remark.

“Y-Your c-” Oh my fucking god you dont know if you’re struggling to speak because you’re trying your damndest not to laugh, or because you are painfully terribly aroused at due to his kisses and husky voice. Thank god he intervenes.

“Whats that kitty? Yer gonna have to speak up. Lemme hear that sweet voice of yours.”

He guides you across his knee, you tangle your hand in his hair, tugging that stupid mohawk close to kiss him again.

When you quickly pull away, you rush out the words, failing to hide the look of pure hysterical amusement on your face- luckily the rush of words is mistaken for neediness and not because you are seconds away from bursting into laughter.

“Your cock-”

He captured your laughter in another kiss, groaning to hide the sound of your stifled snickers.

Finally, after what seems like ages and yet too little time- he hears Ghost in his ear giving him the all clear. Not without clear amusement.

Johny backs off, panting heavily and listening. He hears nothing but empty air. Quietly he whispers,

“They’re gone.”

You pant as well, trying your best to keep your hysterical little giggles quiet. Johnny is right there with you, like fucking schoolgirls- the two of you giggle for a moment.

Ah but you should probably apologize.

“H-Hey im sorry by the way- for kissing you out of the blue like that, i didn't know if you’d be comfortable with it but uh- i kinda got invested in the whole-”

You wave a hand about as he backs off you, pulling his knee away from your heat between your legs.

“-‘Don't get caught’, thing. Sorry if i um- took it too far and make you uncomfortable…”

(Johnny looks down at you, pretty little oblivious thing, looking all sheepish and nervous as if there wasn’t the high potential you just saved both his and your asses with your quick thinking.)

“All good lassie. Good quick thinking.”

(As much as he’d love to tease you more about it- or even tell you just how much he enjoyed kissing you until you were breathless- he’s still on a mission, and you need to keep moving.)

(So for now, he settles for a hair ruffle and a wink. You smile all the same.)

The pair of you continue, and you are starting to wonder where you’re going. This ain’t the way you came in- though, you suppose coming in via the main entrance would defeat the point of the game. Which was of course: to sneak you out undetected. Walking through the hall of party-goers probably wouldn’t be the best call.

Still, it's odd when you find yourself stopping at a room. It appears to be locked, a passcode and everything. This doesn’t seem to be an issue though.

(“Intel says they left the hard drive here. Code is 269344041.” Johnny listens to Ghosts voice, inputting the code easily. He ignores the confused look you end him in favor of mumbling-)

“a’m in.”

You blink as he talks to his earpiece. Carefully and quietly as you enter the room, you ask,

“Um… sergeant? What are we doing in here?”

“Looking for a package hen.”

(“Should be in a small red box.” Ghost relays.)

“-Little red box. Help me look?”

You nod like the helpful little thing you are and begin to search the room. It’s a storage unit of sorts. Bunch of random shit, you even spot a cool ass box of skeleton bones. That you show to your newfound companion.

He grimaces and gently sets the box down away from your hands.

“Let’s not touch anything else alright lassie?”

It’s framed as a question but really it’s an order. You just shrug, and then remember your line was supposed to be, ‘yes sir.’

“Yes sir.”

The search doesn’t take long after that, a few minutes max before you spot a little red box high up on a shelf. All the things around it are collecting dust, but the dull red colored cardboard seems to be free of it. Placed there recently it seems.

Maybe this whole immersive thing was planned out, and maybe it was pure luck you got roped into it. Everything was awfully elaborate after all. With him knowing the code and stuff.

“Sergeant i think i found it.”

He’s on you in and instant,

“Where?”

You point up the shelf. “That it?”

He carefully grabs it, opens it up and shuts it before you can get a good look. Looked kinda like a flash drive? A flash drive inside a plastic baggie.

“That’s what we’re looking for alright. Good work lassie. Ye might as well be a recruit at this point.”

He’s joking it seems, so you smile back in turn.

“Lived a bit too cushiony of a life for military work i’m afraid.” You gesture once more to your royal outfit. “But i’ll consider the offer sergeant.”

He takes you by the arm, tucking the box into his vest and leading you to the door.

“Glad to hear it princess.”

After that, it’s more sneaking about, more little bits of banter whenever you can, and listening to him speak into his earpiece. It’s dreadfully fun, the most fun you’ve had all night and honestly? At any party ever.

Finally- Finally, you seem to make your goal as you feel open air on your skin. That took forever to get out, with how massive the place was, but by god it was fun sneaking around like a super spy with…

Oh. You come to the sudden realization that you don’t actually know his name. That and- you never gave him your name either.

Well, this is where you leave so…

“Hey i just realized i never got your name.”

He turns to you for a brief moment, his hands on your arm now, tugging you along away from the building so that the bouncers at the front won’t see you. The two of you stop a little ways away.

“Soap. Or Johnny if you’d prefer.”

He says it so simply, with such an easy smile.

“And you princess?”

You say your own back, and it sounds so nice on his tongue. So right.

“Um- if you wouldn’t mind-“ You’re fishing in your bag now for your barely charged phone, wanting to get his number because he seems like a stand up dude and-

Soap touches his earpiece, “Package and civilians secure L.T. Good to go.” He says it quiet enough you don’t hear it, too busy looking for your phone.

(“Roger. Gaz move in.”)

“-could i maybe get your number? After i find my phone, of course. it’s just uh, well i had a lot of fun. Truth be told the night was pretty shit before you found me so if it’s okay with y-“

Your eyes widen when you see behind Soap, several Military troops storming the place, all of them holding what look to be- very real guns.

“What the fu-?”

You start, dropping your phone in a shock and completely shattering the poor device against the pavement.

Johnny can’t seem to bite down his grin.

Slowly, and yet all too fast, everything clicks as soon as you hear gunshots.

At a snails pace your head turns towards Johnny. Soap. The sergeant. The real sergeant.

“I did tell ya it wasn’t a costume hen.”

You were such a fucking idiot.

——————

Awkwardly you sit in your chair, taken in for interrogation. Less that and more for protocol considering everyone agreed you didn’t know jack shit.

Apparently, you went to the wrong party and somehow ended up at a terrorist gathering, which would explain the weird vibes of all the guests. And the super big and confusing building. And the many locked doors. And the—

The more you thought about it, the more stupid you felt so at some point in the hours of being on this stupid military base, you stopped.

To your utter horror and humiliation: Soap was a real sergeant. On a real mission. And he gave you a real ass fucking gun. And you had kissed him and oh god he had his knee between your fucking legs- you called him daddy.

Physically unable to handle the shame and embarrassment, you make a noise similar to that of a dying cat and bury your face in your hands.

The person ‘interrogating’ you, (a nice man that everyone called Gaz), just laughed. At the very least your misery was amusing.

“I am- so, so so fucking sorry, oh my god i’m such an idiot.”

“Don’t worry about it love. It helped to keep you calm. Better than dealing with panicking eh?”

You nodded because he made sense. It didn’t mean you were happy about it- but it did make sense. Soap tried to tell you after all. Honestly it was probably for the best you thought it was all a joke. Who knows what you would have done if you knew it was for real, probably panicked and gotten both yourself and him killed.

Gaz pats your head, an amused but sympathetic smile on his face.

(God fucking damn it, were all sergeants just naturally this fucking charming??? …You don’t have a thing for military guys do you?)

When the captain of this whole thing walks in, John Price; with a smile like that of a damn koala bear and air of authority- you decide that, yeah. Maybe you do have a thing for military types.

Go figure.

“You're free to go love.”

You sigh with relief, mostly because you don’t physically think you can handle anymore embarrassment. Your face is starting to hurt from all the cringing you’ve been doing. How are you ever gonna live this down?

“Afraid your phones broken though. Do you know the way home?”

No. Obviously not. You were taken here via military truck with the other soldiers. Frankly you could be in a different country right now and you wouldn’t know because you passed out at some point from the sheer embarrassment of it all.

(Price of course, knows this. He just wants to see you squirm a little longer. Is it wrong? Yeah. But he’ll be damned if you aren’t the most fun thing to mess with.)

“Um no- sir.” You tack on the title quickly, unsure exactly what to call him.

“Alright. I’ll have one of my men escort you home.”

As long as it’s anyone but Johnny you should be able to survive a car ri-

“Soap.”

Fuck.

“Take my car and escort the little lady back home.”

…You just had to think it, didn't you?

(Price knows he’s cruel for messing with you. Mean and terrible really. But the face you make when he calls Soap into the room? Where you look like you go through every stage of grief before landing on depression in .5 seconds?)

(Priceless.)

——————

The car ride is just as excruciating as you thought it would be. Even worse- Soaps a good guy. Charming and fun, sweet even. He jokes and teases you but tries his damnest to make the car ride as comfortable as possible.

Hell he even offers to stop someplace and buy you something for the road. And offer you not let would refuse; but you were at the base for hours, and it’s like 2 AM and you are exhausted and hungry and embarrassed.

So the two of you get some takeout, and eat in Prices car. You would be worried about eating in the car, but Soap makes you comfortable, assuring you the captain would probably be more upset if he let you go home on an empty stomach.

The rest of the drive is cozy after that. He pulls laughter out of you, and embarrassed groans but it’s all in good fun.

By the time you get home, you’re most definitely a little unsteady on your feet just due to how tired you are. He helps you out of the car, and even walks you to your door.

Before he leaves, you awkwardly debate giving him your number. Just so you could buy him drinks or something later down the line to make up for your utter stupidity today- but then you remember your totaled phone.

Damn.

And then, a god seemingly hears your prays because he’s slipping you a sheet of paper.

Drowsily you blink down at it to find a king number string. A phone number.

When you snap your eyes back up to him, he’s grinning.

“You wanted it right lass? Give me a call sometime.”

And then, he’s winking and walking away. Just like that.

…huh. Maybe you should go to parties more often.

#john soap mactavish #soap x reader #cod fanfic #tf 141 x reader #(kinda?)#Kissing #fanfic #go look at auspicioustiddings they’re cool #Read Firewatch #I don’t normally write romance tbh #Those were definitely probably not prop bones #Also reader 100 percent shows up with baked goods down the line #Bro is never gonna live this down #I wouldn’t either #The embarrassment could kill a man.

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yuriko-mukami · 21 days

Text

Her Calamity Dark Prologue

Beta reader: @ruki-mukami-dl

Chapter Selection

Story so far...

⚠️ WARNINGS ⚠️

This story includes themes that can be triggering. The content has similar traits to Diabolik Lovers' games. By reading forward, you accept that the story is meant for people who enjoy dark romance with scenes intended for adult readers. There won't be further warnings, so if you aren't a fan of these types of stories, DO NOT READ.

TW & CW: Toxic relationship behavior, captivity, sex, violence, blood, biting, various kinks, and probably something else too.

Chapters with sex tagged with #steamytimes and chapters with either toxic content or violence tagged with #lurid lilies.

She's something worth holding onto After everything she's gone through Rose full of thorns Hope through the storms She's got stories that could haunt you

— Curiosity by Bryce Savage

Yuriko pressed her palms together and lowered her gaze. She was standing at the far end of the backyard of the Mukami manor in the shadows of tall trees, where she had built a tiny stone shrine that held a photo frame with her mother’s picture. She had just placed a cup of rice right next to it.

Mom, if you can hear me… I’m so sorry what happened to you. I never realized how your life was, I never saw it for real. I probably made many mistakes, but you said nothing about them. And… I didn’t ask how you were and what was going on in your mind. Then you were suddenly gone… A whimpering sob escaped Yuriko’s lips. I wish we would have more time together… but I understand that you had to go to Yuuto. But… but… if only you had told me, then I would have realized sooner… I loved you so much, yet I didn’t say it often enough. And now, it’s too late…

So much had happened in the last few years. Yuriko’s mother, Tsukino Hisoka, had gone missing when Yuriko had been in her second year of high school. She had started to skip classes, until she hadn’t gone to school at all during her third year, ending up failing completely. After that, her father, Tsukino Keisuke, had moved them to Kaminashi City… which had turned Yuriko’s life upside down or more like, inside out.

Little had Yuriko known, that her parents had met in the said city, fallen in love there, and married, even though her mother had been a Kitsune and ran away from her home village that was located in the Demon World. All this had been slowly revealed to Yuriko after she had met a Vampire called Mukami Ruki in Ryoutei Academy where her father had forced her to start over her third year.

I know it might sound scary, Mom, but I have found my happiness with Ruki. Only because of him, the seal you and Dad made that witch put in my blood was broken and my fox side surfaced. Because of Ruki, I can finally be myself. Yuriko sighed. Was that too harsh? Surely, her parents had thought what would have been the best for her and that’s why hid away her supernatural true nature. I… I don’t blame you for doing it, of course not. But I’m happier this way. Ruki… I love him, and I don’t care that he is a Vampire. So, you simply need to accept that, Mom.

Was her mother happy now? Yuriko couldn’t help but wonder. Hisoka had been executed for running away and marrying a human, and Yuriko would never see her again. It had been so long ago since they had talked to each other the last time. So many things had been left unsaid.

Yuriko lifted her gaze and looked at her mother’s photo. Hisoka didn’t smile in it but stared into the distance. It had been taken in the same year, Yuriko had been born, hence Hisoka looked much younger in it than Yuriko remembered her. But it had been the only photo she had managed to find in the apartment she had shared with her father for a brief while. For some reason, Keisuke had left that photo behind along with all Yuriko’s things, when he had left. To where? Yuriko didn’t know… and she had come to realize that she didn’t care. It was better this way. Now, the man couldn’t hurt her or her big brother, Yuuto, anymore.

“But Mom, don’t worry. I’m going to do my best in school now and help Yuuto build his life here in the Human World. Everything will be fine for both of us. Your efforts weren’t in vain.” Yuriko clapped her hands together two times and bowed her head for a moment.

“Here you are…” The voice from behind the bushes made Yuriko flinch. She glanced at her mother one last time before turning around.

“Ruki…” Curling her lips up, Yuriko tried to make her eyes shine.

Ruki stepped into the shadows that offered a fresh spot in the summer’s heat. Even though Yuriko was sure the Vampires didn’t sweat, Ruki had replaced his usual combo of long-sleeved shirt and blazer with a black t-shirt that had a skull pattern. Yuriko was sure that Kou had gotten it for Ruki. She dug her bare toes into the soft ground as if drawing strength directly from the earth. She was only wearing a light sundress and still sweating. How unfair.

“A penny for your thoughts, my angel.”

“Umh…” Shifting in place, Yuriko hid her hands behind her back. “Nothing big… I just… came here to… talk to Mom…”

A cool touch brushed Yuriko’s hair off her cheek and behind her ear. Leaning in, Ruki pecked her lips. “I see.”

“I… I… know it doesn’t probably make sense, but I feel closer to her this way…”

“Then you should keep doing this. I will tell my brothers to leave this corner alone.” Ruki wrapped his arm around Yuriko’s waist. “But if you are done now, you could come to the pool with me.”

Yuriko leaned against Ruki. “Isn’t Yuma still in the garden, filling that mystery hole that had appeared while we all were buying the groceries?”

Ruki shook his head. “He finished with it. I still do not understand where it came from. It looked like something had dropped from the sky… Haa… probably my imagination.” Nudging his nose against Yuriko’s, Ruki smirked. “However, Kou took Yuma and Azusa out, so now, we are all alone here.” He captured Yuriko’s bottom lip between his and gave it a gentle tug.

Gasping, Yuriko nodded, and Ruki released her lip. Before she could say anything, he had already gathered her into his arms. Hastily she enveloped his neck with her hands, holding onto him while he marched through the yard towards the pool. When he stepped into direct sunlight, the heat welcomed Yuriko once more.

“Somehow, this summer feels hotter than any other…” Yuriko buried her face in the crook of Ruki’s neck. He was cold against her, like her personal cooler in the sweltering weather. But being this close to him caused a whole new problem, another one Yuriko had struggled with recently.

Was it because of the summer heat? Was it something else? Yuriko had no idea, but as she drew breath and Ruki’s musky scent sailed into her nose, her heart took a sudden leap and she was happy that he was carrying her, for her legs would surely have given up in this very instant. Sticky, soaking feeling slithered deep within her, gluing her panties between her thighs even though Ruki had literally done or suggested nothing more than alone time in the pool.

“Hmm… already turned on by your master~?” Ruki’s whisper vibrated against Yuriko’s eardrum, causing a squeeze in her. She shifted in his arms, letting him feel her fingernails on his nape. “Lately, you have been much more like this than before, almost like I have awoken something in you. I wonder what it is…”

I wonder about it too! Yuriko gasped against Ruki’s neck, covering it with tiny kisses. His groan encouraged her, and she gave him a tiny suck. Probably not enough to leave a mark but the sudden urge to have his everything was coursing faster and faster in her. She needed him right now.

“You started to use the new potion this month, did you not?” Ruki’s voice was already hoarse.

The new potion for contraception? Yuriko nodded. Ruki had gotten her another one that needed to take only once a month after she had started to forget her daily routine due to all the stress that had dropped on her shoulders lately.

“Mhm, I have… ” Yuriko breathed the words on his skin, tracing the column on his neck with her tongue. He was cool and salty, just what she yearned for.

“Good girl.” Ruki put Yuriko down right next to the pool before grabbing the hem of his shirt and pulling the cloth over his head. It landed on the grass. “My brothers will be away until the evening…” There went his belt. “Come here…”

Grabbing Yuriko by her waist, Ruki pulled her against him. She could feel a bulge pressing on her belly as his hands traveled along her back until they met her buttocks and slid under them, flipping her hem. “So many clothes even though it is hot…”

“Maybe… you should help me get out of them… Master~?” Yuriko lifted her gaze, realizing it was blurry.

Ruki leaned in, capturing her lips with a brief smooch. “Color me curious. What is lying behind those pretty eyes of yours that just changed their shade?” Leaving Yuriko’s butt alone for a moment, Ruki lifted his hand and picked up her eyeglasses. He made sure they were secured on a table near the pool.

“Umh… thoughts of you in the night…” Yuriko swayed her hips. The soaked sensation heated her face even more. “Feelings… I might need to feed…”

“Yet the sun is far from setting…” Ruki stepped closer again, gazing at Yuriko from head to toe. “You look like a little angel…” Without further ado, he snatched her dress, ripping it off her and tossing it on the ground, leaving her standing in her lingerie in front of him.

The moist, soaking feeling was spreading. Soon, it would reach Yuriko’s thighs.

Ruki simply watched her, smirking. “Naughty thoughts, my angel?”

“I… I… umh… just want to make you feel good…” This was almost too much. Yuriko feared she would faint soon if she didn’t cool down. With a hasty decision, she turned her back to Ruki, lifting her arm and inching her finger under her bra from the backside. Soon, it was unhooked, and she let it slide down.

“Hmm~?” There was a hint of intrigue in Ruki’s voice.

Almost quivering, Yuriko tugged her fingers under the waistband of her panties. She wished she would have worn lace instead of cotton today, but it couldn’t be helped now. Leaning forward, she glided the fabric down her bottom. She didn’t crouch her legs as she lowered the tiny piece of clothing, allowing Ruki to view her from behind for the whole time.

This surely didn’t help with the overly heated feeling but that was one of the reasons Yuriko let this happen. She lifted one foot after another, dropping the panties near the edge of the pool.

“Such a beautiful view. You should stay like that for a moment.” Ruki chuckled. “Or perhaps spread your legs a bit.”

Shivering, Yuriko moved her thighs apart. As she started to feel light-headed, she could hear the sound of Ruki’s zipper going down. Rustle revealed that his pants went off, probably along his boxers, releasing the hardness Yuriko would have wanted right this very instant. Her insides clenched, pushing out more sticky moistness of lust as if welcoming Ruki to enter anytime now.

I can’t handle this! I’m flaring all over! Yuriko straightened up, panting as she peeked over her shoulder only to notice how ready Ruki was for action. She could already imagine the wet slaps, skin against skin as he would thrust her into oblivion and bliss. Oh, she wanted him to shove his hardness deep into her so roughly she would see stars instantly. So harshly that her moans would echo from the wall of the manor. She needed him to fuck her until there was no sense left in anything.

I can’t be this lewd! Oh my gosh!

Turning her head, Yuriko took a leap. A step. Second. A jump. The air swooshed in her ears as her feet left the ground. She gasped and closed her eyes. Her feet broke the surface of the water first, sinking into coolness. The water splashed around her just before it covered her all over as she slid toward the bottom of the pool. Such a pleasure!

Yuriko’s soles reached the floor of the pool, and she bounced upwards. Only seconds later she broke the surface again, gulping for air and blinking as water ran down her cheeks. She couldn’t help but notice how Ruki stared at her from the edge of the pool.

“I should punish you for jumping off without permission.” The words came with a chuckle.

“Ehh? But —”

Yuriko’s protest was interrupted when Ruki dived into the pool. He broke the water hands and head first without splattering it as Yuriko had done. She could see how he swam closer and closer, popping up right next to her only moments later.

Droplets sparkled in Ruki’s dark hair and slid down his nose as he blinked for a while. Yuriko pedaled in place to keep herself in an upright position. She was still slightly out of breath from the jump… and now it felt like not even the water could completely cool her down. Could it be that the new potion made her act like this?

Ruki hauled Yuriko into his embrace, lifting her lightly. Without further thought, she enveloped his waist with her thighs only to feel his hard shaft pressing between their bodies. Holding Ruki by his nape, she raised her gaze to meet his eyes. As she nibbled her bottom lip, Ruki let out a chuckle.

“And now you are acting all innocent. Are you trying to spur your master on with these tricks of yours?” He tilted his head. “Is that so, my angel?”

“I…” Yuriko swallowed. To be honest, she wasn’t sure. It was like something new had opened in her this summer. After everything they had been through it felt impossible to hold back. Her life was here and now, and she wished to have everything with Ruki before someone would take it all away. It was clear that anything she had at the moment could turn out into nothing in the next one.

Before Yuriko could muster an answer, Ruki captured her mouth and pulled her into a kiss. He gave her lower lip a hungry nip as if reminding her how his love could easily hurt and heal at the same time. As always, his kiss was cruel and devouring, impossible to resist.

Already trembling in Ruki’s arms, Yuriko opened her mouth and allowed his tongue to meander in. Groaning, Ruki started a tempting tango that set Yuriko’s soul on fire and pushed all else from her mind.

Pouring everything in the smooch, Ruki made the couple float through the pool until Yuriko’s back met the edge in the shallower end. Only then, he broke the smack, leaving Yuriko panting. He spun her over, pressing her against the rim. In the instant his teeth raked her nape, tongue flicking over the skin.

“You burn like the sun…” Ruki placed a peck on the crook of Yuriko’s neck and nuzzled her shoulder, scraping it. “You should get your punishment…”

Ruki’s lips were as cold as his body but that wasn’t enough to stop the flaring that had taken Yuriko over. Without another warning, he pierced the skin of her shoulder with his fangs and grunted as her blood gushed out. A cry pressed out of Yuriko and her body arched against the edge of the pool as white pain shot through her, blinding her mind from other sensations for a moment. With each suck, Ruki pulled her deeper into dark temptations that contradicted the brightness dancing around the yard.

“Ruki… ahh… please…” Yuriko wasn’t sure what she begged for. Even in the scorching daylight, the world faded from her. Her entire body tingled at Ruki’s touch as his body prowled against hers. His rough hand squeezed and caressed her buttock.

Another pleading moan left Yuriko’s lips. “Please… please… please… I need you…”

As Ruki pulled his fangs out of her skin, Yuriko whimpered. His cold tongue glided over the fresh bite, sealing it but not taking away the sweet swollen pain that throbbed in her.

“You must state your wishes clearly.”

Ruki’s words made Yuriko pant. Frowning, she tried to muster out more even though her whole body was tensed, and her brain turned into a mush. “I… I… need… to fuck… you.”

Silence followed.

Ruki turned Yuriko around, meeting her gaze. There was a whirlpool behind his eyes of the cloudy evening sky. “You… need to fuck your master?”

Slowly, Yuriko managed a nod.

A smirk arose.

“I see. But it does not work like that.” Ruki’s voice was hoarse. He hauled Yuriko against him, his hardness rubbing on her belly. “I am your master, and I will fuck you. Not the other way around.”

Placing her hands on Ruki’s shoulders, Yuriko gripped them. She was pure fire inside, not wanting to hold back any longer. “Please… it… I… I… umh… wish… for it…”

Something flashed in Ruki’s eyes as his arms tightened possessively around Yuriko. His length pressed on her front; hard steel ready to intrude in her. The silence lingered again, and Yuriko dared not open her mouth again.

A minute passed. Perhaps two.

Suddenly, Ruki rolled them over, his back resting against the pool's edge. He lifted Yuriko up and onto his lap, onto his shaft. “Then that is what you will get.”

Gasping, Yuriko held Ruki’s shoulders tighter. Emboldened by her own reckless desire, she swayed her hips and guided him in, not believing that she truly was straddling him, easing herself down and taking him in. His girth stretched her, forcing a long moan out of her lungs.

Ruki gripped Yuriko’s hips, his fingernails slightly digging into her skin as a groan compressed through her mouth. He jerked his shaft up, filling Yuriko to the deepest parts of her. Her back arched in response, and she wiggled against him, whining in a way that sounded almost like howling.

“That’s… my… good… girl!” Ruki thrusted up, groaning between each word. He slid one hand on the small of Yuriko’s back and the other up her spine, all the way to her head, pressing her face closer while his fingers entangled with her hair.

Capturing her lips, Ruki locked Yuriko into his embrace and started to ram into her. Their foreheads pressed together as they moved together, body to body, mouth to mouth. Each thrust sent Yuriko reeling as she enjoyed every single second of holding Ruki inside her.

Almost scrunching Yuriko, Ruki kept going, and she luxuriated in the sweet sensation of almost painful penetration that sent her toward the flaring sun. Powerful sensations built and throbbed below her waist as her every nerve end quivered. Her body clenched around Ruki’s thick manhood, his rough motions sending her closer and closer to the edge already. Her entire body vibrated in response.

Tongues tangling, Yuriko’s insides squeezed against Ruki’s member faster and faster as she was riding to the release she ached for. Sobbing and moaning into Ruki’s mouth, she swayed her body at the pace of his harsh lunges, her cells turning into sparkles as every secret part of her cried out his name. And when he finally poured himself into her, bucking and groaning, Yuriko’s toes curled and back arched as she came apart too.

Hanging on half into kissing, half heaving, Yuriko quivered in Ruki’s arms, relishing the sensation of his cold cum flooding her. Lazily, she swung her butt, hugging his slowly softening shaft with her walls as if her body was trying to get every last drop of his juices. His hand glided to her nape, giving it a tiny clutch.

“You are such a bad girl when the mood is right…” Ruki’s whisper vibrated on Yuriko’s lips. “You simply cannot shake your lust for your master, is that it?”

“Mhm…” Yuriko swallowed, still panting. “I… I just want to be used… by you… because I trust you and love you.”

“Is that so?” Ruki chuckled.

As an answer Yuriko clenched her walls again, this time deliberately, forcing Ruki to grunt.

“I see…” Lifting Yuriko from his lap, Ruki pulled out and whirled her bridal style in his arms. “Let me carry you in.” He pecked her lips before getting up from the water and walking out of the pool.

The summer breeze traced Yuriko’s bare skin as Ruki walked under the trees and toward the manor. Even being exhausted after their tryst, she couldn’t help the heated feeling that was already coursing its way back into her veins.

Ruki stepped into the manor, heading toward his bedroom. “I love you. From the bottom of my heart. And for that, I will fulfill your wishes.”

You can find the uncensored version of the pic from Yuriko's X account and later in the ebook version of the story.

Yuriko yawned, cuddling against Ruki on his bed. Ruki was playing with her hair in an almost lazy manner as if he had been much more relaxed than usual. The sun was sinking behind the window, disappearing behind the tall trees of the forest.

Finally, the inner burning had eased up a little. Yuriko pressed her nose against the column of Ruki’s neck. It was dry now. They had taken a shower – a rather long and heated one – after what had gone on in the pool, and then Ruki had wrapped Yuriko in a towel, making sure she had been properly dried before bringing her into his bed. Her curls were still somewhat damp, and the moist summer heat was wafting in the air, but her muscles weren’t stiff, and she was able to close her eyes and simply breathe.

Breathe.

This moment of peace. The couple wasn’t in a hurry. Everything was perfect right now; their worries were pushed aside. This was what Yuriko needed.

“You should move into this room…” Ruki placed a kiss on the top of Yuriko’s head. “You are always sleeping next to me anyway. We could bring your clothes and other things in here. I can move my bookshelves in the library so that we have more space here.”

“Umh… are you sure?” Yuriko fluttered her eyes open while her heart bounced a little faster. “I mean… I would love to share this room with you.”

That way we would be even more together officially, right? The soft sensation of her lips curling sent warm shivers through Yuriko’s body. She sighed when Ruki’s fingertips caressed her cheek.

“I am sure. I want to have you by my side at all times. Your everything belongs to me, and I will never let go of you. It only makes sense for us to live in the same room.” Ruki’s nose rubbed against Yuriko’s hair as he drew breath. “I wish nothing more than —”

A tap on the window.

Yuriko flinched from the sound and lifted her head, almost hitting Ruki’s chin. He crawled upright, moving her a bit further before landing his feet on the floor and heading toward the window. As he opened it, a tiny bat flew in, dropping an envelope into his hands. It flapped its wings, dancing in the air around Ruki.

“Good boy, you did well. I will call you again later, when I have read this and decided if it demands an answer.” With Ruki’s words, the bat flew back out, and Ruki made sure the window was shut again.

“Umh… what is it?” Yuriko sat up, pulling the blanket on her lap. It was too hot to wrap her body into it, and honestly, she didn’t mind Ruki seeing her naked anymore. He had seen everything and… he loved every inch of her. That much she had already learned.

Ruki scooted right next to Yuriko, pecking her cheek before he shredded the envelope open. He pulled out something that looked more like parchment than regular paper — it even had a dusty scent on it. Without answering Yuriko, Ruki focused on reading the message. And with each sentence, his brows knitted closer together.

“Haa… It seems I need to take my words back…” Ruki dropped the letter on the bed and ran his hand through his hair. “Do not get me wrong. I want to stay by your side, and I want you to live in this room with me… but that must wait a bit longer.”

“Eh?” Yuriko swallowed but that only made something cold slither down her stomach. There was such a serious tone in Ruki’s voice.

The Vampire raised his hand, brushing a damp curl behind Yuriko’s ear. “Karlheinz-sama has invited me to Eden.”

“For what?” Yuriko could hear how her voice quivered.

“I do not know. The letter said he had something important to discuss with me and that I should arrive alone.” Ruki sighed. “I am probably away for a few days. I will make sure that you are safe all the time. One of my brothers will accompany you.”

“Umh…” Yuriko hung her head. Ruki was her perfect distraction from unwanted thoughts, and now he would be gone. Even if it was only for a few days…

“You could meet up with Elizabeth. I will ask Kou to bring you to the mall and entertain you there. He knows how to do that.” Ruki snatched Yuriko’s chin and lifted it. “Then perhaps a library visit on another day and catching up with your brother on the third. You will be so busy that you do not have time to worry. And when I come back, I will spoil you so much that you will beg me to let you rest. So, make sure you will sleep enough while I am gone.”

Once again, the heat covered Yuriko’s face before the words even had time to sink in. She noticed that a glance from Ruki was enough to make her nod. She would do exactly how he wished. To be his good girl.

#yuriko's story #ruki mukami #yuriko tsukino #diabolik oc #diabolik lovers fanfiction #steamytimes

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thedo0zyslider · 11 months

Text

Life Transfers - 13k Words

Lives in Last Life are transferred through kisses, which leads to some interesting situations, to say the least

(Most scenes in this fic aren't accurate to canon at all because i am not going to watch ten peoples last lives to find all the clips lmao)

A03 Link

It's sunset when Grian and Scar finally decide to test out the life sharing system.

The first day had been smooth so far, aside from that one little mystery. No one had yet to figure out how to give another player a life, and there were many frustrating attempts in chat to attest to it.

Grian turns to Scar as the sun begins to set, a mischievous smile on his face. Scar feels a shudder run down his spine when the other pierces him with that look, but it was a good kind of shiver.

"I think I figured out how to transfer lives!" Grian smiles up at him, some of his sharper teeth on display.

"Really know?" Scar smiles back, feeling the mood shift slightly. "How so?" His voice purposely dips a little lower, eyes following Grian’s as they flick down to his lips; and linger there a little too long.

"I think you already know how." Grian mutters, moving closer. The two are only inches apart now, and he can feel one of the avian's hands snaking up his arm, claws catching on the fabric. Grian knows he's guessed already, because he wouldn't be moving forward if he didn't. Scar thinks he guessed how to transfer lives a little bit ago, right when the sun started to set.

"Then let's get on with it, pretty bird~" He hums, leaning closer just a bit. He notices how Grian’s wings flutter at the compliment, and tries not to look at the others lips for too long.

"I'll take one, then give it right back, I promise." The avian mutters, then stands on his tiptoes, and Scar just looks at him fondly.

Grian grabbed the front of Scar's robe, pulling him forward ever so slightly. The taller just hummed, leaning downwards even further to meet the blonde in the middle. Well, more like bump noses and then just stare into each other’s eyes for a minute. They were a little hesitant, after everything that had happened before now….during the last game that was.

Eventually, Scar decided he was growing tired of waiting, and finally moved to press their lips together. Grian kissed back hungrily, like he'd starve without the other's touch, and Scar reached up to cup the avian's face in his hands. The kiss was a little messy, a little desperate, and Scar wished they weren't standing in such an open space; just so he could press Grian to a tree or something and really go to town.

He felt how the life transferred from him to Grian. It was a little off putting, Scar had to be honest. But if transferring lives was the whole point of the games, he supposed he could get used to it. The brunette could only describe it as well, literally feeling your life force, part of your soul be taken from you. It was powerful, and Scar was pretty sure the process made Grian pause a little as well, mostly by the way his breath hitched in what could only be described as momentary shock.

It was powerful, but not unpleasant. Maybe it was even a little enjoyable, intoxicating even. Maybe that was Scar's brain confusing the transfer with kissing Grian.

They stayed locked together for much longer than necessary. Grian did however, start to pull away, right when Scar’s lungs really started to burn for air. He slipped his tongue out of the wizard's mouth a little reluctantly, and Scar had been so lost in the moment he didn't even know when they'd started using tongue.

Scar's eyes fluttered open slowly, meeting Grian own half lidded gaze, their faces still staying close together. The avian's eyes were no longer the pretty, pale yellow they had been before, and were now a nice looking light green. The color was similar to Scar's usual eye color, and he vaguely remembered Grian commenting on how he couldn’t tell normal Scar apart from green life Scar sometimes.

“How many lives did you have?” The blonde muttered softly against his lips.

“Six,” Scar replied, not really expecting anything to come of that. It wasn't that big of a deal in his opinion, the brunette was sure there were plenty of other six and two lifers out there in the world.

The avian pulled back suddenly, talons tightening on the fabric of his robes. Scar blinked, surprised at how quickly the smaller pulled away.

"I'm not giving this back!" Grian exclaimed, stepping back a good few feet.

"Wait a minute, mister!" Scar said, letting a little irritation seep into his voice. "That's not what you promised!"

"You have five more!" The blonde argued back, his wings starting to unfold. If this were any other place, he's sure the little bird would have flown away already, but this world won't allow him to do that. Grian clearly doesn't like that fact, and has to stop himself from instinctively taking off.

"And you made a promise!" Scar takes another step forward, and Grian takes another step back. The wizard can see it in his eyes, the way the avian is trying to think, to worm his way out of this with three lives still intact. And Scar doesn't like that one bit.

Grian figured it out eventually, and smiled at him gently. Scar, not for the first time, wishes he wasn’t so charming, or even pretty, like that. "If you ever have less lives than me, I'll give it back? Okay?"

Scar knows it's too good to be true, and he knows Grian. He knows, logically, that that's never going to happen. Grian will never have less lives than him, because Scar is klutzy and acts all scatterbrained half the time. And if he gets close to it, Grian will make sure he doesn't get his stolen hearts back from him. He knows that the man can't keep a promise

But he's going to take it anyway.

"Okay." The wizard smiles, hoping to look like he doesn't see through the blonde's little lies. "That's fine with me!" He doesn't know why he agrees, but he thinks it because he still wants to trust Grian. To love him even.

The smaller smiles up at him even wider. "Then I'll be taking my leave, good sir!" He punctuates the words with a dramatic little bow, then disappears into the forest in the blink of an eye.

Scar stands there for a minute, the sun dipping lower in the sky behind him, and watches as one of his lives runs away. He thinks his heart was taken with it too. He hopes he'll get to steal it back someday, hopes he'll get to steal another sweet taste of Grian’s lips. Just one more time, because one more time never hurts, does it?

_______________________________

Scott sat on a chest, one in the relatively new base he and his ally had started to set up. He and Pearl had taken a day or so to set up a small starter area, not too deep in the nearby spruce forest, and all the while one problem had loomed over them.

A part of this new, fun and exciting death game, was a more complicated life system than the first. This one relied on being able to give one of your lives to another, and it seemed like it would be a pretty big part of the upcoming weeks. Especially since a player could only spawn with six, but there was no limit on how many lives one could gain after spawning.

All seventeen of them had been a bit stumped on exactly how to share lives. Scott and Pearl had done some experimenting naturally. They tried to see if it was like, some sort of mental thing? Like if you really, really focused you could give someone a part of your soul. Yeah that hadn’t worked, and Scott was soon content to just let Grian (and his weird little admin powers) figure it out after that.

Grian had found out the way to transfer lives was kissing, and Scott wasn't very interested in finding out how he did that, but his brain unhelpfully supplied a few guesses anyway.

Yeah, that was gonna be a bit of a problem . He didn't kiss girls, and also didn't casually kiss his friends on the lips, so the situation was bound to be a little awkward. Scott wasn't the only one who found it a little bit of a um, roadblock per say, based on his servermates reactions in chat.

Now he sat on a chest, slowly kicking his feet back and forth, while Pearl stood crafting something nearby, and Scott decided it was probably time to confront the problem. Two lives wasn't a lot of lives to have, not when he could die so easily, on top of the fact that there was a boogeyman lying around. It was setting him on edge, the longer he stayed yellow.

“So, how are we gonna do the whole transferring lives thing?” Scott asked, filling the silence between them. “No offense Pearl, but I really don’t wanna kiss you.”

Pearl took no offense to that as he expected, just nodding in agreement. He'd assumed she naturally also wasn't up for kissing one of her friends, like most people on the server. Well, Scar seemed to be up for it, but Scar was a different case. The wizard was just like that.

She pursed her lips together in thought. It did take a few moments of comfortable silence, Scott swinging his legs back and forth as he let Pearl think, but eventually, her eyes lit up. “Well, no one ever specified it had to be on the lips, Gri just said it had to be a kiss .” She said, mouth quirking upward into a sly smile.

“Pearl, you’re a genius!” Scott gasped, legs now swinging with excitement and the soles of his sneakers lightly bumping against the chest's closed lid. He was over the moon, happy that he could easily receive some extra lives. Those were going to be very valuable in this game it seemed, and his only other option was to go….like bribe someone else or something. He doubted there were very many people willing to hand a life over to a non ally, let alone kiss that person as well.

"Yep, I know I am!" She smiled in return, taking a few steps closer. The two now stood close, Scott's shoes brushing Pearl’s knees from where he sat on the chest. They were quite close, but it was more comfortable, less awkward than some people might be in a similar situation.

Pearl reached forward, wiggling her eyebrows playfully. Scott rolled his eyes with an amused huff, letting her take one of his hands in hers.

Getting kissed on the hand didn't bother him, no, Scott had received hand kisses enough times for the sensation to be familiar to him. It was the whole…life swapping part that made him jump out of his skin a little. It was somehow gentle, yet powerful at the same time, the new sensation crashing over him like a tidal wave. Pearl felt it too, a full body shiver running through her as she gave up one of her lives. Maybe that particular feeling differed from person to person, but Scott didn't know that for sure, all he knew was that their life switching had a very strong sensation to it.

All this happened in only a few seconds, a minute if Scott was being generous, but it felt like a lot longer. Pearl moved away with a few surprised blinks after it was done.

"It feels like I just…put my soul into your hand or somethin'." She muttered

"Well, I hope it wasn't your whole soul, you kinda need that to live." Scott retorted, and the other moved a few steps back so he could jump down from the chest. Pearl huffed in amusement, offering a hand to help him steady himself as he stood again.

"Don't think it was, but thanks for worrying." She smiled.

Scott was about to open his mouth, a polite little thank you on the tip of his tongue. He was cut off by Pearl suddenly grabbing his face, holding his cheeks in her hands. "Oooh! Your eyes turned green!" She exclaimed in slight wonder, turning his head; as if examining it. Scott blinked in surprise, as he hadn’t really been expecting his face to be cupped and held.

It took him a moment to realize, but of course Pearl would be a little surprised. She hadn’t been in the previous game, and therefore wasn't aware of things like eye color changing with a player's life count. She'd been surprised that his eyes were yellow earlier as well, instead of their usual light blue.

"Yep! They do that!" He giggled, staring back into her own, darker green eyes for a minute. He moved his own hands on top of hers, taking them off his face with another little giggle. Pearl muttered a quick, quiet apology, one that wasn’t really needed. The newly made green life wasn’t too bothered by her enthusiasm.

After that they moved on like nothing had happened, Pearl resuming her crafting and Scott rummaging through one of the chests with a light hum. They'd probably have to do that again, and if they wanted to prolong it the two needed a farm. You couldn't regenerate health and stop yourself from dying without food of course. So making a farm was probably in order, and Scott was more than happy to have something to do with his hands.

♡

The next time they swap lives the circumstances are a little more serious than before.

Scott had just been boogey killed by Joel, which was rude , and he was back down to yellow. Pearl said it felt like they’d gotten nowhere, like they'd taken one step forward and two steps back, and Scott had to agree. He'd only been green for like, 3 days maybe! The only good thing about their previous transfer was that it kept him from red, yet he had to wonder that maybe if he'd stayed yellow Joel wouldn't have gone after him.

It didn't matter now, because what's done was done. Scott was yellow again, their previous transfer felt a little useless, and Pearl had made a promise to share her lives with him.

This time they got straight to the point, strangely used to the process after doing it their first time. Pearl kissed him on the cheek this time, and Scott shivered as the life force flowed through him once more. She leaned back with a smile, eyes still thankfully a dark green shade. "There ya go!"

"Thank you very much!" He returned the smile, nudging her playfully. Pearl giggled at him

♡

The third, and thankfully final time they needed to do this, was a bit later on in the game. Cleo had joined them, turning their little duo into a trio. The zombie was a perfect ally, an ideal third member. And when Cleo needed a life, and Pearl didn't have many more to give, Scott was glad to offer his own.

“So, how do you guys do this, exactly?” Cleo asked, hand casually resting on her waist. “I know some people like to get… intimate with it…”

"Oh, no no no!" Scott said, making a face at the mere thought. "We don't do it like that!"

Cleo's face brightened a bit at that, and relief shone clearly in her eyes. "Thank god." She sighed. "No offense, I just don't want to…do that with either of you."

"No offense taken!" Pearl pipes up, legs swinging. She's sitting on chest, much like Scott had been the first time they'd done this, and he wants to smile at the parallel.

Instead of that Scott decides to get this over with, make it painless and less awkward. He holds out his hand, and Cleo puts their own in his curiously. Scott smiles and leans down, and presses a quick yet effective kiss to the back of their decaying hand.

Giving up a life is different than receiving one, just a little. The latter feels like something is being added to you, to your soul, while the former feels like giving up a part of yourself; a very big part. It's not unpleasant per say, and definitely something he could see himself getting used to if he did this a few more times. He doesn't want to get used to it.

He pulls away, the transfer causing both of them to shiver. Cleo simply thanks him, and the newly made trio trudges along with their day as normal.

_______________________________

“Joel!” Tango called, finding where the man had set up for the time being. “Joel!?” The blonde had an idea, one for a little minigame, and he was basically gonna try it out on every person he managed to run into. If Joel was home, he’d be lucky contestant number one!

“Tango?” A familiar voice came from atop the mountain, from the weird little dirt shack at the top. “That you mate?” The blaze brightened up at that, because Joel was indeed home! This was going brilliantly already! He watched, tail flicking, as the man made his way down towards the base of the mountain, where he seemed to be keeping his stuff. Tango didn’t know why he’d be in Scar’s house, but it was probably for some kinda scam reason, if he knew Scar; and he liked to think that he did.

“Hi Joel!” Tango smiled, taking in his new appearance. The man wore a wizard robe, which tipped him off to the theme of this particular alliance. The man seemed a little taller, well more than a little, because he was now a good inch taller than the blazeborn, and they had been around the same height before. People usually didn’t change size in these games, just appearances, but if Joel wanted to be tall for once, who was Tango to judge the wants of his short brethren? Joel had a beard now as well, and quite an impressive one to say the least.

“What brings you here?” The wizard asked, not suspicious at all. After all, why would he be? Tango was green, and the boogeyman had already gone and wacked Grian earlier that day. Oh, this was absolutely perfect!

“I just have a little proposition for you!” He smiles, hands being shoved into his pockets. “A little game even!”

“Oh?” Joel asked, already intrigued. “What is it?” “It’s called You Bet Your Life!” The blazeborn announces, tail flicking behind him. “Basically, you give me a life and then bet on the person who dies next. If you pick the right person, then you get all the lives I’ve collected!” Tango explains if cheerl;y, wide smile on his face, and knows Joel is in by the way his eyes light up.

“Oh you have a deal, mate!” The other laughs, returning the smile he’s given. It looks a little eerie on him, but that’s no problem. A betting customer is a betting customer, weird smile or not! He didn’t even asl any questions, like if this was a scam! It was not a scam, by the way, he’d never do such a thing. A game like this showed people he was trustworthy, which was a very valuable thing here.

“Sooo, who ya betting on?” He asks, knowing most people would most likely want to do that before handing over the life.

“Jimmy.” Joel's answer is immediate and confident, and he snickers at that. Pretty good bet if he’s being honest. The little canary is great and all, but the universe tends to screw him over a little too much for him to make it for.

“Good choice!” Tango purrs. “Now how do you want to do the uhh, life transfer?” He asks, suddenly becoming a little awkward. Joel’s a great guy and all, but he doesn’t really wanna lock lips with him. He doesn’t think Joel wants to do that either, based on the look on his face.

“Maybe I can just….?” Joel muttered, making a motion towards Tango’s hand. He nodded, removing his right hand from his pocket a little slowly. He holds it out, and Joel presses a quick kiss to it before pulling back. They both shuddered a little at the new sensation, Joel even stumbling when he stood a little. Transferring a life felt weird, definitely, but the blazeborn knew he’d have to get used to it sooner or later, especially if he wanted this game to succeed.

He waved goodbye to Joel only a moment after, and went in a random direction, trying to find the next contestant.

♡

His next victim is Bdubs, who’s a little suspicious in all honesty. But Tango knows him well, and knows exactly how to lure Bdubs into a deal.

“I’ll give you a clock~” Tango purrs, leaning into the shorter personal space. “You give me a life, and I’ll give you a clock for an allyship?” He smiles at how Bdubs flushes at the closeness, and how his eyes become all wide and hopeful. “And, and! If you win, you can have three whole lives on top of that!” He knows he should probablyyy ask Skizz before going and making any more allies, but he thinks it a good idea. Etho and Bdubs are all by themselves, and four heads are always better than one…

“Fine! Let’s get this over with!” Bdubs huffed dramatically. Now Tango was expecting a peck on the cheek, or something, maybe the forehead. But before he knew it, Bdubs was right in front of him, and his red eyes were meeting the other wide ones. Their faces were only a few inches apart now, and he felt his breath hitch in his throat. He wasn’t very opposed to the idea of kissing the smaller on the lips, he found that he welcomed it actually. That, and why Bdubs himself seemed so eager as well, were definitely thoughts for later.

Bdubs grabbed his face, hand tilting Tango's chin, and the blaze thought he stopped breathing for a good second. Their lips connect a moment after that, and warmth clouds his thoughts and runs through his limbs, making them all feel like jelly.

As the one transferring lives, Bdubs takes control of the kiss, and Tango is glad to let him. It's a quick kiss, all things considered, and especially compared to the ones he'll have later in the game, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. The hand on his chin moves to hold Tango's face, and he melts into the touch completely. The blazeborn let's Bdubs's other hand grab the back of his head, tilting it and deepening the kiss.

He whined, feeling the life start to flow through him. He’s never received one…this way before, and it sure is intense. But in a good way. The force of it shook his limbs slightly, and his hands moved to grip soft, curled hair while it did. Bdubs shudders as well, at the life or the hair pulling Tango doesn’t know, and slips his tongue into Tango’s mouth.

They pull away with a gasp a few minutes after, the blazeborn dazed and maybe looking at Bdubs a little dreamily. The other has a similar look on his face, lips now red and puffed up. Before stepping back he presses a few, chaste kisses to Tango’s jawline, and the blonde leans into it happily.

Bdubs places his bet, then leaves promptly after. Tango stands, watching him go, and maybe wishes to do that again sometimes.

♡

He finds Etho later that day, and the man is surprisingly open to the idea. He knows Etho is the person to go along with whatever he thinks is fun or whatever, but handing away a life is a little more serious. It requires a little more thought is all, and Etho looks like his mind was made up immediately, as soon as the blazeborn opened his mouth.

"How do you wanna do this?" Tango asks, scanning Ethos' face. The man looks a little sly right now, and he's not sure what kind of response is gonna come out of that mouth. He'd made a good habit of asking that question, considering some people wanted a wholly platonic way to do this, while others wanted a more passionate exchange.

"How about…" Etho smiles in response, drawing out the last few syllables. "We do it on the lips?" The way he says it is very cheeky, and almost a little hopeful. Like he's been looking forward to this, like he wants to kiss Tango for other , non life related reasons. (And maybe he himself did too.)

The blazeborn gawks at him, very caught off guard. He was expecting him to say forehead or something, not lips. Mainly because that requires taking off the mask, and in all their years of friendship he's never seen Etho take it off. The most he'd done is lift it up a bit when he needed to eat, and even then people would graciously move their gaze away from the singular inch of his face that was visible. So yeah, Etho taking his mask off, especially when he has other options? Unheard of.

"You sure about that?" The blaze asks, dropping all his stupid salesmen persona stuff. He's already thinking of other ways to do this, wondering if a kiss through the mask itself would count. He doubts it a little, but does hope the universe could make an expectation like that, that it ever cared enough to give Etho comfortable options like that.

Instead of baking out Etho just takes a few steps closer, and Tango stops himself from taking a step back, well aware he'd crash directly into a tree if he did. "Yeah." He confirms, leaning downwards. The two are practically eye level now, and Tango knows that he's not getting around this. Etho’s good eye is sparkling with mischief, and both of them are already flicking down to his lips. "Besides, I wanna see what Bdubs was raving about earlier." Etho mutters, and a shiver runs through Tango at the words. Well, at least someone thinks he's good at this kissing stuff.

The blaze feels his face begin to flush, and Etho sees it, because his eyes turn even more mischievous and he looks even more satisfied with himself. "Didn't know you flustered this easily…" He can see Etho smiling, indicated by the way the corner of his eyes crinkle. Eyes that are suddenly very pretty, Tango finds.

He feels a hand start to trace his face, and shivers again. Etho had begun to run his fingers along Tango's jaw, doing so a little seductively. The blonde flushes further, failing to hold back the purr that spills out of his throat. The other just smiles wider, and thumbs at Tango's bottom lip.

"Well, if you're okay with this…." The blonde mutters once he's done purring, head cheek rubbing into Etho’s palm all cat-like. And he means it too. Tango is more than comfortable with this, and all he wants is that Etho is as well. And maybe kissing him won't be so weird, especially if he's going to be pet and caressed like that .

"Very okay with this, don't worry." Etho hums, his other hand going to cover Tango's eyes. "Now, no peeking!"

He laughs at that, and promptly closes his eyes. He feels Etho remove his hand at one point, presumably to take off the mask, but his eyes stay firmly shut. His tail flicks behind him idly as he waits, still leaning into the hand placed on his cheek.

It's only a minute later when he feels a nose bump with his, and Tango properly leans forward. Etho lets out a huff of amusement at that, and closes the gap between. Their lips meet, and the feeling is electric. Both men are quickly lost in it, the minigame in the back of their minds as they press closer together. Hands rest on Tango's waist, and he moves to make the kiss a little more passionate. Etho hums into it as a response, whining as sharp teeth start nipping at his bottom lips.

The other might set the pace, but it's Tango who takes full charge of the exchange. He pulls Etho closer with hands cupping his face, feeling his own back hit something as he does. Etho doesn't seem to mind, letting out a pleased noise as hands grip at his face and he's pulled further down. He does nothing, just kisses Tango into a tree best he can, while the latter slips his tongue into Etho’s mouth and absolutely goes to town. He starts getting noises out of Etho as well, and just gets extra confirmation that he's good at this kissing thing.

One of Tango's hands starts to explore Etho’s face as he does, thumbing over his cheeks and jawline. It's a sight he doesn't want to see, because Etho doesn't want him to see it, so the blaze makes sure to memorize it in any way he can. Eventually he's holding both of Etho’s cheeks in his hands, memorizing every scar and blemish of his lower face, how soft his skin feels and the shape of his jaw. He memorizes Ethos' mouth as well, an easy task to do really. Tango's tongue explores every inch of it, tracing over the back of his teeth, his inner cheeks, absolutely everything . The man tastes nice too, something else he's sure to remember; along with the chapped yet pleasant feeling of Etho’s lips themselves.

Tango groaned, hands starting to roam under his shirt. Etho’s nails scraped against his skin nicely, and the blonde shivered and leaned into this kiss further as he did. The taller started to take charge of ot again, slipping his own tongue into Tango's mouth. It was then that the life began to transfer, and it was very similar to the feeling he'd gotten from Bdubs earlier. It was a passionate thing, and very intense. He groans as it courses through him, finally becoming putty against hold. s hold. Tango melts entirely, and lets Etho kiss him as hard as he pleases; even when his lungs start screaming for oxygen.

Eventually, they pulled away, hands still roaming under Tango's shirt. He keeps his eyes closed, puffs of another person's breath landing on his face. He feels Etho’s gaze piercing him, watching as the blaze leans his head back. The hands, which are maddeningly cold by the way, move up higher, flicking teasingly over his chest. Tango's own hands moved to grip at white hair, while Etho’s own started to thumb a little teasingly at his waistband.

Just as Tango catches his breath he feels someone's warm breath on his neck. And okay, wasn’t expecting that, but he's not gonna stop Etho. He's never known the guy to give into his urges like this, and who's he to say he can't indulge a little. The man is also very good at this, evident by the groan he gets from Tango, lips being placed on the blazeborn's neck slowly.

Tango groans again, craving his beck further backwards with a whine. Etho just smirks against his skin, and places a few open mouth kisses on his throat. They don't stay like this for long, but he makes each one pleasurable, sucking at softly biting at the blazeborn's neck with each movement of his mouth. Etho pulled away with a wet popping sound, and Tango makes another sound, falling against the taller man's frame.

Etho giggles at that, and mutters into the blonde hair that his mask is back on, and that he can look. Tango doesn't open his eyes immediately, content to just bury his head into Etho’s jacket for a moment. His legs do still feel a bit weak after all.

"Am I that good?" The other asks, cold hands tugging at the collar of Tango's shirt. He just hums, letting his new hickeys be hidden by the perpetrator, and slowly lifts his head up.

Etho's eyes are shining with something, something that could very easily be called affection. Love even. Tango thinks he has a similar look in his eyes, amidst the dazedness of them of course.

“Yes!’ He huffs, tail wrapping around one of Etho’s legs. He moves up to place a quick kiss on his cheek, but can only really reach his jawline unfortunately. Damn shortness. So that’s what Tango settles on, peppering kisses into Etho’s jaw, doing so against the cool fabric of his mask until the other asks if they can untangle themselves. Which Tango does do, but only after getting Etho to bet on someone like he was supposed to.

When Bdubs and his masked friend ask for him and Skizz to join forces a few days later, Tango is a little more than overjoyed. His ally just accepts, and looks at him a little weirdly, but says nothing on it. He’s pretty sure Skizz caught a glimpse of the hickey anyways, and the other is smart enough to put the pieces together. Tango just hopes that the new team will bring a few more of those kisses to him, and he hopes that if it does; it’ll be very, very soon.

♡

The last and final person to participate in the game is Lizzie, one of the three newer members to these games. She’s a strange one, that fairy is, but in a good way. She also had a growing alliance, so it was probably a good thing to be on positive terms with her.

She was in one it as soon as he explained it in full. “I’m betting on Joel!” The fairy declared, and Tango hadn’t even had a chance to ask that question before she jumped on the opportunity.

“No faith in your husband, huh?” He asked, holding out his hand.

“Nope!” Lizzie said, and he could tell she really had no faith in his first customer at all. She placed a quick kiss on his hand, and Tango didn’t even shiver at the feeling. His most heated encounters made this feel like nothing at all.

Not even twenty minutes later he was running back to the fairy fort, running to congratulate his winner.

♡

“Lizzie!” There’s a familiar voice calling her name through the trees, rapidly approaching the fairy fort. The fairy leader turns towards the sound, right as Tango bursts into her clearing. He has a wide smile on his face, one that mirrors her own, and they share a little victory laugh.

“You won!” He calls, walking further into the area.

“I did!” Lizzie responds, wings fluttering out behind her in joy. Joel, her husband, the person she betted on, had died almost right after she made her bet. The fairy doubts Tango even got far, because he’d only left her base around seven minutes ago, and now he’s already crashed back in. The blazeborn laughs again, and pulls her into a crushing side hug of celebration. She joins in the laughter as well, pumping her fists up in the air as she does.

“Now gimme those lives!” She smiles when they move away, no longer embracing.

“Yes ma'am!” Tango salutes at her, and takes her hand when she offers it. Four, quick kisses are pressed to the back of it, and she shivers less with each transfer, now solidly use to the sensation. Which is good, considering she’ll probably be doing it again soon.

Tango leaves after that, clearly still in an elated mood. And Lizzie waits for people to come by, or for her allies to come home. Most people probably know that she’s won, and it’s only a matter of time before people come trying to get an extra life or two.

Over the next few days they were all handed off one by one. First it was to Ren, her most loyal ally, and Scott and Pearl, in exchange for a favor or something of the like. Lizzie was confident in her choices, having given three lives away to what she felt like were trustworthy people, and one staying all to herself.

_______________________________

There was another life Tango exchanged over the past few days, one very annoyingly not a part of his game. Skizz listened to him grumble about it for a while, in between the excited rants about his minigame.

Cleo had approached him one day, and the blazeborn had a pretty good idea of what they wanted. The zombie had that smile on her face, one of those where you had a deal to strike and you knew you would get away with it. His tail flicked against the floor as he greeted them, eyes narrowed slightly.

“Hi Cleo!” He called, flashing his best toothy grin

“Hi Tango!” She called back, voice sickly sweet as she approached further. Yep, definitely up to something. “What can I do for you?” He asked, hands being placed on his hips. The two stood face to face now, only a foot apart. His tail kept flicking behind him, it was more of an unconscious thing really. Cleo’s eyes moved to it for a second, before returning to Tango’s face.

“I have a deal for you, if you’ll take it.” Cleo said.

“Oh, what’s it gonna be?” Tango kept up the toothy, cat-like grin as he spoke. He just hoped this deal wasn’t a scam, because he had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to avoid it.

“I’ve been going around the server selling sugarcane, trying to prevent another monopoly,” The zombie began, taking out some sugar cane to show it to him. Tango nodded, eyeing the precious plant. “And i was thinking, if you give me a life, you can get some of this!” They ended the explanation with a smile, clapping their hands together.

“Hmmm,” The blazeborn hummed, clasping his hands behind his back. “I’m not sure about that, lives are pretttyyy valuable…”

“You could have all the TNT you want though.” Cleo reasoned, and that did sound very tempting. “And you have nine lives right now.”

“Ugh, fine! ” He huffed, making grabby hands towards the sugarcane. “I’ll take your stupid deal!”

Cleo smiled widely at him, clearly very satisfied with her win. “Perfect!” The zombie tossed the plant to him a little too haphazardly for the blazeborn’s liking, and he scrambled to catch it all before it fell. “Now for the life, please!”

Tango grumbled something inaudible, something he’d absolutely be repeating to Skizz later, and leaned in. He kissed the zombie on the cheek, the less decayed one, and felt one of his precious, precious rewards for his game slip through his fingers. The blazeborn had transferred many lives, so this was a normal feeling to him. Cleo clearly hadn’t done this before, indicated by the full body shudder that ran through her. First transfers tended to do something like that, their bodies not used to the new sensation of literally being given life.

He moved away, his smile a little less wide and maybe a little sour. Cleo just thanked him, and took her leave. Tango turned to go back inside without a second thought, thinking of how he needed to probably get two more lives for You Bet Your Life , just to be on the safe side.

_______________________________

The Southlanders sat around in their little circle, doing the daily trust exercise. It started the same way every morning, one of them would give up a life, which would be passed around the circle until it returned to its original owner. Today was Impulse’s turn, and part of his soul was already being kissed into Martyn.

They usually didn’t do on the mouth kisses for life transfer, sticking to cheeks or foreheads or hands instead. Well there had been that one time Martyn got bold, and kissed Mumbo right on the mouth, leaving his husband a cute and flustered little mess. When Mumbo went to give that life to Grian, the little avian had copied him, clearly not liking Martyn’s little stunt. The blonde didn't like his either, and he had felt something sour turn in his gut at the sight. That was his husband, thank you very much, and all seventeen of them had agreed stuff from other servers didn’t matter here. (Unless you were Lizzie and Joel, married by default, that is.) Safe to say, Jimmy and Impulse had kept the two blonde's far away from each other for a while, and left Mumbo to flounder in between them helplessly.

He’d sat next to Jimmy today, and after receiving the life from Grian, turned to press a cheeky little kiss to Jimmy’s cheek. For some reason, the thought gave him a few butterflies, which was strange, because he didn’t get those for Jimmy. Not before now anyways. In hindsight, the little, imaginary insects might’ve been a warning to what would come only five minutes later. They thankfully didn’t linger for too long, and after he’d done the deed, Martyn turned back, expecting the ritual to go as it always did.

That was until Jimmy decided to book it, and run away with Impulse’s life. There were exclamations of surprise from the rest of them, watching as the man booked it out the door. All four of the remaining Southlander’s moved to chase after, but Martyn was the one to truly start sprinting. Jimmy wasn’t getting away with that cheap trick, no way in hell . Not on his watch.

Jimmy stopped running once the tree started to clear, apparently thinking he himself was also in the clear. Martyn took the opportunity, legs burning from his sprint, and surged forward. “‘Ey Tim!” He calls, irritation seeping into his tone, almost hissing out the other blonde’s name. “The bloody hell was that for!?”

Jimmy’s spun around to face him as soon as the first word leaves Martyn’s mouth, and his own irritated gaze meets a stubborn, almost indignant one. “I’m not giving this back! No way!” He calls, and moves to start running again.

Martyn closes the distance between them with a yell. “Give it back!” He gets a hold of Jimmy’s wrist, pulling both of them backwards slightly. The taller thrashes in his hold, twisting under the blonde’s tight grasp, desperate to free his arm. Martyn, realizing his grip is tight enough to leave some pretty bad bruises, lessens it. He lessens it way more than either man was probably expecting him too really, eyes wide as an idea pops into his head.

Jimmy looks at him, clearly puzzled, and is able to slip his arm free. Martyn’s own arm falls to his side, and he tries to gather his words; watching as Jimmy doesn’t leave, just puts a few feet of distance between them. He’s stupid really, to stand there instead of running. Anyone else would’ve, but not Jimmy. Because he is curious and kind, and wants to know why his allies' eyes have widened with something he can’t describe. Martyn almost wishes he hadn’t had the idea, but he can’t think of any other way to get the life back, because Jimmy has to be the one to transfer it. So he needs to make sure the man is willing to do that, and sadly cannot just run up and kiss him to get it over with.

"Give it back, please?" Martyn says, letting his voice become softer as he seems to force out each word. "Give it back, and we'll run away together, just me and you, okay?" He almost whispers it, his voice has gone so quiet. He doesn't know why he's promising this, when he has a perfectly good husband waiting for him already. A husband he loves very much, mind you.

Jimmy looks at him, his own expression suddenly softening. He studies Martyn, brown gaze tearing through him; he has to hold back a shiver, his friend's gaze is so intent, so searching. He wonders if Jimmy is longing for something like the last game, the thing that was unfairly taken from him far too soon (By Martyn’s own ally no less, but he doesn't let himself linger on that thought for long.) He wonders if Jimmy wants just himself and someone else that he can love, tucked away from the rest of the cruel world. Because his eyes are almost hopeful, yet cautious, and it surprisingly makes Martyn’s heart ache.

"Okay, I'll give it back." Jimmy agrees, a little hesitant and a little hopeful. Part of Martyn’s own heart seems to beam at that, and wonders if he wants that too. He wonders if he himself wants to run away to a quiet little corner, to leave the Southlands, his husband, and run away with Jimmy specifically. It doesn't sound half bad, except for the fact that it wouldn't be quiet. They'd have three former friends calling them traitors and lobbying for their heads; and Martyn has a sinking feeling he wouldn’t be the first to die.

Martyn smiles at the taller man's words, and takes a step closer. This isn't a normal sharing game anymore, and they're alone now, no Grian to get jealous of you kissing your own damn husband. Even though the only person who could get jealous about Martyn kissing Jimmy is Scott, and the blonde has a feeling even he wouldn't mind this much. Because Jimmy seems to want it just as much as Martyn does, brown eyes now sparkling with anticipation. Martyn never thought he wanted this before now, but there was a very new, and very loud, very persistent urge to kiss that boy absolutely stupid.

He's not much shorter than Jimmy, but still has to strain upwards a bit regardless. Hands come to hold the side of his face, and Martyn can't stop himself from melting against it. The touch feels like fire on his skin, and he loves the way it burns. Their noses bump, breaths ghost over each other, and his own hands find themselves somewhere on Jimmy, feeling burned for simply making contact with him. One hand grips the fabric of his shirt, and the other is already tangled in his hair; grabbing the back of Jimmy’s head and pulling him closer. He knows the other is a self care guy, so Martyn doesn't know why he's surprised at the softness of Jimmy’s hair. If this were any other universe, any other circumstance, he could easily see himself running his fingers through it on lazy mornings together in bed.

"You promise?" Jimmy whispers against his lips, voice so pleading that it hurts. Martyn whispers back. "I promise." And closes the gap between them.

Jimmy’s lips are soft, and feel pleasant against his own. The taller melts into the touch instantly, becoming putty under Martyn's hands. He can't say he fares much better himself, pressing closer until every inch of them that could possibly be touching is , the fabric of his hoodie rubbing against the near skin tight shirt Jimmy wears. The one hand cupping his cheek begins to thumb it as well, and there are so many butterflies wildly fluttering around his body Martyn thinks he's going to burst. The kiss is sweet tasting too, like sugar or a rich honey, like the kind of chocolate that’s so good you always crave for more after your first bite. It’s a sugar rush really, one he wants to consume more of, and Martyn isn’t normally a sweets guy.

Everything seems to burn even more than before, and they haven't even transferred lives yet. It's definitely a lot more… for lack of a better word, intense than his first kiss with Mumbo, and Martyn makes a mental note to ponder on what that means later; when he's trying to fall asleep specifically. For now the two are just standing there, in a forest far too close to the rest of their allies, borderline making out. Martyn pulls away for a few gasps of air, hearing Jimmy do the same, and god that just makes him want to dive back in more.

So he does dive back in, because he's never one to ignore his impulses, and the fact that they still have a life to transfer. He's sure they'll keep going until Jimmy hands it over, and Martyn will be the last person in the world to complain about that. He dives back in, hands still gripping at hair a darker blonde than his, and hopes and prays that no one ever walks by.

Jimmy apparently doesn't want to kiss him forever, or just wants to get to the running away part, because it's then he starts nipping at Martyn’s bottom lip. Usually, Martyn would let himself go a little wild and take charge of the kiss, and he's pretty sure Jimmy would welcome that. But he's not the one transferring a life here, and it's his turn to get mind numbingly tongued for once. Which also goes on the list of things he's not complaining about.

He holds back a groan as Jimmy keeps nibbling at him, and feels the other smile at that, and nip harder. All that does is make Martyn want to moan more, which he very frustratingly cannot do because they are in a forest that is very close to people's bases. Their own one in particular. Jimmy doesn’t give up though, warmth traveling all through Martyn as he fights down another loud noise. Instead he parts his lips, and finally, finally feels a tongue slip into his mouth. If Martyn had less self restraint right now, which he's surprised he still had any left at all, he'd be pushing Jimmy down to the ground to ravage him even further; or he'd let the blonde do it himself.

As Jimmy begins to explore his mouth, tongue exploring everything it can reach and making Martyn absolutely whine , the life begins to transfer. It makes the kiss even more heated, and the blonde never thought he could have one this strong, this intoxicating in his whole damn life. And he should've kissed Jimmy sooner, shouldn't he? If he's gonna be this fucking good at it . Martyn can understand Scott's previous devotion to the guy now, because again, holy fuck he is surprisingly good at kissing someone senseless.

This life transfer is different from all the other more casual ones he's had. This time it's full of passion, and Martyn shudders at the strength of it. His grasp on Jimmy tightens, knees wobbling as he turns dark green again, and leaves his lover back down on yellow. If they really were going to run away together, it made no real sense for Martyn to take the life back, not really. All it did was make his supposed only ally more vulnerable, and that should've been the first sign something was amiss. He feels bad for lying to Jimmy like that, he really does, for taking advantage of his optimism. He shouldn't even have optimism in a death game really, not after last time, but just makes him more admirable really, to hold onto it. And that thought makes Martyn feel even worse than he already was starting too. Speaking of Jimmy, he's started making sounds of his own, and it's absolute music to Martyn's ears. He wants to kiss him longer, to go even further, see just what kinds of sounds he can get out of the man. But sadly people have to breathe, and his chest is beginning to ache real bad.

They pull away slowly, both blonde's panting heavily. Martyn, still caught up in that ecstasy high, drives back in for a third one after they catch their breaths. Kissing him just because he never wants to stop . Jimmy lets him, let's Martyn nip his lip and slip his own tongue in for just a minute; just long enough to elicit more groans from Jimmy. He's about to go further, having thrown his restraint to the wind, and push this further. About to maybe let his hands wander... downwards specifically, maybe even shove Jimmy down to the ground and do god knows what to him in the middle of this forest. He’s forgotten that there are three people waiting for him to come back, forgotten about Mumbo entirely, and his whole head is focused on Jimmy and pushing this further and consuming every single inch of that man Martyn can reach.

Yet before he can go any further, Jimmy is pulling away, placing a hand on his chest and bringing the blonde back to his senses. His pretty brown eyes are all dazed and dreamy, and his soft, sweet tasting lips are incredibly swollen. Satisfaction flows through him at that, that he was the one to cause that look on the blonde’s pretty face. Martyn knows he looks the same, able to feel how puffy his lips are and the heat radiating from his own cheeks. He wonders when he started thinking of Jimmy as pretty, and knows it's time to shatter everything they’d just started.

Jimmy looks at him expectantly, that hopeful looks in his eyes, and he nods his head towards the forest. “Come on.” He says, voice wavering a little. That sound of that voice, much like the earlier whines, is also music to Martyn’s ears, and he hopes he didn’t just fall in love again. He’s thinking he did though, because part of his soul feels like it's shattering.

“Nah,” He says, voice cheerful and sly smile forced. It doesn’t take much for him to fake the stuff, because he did it plenty of times last game, when he was loyal to one man only and even their closest allies were a threat; when he’d been a hand and people had tried playing both sides and irritated him a bit too much for him to let on. “Absolutely not, mate!”

He sees it dawn on Jimmy’s face in real time. Sees the moment Jimmy realized he was lied to, and that they never were going to run away together, that this was all a complicated ploy to get the life back. He can tell Jimmy thinks the kiss wasn’t real, that that was fake too, even though Martyn had been so close to taking it even further, doing something entirely unholy and unsanitary to do in the middle of the goddamned woods; something that was absolutely cheating on Mumbo. Martyn kinda hoped that Jimmy thought some of it was real, because he’d so just cheated. Grian kissing Mumbo hadn’t been cheating to them, because the latter hadn’t been trying to get a kiss from the avian. Martyn had stood there, let himself be carried away and snog another man. He could kinda understand why Jimmy thought it was all fake (even though they both knew Martyn wouldn’t moan like that unless he meant it,) but he was gonna be a little peeved if Jimmy did think that.

And Jimmy did think that, because what else was he supposed to think, really? “It didn’t mean anything, did it Martyn?” He asked, all his hope broken. His voice was strangled and came out in a whisper. Martyn tried to push his slight annoyance away, because he wasn’t the type to and fucking cheat for a fake kiss goddammit, and tried to ignore the twisting in his gut as well.

“Sorry Tim.” His voice broke a little, despite his best efforts, and he hoped Jimmy picked up on that. Martyn played tricks a lot, sure, but this one was really fucked up he thought, even by his stanwards. He’d just toyed with a mans (and his own) feelings, for god's sake.

It dawned on Jimmy when Martyn turned away what all that really meant, and what had probably been in his original plan anyways. The other four had already decided he was exiled; banished; kicked out; wasn't a Southlander anymore. Jimmy was entirely, utterly, completely alone now, no Southlands, no Martyn, and no other alliance was going to take him after a soon to be publicized betrayal attempt. The blonde didn’t stay for long after that, abruptly turning on his heels and beginning the walk back home. It didn’t feel like home with only four of them, without Jimmy , but that was besides the point.

He didn’t hear any footsteps behind him, and assumed Jimmy had run off somewhere. He hoped it wasn’t to Scott, because oh that man would have his ass for that, if his dedication from last time still held up. But that was a problem for future Martyn to deal with. For now he just walked back a little slowly, and wondered how he was going to tell the others, or if he was even going to mention it at all. He should probably tell Mumbo, but the moment also felt way too personal to even try.

As soon as he walked through the front gate three expectant gazes were on him, and three voices lapped over each other, asking if he got it back. Martym smiled easily again, mask of complete ease back on. “Yep! Told him we would run away together all romantic like, then snatched it right from ‘em!” If his lips were still a bit red, no one noticed, Grian just ordered him to give the life back to Impulse. And he did, with a casual peck of the cheek that felt far too dirty on Martyn’s lips.

All he remembered after that was that Jimmy showed up, the little bugger having followed him after all, and let out their cows. He’d broken the jar, which was rude and disrespectful actually, and then been chased away for good. The man was in their base for at least ten minutes, and Martyn didn’t look at him the whole time. That honey sweet voice was making his heart squeeze in pain, and he feared seeing those eyes would break him entirely.

_______________________________

Scar started selling his lives away, and it's probably the stupidest scam he’s ever done. People don’t want him for an ally, no, no, they just want him so they themselves can say off red life. The first one who came by was Bdubs, and well, Scar never complained about kissing that man.

It was a good kiss, all things considered, but they’d probably had better before. It was a quick one too, noticeably so. Scar tried to keep it as long as possible, really he had. He’d avoided transferring the life quickly, wanting this to go on a little longer. Bdubs seemed to be getting into it, thankfully, whining into it when Scar slipped his tongue into his mouth. The wizard made his own sounds as well, hands throwing his hood off his head and desperately tugging at white hair.

He only gave Bdubs the life when the two were pressed to the wall of Scar’s wizard shack, both of them groaning rather loudly into the kiss. The only thing supporting the shorter at that point was the wall he was being kissed into, as he'd completely melted into Scar.

Once the transfer was done the wizard pulled away, sensing Bdubs didn't want to go any further. He could tell the smaller was satfisted by the way hands stopped tugging at his hair, and how he beelined for the door with a half hearted goodbye.

Cleo came by later, and at the least the zombie was honest about what she wanted. Scar gave it to her a little happily, because he had no problem with Cleo. Her group had been kind to him before, had always been. He wanted them to live, and to make it out of here alive. Much more than he wanted Bdubs too, and certainly more than he wanted Grian and his little Southlanders.

The former was the next person to stop by, and it was clear that he only wanted Scar for his lives again. He was bored of being red and wanted to be yellow, for whatever reason, like he wouldn’t die and have people hating him again. Grian didn’t say that, but Scar could tell that just from glancing at him.

“Hi Scar.” He said, with a smile on his face. Scar wanted to wipe it right off.

“Hi.” He responded stiffly, watching as the other invited himself into the shack.

"Me and Joel were gonna put you in a death loop until you gave us life." He explained, and the wizard could barely even be horrified by it. "But we heard you were just giving 'em out now, so…." He saw the avian reach for his sword as he spoke, and Scar knew there was no getting out of this, was there?"

"Well, I'll give you one." Scar smiled. "For a price?"

"Like what?" Grain asked, sword being put away slowly.

"A promise not to kill me when you go red again."

" Deal ." The blonde said, then crossed the room in quick steps until he stood in front of Scar. He let Grian smash their lips together, and went to cup the avian's head in his hands.

The kiss was messy, rough, and Grian was even indulging himself a little bit. That made Scar a little hopeful, but he knew he shouldn't be hopeful, because this was Grian and this was a death game. That didn’t mean he couldn't enjoy it though. The blonde muffled a moan, a tongue slipping into his mouth slowly, teasingly. Scar smirked at that, making his own noise when small hands started to tug at his hair. They pulled away soon after, lungs screaming for air.

Grian glared at him as they did, and Scar just smiled, diving back in to properly transfer the life. He did so, intentionally making the kiss enjoyable for both of them, doing everything he knew Grian liked. Despite that, the blonde pulled away once the transfer was done, not letting Scar go back down for a third one, even if both their bodies were screaming for more. He stopped the wizard with a hand on his chest, leaving their faces agonizingly close.

“You gonna run off after this one too?” He muttered against Grian’s lips.

The avian responded quickly, and Scar had to appreciate the honesty for once, even if it did hurt. “Yeah.” The blonde confirmed, and began to pull away. Scar had to stop himself from placing one last, chaste kiss to his face. He really, really did. His heart felt like it was exploding, but in a bad way. The heartbroken way. The way that made him want to be red tomorrow just so he could go and stab his old lover’s guts out.

It wasn’t as hard to watch Grian leave, not with that feeling turning violently in his gut. He watched the avian run away with one of his lives for a second time, and remembered an old promise that meant nothing. A promise that had never meant anything at all.

Joel came by later that day, asking for a kiss on the hand to make him yellow. Scar gave it to him apathetically, missing his usual charm. The encounter was only five minutes long, and all he could thunk about was how Joel was using him to stay allied with Grian instead of returning to their mountain. How Grian had used him. How everyone was using him, the lonely little wizard that lived atop the hill. How Grian had seemingly abandoned him, his new allies, and had replaced their desert with a bloodthirsty manic and an army of dogs.

♡

He thinks back to earlier in the game later that day, when the life sharing had just been a way to ensure a short alliance, and not all people wanted from him.

Scar thinks back to Ren, who'd given him a life for an alliance and resources. An alliance that certainly wasn’t around anymore, byt felt meaningful now. That exchange had left like it meant something, really, it had. Ren was a good kisser too, and Scar wouldn't mind having that tongue down his throat again. Life exchange or not.

He thinks it's his last kiss with Bdubs, the one before the most recent one, that really started it all, had established that people could use him for lives. Bdubs had given him a life to buy an enchanter, and after that everyone had seemed to jump on the next opportunity they saw. Because what did a lonely wizard have to lose?

He licked his lips, feeling how red and puffy they were; from all the action they'd received over the past two days, and wished he'd made more rules around his scams.

♡

The next day was the last transfer Scar ever did, and the last one that felt meaningful.

Scar was having….quite a day to say the least. He'd woken up on red once again because he'd drowned, and the usual red life instincts were really kicking in that day, apparently. The wizard wasn't one to relish in those, ah, murderous urges much, but he did let himself indulge once in a while. At one point in the morning he'd grabbed TNT from his hidden chest absent-mindedly, placing it inside his robes; far away from the pocket with his flint and steel this time. He'd been itching to use it for some time now, and might as well do so today.

Team BEST's Snow Fort seemed like a good place to blow up for some reason, maybe it was just because that was the first base his eyes landed on. Scar had to wonder if an explosion would cause all the snow to melt, even the snow on the opposite side of the base, or if Etho had made it like, heat resistant or something. That didn't sound possible, but it was Etho, a redstone master, and redstone always did things that sounded like they shouldn't be possible.

The wizard giggled, taunting the little quartet as he placed the explosives around the sides of the building. The other four players tried to stop him, their panicked screams echoing in the air. He heard them breaking the TNT, and didn't really care too much. Scar would be happy at blowing up just a portion of the base really, maybe even do some damage to one of BEST in the process.

"Scar!" Tango's voice rang clearer than the rest for some reason, the blazeborn towards him. Two other people, Bdubs and Skizz, were trailing behind him as well. The wizard now stood a little ways away from the fort, having run out of TNT quicker than he expected.

Tango looked… nervous for some reason, and the feeling seemed to get worse as he approached the brunette. Scar however was curious, raising an eyebrow as the blonde stood directly in front of him, far too close to be anything casual.

The smaller man grabbed onto the front of Scar's wizard robe suddenly, forcing him to lean downwards. Scar blinked in momentary surprise, but then had a pretty good idea of what was about to happen. Because what else did people want him for nowadays? Sure enough, Tango's lips were hesitantly brushing his a moment later, noses bumping as the wizard waited with baited breath. The blonde got over his hesitation quickly though, seeming determined to stick with whatever idea he'd been talked into, and smashed their lips together not even a full ten seconds after.

Kissing Tango wasn’t that bad, it was actually kinda nice. The blazeborn was warm, very warm, but not burning hot. Said warmth seemed to travel through the wizard and it fluttered around nicely in his stomach. Tango's lips themselves were pleasantly warm and a bit cracked, but they felt surprisingly lovely against Scar's own. He'd had worse kisses during this whole death game, so this one was pleasantly enjoyable.

Transferring lives didn’t have to take too long, usually it only needed the quickest of pecks and the thought of handing over some life-force. But it seemed the two got a little….caught up in the moment. Scar had been letting the blonde lead the kiss from the beginning, and didn't protest at all when Tango slipped his tongue into his mouth. He really felt the life flow info him then, the familiar sensation of one of the blazeborn's green lives turning Scar's own red one yellow.

He held back a muffled groan in his throat, well aware that other people were still close by. Scar's hands went to rest light on Tango's hips, and one of the latter's hands cupped his cheek. The other hand grabbed the back of the wizard’s head, titling it so its owner could explore his mouth more.

The kiss felt like it lasted for much longer than it probably did. If they were alone, Scar was sure they would've become a little more frenzied, more passionate, kissed a little more hungrily. Maybe a few more places would've been touched by Tango's warm lips as well. For now though, the blonde's tongue explored every inch of Scar's mouth it could reach, unnaturally sharp teeth occasionally nipping at his bottom lip and making the brunette want to melt into the shorter ever more.

They pulled away after some time, both gasping for air. Tango moved away slowly, nose bumping with Scar's and puffs of his breath landing on the others face. His gaze was a little half lidded, but mostly his eyes were their normal amount of wide as Tango removed his hand from the back of Scar's head. The blazeborn's lips were red, swollen and a little puffed up, and part of Scar wanted to lean back in and ruin them some more.

There was some…weird tension in the air, a kind the brunette couldn't really describe as the two momentarily studied each other. He saw how Tango's gaze searched his face, and Scar was sure he looked just as, if not even more, ravaged than the other. His eyes were half lidded, dazed, maybe even a little bit dreamy. His own lips felt more swollen than they'd ever been, and Scar had had a lot of really heated lip locking sessions in his time.

"You're a surprisingly good kisser." Tango muttered too quiet for anyone else to hear, the tips of his pointed ears now colored cherry red.

"Why thank you!" Scar huffed in response, matching the others volume. "You're not so bad yourself." A signature little smile crept its way onto his face, and the wizard ignored the flushed feeling of lingering on his cheeks.

Tango shuffled further away, until they stood at least a foot apart. "Wel!" He said, hands being clasped behind his back. "That's that!"

"Mhmm" Scar hummed, gaze flicking to the other members of BEST behind them. Skizz and Bdubs were sharing a glance between them, and the air around the two was more than a little awkward. Scar held back an amused sound in the back of his throat. "Thank you for your service, good sir!" He continued. "The snow fort remains intact for now!"

"Right, right.." Tango responded, casting his own look back at his teammates. "See you later, or something!" He said, a little too hurriedly, and turned his back on the wizard.

"Goodbye!" The wizard called, watching the other three scamper off for a minute. Even from here, he could hear Bdubs lean in and ask exactly what the hell that was all about. Tango's ears turned pink again, and he seemed to be stammering a weak explanation out to his two friends.

Scar turned away on his own time, a satisfied little smile playing on his lips and the feeling of Skizz's eyes burning into him as he left. He’d have to find a way to thank Tango later, maybe he could even give him a life of his own one day. (Scar might only be yellow for now, but he was already planning to scam his way back to that beautiful dark green again)

The incident wasn't really brought up again, and Tango only gave Scar brief acknowledgement after that, in the form of quick nods and glances. Scar returned them all with his usual enthusiasm, ignoring the small want to press their lips together again.

That wasn’t for this time, no no. Maybe in another world, but not this one.

_______________________________

Martyn really couldn't believe how he'd got here, really. He was giving Ren, amazing, handsome, beautiful, wonderful Ren , a life. Because they were in the Shadow Alliance. And his ally needed a life.

It felt a little bad, looking at Ren's lips before kissing him. It felt bad because of Mumbo, because of Jimmy. If they were dead he wouldn't feel bad, but they're not, and this is probably cheating again. And he feels bad about that, really he does, it's just…it's Ren. It's just Ren. He couldn't resist that man, even if he tried.

"You good man?" The man of the hour asks him, clearly reading that something is wrong. Martyn knows it's not showing on his face, and that the dog can just read him that well.

"I'm good, I'm good." He muttered, leaving in. "I swear." Ren just hummed in response, and met him in the middle.

Martyn had thought he was starving, but if that was true then Ren was absolutely ravenous. He was biting and nipping on Martyn’s lip almost instantly, which he damn well knew drove him crazy. He groaned in response, letting the kiss advance further and a tongue enter his mouth.

Kissing Ren was great, it really was. If you gave Martyn the option, he'd kiss this man until he died. But his head wouldn't let him forget the last kiss he'd shared, the last life he'd transferred like this, and it made his heart ache a little. Well it was more than a little, it was a lot actually. Because he had to be the idiot in love with three people at once, didn’t he?

He gave Ren the life and pulled away. It left his old partner confused, because he wanted more, thought they were going to keep going like they used to. Martyn said he'd wanted it. And he had wanted it, he'd wanted it desperately so. Every time he'd seen Ren in this game he'd wanted to kiss him until they both couldn't breathe, he'd remembered those stolen moments at Dogwarts and longed for more.

But kissing Ren like that reminded him of Jimmy, of giving him a life then breaking his heart. He still couldn't look at those eyes, hadn’t even tried to visit his new place of living, because it hurt. It made Martyn’s heart shatter into a million pieces. He'd broken that man, played with his emotions, and now he lived in a fucking shack with no friends.

He was reminded of Mumbo, who he loved so dearly but couldn't stay loyal to. And then he felt bad, and like a scumbag. Even though if he explained it he was sure Mumbo would understand. He'd be hurt but he'd understand, because he was Mumbo and he was amazing and Martyn knew his loved ones better than he knew himself. And now both he and Jimmy were red and Martyn couldn't talk to them, because red lives weren't supposed to have friends.

"Sorry." He mumbled, feeling Ren's worried gaze on his back. "I just-"

"Got some weird romance stuff goin’ on?" Ren asked, and of course he would guess that. Because he and Mumbo were never shy about being married, were they? He couldn't know about Jimmy though, because no one but Jimmy himself knew about it, and he still thought it was all fucking fake.

"Yeah. Yeah. That's it. Sorry, again." He muttered. Ren muttered something comforting, but Martyn didn’t hear it, not really. He felt a hand be placed on his shoulder, and they stood like that until someone started coming down the ladder.

_______________________________

Bdubs asked Tango to give him a life one day, because he was low. They were allies now, their two groups, had been for most of the game now. Things had been….rocky to say the least, but Tango jumped on the opportunity to give Bdubs another life, to kiss him again. He'd never gotten such passion for the moss man or his masked partner again, only soft touches and forehead pecks. He'd gotten all that from Skizz, really, who got the same as him from the other two.

So saying he was excited for another exchange like that was a bit of an understatement, and Bdubs could tell, because he'd seen the way Tango's tail flicked and then dragged them off to somewhere more private.

Now they stood close together, Bdubs’s back pressed up against a wall. The blazeborn had been slowly inching forward, but had stopped, wanting the other to feel comfortable. He was kinda trapping the guy against a wall right now.

Bdubs was apparently fine, as he moved forward once he saw Tango's hesitation. "Kinda excited to kiss you again." He muttered, starting to slowly close the distance between them even further. He seemed a little sheepish about the admission, which made Tango's tail curl up in joy.

"Yeah?" Tango giggled, leaning forward teasingly. "Was I that good last time?"

" Yes " The moss man's voice was even lower, even quieter now, and a shiver went through Tango at the word.

"You're not so vas yourself~" He whispered, leaning a little closer thab the first time. Bdubs did the same, until they were only an inch apart. The blonde wasn't sure who exactly closed the gap, or if they'd done so simultaneously, but what he did know that Bdubs’s cool lips were against his mouth; and he was loving every second of it.

A hand grabbed the collar of his shirt, dragging them both backwards. Bdubs's back hit the wall with a low thud , and the man whined into the kiss. One of his hands went to tug at Tango's hair, causing the blonde to make his own noises and slip his tongue into the other's mouth; doing so almost desperately. He kissed his ally into the wall, doing so out of pure desire and nothing else. Hands tugged at hair, and they both were probably loud enough for the rest of their team to hear.

They kept kissing even after the life transferred, enjoying the way the other tasted far too much to stop. Tango wouldn't even realize they'd completed the transfer until they pulled away for the final time, when he saw the changed color of Bdubs's beautiful eyes. The other would lean in again, and Tango would let himself be kissed stupid again, and maybe a few more times after that.

He'd be regretting this a few days later, when Bdubs killed him in cold blood. If he’d known that then, maybe Tango would've kept his lives to himself for once. He didn’t regret this kissing, but it did still hurt, just a little bit.

_______________________________

Etho sighed, looking at the most recent messages on his communicator. Two in particular stood out from the rest, and was the reason he was sighing in the first place. He ran a hand through his hair, eyes scanning over them for what felt like the millionth time that day.

LDShadowlady was killed by BdoubleO100

BdoubleO100 was shot by Grian

That wasn’t supposed to be the plan. That last one wasn't a part of the deal. Etho had told Bdubs if he could kill a red, he'd give him a life. Because Etho had a few lives before he too turned red, and despite all their differences he still wanted Bdubs around. He wanted him to live . But so many people were on red and so much had happened between everyone, between BEST, between them , that it felt wrong to just hand one over. So he'd gone and made that stupid deal instead.

He'd told Bdubs to meet him at the snow fort as soon as he completed his task. And he had completed it. He'd killed Lizzie, taken a red name out of the game for good. But Grian had got to him first.

It had all happened a few hours ago, but Etho’s brain wouldn't let him stop thinking about it. It wouldn't let him ignore the pain. He'd been really looking forward to transferring that life too, to maybe giving the man one last kiss, to keeping him around. But Etho didn't get that in the end, and it made his heart ache and looking at the message over and over like he'd been doing just made him feel worse . So he huffed, back resting against the cold snow wall and soil sand under his feet, and threw the communicator across the room for the fifth and hopefully final time.

He slid down until his bottom hit the floor, resting his arms on his knees and burying his head in them. He couldn't sit there for hours, moping and useless. He had to live, to survive, to win. He had to do it for Bdubs, because he knew Bdubs would want him to make it as far as possible.

But the snow fort did feel empty now, and he wanted to grieve, to focus on that emptiness for just a little bit longer. So he'd live tomorrow, survive tomorrow, maybe win tomorrow. All for his fallen friend, all for him. All for the man who was probably more than just his friend, and Etho had just been too scared to say it.

He'd live tomorrow, for team BEST, for Bdubs.

#ron.fic #ron.writing #last life #trafficblr #goodtimeswithscar #ethoslab #tangotek #grian #pearlecentmoon #zombiecleo #scott smajor #trafficshipping #ldshadowlady #bdoubleo100 #joel smallishbeans #inthelittlewood #jimmy solidarity #rendog

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redeemingvillains · 10 months

Text

the soul's brand (vii) - draco malfoy

draco malfoy x half-blood fem!reader

summary: you and draco are forced apart by the darkness descending on the wizarding world.

word count: 1.1k

a/n: short and sweet very dark, a little build up for what's to come.

chapter six series masterlist

Surprising no one, Hogwarts abruptly ended the spring term early and you returned home in a fog.

Your parents were overjoyed to have you back with them, to have you safe, but the news of Dumbledore’s death had shaken the wizarding world and nothing was the same anymore. Fearing for your lives, you all went into hiding in a safehouse near the countryside among other half-blood witches, wizards and families. Several days later you awoke to feel your wrist thrumming. You sat up in panic, worried you were all in danger, but it felt different this time, further away. Regardless you couldn’t fall back asleep, wand in hand, eyes darting to every dark corner even hours after the feeling had faded.

The next afternoon you received a report that your old home had been scoured and burned to the ground by Death Eaters.

Your seventeenth year started in darkness. In hiding. In captivity to fear and to the unknown. Your soundtrack was a crackled radio broadcast sharing underground news updates, and reports of missing witches and wizards.

It had been two months since you had seen Draco, but somehow you knew he was okay, alive. Or rather, you knew that you would have felt something if he wasn’t. It was hard to explain. You had no idea where he was, so you had no way to write to him, to see him. Sometimes so many dark days past, hidden in the recesses of various safehouses that it felt like you had dreamt the whole thing. You would spend hours daydreaming about it; him in his suit, you in your dress. You would dance in the Great Hall without fear or abandon. He would kiss you gently and softly in front of a warm fireplace and you would make him laugh. He would tell that you he loved you. It was painful to think that that may never happen again. Every day felt more like you had hallucinated it all as his voice, the feeling of his warm hands on your body, and his lips against yours slipped further and further away.

Days turned to weeks. Weeks turned to months. Summer passed in a fit of rain and thunderstorms that had you lying awake all night, pulling your sheets over your head. To your surprise, you heard that some students were returning to Hogwarts. Obviously, there was no such choice for you.

Autumn was dim and dark and musty. The seasons were so similar in their somberness and every day in hiding was the same, so it felt like no time had passed and yet months had gone by now. You lost count of how many safehouses you had stayed in, how many afternoons and evenings you spent tuned to the radio, desperate for updates but in constant fear of what you might hear. Oftentimes it was coded gibberish and nicknames only meaningful to the people who understood them.

Winter came early and hard, pounding frozen sleet and thick snow and leaving a permanent chill in your bones. One such morning you watched the snow falling thickly outside, huddled in a blanket as you thumbed through a book, listening absentmindedly to the day's report, to the coded messages sent over the airwaves.

Goldilocks reports a cool breeze over London.

JP to ER all is well.

No dirigible plums on the horizon.

Light-haired boy to daisy girl, safe and missing you, always.

You sat up straight, fumbling the knob and raising the volume amidst a cloud of white noise.

Light-haired boy to daisy girl, safe and missing you, always.

It was him. It had to be him. You laughed through tears gripping the radio like it was Draco’s own voice coming across the waves. You had no idea how he had managed to get onto this station, how he knew you would be listening, but it was the first glimmer of hope, of contact you had had with him in months. You sank to the floor and cried, in relief, but also in pain at how very much you missed him. Hearing his message would carry you for weeks to come. You snuggled back into your blanket and looked down at your wrist. I hear you and I miss you too you thought.

The third time Draco saw Nagini tear someone limb from limb as he stepped over a pile of dead bodies and didn’t want to cry was the first time he felt a vague air of concern for himself. He had become desensitized, crawling deep into a pit void of emotions as a way to cope with everything going on around him. He had perfected the art of looking like he was participating without actually doing anything harmful, subbing stunning charms for unforgivable curses. Thankfully there were enough rabid psychopaths in Voldemort’s following that his meek efforts went unnoticed.

It was no surprise that there were no other Death Eaters his age, not that he would have wanted to spend time with them anyway. He was left with plenty of time alone, to sit with his thoughts, turning them over in his mind, torturing himself, wondering where you were and if you were safe.

He had found a radio in a safehouse that had been ambushed and had taken it for himself, hiding it in his room and pulling it out when he could to listen, not sure what he was listening for, praying only that his initials on your body would do something, would somehow come to mean something, to protect you; no way of knowing how they were already at work.

He was wracked with nightmares. Sometimes he would dream that he was back with you, at the age you were now, but in the field behind his house. You would run into his arms but only moments after you touched him, he’d hear you scream as if you were in pain and you’d disappear. He awoke in cold sweats, clawing at the pain in his chest. He would come to crave that one moment of peace, a mere breath of relief of having you in his arms before it would come tearing down. Sometimes he would dream of your face among the bodies of the victims he'd seen, of Voldemort ordering him to kill you. He avoided sleep until it was nearly impossible to stand, unwilling to live and relive the trauma so ingrained in his head, so real that he struggled every day to cling to the memory of you.

In an act of desperation after several sleepless nights, he gave a letter to a house elf to owl to another elf who lived near where it was rumored that the radio broadcast was sent from. It was foolish and dangerous but he hoped his code was vague enough to everyone but you. He heard the broadcast three weeks later and could only hope that you did too, wherever you might be, and that you had enough forgiveness in your heart that you hadn’t turned against him.

chapter eight series masterlist

taglist: @moiravim

#draco malfoy #draco malfoy angst #draco malfoy fluff #draco fanfiction #draco malfoy fanfiction #draco malfoy fanfic #draco malfoy x you #draco lucius malfoy #harry potter fanfic #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter

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gladerwolfstarkimagines · 3 years

Text

Request: Imagine being Lin Beifong’s daughter and having a crush on Iroh II

Tags: @tincdraws

Growing up as the daughter of Lin Beifong metal and earth bending were your whole life. You learnt to earth bend by the time you could walk and your mother had you in training from a young age so you graduated from the earth bending school at the top of your class with your eyes firmly set on following in your mother’s footsteps whilst also trying to emulate your grandmother’s success. You had a sharp focus and nothing else really caught your attention. You had friends but training came first and dating seemed something superficial you could live without. Republic city was your life and you would never dream of leaving it but your mother had other ideas.

Your mother thought you needed more worldly experience before you joined the police force so she sent you to the fire nation to gain some training as an officer. She claimed the fire nation had some of the best officers in the world and that they would help you learn invaluable real-life experience. You did not agree and protested the whole thing. All your training had revolved around the needs of Republic City specifically and you couldn’t see how you’d learn anything new about how to protect your city by travelling all the way to fire nation but your mother refused to change her mind and that was that.

So you were shipped off to the fire nation fresh out of the academy. Your mother had spoken to Firelord Izumi and it was agreed you’d be staying at the palace so not only would you be unfamiliar with the environment, you’d be in a place where every small look, word or action had large consequences. You didn’t know much about the fire nation and couldn’t really recall the royal family. You were aware your grandmother was very close with the late Firelord Zuko but since then things had changed. Although your grandmother’s friends (mainly Katara) had tried to keep the group close it was hard with everyone scattered across the four nations and so with each generation the group had drifted further and further apart. You knew Firelord Izumi had a daughter older than you and a son around your age called Iroh. You recalled meeting Iroh when you were younger at some event in the south pole but couldn’t remember much more than a serious fire nation child. So you arrived on the steps of the palace utterly out of your depth determined to see these three months through so you could return to your beloved city. You were shown into the palace immediately, your belongings taken by maids who refused to let you carry them yourself as you were a royal guest. You weren’t used to finery so proceeded through the palace partly in awe and partly in utter confusion why someone needed this many paintings of old men everywhere. You were finally shown into a large room. “Ah you must be y/n Beifong” a voice called and you turned to see someone who looked vaguely familiar. You knew he wasn’t Firelord Zuko or Firelord Izumi’s husband as he was too young so figured by his royal outfit this was Izumi’s second child the prince. “Prince Iroh, it’s an honour to see you again” you said bowing and he chuckled “I bet you thought that would be a winning line with any fire nation citizen didn’t you? Because we’re still all obsessed with honour like we were centuries ago?” Iroh asked and you hesitated. “If I caused any offence...” you started but Iroh cut you off breaking out in a large smile “no I was only kidding, it is a winning line we are still obsessed with honour”. You watched as Iroh laughed at his own joke surprised, you didn’t expect the prince of the fire nation to be like this. You figured royalty lacked the ability or the clearance to have a sense of humour but apparently not. “So have I really not changed since we were eight?” Iroh asked and when you frowned he elaborated “you recognised me but the last time we met was just over ten years ago”. You paused “ow no I didn’t actually recognise you, you were young, dressed in fine clothes with royal hairpins, not to mention you’re in the palace...you had to be the prince”. “Good deductions officer” Iroh said saluting you before he grinned “i’m in training too”. That piqued your interest “really? for the fire nation army?”. He nodded “yep! I’m an officer but my hope is to be general one day and to fully earn it, rather than just get it because of who my family is...hopefully in a few years i’ll get there”. “I’m sure you will” you agreed and Iroh led you into a large dining room. “Are we dining alone?” you asked confused and Iroh smirked. “Why? Not pleased with me?” he asked and you rushed to assure him that wasn’t the case when he laughed again “I’m joking again y/n, I know my grandfather told you the whole family would be dining with you in his letter to your mother but he, my parents and sister were all called away to an urgent matter and asked me to fill in as we’re similar ages”. “Ow” you nodded “that makes sense...is everything okay?”. Iroh nodded “everything’s fine just boring fire nation stuff...so shall we?” he asked holding out his arm to you. You weren’t sure if this was appropriate so averted your eyes and only took his arm lightly. Iroh smirked at your caution and led you into the room.

The meal with Iroh was nice. He was friendly, hard-working and interesting. You soon got used to his humour and learnt not to take him too seriously. You hadn’t met many other people your age who shared your passion for a military career and found it was nice, a sentiment Iroh apparently shared. He enquired what you were doing the rest of the week and when you replied nothing as training didn’t start for another week he soon had several of your days planned out with fire nation sights to show you. Iroh seemed to understand you didn’t know much about the fire nation so planned to take you to all the important sites as well as areas relevant to the army to peak both your interests. You enjoyed the prince’s tours greatly and even when training did start you continued meeting with Iroh regularly. You liked his company and were surprised that didn’t fade the more time you spent with him, if anything it grew more and more. You thought he’d be a spoilt entitled prince but he was kind and considerate pleasantly surprising you.

You didn’t become aware that you liked Iroh as anything more until one of your friends at the academy pointed it out. Since starting training you were progressing well, you achieved high grades and were held in high esteem by your fellow recruits. You had made some friends and often trained with them after the academy retired for the day. After a long training session you were heading to the palace when one of your friends called out to you “hey y/n some of us were going into town to celebrate our class’s good progress, do you want to come?”. You smiled pleased they wanted you to come when you remembered you couldn’t go “I’d love to Shani but sorry I can’t I have plans”. “Of course you do” she smirked as your other friend Aizori grinned “is it with Iroh by any chance”. “Actually it is” you said frowning at their shared look “why?”. “Ow nothing just it’s not every day your friend is dating the crowned prince”. “Me and Iroh are not dating!” you cried “our families are old friends that’s all”. “Uh...hu, if that’s true then what are your plans together may we ask?”. “We’re attending a party at the palace”. “Together?” Shani asked and you blushed “yes but he only asked me because it’s a formal event that’s apparently really boring so he wanted a friend there, trust me we’re not dating”. “But how can you resist?” Aizori asked “I’ve only seen the prince a handful of times but he seems to get better looking every single time! How don’t you get lost in those golden eyes and that chiselled jaw? The royal family has some amazing genes not even a Beifong can resist”. You paused considering it. For you looks weren’t very important so you didn’t tend to notice them. You held work ethic and determination as much higher priorities and Iroh scored very highly in both but in looks...you honestly couldn’t say. “I’m not sure I’ve noticed” you admitted and the girls rolled their eyes not believing you.

When you arrived back at the palace your friend’s words were ringing in your head and when you next saw Iroh something felt different. You took note of his looks and were surprised by what you’d found. Iroh was attractive, very attractive, how had you missed that? You stared at Iroh wondering if his eyes had always been that bright? Was his jaw always that sharp? His hair that good regularly when he frowned “why are you staring at me?”. “Nothing” you cried and he paused before shrugging “Are you ready to go?” he asked “the party has already started” offering you his arm. You nodded and took it cautiously following Iroh into the ballroom.

You could see why Iroh had wanted to invite you, everyone in the room was at least 60 years old or some stiff nobel person from an ancient line of fire nation families. All they seemed to want to discuss was old family bloodlines, territories or ancient traditions. After your fifth boring ambush by some old fire nation man Iroh pointedly headed for the gardens. You frowned as he exited discreetly, closing the door behind him, and headed away from the hall. “Iroh I’m pretty sure the party is inside” you commented and Iroh grinned “I know but I can’t take another second in there so humour me? One lap of the gardens then we’ll head back, please? I know you haven’t seen them properly yet so how about a tour?” Iroh holding out his hand to you. You rolled your eyes but took his hand happily.

Iroh led you around the gardens explaining the different flora to you and their history. “I spent so many parties hiding in here as a kid” he grinned “this place is so huge they couldn’t find me for hours”. You smiled at the thought “my mother would’ve killed me if I did that”. “Mine did” Iroh chuckled “but I’d honestly rather face her wrath than some boring commander who wants to lecture me about our family’s history and why it’s so important...they’re literally my own family and even I don’t care” Iroh cried making you smile. “I see why you escaped out here so often, I’m very grateful formal parties were not a part of my childhood”. Iroh smiled and went to comment when the smile was wiped from his face and he grabbed you, quickly pushing you behind a large fern. “Iroh what are you...”. “Shhh they’ve come for us” he hissed and you frowned when you heard a voice. “Prince Iroh?” a man you recognised as the palace coordinator called “Are you out here? You’re needed inside”. You smirked and Iroh rolled his eyes “they’re relentless”. “Master Iroh if you’re out there please return to the ballroom, your mother’s orders”. There was silence and then the sound of the butler coming closer. Your eyes widened and Iroh put a hand over your mouth pushing you further into the bushes. “Prince Iroh?” a voice called literally right beside you and Iroh smirked as you grabbed his arm in surprise. You heard a sigh and the sound of the man retreating. When the footsteps died away Iroh dropped his hold on you and you both burst into laughter. “I thought we were going to be caught and then royally punished...literally” you added and Iroh smirked “I wouldn’t let them punish you, it’s not your fault I dragged you out here”. “True but I didn’t try hard to stop you”. “You did encourage me” Iroh nodded thinking “okay it’s all your fault”. You gaped laughing “I never said that! You are such a liar” you cried pushing him and Iroh laughed grabbing your arm “okay okay maybe we share the blame 50:50?”. “No way” you smiled and Iroh paused “60:40?”. “I think 90:10?” you said grinning and Iroh sighed “fine, i’ll take 10% of the blame”. You shook your head at how wonderfully infuriating he was and smiled at him fondly. Iroh grinned back and you realised suddenly how close his face was to yours. Iroh seemed to notice too, he glanced down at your lips and you panicked moving away from him suddenly. There was an awkward tension in the air and you broke it with a cough “so want to show me more of the gardens then?”. Iroh nodded “right this way my lady” the awkwardness gone and led you further into the garden.

When you were safely hidden from the ballroom Iroh stopped walking, explaining this was one of his favourite spots in the whole garden and you gratefully took a break sitting down. “I can’t believe you’ve already been here a month” Iroh commented and you nodded “I know only 2 more to go then my mandatory 3 months work experience is done”. Iroh frowned “mandatory...so you could stay longer if you wanted to?”. “Hypothetically” you agreed and Iroh hesitated “do you think you’d extend it? Hypothetically?”. You paused “I’m not sure, I have enjoyed the fire nation far more than I thought I would but I’ve always wanted to complete my training as quickly as possible, I hope to be chief of police one day and I’ll need many years of service for that...”. Iroh frowned “isn’t the youngest chief like 41?”. You nodded “yeah so i’ve got time I guess, maybe i’ll stay for longer...is this just so you have someone to skirt your royal duties with?”. Iroh laughed “maybe...I like you being here, it’s nice not being the only person under 30 in every room”. You smiled “well i’m glad my presence isn’t displeasing to you...you’ve been pleasant as well” you added blushing and Iroh grinned. “Wait did I make a Beifong blush? That’s like a legendary occurrence, this is amazing!”. “Stop it” you cried but Iroh wouldn’t let you turn away “no, this will go down in history, Beifong blushes are rarer than dragons so I’m soaking up every second”. For the second time that day Iroh stared at you closely and you blushed more under his gaze but this time you didn’t move away. Iroh continued gazing at you before he lightly moved his hand to your cheek “y/n...” he said softly leaning in closer when a figure appeared. “There you are!” a voice cried and you both jumped away from one another. Your jaw dropped when you realised who it was and you dropped into a bow “Firelord Izumi...i’m so sorry I didn’t see you approach”. “Rise child you did nothing wrong” she said warmly “my son on the other hand...” she trailed off glancing at Iroh who paled. “Hey mom” he frowned and she raised an eyebrow “really? That’s all you have to say? No apology or grovelling”. “Erm I’m sorry for ditching?” Iroh offered and Izumi sighed. “Y/n would you please excuse us, I want to have a word with my son”. “Of course” you agreed bowing and you rushed away.

Iroh returned not long after with his mother and told you he had to stay in the ballroom for the rest of the party. You agreed to stay with him and he smiled gratefully at you making you blush and look away rapidly. The night passed and neither you nor Iroh spoke about what happened in the garden. How he’d almost kissed you and how you were going to let him. You couldn’t believe your own recklessness. What good did you think would come out of kissing the prince of the fire nation? You were obviously not an appropriate match and so there was nothing to be encouraged there. You resolved to never find yourself in that situation again and decided to just stay as friends no matter how much you got along or how attractive he was. Getting involved with a fire nation prince was not responsible behaviour. So after that night you made sure to put distance between you and Iroh. You didn’t stop seeing him you just made sure to emphasise it was a friendship. You didn’t let yourself get caught up in him the way you had in the gardens and always kept a level head. Iroh never tried anything or mentioned that night either and you supposed he picked up on your not so subtle hints. You carried on as before but there was definitely an unmentioned barrier between you which you never let fade.

You left the fire nation 2 months later. You didn’t extend your stay as with your feelings for Iroh you didn’t think it would be wise. Iroh saw you off and hugged you tightly before you got onto the airship. “It’s been nice having you around Beifong, I’ll miss you”. Iroh’s words made you hesitate and you hugged him tighter. For that time in Iroh’s arms you imagined what would have happened if you’d kissed him in the gardens that night. Iroh didn’t strike you as someone who flitted from person to person taking what he wanted, you think if he wanted to kiss you he must have felt something for you too and perhaps would have suggested dating. You imagined all the things you’d have done together but as a couple and wondered if you’d made a mistake, maybe you should have just gone for it? But then reality set in. If you really wanted to be chief of police then you couldn’t have short relationships with high ranking members of the fire nation. Other candidates could use it to show you had compromised morals and there was no way it would be a long term relationship due to your lack of fire nation heritage. Sure the fire nation was pretty progressive but that didn’t really apply to royalty. They had thousand-year-old traditions to uphold that couldn’t be broken easily so Iroh was never a long term option for you. Therefore all logical signs said you’d done the correct thing not persuing something with him...so why did it feel so shit? You finally pulled away from Iroh and he noticed your expression. “What’s wrong?” he asked and you shook your head looking away “nothing i’ll just miss it here...promise you’ll keep in touch?”. “Cross my heart” Iroh smiled “you’re not someone I intend to let slip away, expect a visit every time I come to republic city”. You pushed away the rational voice in your mind telling you to keep a distance from him and smiled “you’ll always be welcome and I’m very much looking forward to it”. Iroh blushed “thank you y/n” and you nodded back, just looking at him in admiration before catching yourself. “I should go...” and Iroh nodded “safe travels” and with a final look you walked away.

2 years later

After your departure you and Iroh stayed in regular contact and your letters only halted when he was deployed by the military but the second we was out he would write and arrange to come visit you in Republic City. You still thought about him and your feelings for him regularly and every time you saw him you knew your crush hadn’t lessened. You loved Iroh’s visits and soon they became the thing you cherished most. You told yourself all of this was fine because you’d never act on your feelings but sometimes you wondered if Iroh felt something too? You’d catch him staring at you or he’d blush if you smiled at him in a certain way. The very idea of Iroh liking you made you very excited but you also knew it would only lead to heartache. He wouldn’t be allowed to settle down with someone outside the fire nation so it didn’t matter if he liked you too. So you settled for his friendship which was more than enough for you. When Iroh was posted in republic city when he became general you were thrilled and you only continued to grow closer.

However republic city wasn’t as peaceful. There had been multiple attacks on the city from Amon’s chi blockers to Vaatu’s take over and you and Iroh were constantly pushed into the fray. Multiple times you’d faced staggering odds and every single time you wondered if you should confess your feelings to Iroh in case the unthinkable happened but every time you chickened out. You and Iroh had been safe every time but there was only so much you could push your luck.

You’d been wary of Kuvira’s take over of the earth kingdom from the very start. Your aunt Su Yin had told you all about her so you weren’t surprised when she set her sights on Republic City but that didn’t mean you weren’t terrified. The avatar and her friends informed you what you were facing and you weren’t sure how you could even think about facing a giant mecha suit with spirit cannons. Iroh shared your sentiment but as general of Republic City’s army he was forced by President Raiko to lead his troops out there. Watching Iroh take to the front line you were swept with the desire once again to be honest with him, to tell him how you felt before it was too late. You decided three was too many times to chance it and so decided to finally tell him how you felt. You made your way to the general’s tent and found Iroh with Korra discussing strategies. You greeted them both warmly before making your way to Iroh’s side “could we please talk? I have something to tell you”. You knew Iroh had a hundred things to do but he nodded warmly squeezing your hand “of course just give me one second to...” when the radio sprang into action. President Raiko had surendering to Kuvira’s demands. Republic City was hers.

The avatar was furious and you matched her sentiment. You and Iroh joined her as she met with other leaders in the city like Tenzin and your mother and they all agreed something had to be done to stop Kuvira. A plan was quickly assembled, it was agreed that airbenders would attack the suit from the sky and earth benders would attack from the ground. You didn’t actually expect to damage the suit, you only had to distract Kuvira long enough for Korra to get inside. You were agreeing fervently getting ready to leave with your cousins when Iroh grabbed your arm. “Wait Y/n are you sure you want to do this?” he asked nervously “that mecha suit is dangerous there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to stop it”. I know but it’s my home, I swore to protect it and I won’t break my oath. I have to try and help”. Iroh sighed thinking and you watched him wondering what he’d say. “I understand why you’re doing it and I want to come too”. You paused pleasantly surprised “You do...but I thought President Raiko told you to retreat and surrender?”. “He told me to surrender the army not that I couldn’t personally engage in fighting, i’m not fighting as a general but as plain old Iroh” he announced proudly and you smiled “there’s nothing plain about you even without your titles”. Iroh beamed at you “Does this mean you agree? We can fight this giant together!”. You nodded your head “okay let’s go meet up with the others”.

You and Iroh rushed after the others and found them all suiting up. “Finally” your mother said spotting you but she frowned when she saw Iroh with you “y/n tell me you didn’t bring the general who is also the prince of the fire nation into this”. “She didn’t, I volunteered” Iroh spoke up “I’m not here as a general or as a prince but as a civilian so, where can I help?”. “You know your mother won’t like this” Tenzin commented and Iroh nodded “I know but some things are worth facing her wrath for” he said shooting you a smile and you blushed.

So it was agreed Iroh would stay. Your mother thought it would be best to place him on the roof with the airbenders, she ordered him to shoot lightning at the joints to try and cause some malfunctioning. When you’d all suited up the teams said their goodbyes and Iroh appeared in front of you. You didn’t have long, Kuvira’s giant suit was already in view and the ground shook whenever it took a single step. Iroh stared at you and sighed heavily “Y/n...”. “Don’t say it like that, we don’t have time and we’re both going to be fine okay?” you said faking a smile but Iroh saw right through it. “What did you want to tell me earlier?”. You froze caught off guard and blushed “I...I just wanted to...it doesn’t matter”. The ground jumped and Iroh looked at it nervously before stepping closer to you “I think I can guess what you were going to say”. “You can?” you asked nervously and Iroh smiled “yeah...you had another Beifong blush moment and I’ve noticed you do them around me a lot”. You went bright red and Iroh chuckled “yeah like that...”. You looked down embarrassed but Iroh took your hand gently “don’t, I blush a lot around you too”. You smiled blushing more and Iroh chuckled softly. “Y/n are you ready?” your mom asked and Iroh gripped your hand tightly. “Wait I want to tell you everything before you leave” Iroh cried but you squeezed his hand gently. “It’ll be okay” you smiled “you can tell me everything later and I think I can guess too”. Iroh grinned blushing “later then...just got to get through this”. “We’ll be fine, this is what he trained for” you smiled confidently “I promise I’ll see you on the other side”. Iroh nodded and stared at your lips, he went to move in when your mother called “y/n are you coming or are we leaving you behind”. “I’m coming!” you yelled and stepped away from Iroh “mothers” you commented and he smiled “go, i’ll see you after” and with a last look you both rushed off to your assigned group.

The battle

The fight went about as good as could be expected. The suit swatted the air benders away like flies and your group’s earth, metal and even lava bending barely slowed it down. But it didn’t matter, all that mattered was the avatar and her team managed to find a way into that thing and your team cheered when you saw she’d done just that. Now the fight was Korra’s so you let your guard down when suddenly the machine began malfunctioning. Your mother yelled for you all to take cover but you were too far away from the building. The suit exploded with a blast and you saw a blinding light and then black.

After the suit exploded everyone assumed the battle won. Half the air benders went after Korra to help her with Kuvira and the other half went to the ground to make sure the others were okay, of course Iroh went with the latter. He saw Bolin, your aunt and cousins but no sign of you or your mother. They told him they were all searching for you and he rushed to join in. With each street he passed his heart began to sink when finally he spotted you! In the arms of your mother unconscious. Iroh ran forward dropping to his knees beside you. “What happened?” he cried and your mother clutched you desperately “that thing exploded and she was too far to get into cover, it hit her sending her flying through the street and now she’s...she’s...”. Iroh saw the blood seeping through your mother’s hands where she held them against you. “No” he said viciously “y/n won’t...she can’t! We need a medic” he yelled loudly before taking off his jacket to wrap around your wound. “Maybe I can cauterise the wound?” he asked “seal it to stop her losing so much blood?”. Lin paused “I think the wounds too big but it’s worth a shot”. Iroh nodded and Lin lifted the bottom of your uniform. Iroh saw a large gash across your stomach and winced. He lit his hand on fire and pressed his hands against the wound. You gasped suddenly and your eyes shot open. “Y/n” your mother and Iroh cried in unison and you blinked trying to make sense of the situation before you groaned in pain. You tensed trying to get away from the burning but your mother held onto you “please y/n just hang on Iroh is trying to cauterise your wound”. “It’s not working” you grimaced resisting the urge to scream “Iroh stop! Please!” you cried and he yelled in frustration moving his hands away from you. “No it has to work if it doesn’t then you’ll.....we need a medic down here” he yelled again but he knew everyone else was spread out and there were no healers in the group. “It’s okay” you said breathing heavily as the situation dawned on you “Iroh it’s alright”. “No it’s not” he cried sinking onto his knees beside you “it’s not y/n, you can’t...you have to fight this, you can’t leave me”. You nodded “trust me i’m trying but Iroh if I do...”. “No y/n don’t even think about it! I won’t let you go it’s not going to happen”. “I don’t think we have a choice” you admitted trying to smile but Iroh just shook his head “but we never got our shot, we never got to talk, I never got to tell you...I love you y/n” he said simply “I have for years, that’s why I never found anyone from the fire nation because the perfect person for me is you. I know there’s traditions and rules but I don’t care, I don’t want anyone else but you. I’d give up anything for you and we were finally heading in that direction and now that stupid spirit cannon”. Tears leaked down Iroh’s face and you reached out a hand to him shakily. He took it and you stroked his face “it’s okay, i’m sorry for being too scared and cautious, I’m sorry for wasting our time together but I love you too, I hope that’s enough”. Iroh nodded “It’s more than I ever hoped, you didn’t waste time you have nothing to be sorry for y/n Beifong, do you hear me?”. “I do” you smiled before coughing in pain and your mother clutched you tighter. “Y/n” your mother cried and you smiled up at her “it’s okay mom, don’t worry. It’s all going to be okay”. You clutched her hand against your chest and took Iroh’s other one. “I’m with the two people I love the most, I’m happy. This is the best way for it to...”. “Stop” Iroh said crying but you just gripped his hand tighter “Iroh look at me”. He blinked through the tears but looked at you. “It’s okay, I promise you everything will be okay”. Iroh just said your name softly and rested his head against yours. Your mother wrapped her arms around both of you and you held onto both of them the best you could when you felt the world fading away. You heard sobbing and your mother faintly saying your name until everything turned dark and it was over.

Epilogue

Following your death the fire nation, earth kingdom and republic city all paid their respects in their traditional fashions. A statue was raised by your mother in the spot of your death and every year on the anniversary of your death both her and Iroh would visit it. Iroh and your mother supported one another following your death being the only one’s who understood how monumental the loss of your life was. They managed to get through it together and although neither of them ever stopped loving you they found a way to carry on. Iroh never married, he couldn’t even consider the idea and his family never pushed him to. He still lived a long and happy life. He was very involved with his sister’s children who he loved dearly and his family never stopped supporting him. If he went quiet and got a teary look in his eye or if he struggled serving in the earth kingdom they understood. Your family also treated him like one of their own, with Lin even calling him her son on a few occasions, and he was invited to all your family’s events in recognition of your love for him. Your memory never faded and when Iroh’s life eventually ended he passed on to find you waiting for him. He knew all the suffering and heartache was over, you were finally together at last.

____

So initially I was going to write a happy ending as well but then I thought screw it, I want to cry so I killed off the reader...but I can release the happy ending as a part two if anyone wants it.

Edit: For the happy ending version click here

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sinnamonrolle · 3 years

Text

[ the little moments] ♡ Beelzebub

6 - That moment when you accompanied Beelzebub to the military.

✿ part of a series! ✿

❀ gender neutral reader ❀

Warnings: Mentions of blood

“I’m sorry,” Beel said. One of his hands patted your head in the form of a silent apology. “Our date got postponed because of the military summon… I really wanted to share Madam Devian’s new dessert with you.”

You smiled at him, catching his hand in yours and giving them a squeeze. You couldn’t deny that you also were excited to try out the new cake that Madam Devian released recently, but any time with Beel was time well spent. It didn’t matter whether you went to a bakery or the military, as long as you were with him.

“It’s alright. We can always go later,” you said. “But are you sure I can go in with you?”

Beel scowled at the fence gate in front of you two, its barbed wires separating you from the military encampment. He gently squeezed your hands back. “Don’t worry. They will let you in.”

From beyond the gate, way in the back, you saw a demon in a white military uniform rush out from a large building. His cap almost flew off from how quickly he arrived at the gate.

“General Beelzebub!” the demon greeted, saluting. He opened the gate, and you two stepped inside. “I have been awaiting your presence. I thank you for coming here on such short notice.”

“Don’t worry about it, Colonel Alastor,” Beel said, but you knew he was secretly a little upset about it. You could tell from the way his eyebrows were furrowed, the slightest bit of indentation appearing at the base of his forehead. “What do you need me for?”

“Of course, general, please follow me to the training grounds. I will explain on our way there,” Alastor said, but then his eyes fell on you, and he added on, “General, may I ask who your guest is? So that I may provide the correct identification tag.”

“My lover,” Beel said, his face straight. He didn’t even blink.

You almost choked at how naturally Beel spoke, as if he was simply ordering a meal at a restaurant, but it seemed you weren’t the only one surprised. You saw the shock settle on Alastor’s face before he quickly collected himself.

“I apologize, Your Grace. Please excuse my rudeness,” Alastor said to you, bowing deeply at the waist. “Please allow me to welcome Your Grace to the Royal Army.”

“Ah, thank you,” you said, feeling your cheeks warm up slightly. You were trying your best to not appear flustered, but perhaps your nervousness was leaking into your actions. Beel announcing that you were lovers made butterflies flutter at the bottom of your stomach—you even thought your heart might have skipped a beat. “Please, don’t worry about me. Just go ahead and do what you need to do. I’m just here to, uh, sightsee.”

Alastor smiled and closed the gate before leading you two to a field further down the path. It was a stone path, you noticed. After visiting almost every nook and cranny of the Devildom, you could conclude that Devildom didn’t have any concrete. The flooring was always wood, stone, brick, or marble.

You nudged Beel in the side. “You’re a general?” you whispered as you both followed Alastor. You knew demons had enhanced hearing, but you whispered anyway. It wasn’t anything that needed to be kept secret, but you felt that it was a bit embarrassing to ask a question that seemed to be common knowledge.

Beel didn’t seem to mind. “Lieutenant general to be exact,” he said. “I’m referred to as ‘general’ though. Diavolo is the actual five-star general. Although, I don’t know if I still count as one since I’ve been taking a break from the army ever since you’ve arrived in the Devildom.”

“If I may interrupt,” Alastor spoke up from the front. “I would say that General Beelzebub has all rights to keep his rank. Even if he has been away from the army for some time, he has been very helpful in leading us, especially with new recruits. They are always a willful bunch.”

“Is your new batch acting up?” Beel grumbled. “You just have to give them a good beating.”

Alastor sighed. “I would do exactly what the general advises if they weren’t children of nobility. As a demon of common blood, I’m afraid they will complain to their families and have them take my head.”

“Even though you are a colonel?” you asked, baffled. Even if Alastor wasn't a noble, this was the army. How could new soldiers affect the colonel? To this day, you still weren’t a hundred percent clear on demon hierarchy. Perhaps, after spending so much time with the brothers, you’ve become desensitized to it all.

“I may be a colonel to them, but to their families, I am a mere commoner,” Alastor replied with a chuckle, and then he stopped in front of a field. Since the Devildom was always dark, several round balls of light hovered in the air, lighting the field enough that you could barely see the faces of the recruits. They were spread all over the field, but it didn’t really look like they were training. “Alright. General, Your Grace, we have arrived at the training grounds. Your Grace, please take this visitor tag.”

Alastor handed you a clip-on tag with the word “VISITOR” printed neatly in bold letters. But before you could accept the tag, Beel took it from Alastor and carefully pinched it onto your clothing.

“They don’t have benches on the field,” Beel said, smoothing out your clothes. His purple eyes met yours. “Will you be okay standing nearby?”

You brushed his bangs away from his eyes and smiled at him. “I’ll be okay. Will you be okay though? Are you hungry?”

“I’m not hungry.” Beel brought you into his embrace, his arms wrapping around you. When you returned his hug, he brushed his lips against your cheek and murmured into your ear, his voice a low, soothing hum, “I have you here with me, after all.”

And then Beel was pulling away from you. You had half the mind to chase after his touch, but you held back, knowing that perhaps now wasn’t the best time.

“Hold my jacket, please?” Beel asked. When you held your hands out, he shedded his jacket and gave it to you, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “Thanks, Pudding. I’ll be back soon. If anyone annoys you, just let me know. I’ll deal with them.”

“Okay.” As you followed Beel’s figure with your eyes, you pressed his jacket to your face, the traces of his remaining heat warming your face and the soft smell of laundry detergent filling your senses. With his back straight and his posture full of confidence, every inch of him was unyielding, commanding, demanding to be obeyed.

In that moment, you could see Beelzebub on a battlefield, blood darkening the streaks of his orange hair. A spear in hand, the silver of the blade dripping red and dampening the carmine tassel tied beneath the blade. Beelzebub tattered, tired, torn apart mentally—you could see it, you could see it all in your head because you knew he lived through a war before. You could see the blank look on his face, the agony tightening his throat, the truth of loss settling into his body—

“Your Grace,” Alastor said, his voice breaking you out of your reverie, “it may be safer if you stand over here against the wall.”

You broke away from Beel, who was now speaking with the recruits. Alastor stood slightly further away, off to the side next to a gray brick wall. Smiling, he waved you over.

Clutching Beel’s jacket closer to you, you hurriedly walked over to him. There was a slight embarrassment creeping up on you when you realized that Alastor probably saw you staring at Beel for who knows how long.

“I’m sorry,” you said, settling yourself against the wall when there was a respectable distance between you and Alastor. “I didn’t realize I was blocking the way.”

“Not at all, Your Grace.” Alastor laughed. For some reason, some of his mannerism reminded you of Barbatos. “Everyone knows that the new recruits are training today, so not many others will be around here. Since the recruits are allowed to use magic in their training, I am afraid that a stray spell might hit you if you stayed out in the open. If the noble families will have my head if their children complain about me, then General Beelzebub will ensure that I suffer for the rest of eternity if I allow you to get hurt.”

You hummed, hands fidgeting with the zipper of the jacket as you turned back to Beel, eyes adjusting to the dim lighting to find his silhouette. The balls of light were sparsely distributed across the entire field, emitting enough light that you could just barely make out the details. You supposed that the lights were just so that the demons weren’t training in complete darkness. Most demons have excellent night vision, after all. But for a human like you, you were glad the field wasn’t that big and that they weren’t that far out. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to see Beel tilting his head as he crossed his arm, the warm light whitening the orange strands of his hair.

“Maybe not for the rest of eternity,” you quipped with a smile, although there wasn’t much room to disagree.

There was something warm in hearing that Beel would raise hell to protect you. To know that there was someone out there that cared about you, someone that loved you, someone that considered you as family—a fluttery feeling coursed through your body, spreading out from your chest, and your heart was clenching in something that wasn’t pain but something similar enough that it hurt yet still felt so sweet.

“Your Grace is right. The general would destroy me instantly,” Alastor said, but you could hear the amusement in his voice.

It was then that you were able to clearly make out the voices on the field. You weren’t that far away in the first place, but when Beel first approached the recruits, you didn’t hear anything distinct at all.

“For honor?” Beel asked, his voice raising in disbelief. “What kind of honor could you be fighting for if you’re fighting in such a lackluster way? How honorable is it to fool around?”

“Fool around?” a demon scowled. He stood at the forefront of all the other soldiers who had gathered around Beel. On his chest was a rose crest, imprinted into his brown military uniform. “Do you think we are fooling around? Who are you to say that?”

Beel scoffed, shaking his head in disappointment. “Your footing is off. Too clumsy. You don’t put enough weight into your strikes, and your moves are too extravagant. Fighting with your body is not supposed to be flashy. This is the battlefield, where your lives are on the line, not some game where you show off. You don’t even have the basics down. Colonel Alastor is an excellent teacher and fighter. Haven’t you been listening to him?”

The demon with the rose crest growled, his hands bunching into fists at his sides. Another demon next to him crossed their arms and sneered.

“Are you mocking us? Why should we listen to a mere commoner?”

Next to you, Alastor sighed and rubbed at this forehead, seemingly more troubled than offended. You could see why. They were essentially spoiled brats who thought the worlds revolved around them.

The rest of the group also spoke up, their voices mixing into each other as they tried to announce their displeasure, but after listening for some time, Beel just simply raised a hand.

“Enough,” he said. Pure power, heavy and pulsing, rushed out from the word as it rumbled from his chest, the oppressive force pushing the recruits down. Some of them buckled under the pressure, while others tried their best to fight back against it, only to end up collapsing entirely. “This is the army. It doesn’t matter what family you’re from if you’re not strong enough.”

Even though you were farther away behind Beel, you still felt the residue power wash over you in waves. You shivered at the sensation, and the urge to make yourself appear smaller briefly crossed your mind. Out of the corner of your eye, Alastor shuddered but remained standing upright.

“Who are you to say that?!” a demon at the front gasped, a hand on their knee as they straightened themselves. “You’re not even wearing a military uniform or a tag! Do you even have the authority to be here?”

“That’s General Beezlebub to you.” Beel took a step forward and started stretching his arms, rotating them slowly. You knew him well enough to know that he was most definitely frowning from the tone of his voice, the ends of his lips curving downwards and his eyes narrowed, the dark purple glowing dangerously. “Although, from the sound of it, I doubt you would address me properly.”

“Beelzebub? I’ll have you know that I am the eldest son of the Duke of Rosales,” the demon huffed, smoothing out the rose crest on his chest, “and I have not heard of a Beelzebub from any noble family.”

Beelzebub snorted, switching to his other arm, and took another step forward. The recruits, despite their tough act, all took a collective step back.

“Son of Rosales,” Beel said, “since you’re so adamant about status, I’m sure you are well aware of those above you. Address me correctly then—it’s Prince Beelzebub, the Avatar of Gluttony.”

The son of Rosales gulped, his body stiffening against the warm lighting. In the silence following Beel's command, the whispered words—the non-sovereign prince, Beelzebub—hung loudly in the air.

This was a first for you. You’ve never really seen Beelzebub flaunt his status, nor have you really felt the weight of the ranking of prince until this moment, where the once prideful recruits were now cowering in part fear and part awe.

Pride blossomed in your chest. This was Beelzebub—your prince, your Beel, your lover.

“Why don’t you come and show me what it means to fight for honor?” Beel asked the demon with the rose crest. “I’ve never slacked off, not even after I took a break from the army. Every single day, I kept training because I knew why I was fighting. I fight to protect my family. Every moment of suffering will pay off in the form of my loved ones’ lives in the future.”

Beel readied himself, bringing both of his hands up close to his face, and said, “So, recruits. Show me your determination. In return, I will show you mine.”

The world faded around you as you watched Beel throw himself into fight after fight, often defeating the recruits within one or two moves. Despite appearing so burly, he possessed surprising agility. He seemed so limber as he evaded all of the punches and kicks thrown his way, almost like he was dancing.

The recruits that Beel struck down always made their way back up, like a switch had been turned on inside them. It must had been what he said earlier, the pure determination of his words inspiring the soldiers, as well as the natural instincts of a demon to respect the strong.

Beel turned around with a sweeping kick. You briefly saw his well defined abdomen as the shirt fluttered back into place. A dark tail aimed for his head, but he leaned backwards slightly to avoid it as it swept past, extremely close to brushing against the tip of his nose. As he did so, the white light warmed the outline of his body like a halo—illuminating.

Beelzebub was utterly enchanting—you couldn’t deny it at all. You didn’t want to, and you didn’t need to, because that was the truth, and the truth was all yours to appreciate. Watching him like this took your breath away.

A group of recruits jumped out of nowhere. They lunged at Beel’s back in a semicircular formation, their demon forms out, and you almost shouted out to warn Beel when, with barely a glance behind him, he slammed his foot into the ground. The force of it shattered the terrain into fragments. A wave of magic rushed out, colliding head-on with the soldiers, and it swept them away in a heap of tangled limbs. The recruits groaned in pain.

The residue of the magic electrified the air, crackling along the broken edges of the ground. You felt it sparking against your arms, the sensation of his magic a familiar feeling to you, yet it never failed to give you goosebumps.

“The battlefield doesn’t tolerate failure,” Beel said, swinging an arm behind him just in time to elbow a recruit right in the middle of their chest, knocking the breath out of them. “Failure means death.”

Perhaps you were too captivated by the sight of Beel displaying his prowess, but it was only when Alastor called out did you realize that a particularly huge but unstable spell was coming straight at you.

“Your Grace!”

You knew better. You really did. You didn’t survive this long in the Devildom for nothing. You had your fair share of experience in surviving dangerous spells, at closer distances than this, but as you watched the roaring flames come at you, you could only stay frozen in place, hands clutching Beel's jacket in your hands.

Vaguely, you heard Beel shout your name—the sound echoing in the air, echoing around you, echoing in your mind, matching the increasing tempo of your heart—then everything went dark.

The faint smell of leather and something that you instinctively recognized as belonging to Beel filled your nose. Strong arms wrapped around you, the embrace familiar yet also somewhat strange, and with a low buzzing sound in your ears, you also heard—no, you felt the desperate heartbeat.

Beelzebub.

Beel held you to him, so tightly to the point that you were crushed, your body completely melding with his. One of his hands cradled the back of your head, pressing you into him, and the other clasped your waist.

Beel was shaking.

Even though he was the one holding onto you, like you would disappear if he didn’t hold onto you hard enough, his body was trembling—in fear. Fear of you getting hurt, fear of losing you, fear of not being quick enough, of not being strong enough, of not being decisive enough to protect his family yet again. The debilitating terror that often accompanied his nightmares—you were all too familiar with it.

So you wrapped your arms around him, feeling the unsteady, nervous flapping of his wings, now understanding why you felt leather instead of skin, and you squeezed him back.

I’m okay. I’m okay. I’m okay.

You gathered all the feelings bunched up in your chest and sent them through your pact bond, hoping he could feel that you were absolutely safe and unharmed. He shielded you, after all. From the ebbing magic on his body, you could tell that he teleported over to you. That was how he made it on time.

Beelzebub. I love you. I love you so much.

Beel slowly pulled back, his eyes a chaotic mixture of purple and magenta, and you noticed that he had indeed transformed into his demon form. But before you could say anything, he started running his hands all over you. Gentle but hurried fingers traced your face, down your throat, around your torso, all the way down to your feet. He inspected every part of you in a desperate frenzy.

“Beel,” you said, cupping his cheeks. “I’m safe. I didn’t even feel the heat. But are you hurt anywhere?”

Beel shook his head and went back to checking your body, but you patted his face, huffing. He stopped almost reluctantly, eyes meeting yours once again.

“I’m not hurt,” Beel said. “Alastor casted a barrier just in time.”

Something silver shimmered in the air behind Beel, barely noticeable unless you knew what to look for. Gratefulness flooded you. Beel might have thought it was fine to protect you with his body, but you didn’t want him to get hurt at all. If you had just reacted fast enough earlier… then Beel didn’t have to throw himself in front of you, and Alastor didn’t have to cover for you.

After the gratefulness came the guilt.

“You’re really not hurt anywhere?” Beel asked, but his eyes were already searching your body for any potential injuries. “Really, really?”

“Really, really,” you answered. “I’m really okay. I’m sorry though… I don’t know what came over me. I saw the spell coming at me, but I didn’t move at all. And I had to disrupt your training session because of it. I’m sorry.”

Beel visibly relaxed at your reassurance, his body no longer tensed up like before. “No, Pudding. Don’t be sorry. It wasn’t your fault. I will stop everything to protect you,” he said, kissing your forehead.

Your mouth opened, cheeks warming as you tried to respond appropriately, but then, Beel blinked like he remembered something. He stepped away from you, his eyes narrowed dangerously, and turned to the recruits who had all stayed silent earlier.

“Who casted that spell?” Beel asked, a frigid aura surrounding him. You bet the recruits were in for a world of pain.

No one responded. The recruits remained in their positions, not daring to move.

Beel clicked his tongue. “Don’t make me repeat myself again. Who. Casted. That. Spell?”

When no one spoke, Beel didn’t bother again. He came back to your side and wrapped an arm around your waist, tucking you into his side as he reverted back to his human form.

“Colonel Alastor, increase the daily training by three. Send me a list of all recruits here today. I will be back at a later time to properly train them,” Beel said.

Colonel Alastor saluted. “Yes, general!”

Beel nodded and headed for the gate. You glanced at the recruits still frozen in place and Alastor who waved at you with a smile. You nudged Beel in the side.

“Are we leaving already?” you asked.

“Yeah,” he said, taking his jacket from you. “Thanks for holding my jacket, Pudding. Let’s go get some food. I’m starving.”

You tilted your head, raising an eyebrow in surprise. “Are we resuming our date? After what had just happened?”

“They’re not important,” Beel said, and then he smiled at you, peppering kisses all over your face. “Let’s go back to our date.”

“Alright, alright,” you laughed, covering his mouth. “Let’s go.”

-------

Masterlist!

Ahh, I don't know if this is good enough :( but I hope you enjoy it!

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spencerreidsconverse · 3 years

Text

When Evil Doesn't Sleep

summary: Spencer has been gone far too long on a case and when he finally returns home, reader shows him just how much she missed him.

word count: 3.4k

warnings: smut, implied dom/sub undertones, pet names

Pairing: Spencer Reid/Female Reader

A/N: My first fic!!! I hope you all enjoy! <3

“Y/n I’m really sorry but it looks like the case is going to take a lot longer than we thought. We had a recent development and the profile is now pointing to a partnership so now we’re hunting down two unsubs”. You sighed as Spencer rattled off his apologies through the phone before putting him out of his misery “Spencer honey, you don’t have to apologize. Quit worrying about me and focus on catching the bad guys.”

To say you missed Spencer would be the understatement of the century. He had been in Utah for six days already and now with a pair of psychos your odds of finding him in your bed by the end of the week were growing increasingly slim. It didn’t help that you had been swamped prepping for an extra class you’d agreed to take on at Georgetown where you worked as a Criminal Psychology professor. Between both of your hectic work schedules you hadn’t had a real weekend to yourselves in a few months, and while you knew when you first started dating Spencer that it was an inevitable of his job, it had never been this crazy before. They say evil never sleeps but lately it hasn't even taken a catnap.

“I love you Y/N. I promise I’ll come home to you soon and take you out on a real date. I’m sorry darling, I have to go. I’ll text you when I get to the hotel tonight and if you’re still up we can talk for a bit okay?”. “Alright Spence, I love you too. Stay safe okay?”. “I promise, goodbye love.”

Your farewell barely made it past your lips when the dial tone cut you off and once again your boyfriend of three years vanished from your side of the country. You let out an exasperated sigh before reminding yourself that there were other people who needed his help and that you could wait for his attention - at least until that night. Continuing the trek up the stairs of your and spencer’s shared apartment, you managed to haphazardly balance your grocery bags in one hand while unlocking the door and disabling the security alarm, internally cringing at the high shriek that rattled through your brain.

Walking through the living room, you sat the bags on your kitchen counter and began reorganizing the small fridge space to fit all the perishables you had brought home, absentmindedly hoping they wouldn't spoil now that it would be just you for several more days. Moving to the cupboard you replaced the few grab and go snack boxes you had made up to try and encourage Spencer to eat more throughout the day and refilled the paper plate stash that quickly became a requirement after you realized neither one of you could tolerate doing dishes every night. You ripped open the cardboard packaging of yet another microwave dinner and set the timer before leaving to change into more comfortable attire.

Opening the door of your shared bedroom, the smell of vanilla wax melts and dryer sheets hit you like a brick and immediately sent a pang of loneliness through your chest. Spencer was usually around by the time the chores needed done, and you rarely had to do them yourself. Unfortunately, the laundry was piling up and you needed something to distract you so you spent the day running errands and cleaning the apartment more thoroughly than necessary. You walked over to the stack of black dresser drawers and pulled out the first pair of pajama pants you touched, Spencer’s old caltech sweats that now fit you far better than him considering he had received them when he was 14. They looked more like capris on him now and it was embarrassingly difficult to convince him to buy a new pair that fit him properly. You slipped on a tank top and pulled your hair back before making your way lazily to the bathroom to take off the remnants of your simple makeup.

After scrubbing your face clean and pulling your dinner out, you moved to ready the couch for yet another night of binge watching cheesy 90s movies. You selected Clueless and watched the vibrant colors pop across the screen while you dived into your meal, making a poor attempt to ignore the slight freezer burnt taste that lingered after every bite. You finished your dinner and set the bowl aside before covering yourself with a blanket and allowing yourself to sink into the cushions, desperately awaiting Spencer's text.

You were jolted out of your doze by the loud buzzing of your phone against the wooden coffee table. Clumsily you reached for it and managed to swipe the answer pad before it sent your genius to voicemail. “Hello?” you managed before a yawn ripped its way through you suddenly. “Hey Y/N, I’m sorry it’s so late. I didn't mean to wake you, I figured you’d still be up. You should go back to bed love.” For the first time, you noticed the neon green numbers on the microwave. 12:30. You stifled another yawn and shook your head in an effort to wake yourself further “No way, I just dozed off while watching a movie. I was waiting to talk to you. Besides, I’m up now anyways so you might as well stay on with me for a bit. Did you get any further today?” “Well, JJ had the idea that the partners were originally a typical dominant/submissive partnership but that something in the dynamic must have changed because the MO began to deteriorate. We think the partners must have split up now, because we’re finding similar pieces of the previous MO at separate crime scenes.”.

You processed the information he fed you slowly due to your semiconscious state but eventually you put your words in order well enough to respond. “That should be helpful though yeah? I mean, they’re used to working in a partnership so being suddenly separated from your other half so to speak would throw you off track quite a bit right?”. You could practically hear him smiling through the phone as you drew the conclusions the team had come to only a few hours prior. “Yes. We’re hoping to be able to draw them out and trap them. Play them against each other.”.”Does that mean I can stop sleeping on the couch soon?”. You heard him let out a dejected sigh - you knew he hated that you would force yourself onto the cramped couch when you had a king sized bed a few hundred feet away but he understood.

When he had come home in the early hours of the morning after an abrupt end to a case a few weeks after you had moved into his place, he had caught you curled up on the sofa with a throw pillow stuffed under your head. When he questioned you about it the next morning, you simply answered that the bed felt too big without him and that you couldn’t stand the empty feeling. “Sooner than later I hope my love. Y/N I really wish you wouldn’t do that to yourself. It’s horrible for your body. It can put you at a much higher risk for chronic back and neck pain as well as-”. “Spence. I’m not a giant like you are. I fit on the couch much better than you do, and I barely notice the difference.”. You both cringed, hearing the lie clear in your voice. Still, Spencer must have felt bad because he humored you. “If you're sure. What did you do today my love?”. You smiled sadly hearing in his voice just how desperate he was to escape from his reality and come home to you.

”Well, I straightened the house. In fact, it’s so clean i think we could use it as a sterilization room.”. He let out a soft chuckle and you could hear him begin to relax as you recounted the rest of your day, excluding the part about the microwave dinner. Spencer loved to tell you how many of the ingredients were one step away from processed garbage and you decided to opt out of the lecture for the evening. He had more than enough to worry about without having to focus on your diet while he was away. After a half hour of light conversation, a loud yawn betrayed you as you were excitedly discussing the cute puppy you had met on the way to the market. Spencer immediately requested that you hang up and get some more sleep but you refused. After a few minutes of bickering, you relented on the condition that he would read to you until you had fallen asleep. You curled up under the fluffy blanket as Spencer’s even voice recited the collection of Grimm’s fairy tales quickly lured you to sleep.

You woke up the next morning as sunlight peered through the curtains, stretching your body out to ease the aches from the previous night. You smiled softly as your screen lit up with a text from Spencer wishing you a good morning and an update that they had a solid plan for boxing in the two unsubs that afternoon. “If all goes to plan I should be carrying you to our bed before midnight tonight.”. Your smile widened and you sent back “Can’t wait to truly see you - and love you- tonight. I’ll be waiting.” You plugged your phone into the charger and straightened up from the night before when your phone went off again. The one word message glared at you from the screen and you let out an involuntary giggle. “Tease.”. You hoped it gave him something to look forward to until he was back in your arms. You sent back a simple “XO” before deciding to reread one of your favorite books for a few hours to kill some time. You made yourself a sandwich for lunch and had a few glasses of water as the clock slowly ticked by. You were over halfway through the lengthy novel when you received another message.

“We apprehended both unsubs. Hotch is postponing the paperwork until Monday so we can go straight home. I’ll see you in a few hours baby.”. You jumped slightly in celebration before finishing your current chapter, marking your place, and all but skipping to the shower to shave and exfoliate your skin. You knew Spencer would still be heavily worked up once he arrived home and luckily, his favorite release included intertwining your bodies as close as possible and loving you sweetly and slowly.

You took your time in the shower careful not to nick yourself with your razor. You scrubbed your scalp with your nails, letting your stress and soreness melt away under the steam. You waited until the water ran cold before turning the knob and stepping out, wrapping yourself in a fluffy towel and blow drying your hair until it layed perfectly even. You applied lotion all over your skin and stepped out of the bathroom to slip on your black silk robe, knowing it wouldn’t be worth it to dress up further. Spencer would be desperate to feel your skin against his and any fabric in his way didn't stand much of a chance.

You made an actual meal for dinner, a pasta dish with chicken that could be easily reheated for Spencer when he grew hungry later in the night. You helped yourself to a serving and after quickly cleaning up the kitchen and storing the leftovers, you retreated to the bedroom to wait for his return.

You were half paying attention to the feed you opted to scroll through on your phone when you heard the door creak open and bags drop to the floor. You set your phone on the bedside table and ran towards the foyer, all but throwing yourself at the exhausted man in front of you. He took a step back from the impact but still enveloped you in his arms and pulled you impossibly tight into his chest. “Hi baby.” you whispered against the scruffy skin of his jawline, peppering kisses up towards his earlobe. He let out a long sigh of relief and picked you up off the hardwood floor, wrapping your thighs around his waist resulting in a high pitched giggle to erupt from your throat. He kissed you then, slowly at first but quickly building more passionate. Your lungs were burning when he finally allowed you to pull away, opting to kiss down your neck to your collarbones and the skin of your chest that was newly exposed as your robe slipped open.

He carefully made his way back to your room, continuing his kisses back up to your shoulder, stopping only to leave marks you knew would only grow darker as time passed. At the very least he was sure to only mark you in places you could cover with little difficulty. “I missed you so much Y/N. The entire ride home all I could think about was you waiting for me in our bed. My gorgeous girl.”. You felt your chest heat up at his words of admiration, wrapping your fingers into his curls and pulling his lips towards your own once more.

You felt him groan against you and moved to quickly unbutton his shirt, slipping it down his arms and tossing it in the general direction of the hamper. He pulled you up with him then, so you were both on your knees, chest to chest as he pulled your robe fully down your back to the swell of your ass where he grasped at you through the slick fabric. You let out a whine and you pulled his belt off, undoing his jeans desperate to continue. He grinned against your neck and pushed you down so you laid flat on your back, completely exposed to him. He kissed at your stomach, making his way down to your inner thighs. He licked a slow wet trail from your pelvic bone to the top of your clit as you whimpered desperately. “Spence, please… I need more”. He humored you, creating slow small circles with his tongue moaning at the taste. You cried out as he created the perfect amount of pressure on your clit, legs threatening to close around his head when he moved to slip one of his fingers easily inside you as the mix of your own wetness and his saliva aided him. He smirked as he felt your thighs flex before using his left hand to throw one of your legs over his shoulders at a time. He pushed a second finger in, curling them up to perfectly reach your g-spot with every thrust. Soon though, you grew impatient with just his fingers. You needed more and you knew just how to get it.

“I want you so bad Spence. I’ve waited for so long and I just can’t anymore. I need to feel you deep inside of me.”. You were positive those words would leave him just as needy as you were and he proved you right when he kicked his pants the rest of the way off and went to line himself up against you. “Wait.”. He stopped immediately, examining your face for any indication of what was wrong. “What’s the matter baby? Are you okay?”. You shook your head and smiled at his concern before switching your positions so his back was resting against the pillows as you straddle his thighs. He smirked at you as he caught on, trailing his hands up the front of your legs to rest at your hips. “You gonna ride me angel?”. You responded with an eager nod and he squeezed your hips, pulling you up further so you were hovering above him. “Sit pretty like my good girl then.”. You whined softly at his words before slowly sinking yourself down around his length, sucking in a harsh breath at the stretch. Even with how wet you were, the adjustment took longer than usual due to the dry spell you were both suffering from as of late.

When you finally felt stretched out enough to move, you slowly ground your hips forward flush against his. He groaned out, lifting you back up so you were almost completely off of him before pulling you back down. You moaned both at the sensation and the idea of being manhandled by the genius below you. You realized what he was asking though, and began bouncing yourself up and down his cock, stopping every few thrusts to grind your clit down on him. You let out soft moans, and after a few more minutes you felt his fingers dig deeper into your hips and his breaths quicken. You knew he was close and as if on cue you started rubbing fast circles against your clit as he spoke again.

“Baby girl I’m getting close. You gonna cum with me angel?” You nodded furiously in response and you felt him start thrusting up to meet you. You panted as you hurried towards the edge of your orgasm, holding on until his thrusts grew sloppier. “You ready to cum with me baby? You gonna cum on my cock?” “Yeah.. gonna cum all over your cock Doc.” You fought to keep the grin off your face when he moaned at the title. He thrusted deep into you twice, before he ordered your release. “I want you to cum now baby. Cum all over my cock.” You felt your orgasm rip through you, electricity shooting through your limbs. Spencer groaned loudly as you tightened around him before pulling you down deep and releasing inside you.

You both fought to catch your breath as you rode out your highs before you found yourself slumping against his chest, suddenly drained from your activities. You felt him chuckle at your drastic change in energy as he wrapped his arms around you again. “I know you just washed the bed sheets and we’re both sweaty but do you think a washcloth will suffice for tonight?”. You nodded against his chest before slowly lifting yourself up and off of him, rolling onto your back on the other side of the bed. Spencer swiftly made his way across the hall, returning to wipe you down gently with the warm fabric. You shivered as the cool air dried your skin, watching him move throughout your room.

He slipped on a fresh pair of boxers before tossing the washcloth in the hamper along with his previously discarded clothes. He hung your robe on the back of your bedroom door then flipped the light switch off before rejoining you in bed to slip under the blankets with you. You immediately curled up into his chest, sighing contently as the sound of his heartbeat filled your ears. You kissed his chest and whispered goodnight, drifting into your first real sleep since before he left.

The next morning you and Spencer went shopping after you successfully convinced him to upgrade to a smart phone with video call abilities. He had begun to shut down the idea as he always had before but after the mere suggestion of what it could do to better your late night hotel room chats he was the one pulling you towards the nearest phone shop. You smiled politely while Spencer took his sweet time weighing the pros and cons of each model, letting your mind drift to the first time it would come in handy. As you finally neared the checkout counter, you took Spencer's hand in your own and gave it a gentle squeeze. After running his card through the machine, the salesgirl gave him the small plastic bag and wished you both a good afternoon.

As you exited the shop, you looked up at him, nudging him to get his attention “What do you think of an app controlled vibrator?”. He stared at you incredulously for a few moments, almost stopping dead in his tracks. After recovering from the initial shock at the vulgarity of your suggestion, he shook his head with a soft smirk and nudged back against you. “Tease.” he called you once more. “That’s the reason you love me right?”. He pulled you into his side, kissing you softly. “One of many Y/N. One of many.”

#spencer reid #Spencer reid/reader #spencer reid/you #Spencer reid x reader #Spencer reid x y/n #criminal minds #cm #Spencer reid smut #smut #Spencer reid x you #Spencer reid fanfiction

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americancowgirl19 · 3 years

Text

Perfectly Beautiful

Summary: You’re one of the daughters of Medusa and you’re an Avenger. Someone you least expected makes you feel truly beautiful.

Warnings: None

Reader: Female Reader. Medusa’s Daughter.

Pairings: Loki x Medusa’s Daughter Reader

Word Count: 1,326

A/n: Enjoy!

Masterlist - Either Way (Sequel)

“Y/n... Why is Tony a statue?” Steve asks, coming into the kitchen where you’re peacefully sipping on coffee flipping through your favorite magazine. His eyes are glued on the statue of Tony. The billionaire is frozen in mid motion as if he were waving his hands while ranting.

“He wanted to try out his new glasses. He’s been trying to find a way to deflect my ability and has thus far been failing,” You explain, not taking your eyes off the page you had just turned too.

“And why is he still a stature?” Steve wonders.

“I didn’t feel like being interrogated about my abilities nor listening to his complaints about why he glasses won’t work,” You tell him. “I wanted a couple minutes of peace,”

“And how long has he been like this?”

“Three hours,” You respond, unapologetically. Steve bites back an amused smile and clears his throat.

“Mind releasing him? I need to talk to him about a mission,” Steve says, leaning against a nearby wall. You sigh dramatically.

“If I must...” You mutter standing up.

“Thank you,” Steve says but you merely wave him off. You walk up to Tony’s concrete statue and take a moment to savor the peace before kissing his stone lips. You step back and watch the statue turn into a man. Tony gasps in a breath when the transition completes.

“That was... rude,” Tony says. You wink at him and return to your seat. Before Tony could go off on a tangent, Steve pulls him away. You smile, shake your head and return to your book. You only get a few sentences in before you sense that you’re not alone.

You’re eyes glance up from the page and notice the god of mischief staring at you. His gaze is calculating and curious. You arch an eyebrow, silently wondering what questions are running through his head.

“Are you able to turn anything into stone?” Loki wonders, walking further into the kitchen. The Asgardian has been aiding the Avengers for a few months. While he’s been on multiple missions and such, there are some who are hesitant to call him an Avenger. Thor vouched for him, told the group that he hadn’t been in the right mindset during New York but few believed him. However, the god of mischief was proving to be useful and a good ally.

“Anything with eyes and a soul,” You told him. “Those with blindness are tricky for me,” You explain. You weren’t Medusa, just her daughter. You had inherited most of her abilities but you were still your own person and there was a difference between the two of you. You mother is mainly reptilian while your mainly human.

“And you can reverse the effects?” Loki questions.

“With a kiss,” You smirk slyly. “Very cliché if you ask me but I didn’t make the rules,” You shrug. The edge of Loki’s mouth lifts just a smudge. You find yourself briefly wondering what he would look like smiling broadly, even laughing obnoxiously like his brother. You wondered what he looked like without the weight of the world on his shoulders, a truly care free god of mischief.

“And your hair?” Loki asks, moving even closer. You stare at him for a moment, wondering where he was going with this.

You and your mother shared many things. You both had the same eyes, the same skin tone, and the same texture of hair. Texture of hair as in snakes. However, while your mother had so many snake in her hair you couldn’t care to count them all you only had about a dozen of them.

They’re live snakes. You can hear their thoughts in your mind. You can feel their fatigue and their anxiousness. You can see through their eyes and smell through their noses.

While the snakes are a part of you and you love them all dearly, they made many people uncomfortable. You’ve felt like an outcast your entire life, even when you’ve been apart of the Avengers for a few years. You knew your teammates cared about you, they’d protect you just as fiercely as the others. However, that didn’t stop the staring nor the obvious discomfort they felt whilst looking at them.

You’re not ashamed of your snakes, at least that’s what you tell yourself. You love your snakes but you feel self-conscious about the stares and the judgement. So, in order to avoid such things, you cover the snakes. You wrap them in a comfortable scarf and hide them unless your in your room or somewhere alone.

“What about it?” You question, Loki. The god moves until he’s right beside you.

“I can hear them, I can see them moving around,” Loki tells you. “Why do you hide them?” You stare into his eyes, not looking away as he takes a seat beside you. He moves the chair to the point where you’re legs are pressed together.

“There’s a few Ophidiophobic’s on the team,” You explain. He frowns his eyebrows. “People who are afraid of snakes,” You clarify.

“So, you hide yourself to make others comfortable?” He asks. You slowly nod. “Which leaves you uncomfortable,” He continues.

“At least their not staring or avoiding me,” You whisper. Loki’s lips press together. You’re eyes dart to his hand as he slowly raises it.

“Well, I am not an ophidiophobic,” He says, his voice low and tender. Your body tenses as he touches the wrap covering your snakes. The rustling under the fabric becomes more frantic as the snakes feed off of your anxiety. You wanted to stop Loki but you don’t. You just watch as he slowly unravels the scarf freeing the snakes.

You’re eyes downcast to the floor as you feel his eyes taking in the image of you. It’s the first time he’s seen you without the scarf. You didn’t want to see the same look in his eyes as everyone else.

It’s only a couple of minutes of silence. The only sound is the sound of your snakes hissing and slithering around. After a few moments, a blue hand gently cups your chin and raises your head.

You gasp softly when you look into the red eyes of Loki. You observe the blueness of his skin and how different yet similar he looks. His hand moves from your chin to your cheek. His knuckles brush against your skin lightly.

“Beautiful,” He whispers. You notice the snakes closest to his hand slither forward and rub against his skin. Loki smiles, watching them fondly.

“They like you,” I whisper, his eyes returning to mine.

“Don’t hide from me,” He pleads. “Your beauty is in your difference from the others. Should they stare then they should stare in jealousy that they will never posses the beauty you do,”

“I have reptiles for hair,” You laugh sadly.

“You have the softest skin and the most beautiful eyes and the most unique hair,” Loki tells you. “It is an honor to be able to look upon them,” He says, his eyes going back to the snakes that seemed to be entirely entranced with him. “Everything about you is magnificent, it is a shame you feel as if you should hide such beauty from the world... It truly is dimmer without your smile,”

“Since when did you go from Mr. I’m Going to Conquer the Earth to Mr. I’m Going to Woo the Snake Girl?” You ask, trying to break up the seriousness with some humor.

“Since I became hopeful that the Snake Girl could look at me as I look at her,” Loki whispers. “You’re so beautiful, love. I would be honored if you would allow me to spend time with you and convince you of that fact,”

“Do you know what you’re getting into?” You whisper.

“Hopefully a relationship with the most beautiful Avenger,” Loki smirks, winking at you. You smile, letting out a small laugh.

“Who woulda thought you’d be a flirt?”

#loki x reader #loki #loki odison x reader #x fem!reader #female!reader #avengers #x avengers!reader #medusa #medusa!reader #Tony Stark #Steve Rogers #Thor Odinson #Odinson

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imagine-a-life-like-this · 3 years

Text

In This Lifetime And The Next (S.CB)

Warnings : talk of past life, mention of death

Word Count : 5040

Synopsis : they just wanted to learn about their past lives, but found friendships and love that have lasted lifetime after lifetime.

Author’s Note : honestly i kept deleting and rewriting this before settling on this. it’s not exactly what i had in mind, but i still hope you enjoy! thank you for all the love recently!

A sense of déjà vu took over her mind when his eyes met hers; it was so strong she was tempted to ask him if they had met before, but there was no sense of recognition in his eyes, so she didn’t. She couldn’t help but notice how extraordinarily handsome the familiar stranger looked. Muscular but not too much, with a bright smile that seemed to calm her heart. She felt at home. “Do you have anything to help learn about past lives?” He asked. His voice was so unique she would recognize it even in a crowd of screaming people.

“Depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re looking into past lives in general, I have some books in the back corner. But if you want to learn about your past life specifically, I do readings.” His smile seemed to widen at this new information. His smile was addicting; so much so she would have done anything to see it again.

“A reading would be perfect! Anyway to set up a reading for 8 people?” She looked through her schedule really quickly before deciding to schedule him and his friends in on the upcoming Sunday. “We’ll be here! Noon you said?” She nodded and then watched as he practically ran out of the store into the only car in the parking lot. Business had been rather slow the past week, but she no longer seemed to mind, her mind drifting to the handsome stranger she couldn’t wait to see again.

When she pulled into the parking lot right before noon on Sunday, she was surprised to see the 8 boys already there. The clients that usually booked readings with her would usually be late, if they showed at all, so seeing them all there before her was quite a shock. “My apologies, I’m usually here earlier.”

“No apology needed. We were early because we’re excited.” The handsome stranger, Changbin she would soon learn, replied. The 9 of them piled into her shop, moving to the back room where she had a round table set up specifically for her readings.

As everyone took their seats and she began to set up, her eyes grazed across each new face, the same sense of déjà vu taking over her mind. It felt as if she knew these men, as if they’ve sat around a table like this before. “I’m used to doing readings for one or two people at a time, so this may take a couple of hours, is everyone okay with that?” She began, trying to make eye contact with each person at the table, but her eyes seemed to drift towards Changbin. She was nervous, but every time their eyes met, she seemed to calm down. It was only their second meeting, but he felt like home.

“There’s no rush. We figured it would take a while so none of us made plans for the day.” One of the other guys spoke up. He too seemed to have a calming smile; one she couldn’t help but return. “Does anyone want to volunteer to go first?” He then asked, his attention turning to his friends. He seemed to be the dad friend, the guy that keeps everyone in line.

“I’ll go.” The man with the long, brown hair tied in a half pony spoke up, standing from his seat and take the one beside her.

“After the reading is complete, you may have a headache due to your brain trying to unlock these forgotten memories.” She explained before holding out her hand for him to take. “Let’s start with your name.”

“Hwang Hyunjin.” He answered as he slid his hand into hers, taking note of how soft they seem to be. Holding her hand seemed comforting in a way, and he relaxed with her touch.

“It seems as if you were a prince in your very first life; set to marry the princess of the neighbouring kingdom.” She began, a smile taking over her face.

“I wish we did not have to wed.” The princess complained as her and the prince took a walk through the gardens, careful not to speak too loudly so no one would report back to the king. “Do not mistake my words, Hyunjin, I do love you, but I love you the way I love my brother.” He chuckled, taking a short glance towards her before continuing to look forwards, appreciating the work his gardener had put in.

“I am not offended, princess. I too love you the way one loves a sibling.” She was delighted to hear his words, knowing that the two of them were on the same page. “Unfortunately, we must wed and join our kingdoms. I am happy it is you, though, princess. I quite enjoy your company around the palace. It is less lonely with you around.” She beamed up at him before looking down to her hands clasped in front of her as she walked.

“My heart does belong to another.” She admitted, now afraid to meet Hyunjin’s eyes. “Before I left my palace to come here, I was seeing my chef.” She confessed, daring a quick look into Hyunjin’s eyes.

“You love him?” He asked, not even a hint of anger in his voice. She seemed to glow as she answered, and Hyunjin couldn’t help the happiness that seemed to swell inside of him. “Tell me your love story, princess.” She excitedly told her story, Hyunjin listening to every word. He loved the princess, he truly did, but it was a platonic kind of love, a protective kind of love. “Shall I hire him here so you can continue your relationship?”

“You would do that for me?” She asked, looking up at him with wide, puppy dog eyes. He would gift her the entire universe if she asked while looking up at him like that; if it was a possibility of course.

“I would do anything for you, princess.”

“The platonic love you two shared seems to have lasted many lifetimes.” She continued, meeting Hyunjin’s wide eyes.

“You mean to tell me I was a prince, and my princess chose a chef over me?” He jokingly asked, causing everyone to let out a chuckle.

“He was her soulmate.” She answered simply. Her attention then turned to everyone at the table, closing her eyes as flashes of what seemed like past memories came to her. “It seems that you all have shared your first life together.” They all exchanged looks. “You’ve shared all your lives together.

The room fell silent as the 8 men exchanged looks with each other. She sat there, her eyes still closed as more and more memories flash across her mind. It felt as if someone was standing on top of her chest as her eyes popped open. Changbin’s eyes were the first ones she met when her eyes opened, a look of concern lacing his features. “Are you alright?” He asked, reaching as far across the table as he could.

“I’m just fine. My apologies. Shall we move onto the next person?” Hyunjin stood from the chair beside her as the blond boy on the other side of the table moved to take the seat. Just as she did with Hyunjin, she held out her hand and asked for his name, taking in his facial features. His small nose and cheeks seemed to be covered with freckles, similar to those she covered on her own face.

“Lee Yongbok, but I go by Felix.” He answered, sliding his hand into hers. She smiled warmly at him as a new set of memories flooded her mind.

“It seems as if you were also a prince in your first life. You were the twin brother of the princess set to marry Hyunjin.” She began, delving into the memories flooding her brain.

“Yongbok oppa!” The princess exclaimed as the butler announced his arrival during breakfast. A bright smile took over his face as his eyes met his sister’s. “What brings you to the palace?”

“Why I missed my sister of course.” He beamed, opening his arms for a hug that she happily accepted. Hyunjin stood from his spot at the head of the table and walked towards the siblings, greeting his future brother-in-law with a handshake. “I am delighted to see my sister is being well taken care of.”

“Of course. She is my princess and a future queen; she will be treated as such.” Hyunjin said matter-of-factly, a warm smile taking over his handsome features as he gazed at the princess standing next to her brother.

“How are the wedding preparations? I have been told the wedding is only a couple days away.” The two of them nodded before going over all that has been done and the little that has yet to be done.

“It shall be a grand wedding. Only the best for my princess.” Hyunjin held out his hand for the princess to take. When she slid her hand into his, he brought it to his lips as placed a short kiss to the top of it. “Would you like to join us for breakfast?” With his free hand, Hyunjin gestured to the large table next to them.

“It would be my pleasure.” He beamed, taking the seat directly across from his sister’s as the chef brought out an extra serving. “Is that not the chef from Father’s palace?” Yongbok asked, recognizing the manly features of the chef that disappeared back into the kitchen.

“The princess spoke very highly of him, so I asked if the king would mind if I hired him here.” Hyunjin and the princess exchanged knowing glances, ones that Yongbok noticed but didn’t mention. He went on pretending as if the lie he was just told was true, not even bothering to look into it further. As long as his sister was happy, he was happy.

“Though in other lifetimes the two of you may not have been siblings, everyone around you seems convinced that you are. You two have always been much too similar, and you always put her happiness before your own. But she does the same.” She explained, her heart swelling with joy when her eyes met Felix’s.

“I hope I’ll meet her in this life too!” He exclaimed with the brightest smile she’s ever seen, comparable to the sun.

“It’s destined of course. Just as the 8 of you have lived all your lives together, this girl has also been apart of every life. She’s an important part of your lives.”

“I can’t believe our friendship was written in the stars.” Felix beamed as he switched seats with a cold looking man.

“This sounds like a load of crap, but let’s do it I guess.” He shrugged, holding his hand out for her to take. “Lee Minho.” He answered before she could ask.

“I understand the skepticism.” She said nonchalantly as she slid her hand into his. As their hands connected, more memories flashed before her eyes, memories of secret dates and stolen kisses, memories where the girl’s face is blurry, but is slowly becoming clearer. Maybe they were brought to her so she could help them find their missing link; the girl in each of their forgotten memories. “You were the butler at Hyunjin’s palace.” There was a few snickers that died out just as quickly as they came as Minho shot them each a glare. “You were actually quite close to Hyunjin, and even closer to the princess.”

“Sit with me, Minho.” The princess ordered, patting the seat next to her on the couch. Since she’s been staying at the palace, she’s grown close to Minho and his young son. They give her a sense of family that she misses.

“What is the itinerary today, princess?” He asked as he sat beside her. She smiled as she spoke of the things she needed to get done before the wedding the next day. “It is hard to believe that the wedding has already come. It seems as if just yesterday you arrived at the palace.” Minho beamed at the young princess who returned his heartwarming smile.

“I will never be able to thank you enough for making me so comfortable here.”

“Your friendship and kindness towards my son is more than enough.”

“It is time for the final dress fitting, princess.” One of the many maids announced. The princess nodded, standing to follow her before asking Minho to come along.

“I would appreciate a male opinion.” Minho hesitated, but there was a soft spot in his heart for the kind-hearted princess that made him unable to say no to her.

“I do not know much about women’s fashion, but I will do my best.” He smiled as he followed the princess and the maid into another room. He sat on one of the chairs as she disappeared into yet another room and got changed into her dress. It was a dress specifically made for her, fitted to her exact measurements, and it was obvious to Minho when she stepped out. He was absolutely speechless at the beauty she possessed. “Absolutely breathtaking, princess.” A blush rose to her cheeks as she hid her face in embarrassment.

“I own many gowns, but none fit me quite like this.” She said out loud, mostly to herself, as she stared at herself in the mirror. For the first time in her life, she truly felt like a princess.

“You will steal the show. Eyes will not be able to leave your figure tomorrow, princess.” Minho said, taking her side and looking at them in the mirror. “You are a true beauty; no one can compare.”

“Oh my god, Minho was trying to steal my girl!” Hyunjin jokingly exclaimed, his hands clapping over his mouth in his usual dramatic fashion as laughter erupted from the table.

“What did I say?” Minho asked, glaring at Hyunjin, who’s laughter quickly faded as he answered.

“20 minutes at 180 degrees; that’s how you cook Hyunjin in the air fryer.” Minho seemed pleased with his answer as he turned back to the girl holding his hand, waiting for her to continue.

“Hyunjin isn’t too far off.” She giggled. “You actually date her in a few of your shared lifetimes, though you both realize the love you share is strictly platonic.” Minho’s eyes widen.

“Have we dated in this lifetime?” He asked, his skepticism fading completely.

“I can’t tell for sure.” She answered honestly.

“My turn!” Another one of the boys stood excitedly, a wide smile on his face causing his eyes to almost disappear completely. She felt a sense of protectiveness for him take over her body. She knew that if anyone were to hurt this boy now sitting beside her where Minho once sat, she wouldn’t hesitate in fighting. “Yang Jeongin!” He practically shouted his name as he grabbed her hand and looked at her with a sense of wonder, as if she had just told him she put all the stars in the sky.

“Looks like we have another prince.” She smiled as his forgotten memories floated in her mind. “You were actually Hyunjin’s younger brother in your first life.”

“Jeongin, are you bothering the princess again?” Hyunjin scolded from the doorway from Jeongin’s room where the two sat on the couches set up across from his bed and gossiped.

“Of course not! If anything, you are bothering us!” Jeongin bit back with a teasing smile on his face. Hyunjin scoffed, holding his hand over his heart in feigned pain, causing the princess to let out a giggle.

“We were just talking.” The princess explained with an innocent smile on her face. “In fact, he was in the middle of telling me some very interesting stories from your childhood.”

“Yah!” Hyunjin exclaimed, stalking towards the younger boy who stood up quickly, many apologies leaving his lips as he laughed. It was the first time the princess had seen Hyunjin act so carefree and casual, and she quite liked it. Watching the brother’s interact as if they were just regular people instead of royal blood warmed her heart and reminded her of home.

“Please do not harm him!” She exclaimed with a giggle. “I was rather excited to hear how it ended.” Both boys turned to look at her; Jeongin wearing a wide smile while Hyunjin wore a look of embarrassment.

“What story was he even telling?” He asked as he took a seat next to her. Jeongin took his original spot across from her, a smirk on his lips as he took a sip of the tea in front of him. “No, not that one.” Hyunjin whined noticing the smirk on his brother’s face.

“I already told her of the time you fell off your horse into a pile of his poop.” He chuckled, as did the princess when she remembered the story.

“Is that all you two do when you get together? Gossip about me?” The princess reached over and took his hand in hers, rubbing small circles into his hand with her thumb, calming him down almost instantly.

“Laughing about your misfortune is how we bond, yes.” Jeongin answered with a teasing tone laced in his voice. Before the princess could say anything in defence of Jeongin, Hyunjin was already up and chasing Jeongin who stood as Hyunjin did to run away.

“You two have always had a teasing relationship whether you were brothers or friends. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the same in this life as well.”

“It is.” The other 6 answered in unison, causing her to let out a soft giggle, shaking her head. Some things really never change, and that gives her a sense of home. The longer she sat with the 8 of them, the more she felt at home with them, as if the 9 of them belonged together, sharing stories, and laughing at the memories.

“Can I go next?” The boy with adorable chubby cheeks, comparable to a squirrel, asked. She waved him over, patting the chair Jeongin stood from not long ago. He nervously sat down, holding out his hand for her to take when she was ready.

“You nervous?” She asked softly, hoping the others wouldn’t hear, but the room was near silent as each of them waited for their turn. He slowly nodded his head, barely meeting her eyes. “You don’t have to do this.” She told him.

“I want to!” He quickly exclaimed, his eyes widening. “I’m a little nervous, but I really want to know. My name is Han Jisung.” He smiled and she took his hand, returning his smile with one of her own.

“You were a gardener.” She spoke slowly, allowing the memories to come to her. “The royals spoke highly of you, but you refused to leave Hyunjin’s palace, even when offered more pay. It seems like you may have had a crush on the princess.” Jisung’s cheeks tinged with pink as she spoke.

“It gets prettier and prettier out here.” The princess beamed as she approached Jisung. “No wonder all the royals speak greatly of you, Han Jisung.” The boy met her eyes with a rosy blush dusting his cheeks.

“I am happy you like my work, princess, but the beauty of the all the flowers can never compare to the beauty you possess.” She gave him a sweet smile as blush dusted her own cheeks at the sweet compliment.

“You flatter me, Jisung. I hear every flower has a meaning.” He nodded and watched as her face lit up as she asked him to go over the meaning of each of the flowers in the palace garden. “If you have the time of course.” She added, not wanting him to extend his work day in account of her curiosity.

“I will always have time for you, princess. Shall we start with this one?” She nodded excitedly as he took her around the garden, explaining the meaning behind each flower. The prince watched them from afar, a content smile on his face. It has been so long since he’s seen the princess smile this way.

“You look so pretty when you smile, my dear princess.” Her and Jisung met Hyunjin’s eyes as he walked towards them, his hands behind his back. Jisung greeted him with a quick bow, apologizing if he overstepped. “If the princess is happy, I believe there is no reason to apologize. You have worked here for a while now, Jisung. You are like family.” Jisung thanked Hyunjin with a smile. “Though, I must steal the princess. Your parents shall be arriving for dinner soon.” She nodded and bid Jisung goodbye.

“I hope we can continue another day.” Jisung nodded, saying she is welcome anytime.

“It’s truly an innocent crush that never develops past that, and a beautiful friendship is created in each lifetime.” She finishes, looking at the adorable man in front of her with a soft smile.

Not much is said as they move on to the next; Bang Chan as he introduced himself. The dad friend that explained they had the day for the readings. “Are you sure you don’t want to take a break?” He asked, looking at her with worry in his eyes.

“I’m fine, thank you though.” As she grabbed his hand, memories that seemed to belong to her filled her head. Memories of Chan taking her into his arms as she cried, memories of him bringing food to her place because she was working too hard. She had to force herself not to yank her hand away and search through these memories of hers to find the ones belonging to him. “You were the leader of the palace troops.”

“Princess, it is too dangerous for you to be out here alone.” Chan called out to the princess who sat on the wide, wooden swing, staring up at the stars littering the night sky.

“I am not alone if you are here, Chan.” She smiled, patting the spot beside her. He hesitated but sat down regardless of the voices telling him not to. “Doesn’t the night sky look absolutely stunning tonight?” He looked away from her side profile and looked up to the night sky, agreeing almost immediately with her observation. “This is why I love this palace more than my own. The night sky does not look nearly as pretty as it does here.” Their eyes met as they both looked away from the sky.

“You really should not come out here alone, princess.” He warned her again, knowing deep inside she wouldn’t follow his instructions. She’s different than the other royals, but he finds her quirks rather endearing. He finds her a perfect match for Hyunjin, already noticing a difference in the prince he’s known for many years. She brought out the best in Hyunjin, glimpses of the Hyunjin Chan once knew before responsibilities fell into his lap with his parent’s sudden passing.

“Then will you join me when I want to look at the stars?” She asked with a look of hope in her eyes. A look so innocent, so pure, Chan couldn’t seem to say no. “Shall we go back now?” Chan nodded, standing from the swing, and offering her his hand to help her stand. She took it with the same grace she’s been taught from a young age. “I will see you tomorrow, then. There are rumours of a meteor shower.”

“Tomorrow.” He smiled as she turned and headed for her room.

“You protect her in every lifetime.” She whispers, tears welling up in her eyes as she slowly comes to the realization that maybe, just maybe, she’s the princess. Maybe she is the missing link to their group.

Her eyes drifted towards Changbin once again, wondering if he would be the infamous chef that is the princess’ soulmate. Maybe the sense of déjà vu she felt when she first saw him, the sense of feeling like she was finally home, was because he was the soulmate she’s been waiting for. He was right in front of her, and she didn’t know how to tell them; so she didn’t.

The man who goes by Kim Seungmin took the seat beside her after Chan stood up. He slowly slid his hand into hers, hesitant in hearing what she would have to say about his past life. “You were the princess’ tutor.” She explained, her smile lost in the memories she can’t get out of her mind.

“This story was absolutely delightful, Seungmin! Please tell me there are more like it.” The princess exclaimed, sliding the book across the table towards Seungmin. He glanced down at the title before reaching into the bag he brought with him, pulling out a similar story, one he knew she would love even more than the previous one.

“I brought this one for you today, princess. I do believe it is just your taste.” She clapped her hands together as she took the book from his hands, her fingers tracing the words that make up the title.

“It sounds marvelous.”

“What was it about the previous story that you enjoyed so much?” He asked, the work they were supposed to do leaving his mind completely as he wondered more about the princess they call an oddball.

“The idea of running away with the love of your life that the world does not think is your match. It seems so romantic. A part of me wonders what it would be like to be on the run with your lover by your side.”

“Does the princess have a lover that is not the prince?” He continued to pry, knowing he was crossing a line he shouldn’t, but in this moment, the two seemed more like friends. He was truly curious about the princess who doesn’t act like a princess.

“Do not be silly, Seungmin. I truly love Hyunjin.” He could tell she was lying, and he wondered who had stolen her heart. Maybe it was the gardener he saw giving her flowers before a tutoring session one day. Or maybe it was the butler that seemed to shower her in compliments and look at her like she puts the stars in the sky while she plays with his son. Could it possibly be the infamous chef he hears about? The one Hyunjin hired from her old palace? There was even the leader of the palace troops who seemed to have a soft spot for her as well. Hyunjin’s younger brother is also a likely candidate.

She seemed to collect hearts just by being herself and not conforming to what society deems as appropriate for a princess. Anyone that comes into contact with her seems to gain a soft spot for her, Seungmin included.

He knew she was lying but pretended he didn’t. “The two of you make a beautiful couple. I hope for a long, happy marriage.” She nodded with a smile that wasn’t as bright as before.

“You could say you knew her better than she knew herself, even if you two didn’t consider each other close friends. There has always been things you can read from her reactions that others can’t decipher.”

“Like the way I can tell you aren’t fine?” He asked as he raised a brow. She tried her best to fake a smile, but Seungmin could see right passed it. “Don’t bother with the fake smile, Y/N.” Her heart began to pound as she blinked back the tears that so desperately wanted to fall.

“I’m just tired.” She lied. Seungmin knew she lied, but he didn’t say a word. He just gave her a knowing look as he stood, letting the final man take the seat. Changbin grabbed both her hands, meeting her eyes.

“If you’re too tired, I can come back another time.” Her heart seemed to calm in his presence. In that moment she knew.

“You were the chef.” She whispered, no longer able to hold the tears back, allowing them to fall as Changbin tried his best to wipe them away. “You’re the one the princess fell in love with. You’re her soulmate.”

“How does this taste, my love?” He asked with a smile, holding a spoon up to her mouth for her to taste his newest experiment. Her eyes widened with shock as the delicious flavour took over her tastebuds.

“Absolutely magnificent.” She beamed, leaning forward, and pressing a quick kiss on his lips. “The food you make is always spectacular. Worry not!” He returned her bright smile, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“I just want the food for your wedding to be memorable.” Her heart dropped at the thought of marrying someone who wasn’t Changbin, while he watched in the shadows.

“If it is made by you, it will be.” Her voice softened. “But I do not want to spend our time talking about my marriage to another.” She looked to the ground, tears welling up in her eyes. Changbin softly grabbed her chin with his thumb and forefinger, bringing her eyes to meet his once more.

“Then we will talk about how irrevocably in love with you I am, princess.” He smiled, connecting their lips in a passion filled kiss that last a second too short. “How I could spend eternity kissing you and loving you and never get bored.” He kissed her again. “No one in this world can ever compare to you, my love.” Another kiss. “I will love you in this lifetime, and the next.”

“And all the others after that.” She added before pressing her lips to his in yet another kiss.

“It’s a love that lasts eternity.” She whispers. “A love people write stories and songs about. Everyone searches for a love that’s as true and as strong as the one you share with the princess.”

“You’re the princess, aren’t you?” He asks, both his hands cupping her face and wiping the tears that have yet to stop falling. No one at the table makes a sound as they’ve all come to the same conclusion. The sense of déjà vu they felt when they saw her making sense. Memories that were once forgotten flooding all of their minds as they watch a love that’s lasted centuries blossom once more.

145 notes · View notes

literaila · 3 years

Text

dwindling heartbeats

spencer x reader

request: hi!! could you write an angsty spencer x reader fic where reader and spencer are dating but reader ends up the main suspect in a case? i had a dream about it and i would love you to write it haha. you can come up with the ending (like wether reader was the unsub or not). thank you and i love your writing so so much and i think you could write it really well!!

warnings: criminal mind things, mentions of pain in all forms, anxiety, fear, anticipation?

She liked the way heartbeats sounded.

She liked to listen to them, beating. Quietly but forcefully.

She liked to listen to his heart as he slept. She liked to lay her chest on his head, to breathe in and out with him. She liked it when she could hear his heart flutter, over and over.

She liked to stay awake while he slept. She liked to watch his eyes dance with dreams, liked to watch his sweet smiles dead into the night. She liked to stay awake far later than he could, just so that she could catch these moments. These precious little moments she couldn't seem to get enough of.

She liked to listen to his heart. She liked to listen while her cheek was on his chest, while he held her close to him even in his sleep. She liked to listen to the cautious beating, the strength of his heart. She liked to listen to his heart dwindle off as she slowly fell asleep. She liked to listen to-

She always fell asleep eventually. Always closed her eyes just in time to hear his heart pound once more. She always stayed awake for that moment.

Spencer didn't know.

Of course, he was sleeping, there was no way he could know. And the nights when she stayed up until he woke, until it was morning and the sun was shining through his blinds, and the bed was so warm. Those mornings when she forgot to fall asleep at all. He still didn't know. She always pretended to be half asleep, pretended as she had just woken up. And he had never suspected a thing.

She liked to stay up late. To listen to the world breathe when everyone else fell asleep. She liked the quiet, the mystery that came with night. She liked how dark it was, how silent everyone could be, how peaceful the wind was when it knew not to wake any of the humans up. She liked to stay up late.

And listen to Spencer's heart. To watch his eyelashes flutter against his cheek. And watch him smile silently.

She liked the way hearts beat.

Spencer didn't expect to wake up alone.

He thought of the night before. Thought of all the words and all the laughs the two of them had shared. He thought about the wine they drank, the food they ate.

She was here with him, just last night.

So he hadn't expected to wake up alone.

Usually, when she stayed the night, she would promise that she’d be there in the morning. Usually, Spencer woke up to soft kisses against his cheek, fake biting on his neck. Usually, Spencer woke up with her still in his arms, exactly as she had been the night before.

But this morning, his bed was cold, he woke up to his alarm, and his girlfriend was nowhere to be found.

It was strangely dark in his room. Not sunny like most mornings. It was strange.

Spencer got out of bed within ten minutes, he figured that Y/N had needed to go do something, that she would text him later and apologize for leaving so early.

He wondered how he hadn't noticed her getting out of bed. He was usually a light sleeper.

He got dressed, already running late for work. He was lucky no one had called him in yet, lucky that the serial killers seemed to be taking a break this morning.

But right as he had that thought, his phone rang.

The cuffs were digging into her wrists. Bruises forming while the clock ticked.

At first, she had struggled, screamed at them to let her go, that she hadn't done anything.

But after ten minutes of that, she’d given up. Her body and her mind both done with trying to fight back. Done with trying to fight at all.

They were holding her in a room, one similar to the interrogation rooms she’d seen on TV so many times. In the shows where the criminal always got caught. It was cold, her chair was uncomfortable, and these handcuffs were digging into her wrists.

The cop had left five minutes ago, promising her that they would carry on soon enough.

If she was being honest, she barely had any idea what was going on.

All she knew was that she had planned to go get breakfast for her and Spencer. She got up early, after only a couple of hours asleep, and she’d left his apartment, making sure that she didn't lock it so that she could come back soon. So that he wouldn't have the chance to wake up before she got back. She’d been planning to surprise him.

But when she was walking on the street, a man had approached her, his badge out, his face stern. It was then and there that she had been arrested. Put into handcuffs, sat in the back of a police car while they drove her to the station.

She was so high on adrenaline she couldn't remember if they had ever told her why she was being arrested. She couldn't remember if the man had ever said anything, if he had ever done anything but accuse her and then tie her up. She just couldn't remember.

But her palms were sweaty. She was nervous, even if she didn't think she had done anything wrong. They had brought her in for a reason, hadn't they? They had something against her, some evidence that would prove her guilty for whatever crime she had committed.

God, she wished Spencer was there. He would know what was going on. He would talk to her. He would tell her that she hadn't done anything wrong, that it was going to be okay. It was going to be just fine.

She had just gone to get them breakfast.

And now, and now she was sitting in a grey room alone, practically thousands of miles away from anyone else, from any civilization. She was cold and tired and these handcuffs were bruising and pulling on her wrists over and over.

She wanted to cry. She really wanted to go home.

Why was she so nervous?

Why was she there?

Where was Spencer?

Hotch had pulled him back. As soon as he saw her, Hotch was stepping in his way.

None of them had known. No one had told them anything about a suspect until they were already at the police station, already standing there looking at them. Looking at her. At the girl who they were all familiar with.

When Spencer had first arrived at work, all he knew was that there was a new case. He knew that there were five people dead. Five people in the past three weeks. He was told that those five people probably weren't all, that all of the evidence was pointing to a rapidly devolving unsub, one that wouldn't stop until caught. He knew that all of the bodies were found with multiple stab wounds and head force trauma.

He knew that they were supposed to find whoever was doing this, that he was supposed to help them find the unsub.

But, after a long car ride and many unanswered texts to his girlfriend, he had never expected to see her sitting in a chair so close to him. He had never expected to see her looking around mindlessly, like all of the people who sat in those kinds of rooms did. He hadn't expected to see her next in handcuffs, with wild hair, messy makeup, and tear stains running down her face.

They hadn't even known that there was a suspect yet. They had only been called in this morning.

And Hotch was holding him back.

“Reid.” He said, probably more than once, but Spencer wasn't listening. He was looking at his girlfriend.

She wasn't looking back.

“Detective, no one mentioned anything about a suspect. Why hasn't anyone told us?” Derek said, already catching on to the situation. Rossi and Morgan took steps forward, in front of Spencer so that he couldn't go any further, while Hotch kept his hand on Spencer's shoulder. Holding him back still.

Emily and JJ both seemed to get the hint, they moved on to checking over the files again.

But none of them could hide their glances over to her.

Her.

Spencer's girlfriend, the one that they had all met multiple times. The girl that had changed Spencer so deeply. The usually happy girl, smiling like there was no tomorrow. The girl who was usually right at Spencer's side. The first girl that Spencer hadn't been able to hide from any of them. She was his girlfriend.

She was sitting a room away, handcuffed to a table.

“We only just picked her up this morning, after security evidence came back from the last crime scene.” The Detective answered, no doubt suspicious of the behaviors of the team. It didn't take much brainpower to see that they weren't thinking all that rationally.

“Has anyone been in to talk with her?” Rossi asked.

“We’ve been backed up all morning and-” Hotch stopped him with the palm of his hand. Telling him with only a motion that he didn't need excuses. Spencer was on fire, furious with the detective, furious that anyone assumed that she would do anything, that his girlfriend would cause any harm.

“I can talk to her,” he said, breathing out the anger, trying to remove Hotch’s grip from his shoulder. His eyes were crazed, he ran a hand through his hair, desperate to hear her voice assure him she was okay.

“Reid.” Hotch said again, his face stern, his thoughts not wavering on this one. Spencer couldn't talk to her, it would be a violation, and a terrible idea. A bad situation for the two of them.

Rossi had moved the detective away from them, knowing that what Spencer needed was a moment of privacy, and started distracting him with questions of his own. Questions about the crime scene, about the evidence against Y/N.

Derek walked over to the two of his friends, facing toward the room with Y/N in it.

“I can do it,” he said, whispering so only the three of them could hear. “It won't be a violation of any rules, and I think she’d do well with someone she's familiar with.” He continued, his eyes now focused on Spencer, and how angry he looked at just the thought of not being able to go in and talk to her.

“Morgan..” Hotch said, clearly uncomfortable with the idea.

“Hotch, the kids not going to let one of the cops here talk to her, and you’re not going to let him. I can do it.” He assured, face lack of any emotion. He wanted to prove he could be rational. That he could be professional even with Spencer's girlfriend.

Hotch finally nodded, dragging Reid, who was scowling at the sight of his girlfriend still, farther away. “Spencer, maybe you should take a moment. Collect yourself. Go get some air.” he said, trying not to sound like a boss, but rather a friend. Trying to give Spencer the hint that he didn't want him watching.

Spencer didn't catch on, too distracted with Y/N.

“I’m staying here.”

Spencer was firm on that. He couldn't leave her. He didn't know why, or what she had done, but he knew that it was a misunderstanding. He knew that as soon as she was let out of that room he wanted to be there. He knew that she was going to be traumatized, that she probably already was. He couldn't leave her. He wouldn't leave her to be alone with a bunch of accusing strangers.

“Spencer-”

“I’m staying here,” he repeated, moving his eyes away from her for just a second, just so he could make his point clear to Hotch.

And after that, Hotch didn't try to make him leave.

She was almost asleep by the time the door finally opened.

The police officer from earlier had promised that they would get to her soon, that she would be let out of the cuffs as soon as she could be questioned. But it felt like hours since then, and she was sure that whoever that cop was, he was a liar.

She was beginning to get restless, bored with this situation, with not knowing what was going on. She was tired and angry, and all she really wanted to do was go home and listen to Spencer’s heart some more. That would help. She wondered if she could ask.

She shook the thought out of her head. Looked around the room again. Looked for anything to keep her awake.

She wanted to rub her eyes, wanted to get some of the sleep out of her system, wanted to be alert again so she wouldn't miss anything else. But her hand was asleep, her wrists were sore, and she still couldn't move.

She still had no idea what was going on.

She was almost asleep when the door finally opened.

When the familiar face walked into the room.

“Y/N,” Derek said, nodding at her, taking in her obvious distress.

But when she saw him, her mood visibly changed. She almost brightened, almost become someone completely different from the person she was five seconds ago. Her restlessness was gone, she was no longer tired, her eyes widening as he sat down in front of her. She was happy to see someone familiar, someone who wouldn't immediately accuse her.

“Derek,” she said, a smile now accompanying her face. Her eyes were no longer sullen, no longer looking around the room confused.

She sat up.

“Are you okay?” he asked, wanting to get pleasantries out of the way before he had to question her. He hated that Spencer was behind the glass, was watching them. He hated that he had to do this to his friend's girlfriend in front of him. He hated that he knew Spencer would be listening to every word, that he would be counting the minutes down until Derek could prove that she was innocent.

“Why am I here?” She asked instead of answering his question. Ignoring it. Derek was shocked to see that she was actually being serious. Her question was warranted. She was actually confused.

“Didn't the cop that arrested you explain everything?”

Derek, and Y/N for that matter, both knew that it was protocol for police to explain why they were arresting someone. They both knew that if they had broken that rule, this situation could change significantly.

She nodded, then upon seeing his confusion, continued. “I can't remember what they said, I was scared. I don't remember anything after they handcuffed me.”

Derek was still confused. She wasn't someone who would panic in a moment of fear, she wouldn't lose her memories just because she was scared.

This entire situation was strange.

“You’re being charged with the murder of five people.”

And, then, her face changed.

Went from complete curiosity, to dispair. In a fraction of a moment.

Her eyebrows creased, her lips frowned, she was staring at the ground, her entire body tensed at Derek’s words.

And her mood was flipped again.

Tears ran down her face.

She was confused, and worried, and terrified. She had no idea how she could be in this situation? How she could be thought of as a murder? She had no idea why, no idea how, no idea what to do.

“What?” she whispered. Her voice was failing her, her chest was collapsing, her mind was running in circles.

“They have security tapes of you exiting a building, moments after Samantha Brith was killed in a pharmacy three miles from here.”

She was almost asleep by the time she heard the words.

Spencer hated watching this.

He hated that he wasn't in there with her. Hated that he never called her when he woke up, that he didn't think anything of her being gone except for that it was strange. He was angry and confused, and he didn't know when they could have gotten the video of her.

He’d watched it. Once. But multiple times in his head. He replayed it with every question that Derek asked, remembered that she was supposed to be with Spencer that night. That they were asleep when that happened.

How could she be there?

The rest of the team was busy profiling the actual murderer. They were trying to find evidence that provided a different solution other than Y/N. All of them knew that it couldn't be her, it obviously couldn't be, they just had to prove it. Because it wasn't her.

Hotch came to talk to Spencer every couple of minutes. Made sure that he was still okay.

Which he wasn't, but the thought was nice.

Hotch also asked him questions. Wondered how many serial killers devolved as fast as this one was, wondered how exhausting it would be to cause that much harm against a living person. He asked Spencer these questions, and he always got an answer, but Spencer wasn't really listening.

He was watching her. Always watching her. He watched her move her hair out of her eyes, watched her mood change with every question. He watched her hesitate with her answers, saw her confusion.

He watched her with desperation, with another feeling that he didn't know how to describe.

He wondered why she looked so scared. He supposed he could guess the answer. He supposed he would be scared too.

“Spencer,” Hotch spoke, checking on him for the seventh time. “JJ and Emily are going to go ask the bank owner some questions, to gather information about the crime scene of the third body.” He spoke as if Spencer was listening as if he cared when his girlfriend was being interrogated in front of him. “Spencer?”

“Hmm?” he said, still not really listening.

“How is she?” Hotch asked, getting his attention for the first time.

“She seems okay, she looks better than um, earlier,” Spencer said, never once looking at Hotch, keeping his eyes on her.

“Okay. She's going to be alright you know?”

Spencer nodded.

He watched her some more. Felt the desperation in his chest. Felt the fear building in his brain.

When she finally asked for Spencer, the questioning was over.

Derek had asked her so many questions, some that she didn't know how to answer.

No, she didn't remember where she was on the 15th, she didn't know what time she got in bed, she didn't know any of the victims, she didn't know she didn't know. She kept repeating it over and over. No. No. No. No.

She felt like screaming.

It seemed like she didn't know anything. Why didn't she know anything?

But, as soon as Derek nodded, told her that he had asked enough. She asked.

“Is Spencer here?”

She couldn't see him wince at his name from the other side of the wall. She didn't see him lean in a little bit closer to her.

“Yes. He's outside.” Derek said, offering her a smile. One that was small, one that didn't really do anything to ease the feeling in her stomach.

“Can I talk to him?” She asked, her eyes hopeful, her shoulders relaxing with the news that he was there. With the thought that he wasn't far away, that she wasn't alone anymore.

“I don't-” Derek cleared his throat “I don't know if that's a good idea.”

She wanted to cry. Wanted to scream at this friend of hers. Wanted to break through these handcuffs and go to see him. She just wanted to.

She nodded hesitantly. “O-okay. But um, if I can, I’d like to.” She swallowed her scream, forced her tears down her throat, and tried not to pull on the cuffs. Her wrists hurt too much.

Derek nodded, felt ashamed to not have an answer for her. Felt terrible that two of his friends both wanted the same thing so desperately and he couldn't give it to either of them.

When he exited the room, leaving her alone once again, Hotch and Spencer were talking in front of the door. Arguing.

“She asked!”

“Reid you know I can't let you-”

“Hotch she's probably terrified! She needs someone to talk to her, we don't even know what happened yet!”

“Spencer-”

“Please!”

Derek sighed, rubbing his eyes as he walked over to the two of them. Spencer was getting irritated, no longer just at the police, but now at Hotch.

"Hotch," Derek said, interrupting their conversation before it could go any further.

"How is she?" Hotch asked, Spencer, staring at him in disbelief.

"How is she Hotch?! She's pretty fucking terrible I'd assume." He scoffed, turning away from the other two men to watch his girlfriend wipe tears from her eyes.

His beautiful girlfriend. Alone. A murderer.

He almost laughed at the thought.

"Spencer," Hotch said, using a voice similar to one he used with Jack. Spencer was testing his limits, being disrespectful, not following rules. Not acting like himself.

"She's relieved that we're here," Derek answered, watching Spencer stare at her, giving Hotch a fearful look.

Spencer muttered something that neither of them could hear.

"Does she have solid alibis?"

"She doesn't remember much from those nights. Everything is blurred Hotch. I don't know." Derek sighed again, exhausted.

Hotch lowered his voice to ask his next question. "Do you think it's her?"

But even when he whispered, Spencer could hear him.

And the sudden fury he felt in his chest was expected.

"Of course it's not her! She would never do that!" He had never expected Hotch to be doubtful. He felt betrayed at the inference that he would ever love someone who could murder all those people. He had expected his friends, his family, to have his back. To have her back.

"I'm talking to her." Spencer said, a final statement to the two men. He was finally finished listening to everyone else talk, finally finished listening to anything.

"Spencer-" he heard from behind him as he opened the door.

As he walked into the room.

To her.

"Spencer,"

The relief was palpable in her voice. Her body fell apart immediately at the feel of Spencer's hand against hers. It was such a feeling, so different than before. It was like she could finally breathe, she finally knew how to speak.

Now that he was here.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, wrapping her hand in both of his, hating how cold she felt.

She wished she could move closer to him, wished she wasn't chained down. Wished they were still in bed. Wished he would hold her again.

"I'm fine," she whispered back, her eyes concerned. More worried about him than she was about herself.

"You're so cold," Spencer responded, ignoring her lies, ignoring how scared she still looked. He was so glad to be next to her. To be talking to her. "Are your wrists okay?" he asked once he looked down, seeing the red marks around the wrist that was chained to the table.

"I'm fine Spence." She answered, trying to smile at him.

They both sat there for a moment, both remembering the pleasant night they'd had together last night, both thinking about moments that weren't like this one. Moments that weren't quite so scary.

And finally, when they had both breathed in all the time together they could spare, when they had finally used up all the oxygen in the room, Spencer spoke up.

His words brought miles between them.

"You didn't do it?" he said it as if the words hurt him. Like those words would hurt him more than they would hurt her.

She didn't see how that could be possible.

"I don't-" she started, her voice shaking as she felt the feeling in her stomach again. The nauseous feeling. The terrifying one.

"You- you didn't do it? R-right?" Spencer asked again, looking up at her.

And she saw it in his eyes. She saw it. And she knew the answer.

"Right." She breathed out, squeezing his hand.

And Spencer nodded, nodded like the words had solved everything like the words had removed this handcuff from her wrist like he could walk her home now. Like everything was fine.

"Okay," he said, giving her one of his small smiles. "Okay." He said, again, squeezing back.

Okay.

She didn't do it.

"I'm going to get you out of here."

"Spencer-"

"I'm going to get you out of here. Okay?"

She nodded. Spencer took a breath in.

Okay.

She remembered that night.

She remembered the cold wind against her cheek.

She remembered the hand around her waist.

She remembered that feeling.

She'd basked in it.

She'd lived completely numb from that feeling.

And then she'd found it.

She felt the kissssssss against her cheek.

So soft.

"Reid."

Spencer figured that Hotch was going to yell at him, maybe suspend him in the worst-case scenario. He knew that what he did was disrespectful, but he didn't regret it.

How could he when he got to talk to her? How could he regret getting to hold her hand? Getting to hear her voice when she was with him again? Getting to be next to her?

He couldn't. He just couldn't regret it, even if he knew it was wrong.

But when Spencer went to Hotch, there was no reprimanding. Hotch didn't even look mad. Just concerned. His eyes were hesitant, and when he put a hand on Spencer's shoulder, there was nothing but fear in his eyes.

fear.

Why fear?

"What?" Spencer asked, confused. Why wasn't he yelling at him?

"Reid."

"What Hotch?" Spencer asked again, more insistent, starting to get worried. He felt that feeling in his stomach.

"We found something."

Spencer listened carefully.

She remembered the cold air against her skin.

She remembered smiling.

She remembered.

"Before we got here, Y/N was asked for DNA. At one of the first crime scenes, there was DNA left behind, and the lead detective figured that if her DNA was a match, he would have all the evidence he needed."

Spencer nodded. Still confused.

He didn't see the silent shame Hotch felt.

She liked heartbeats. She liked the in and out, she liked the wind, she liked lots of things.

She liked it when she was alone, when she was with him.

She liked she liked she lied. She liked.

She liked heartbeats.

"While you were in there.."

Everyone slowly came over to the pair.

All of Spencer's friends, going over to him, all of them with the same look on their faces. All of them worried. All of them concerned.

Spencer looked back at Y/N. She looked upset.

He wondered when he could get her out.

He looked back at Hotch.

She listened to him every night. But sometimes, she got bored. She got restless. She needed to do something.

She was very good at sneaking out of bed without a notice, without waking Spencer up.

It was fortunate.

She left so many times. So many nights she snuck out.

So many times.

She always made it back for sunrise.

"Spencer, Y/N's DNA..."

Spencer nodded for him to continue. He needed Hotch to get to the point so that they could get her out, so that he could hurry up and get her away from here.

He wanted to go home with her, wanted to see her smile her real smile again. He wanted this to all go away, wanted this fear in his mind to leave.

Get to the point.

"What Hotch?"

She liked it. She hated it.

She liked the quiet of night. She liked how mysssssterious it was.

She liked it, oh god oh god.

She wasn't going to throw up.

Not again.

Not this time.

"It was a match."

Everything.

It had to be.

It had to stop.

Okay?

She liked the way heartbeatss sounded.

She liked to listen to them, beating. Quietly but forcefully.

She liked to listen to his heart as he slept. She liked to lay her chest on his head, to breathe in and out with him. She liked it when she could hear his heart flutter, over and over.

She liked to listen as they faded away.

She was so tempting.

She was a beacon in every room. Everywhere she went. She was a temptation far too charming to resist.

Every night, she stared, watched someone's eyes. And she tempted them so far.

She charmed them without a blink. Without a breath.

She liked it.

She didn't have to do anything before they were lured into her hands, pulled so far in by her wit, by her smile, by her eyes which were oh so hard to resist.

She was irresistible.

And a temptation none of them could ignore. Every one of them.

Every. Single. Time.

She was perfect, far toooo perfect for them far too much far too many far too fun.

She didn't have to think about it every night she snuck away. She didn't have to blink, she didn't have to breathe, she just had to stand there. Just had to feel the cold wind on her chest, on her cheek. She just had to listen.

As the heartbeats dwindled away.

As they faded into the distance.

She was far too perfect to resist. Far too perfect. She was so smart, so charming, so much all at once. And she always knew how to catch them. She knew how to lead, lead them to the end of the earth. She knew she knew how to push them off when they weren't looking. Push them so far, too farrrrr off the edge.

She knew how to kiss them so soft, so quiet as they were done, she knew what she was doing.

She remembered everything. Every night.

She snuck back in bed, she listened to his heart. She liked the way it dwindled off as she fell asleep, the way it faded.

She liked it.

Heartbeats. Disappearing.

my masterlist here.

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