Tumgik
#and never made any more than the first three
calcifiedunderland · 2 days
Text
Tumblr media
Part I (here), Part II
Trey Clover vs. Azul Ashengrotto vs. Jamil Viper x GN! Reader
In which the way to the Prefect’s heart is through their stomach! At least, according to three of NRC’s students…
I got the idea from @recreyomakesdoodles , from this post! Thank you so much, hope you liked it!!💕
Tagging people I think would be interested: @aruis4nosleep , @tinseltina
Warnings: food/eating
Notes: I decided to split this into multiple parts because I never have any restraint while writing and this ended up being long. Enjoy :D
———————————————————♣️🐙🐍
“Well, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Azul pushed his glasses up, balancing a stack of takeout boxes emblazoned with the Mostro Lounge logo on them. Cold blue eyes met Trey’s golden irises. Trey cleared his throat, shifting a heavy picnic basket from one hand to the other. “What brings you here, Azul? I thought you’d be busy at Mostro Lounge…”
Azul snorted, “the Prefect knows to expect me today. Clearly, you are the one intruding.” Earlier that week, he overheard you wailing to your friends about your upcoming History of Magic exam. Apparently, this unit was on Atlantica’s magical history - a topic that was, unfortunately, giving you trouble.
Fortunately, Azul was a mer who grew up learning the history by heart. Naturally he offered you assistance in exchange for having you taste-test some dishes. And how could he not help a poor, unfortunate fellow student like yourself?
Besides, if he wanted to bring along some personally cooked meals to Ramshackle, under the claim that you both would be there ‘for hours, so you may as well try some foods (that I made!) for the upcoming Lounge menu (that I run)!’, that was nobody’s business. And certainly not Clover’s business.
Trey crossed his arms, easily holding the heavy picnic basket like it weighed nothing. Azul could smell the buttery pastries and powdered sugar through the closed basket lid where he stood. “Riddle sent me to give the Prefect an invitation to the next Unbirthday Party. I thought I’d give them some treats to… sweeten the deal.” Though Trey had a disarmingly pleasant smile with the pun, his eyes bored into Azul’s.
Azul frowned. “That couldn’t have been more than a simple text. Aren’t they friends with your first years, as well?” He asked, remembering your first year friends that he’d turned into anemones.
Trey adjusted his glasses and averted his gaze, a telltale deflection sign that Azul didn’t miss. “Well, it’s more official coming from the Vice Housewarden.” “And I suppose the baked goods are complimentary?” Azul sniffed disdainfully at the basket, “Surely, the prefect needs more than pastries. A proper meal,” he emphasized.
Trey’s eyes narrowed, “a basket of baked goods is better than whatever deal you’d have for them,” he nodded to the boxes Azul carried. “Everyone loves a good old fashioned pastry. Can’t say the same for seafood.” Azul opened his mouth to retort, when suddenly both of their ringtones went off.
IM SO SORRY AZUL!!!!! I got caught up with something, can I come over tomorrow?? I likely won’t be done until later, the headmage has me doing stuff 😭
TREY!!! Tysm for the invite, you didn’t have to go out of ur way to give it in person!! ill definitely be there at the party! 😄 sry I’m not there atm, Crowley wanted me to do something for him
Trey frowned, reading your text. Azul huffed, shouldering the stack of food boxes, muttering “looks like today was a loss.” Trey sighed, “well, it can’t be helped…” he made a mental note to put the pastries in the Heartslabyul fridge and just deliver it to you tomorrow, under the guise of ‘checking up on you’ after working for Crowley. The two of them trudged down the path to the Hall of Mirrors, heading back to their dorms.
The two of them walked in silence until Trey abruptly said, “I don’t know what you want with the Prefect, but I hope you have their best intentions at heart.” Azul turned to give Trey a withering look, “I assure you, when it comes to the Prefect, I have nothing but good intentions.” As he stepped into Octavinelle, Azul smirked and muttered, “especially regarding their heart.” Trey lingered for a bit, staring at the Octavinelle mirror with an unreadable expression. “We’ll see about that,” he said aloud in the empty Hall, then headed back to Heartslabyul.
—•—♣️🐙🐍—•—
Meanwhile, you sighed heavily, collapsing onto the chair. The cafeteria was pretty much empty, save for the random student or two. It was already darkening outside, and you were hungry. Crowley wanted you to do something for him just before lunch, and soon half your Saturday was gone running around NRC. You’d even lost track of time, and missed Azul’s study session and Trey dropping in! You groaned, hearing your stomach growl loudly.
“Prefect? What are you doing here?”
You glanced up, seeing Jamil with a large container of tupperware and other small containers. The delicious scent of curries, labneh yogurt cheese, and freshly made pita made your mouth water. Despite yourself, Jamil caught you looking at the boxed-up food more than once.
“…Crowley had me running errands, and I may have skipped lunch…” your voice grew quiet near the end. Jamil raised an eyebrow, then smiled. “I actually ended up making too much food for Kalim,” he said, moving around the table to sit next to you. “There’s enough for an extra person, and I’ve have already eaten.”
Your eyes widened, and Jamil started dishing out some curry and flatbread for you. Bright-colored curry sauce and chickpeas flooded the platter, wafting a delicious scent. As Jamil ripped a piece of pita, your stomach growl loudly. Your face felt warm. Jamil only chuckled, pushing the plate he’d conjured towards you. “What about Kalim?” You asked, feeling bad. Jamil smiled, “Please, go ahead. There’s enough for Kalim and you.” A warm smile grew on your face, and you gave Jamil a one-sided hug before digging in. “Thank you! You’re my savior!”
As he watched you eat, a tender look grew on Jamil’s face. He shifted the food containers so he could watch you while nibbling on some flatbread. It wasn’t difficult to determine that you were off on Crowley’s whims again - with you running around the school and being gone for several hours. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be anyone’s fault if he accidentally made too much food, so he thought he’d drop it off at Ramshackle later. It was sheer luck that you’d dropped by the cafeteria!
You hummed, soaking up some of the leftover curry sauce with your flatbread, “this was delicious, Jamil. Thank you so much.”
Jamil smiled genuinely, but a devious look came into his eyes when you looked back at your plate. “Please, Prefect, allow me. Wait here.” He took the plate, going to the kitchens to box up some food for you to take back. Walking back to you, he handed you the container, “It’s getting late, I can walk you back to Ramshackle.”
The two of you set off, with you holding some of Jamil’s boxes. “This was… really sweet of you, Jamil,” you smiled. You knew Jamil always had his hands full, whether it was taking care of Kalim or managing literally everything else. Maybe the food was making you gush, but you were definitely grateful for the impromptu meal. As you opened the door to Ramshackle, you gingerly handed the boxes back to him.
“Ah, wait,” he shuffled them and held a large one out to you. “This one is yours.” Your eyes widened, “Jamil, this is a lot-“ “Please.” Your eyes met his dark grey irises, and warm gratitude filled your chest. “Jamil, I… I really don’t know what to say. I have to repay you somehow-“ Now that was what he wanted to hear.
“You know, I’ve been meaning to try making some new dishes,” he glanced at you. “I’ve been needing someone to taste test them, and Kalim won’t be available…” You nodded eagerly, “Of course! I’d love to help you!” You said your goodbyes, and as the door shut behind you, Jamil had a calculating smirk on his face. Oh yeah, it’s all coming together.
————————————————————♣️🐙🐍
Thanks for being patient everyone!! Hope you enjoyed this part, reblogs and comments are forever appreciated 💕
lmk if anyone wants to be added to the taglist! Take care shrimpies~ 😘
393 notes · View notes
thoughtidtry · 2 days
Text
Built To Be Bad PT. 1 - MV
Tumblr media
SUMMARY: Angst! You know he cheated in your heart so why can't you leave him behind. PAIRING: Max Verstappen x Leclerc!Reader A/N: Inspired by Built To Be Bad by Grace Gachot & Alex Sampson. 1.6K+ words. I promise I like Max lol he's just so easy to write angst for.
Built To Be Bad - MV
"I used to take a hundred photographs. Just to send the perfect one"
Charles always teased you when you took selfies but for you, it was worth it. The perfect picture took time and you knew that from years of being a photographer. Even if it was only going to be seen by one person you could help yourself, especially when that one person was Max. 
You had known Max almost your whole life from the weekends you spent at the karting track with your brothers. He had always been a constant but over time the friendship you two had developed evolved into more. Charles hadn't been happy to see his rival and sister together at first but he accepted it. 
Now your time at the paddock was split between the Redbull and Ferrari garages. Seeing them racing against each other was always exhilarating but slightly painful as one would always have to lose to the other. You had stood by Max's side through his first years in F1, hearing all his frustrations, the good, bad, and ugly. 
When you weren't able to be by his side you made sure to always send him pictures of your day and what you had done. That is where your love of photography actually starts just recording your life for him. 
"I felt a hundred butterflies. Every time your name came up."
Not being able to travel to every race was normal if not expected in the f1 world. Those times away from each other only made your time together more important.  When you were away from the Max you two made sure to always text constantly and call almost every night. See his name pop up on your phone always brightens your mood. 
You felt like you could float away some days with how happy you felt having Max as your boyfriend. In the beginning of your relationship it felt like butterflies had inhabited your stomach the moment he spoke to you. Now it was more a relaxing wave washed over your body. You would still blush when your friends brought up Max but it was nice. 
“Three more years than you deserved, nervous when you never were.”
Max was never nervous when it came to you. How could he be when you had followed him around for years without any sight of of leaving. That’s probably why things took the turn they did. He could never imagine you leaving him no matter what he did. At first it had put him at ease because he knew how much you loved him but as time passes he began to take the for granted. Ever since his first world championship 3 years ago he had slowly started to care less about you. 
You had always been nervous around Max. He was talented, smart, attractive, and even though some would disagree, kind. It didn’t take much for you to become a nervous mess in from of him. A stolen glance that lasted a bit to long or even the way he with brush his hand across your back as he would pass would do you in. You love how calm he was in every situation, he was your calm. The calm you felt has slowly drifted away as time went on to the point you didn’t even know when it had started. 
“Just one of like a hundred girls, you’ll never know how much it hurt.”
Over time Max stopped calling you on nights you didn’t travel with him to races making excuses. Most of the time it was just that he had been so tired that he had fallen asleep. You understood that his job could be very tiring but that had never stopped him before. Even when he was home you started to notice he was more distant than normal. He touched you less, did want to go on dates anymore, and barely listened when you spoke. 
One day you were ordering something for the house but had left your wallet in the car so you asked to borrow his card to place the order. He had dismissively nodded not realizing what you had actually asked. That was until he heard a soft gasp coming from where you stood.
“When I saw her photograph next to mine. She had cocoa hair laying by your side.” 
You couldn’t believe what was in your hands. Max has always kept a picture of you in his wallet. One of the many you would send him. He usually would trade them out over time choosing a new favorite. When you saw it sticking out of the bill portion of the wallet you were curious about which one he had chosen. 
As you went to pull it out you notice there were two instead of one. Thinking nothing of it you pull both out. The first was one you had taken a year or so back smiling on a sidewalk in downtown Monaco while out shopping with some friends. You were surprised he still had one that was old in his wallet but knew the other would probably be newer as you moved the second to the front. 
The moment you looked at the photo you froze with a small gasp escaping in shock. It wasn’t you on the phone but a girl with cocoa brown hair. She smiled up at the camera while Max, your Max, was kissing her cheek. Before you could even fully process what you had seen Max was snatching the wallet and photos out of your hands. 
“You said she’s a friend for the hundredth time, but I saw your face and your face don’t lie.”
“She's just a friend” 
Max said while putting both photos back in their place. You looked at him for a moment before responding. He looked nervous, for the first time in years Max was nervous. 
“So you just carry pictures of random people now?”
You were so confused. Who was she? When was it taken? What does this mean for you? Max broke your train of thought to correct you.
“She is not some random person, like I said she's a friend.”
The defense in his voice along with the look he was giving you told you all you needed to know. You nodded your head slowly making Max think you believed him. He sighed in relief taking a step toward you but you quickly backed away. You wanted to be angry at him, yell, maybe even cuss him out but all you felt was heartbroken. 
“I’m going to stay with Charles for a while, he's been wanting me to come over. I am going to go pack my bag.”
With that, you quickly walked to your shared bedroom and locked the door before Max could get in. You could hear Max on the other side banging on the door but you couldn’t make out what he was saying. Grabbing your phone, you quickly call your brother. He answered almost immediately in a cheerful tone.
“Hey sis, what up? Shouldn’t you be all over Max around this time.” 
You let out a small sob that has your mask cracked a bit. He was right, you barely called him when Max was home, usually wanting to spend as much time as possible with the Dutchman. 
“Charles, can you come get me? I need to get out of here.”
You could hear the immediate sound of him grabbing his keys as you spoke. He didn’t know what was happening but if you were calling him, he would be there. The door to his apartment slamming shut could be heard through the phone as he raced out. 
“I’m on my way sis. Don’t hang up.”
You nodded like Charles could see you as you began to grab all your necessities from around the room and stuffed them into bags. By the time your brother arrived you had all you camera equipment packed along with clothes and any other important items packed into two separate bags. You heard him storm into the house like a hurricane. He was yelling at Max accusing him of so many different things when you open the door with your bags in hand. 
Max noticed your presence first, trying to get to you before Charles shoved him back and yelled at him not to even think about getting close to you. Charles looked him up and down one more time before speaking to you without taking his eyes off Max.
“The car is out front. Go ahead and get in it, I’ll be there in a second.” 
You went to argue that he should just come with you but you knew he wasn’t going to listen to you. Taking one more look at Max you did as you were told and turned to leave the apartment.
“Please liedje just let me explain.”
Max exclaimed in desperation as you left but you didn’t even spare him another glance knowing if you did you would crumble. Charles on the other hand as soon as you were out the door laughed. 
“I hope whatever you did was worth it cause you won’t be seeing my sister again.” 
Max saw red at the Ferrari driver’s statement. He quickly cleared the distance between them to punch Charles in the face but your brother was prepared. Before Max even had a chance to swing, Charles had his fist firmly planted in his stomach. 
“Don’t be stupid Max, what would she think if you punched her brother too.”
With a sly smirk on his face Charles strolled out the door as Max doubled over in pain. By the time he had gotten to the car you had already started crying. The satisfaction he felt quickly disappeared as he saw the state you were in. Getting the driver seat he silently started the engine and began to drive. He wanted to know what had happened but you need time and he would respect that.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N There will be a part 2. More angst is on the way. lmk in the comment what you think or if you would like to be tagged in pt.2!
174 notes · View notes
munsonsmixtapes · 1 day
Note
Virgin!Eddie X Experienced!reader where Eddie has a wet dream for the first time and calls (reader) for a little bit of help 🤭
Ooh, yes! Thanks so much for the request, lovely!
virgin!Eddie x experienced!reader
cw: MDNI (18+) smut (p in v) Eddie receives a handjob
Rain pattered against Eddie’s trailer as he tossed and turn in his sleep. His thoughts were filled with nothing but you and he could stop seeing your naked body and the way your back arched in pleasure as he pounded into you. Your hands leaving bright red scratches down his back as you screamed his name as he said the most filthy things in your ear.
He jolted away at a loud clap of thunder and checked to see that he had in fact had a wet dream about you. He had dreamed about you so many times, but he was always able to care of it. But tonight, he didn’t want to. He wanted you to do the job for him. He wanted more company tonight than just his hands.
Eddie turned onto his side to face his bedside table and stared at his phone, contemplating giving you a call, but it was three in the morning so he was sure that you were asleep. He was desperate, but not enough to bother you while you were sleeping.
Maybe he could text you. That wouldn’t be too disruptive, right? He was just going to text you and if you didn’t reply, he was just going to have to rely on his stupid hand to get the job done. But the thing about his hand was that it wasn’t pretty and didn’t compliment him when he made a sound that was particularly hot. And his hand didn’t snuggle him after the show was over, telling him what a good job he has done.
Eddie reached over and grabbed his phone and opened up the text thread he had with you before going through your conversation before debating if he was actually going to say something. Before he could stop himself, he quickly typed out something before throwing his phone across the room.
Are you awake?
He got up onto his knees as if he could see the screen from there and felt his heart race in his chest as he waited for a reply. God, why did he do that? He should have just left it alone.
His phone pinged and he launched himself across the bed into the floor, flipping the phone over to see that you had replied.
never thought I’d get a you up text from you
What’s up?
My dick, he thought, but he thought that was too to the point.
Can I come over?
There was no way that he was going to fuck you with Wayne being in the other room, so your apartment was going to have to work.
You replied instantly.
You don’t have to ask, handsome! That’s why I gave you the key, remember? 😉
He honestly couldn’t believe that you had trusted him enough with a key to your apartment. Sure, you had been at this for months, but he didn’t think that your relationship (if you could even call it that) was at that stage. But still, he took the key found himself staring at it from time to time, knowing that you’d let him come over any time he wanted.
You had given Eddie the key months ago and this was going to be the first time he actually used it. His excuse was that he didn’t want to potentially walk in you while changing but you both knew that you couldn’t have cared less. His real reason was that a key was a big step in any relationship, and he wasn’t sure what ever was going on between the two of you, but he liked it. And he was trying to convince himself that he didn’t want your relationship to progress just because he was sure that you didn’t want it to. He knew for a fact that if you asked him to be your boyfriend, he would have jumped at the chance.
Eddie threw on his shoes out the way out the door and raced across town to get to your apartment. He had memorized the way, no longer needing his phone to get him there since he had come over so often.He had never come over so early in the morning, though, and he was grateful for the lack of people on the road so he could get to you sooner.
Eddie pulled up to your building and the elevator ride to your floor was agonizingly long as it slowly took him up to your floor. Once there, he got to your door and unlocked it, letting himself in.
The place was in a bit more disarray than usual with a few dishes in the sink and appliances that took over the counter that were usually neatly tucked away. But that didn’t surprise him since you didn’t really have much time to clean up. And Eddie didn’t think he could talk because he could barely see the floor in his own room.
He moved through your apartment and knocked on your door which you opened in a flash. You let him inside and he couldn’t take his eyes off of the baby pink silk lingerie nightgown that showed off your body very nicely.
“Hi,” you greeted him with that petty smile and he thought he could just melt right there where he was standing. Seeing you in that outfit, he really was going to need all the help he could get.
“Hi,” he nodded and stepped towards you, his hands, gripping your waist, pulling you to him. “This is a nice little number.”
“Really? You like it?” Were you kidding? Eddie swore he was going to cum right there just by looking at you. The dress stopped right at the middle of your thighs and the cups of the top were always sheer and he could see how hard your nipples were. It was driving him mad that you both weren’t already naked.
“Fucking love it. You’re so hot it’s unfair.” Eddie was really good at compliments. He somehow always knew exactly what you wanted to hear and never failed to tell you how much he liked the way you looked. He was just so sweet and you really wished you could have him b
“You’re hotter,” you told him, your hand moving up so you could twirl some of his hair around your pointer finger.
“Impossible. There’s no competition,” he leaned forward so that his lips were right by your ear. “But if there was, you’d win hands down,” he whispered before bringing your earlobe between his teeth and giving it a soft bite before pressing his lips to your jaw. He pressed open mouthed kisses to your skin until he got to your lips, pulling you in for a bruising one.
It was messy, teeth and tongues getting in the way, but you eventually figured it out, your lips slotting together like two perfect puzzle pieces. Your hands gripped his jaw roughly as you moved his head, trying to get more of him, beginning him to open his mouth as your tongue swiped along his bottom lip.
He opened up and you slide your tongue into his mouth, letting the muscle swirl around his as you both moaned in pleasure at the feeling. You felt Eddie’s boner against your stomach and pushed down his pajamas pants and underwear, giving you a full view of his cock.
“God, I need you so bad,” he whined and you shushed him, trying to get him to calm down.
“It’s okay,” you assured him. “Don’t worry, I’m going to take care of you.” You reached for some lube and covered your hand in the stuff before giving his length a few slow pumps, causing him to let out a loud moan, as if it was a sigh of relief.
“God, feels so good.” His fingers dug into your hips as he threw his head back, shutting his eyes tight as euphoria coursed through him.
Eddie’s hands slide down and pushed up your dress to remove your underwear only to find that you weren’t wearing anything.
“You’re not wearing any underwear,” he told you and you bit your bottom lips as you looked up at him through your lashes.
“Thought it’d skip a step.”
Well, that was very nice of you.”
You continued to move your hand back and forth, picking up the pace as you did so, wanting him to feel as good as you had a few nights ago. Once he had reached his climax, you removed your hand and you pushed him down onto the bed before reaching into the pockets of his jeans before pulling out a condom. You ripped open the packet before rolling the thing onto his dick.
You then climbed onto top of him and settled yourself onto his cock, both of you moaning at the sensation as you did so. Out of all the times you and Eddie had hooked up, he had always been on top, but this time, you felt like you owed it to him to let him be on the bottom. You took no time and bucked your hips into his, grabbing onto his shoulders so you’d have more control.
“Fuck, so good, baby,” he whined and you couldn’t stop thinking about hot he looked underneath you, his hair splayed out onto the mattress. His lips so pretty and pink and kiss bitten. His eyes shut as he made the prettiest sounds, it was all so euphoric.
“You like that?” You asked, moving the hardest and fastest that you could and he came completely undone underneath you, his hands scratching up and down your back, leaving bright red marks.
“God, love it, baby. Could let you ride me all night.” You could definitely make that happen, especially since he was being so sweet and complimentary.
“Oh, I intend to.” You continued to move at the same speed and you both moaned and whined and whimpered at every little move, being nothing but vocal about how much you were enjoying your time together.
If you were being honest, Eddie could have been the only man you ever fucked for the rest of your life and would have been content. You’d never tell him, but you’d hadn’t even slept with anyone else since that night at there club and you were going to continue to hook up with him until he got bored of you. They always got bored of you.
After riding him for what felt like forever, you both climaxed and did the proper things to clean up before climbing into your bed, snuggling up in each other’s arms, your naked bodies pressed together.
You stared at Eddie as you stroked his hair, wondering why he always came back. Most people would have kicked you to the curb by then, but it seemed like the never got tired of you. He was such a gentleman and you couldn’t believe that he had given you the honor of taking his virginity in that club all those months ago.
170 notes · View notes
pin-k-ink · 3 days
Text
vision // edogawa ranpo
Tumblr media
tw ⇢ mutual pining, sexual tension, teasing, slight angst if you squint, wet dreams, public sex, dirty talk, fingering, unprotected sex, pet names, nipple play
wc ⇢ 5.8k
Tumblr media
You had known Ranpo for as long as you could remember. The two of you were inseparable from the moment you became coworkers together at the Armed Detective Agency. His brilliant deductive mind and your keen intuition made you an unbeatable team on cases. More than that, you shared an effortless camaraderie that went beyond the workplace.
Ranpo was your closest friend, the person who knew you most intimately. You could spend hours together without uttering a single word, simply basking in each other's presence. He could read you like a book, preternaturally attuned to the subtlest shifts in your moods and thoughts in a way no one else came close to. Likewise, you took pride in being one of the few people who could cajole genuine smiles and laughs from behind Ranpo's typical affectation of eccentric genius.
In truth, you had come to rely on the warmth of Ranpo's companionship more than you cared to admit aloud. His humor, intellect, and strangely caring soul turned out to be curiously addictive sources of comfort and joy in your life. You never felt more understood and accepted than in Ranpo's presence.
Which is why his recent behavioral transformation had been so jarring and difficult for you to process...
It had started with a series of oddly averted glances and awkward fumbles for excuses to exit your company sooner than usual. You tried to brush it off at first, assuming Ranpo was merely sweeping into another of his eccentricities. But the distancing only increased, to the point where he was now actively dodging any attempts at casual conversation or even making eye contact when circumstances demanded you be in the same room together.
Puzzled and more than a little hurt, you found yourself riddled with self-doubt. Had you somehow committed a social transgression severe enough to make even your closest friend recoil? You wracked your brain but could find no rational explanation for why Ranpo had suddenly started treating you with such stilted formality and emotional distance. All you knew was that you ached for the lack of his easy presence and playful teasing.
Finally, after nearly three weeks of such inexplicable strain between you two, you could bear it no longer. You cornered Ranpo in the quiet study he had appropriated as his makeshift office den, where he jumped nearly a foot in the air upon your unannounced entrance.
"Ranpo-kun..." You fought to keep your tone calm and even rather than berating as you might have preferred. "We need to talk. About what's going on between us."
The brown-haired detective blinked owlishly before visibly attempting to smooth his features into a more insouciant mask. Still, you caught the fractional wince and throat-clearing before he responded in that deliberately arch lilt, "Whatever could you mean? Nothing at all is amiss between us, my dear friend. I've simply been preoccupied with an especially vexing case as of late that has demanded the entirety of my mental faculties, that's all..."
You leveled Ranpo with a deeply skeptical look, refusing to allow him to deflect and dissemble so easily. Not when it came to the sudden, painful rift forming between the two of you.
"Don't give me that, Ranpo," you stated, taking a few steps further into his private study so you could properly face him without obstruction. "We've known each other too long for me to buy such a blatant attempt at feigning nonchalance."
You watched the glass-smooth mask Ranpo tried so hard to maintain develop the barest perceptible fracture at your reproving words. His emerald gaze skittered away from your probing stare, adam's apple bobbing with an audible swallow as his fingers toyed agitatedly with the spine of whatever book he'd been pretending to read.
A tiny, insistent kernel of hurt took root in your chest at his obvious discomfort simply being in your presence these days. What had happened to your once-effortless rapport? You found yourself yearning with almost physical desperation to call back the easy camaraderie and playful teasing that had become such an ingrained, cherished part of your daily life.
"Ranpo..." You tried again, allowing a slight huskiness of pleading to unmask your voice this time. "Please, just tell me what's wrong? Why are you shutting me out like this? Have I...have I done something to offend you somehow? You know I would never intentionally—"
"No!" The explosive syllable had your teeth clicking shut in surprise as Ranpo abruptly dropped all pretenses, his countenance suffused with unmistakable anguish. "No, you've done nothing wrong at all. This, this distancing...it's entirely my own failing I'm afraid."
Despite the perdurable reassurance, your frown only deepened at the haggard edge clouding Ranpo's expression as he spoke. You waited with a weighty pause, sensing there was more the brilliant detective wished to divulge. And indeed, after toying with the pen in his hand for a few tense heartbeats, Ranpo seemed to come to a resolution.
"Tell me..." His gaze finally met yours again, and you felt your breath hitch at the sheer, unguarded molten heat searing through his irises. "Have you ever been, ah, afflicted...by a truth so paradoxical and compelling that it becomes nigh impossible to properly puzzle out or ignore, no matter how deliriously one might wish to do so?"
The words were so quintessentially Ranpo - profoundly cerebral to the point of near-incomprehensibility. And yet, you found yourself intuiting the deeper, infinitely more visceral layer of suggestion roiling just beneath his flowery prevarication.
Arousal, white-hot and illicit, licked through your veins as you held Ranpo's smoldering stare. Your throat worked convulsively against the desire to clear it while he watched you with that smoldering, leonine intensity further reducing your higher reasoning functions to cinders.
Finally, after what felt like an eon of crackling tension, you managed a faintly croaked, "I... I think I understand what you're trying to say, sort of..."
Surprise and dark approval warred over Ranpo's expression at your ambiguous acknowledgment. His free hand clenched at his side as though restraining the base prompting to reach for you, and you held your breath at the burning promise contained in that simple, abortive movement.
When Ranpo spoke again, his timbre was rendered low and husky with undisguised yearning. "Deduce this for me then, my dear friend...what sort of 'affliction' has been plaguing my thoughts and compelled me to shamefully withdraw from your brilliant presence as of late?" His eyes held yours as though they could convey all the scorching, ravenous desire and conflict roiling through that peerless psyche.
You swallowed thinly as your overheated senses catalogued the overall picture Ranpo was suggesting - his tormented avoidance, his thinly veiled innuendos about tantalizing, impossible truths, his mercurial shifts from anguish to intensity to open temptation as he devoured you with that ravenous stare. So much began to make a dizzying, dangerous sort of sense, unlocking new, forbidden dimensions in your relationship that you had never allowed yourself to fully acknowledge until now.
Still, more than anything, you craved to unravel this mystery laid before you in all its salacious, intoxicating totality. So you met Ranpo's burning look with one of your own guileless yearning and uttered in a breathless rasp:
"Very well...challenge accepted. I'll deduce the desire you've been so tirelessly trying to deny, Ranpo. For now."
Ranpo's eyes glittered with undisguised relish at your bold acceptance of his cryptic challenge. You could practically see the gears turning behind that peerless intellect as he avidly drank in your rapt, guileless expression of determination.
"Excellent," he purred in that effortless baritone of his, somehow rendering the simple affirmation into a darkly evocative caress. "Then allow me to start providing you with some...initial clues to unravel this deliciously paradoxical conundrum I've found myself in."
With casual, unhurried grace, Ranpo circled behind you so his presence was a scorching imprint against your back. You stifled a small shudder at the overwhelming mahogany and clove essence of his cologne that always managed to leave you just a touch light-headed.
His palm came to rest at the elegant curve of your waist, his deceptively slight frame radiating banked heat that seemed to scorch straight through the thin material of your blouse. You felt his lips, plush and soft, brush whisper-light against the sensitive whorls of your ear as he murmured in a molten undertone, "Tell me, have you perhaps noticed any...changes in my typical patterns of behavior beyond the distance? Any indications that something preternatural has been plaguing my restive mind as of late?"
Despite the innocuous phrasing, the timbre of Ranpo's words leaked unmistakable layers of carnal suggestion that had your skin prickling with gooseflesh. Coupled with the torturous graze of his breath fanning over your throat and the possessive drift of his fingertips drawing nonsensical patterns along your side, you felt utterly suffused by his masculine presence in a way you had never fully appreciated until now.
You struggled to collect your scattered thoughts enough to consider Ranpo's cryptic prompt. Had you noticed any peculiarities in his behavior aside from the unexplained avoidance that had sparked this entire situation? Now that you focused, casting your mind back over recent observations while firmly ignoring how Ranpo's thumbs had begun tracing feather-light, searing circles over your hipbones, you recalled a few...instances.
"Well," you finally managed in a slightly husky tone, proud that you only stuttered minutely over the words, "Now that you mention it, I do remember a few times recently where you seemed...distracted. Flushed, even, despite the room being perfectly temperate. And your breathing would become rather unsteady at seemingly random moments."
You felt more than heard the quiet rumble of approval against your back as Ranpo hummed his affirmation, his exhalations drifting hot and damp over your pulse point in a way that threatened to completely unhinge your powers of concentration.
"Very good, very astute deductions so far," he praised in a voice gone low and heavy with undisguised wanting. "And did any other...physical tells accompany these momentary lapses, I wonder? Some sign of burning distraction, perhaps? An inability to fully conceal certain aspects of my usual disciplined control?"
The words were cloaked in academic impartiality, but the sinuous inference lacing every syllable made your thighs squeeze convulsively together as you pieced together the image Ranpo was so delectably, dangerously insinuating. You sucked in a sharp breath, heat lancing riotously through your body.
"I...I believe so, yes," you whispered throatily. "There were times where your pupils would dilate unnaturally, your breathing turned shallow, and a faint sheen of exertion gleamed over your brow despite an obvious lack of any taxing mental or physical stimuli."
Ranpo released a shuddering exhalation against the slender column of your throat that had you reflexively arching with tangible yearning. His fingers traced back up your sides, tantalizingly close to the swell of your breasts, before reversing their path almost punitively. You bit your lip to stifle a desperate whimper, and felt the distinct twitch of reaction against the rigid plains of his abdomen pressed to the small of your back.
"Oh, you are good at this game, aren't you?" He growled with clear, undisguised approval and answering desire flooding his tone. "What other salacious conclusions can you intuit from these lascivious hints I've been providing? I beg you to exercise that matchless intuition to its fullest, because I absolutely crave to hear you give proper definition aloud to the desire rapidly becoming my undoing..."
The challenge Ranpo issued proved as maddeningly elusive as the brilliant detective himself over the following days. You found yourself utterly consumed by the delicious vexation of attempting to unravel the inscrutable riddle Ranpo kept dangling with teasing hints and loaded innuendos.
At times his clues came in the form of brooding stares that lingered a beat too long, his silvery gaze drifting over your form with a heavy-lidded promise you couldn't quite decipher. Like he was committing your every line and curve to the ruthlessly methodicalprocessings of his formidable intellect through those mercurial depths. You shivered at the thought, uncertain whether it thrilled or unnerved you more.
Other times, Ranpo's provocations took on a more overt, sensual tilt. You'd catch the Detective Prince's throat working subtly as you laughed and joked together like old times, feel his eyes track the reflexive motion with raptor-like intensity. More than once, he seemed to drift closer until the clove-and-mahogany richness of his cologne threatened to utterly intoxicate your senses.
"Ranpo?" You found yourself murmuring on one such occasion, very much cognizant of how his dilated pupils followed the rise and fall of your chest. "Is everything...okay?"
Rather than answer directly, he simply hummed a low, rumbly acknowledgment that vibrated straight through to settle liquid-hot in your lower belly. You tried not to squirm beneath the laser focus of his rapt regard, feeling somewhat like a specimen being ruthlessly catalogued and deconstructed for careful study.
"You seem..." The words caught in your suddenly dry throat as Ranpo leaned fractionally closer, his thumb grazing over the thundering leap of your pulse point with maddening suggestion. "...distracted."
The only response was another indecipherable, baritone rumble, but this time the heat in his eyes unmistakably spiked. You finally regained enough of your faculties to stammer a hasty excuse and retreat from the powderkeg of tension sparking between you both. But not before catching the bare hint of a smug, knowing smile ghosting over Ranpo's sensuous lips for just a breath.
Much later, in the quiet, still hours before dawn, you found your restless mind replaying that freighted moment over and over again. You tossed and turned, highly aware of the burn of arousal slowly simmering through your system as it gradually dawned on you.
All of Ranpo's veiled remarks, evasions, and simmering looks over the past while - they added up to a single, heady conclusion too illicit and tantalizing to fully credit even as it pulsed through your thoughts. As preposterous as it seemed, the weight of the detective's heated stares and suggestive innuendos hinted that his much-vaunted deductive logic had somehow become...consumed.
With thoughts of an increasingly intimate, fevered bent centered entirely around your most elemental reactions and fantasies.
Images unbidden began to assault your whirling mind then - Ranpo tossing in his sweat-soaked sheets, utterly assailed by improbable visions of deduction taken to its carnal limits. You pictured his quickened breath catching on a moan as he imagined uncovering every hidden, shameful secret of your body's deepest wants. His graceful hands wandering over heated expanses of bare skin as he sought clue after clue to chart the gasping pathways that led you unraveled and shuddering beneath him...
You awoke with a strangled cry on your lips, rendered tacky with sweat and near-delirious with need in the aftermath of that torrid fantasy. As improbable as it seemed, some part of you couldn't reject the notion that Ranpo had been pursuing a more...intimate understanding as of late. And based on the relentless tensions sparked between you, he seemed resolutely committed to achieving nothing less than your complete surrender so he could study the matter exhaustively.
The thought alone made a shudder of yearning convulse through you, leaving you profoundly unsettled and burning with a gnawing, thirsty curiosity. Just how far would the Detective Prince pursue the sublime riddles your body seemed to present him with?
And could you truly find the willpower to deny indulging whatever fevered, fastidious measures Ranpo wished to exercise in unraveling those delicious mysteries for himself?
With each passing day, Ranpo's smoldering looks and heated provocations descended into brasher, utterly unsubtle insinuations. While you had initially deduced that the incandescent Detective Prince was wrestling with scorching visions of an intimate, carnal nature centered around you, it gradually became apparent there were even more profoundly illicit dimensions to his forbidden reveries.
He wanted you to extrapolate the embroidered details, the lush sensory fantasies plaguing his unconscious mind with visceral need. Ranpo wished for nothing less than your complete discernment of every sordid image and dark craving that had awakened his body thrumming with desperation upon daybreak.
The evidence came in the form of lingering, assessing glances that drifted over the exposed lines of your throat and collarbones with shockingly rapacious heat. Ranpo made no attempts to conceal the undisguised wanting that flooded his expression whenever you unconsciously wet your lips or arched your back in an absent stretch, emphasizing your feminine curves before his hooded, devouring stare.
"Got a clue yet as to what's been tormenting me?" Ranpo would murmur on such occasions, his voice rendered low and husky with banked intensity. You'd freeze in instinctive response, feel your pupils blowing wide as your senses became hyper aware of the whisper-light scratch of your shirt fabric over your nipples, now peaking betrayingly under his incendiary scrutiny.
All you could manage was a strangled hum of acknowledgment as he stalked closer, seemingly to emphasize the added inches of height he held over your suitably disheveled form. The mahogany-and-clove tang of his cologne was heady in the minuscule space separating you, searing the insides of your nostrils, the latent promise in the set of his broad shoulders and tautly corded forearms as they twitched infinitesimally with the obvious effort of restraint.
"Do be more specific, won't you?" He purred, smooth as velvet and just as rich in the underlying implication. "I require your observations in extraneously vivid detail, so I can fully immerse myself in the...depraved scenery unfolding through that peerless intuition of yours. Don't spare me any of those delicious, poetic descriptions."
And like an iridescent vision pulled directly from the lurid seance haunting Ranpo's unconscious, you began to glimpse the full breadth of longing and forbidden temptation tangling his preternatural deductive mind in frantic knots.
You saw him shuddering awake in the dead of night, sheets clinging damply to his sweat-slicked, naked torso as he desperately sought to cling to the receding remnants of dreams that stirred with your every moan and shudder undulating against him. Imagined the searing stroke of his fingertips roaming over the mental topography of your quivering, splayed form as he catalogued every slick, trembling inch.
Dexterous hands methodically divesting you of all adornments before his singleminded, deductive focus. Elegant, kissable lips tracing a scorching path over your most intimate secrets, no possible shroud or compunction left to conceal the scope of your body's rapture from his ruthless, unflinching regard.
You found yourself utterly undone by these incendiary visions bleeding over into your waking reality in shockingly lurid detail. Your breaths grew shallow and uneven, nipples straining against thin fabric as Ranpo continued his relentless study and your imagination showed no signs of yielding.
Finally, he leaned in so unbearably near that the brush of his lips against your heated cheek felt like a brand. "If you're going to provide me with a thoroughly immersive reconstruction," he rumbled with dark bedroom timbre, "Then I desperately require a first-hand account your rapturous undoing made as the full thrust of my interrogation bore down on you..."
A whimpery moan nearly broke free from the cage of your constricted throat at those words, your entire being flashing alight with the visceral understanding of what torrid fantasies held Ranpo so completely transfixed as of late. He craved the consummate panoramic of ecstacy warring over your naked expression as you surrendered every filthy, lewd revelation scrap by scrap in delirious fealty to the unflinching intensity of his carnal inquest.
And based on the fevered look scorching his features as he drank in your guileless realization, Ranpo meant to allow for absolutely no evasions or half-measures in the pursuit of such lurid deductions.
"Enough dancing around it," Ranpo growled, his eyes blazing with undisguised hunger. "I want you to know exactly what kind of filthy dreams you've been starring in night after night."
You felt a full-body flush at his blunt words, trembling slightly as he closed the distance between you with predatory intent. His hands settled dominantly on your hips, thumbs stroking possessive arcs over the jut of bone.
"I wake up absolutely soaked, aching and painfully hard," Ranpo rasped against the heated shell of your ear. "All from visions of stripping you bare and tasting every single inch of your pretty little body."
A shocked whimper escaped your lips at the unvarnished carnality of his confession. You could feel his erection pressing insistently against your abdomen as he rolled his hips with dark promise.
"That's right, baby..." he purred in a tone made husky and seductive with naked want. "I've spent night after night imagining burying my face between those soft thighs, lapping up your sweet cream until you're squirming and mewling on my tongue."
You were panting harshly now, your body utterly aflame at the vivid, filthy descriptions tumbling so casually from the normally unflappable detective's lips. Ranpo seized the back of your neck in a dominant grasp, forcing you to meet his darkly salacious stare.
"And that's just the start," he promised in a gravelly tone that made your core absolutely throb. "Once I've loosened you up nice and sloppy, I'm going to bury this thick cock so deep inside you won't remember your own name."
Your eyes fluttered shut in a dizzying wave of wanton arousal at the absolutely indecent images he was invoking in such frank, explicit detail. You could practically feel the delirious stretch and burn from his impressive girth claiming your body so dominantly, so unrelentingly.
"That's it, sweetheart..." Ranpo's voice dropped to a gruff timbre of pure sin as he guided your shaking hand down to palm the rigid, throbbing length straining against his trousers. "Get a good feel for how hard I've been for you, how badly I'm gonna rail that greedy little pussy and stuff you absolutely full of my cum."
You cried out shamelessly at the graphic promise, hips jerking in mindless need against his calloused fingers now rubbing searingly over the damp crotch of your underwear. This was far beyond any provocation or innuendo - Ranpo was utterly unfurling the darkest, most depraved and sordid temptations that had gripped his subconscious night after night.
"So tell me..." he rasped hoarsely against the sheen of perspiration beading over your collarbone. "Now that I've properly educated you in the true nature of my lascivious dreams...are you going to be a good girl and let me live them all out in vivid, unrepentant detail?"
You could only whine and nod frantically, utterly transfixed and inflamed with unrestrained yearning to make this profane reality. Ranpo answered with a feral growl of approval.
"That's what I like to hear..." He yanked you harshly into the scalding brand of his lean musculature, teeth scoring biting kisses up the fevered line of your throat. "Now be a good little pet and start undressing...because I'm not stopping until I've explored and defiled every single one of your most shameless erotic mysteries."
Ranpo's ravenous words and commanding touch left you utterly undone and compliant as warm putty in his capable hands. You found yourself frantically divesting of clothing at his guttural urging, fevered desperation thrumming through your veins at the promise of experiencing firsthand the lurid fantasies that had plagued the brilliant detective's unconscious.
Soon you stood flushed and quivering in just your underwear, breath catching at the sheer heat and intensity blazing through Ranpo's lidded gaze as he drank in the sight of you revealed. His tongue swept deliberately over his lower lip as his eyes roamed with undisguised possession and longing over every newly bared inch.
"Exquisite..." he husked in a voice rendered gravel-rough from the strain of his carefully leashed desire. "Though perhaps we ought to remove these last scraps as well before indulging in the real main event, hmm?"
You bit back a shuddering moan at the blatant implication, fingers already hooking into the flimsy lace to comply. But Ranpo's hands seized your wrists in a punishing grip, halting your movements as he stepped in to loom over your suddenly diminutive frame with dark promise.
"Allow me," he growled in a tone that brokered no argument as he brought your hands up to bracket his shoulders instead.
The first intimate brush of your heated skin against his clothed chest and arms left you dizzy with acute sensitivity and gnawing craving. You shivered and swayed instinctively nearer as Ranpo leisurely trailed his fingertips in a feather-light glide down over the swell of your breasts and along the feminine flare of your waist. His blazing regard remained riveted on the journey of his exploring hands, flagrantly studying your every reactive shudder and quickly becoming mottled flesh with raptor intensity.
"My my..." he tsked softly, voice gone dark velvet and rich with undisguised sin as he hooked into the flimsy elastic of your underwear. "How utterly responsive and primed you are already, my dear...and we've barely even made the barest start toward enacting the wet dreams I've been forced to endure night after endless night."
With one smooth, unhurried motion, Ranpo divested you fully of your last tatters of concealment. The humid caress of air over your newly bared skin made you suck in a sharp breath, hips jerking reactively in seeking of some relief for the steadily mounting ache between your slickened folds. Relief that Ranpo looked eminently prepared to provide as he took a measured step back, sweeping you from crown to soles with a look positively blazing with carnal appreciation.
"Just as spectacular to apprehend in the flesh as my unconscious recreations dared dream..." he rumbled in a tone of quiet rapture, flexing his hands at his sides as if warring against the urge to touch. "But perhaps we ought to take things a bit further before I utterly ravish you, hmm?"
You were trembling oxygenless pants by the time Ranpo made languid, methodical work of stripping away his own concealing layers, unveiling the taut, lean musculature of his naked form to your prey-whetting inspection. By the time he finally stood fully and gloriously undressed, his substantial arousal stood flushed and iron-proud from the nexus of his thighs, you were an utter shuddering wreck of anticipation and need.
With smoldering intent, Ranpo stalked forward until all you could see, hear, and taste was the banked promise of his raw masculinity consuming your senses entirely. His motions were those of a jungle cat unhurriedly cornering its hapless quarry - controlled and weighted with imminent danger.
"I want to hear you..." he commanded in a hoarse timbre of pure sin. One large palm flattened scorchingly over the frantic kick of your pulse while the other boldly cupped and kneaded the soft weight of your breast. "I want to hear you moaning and crying out like you do in my dirty dreams. Don't hold back any of those delicious little whimpers when I finally get my hands on this body that's been driving me crazy with need."
Then his mouth was on you, claiming your lips with an utterly shameless and unapologetically greedy kiss that sent you reeling. Your mind stuttered to a halt as his tongue swept over yours in a slick, velvety glide that had your knees buckling beneath you. Only the firm band of his arm across the small of your back kept you upright as his other hand continued its sinful exploration.
Ranpo's palm felt searing hot as it traveled over the smooth expanse of your belly and down to cup the curve of your ass. You moaned into the kiss as he squeezed and groped shamelessly, fingers dipping in the crease and teasing just shy of your dripping entrance. He swallowed down your gasp with a rumbling purr, his mouth continuing to ravage and dominate yours until you were clinging weakly to his broad shoulders for support.
When he finally broke the kiss, you were left gasping and dizzy, utterly boneless in the wake of his masterful touch. Ranpo's lips skated a scalding path down the side of your neck, pausing to nip and suck at the hollow where your pulse thundered. He pressed open-mouthed, bruising kisses over the tops of your breasts, the edge of his teeth and tongue rasping against your nipples until they were tight, aching peaks.
Your body burned and yearned, reduced to a molten, incandescent puddle under his expert attentions. When Ranpo finally lifted his head to fix you with a dark, lust-blown stare, his breathing was harsh and unsteady, his skin flushed and shining with a fine sheen of sweat. You knew you must look an utterly debauched, wanton mess, and the knowledge had something primal and savage igniting in his eyes.
"Tell me, sweetheart..." he growled low and hungry, the pads of his thumbs grazing in maddening circles over the sensitive inner skin of your thighs. "Have you figured it out yet? The reason why I've been so damnably, insufferably restless and agitated as of late?"
You could only whimper, your mind utterly scrambled and addled from the onslaught of his touch. Ranpo chuckled darkly, his hands moving inexorably upward until they were ghosting feather-light over the feverish, slick heat of your pussy.
"The answer should be simple enough for even you to deduce, my dear..." he purred in a honeyed timbre that vibrated straight through to your core. "The fact is, you've been plaguing my waking thoughts and unconscious desires with an infuriatingly relentless persistence. So much so that I'm absolutely compelled to explore and satisfy each and every one of the torrid scenarios that have been playing out through my subconscious as of late."
Ranpo punctuated his claim with the slow, deliberate glide of two fingers along your slit, gathering the slickness pooling at your entrance. He swirled the tips in a lazy circle over your clit, making your hips jerk uncontrollably as your body sang in ecstacy.
"But more than that..." he continued in a voice rendered rough with naked, visceral wanting. "I'm utterly compelled to indulge in the filthy, depraved fantasy of you being spread out and helpless before me, allowing me to do whatever I want to this pretty little body of yours. Allowing me to completely defile and deflower you."
The words alone had your walls clenching, desperate for the thick, hard stretch of him spearing you open and filling you to the hilt. Ranpo rumbled a dark, approving noise deep in his chest, the sound resonating through you until your legs were practically shaking with the need to have him inside.
"You want it too, don't you, sweetheart?" he murmured with quiet conviction. "You want to feel the obscene, dirty, ungodly pleasure of me plowing this tight cunt with every inch of my thick cock."
Your answering moan was utterly broken, breathy and shameless. You were completely unraveled, ready to beg for anything and everything Ranpo could give. He rewarded you with another searing, open-mouthed kiss that left you seeing stars.
"So let's start making the illicit reality match the deliciously torrid fantasy," he whispered against your lips. "Every filthy fucking fantasy I’ve had about this tight, needy pussy has been a variation on the same theme. That you're going to spread these pretty thighs and let me fuck you absolutely senseless. And that starts with you bending over the desk, presenting this gorgeous little ass to me while I bury myself in this greedy, soaked little cunt."
The command brooked no argument, the unflinching dominance behind the words making your cunt positively throb. You were dimly aware of him steering you over to the nearby desk, maneuvering you into position with firm, unyielding hands.
Ranpo's fingers danced and teased, spreading the lips of your cunt and rubbing in gentle, teasing strokes against your entrance. He dipped in just enough to gather a few drops of slick, slathering them up and down the length of his thick cock. Then you felt the hot, blunt head press insistently against your folds.
"Remember what I said before, sweetheart..." Ranpo crooned dark and seductive, one hand splaying possessively over the small of your back as he lined himself up. "I'm not stopping until I've had you screaming and squirting all over this cock. Until you've given me the full, unfettered experience of your orgasm wracking this body, making you shake and shudder on my dick."
His free hand landed a stinging slap on the rounded curve of your ass, making you gasp and jolt. The slight shift of movement made the tip of his cock push past your entrance, stretching and burning as it slowly sank into the velvety clutch of your core.
You cried out at the delicious, agonizingly slow burn, feeling every inch of him impaling you as his hips rolled with measured control. He bottomed out with a low growl of satisfaction, his fingers digging into your hips as he began to slowly pump his length in and out.
"Oh yes..." Ranpo groaned, his eyes hooded and heavy with lust as he gazed down at where you were stretched and straining around his thick shaft. "Fuck, sweetheart, you feel even better than I dreamed."
You keened and writhed, struggling to take the immense, overwhelming pressure and stretch. Ranpo leaned down, pressing his chest against your back and molding your body to his. His hips never stilled their torturously unhurried pace, pumping in slow, deep strokes.
"You're being such a good little detective's pet for me," he purred against the shell of your ear, the praise making you whimper and clench involuntarily. Ranpo hummed his approval, his pace picking up incrementally as he drove you to the brink of madness.
"I'm going to make you come like this, sweetheart..." he murmured in a voice gone husky and low with carnal intent. "I'm going to fuck this sweet little cunt until you're screaming and gushing all over me. Then I'm going to bend you over and breed you so thoroughly, you'll feel the slick, wet mess leaking out of you for days."
You whimpered at the filthy promises, your cunt clenching greedily around him at the thought. Ranpo snarled and fucked harder, his cock driving deeper and harder with each snap of his hips. You could feel yourself hurtling toward the edge, your legs beginning to shake as the coil in your lower belly wound tighter and tighter.
"That's it, sweetheart..." Ranpo encouraged, his voice rough with the strain of holding back his own release. "Let go for me, let me feel that pussy squeezing around my cock. Show me how hard you can come on my dick."
You came with a wail, the coil snapping violently and sending you crashing over the edge. Ranpo fucked you through it, his thrusts losing rhythm as his control slipped.
"Oh, fuck..." he groaned, his grip tightening as his hips snapped forward, his cock twitching inside you. You could feel the warm, wet rush of his release flooding you, stuffing you full of his cum.
It was several long moments before you could catch your breath, both of you slumped over the desk, still joined together. You whimpered softly as Ranpo slowly pulled out, his hands immediately sliding over the round swell of your ass.
"Such a good pet," he murmured, his thumb dipping down to stroke your entrance. "So wet and messy for me. But I'm not done with you yet."
Ranpo straightened, tugging on your arm until you turned and faced him. "That was only the recreation of one dream. We still have many more to work through. On your knees."
92 notes · View notes
nyxronomicon · 2 days
Note
no, cause you're absolutely right with your tags. i too put that thought in the bag of dark thoughts that i should never open but i thought of you and said there is always someone who will be able to understand me lskdk and your tags,,, nodding fervently at your tags because i don't see him as a stepbro cause i love the age difference too lol but
i love love love love the idea of him coming into your room at night and waking you up with his fingers inside you and the bulge in his pajama pants pressing from behind. I also imagine him sitting on the couch when it's just you two, he invites you to join him to watch the game or something and it ends in him cockwarming you while playing with your nipples, you can't do anything but take it and feel it throb inside you until he finally cums inside you, but you have to do it fast before your mom/brother (choso maybe megumi) gets home from work <3 so the idea of being caught is very attractive to me
Sigh... *opens dark fantasies filing cabinet and pulls out stepdad Toji folder*
omg you did this on purpose... cockwarming while he plays with your tits??? my WEAKNESS and you added the risk of getting caught RIP RIP RIP i'm DEAD .... i'm sorry... i'm sorry for the sins... my pussy wrote this i swear...
cw: !! DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT !!, stepdad!Toji x f!reader, reader is university age, age difference, dub-con (coercion & implied somno), reader has major daddy issues, reader is touch/attention-starved, corruption, pussyjob, cockwarming, praise, titplay, risk of getting caught, slight edging, size (emphasis on Toji's big dick) pet names: princess, angel, good girl, reader is referred to as "step-daughter" but not as a pet name lol 2.2k sinful, sinful words
Tumblr media
Your mother didn't even tell you she remarried. You got home from college for the summer to find a stranger and his son living at her place. You were resistant to the whole idea, but she made you promise to give them a chance and spend time with them. They were family now, after all.
Megumi was just a year older than you. He had one more year of university before graduation, so he was in a similar situation as you. You thought maybe you could bond about it, but he wasn't very talkative and showed more interest in his video games than you.
Your new stepdad... Toji Fushiguro. You didn't even know where to start with your thoughts on him. He was sleazy, shameless, and a little more friendly than you'd like. You couldn't really figure out what he did for work, and to be honest, you wouldn't be surprised if he didn't do anything. Your mom was a chronic workaholic, constantly gone on work trips and spending late hours at the office. She could easily support the three of you on her own.
There was another thought about him that clawed at the back of your mind. The one you immediately compartmentalized, the forbidden knowledge that once fully synthesized in your mind, you wouldn't be able to erase. It remained in a little bottle, threatening to shatter every time your stepfather got home from the gym. Or took you out to dinner. Or watched a movie with you.
You tried to include Megumi as much as possible at first, if only you have a buffer. Hanging out alone with Toji felt weird. It felt wrong, though you couldn't quite pin why. But Megumi was entirely disinterested in spending time with his dad, and only marginally more interested in getting to know his new stepsister.
After a couple of months of getting used to Toji, you were starting to notice things you liked about him. He was actually there for you, for one. Your mother was never around and in the past, and she never kept a man around long enough for you to have any kind of father figure. It was just you and her, but more often than not, it was really just you. You didn't realize how lonely you were at home but with him here, at least you had someone to talk to.
You let his sleazy comments slide. The few times you'd gone out with friends, he made sure to tell you how sexy you looked. And when you got home, he grilled you on if there were any guys you had an eye on. It always flustered you, reminding you of the forbidden thought trapped in that bottle. But as long as you didn't think about it too hard, it would stay bottled up, where it should be.
You hated to admit that your mother was right. That you liked your new stepdad after giving him a chance. You liked the banter, and he was always complimenting you. He made you feel good about yourself. So in turn, you let him get away with more. When you'd watch TV with him at home, you started cuddling with him. He was warm, comforting. Maybe you were a little old to be cuddling with your stepdad, but he smelled so nice and you always wondered what it would be like.
Your mom was at a conference. Megumi was gaming in the other room. It was like any other night, and you and Toji would be left alone as usual. You were half asleep, cuddled up to his chest, when you felt a hand on your breast. It took a second to process, your gaze suddenly shooting up to your stepdad, who froze in place.
"Oh," he smiled sheepishly. "Still awake, huh?" He whispered.
Your mind instantly replayed the number of times you'd innocently fallen asleep like this, only to wake up horny and wet. He was always sleeping himself, but surely he wasn't so brazen that he made a habit of groping you, his step-daughter, while you slept.
"What are you doing?" You whispered back, glancing at Megumi's door, which was open just a crack. You wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but his hand remained on your tit.
Toji pouted a little, gazing down at you. He knew it was wrong but he always had a weakness for naive college girls. "Sorry, your mother has been gone so much lately, I'm a little... pent up." His finger lightly brushed over your nipple, sending pleasure up your spine.
"Toji, we can't..." You whispered, though you made no motions to stop him. It felt good. He smelled divine. The living room was dark, only lit by the glow of the TV screen. Megumi could emerge from his room any minute and that only made this hotter.
"I know, I know." He agreed with you, but his fingers kept kneading your breast. "I just really like spending time with you. I wanted to take it a little further. Make you feel good." Heat flooded your body. You were sure if he could see your expression, he'd know about the dark thought threatening to take over.
You and your mother had the same taste in men. Admittedly you'd always been fixated on older men, maybe trying to fill the void the lack of a father had. But he filled that void perfectly. The reason it felt weird to spend time with him was because you wanted this. You wanted him to touch you and praise you. And you wanted more.
"I'll stop if you want me to." He added. It was too late, the desire in your body burning a hole in your innocence. The buried feelings you had for him shattered that tiny bottle. You wanted to fuck your stepdad.
Your face felt hot. You looked at the TV, playing sports highlights that you couldn't care less about. The sound was loud enough that you couldn't hear the clacking on Megumi's keyboard. And the sinful thought that entered your mind was that Megumi couldn't hear anything happening in here, either.
"No..." your voice was nearly silent. "Don't stop."
His eyes widened for a moment, movements paused. "Oh?" The empathetic smile on his face was replaced with one of a predator. The man could have torn himself away from you a moment ago but now? Even if you changed your mind he'd be playing those words in his head over and over until he could coerce them from your lips again. "You sure?" He added, in an attempt to appear more respectful than he intended to be.
The glow of the TV highlighted your features as you looked back at him. Your eyes were big and soft, like you were on the verge of taking back the permission you just gave him. Before you could say a word, his free hand tilted your chin, pressing a tender kiss to your lips. All the while, he massaged your breast again, your body melted against his.
"It's ok, princess. Just say the word and I'll stop." His voice was sensual, a soft murmur in your ear before his lips pressed to your neck. Shivers ran up your spine and you arched your back, giving him easier access to your collarbone.
It felt so good. His undivided attention, his touch, it was like a drug that you couldn't get enough of.
You knew you should tell him to stop as he tugged you onto his lap. You straddled his thick thighs, feeling his bulge against your clothed cunt. You knew how wrong it was for you to let him lift your top. The feeling of the forbidden pleasure coursed through you as he peppered kisses on your breasts. He was married to your mother. Thoughts of her long erased by his lips wrapping around your nipple. His tongue flicked the bud as your breathing became unsteady. He had a kid your age. But Toji Fushiguro doted on you, his son in the other room nearly forgotten as his thick fingers felt your pussy through the thin pajama shorts you wore.
Finally, finally you were the favorite. His fingers pushed your shorts and panties aside, sliding his cock into the space between the fabric and your wet cunt. It didn't matter that your mother ignored you in favor of the revolving door of your her lovers anymore. His thick girth was nestled perfectly between your pussy lips. You didn't need to grasp at straws trying to relate to your uninterested stepbrother. Toji's tip danced at your entrance, making you tingle with anticipation as you let yourself drown in his affection.
"So fuckin' sexy..." He mumbled against your breast. The praise nearly made you whimper, glancing at Megumi's cracked door as you bit your lip. "Wanna do me a favor?"
Words still escaped you, meeting his gaze with a shy nod of your head. It was almost cute, as if you were trying to play up the innocent act. Toji wanted nothing more than to flip you on your back and fuck you mercilessly on the couch until you were screaming his name. Get you to admit you'd been flirting and leading him on this whole time. After all, what kind of a slut shows this much interest in her stepdad? But with Megumi in the other room, he needed you quiet. And he knew just the perfect way to tease you.
"Just want you wrapped around me for a minute." He pushed his hips up so you could feel his cock sliding in your folds.
"Toji, we..." you trailed off a moment, considering how desperately you wanted to say yes. Your eyes were on Megumi's door again, dreading the idea that he could get up at any moment and find the two of you like this. "We shouldn't." You whispered.
"It's not sex." His hands were on your ass, encouraging you to grind against his dick. Your body moved with a mind of its own, the friction adding to the heat bubbling in your core. "Just a little cockwarming. It's no big deal."
"I don't know..." You knew there were reasons to say no but none of them came to mind anymore. You were so needy and horny and you felt yourself melting into every touch.
"It'll feel good. Don't you want to feel good?" He pressed his lips to your ear, whispering softly. His finger found your clit, toying with the sensitive bud as you rolled your hips against him.
You didn't answer, freezing up while pleasure coursed through you. Your cunt ached, desperate to be filled with him. You buried your face in his neck, panting as you whined silently in response.
"C'mon, princess." He fingered you faster, a sadistic grin spreading on his face. You were close. He could tell you were close from how fucking wet you were. Even his balls were soaked. "You want me to stop?" He slowed his ministrations, watching your reaction carefully.
"Don't stop." You immediately murmured. Your core frustratingly teetered on edge, frowning at your stepfather for toying with you like this. "Fuck," you moaned softly, careful to remain as silent as possible. You'd had sex before but college boys were nothing compared to him. You'd never ever wanted someone so bad. "I wanna cockwarm you..."
"Good girl." Toji grinned, and the praise went straight to your cunt. He lined himself up, your natural slick more than enough lubrication despite his size. It was a tight fit, he slowly eased your hips down until he bottomed out with a groan. "So good for me... my perfect angel..." admiration dripped from his lips.
The praise alone was enough for your pussy to flutter around him. Your back arched, a lewd expression on your face as your gaze met his. He smirked, now knowing how easy it would be to make you cum. "Stay still for me, princess. No matter what." You eagerly nodded your head, hoping for more praise. But he said nothing, instead groping your tits before latching on again.
He paid close attention to your irregular breathing. As his tongue and teeth tugged at your nipple, one of his hands toyed with your other breast. His free hand slid down your torso and into your panties, swirling around your clit. Your breath hitched, your cunt tightening around him. Feeling how full his big dick made you. You were getting close again as desire bubbled in your core.
You sighed with ecstasy, obediently doing your best not to move around. Slick now drooled onto the base of his cock, your sweet pussy clenching around him as your pleasure heightened, a familiar heat swirling within you. You felt so sensitive, fighting the instincts that were desperate for friction. You bit your knuckle holding back the moan that threatened to burst as Toji's movements sped up.
Your whole body tensed up, your orgasm suddenly and violently washing through you. Your cunt squeezed him as he helped you ride through the pleasure, his hands now gripping your hips to hold you in place. He continued to suck your tit, although his movement slowed to allow you to breathe. Still, he refused to pull out until he felt an aftershock or two strangle his cock.
"Such a good girl." Toji murmured in the shell of your ear, tugging you against his chest and leaning back onto the sofa.
Tumblr media
@sourpeachsayshi
109 notes · View notes
Text
Dear Hearts and Gentle People 18
Summary: Cooper comforts you after the two of you leave Vault 3. There isn't anything he can do to take your memories of that place away, but he sure as hell could try.
Pairings: The Ghoul | Cooper Howard x Female Reader
Warnings: Not many? Hurt/Comfort. Cooper does his best. Drug use and sexual assault are mentioned. Lots of cuddles and crying.
Masterlist
Tumblr media
You don't remember how you got out of the Vault, and you don't care to recall how either. You lay in bed in your room at the Atomic Wrangler for three days, recovering from the copious amount of chems that the fiends have shoved into your system. Julie Farkus had told Cooper that she was lucky to be alive and that most women didn't have someone that could save them like he had for you.
Cooper had grit his teeth, lips pulled in a nasty sneer, and told the good doctor that it'd almost been too late, but he was just glad that Julie could help him. Today was the first time that you felt up to more than just sleeping, and the ghoul made sure to be by your side. You sat up, back pressed against the wall, and played with the plate of food in your lap.
"You gonna eat, smoothskin?" He asks and shifts his weight in the stool beside your bed. Cooper's been here for the better part of those three days, only leaving for necessary reasons and never for long. The bounty hunter is dressed down, only his jeans and button-up and boots, and you finally look at him.
You clear your throat, lips pulled in a harsh frown. "Yeah, I will."
Cooper doesn't like the tone you use and sits forward, elbows on his knees, and he stares you down, "Do I need to feed you?"
You scoff at the vauge threat and pierce a piece of steak before popping the morsel in your mouth and slowly chew it. You eye Cooper then swallow, "Happy?"
The ghoul narrows his amber eyes, "Not yet."
He watches your lips purse and look away from him, shoulders slumping and hands going limp. He doesn't expect to see tears growing in your eyes or to watch the way you fold into yourself, lips trembling as a broken apology spills from between your lips.
Cooper rises and takes the plate away from you, setting it to the side so that he can crawl into the bed with you. He sits against the headboard and pulls you back so that you rest between his legs against his chest. You don't bother fighting against him and simply cry a little harder when his hands rub soothing motions across your back.
"Wanna talk about it yet?" Cooper offers quietly. You've not said shit to him about your time in Vault 3. He understood the big picture when he'd arrived down there. His smoothskin had been treated worse than a fucking dog, drugged up and left to wallow in your own filth.
You shake your head. You don't understand how Cooper even wants to touch you right now. You feel disgusting, and the phantom feel of the fiends' hands still haunt you at every second of the day. You want another shower, but hot water was a precious commodity.
"Stop apologizing," Cooper rumbles after a moment, and you snap your mouth shut, unaware that you'd just said everything out loud. His arms tighten around you, and you bask in the strength of the hard planes of his body.
"Nothing those bastards did to you could make me love you any less."
His words only make you sob harder, but you can't help but feel relief at them. Your ghoul loved you and had taken on an entire vault of chem addled cannibals to save you. He had come out on top and dragged your sorry body all the way back to Freeside, snarling and demanding help from the followers.
"Thank you," you say, and press yourself as close to Cooper as you can. You never want to let go, and you never want to see the inside of a vault ever again.
"You're mine, Darlin', "Cooper rumbles and tightens his hold on you, "And nothin' will ever stop me from comin' for you."
*sorry if this one is a little lackluster. I had some trouble with it. ❤️*
63 notes · View notes
nobodyfamousposts · 2 days
Text
My-Crack-Ulous: Norm 2
For Norm, most of his time with Lila was spent studying up on the events of the past few years and the current state of Paris in order to get up to date. 
For Lila, most of her time with Norm was spent trying to find the perfect way to make her wishes so they wouldn’t keep backfiring.
Which was hilarious to Norm, since her attempts only made things worse.
“One of these wishes is bound to work!” Lila insisted, starting to look almost as haggard and unhinged as a certain crock-pot.
Norm rolled his eyes.
Geez, he was just kind of insulted by this point. One would think after the first two wishes going completely wrong that the wish-maker would put one and two together and give up by that third wish.
Here Lila Rossi was a good hundred or so wishes PAST that magic number and she was STILL insisting that Ladybug and Dupain-Cheng—who totally aren’t the same person wink wink—were responsible for turning her wishes against her. Somehow, for the girl who liked to think she was so ingenious, she hasn’t figured out that it was his own magic screwing with her.
Honestly, he was kind of insulted. It was like she didn’t even KNOW him!
…which she didn’t, now that he thought about it. He’d barely gotten out that he was a genie before she started on the wishing. 
Not like he was going to do anything to change that, though, but still! He felt kind of used. Maybe he should talk to her about it? She was still young—only a teenager and probably deserved a chance to learn and grow or something.
…nah.
“You’re doing great, kid.” He said blithely as he looked over a news article instead.
Apparently Dimmsdale had vanished from the face of the Earth as far as he could find, so either Turner had done something or he was in an entirely different dimension. Either way, twerp was gone and not his problem.
Thus, he instead used his time wisely—or at least more wisely than his new victim at any rate. As such, he decided to take the time to learn about how things worked before he tried to mess around too much. Particularly regarding these heroes and the whole “Hawk Moth” deal. Maybe he should have tried more to get in touch with that guy, but given some of those “akumas” he’d been making….yeah, no, Norm was better off staying out of that.
Though the Miraculous seemed familiar. He could swear he encountered them before. Hadn’t he known a guy? Cat guy? 
Eh, it was a while ago. Probably nothing.
He picked up the next random reading material in the pile and…ooh, a magazine. He ignored Lila muttering to herself while looking over the magazine and…wow, this blond kid really was everywhere, wasn’t he?
Creepy. Seriously, was he the only one kind of weirded out over the hyped up over focus on a 14 year old? 
No? Just him?
Lila glared at him. Part of her was tempted to try and demand answers, but that would be admitting there was some issue. And there was none!
She was fine! Perfect, in fact! Now she had her own genie and magic to influence the world with! The only problem was she couldn’t use it on Ladybug.
Clearly, this was Ladybug’s fault. She must be doing SOMETHING to interfere with her new magic!
Typical. She just couldn’t let Lila have anything good. Not Adrien. Not fame. Not even the crushing defeat of her enemies.
But Lila would prevail—oh yes! All she had to do was find the right wish to get everything she deserved!
"Soon." She muttered with a smirk. "Soon..."
____________________
I wish everyone, including Ladybug, believed I was her best friend!"
Three days later and nothing.
Ladybug didn't come to visit her. She didn't interact with her outside of battles. Or even IN battles except to tell her to stay out of the battles. And nobody new was cozying up to Lila in a way that would suggest they were under the effects of her wish.
"What gives?!" She demanded to Norm, finally having enough of waiting. Though to be fair, Lila had never been very patient. "Why isn't Ladybug being friendly with me?"
She glared at the picture of the superhero on her computer. No updates. No news. Nothing out of character. And no sign of even caring about Lila the way she should!
"If Ladybug thought I was her best friend, shouldn't she be friendly towards me? Hell, she should be spilling her identity to me by now!”
Norm, being rather bored by this point, shrugged. Truthfully, even he didn't know for sure why the superhero remained unchanged, but he had a few gueses.
"Well, your wish didn't take into account who Ladybug is."
"What is THAT supposed to mean?!" She demanded.
He sighed. "Kid, your wish made Ladybug think you were her best friend. The only reason she wouldn't tell you her identity would be because she wouldn't tell her own non-wish-influenced best friend her identity."
"Shouldn't she have trusted me with a Miraculous at least?" She questioned.
"Not if Ladybug was understandably ticked off that her "best friend" would claim a connection between them to the world for popularity and decide she's not trustworthy or a true friend." Norm replied. People don't always stay best friends, after all. And while the wish may have made Ladybug think Lila was her best friend in the moment, all the OTHER things Lila had done would likely sour that quickly.
So ultimately, a waste of a wish.
Then of course, came the other problem of that wish…
“Tell us who Ladybug is or else!” Demanded the scarred and nasty-looking man, knife in hand and pointed directly at Lila.
Lila, who had been kidnapped from school that afternoon by this thug and his followers, tied to a chair, and interrogated on the one thing she would already have told everyone had she known!
“I don’t know!” Lila insisted.
“Bullshit! You’re her best friend!”
“As Ladybug! She hasn’t told me her true identity!”
Another thug scoffed. “What kind of best friend are ya, then?”
She glared at him in outrage.
Fortunately for her, that moment was interrupted as an akuma chose that time to slam through a wall a la a certain American meme.
“Lila Rossi!”
The thugs screamed in fear and either scattered or were knocked over by the falling wall. The few who remained were quickly taken care of with a zap or three from the akuma’s wand.
Thank goodness!
“Finally! It’s about time—”
But the akuma gave her no further time to speak, instead pointing his wand at her and glaring ominously.
“Tell us who Ladybug is or else.”
Lila stared.
Was the akuma serious? Was Hawk Moth serious? They were allies! He should know she isn’t actually Ladybug’s friend or anything close to an ally, so why was he sending the akuma after her?
…oh.
Oh right. The wish she made was for “Everyone”. And that included Hawk Moth, too.
“NORM!”
____________________
“I wish Ladybug would be crushed by an akuma!”
One hour later... Lila watched, seething in rage through binoculars as the akuma "Lady-Fan”, Ladybug’s apparent “#1 Fan” was taking Ladybug on a rather lovely date to a high scale restaurant the likes of which Lila herself couldn't get into.
Even Hawk Moth appeared none-too-pleased given the illuminated mask around the akuma’s face—not that the akuma herself even noticed, only having eyes for Ladybug and not about to let anything stand between her and some one-on-one time with her favorite hero.
Which would be sweet…to anyone who wasn’t Lila.
“Norm, undo it!”
Norm looked up from a movie—the Ladybug movie of all things.
“You sure you wanna use a wish on this? It’s an akuma. It’ll just be resolved on its own.”
“UnDO it. NOW.”
He sighed and snapped his fingers.
With a poof, Ladybug was suddenly alone with a very much no-longer-akumatized fan…but still in the restaurant—and since no Lucky Charm had been used, the two apparently decided to continue with their “hangout”.
Lila glared.
“There. Happy?” Norm asked.
“No! Not until Ladybug is destroyed!” Lila shouted, seemingly uncaring to the potential of anyone nearby being able to hear her.
Norm rolls his eyes before turning back to his movie with a shake of his head and a mutter about a waste of a wish.
58 notes · View notes
nouvell-vague · 17 hours
Text
begin again.
warnings: toxic relationship, mentioning weight, slight cheating, insecurity, i think there's more but please let me know !!
you've been thinking that love isn't worth it and only makes you heartbroken and crying every night for the past eight months. you got used to ellie's behavior while you were in a relationship with her. she was always late on your dates—always. even being 30 minutes late was pretty early for her, or worse, she didn't come at all without telling you. she didn't like it when you wore any heels, even those mary-jane shoes you've been dreaming about, because she thought you looked uglier wearing them. ellie is the one who makes you worry about getting fat whenever you gain even a small amount of weight. she doesn't like your appearance if it doesn't match with her taste. she never laughed on your funniest jokes, always mocking your music taste and called it gross. you spent three weeks with crying alone in your bedroom after you caught her cheating with another girl, and it's not just a 'girl', the girl she cheated with was your close friend that you always vented about ellie to her which makes you think you didn't even deserve any love. you broke up with ellie right after the night you caught her, through message because you couldn't even stand yourself to see her face, it hurts so bad, so bad that you thought all girls were the same as ellie. ellie had made you so afraid to having a relationship again, with anyone.
then you met abby anderson a few months after you ended relationship with ellie. she's one of dina's friends that she had been friends with since 9. basically, dina is a matchmaker between you two since she was tired of abby because she had a crush on you for a while and she always vented to dina. you didn't really know about her since you always set your boundaries because ellie was really easy to get jealous. you were full of skepticism at first because you weren't really healed from the past, but dina convinced you that abby is different from ellie, completely different. the first meeting with abby was not really fine; you didn't pay much attention as your mind was busy with your fears and you barely listened to her voice. but as the time went by, what you feared about her was absolutely wrong. a month after the first meet, you could see how abby treated you and it was... different—no, ‘different’ wasn't enough to describe it. abby did things that ellie never did to you, and she didn't do anything that ellie always did to you.
dina was right about abby. she's entirely different from your ex-girlfriend. she always comes earlier than you on every date, or when she comes over your house—she'd came 10 minutes earlier than she said. she bought you a pair of heels that had been on your wishlist for months, saying that those heels looks so good on you.she always got your back every time you feel insecure about yourself, she would praise you, saying sweet things to your ear. she never mock your music taste, instead, she's amused. “you are.. wow, i've never seen any person who has a lot of music vinyls in my life like.. ever! do you mind if i play one of them? maybe i would like it.” then she played one of taylor swift's vinyl on record player, and she liked it, loved it even. which is why ‘so high school’ stayed on her 1st on repeat songs for months. abby laughs on your jokes, every jokes, even when you tell one of your jokes that made ellie pissed off, abby would laughing as she throw her head back like a little kid. “that is the funniest joke, you know?” oh, and it feels so strange to you because your ex would never do that, ever. saturday night, abby came over for another movie night and after the movie ended, you both shared stories, but you struggled to tell yours properly because you felt a bit shy and worried—worried that abby wouldn't listen as attentively as you did. however, she proved wrong. she listened to your stories, got excited, and, god, she even remembered your stories too well.
and on wednesday, you were on a date with abby, again. you two walking out from the cafe, your arms hugging abby's, wide smile on your face. you were about to get into abby's car, while she already inside. but you couldn't move your body as you saw your ex-girlfriend, alone, standing not really far away from you and looking at your eyes. there's no such gaze that you always saw on her eyes back then, you couldn't tell what she was doing. abby was confused why were you still outside, she went out from the car, “is there anything wrong—oh,” abby approached you right away as she knew what were you staring at, swiftly opening the car door for you while keeping her other hand on your back. “hey, let's go. don't we have another place to go?” your eyes were switched from ellie to abby, little awkward smile appeared on your lips. “yeah– sorry." you muttered. once you two already inside, no one breaks the silence, it was all awkward. you couldn't help yourself when your mind went back to those bitter memories, you didn't even realized your mouth opened as you started to talk, “so, abby, uh.. months ago when ellie—” right before you could say more, abby put her left hand on your palm hand, “angel, i just got an idea. what about we watch some movies this christmas? i used to watch those movies with my family every christmas, and i think you'll love it. what do you think?” your gaze was locked on hers, watching how well she tried to change the topic so you wouldn't have to bring up about your ex-girlfriend again. abby smiled to you warmly, waiting for your answer. and you couldn't help yourself from the tears on your eyes—you've never experienced anything like this before, not with ellie, who never appreciated you the way abby does. you began to think that perhaps love is worthwhile if you find the right person. maybe love doesn’t always lead to heartbreak, and maybe you can open your heart again and learn to trust someone new. in fact, you feel incredibly loved with abby, and she makes you feel like the luckiest person in the world.
the tears were coming down through your cheeks and it keeps going as abby's hand wipes your tears, “hey, hey, hey, angel, are you okay? is there something wrong or my idea was—” you shook your head in response, trying to calm down, but you were so overwhelmed by your feelings. “i'm fine, abby. i just...” you trailed off, looking at abby, who looked completely worried. you let out a small chuckle through your tears. “i'm really fine. i'm sorry for bringing up about her again all of so sudden when it's only two of us here, and i.. i never felt like this before when you tried to change the conversation and i really appreciate that, and all things you did to me it's all make me feel like.. i really deserve so much love because back then you know that i was—” abby cuts your words as her lips pressed against yours, and you didn't think twice to melt into her kiss. it was full of love and affection. once the kiss broke, you could see her warm smile, hand caressing your cheeks gently and wiping your tears away at the same time, “shh, don't bring that up again, okay? i know back then was too painful for you, and i want you to get over it because i want you to be happier than before, you really deserve so much love, angel.” you really sure about your face turns red as she speaks, you couldn't hide it. her words were made you feel better. “abby, can we.. uh..” it's hard for you to say the right words as you want to ask her for another kiss, but you were too shy. “speak up, sweetheart. before we go to gelato store that you recommended to me earlier?” oh really, those nicknames were always successfully made you flustered every time. “i– oh, fuck it.” asking her only prolonged things, so rather than wasting time stuttering, you chose to kiss her with your eyes closed. you felt embarrassed but happy when you heard abby chuckle during the kiss. and if dina asking you if you have already healed from the past after this date, you would answer it in less than ten seconds. yes, you healed.
Tumblr media
a/n: i don't even know what am i writing right now but yeaaahhhhh !!!!!!! another weird fic is out !!!!
27 notes · View notes
xxshadowbabexx · 1 day
Text
Tumblr media
Melodrama: Liability 
Part one, part two, part three, part four, part five (this), part six, part seven, part eight, part nine, part ten, part eleven
check series masterlist for warnings
Tumblr media
You were glad the taxi driver stayed silent as you wept in the back seat. 
Today was your birthday. Woo fucking hoo, because Johnny was fucking Ghost. 
It’s fine, you told yourself. You don’t need Johnny anyway. And he was always going to be a cheater. 
You don’t know why you thought today would change that. 
You’re mot sure what’s worse- the fight you and Johnny got into, or the fact that he called up Ghost after. He said something about “needing someone who cares” as if you were the one who didn’t care. Whatever. Those weren’t the words stuck in your head. 
You’ve seen Johnny get angry a plenty, but never at you, or at least not like that. 
“Maybe I made a bloody mistake! But did ye ever think tha’ the mistake was nae cheatin’ it was dating ye in the first place?”
“Being around you is poison, hen. Sorry for wanting to breathe,”
You collapse onto the floor when you get home, not even making it to the door before sobs wreaked havoc on your body. Your chest convulsed as you wailed, plump and salty tears running down your face and hitting the floor. 
You love him. You love him!
Why isn’t that ever enough?
Why aren’t you ever enough?
Johnny’s not the first person to cheat on you. The only relationship not yet soured is the one you have with yourself. Ironic, since you give them everything and leave yourself nothing. 
Your phone lights up. Probably Johnny, you don’t check. 
Then it lights up again, and this time you catch the name before the screen darkens. 
Kyle. 
With shaking hands, you reach for your phone. Two messages- both from Kyle. You open them. 
Kyle: hey, i was with ghost when he left to see johnny so i figured something happened
Kyle: i know we aren’t close or anything but i’m here if you need anything
You were about to reply when he sent another text. 
Kyle: also happy birthday
•••
You were a bit tipsy. Alright, maybe more than that- but the wine Kyle brought was doing wonders for your melancholy. The food was hitting the spot too, and damn, Kyle was actually pretty good company. 
Funny, sweet, and good at making you forget why you had been miserable. Good looking too. 
You set down your glass, biting your lip, “C’mon Kyle, up up,”
He raised his brows, “Up?”
You nodded, “Yeah, I wanna dance,” He laughed but did as he was told. The moment he was on his feet you put your hands on his shoulders and began to sway, head resting on his chest. 
You didn’t know, but Kyle was smiling to himself as he put his hands on your hips. “Want me to put on sone music?”
“No! I mean- no I like,” you frowned, why couldn’t you ever play it cool? “I like listening to your heartbeat,”
“Yeah?” he asked and you nodded. You heard him chuckle and then he… he pressed a kiss to your forehead. 
You pulled back, staring into his eyes, “Kyle,”
“Yes?”
“Kiss me,”
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes, “No can do,”
Oh. “But-“
He brought his hand up to your cheek, placing his thumb over your pouting lips, “You deserve better, hun. I know everything is confusing right nos, but I’m not going to let you sink down to his levels,”
You knew what he meant, and a sober you would’ve felt flattered, but you weren’t sober. And you weren’t flattered. 
“Awh love,” his thumb brushed your under-eyes, “No tears, okay?”
You nodded, and laid your head back on his chest. 
You both resumed your dancing in silence. 
Tumblr media
© xxshadowbabexx 2024. please do not steal, copy, plagiarize, translate, or repost any of my works without my permission. do not steal any elements of my theme without permission
42 notes · View notes
cloudedgalaxies · 8 hours
Text
One Night Remains
Leona Kingscholar loves sleep more than anything else in Twisted Wonderland. So he is determined to continue sleeping all through the night when he has to host two freshmen crashing in his dorm for taking a rather stupid deal he had nothing to do with. It wasn't his problem.
Yet for some absurd reason, the three nights that the prefect stays in Savanaclaw, he doesn't get a wink.
Chooser, Chosen
(part one) (part two) (part three) (read on AO3)
Word count: 7.7k | (this is the song Yuu sings during that one part :3)
Tumblr media
Leona wanted to rip his ears out. As small as Grim and Yuu were, he hadn’t known that they could be so loud. Or so shrill. It could only be called singing by the most insane souls in Twisted Wonderland. Ruggie had almost tried to escape when they’d started shrieking at the top of their lungs, but if Leona had to endure this torture, then so did he.
“Fine,” he finally spat out, sick of covering his already-flattened ears with his hands. Their voices still got through the tiniest of spaces that he didn’t know he wasn’t covering, and he had no idea how. “Quit your screeching.”
Yuu was quicker to stop than Grim. He seemed to be especially enjoying this, Leona found. But a particularly sharp glare shut him up just fine, he also found, and finally, his ears were saved. “You’ll help us?” the weasel asked, voice hoarse from how he’d been belting without a care in the world just a moment ago.
If it was up to him, he wouldn’t be doing any of this at all. But Leona ran a hand down his face, while his ears rang and throbbed even after they’d closed their mouths. “We’ll see. That’s the best you’re goin’ to get,” he added, giving Yuu a warning look as she opened her mouth again. “Give it a rest.”
“Please never sing again. I don’t think I could take it,” Ruggie begged, looking everything like he would ram his head into a wall if they started back up. Leona would probably join him. “You’re a lot crueler than you look, Yuu.”
Out of everything she could have done, the herbivore grinned. Leona almost wanted to ask where the audacity came from, to be that cheeky while she goaded a lion in his own den. “I’m taking Leona’s advice,” she told him, making the housewarden scoff when he heard it. That only made her grin widen, annoyingly. “I’ll use my spine on you, too, thanks.”
“That’s just askin’ to get taught a lesson,” he growled back, but found that she hardly seemed scared at that. What a strange herbivore she was. “You got a plan, or are you expecting us to go in blind?”
It didn’t take her long to make the final touches in her head before putting it into words. She told them all about what she’d gone through the past two days, and what her torture had taught her about the Octavinelle groupers. And as loathe as Leona was to admit after she had nearly rendered him deaf and crazy, he found that her plan could almost work. “Wow.” Ruggie whistled, and Leona could tell that he was seeing Yuu in a new light. Leona was too, if he was being honest. She wasn’t all that doe-eyed anymore, he supposed. “That’s pretty gusty. Sure you can handle it?”
Yuu just shrugged. “I’ve dealt with them for the past two days, and I’m still standing.”
“What’ll you do if it ends up going sideways?” Leona asked.
That just made her grin again. Leona fought the urge to sigh and just go to bed. “Are you saying you think you’ll mess up?”
Again with the spine. Leona couldn’t stop himself from smirking, as his tail swished with something he almost wanted to call amusement. “I can handle the cephalo-punk just fine. I’m sayin’ I don’t exactly have my utter faith in you to make it work. No offense.”
Leona didn’t know how to feel when Yuu’s grin did not lessen. If anything, that same dastardly, twisted glint from her first night there returned, much more visible now than before, now that she didn’t have the same naive look about her. “If I can’t go back to Ramshackle, you’ll just be seeing a lot of me every night,” she told them, even throwing in a cheeky wink as she did right alongside Grim.
His smirk dropped. “Are you threatenin’ me?” Leona was strangely more surprised than angered. Yuu just shrugged. She shrugged, out of all the things she could have done. Leona didn’t know if he’d wanted one answer over the other to be perfectly honest, but the lack of a clear one certainly wasn’t what he’d hoped to get as a response. He sighed the deepest sigh he had in a long time, holding his forehead as his eyes rolled. It was strange how he was trying his hardest not to laugh even though he felt like he should definitely be a bit more offended than he was. “Here I thought you were a goody two-shoes.”
“I’m certainly more of one than most students here. You included, I’m afraid.” Leona had to make himself give her a hard look instead of let that laugh get even closer to finding its way out of his throat. “It’s up to you if you two want to help us. We’re not forcing you to do anything.”
Of course they weren’t. Grim snickered, sounding a suspicious amount like Ruggie while the sophomore sighed instead. “Only for you, you scavengers,” he grumbled, ears flicking as he mirrored the look Leona had. Except, it was directed at his housewarden a moment after he’d shot it at the herbivore. “What’d you tell him, Leona?” He wished he’d said nothing at all, now that it was giving him this much grief. How did everything become Leona’s messes to clean up in the span of one night? 
“You’d better hurry ‘n get some rest,” Grim taunted, a smirk on his face that was much too arrogant for a pipsqueak like him. “This could be your last night of quality sleep, y’know.”
“I’ll get right on that, O Great Grim,” Ruggie leered, shooting both Ramshackle students one last dour look. “Sure glad I ain’t rooming with you guys right now.”
“Says the one who got this all started in the first place,” Leona shot right back, turning his glare over to his dormmate instead of his freeloaders. As Ruggie slinked out of his room, the lunatic grinned at him, giving Leona a wink just as he shut the door. Leona didn’t want to know what exactly was running through the hyena’s head, but he was certain that if he ever found out, he’d want to do more than just beat him in spelldrive.
And then it was just the three of them once again, in beautiful, blissful silence. Only to be ruined once more when Grim started talking again. “You really should be more villainous, minion. It gets stuff done,” he mused, giving her a grin as he hopped onto the couch. Then he yawned, already curling up on the cushions before Leona himself had the chance to make it back to his bed. “I think I’ll sleep, too.”
“You really think you get to, after the stunt you just pulled?” Leona growled, making Grim’s fur bristle as his eyes shot back open at the tone. There were so many ways to make him pay. Leona was having a hard time deciding just which exactly he wanted to execute on the weasel that night.
But then Yuu—stubborn, arrogant, persistent Yuu—just had to smile at him, in a way that was just apologetic enough yet still sure of herself to make his anger dissipate. “We need all the sleep we can get if we’re going to get tomorrow to work,” she reasoned, and Leona didn’t know how to feel about the way he didn’t really want to fight her. “It’ll get us out of your hair, at the very least.”
Leona scoffed, flicking his tail as he rolled his eyes. “This is the last night you’re gettin’ free board,” he reminded, trying to look like he was still irritated more than he really was. “Even if this doesn’t work.”
“Thank you for letting us stay here for the three nights you’ve already let us,” Yuu told him anyway, making his tail swish all the more. “We haven’t been the greatest houseguests.”
“Is that so?” he mused flatly. “Can’t say I noticed.”
She smiled at him again, a little more apologetic than before. So Leona rolled his eyes, dismissing her attempt to apologize when he hadn’t demanded one in the first place. Then she sighed when she turned around, finally catching the way that Grim had taken advantage of her diffusing the situation to fall into slumber. He was already long gone somehow, despite being in the lion’s den that nearly became his grave. Leona didn’t know if it was foolishness or arrogance on Grim’s part, but either way, it wasn’t the greatest testament to prove there was much of a brain in the weasel’s skull.
“One of these days, I’ll beat him to sleep.” There were the hints of a laugh in Yuu’s voice, as she reached out to gently tug the blanket higher on Grim.
“Maybe I’ll get to sleep, too,” Leona added bitterly. It made that laugh become stronger, ringing in his ears despite how quiet it still was. 
“Unless we mess up tomorrow,” she reminded, with that devilish smile that only seemed to get more evil each time she flashed it. “Then neither of us will, ever again.”
That laugh returned, louder now as Leona glowered at her with a swishing tail. Yuu just gave him a grin, so he forced his expression to become even darker. “Why are you helpin’ him, herbivore?” he asked, finding that he wanted to know the answer now, when it was all of a sudden his problem, too. “Helpin’ any of the suckers who made a deal, for that matter. It wasn’t your mess to clean up.”
Yuu shrugged. It made Leona’s glower become a bit more real than it had been. “They made some bad decisions. We all do that. They should have known better, but it isn’t right for them to have to suffer so much for a mistake. And besides, some of them are my friends.” Maybe she was still doe-eyed after all, Leona found himself thinking. She looked up at him with those innocent eyes, and the faintest smile appeared on her face. “Why are you helping me?” she asked, making something weak in him almost startle.
Leona gave her an unamused stare in return. “If you really have to ask that, maybe you’re more dimwitted than I thought.”
She giggled. Leona’s tail swished just a bit stronger. “Of course. I hope the great Leona Kingscholar can forgive my threatening of his sleep.” That was all it was. She smiled at him, in that way that told him she was apologizing silently. 
There were so many levels of disrespect to that comment that Leona didn’t even want to start unpacking it. So all he did was growl in reply, watching with slitted eyes as she crouched to dig through her bag. It was to get her magic potion, Leona realized, as she procured a small vial that held liquid that was an iridescent, shimmering black. He didn’t exactly think it was the safest looking thing to drink, he realized as he glowered at it. It didn’t matter that it came from the headmage—for all the years Leona had been at Night Raven College, he’d known the man to cut corners and skimp whenever possible. There could be a thousand things wrong with that potion, that Yuu was foolish enough to swallow and take without any questions asked.
Before he could school his features back to normal, the herbivore just had to glance up at him, catching the way his eyes smoldered. “Professor Crewel told me it’s safe. There aren’t any lasting side effects if I stop taking it,” she told him, irritatingly guessing the reason behind his annoyance correctly. “Doesn’t stop it from tasting disgusting, though.”
“Whatever you say,” Leona mused, putting the dull tone of boredom in his voice. He still watched as she uncapped the vial, feeling something strange grip his insides as the potion disappeared behind her lips, eliciting a faint grimace to darken her expression. Leona didn’t know how to feel about the way it made something sour his own tongue, as though he had been the one to take the potion instead of her.
He watched Yuu carefully in those first few moments after she took it. If nothing else, it was certainly effective. The air shimmered around her just like the potion in every way it could—it almost seemed like stardust had surrounded the herbivore for a few seconds, as it glittered in the space around her while it did something magical to her scent. It was the same thing that had happened the first night, and the second. But now he was able to watch and study, to see just what exactly the potion did to her to hide her in plain sight.
Only when Yuu gave him a half-uncertain smile did Leona finally realize that he’d been staring. She’d had this happen to her every night since she’d gotten to this world, no doubt, so Yuu was hardly fazed in the slightest. It left her able to see just how Leona watched her, trying to figure out just what it was that was happening to her. “Some potion he gives you,” he mused dully, pretending he hadn’t been caught. “There’s ancient magic in there.”
She hadn’t been told that, it seemed, because Yuu looked surprised. “There is?” Leona hummed as a substitute for a nod. There had to be a jumble of spells and enchantments weaved together to make something that could do so many things at once. For it to be so potent, there was no doubt there were some parts so archaic that Leona was surprised they still existed. “You can tell?” she asked. Her surprise changed to awe as he hummed again, making her eyes sparkle and shimmer like the potion. “Just from seeing it?”
“Isn’t all that hard, once you know what to look for.” Even so, Leona felt the hints of something proud tug his lips up into something of a smirk, as Yuu continued to look at him in that way. “You’re starin’, herbivore,” he purred, finding that he wanted to see if he could get back at her for the way she’d tormented him earlier.
He almost chuckled at the way she startled, blinking hard as she clasped her hands together and stared down at them instead. It let him catch the hints of pink rising to her ears, no doubt dusted on her cheeks as well. “Sorry.”
“Sure ‘ya are.” The pink darkened. 
Worry stung his nose again, but it wasn’t as sharp as it had been before, during the nights when she had been distressed. It was gentle, if anything. It reminded Leona of a fluttering heartbeat, which he wondered if Yuu’s was doing when his smirk deepened. “We should go to bed,” she decided, and Leona wondered what insane part of him it was that almost wanted to stay up just a bit longer.
“Oi. Where do you think you’re going?” he asked instead, making Yuu pause from how she’d nearly joined Grim on the couch yet again. “Come here.”
The herbivore blinked again, that awe swapped out for confusion. “I didn’t think you’d want me to sleep there after I threatened you.”
“So you did threaten me.” Leona grinned at the way that made her face flush once again, changing that pink into a true red. “I ain’t about to banish you just ‘cause you got more arrogant.” Yuu rolled her eyes a little, but she listened anyway, crawling onto the bed alongside him. Even though the potion had messed with the way she smelled, Leona could still make out his scent was on her without much effort, surrounding her just like that stardust had. 
He wondered if it would still, once she was no longer staying in Savanaclaw. “I wouldn’t blame you, if you did,” she admitted. “I wasn’t the greatest of people just now.”
“If you think that was somethin’ real terrible, then you haven’t been in this school long enough.” That got Yuu to smile, the tiniest of laughs escaping her lips. Leona’s ears twitched at it, how it still seemed to echo in his mind without fail. “You gotta earn your place, though,” he told her, smirking at the way that made Yuu look at him in equal parts surprise and suspicion. “Sing something for me, if you like bein’ a songbird so much.”
Her head tilted ever-so-slightly, and Leona found himself thinking that it was almost cute, the way she did that when she was confused. The thought was instantly shoved out of his head with a scowl. “You practically just begged me to not do exactly that,” she reminded, the hints of a disbelieving grin appearing despite the way her brows knit together.
“You’re more delusional than I thought if you think I’d ever beg for anything.” Leona hummed as he laced his fingers behind his head, leaning back to let his back touch the headboard. “That couldn’t have been your best shot. Maybe it was the weasel’s, but not yours.”
Leona’s suspicions were proved right when the herbivore huffed, bringing her hands up to nervously fidget her hair into the beginnings of a braid. Maybe she really was a songbird. She certainly got as flighty as them when she was anxious, always moving in whatever way she could manage. “I haven’t really sung for anyone before,” she admitted. “Except my brother.”
The smirk on Leona’s face just grew all the bigger. “Even better. I’m your first,” he purred, making Yuu huff again and shoot him a glare that wasn’t all that sharp when her face was that flushed. “Shouldn’t have sang anything if you weren’t prepared for the consequences.”
Yuu gave him a pouty look, but she didn’t say anything else to argue with him. A sigh found its way out of her chest as she finished braiding her hair and lost her excuse to stay silent, eyes darting across something Leona couldn’t see. He almost thought she was going to deny him. And something strange and oddly gentle inside Leona told him that, if she really didn’t want to, he wouldn’t press. The next time she said anything to get out of it, he would let her.
But then she took in a breath, parting her lips. And she started to sing, making Leona quiet even his breaths so that he could listen.
 It was different from before, when Yuu had been screaming at the top of her lungs like a banshee. Her voice started off shaky and hesitant at first, almost fumbling over the first few words as nervousness rolled off her in waves. But then it became a little more confident, as she got through the first verse without a single complaint from Leona. It lost the tremble, replaced with something more intentional that wasn’t quite vibrato, but something just enough to make his ears stay pinned on her.
Yuu was not the best singer by any means. Nothing about her singing was remarkable—it was as ordinary as it could get. She didn’t look at him, eyes fixated on something invisible to Leona but almost seemed to act like a lifeline to her. Especially when her face had dusted pink, growing deeper in shade for every note she sang. He decided that was alright, he found. Leona wasn’t sure what he looked like at that moment, when he realized that Yuu’s voice might be one of the prettiest things he’d heard. He certainly wasn’t sure what he looked like when she reached the chorus, words making him almost sit up as he watched and listened.
I've spent a thousand nights
Lost in your emerald eyes
Lost in a place where I know
You can see my soul
Make me lose track of time
You and your emerald eyes
Finally found a place that I can call my home.
The last remnants of the song dissipated in the wind as she finished, as the words and melody echoed in Leona’s ears again and again. She blinked, and it seemed as though she’d come out of a trance when her hands tugged on the shirt of his she’d all but taken at this point, finally mustering a sheepish glance over at Leona. He was staring at her, he realized with a start, flicking his ears as he recollected himself. It was almost hard not to, when he’d realized that the glow of the moon and stars suited her so eerily well.
Leona smirked to hide that fact, laughing silently to himself about how it made her shoulders rise in embarrassment. “Not bad,” he mused, watching as she hid behind the hand fixing her glasses. “Better than your little performance earlier, at least.”
“I’m better with instruments,” she murmured, still fiddling with her shirt. “My voice isn’t the greatest, to be honest.”
Even though he had absolutely no reason to, Leona found his smirk becoming a bit more teasing. “Where’s that spine now?” Yuu rolled her eyes shyly, making his tail flick in amusement. It was only then that he realized it had found its way around the herbivore, curled around her so that the tip rested on her other side. “If you’re going to use it on me, then use it when you have reason to. Like now.”
At least she didn’t seem to notice his tail. So he kept it there. If he tried to move it away, she would just catch sight, Leona reasoned with himself. That would end up causing him unnecessary issues to deal with at a time he didn’t want to give himself any more problems than he had already. “Do you treat all herbivores this way, or just me?” she asked, the hints of a tease in her voice.
Leona’s smirk grew. “Who knows.”
She gave him a look that wasn’t at all sharp when she could hardly keep from laughing. “Fine,” Yuu relented, sighing a little as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Don’t regret that later, okay?”
The second part of what she said almost went over Leona’s head. It was almost impossible to listen, when he found himself the closest to the scar he’d given her than he’d ever been. He could only try to figure out how she hadn’t been keeled over when she’d first gotten it—how she wasn’t in pain even now, when it looked pink and tender while it still healed. But she’d somehow been the first person he saw when he came to, on that spelldrive field he’d almost turned to sand.
Yuu seemed to know that something had changed with Leona. Her smile changed a little too, growing softer and a little smaller. And for some reason, that made him feel like she was reassuring him. “I—” Leona started, then stopped, finding that his throat was strangely dry. Too dry to keep going, with words he didn’t have. He sighed, pushing his bangs up with his hand as unease churned his stomach. Even if he thought about it for longer than he did, he wasn’t sure if he’d been more unsure of what to say. “What did I do?” he finally got out, and he was displeased with the way his voice sounded. It did not tremble—a lion’s roar could never tremble—but it was not sure. It was not confident, like a prince—a king—should always be.
Leona wasn’t confident he wanted to know. It had been intentional, the way he hadn’t asked Ruggie or Jack anything about what happened that day. All he knew was that when he woke up, his body had ached like nothing before, while sand clung to him like a miasma. Yuu had taken up all of his vision, even though scarlet blood dripped from her head like rubies and matted her hair with grains of sand to make them look like golden flecks. And she hadn’t seemed to care in the slightest about what she looked like, because everything about her had been fixated on him when it shouldn’t have. 
Then the herbivore came into his dorm, smiling at him like he was someone worth looking at. She did that even now, when Leona was certain that all she should feel towards him was nothing but hate and resentment. “You made a bad decision.” Leona’s tail thumped on the mattress, certainly loud enough for Yuu to hear. She didn’t look at it. All she looked at was his eyes, with her own that were much too seeing for her own good, even when she was without her glasses making everything clear. “We all do sometimes.”
That was all she said. That was all she would say, Leona realized, as the silence continued to grow instead of lessen. He’d been ready to hear a tale of how he’d nearly turned everyone to sand. How he’d nearly destroyed everything the light touched because he didn’t get his way. How even now, Yuu didn’t trust him not to turn her to dust, and how she’d slink off his bed and away from him in the next moment.
And yet, none of that happened. Despite himself, when Leona next exhaled, it shook ever-so-slightly at the edges. “This might be a bad decision too, herbivore,” he warned, eyeing her and his room and—him, the failed usurper that should have known better than to think that anything could be his. “You got a warning already.”
Out of everything she should have done, Yuu did none of them. She took his hand instead, that had fallen in between them once it had left his hair. Leona was hit again with how much bigger his was, as she took the thing that had left her mangled and twisted and slotted her fingers between his. “You have claws,” she agreed, far too calm than she should have been as she glanced down at what she’d done. “That doesn’t mean they’re always out. And if they are…” Yuu looked up at him then, with eyes that were unspeakably beautiful in the moonlight. And she smiled, something warm and kind and much too sweet to ever be directed at someone like Leona Kingscholar. But there she was, doing just that anyway. “Well, we’ve seen that they can’t stop me.”
Leona stilled. He didn’t know what to do, when he looked at the herbivore and saw the way she looked at him. She was insane. She was annoying, making so many of her problems his without even asking him in the first place. She was an enigma. She was so stupidly, foolishly kind, even to him, even though she had seen just how far that kindness would take her.
And yet. “Big words for such a small herbivore,” he said, trying not to think about how the way her smile grew made something stupidly, childishly warm swell in his chest. 
It only grew when she laughed, still becoming everything Leona could ever hope to hear without fail once again. “You told me to use my spine.” Of course he did. Leona had to roll his eyes, because he wasn’t quite sure what he would have done if not that. “Now. Do you want to spend your potentially last peaceful night sleeping, or are you going to stay up talking to me?” she asked, a tease in her voice.
Leona tried not to think about the way that, strangely, perplexingly, he wasn’t quite sure he knew what the answer to that question was. “That’s rich, comin’ from you,” he huffed, trying not to let his smirk turn into a smile as Yuu giggled. She beat him to lay down first, leaving him to be last when she took second place before he could. And yet, he didn’t quite mind.
He didn’t turn away tonight. Neither did she, even as he made the lights switch off with a flick of the wrist and gave her every opportunity to. Hesitantly at first, Leona let his arm drape over her as he lowered it again—because it was more comfortable that way, instead of crammed to fit on top of his side. And then that same deranged, warm thing in him beat just a little erratically as Yuu shifted closer to him, pressing her scarred ear to his chest. He almost wanted to bat her away so that she wouldn’t hear the way it pounded—like an innocent, doe-eyed herbivore, he grimaced to himself—but found that he didn’t have the strength to. Especially when his ear flicked in the newfound silence, and he realized that when he rested his chin atop her head, that this was the most comfortable he’d been in a long time.
“Good night,” the herbivore whispered, as Leona found his hold on her tightening. He hummed in reply, listening to her faint breaths as she started to succumb to rest. If only he had more time to sleep, Leona mused as his eyes closed. He supposed he just had to make the precious little time he had count.
Tumblr media
After three endless days of fighting tooth and nail, Yuu and Grim were finally able to return to their dorm. It was just as dank and decrepit as it’d been when they left, but at this point, they wouldn’t have it any other way. This was their dorm, and despite everything it was, they were proud of it.
“Good to be back,” Grim exclaimed, already relaxing the moment they stepped into the foyer. Jade and Floyd didn’t seem like they had done anything substantial to the place in their absence, at least, because it looked largely the same as they’d left it. “And out of Leona’s room. I still can’t believe you got him to let you sleep in his bed. It’s totally unfair!”
Yuu hummed, finding that she’d given up trying to explain it to him. All that Grim saw was bias towards her, and the one way that would make him forgive it was a few cans of tuna sent his way. “I got you out of the deal with Azul,” she reminded nonetheless, laughing a little at the way he shrugged it off like it was nothing. “And I seem to remember you doing a lot more eating than waiting on tables tonight.”
“I had to do that already. It was time for me to get a break.” Yuu rolled her eyes, though there was a grin on her face. Of course. Grim yawned then, sharp teeth glinting in the abysmal lights of their dorm. “I’m beat, though. I wanna catch some winks before we hafta go back to class tomorrow.”
“Did you remember to do your homework?” Grim’s face dropped at Yuu’s reminder, giving her something akin to a glare as he scurried off in a hurry, trying to outrun the lecture he thought Yuu was going to give him. She decided she’d give him a head start, walking slowly through the halls as the reality of the day seeped into her.
Somehow, they had done it. The odds had seemed a million to one, even with Leona helping them, but they had managed to prevail. Albeit with a few scratches, Yuu found herself adding, as she moved her arm and felt the throbbing pain of her new injury burn her collarbone. It was nothing she couldn’t handle, though. 
Grim yowled suddenly, cutting through Yuu’s thoughts like a cleaver. He didn’t make that noise unless something was wrong. She quickened her pace, feeling her heart start to pound at a more worried rhythm. “Grim?” she called, as she rounded the corner to make it into the lounge.
“What are you doing here?” he exclaimed, his fur bristling while his eyes were kept wide.
It was then that Yuu saw the uninvited guest in their lounge, sprawled on the couch as though he was the prefect and not her. “Pipe down,” Leona hissed, shooting Grim a sharp look. “You woke me up.”
“So what? This isn’t your dorm!” Leona’s gaze turned into a glare as he sat up, resting his elbow on the armrest and propping his head up on a fist. Sleep still seemed to have a hold on him, and yet, even though his eyes were half-lidded, the emerald rings still held so much intensity and fire in them, as he stared at Grim. He did not leave. “Do something about this, minion!”
Yuu, despite Grim’s clear distress, found herself trying not to smile. “You go on ahead,” she offered, feeling that smile become even harder to hide when Leona’s eyes slid to her, the glare dimming somewhat. “I’ll be up soon.”
Grim didn’t need to be told twice. He hardly spared her a glance that was a mixture of appreciative and mournful as he darted up the stairs and out of sight with record speed. Yuu hadn’t even known that he could be that fast.
Leona didn’t seem to mind, content with lazily watching her just stand there. Yuu couldn't find it in herself to, either, when she finally let that smile faintly show on her face. “I thought you were sick of us," she said, finding that smile grow when he hummed. “You have your bed all to yourself now. I don’t think our couch is better than that.”
“It isn’t.” Yuu couldn’t stop the little laugh that got out of her. She winced slightly as it escaped her chest, making her wound throb with white-hot pain. Leona’s gaze changed at that, his eyelids raising ever-so-slightly. “C’mere,” he called, more a soft demand than anything else. She listened, feeling her heartbeat quicken as Leona sat up when she got closer. The intensity of his eyes never let up, even when her expression returned to normal.
His hand came up when she was finally close enough to satisfy him, though it did not touch her. Leona was waiting for her to say it was alright, she realized, something warm and gentle filling her chest when the way he glanced up at her eyes confirmed it. Yuu hummed, accepting his request, and tried not to let her breathing change when she felt him undo the first button of her shirt. Then the second, before he spread the two sides apart.
Nothing met Leona but bandages, not showing even a trace of skin beneath her neck. It made his eyes narrow, especially as he saw that it wasn’t just snow white that he was met with. Crimson blood had left the tiniest of blemishes, three pinpricks that were hardly anything to the eye, but still enough to make him glower. “How bad is it?” Leona still asked, gaze moving to look up at her face. 
Lies wouldn’t go undetected. So Yuu sighed, even though she wanted to shrug it off. But her newly acquired injuries would just make her wince again if she did, and Leona would certainly see through anything else she tried. “I’m on painkillers,” she told him, feeling the warmth of his hand even through his glove and her bandages. “They’ll kick in.”
Even though she’d hoped that would satisfy Leona, it didn’t. He glared at her clavicle as though it had done a great insult to him, even when Yuu brought her hand up to cover his. “You shouldn’t have this,” he eventually said, a growl in his voice as he spoke. “I should’ve been faster. I—”
“I should have been more careful,” Yuu cut him off, making Leona’s ears flatten and his tail thump on the couch next to him. “This isn’t your fault.”
“Sure it isn’t.” The way that he glanced up at her didn’t go unnoticed. She knew exactly where his gaze went, the sight making his lip curl back in a silently snarl directed at only himself. Yuu didn’t know what to do at the way it made his eyes darken, glinting like emerald wildfires in the middle of a rainstorm.
When another moment passed, she decided that she didn’t want Leona to look angry at himself for a second longer. His brow knitted as Yuu’s hand lifted off of his, before his hold on her shirt tightened as he felt her fingers brush against his cheeks. When she finally held his face in her hands fully, ignoring the way his silky hair tickled her fingertips, she tilted it up, forcing his eyes to rip off her bandages to instead look at hers. She knew her plan worked when she watched Leona’s glare become directed at her in his confusion, his free hand coming up to wrap around her wrist to pull it off.
“Leona Kingscholar,” Yuu started, before he was able to rip her hands away, “I have a spine. I have a brain that is not peanut-sized, and it’s telling me that you are blaming yourself that has nothing to do with you.” His eyes narrowed, and she caught the gleam of his fangs when he started to open his mouth, no doubt about to challenge her. “Maybe I wasn’t using it for a moment back there, or back then, but I am using it now. I’m listening to you.”
“You call this listening to me?” he huffed, not convinced in the slightest. “Maybe I was wrong when I told you that. It doesn’t seem like you have any wits sometimes, when you go and make deals with swindlers that get you nothing. Or when you go an’ charge forward to your death when you have no magic to arm yourself with.”
She knew he was trying to hurt her. But even so, she felt his claws scratch her, making something angry bubble up inside her. “Why do you care?” she asked, feeling her own small growl whisper in her voice.
“Because I do,” he hissed, his grip on her wrist tightening. Yuu instantly stilled at the way his eyes flickered, raging like a wild beast. “You went and made things my problem when I didn’t ask. Now this is your problem, herbivore. Hope you’re happy.”
They stayed like that for a long moment, glaring daggers into the other’s eyes with angry snarls draining their lungs of air. Leona was furious. Yuu just didn’t know who he was raging at, between himself and her and a myriad of other people and things it could possibly be. With the abundance of choices he had, she hoped it wasn’t the way he felt about her. Especially when she decided, in her exasperation between how Leona was like this and how the daggers she shot at him were all but dull, it was a smart idea to lean down when his chest swelled with an inhale, no doubt about to continue with another sharp comment. And she gently pressed her lips to his, trying to take the sharpness out of him, too.
Leona bristled, that hold he had around her wrist tightening still until it was almost painful. And for a split second, Yuu wondered if she had just gone too far, and that she had taken everything completely wrong. Maybe she’d be mauled that night in her own dorm, and not in Leona’s room like she’d thought she’d be. Maybe there was the faintest of hopes for her to keep her life, as she started to pull away in order to spew out a sling of apologies at her idiocracy. But then the fist gripping her shirt tugged her right back, practically sending her into Leona’s lap from his strength.
His lips were surprisingly soft, Yuu found herself realizing, as the hand around her wrist came down to hold her waist equally gently in the closest thing to an apology she’d get. It was a dizzying contrast from how rough his voice had been before, as the scent of sun and dust and the faint hint of acacia swirled around her. He kissed her like he was starved, and she’d offered him the first real taste of food he’d had in years. It was all she could do to match him, to tell him all the things she’d wanted to without using words she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to find.
Yuu didn’t know if she even remembered what breathing was as time seemed to stop. The only thing reminding her that she was alive and not just feeling everything Leona gave her was the rapid beating of her heart, which almost threatened to shatter her with how strongly it thudded in her chest. It finally came back to her when her lungs finally burned too hot for her to ignore, making her pull away despite how she longed to burn to ash with him. Maybe he felt the same way, Yuu realized, as she took in how his chest heaved and how he looked at her with eyes so beautiful she thought she might die anyway.
“Maybe I am stupid,” she muttered, finding that she still kept some of the hiss in her voice from before. Yuu found that she didn’t particularly care, especially when the housewarden had the audacity to glare at her again.
“The only way you’re stupid is annoyingly persistent,” Leona growled, before he kissed her again. He was gentler this time, reassured that she cared for him the same way he did for her after she'd kissed him. As if she couldn’t, when she had been hoping that somehow, someway, she could get just a bit lucky for once. She most certainly had, if she was able to be like this tonight, and to have spent the past three nights with him.
It was only after they’d broken apart for the second time that Yuu realized what she’d done. She covers her mouth to make Leona give her a strange look. “I just kissed a prince,” she blurted, almost feeling like she wanted to die when the shock hit her like a wave. She’d probably just crossed so many lines and made so many mistakes in etiquette that it could be a national scandal. Yuu almost wanted to kiss him again, just to get back that feeling of the world disappearing so she didn’t have to face it.
Leona laughed then, the sound filling her ears and making her heartbeat quicken. She adored his laugh, she realized, making her skin turn even redder than it already was after the way he’d taken her breath three times now with that. “You got kissed by one too,” he reminded. Yuu found that she had to hide the entirety of her flustered face, a little too nervous to take on even the room they were in. Leona chuckled, before she felt hands coming up to gently lift hers away. “Don’t go hidin’ on me now, herbivore.” 
She forced herself to calm down when Leona let his forehead fall against hers, letting her fingers intertwine with his. This was the most relaxed she’d felt in a long time, between her deal and her homework and all the little worries rooming with Leona had given her. At least those had been for nothing, she mused to herself, finding she couldn’t help but smile at the way his tail had curled around her leg at some point.
But then of course she had to think of something else, to make her stomach knot and unease seep back into her. Leona seemed to know, by the way his nearly-closed eyes opened again. “Is this really okay?” she asked. “You’re a prince. I’m— I don’t have magic whatsoever. I’m not even sure if I have a legal presence here.”
“Who cares. I don’t.” Leona made her anxious huff turn into more of a squeak when he brought one of her hands to his lips, keeping his eyes locked with hers all the while. “The one good thing being second-born’s given me is the freedom to choose. I choose you,” he promised, smiling at the way that made her blush. “I’m also choosin’ to sleep here tonight. Hope you don’t mind, after I so kindly gave you my room for the past three nights.”
Yuu couldn’t help but scoff in a laugh at the way Leona added that, already yawning as though he could doze off in a matter of seconds. “Out here? This couch isn’t as comfortable as yours to sleep on, unfortunately.”
Leona gave her a look like she was the most deranged person to grace Twisted Wonderland. Maybe she was, she thought with a level of satisfaction she certainly shouldn’t have. She had just kissed a prince. “You have a bed. It works just fine, far as I’ve heard.”
“But Grim’s already there.”
“We can move ‘em.”
She huffed, bringing her hands back up to cup his face in disbelief. “You have to play nice with him,” Yuu told him, even though her feigned sternness was completely forgotten when she watched the way Leona nuzzled into her touch. He looked up at her with half-lidded eyes that were no doubt meant to dissuade her, but she kept firm. “We’re a package deal.”
“Fine. But he’s takin’ up your space, not mine.” Yuu laughed as she nodded, knowing that was probably the closest thing she’d get to him agreeing. “Do I get to sleep now?” Leona asked dully, making Yuu hum as she kissed his brow.
“I suppose, Your Majesty.”
“Good.” Yuu almost yelped as Leona surged up, holding her in his arms as though she weighed the same as a feather instead of letting her drop on the ground. He must have noticed the way she was staring at him, because he smirked while he started towards the stairs. “Maybe I’ll make you sing me a lullaby, since you were so willin’ to last night.”
Yuu almost frowned at him, but then she grinned, making Leona falter just for a moment. “Only if Grim can join me,” she chimed, wrapping her arms around his neck playfully. “I know just the song to sing with him.”
Leona huffed, his ears flattening as he no doubt remembered the wonderful performance they’d given him last night. “Maybe I’ll just drop you instead.”
Her grip on him got tighter in response, just in case he decided he really would. “Don’t you dare,” she warned, only met with an amused hum in response. “You’re evil.”
“Yet you still kissed me. Makes a guy wonder about your taste in people.” Leona’s eyes glinted as Yuu made a flustered noise, hiding her face in his chest. “I’m your problem now, herbivore. Hope you’re ready for what that means.”
43 notes · View notes
Text
Outsiders Prompt Fic 4- I'm tired of this
This one is for @crow222 who wanted prompt 9 for Darry Curtis
**************
Darry was starting to get annoyed.
The reno itself was going well. They’d made more progress than he thought possible after only three days of work, especially considering this was the gang converting the Matthews’ tiny garage into a room for Two’s grandmother instead of his regular work crew on a job. As it was, Soda was doing the trim while Johnny worked behind him punching nails so they could start puttying later this afternoon. Steve and Pony were working in tandem building window boxes and framing, getting along better than Darry thought possible. They were a well oiled machine, Steve calling out measurements to Pony who then marked and cut the boards, before holding them while Steve nailed them in place. He was almost afraid to talk to either of them for fear of breaking their tenuous peace. 
He himself was working on assembling the cabinets Mrs.Matthews had bought at a rummage sale in the nice part of town a few weeks ago. The plan for her mother to move into their house had come after lots of discussion, but the trust was the old lady’s health was failing and Mrs. Matthews couldn’t afford to put her in a home, not when her nursing shifts barely covered rent and food for herself, Two-bit, and Susie. When she’d explained this to him, wringing her hands and saying she could barely afford the materials let alone a contracting team, Darry had rallied the gang and agreed to build it for her. Mrs. Matthews had always been good to them, had often looked after them when they were sick and couldn’t afford to go to a real hospital, and she’d been one of his mother’s best friends. 
She’d been real good to them too, for all she couldn’t afford to pay them. She and Susie had made dinner every night the past three days- no small feat for a group of hungry, hard working teenage boys.
And all the while, while he sanded, while Johnny hammered, while Soda glued, and Pony measured, and Steve sawed, while Mrs. Matthew’s and Susie cooked, Two-bit lollygagged.
While Steve and Soda had been painting the walls, Two had cracked a beer and heckled them. When Pony and Johnny were putting in the floor he’d haphazardly hammered on the section he’d been assigned, leaving the younger two to pick up the slack. When he’d been sanding the doorways, Two had been nowhere to be found.
Even Dally, who’d only been around until noon on monday since he was working the rodeo the rest of the week, had done more to help than Two-bit had, and Darry was starting to get sick of it.
They were none of them strangers to hard work. He, Pony, and Soda had been raised helping Dad with his carpentry business, and Steve’s old man had taught him engines practically since he could walk. Johnny had worked odd jobs since he was six, since feeding himself was a burden he often had no choice to take on. Besides, living in the east side meant that if things broke you either needed to work to figure out how to fix them yourself or work even longer hours to hire someone to do it for you if you couldn’t. Keeping a house was no joke either- Darry had never realized how hard staying on top of cooking and groceries and laundry and cleaning was until he was left to handle it by himself. It was a lot to organize and a lot to keep track of. 
So yeah, they all worked hard. Which is why it was all the more aggravating that Two-bit refused to. 
He’s always been lazy- this wasn’t news. Even when he was in second grade and Two-bit in first, the guy had been loudmouthed and too unbothered to do any of his worksheets. It had driven Darry crazy back then. It still drove him crazy now.
Currently Two-bit was lounging around, leaning against the wall and jabbering to Soda without even once offering to help. 
“I’m tired of this,” he stormed over, sure he looked a storm and not caring in the slightest, “Keith Matthews you better start working properly right this instance!”
Two-bit raised an eyebrow. “Geez Dar, chill out, I’m just takin’ a break.”
“You’ve had three whole days of breaks!” He thundered, “For shame Two-bit, your fifteen year old sister’s been workin’ harder than you! My own kid brothers and your other friends are workin’ to build this place, for free, for your grandma, the least you can do is help out!”
He turned on his heel and stomped away, sure than if he stayed a second longer he’d start swinging.
Going back to the cabinets he pretended not to hear the shocked silence followed by careful joking, the tension only dissipating once Susie brought them lemonade, and Johnny started teasing Ponyboy about how she wouldn’t quit checking him out as soon as she was back inside.
The next time Darry looks over, Two-bit is helping Soda with the framing. He doesn’t stop working for the rest of the day.
24 notes · View notes
i know you crossed out First Time, but would you be opposed to writing sangyao's first kiss? No worries if not!!!
It wasn't as though he'd never imagined what it would be like to kiss Nie Huaisang.
After all, his young master wasn't shy about lavishing attention and affection on him, and that sweetness was as addicting as the cakes and pastries that had become a frequent gift.
He imagines that Nie Huaisang's kisses would taste much the same, heavy with honey and warm.
But while on one hand, he enjoyed the waves of earnest compliments and the sour expressions from others that he -lowly, unworthy Meng Yao- was the one to receive him, he had to be careful not to let himself swim out too far.
All it would take was one rumor that he was leveraging Nie Huaisang's affection to further improve his station -or that Nie Huaisang was taking advantage of him, however less likely to get started that rumor would be- and all of his hard work building his reputation would be destroyed.
So when Nie Huaisang, blushing and nervous, finally took the leap and leaned in, Meng Yao gently stopped him with fingertips pressed to his lips.
"I like you," he murmured, while Nie Huaisang was still caught off guard by the rejection, before the hurt could seep in. "I do. But we can't. Not now."
Nie Huaisang pulled back, mouth pressed thin and eyes shiny as if he were holding back tears, then he blinked several times and forced himself to nod. "Maybe... some time in the future?" he asked hopefully.
Meng Yao smiled. "When my father acknowledges me."
When I am no longer a servant, he doesn't say.
When we are closer to being equals, he doesn't say.
But whether Nie Huaisang hears any of that or not, he nods again, more decisively. "Okay," he says. "I'll wait."
---
His mouth tasted of blood as he slowly made his way out of the gates of the Unclean Realms, the sound of Nie Huaisang and Nie Mingjue arguing over his fate fading in the background behind him.
In the years that followed -as he hid Lan-zongzhu, as he worked his way into Wen Ruohan's confidence, as he helped end the war- the metallic tang in the back of his throat never truly went away.
In a way, he was glad it hadn't. With that taste coloring everything he ate or drank, he thought less of sweet things, of a sweet boy, of something he'd lost before he'd ever even gotten to try it.
After all, surely his former young master had found someone else to lavish all his attention and affection on in the past three years. Surely Nie Huaisang hadn't waited for him -lowly, unworthy, cast out Meng Yao- when there were other, more acceptable options closer at hand.
His father had finally acknowledged him.
That was all he needed.
That was all he needed.
And yet it sat sour and heavy in his stomach at the victory banquet, weighed down by the insults that had come with it.
"Yao-ge?"
When he turned and found a soft, worried gaze that was altogether alien -the face wearing it was older, sharper, losing the childish roundness he had carried later than his cohorts- and painfully familiar -he had last seen it as he stumbled from the meeting hall, wounded and damned to exile- his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.
Nie Huaisang had waited; it was written on his face in the depths of affection and concern in his gaze, and the realization robbed Jin Guangyao of the pretty words he had once imagined years ago that he would say in this moment.
Instead, he simply reached out, letting his fingertips brush along the other young man's jaw as he drew him in.
Nie Huaisang sank into him, warm and pliant and giving him complete control, and his mouth was as soft and sweet as he'd ever imagined.
And yet still, on the back of his tongue, lingered the tinge of blood.
23 notes · View notes
deepestnightcolor · 3 days
Note
Hello! I just recently found your account while searching for alex/reader and love your one-shot of him!!! I was wondering if you could do another of him and reader and their lead up to a relationship? I haven't seen many of fics with and reader sadly wish he had more! And maybe a Lil freaky deaky scene? Obviously no rush or if your not wanting too! Love your sam fics too❤️❤️
ᴀ/ɴ: Hello there!~ Thank you so much for your request and the Alex love! We must admire our athletic king, mustn't we? I have a little something here for you, the freaky deaky scene might follow at some other point! I started it off with somethin' in my mind and then it got all fluff and mushy...I hope you will enjoy either way! <3
ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: Alex (SDV) x GN!Reader
ᴡᴄ: 1973 words
ᴍᴅɴɪ ✧ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: we like some good ol' fluff, I have decided.
Tumblr media
☾ ᴇɢɢᴇᴅ ☽
Alex had always thought that he would only have three priorities in life: Working out, gridball, and his family. Sure, he had had interest in some people here and there – Hayley, for example. She was pretty, and they sometimes were able to share some good times, but it never seemed to go deeper. Some of the guys in town had also made him curious, yet he always felt… a lack of motivation to pursue things after a while. Nothing enthralled him more than these three priorities, and he was a man of principles, simple as that.
That was until a certain farmer decided to take reign over the old, abandoned farm. At first, he didn’t think much of it. A new farmer, so what? You weren’t even living in Pelican Town, but outside of it. He was pretty certain that you wouldn’t ever really become a big part of the community, living in sticks of the sticks like that. Of course, he was polite when you actually swung by. Nodded his head at you, sometimes he even said “hey”. That didn’t mean he paid much attention to you, though. At least that was what he was telling himself.
Something about you always made his head turn, no matter what. Whenever he caught you out of the corner of his eye, he would crane his neck to get a better look at you. He found it amusing that you ran around town with whatever you had farmed that day, dirt covering your sweet, reddened cheeks and sturdy hands. He would watch you as you went to the beach, just to return with buckets of fish hours later. His eyes followed your path to the blacksmith’s house to get Yoba knows what upgraded or whatever geodes you had found broken open. He decided it was your determination that caught his eyes, nothing more, nothing less. After all, you were building up a ruin of a farm with your bare two hands, filling it with the life it hadn’t seen in years.
That theory didn’t last long, either. It ended when you stopped in your tracks one day and gave him this look. It was one of consideration, of doubt. Yet the fog seemed to lift, and instead of uncertainty, a smile blossomed on your plump lips. You crossed your arms behind your back while you approached the athlete, tipping your head to the side as you stood right in front of him. And fuck, didn’t you look adorable? Alluring, almost, with the way you fluttered your lashes at him. A sense of friendly innocence radiated from you, and it hit him right in the gut. “Hey. It’s Alex, right? I have met your grandparents.” It was unfair, really. Even your voice seemed to be drenched in honey, immediately luring him into a conversation he hadn’t been interested in having. “Yeah, Alex…So, you are the new farmer.”
You gave him a grin; one of the kinds he always found attractive. It was challenging, but still so, so polite. “Have you seen any other person running around with dirt on their cheeks?” Alex whistled through his teeth, cocking his brows at the sudden sass being thrown his way. “Alright, then, I guess that answers it.”
The grin on your face didn’t falter in the slightest, quite the opposite. You seemed to enjoy that you had thrown him off guard, that you had made an impression that he hadn’t expected. You let him simmer in silence for a while, before revealing the egg you had hidden behind your back. Given the way his eyes lit up, you assumed you had hit the nail on the head with that one. “My chicken Cluck and Brood were busy, and now I have some extra. Do you want an egg?” The smile that spread on Alex’s face was big, and you were quite sure that you had seen something shift in him. “Really? Yeah, thank you! They are great sources of protein!” He took the egg with a gentleness that took you by surprise. “Yeah, it is no pro-“ The sound of an eggshell meeting a set of pearly whites shoved your words back down your throat. You watched in horror as the brunet broke the shell of the egg and slurped its contents down his throat. What horrified you even more was the sole fact that he didn’t even seem to find the taste disgusting or off-putting, quite the opposite – he seemed to enjoy the taste of raw egg. Which indicated… that he had done this before. Alex apparently didn’t take note of your expression, or if he did, he was used to it and had decided to pay it no mind; he licked his lips like you would after having your favourite dessert. “That was great, thank you, farmer!” He grinned, giving your back a clumsy smack. “I’ll see ya ‘round.” Alright, maybe Alex had thrown you off guard. Yet that wasn’t a problem, because he had been right in one assumption about you – you were determined.
Alex hadn’t expected for you to return this fast, and what he had been expecting even less was you showing up to him working on his gridball techniques – at least that was what he called it; usually he just threw the ball for Dusty to fetch it, just like he was doing now – but there you were, propping yourself up on the fence and throwing a smile in his direction. For a moment. Alex didn’t quite know what to do, so instead of ending his little workout session, he threw the ball again, waving in your direction. “He can go far,” you noted, shielding your glistening eyes from the sun as you watched the animal chase after the ball with great elan. The brunet grinned a little at your comment, pearly whites showing for a split second. “’Course he can, he’s got a great buddy to train with.” “Huh, is that so?” You asked back, mustering the egg in your hand. “Is so.” “So…you could even train someone as incompetent at sports as me?” That had piqued Alex’s attention. He walked over to the fence, green eyes now falling on the gift you had brought him. “Mh…maybe. You’ve got potential, after all. We would probably need to get you to eat more protein,” he began, thick fingers of a large hand wrapping around the animal produce you were holding out. The egg looked tiny in his hand; it would have been possible for you to become distracted by the way he managed to shrink a large chicken egg to one of the size of a quail’s if you weren’t so focused on the words that were about to tumble out of his mouth. “Maybe you could start out with eggs as well?” There it was, the words you had been anticipating and yet hoping he wouldn’t say them. Still, the way he was seriously considering it as if anyone else in this small town ate raw eggs made him kind of endearing to you. “Oh…uh. Maybe. You know, I will start with…uh, something less crunchy? Leave the eggs to the pros like you?” A grin appeared on his face again, warm palm landing on your shoulder with a small smack. “You get it, farmer.” There was an appreciation in his voice that he would have never expected to carry. But then again, he hadn’t gotten up this morning and awaited a sweaty farmer bringing him yet another chicken egg, had he?
You were working yourself into his routine; slowly, but surely. You weren’t set in stone like his strict workout regime, but he knew that at some point, you would show up. Sometimes you caught him in the middle of weightlifting – he had grown accustomed enough to you to allow you to wander into his room -, sometimes you met him while he was walking Dusty. Talking to you came easier and easier, not that he had any trouble talking to anyone, but he just felt…more comfortable. Finding someone that got him, that didn’t necessarily have high expectations. Someone who genuinely cared. That’s why he was hoping that you would find him today. He was sitting at the beach, cradling a music box that seemed so delicate in contrast to Alex’s broad shoulders, chest, and strong arms. A soft melody chimed from the box, luring him into some sort of trance that he was never able to break free from for some reason. He just had to stare, and stare, and stare. Every now and then he also wondered, wondered if his life could have gone differently, better. He loved his grandparents; he loved them with all his heart! But sometimes… sometimes he wondered if he had had a better chance at life- “Alex? You okay?” Something heavy and warm was placed on his shoulder, making the tall man snap upwards just to see your face. You gave him a smile, one that he had grown fond of in the past months. “Oh, hey.” “Sorry, I didn’t want to startle you, but you didn’t react to all my screaming, so I just- I wanted to check up on you.” Alex gave you a smile. It looked strained, but also so, so lost. It made you sit down next to him slowly, keeping your hand on his shoulder, arm now wrapped around the muscular broadness of his back. Much to your surprise, Alex rested his head down on you, green eyes trained on the ocean, following the draw and pull of the waves. The melody from the music box still filled the air with its soothing gentleness, though also thickening it, leaving the bitterness of memories and hopes that were never fulfilled behind.
Your head slowly dropped on the brunet one’s, allowing him to bask in the silent comfort he seemed to need. At some point, his hand wrapped around yours, a deep sigh leaving his lips. “Sometimes, when I miss her…I come here, playing the music box. It brings back what little of an image I got to create of her…makes me feel close.” You hummed, allowing your eyes to wander about the delicate box. The tune was still playing, the little figurine starting yet another round on its little spring. “And I feel weird about it sometimes. I know she’s gone, after all. So why should I keep doing this?” “Because it makes you feel better, you don’t need any more reasons,” you answered, words l
rolling off your tongue in a velvet “matter-of-fact” voice. Alex seemed to relax a little, his gaze falling back on the box as if he only now had dared to look at it again.
 “See, that’s why I like you.” “Like me?” You asked, genuine surprise coating your words, sticking to them in a way that made it impossible to hide it. It was such an abrupt change of topic – not that it didn’t intrigue you. “Yeah, ‘course. Didn’t you notice?” Well, there had been a change in Alex’s demeanour towards you, like you had hoped. He had been more open, more…interested. There weren’t only talks about him anymore, and he didn’t act like you were a simple source of petulance while he was doing what actually mattered to him. “Huh, I thought I was bad at readin’, and now here you are, suckin’ at readin’ signs.” It was a weak attempt at humour, making your fingers wrap around his more tightly. “You became one of my priorities and didn’t even realize.” Hands closing tighter around one another’s’, you smiled to yourself. “I knew the eggs would get you.”
So maybe Alex did have four priorities, and for once, the thought didn’t make his stomach churn. For once it made him feel settled, and soft. Like he could be soft. Like he deserved to feel.
36 notes · View notes
burnednotburied · 8 hours
Text
Tumblr media
Chapter 5: The Aquarium
AO3 Link | Chapter 4 Link
Pairing: Abby Anderson x fem!reader
Fic Synopsis: Abby goes looking for Owen and ends up on the wrong end of your knife.
Tags/CWs: angst; slowburn; enemies to friends to lovers; talks of purity culture/ideals and “sin”; internalized homophobia and some comp-het feelings (they’re both so gay but so dumb about it); animosity between WLF and Seraphites; blood/gore; descriptions of being hanged; religious/cult-like ideas; sorry (but not that sorry) to any Owen fans, but he’s kinda a huge asshole in this
Note: I added chapter titles and finally figured out exactly where I’m going with this story lol. Hooray for having a plan!!
(Sorry it took more than two weeks to get this chapter out! End-of-semester craziness, ya know? I hope this chapter being like twice as long as usual makes up for it!)
----------------------------------------------------------------
Abby realized too late that she probably should’ve warned you about the life-sized whales on the ceiling.
By the look on your face, she could tell you’ve never seen anything like it.
Which made sense. She hadn’t either before she and Owen found this place three years ago.
She paused to watch you for just a second, taking in your amazed expression as you marveled at the enormous hanging sea creatures above you.
Abby could easily remember what her first time here was like. How incredible and other-worldly this place felt. She imagined it must be even more overwhelming for you, this fractured piece of a world you were not a part of and knew little about. A world where humans built a place where they could go to look at fish for no reason other than that it was entertaining. A world where people did things just for fun.
Of course, Abby had also never been a part of that world, but at least she knew about it. She’d caught glimpses of it, carefully and intentionally gathering bits and pieces. She watched films and documentaries. She read novels and history books, newspapers and magazines if she could find them.
Knowledge was power. And, to Abby, having power was important. Having power meant being able to keep the people she cared about safe.
And if you had enough power, no one could ever take it away from you.
So she dedicated herself to becoming powerful, both of mind and of body. It’s all she had known and cared about since she lost her dad.
It’s why she lost Owen.
She still wasn’t sure if that had been a good thing or a bad thing, but she knew she felt guilty about it.
Three years ago, Owen had quickly claimed the aquarium as his own. He cleaned it up, made it feel as homey as possible, and spent as much time here as he could get away with. Abby didn’t tell anyone, not even the rest of the Salt Lake crew. It was right around the time they were breaking up. She felt like she owed him her discretion at the very least. Not that it really made up for anything.
Yesterday morning, when Nora told Abby that Owen was missing, she assumed he’d come here.
God, she hoped she was right.
Abby shifted the injured Yara in her arms, her muscles burning from carrying the girl for so long.
It was early in the morning now. The sun had just begun to rise as the four of you had been making your way into the aquarium.
“Owen!” she shouted, leading the way down one of the hallways off the main entrance. Abby thought he would most likely be out on the boat, either sleeping or continuing in his never-ending attempts to get the thing in working order.
“Owen!” she called out again. “Owen! Are you here?”
She paused for a moment, listening. Nothing.
“Owen—”
“I’m here.” She heard his voice just before he rounded the corner, stopping short when he saw the whole group of you. “Are those Scars?” he asked, genuinely surprised and definitely confused as hell.
Abby ignored the question. “I need whatever medical supplies you have.”
Before Owen could respond, Alice came barreling around the corner, barking aggressively at the perceived enemies.
The next few seconds were chaotic to say the least.
You screamed and jumped back. Lev reacted quickly, his bow drawn and an arrow notched.
“Alice, no!” Abby yelled out.
Owen grabbed for the German Shepherd, holding her back as she continued to lunge forward, trying to attack.
“Put the bow down! It’s okay!” Abby shouted.
Owen gripped the dog’s harness tightly. “Put that down!”
“Alice, shut up! Lev, put the bow down!”
“Alice, stop—Abby, what the fuck?!”
“Lev, listen to them! Put it down!” you insisted, putting a hand on his shoulder as you tried to push him behind you.
All of this happened simultaneously, muffled by the sound of deafening, echoing barking.
“Alice!” a new voice, one that Abby knew belonged to Mel, shouted. To her, the dog listened, sitting down obediently with one final bark.
Mel stood next to Owen and Alice, staring.
There was a moment of silence.
Abby turned to the young boy. “Lev, lower the bow. It’s okay.”
Reluctantly, he listened.
“Abby, who are these people?” Mel asked.
“They saved my life,” she said, hoping that would be enough of an answer for now. “Can you take a look at her?” Abby looked down at Yara, who seemed to be barely conscious in her arms.
Mel dropped a hand on Alice’s head, instructing her to stay, as she slowly stepped closer, eyeing you and Lev cautiously.
“This is Yara,” Abby said before nodding over to the kid at her right, “That’s Lev. And that’s—” She stopped short. She wasn’t about to introduce you to them as Prophet.
Behind her, you spoke, offering up your name. Abby and Lev’s eyes both swung to you, widening for two entirely different reasons.
Abby’s because she was hearing your name for the first time. It was your name. It was like she discovered a brand new piece to this puzzle she had been frantically trying to assemble since the moment she saw you.
She wasn’t sure why Lev looked shocked, but it seemed like a big deal, for you to use your name in place of the title that had been forced upon you by the other Scars.
Abby quietly repeated the name, committing it to memory.
Mel gave a small nod, unaware of the mini revelation that was happening right in front of her, instead focusing on Yara with a concerned look on her face.
“What did this?” she asked, looking down at the girl’s mangled arm.
“A hammer,” you said, stepping forward until you were standing right next to Abby.
“It wasn’t me,” Abby quickly added. Guilty, despite her innocence. She was ashamed that she needed to make that clarification. Worried about what you would think about it.  
Mel hesitated, regarding each of the Scars one by one again before sighing. “Alright. Let’s lay her down.”
----------------------------------------------------------------
The pregnant woman—clearly someone Abby knew but wasn’t exactly friendly with—decided that Yara had compartment syndrome, which apparently meant they would have to cut her arm off.
While everyone else argued about the best way to accomplish that task, you stood off to the side, feeling sick. If you had been able to stop Emily’s men last night, this wouldn’t be happening.
It shouldn’t be happening.
Yara was going to lose her arm or die because you failed her.
You were trying not to spiral. Trying to be helpful now. (Too little, too late.) Trying to pay attention to the Wolves’ conversation.
They didn’t have the supplies they needed to perform the amputation safely. Yara didn’t have time to wait the couple days it would take Abby to travel all the way to the hospital and back.
“What if we could get you there in two hours?” Lev asked, hands grasping the metal table where Yara laid in the center of the room. “The Wolf hospital, right? On the west side?”
The man—Owen—stood, interested. “How?”
“The bridges,” you said, realizing what Lev was getting at. All eyes turned to you. “Our people built them. High up.”
Lev nodded. “It’s how we get around the flooding. And… you people.”
After a quiet moment, Abby stepped forward. “Can she handle two hours?”
The woman considered this, her hand comfortingly placed on Yara’s shoulder. “Probably, yeah.”
Abby nodded. “Then make a list of what you need.”
Owen stepped closer, joining the circle the rest of you had formed around Yara. “Wait. Are you serious? Abby, these bridges are used by Scars.”
The fact that he was arguing against the plan frustrated you. Yara didn’t have time for this.
“They only send in small groups at a time,” Lev said.
“You heard that? Small groups.” Abby said, watching as the other woman jotted down the supplies on a loose piece of paper and handed it over.
“This isn’t a joke.” Owen looked only at Abby, trying to catch her eyes. She seemed to be actively avoiding making contact.
Instead, she turned to you and said your name, followed by, “Let’s go.”
You looked up at her, at a loss for words. It was sad that something as simple as hearing your name could have this effect on you, but it had been eight years since you’d heard it… And this was already the second time Abby had said it.
You wanted to turn and walk right out the door with her, happy to follow her anywhere, but reality set it.
“I can’t,” you said. “I don’t know where the hospital is. And I don’t know our bridges well enough to guide you. It will have to be Lev.” It looked like Abby might argue with you, or at least tell you to come with them.
You wanted to. The idea of letting Lev go back out into danger without you made you sick with worry. But, foolish as it may seem, you trusted Abby to look out for him. And you didn’t understand these other Wolves and the strange dynamic at play here. You certainly didn’t trust them to be alone with Yara.
“Someone needs to stay with her,” you said, holding Abby’s gaze.
She nodded, grabbing her backpack off the floor. “Alright. Lev.”
He looked to you, taking your hand in his. The group splitting up must’ve felt wrong to him, too.
Almost on instinct, you did what you had been trained to do. You offered a bit of comfort.
“May She guide you,” you said quietly, giving him a small, encouraging smile as you squeezed his one hand between both of yours.
The words were familiar to you both, a common Seraphite mantra. He reciprocated your tight grasp and finished the line, “May She protect you.”
When you released his hand, he placed it on Yara’s shoulder, as if to tell her goodbye as well. She was unresponsive.
You felt a hand fall on your own shoulder and looked up to find that it was Abby. She nodded her head to the opposite end of the room, impatiently taking your wrist in her hand and leading you over there when you didn’t immediately catch her meaning.
She didn’t let go.
Abby stood close, speaking quietly so that no one else could hear. “We’ll be back as soon as possible. Yara’s going to be fine, okay. And I’ll keep Lev safe.”
You couldn’t help the slight upward curve of your lips. “I know,” you said. “I trust you.”
She blinked, caught off guard, but continued. “I wouldn’t mention the whole you-being-the-Prophet thing to Owen and Mel if I were you.”
“I’m not a prophet,” you deadpanned.
She let out an exasperated breath. “Okay, sure. Well I wouldn’t tell them that the Scars think—”
“Seraphites,” you interjected.
“—Seraphites—Just… you get the point. Don’t mention it, okay?”
“What if they ask questions?”
“Dodge them. Be vague.”
“You don’t trust your friends?” you asked, more serious now.
“No,” Abby said. “Not with you.”
You couldn’t begin to guess what she meant by that.
“I trust them… for the most part.” She glanced at them over your shoulder before meeting your eyes again. “I just don’t know how they would react to that information. It’s not exactly a small thing. I don’t know what they would do with it.”
You looked at her for while longer, then nodded your head. “Okay. I won’t say anything.”
“Abby?” the man’s voice came from behind you.
She let go of your wrist immediately, as if she had been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to.
You turned around to find the woman—Mel—and Owen both looking at you like they were witnessing something truly insane, instead of just two people having a conversation.
Lev stood on his own by the door, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, eager to get moving.
From behind you, you felt Abby’s hand wrap around your wrist again, squeezing lightly and then letting go.
“We’ll be back,” she said, this time at a normal volume. She joined Lev by the door, opening it and leading the way out.
“Abby!” Owen said again, moving to follow them out.
Mel groaned, frustrated. “God! Owen, just let them go.” When he ignored her, she went after him, the door slamming loudly behind her.
You stayed behind with Yara.
She was blinking slowly, barely awake, her shallow breaths too few and far between for your liking. You felt helpless, knowing there wasn’t much you could do other than sit and wait.
You pulled up a chair.
Just outside the door, the two Wolves were arguing. Although, you only caught bits and pieces of it.
Something about Abby and Scars and a cloak… Something about someone who looked like she just stepped out of The Lord of the Rings. You didn’t know what that meant, but it was clear they were talking about you.
Again, you unfastened the cloak and freed yourself of your top layer. Whether that was due to embarrassment or a sudden recognition of the uncomfortable warmth of the room, you couldn’t tell.
“Did you see how she was looking at her?” “Owen, why do you care? Why does it matter to you?” you heard through the door.
The dynamic here was becoming more and more confusing.
You’d assumed that Owen was the father of Mel’s child, just because they seemed to live here together. But that didn’t explain Mel’s rather apparent unfavorable opinion of Abby. And it definitely didn’t explain Owen’s preoccupation with Abby.
Their conversation continued for several minutes, volume rising and falling periodically. There wasn’t much you understood and even less of it seemed important or interesting to you.
Eventually, the door swung open again, making you jump in your seat. Mel reentered the room, offering you a strained smile as she checked on Yara. You quietly watched her work.
“There’s not much we can do for her until Abby and your friend get back,” she said to you, eyes still focused on Yara. “If you want, I can get you set up with a place to sleep while we wait.”
“No,” you said, too quickly to be polite. “…Thank you. I’ll stay with Yara.”
Mel pulled her lips into a tight line and nodded, leaving the room again. She came back a few minutes later with water and a shiny red apple, offering them up for you to take.
“Sorry. I know it’s not much. Owen isn’t well-stocked on food right now,” she said after you’d accepted the snack.
You smiled. “Thank you. You’re very kind to be helping us at all.”
Mel didn’t really answer, instead gesturing to the door as she walked toward it. “Well, we’ll… be around. If you need anything. And I’ll come in and check on her periodically.”
You nodded, quietly thanking her again. The discarded cloak that you’d left on a table by the door caught your eye. “Oh. Wait.”
She turned to face you again, eyebrows raised in question.
“What is The Lord of the Rings?” you asked.
----------------------------------------------------------------
An excursion that was supposed to take two hours ended up taking nearly all day.
But hey, Abby had done the best she could.
She faced her deeply-rooted fear of heights on that sorry excuse for a bridge. She fought off Infected and Scars. She was, let’s say, detained by her fellow WLF soldiers at the hospital. And then she had to fight and kill what must’ve been the biggest, gnarliest, freakiest blob of cordyceps infection to ever exist.
She barely got out of there alive, but she managed to leave with the medical supplies in hand. Plus tons of new material for her future nightmares.
Mel had started operating as soon as they got back to the aquarium, with Owen assisting her.
You and Lev sat just outside the door the entire time.
The surgery had gone well. Yara was doing okay, all things considered.
After, Owen handed Abby a pile of sleeping bags and blankets and walked off without saying a word.
Abby handed them off to you and carefully lifted Yara again, this time to move her to a more comfortable spot to rest. She led the way to the next room, you and Lev trailing behind.
There was a long couch in the new room. You motioned for Lev to lay down on one end while Abby set Yara down on the other.
She stepped back and watched, amused, as you fussed over the two of them for a few minutes, using most of the blankets on your young friends.
When you were sure they were both as comfortable as possible, you left them to rest and walked back over to Abby. In your arms, you held the two sleeping bags that you hadn’t used on the kids.
You offered one of them to her.
She shook her head, motioning to the space on the floor in front of the couch where there was an old, worn-out rug.
“Lay mine out for me? I have to go do something before I go to sleep.”
“You’re leaving?” you asked, looking concerned.
“I just need to talk to Owen. I’ll be right back.”
You studied her face, like you were trying to figure out whether or not she was being truthful.
Abby doubled down, pointing again. “Go. Get some sleep. I’ll be back.”
You sighed but went where she had pointed and began laying out the two sleeping bags.
One for you. One for her. Right next to each other on the floor.
You had been doing a good job of hiding it, but Abby could tell you were exhausted. She couldn’t blame you. Hell, she was exhausted. And the sooner she touched base with Owen, the sooner she could come back.
She turned and went out to track him down.
----------------------------------------------------------------
You didn’t know what was wrong with you.
You had been awake for almost forty-eight hours, but you couldn’t fall asleep. Your mind was racing. Filled with worry for Yara, concern about her condition, guilt for having been unable to prevent the injury from happening in the first place. Thoughts of your own people hunting your friends with the intent to kill them. Fear that, despite your desire to keep them safe, your lack of knowledge and experience in the world outside of Haven would make that impossible.
You thought about the woman you killed yesterday. How she’d so tenderly and earnestly called you her Prophet just moments before you snuck up behind her and ended her life.
You wondered if you too were now an apostate. If the Seraphites had found the bodies of Emily and her men and assumed you were dead, or if they somehow knew that you betrayed them all the very moment you were given the chance.
You wondered if your mother knew what you had done. If she would be punished for your sins.
You thought about Abby, hoping that your faith in her was not misplaced. Hoping that your attraction to her hadn’t clouded your judgment.
This was crazy. All of it. It was too much.
You had tossed everything and everyone you’ve ever known aside, thrown the first twenty years of your life to the wind like it meant nothing at all, and run off into the forest with a Wolf without a second thought. And now that you, Yara, and Lev were finally (seemingly) not in immediate danger, you had time to think things through. Contemplate what you’d done and try to figure out where it left you.
By your own hand, your life had been irreparably changed forever. It was done. There was no undoing it. No going back.
You would stay with Lev and Yara. You would stay with Abby if that’s what she wanted.
But where would you go? It wasn’t safe for any of you to stay here.
That wasn’t a question you could answer. You didn’t know of anywhere else. You wouldn’t know how to find a place that was safe.
All of these thoughts bombarded your mind at once, taking turns at the forefront. Contradicting emotions swirled, adding to the chaos.
There was a sadness, a sense of loss for the people you had always belonged to.
Guilt and shame. Two feelings that were not at all foreign to you, but you had never felt as strongly as you did now.
A lightness. A happiness. Almost a thrill. A hopeful nervousness for the freedom you had claimed for yourself, the agency you had uncovered, and the possibility of what was to come.
Sadness, again, for the mother you would miss, and the realization that you had already been missing her for a very long time.
Frustration—simmering anger—for your childhood that was stolen and the shame that did not originate within yourself. The unrelenting voices that lived in your head, weighing in on every thought and critiquing every action. But those voices were not your own. You would take your dagger and cut their presence from your mind, carefully carving them out of your head and disposing of them yourself if you could.
And, amongst everything else taking up space inside of you, demanding your attention, it felt stupid and frivolous and wasteful, but you couldn’t keep Abby from your thoughts. She kept appearing, in the middle of it all. This was something that you truly did not have time for and should not be putting energy toward.
But you had never felt intrinsically drawn to someone in the way you were drawn to her…
Behind you, you could hear slow, heavy breaths coming from either end of the couch. You were glad that Lev and Yara were getting some rest. You’d do your best to make sure they got their fill of it this time.
You got up quietly, trying not to disturb them but feeling like you needed to move. You shook out your arms, rolled your neck around, wiggled your fingers, stretched your legs.
Honestly, you wanted run. Or hit something. Or scream. Loudly and for a long time. Until you ran out of air and your voice was ragged.
But you didn’t do any of those things.
Instead, you went to look for Abby.
----------------------------------------------------------------
“Seriously? You’re telling me Isaac’s top Scar killer just… turned over a new leaf? Decided to befriend and help three Scars?” Mel was staring into Abby’s soul, her words dripping in disbelief.
Abby had found her and Owen upstairs, in the same room that had once housed the boat man’s skeleton and the couple’s Christmas stockings (not at the same time, of course).
Owen was angry. Exactly what she had done to earn his anger, she couldn’t say. He held a jar of his homemade moonshine. A jar that was somewhere between three-quarters and one half full. Abby assumed it had been filled to the top just a few minutes ago.
He had apparently decided to be a silent, brooding drunk tonight, so Mel had been the one to interrogate her.
Abby tried to explain everything, albeit keeping things pretty vague. She didn’t want to give them too much information about you specifically, and she didn’t want them to get the wrong idea about you, so she made sure to omit the part where you nearly gutted her. And the part where you were the new Scar Prophet that Isaac was after.
Mel wasn’t buying the part where Abby simply had a change of heart.
She shot Owen a cautious look before she said, “Abby, do you—I thought you might—Is it possible that you’re…” Mel stopped, gathering her thoughts, trying to find the best way to word it. “It’s not… like… a problem that she’s a woman. It’s just… it is kind of a big deal that she’s a Scar—”
“Abby isn’t into a fucking Scar,” Owen interjected, his knuckles white around the mouth of the jar. “And she’s not fucking gay.”
Then he started chugging the jar’s contents, forcing down swallow after painful swallow.
The women were both silent for a second, surprised by the anger in his words.
Abby didn’t know what to say. She knew she was into you—and she’d be lying if she said that wasn’t at least part of the reason why she was helping you and your friends—but she had never considered if that made her gay.
She honestly didn’t really care to label herself as anything either way. It felt stupid—in the honest-to-god post-apocalyptic hellscape that they lived in, where they had been engaged in a never-ending war since they were kids—to care about that kind of thing.
Why should it matter—when her family was dead, her friends were constantly in danger, and there were enemies closing in from every angle—if she was romantically or sexually interested in men or women or both? Wasn’t that almost guaranteed to be the least important detail at any given moment? And why should she waste any of her time or energy trying to define herself in that way?
This was all really new to her. She hadn’t really let herself be interested in anyone since Owen, and she honestly wasn’t sure if she had ever been into him for the right reasons. Again, she remembered how uncomfortable it made her feel to kiss him, to be touched by him…
She couldn’t imagine that it would feel like that if you touched her. And just the fact that she hoped one day she’d find out was probably telling enough.
So maybe, in the Old World, people would’ve called Abby a lesbian. Maybe she would’ve identified with that title if things were different, if her life was lower stakes, and if she’d had more time to explore herself and her interests.
What-ifs didn’t matter. What mattered was that she was here now. You were with her—and she needed to figure out a plan of how to proceed from here—so she could make sure to keep it that way.  She could figure out the rest later.
Mel was the first to speak, annoyed, but addressing him calmly, like she was talking to a rabid animal. “Owen—”
He didn’t even let her get a word in.
“No. This is bullshit! Abby—” He looked past Mel to meet Abby’s gaze, insistent. “I’m going to Santa Barbara to find the Fireflies. If you’re smart, you’ll ditch the Scars and come with me.”
Mel slammed her hands on the table, causing both Abby and Owen to jump. “What the hell do you mean, you’re going to Santa Barbara?! We are going to Santa Barbara!” They weren’t used to seeing violent outbursts from Mel. She was the queen of passive aggression, but she rarely lost her cool. “What is wrong with you, Owen? Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you? This is all so seriously fucked up.” She turned away from them, clenching her fists at her sides, looking like she might cry. Or hit something. Or both.
But for the first time in years, Abby wasn’t on the receiving end of her disdain.
Guess all she had to do for her old friend to stop seeing her as a threat was get entangled with the Scar Prophet. No big deal.
Owen, in a moment of clarity, seemed to realize how huge of an asshole he was being to the mother of his child. He set down his jar, stood, and walked over to Mel, putting his hands on her hips and pulling her into him, her back pressed against his front. He was swaying on his feet, his cheeks flushed, hands clumsy. If he hadn’t been drunk before, he definitely was now. “Hey, I didn’t mean it like that. We are going to Santa Barbara. Of course it’s we. Hell, the Scars can come too for all I care. We’ll make it a party.”
Abby rolled her eyes at his quick switch-up and turned to go. Clearly this conversation wasn’t going anywhere productive tonight, with Owen drunk, Mel upset, and all of them exhausted beyond belief.
There was a creak by the door, and all three of them turned to look, Owen’s reaction far more delayed than Abby and Mel’s.
You stood there in your long white dress, hesitant to come in. Shy, having clearly interrupted a tense conversation.
Abby wondered how long you’d been standing there unnoticed. Her instinct was to meet you in the doorway and take you back to bed, away from Owen’s rude drunkenness and Mel’s inquisitive eyes.
“Hey! Scar! How the hell are ya? Come join us! We were just talking about sunny California. Ever been?” Owen pulled away from Mel and plopped back down on the couch, finding his jar again.
“Umm…” You looked to Abby for guidance, but she was just as unsettled as you. “No. I haven’t… Sorry, I was just looking for Abby.”
“Yeah, I bet you were,” he mumbled under his breath. Abby wasn’t sure if you caught that, but she wasn’t interested in having you hear any more of this.
“Let’s just go,” she said to you, moving toward where you still stood in the doorway.
“No! Come! Sit! Let’s talk,” Owen insisted, slapping the spot next to him on the couch.
You gave Abby another hesitant look before walking past her to join Owen. Mel sighed and lowered herself into a nearby chair. When it became clear to her that retreating with you wasn’t an option right now, Abby walked back over. She stood right across from the couch so she could see you, leaned against the wall behind her with her arms crossed over her chest.
You sat next to Owen, although not so close, putting as much distance between you as possible.
“Atta girl,” he chuckled. Abby wanted to punch him.
All of this was out of character for Owen, but she knew that he was always kind of unpredictable when he got drunk. With everything that had happened and emotions running so high, everyone really should just be going to sleep.
With that in mind, Abby would continue to stand nearby until you were ready to leave. She wouldn’t let things get out of hand.
“So… Scar—”
“Seraphite,” Abby corrected him. He scoffed and took another swig.
You smiled softly at her, looking grateful.
“Scar,” he said again. “Can I perhaps interest you in some hooch? Made it myself.” He offered up the jar for you to take, tilting it towards you with unsteady hands.
“No,” Abby immediately answered on your behalf. “She does not want any of your hooch.”
“Well give the girl a chance to answer,” he slurred. “What? Your little girlfriend can’t speak for herself? She can’t make her own decisions?”
You glanced back and forth between him and her, reaching for the open jar of clear liquid, properly baited by his taunting words.
Abby tried to remember that Owen was her friend—her best friend—and that he wasn’t usually like this.
“What is… hooch?” you asked, staring down into the glass jar suspiciously.
“It’s moonshine,” Abby said. When that didn’t clear things up for you, she added, “Alcohol.”
“Like wine?” you asked, tentatively sniffing it.
Owen laughed. Abby nodded, “Kind of, but it’s much stronger. Seriously, you won’t like it.”
There was a flash of something that looked like defiance in your eyes, offense taken at the idea that you wouldn’t be able to handle something that others could.
You put the jar to your lips and tilted it back enough to take in a generous mouthful.
Abby watched as your eyes went wide and you struggled to swallow it. Honestly, she was impressed that you didn’t immediately spit it out. You managed to choke it down before breaking out in a harsh coughing fit.
Owen laughed, accepting the jar as you shoved it back into his hands. Your eyes watered as you tapped on your sternum, taking a second to regain the ability to speak.
“You made that?” you wheezed in disbelief.
“Yep!”
“On purpose?”
Abby laughed at that, leaning back against the wall again once she was convinced that you weren’t dying.
“Hey, that’s prime hooch! You should be thanking me right now.” Owen took his own swig of it, lounging back against the couch with his arm resting along the back.
“Thank you?” You squinted your eyes but tried to be polite.
“I was kidding, princess. You don’t have to thank me.”
Abby, again, resisted the urge to punch him in the face.
“So,” Owen began, “tell me. How is it that you’re a Scar… but you’re not scarred?” He chuckled to himself, as if he had made a joke.
Your eyes shot to meet Abby’s, clearly unprepared to answer that question.
“Not every Seraphite has facial scars,” you said, keeping things vague.
“Every Scar I’ve ever seen does.”
“You’ve seen me, haven’t you?” you shot back.
Abby let out a surprised laugh. Owen clenched his jaw.
“Every Scar has face scars. It’s like your defining thing. It’s why we call you Scars.” He was adamant, unyielding. And the playful mask was starting to slip back into anger. Abby could tell this wasn’t going to end well.
“Well I guess you don’t know as much about Seraphites as you thought you did.” You were frustrated now, pressing yourself further into the far end of the couch to put more distance between the two of you.
Owen opened his mouth with a rebuttal, but Abby jumped in. “Lay off, Owen.”
He threw his hands up in surrender, leaning back against the brown cushions. “Fine, fine. Whatever. Forgive me for having questions. Fuck me, I guess. I’ve just never seen a hot Scar befo—”
Before he could finish the sentence, Mel was on her feet. “Alright. That’s it. You’re done.” She had been sitting silently up until then, ready to intervene if things got out of hand, just as Abby had been. Apparently, Owen calling you hot was where she drew the line.
Abby was glad Mel was saying something. Because if things had gone much further, she really might’ve hit him.
“Get up,” Mel instructed firmly, standing over him. “You’re going to bed.” He let her take the jar out of his hands and, with much effort, pushed himself up off the couch and started walking toward the door. Mel was right behind him, hands hovering on either of his sides in case he lost his balance. He was grumbling under his breath the whole way, like a toddler whose bedtime was being enforced.
Abby watched them go.
Once they were out of sight, she looked down at you, only to find that we were already looking at her.
“Sorry,” she spat out. “About him. He’s not usually like that.”
You nodded, but you didn’t seem sure that you believed her.
“So you guys are… friends?”
Abby cleared her throat. “Uh, yeah. We’ve known each other for years. Joined the WLF together. Me, Owen, Mel, and a few others.”
You considered this for a second before responding. “Where were you before?”
“Salt Lake City,” she said, looking down at her feet. “Utah.” Abby didn’t know if that would mean anything to you.
“Mel doesn’t seem to like you very much,” you said, observant, not trying to offend. Abby smiled, despite the meaning behind your words. You added, “And Owen doesn’t seem to like me.” You stated it like it was a fact, like it was neither good nor bad, just true.
“He’ll get over it. He’s just drunk.” Abby didn’t know if that was true, but she wanted to comfort you in that moment, not that you actually seemed to care all that much about Owen’s opinion of you.
“Can I ask you a question?” You were looking up at her, eyes wide and vulnerable.
Anything, Abby thought. Out loud, she said, “Sure.”
She pushed away from the wall and came to sit next to you on the couch, filling the spot where Owen had been.
“Why do you people keep calling me princess?” you asked. Abby laughed quietly under her breath, turning her body to face you.
“I don’t know. There’s something about you that’s very princess-like I guess.”
You made a face at her. She smiled wider.
“It’s not a bad thing. You just come across as soft. Delicate. I don’t know… Graceful.”
“I am not delicate,” you said, defensive.
“I know.”
“I’ve killed.”
“I saw.” Abby was being serious, although she did find the conversation amusing. “You’re very skilled with a knife.”
You nodded, satisfied with her response, and fully turned to face Abby. “And what does hot mean? Why did he call me hot?”
“Oh—” Abby stuttered, “Uh—He meant… He was saying that you’re very pretty.”
“Oh.” You considered this, eyes wandering away. “Earlier he said I look like The Lord of the Rings.”
Abby smiled again. There was something about you that felt like it might’ve been taken straight from the high fantasy genre.
“Do you know what that is?” she asked.
“Yes. Sort of. I asked Mel. She said it was a film about a magical land. With fairies and stuff.”
“They were books first.”
“Have you read them?”
“Yeah.”
“Have you read a lot of books?” you asked, genuinely curious.
“I try to read as much as I can. Whatever’s available.”
You nodded, thinking, letting the conversation die down.
After a moment, “Abby?”
“Hmm?” she hummed. She liked the way you said her name. Just the sound of it made her heart beat a little bit faster.
“Owen also called me your girlfriend.” You were studying her face, trying to read her reaction.
“Yeah. He did.” Abby said, looking into your inquisitive eyes.
“Does that just mean friend? Or is it something else?”
“He was just trying to piss me off.”
“So it does mean something else?” Your eyes were on her lips now, and you were ever so slightly leaned forward. Almost subconsciously.
“It doesn’t matter,” Abby said. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
She was pushing you away, and she didn’t know why. She could’ve answered that question so differently. Maybe she should’ve.
Abby wanted you. And she was almost certain that you felt the same way. At the very least, there was a curiosity. A hesitant attraction.
But she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was wrong. That anything with you would be something she wasn’t good enough for.
Something she didn’t deserve.
Something she would ruin if given the chance.
So tonight, she didn’t give herself that chance.
Was that noble or cowardly? She wasn’t sure.
You pulled away, turning to face forward as you let out a long breath, puffing out your cheeks.
“I’m tired,” you said, standing. “And I should check on Yara and Lev.”
“Yeah.” Abby nodded. “Okay.”
She remained in place, ready to mentally beat herself up some more and stew in her thoughts alone for a while.
You cleared your throat lightly, swaying on your feet. “Umm… I’m not sure that I can find my way back to the room. Can you… please—?”
“Oh.” Abby hopped to her feet. “Okay, yeah. I’ll… I guess I’ll go with you.”
She avoided eye contact, leading the way into the dark hallway.
22 notes · View notes
bloomeng · 3 days
Text
I made a post talking about my frustration with Lxc mischaracterization and several people mentioned in the tags the adjacent fanon Lxc problem, aka the “himbo” characterization.
Himbo is now just one of those internet words that has been so overused and thrown out of its original context that to me it almost has no meaning. My eyes sort of just glaze over it, which might be why it doesn’t bother me as much. But as far as mischaracterization goes— oh definitely Lxc is not at all a himbo.
Definitions vary but in my opinion to be a himbo one must be three things:
1) Obviously strong
To be a himbo it’s not enough to just be strong, you must be visibly strong. Bimbo and himbo’s were originally negative descriptors given to hot people who were supposedly stupid. What I’m getting at is it’s a visual aesthetic. If a character’s strength isn’t immediately identifiable then they’re not a himbo. I’m not talking “has to have a six pack,” I’m talking clothing that inadvertently reveals their strength. It’s about how they present themselves the same way bimbo is about how you present yourself. To be clear the majority of characters aren’t aware of the himbo label but they are conscious of the way they dress. They’re not dressing to fit a mold they’re dressing to show off in a way they think is cool. (Ex: characters like Itto and Galo walking around shirtless for the vibe)
2) Dumb in an oblivious way
Himbos aren’t book smart, nor are they great at grasping highly technical things, but they do shock everyone around them with their emotional intelligence. This trait comes from the newer, more positive interpretation of the label that the internet has created. Himbos are no longer flat out stupid, no they’re just a little dumb but they have a big heart. It’s the simplicity in their logic that allows them to be so straightforward and cut through the bs to the humanity of any given issue. However, it also means a lot goes over their heads. The obliviousness is the key to their dumb characterization because it’s what allows them to be so open and loud about what they believe in.
3) Kind
I already partially touched on this in the previous blurb but apart of the new understanding of a himbo is their capacity for kindness. Usually himbos are written to have strong internal moral codes that are very simple, but it’s the simplicity that allows them to see past the cultural norms and politics and just be respectful to everyone regardless of their background. That’s why people often say himbos can’t be sexist, racist, etc. Which I mostly agree with, but I do think that there are levels to this. I think if we’re discussing characters, himbos are allowed some minor prejudices as a flaw that they then work through. Sokka, while not a himbo, is a good example of a character who starts a series with a flaw (sexism) that comes from a well meaning place but grows from it. The important thing is the capacity to respect everyone.
Now Lxc does have some of these traits but he doesn’t display them in a way that matches what a himbo is.
Stength:
He’s very strong both in his cultivation and physically. Too bad we can’t see that just by looking at him.
Oblivious:
Lxc’s whole thing is that he’s literally book smart. Never once is oblivious to a situation. He purposely allows himself some blissful ignorance when it came to the situation between Jgy and Nmj but that was his one selfish act. He’s well adept when it comes to handling politics more so than anyone in the book. If you think that Lxc’s internal logic is simplistic that’s a fundamental misunderstanding of his character. The dumbest he ever gets is tied to class, where he struggles to do daily chores, and even then he’s never shown to be oblivious to the social hierarchy.
Kindness:
This is probably the trait Lxc embodies the most. He is very kind. That being said his internal logic system is not simplistic at all. Lxc is a lot more morally grey than he seems at first glance. While he feels strongly about not judging others based on their backgrounds he also has a deep understanding of exactly why certain people aren’t accepted in the first place. He understands his status and accepting Jgy was absolutely a calculated move on his part. It was coming from a good place but he also understood the delicacy of the situation. If he were actually a himbo he would’ve had none of that delicacy and pitched a very loud fit over it.
All of this is to say he’s no where near the realm of himbo. I think the only types of people who refer to him as one are typically the same people who only engage with his character on the most surface level. They mean well because it’s supposed to be a compliment— which might be why I don’t mind it as much— but it’s also just fundamentally the exact opposite of his character. He’s a passive reserved artist who’s been forced into a leadership position where he has to navigate politics.
29 notes · View notes
Text
The Demigod On Earth - Steve Rogers x Reader (Happy Mother's Day)
A/N: Sorry it's late but better late than never!
Summary: You spend your last mother's day as a family of three, well four if you count Scout
Word Count: 1.8k
Warnings: Fluff!
Dividers by @firefly-graphics
Masterlist / Main Masterlist
Tumblr media
Happy Mother's Day
You tried to hide your smile as you heard shuffling outside your bedroom door. You had already been awake for a while, mostly because of the day-to-day routine, but also because 8-year-old JJ was awful at whispering. He’d snuck in this morning to wake Steve asking for help with breakfast. You pretended to still be asleep until you heard them head downstairs.
Once you heard the noise of them all walking back upstairs you closed your eyes again to keep up the pretence. The door creaked open and you heard JJ’s bare feet padding around the bed before he climbed up.
“Gently” Steve reminded him, as JJ crawled over your legs.
“I know” JJ replied quietly before he leant down to press a kiss to your cheek “Morning Mommy” 
You made your eyes flutter open and smiled warmly up at JJ “Morning bean” 
“Happy Mother’s Day” JJ beamed as you pushed yourself up into a sitting position, your hand running over your bump which was beginning to become more and more pronounced.
“Thank you sweetie” you smiled wrapping your arm around him and pulling him in for a snuggle.
“We made you breakfast, Daddy helped so it was all good for the baby” JJ explained as he snuggled into you.
You smiled and kissed the top of his head “That’s very sweet of you, me and little pea are very grateful”
Both you and Steve had been nervous to tell JJ about the new baby. You’d waited until you were in the second trimester to tell him in case anything went wrong. You already had experience of how JJ reacted when the attention was all on him after you came back. Thankfully in the nearly two years since then, JJ had matured a lot and was really excited to have a little brother or sister.
You’d have to wait and see whether that changed once the little one was here. Especially since JJ wouldn’t be able to play with them from day one. But you and Steve already had a plan to make sure JJ didn’t feel left out.
Steve who was holding the tray with your breakfast walked over to place it down on your lap. He pressed a gentle kiss to your head as he did so.
“Feeling okay?” He asked quietly.
You answered with a subtle nod of your head. The first trimester had felt completely different this time. You guessed it was because you didn’t know you were pregnant with JJ until you were nearly in the second so never noticed the symptoms before. At least the morning sickness hasn’t been any worse than before.
“Right let’s tuck in before this gets cold” you smiled, offering JJ a slice of fruit that you spotted him spying. 
JJ grinned back at you accepting the snack, tucking in as he snuggled into you. 
Once all the food was eaten JJ climbed off the bed to go get something. He returned a few moments later with a small gift that he’d clearly helped wrap if the copious amount of sticky tape was anything to go by, as well as an envelope. 
“Here you go Mommy” he said passing you the present as he climbed back into bed next to you.
“Thank you bean, you wrapped this so nicely” you complimented him. 
“Daddy helped me,” JJ said bashfully. 
“Well, that’s very good of him to help,” you said sending a smirk Steve’s way.
You then opened the present to find a mug inside that JJ had painted. It was absolutely gorgeous with a painting of you, Steve, JJ and Scout on it. There was also a 5th thing on it that made you tilt your head, not able to work out what it was. 
“This is very sweet Bean, you did such a good job” you praised him “Who’s this next to you?” you asked guessing it was a person.
“It’s the new baby” JJ explained making your heart melt, you could see it now it was a baby all swaddled up “Daddy told me that they are really small”
You nodded “That’s right, you used to be this small too, it’s why we call you Bean” you explained.
JJ nodded his head “Daddy showed me a picture” 
Steve hummed in agreement “Can’t quite believe you used to be that small, especially now you’re so big” he said as he ruffled JJ’s hair making JJ giggle and complain. 
“Open the cards now,” JJ said passing you the two envelopes “This one first”
You smiled at him as you did what you were told, opening it up to find a handmade car inside. Your smile widened as you opened it up and saw JJ’s handwriting which was getting so neat, as well as a blue paw print from Scout. 
“So that’s why there was a blue paw print in the kitchen the other day,” you said knowingly over to Steve.
He gave you a bashful smile “I thought I got them all”
You chuckled wishing you had seen the chaos that would have been Steve chasing Scout before he tracked blue paint too far into the house as well as the task of getting the paint out of his fur.
You then moved on to the next card which you had originally thought was from Scout but you had a suspicion as to who it might be from and you hoped you could keep it cool with your pregnancy hormones. 
Despite your best efforts when you saw the handmade green card covered in drawings of peas you couldn’t help but let out a watery chuckle. Inside was more of JJ’s handwriting but this time the card was addressed from the new baby. 
“I made it green because we don’t know if it’s a boy or girl and you call it little pea” JJ explained as he pointed to all the different peas he’s drawn with smiley faces. 
“It’s amazing Bean, you’re gonna be the best big brother ever” You smiled warmly, wrapping your arm around him to give him a tight cuddle. 
“I can’t wait to meet them” JJ murmured as he snuggled into you. 
“We can’t wait either bean” Steve said softly as he rubbed JJ’s back.
Tumblr media
It was a couple of weeks later and you were absolutely buzzing with excitement. Both you and Steve had taken the day off work as you had an appointment this morning with your OBGYN. You had once again decided to find out the gender of your new addition, however, this time you had decided to surprise JJ with it. 
You had made a point of not asking JJ what he wanted and he hadn’t said what he wanted either. If he did have a preference you hoped the surprise reveal you had planned would be enough to keep him excited even if it wasn’t what he wanted. 
Steve was currently picking JJ up from school while you put the finishing touches to the cake you had made as well as make sure you had cleaned up all the coloured batter so the surprise wasn’t spoilt. 
You had just finished cleaning everything up when you heard the front door open. Scout who had been at your feet hoping for scraps instantly spang up to go greet Steve and JJ. You could hear JJ giggling as he cuddled with Scout and Steve made his way into the kitchen carrying JJ’s rucksack. 
“The cake looks good” he smiled greeting you with a kiss on the cheek before moving to empty out JJ’s bag and lunchbox. 
“I hope it tastes as good as it looks” you hummed as you helped him. 
JJ made his way into the kitchen in search of his usual post-school snack, his eyes lighting up when he saw the cake covered in white frosting. 
“Can I have cake for my snack?!” he asked hopefully. 
“Yes you can but this is a very special cake” you explained as Steve lifted JJ up to sit at the kitchen island where the cake was resting. 
“What’s special?” JJ asked as he sat down. 
You moved to set up your phone ready to record so you could share the video with your friends and family later. 
“Me and mommy went to the doctor’s today to find out whether you’re gonna have a little sister or little brother” Steve explained “and this cake is gonna tell us which it is”
“Really?” JJ beamed excitedly. 
“Yes, so we’re gonna carefully cut into it and if it's blue inside it's a boy, and if it’s pink it’s a girl” you explained as you walked back over and grabbed the cake slice. 
“I can’t wait” JJ grinned bouncing in his seat. 
“Us too, now close your eyes so it’s a surprise,” Steve told him, JJ grinned as he closed his eyes tightly. 
You then carefully took JJ’s hand so he could ‘help’ you cut the cake. Just before you made the first cut you looked over at Steve who was smiling back at you with so much warmth and love in his eyes. You mouth an ‘I love you’ to him which he mouthed back. 
You returned your attention back to the cake and made the first cut and then the second, you pulled the slice out slightly before telling JJ he could open his eyes “alright you can look now JJ”
JJ opened his eyes and excitedly gasped “It’s Pink!” 
“That’s right you’re gonna have a little sister” You smiled warmly glad that he seemed excited. 
“Like Morgan?” he asked excitedly. 
“Yep just like Morgan, but the baby is gonna be really small remember so she won’t be able to play with you straight away” Steve reminded him gently. 
“Gentle playing” JJ nodded. 
“Yeah gently playing, and she’ll sleep a lot too like you did, but when she’s awake and you’re around you can have cuddles with her because you give the best cuddles” you said wrapping your arm around him to cuddle him which made him chuckle.
“Okay” JJ grinned as you plated up a small slice of cake for him before grabbing a slice for both you and Steve. 
Steve smiled warmly at you as you passed him his slice “That went really well” he commented. 
“Yeah I don’t know why we were so nervous” you admitted, smiling warmly at JJ as he tucked into his slice of cake “he’s just as excited as we are” 
“Mom?” JJ then asked.
“Yeah sweetie?” you asked.
“Does the baby have a name yet?” he asked between mouthfuls. 
You shook your head “No not yet, me and daddy need to do some thinking about that, but sometimes we need to meet the baby to know what to call it” you explained.
JJ nodded his head in understanding “What can I call her now?” 
“You can call her sweet pea like we have been already and then we’ll call her by her name when she arrives” Steve explained. 
“Okay, I can’t wait to meet her” JJ grinned returning his attention to his cake slice. 
“Us too Bean” You smiled as Steve wrapped his arm around you, his hands resting on your bump as we kissed your cheek.
Tumblr media
Sharing is caring so please reblog if you enjoyed this and maybe even leave a comment to make my day!
I have no schedule, please don’t ask when I will be updating!
Masterlist / Masterlist
I don’t have a tag list so follow @secretswiftymarvelfanlibrary​ and turn on post notifications for updates!
21 notes · View notes