#bound to have been drawn eventually ;u;"

[waklman]

fake it is my bread and butter I’m in love thank u. I feel like reader is going to start pulling away. OMG WHAT IF jake kissed the reader in front of a bunch of people when he was beyond drunk or did something that made the reader embarrassed and uncomfortable so she isn’t talking to him and jake pleads for her forgiveness and it’s angsty and fluffy

note: okay i don't really know what this was but i'm just happy i was able to finally write something honestly, anyways here is more jake and princess until i pull myself together to work on the next chapter </3

warnings: mentions of drinking, insecurities.

If you were merely a book, you’d be a forgotten composition of bounded paper, quietly collecting dust on the unreachable bay of a shelf inside a fading bookstore—barely visited by anyone but the owners themselves.

And Jake would be the first person to ever be drawn in by you, setting off the soft chime of the entrance, walking right up to the shelf you sat on, extending himself to gently pluck you from the rotting oak that previously held you upright, and take you home with him.

When it’s finally just you two surrounded by the shrouding walls of his bedroom, Jake would slowly run his calloused finger down your uncracked leathered spine to ease you open, gaining your trust. Eventually, your pages would unfurl themselves to him—revealing stories that breathed life into your biggest aspirations and smallest insecurities, laid bare for his naked eyes to see.

And Jake would read those inked lines, over and over again until he could recite your contents in his sleep, until his heart filled with fondness when he thought of you, until you became his favorite piece of literature. 

That’s how you’d like to think of your relationship with Jake, anyway. You were something that existed solely for his mind to study, for him to understand. No one else. 

Jake would never return you back to that shop, Jake would never make you feel a semblance of regret for opening up to him, Jake would never laugh at things that would wear down your stitched pages. 

Oh, but he did, right in your face too. 

The moment Jake’s drunk laugh spilled out his chest at Jeremy Duncan’s sloppy joke about you being so quiet he forgot you were there—it was like you entrusted a stranger to hold your red solo cup. 

The same lips that read over your fear about feeling invisible, were the same ones that curled into a smile when a jab was made at you.

Rather than facing that reality head on, you glued back shut, reverting back to that lonely collection of narratives that you didn’t let anyone read. But this time, you couldn’t go running back to that high shelf that hid you away—all you could do was slowly withdraw from the person who took you off of it. 

Jake knew you needed solitude at times, and he respected that, it was how you recharged your energy after any social event.

So, for the last few days he let you do just that. He let you wordlessly walk past him when he tried to reach out for you to join him on the couch. He let you say less and less to him when he just wanted to hear your voice over dinner, afraid he might forget how it sounded. He let you sneak out earlier each day, just so you could avoid walking to class with him.

He let you do all of that, suppressing his slight worry—until he picked up on how you would nervously stand outside his door at random points in the night, only to eventually go back to your own room. And to make matters worse, if Jake hadn’t been staying up late, racking his brain about you rather than sleeping, he wouldn’t have even noticed that you started to do that.

Jake knew you needed solitude at times, but he also knew that something was wrong. 

So, that’s when he decided to stop letting you walk away from him, because it was starting to plague him with concern at this point. 

But, when Jake weakly trailed past your door frame, and kneeled at your seated figure at the corner of your bed, you flinched when he instinctively extended his hands to hold yours. 

Refusing to meet his stare, you miss the subtle traces of disappointment that flit across his features.

“You..don’t want me touching you?” Jake’s quiet voice is colored by hurt, hands cautiously dropping to fiddle with the cuffs of your loose sweatpants instead. You at least let him do that, because it keeps him at a distance, because the fabric he’s gently playing with acts as a safeguard between you and him.  

Gaze casted down into your lap, you reverently shake your head. “No, Jake,” you refuse him, your own strained voice mirroring his own. 

If you were merely a book, he’d laugh at the way you awkwardly sat, he’d playfully bump shoulders with the same people who looked through you like you weren’t there. 

With that, he feels an unsettling guilt well up inside his stomach, rising up to his throat like bile. “Okay, I see. Will you tell me what I did wrong then?” Jake sucks in deep breath, only releasing it when he sees you let out a somewhat steady breath for yourself. 

Even when a burn spreads through his lungs for what feels like a full minute, he still doesn’t feel deserving when he goes to cool it, not when you probably don’t think he’s deserving of it either. 

“No, Jake,” you reinforce, shoulders beginning to tremble from the pressure of refusing him, from the pressure of closing yourself back up.  

If you were merely a book, you wouldn’t let him take you into his careful hands, he’d only read your unshared secrets to the world. 

For Jake, it feels almost sinful to hold himself back from soothing his palms over your shaking body. His fingers clutch the ankles of your pants tighter, a desperate bid for solace. “Please, talk to me princess,” he helplessly begs, not knowing what else to do with himself. “You won’t even come into my room.”

“No, Jake,” you repeat, unaware of the tear that glides down your cheek. “You laughed, when Jeremy said I was practically invisible. You laughed at me.” The crack of your spine urges you to stay resilient like you did before, but the crack of your spine can’t help how much it aches for him to gently coax it again.

Jake stills as realization washes down on him, chest unwinding at your explanation. 

If you were merely a book, you would want to be perched on that shelving unit. You don’t need Jake to be drawn in by what your pages held, you don’t need him to not feel put off by the plain cover that held you together. You don’t need—

Without a warning, Jake scoops you up from where you’re sitting, forcing you to encircle your legs around his middle as he leads you into the threshold of his room. 

“I laughed because I thought it was the stupidest shit I ever heard,” he carefully explains, keeping you in lap as he goes to sit on his sheets. “You’re funny if you think I didn’t tell him off the morning after,” he continues, recounting the string of threats that fell off his tongue when found Jeremy after class.

When you finally look at him, cheeks sticky from streaky tears and waterlogged lashes fluttering at him, Jake feels his heart swell in his chest. Naturally, he goes to playfully tousle your hair, gently, mindful of the migraine that tends to follow after your crying. 

If you were merely a book, he would have corners of the most important pages gently folded in, ingraining each word and punctuation mark that made you vulnerable into his memory. 

“Jake, what would you do if I was a book?” You ask through a weak smile, heart gently throbbing as you notice the tenderness reflected in his eyes.

Smoothing down the hair he’s ruffled with both hands, Jake gives your question some thought. “Is this one of those, would you love me if I was a worm kinda questions?” 

Clutching the hems of his shirt between your hands for solace, you nod at him, waiting for one of those lighthearted responses he always gives you.

But sensing that you’d want a genuine answer instead, Jake gives you just that. 

“If you were a book,” he starts, brushing strands of hair behind your ears. “I would never get sick of reading you princess. Think you’d be my favorite,” and he means it.

#ears open #fake it #jake seresin blurb

[starilicious]

mere haath mein (echo x gn!reader)

》 summary: reader and echo's love story from strangers to friends to lovers throughout the clone wars (a 4+1 type of story)

》 series masterlist: (please read the masterlist before continuing on!)

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 📍 (you are here!) | part 4 | part 4.5.1 | part 4.5.2 | part +1

click here to read on AO3

》 part 3 word count: ~2k

》 part 3 warnings: none

》 part 3 spoilers: none

》 a/n: a bit of a longer part! reader and echo meet again and reader is a lil bit confused, poor thing.

i really took some creative liberty with this chapter and it probably (definitely) does not really reflect what it's like to be fighting in a war in any manner but oh well!!!!! that's the fun of fiction, you get to make up your own world <33

hope u folks like the chapter!

३ (3)

The third time you see him, you’re back on Coruscant, and technically supposed to be on leave. You requested a few days off, much to Fives’ delight and Anakin’s dismay. (“Aw, come on Astro! Your opinion is the only one I can trust on this entire ship when it comes to engineering.” “Oh please Anakin, spare me your whining. You know just as well as I do that you’ll be perfectly fine. But I’ll miss you too.”)

Despite both being part of the 501st, Fives and Echo had very different schedules, and more often than not, Fives’ rotations lined up with yours, leaving you to suffer through his insufferable pick-up lines. You have no idea how you haven’t smacked the banthashit out of him yet. (Fives’ knowing smile always ends up stopping you)

In all seriousness though, he had been pestering you to take a break from your work after quickly seeing the toll it began to take on you. The responsibilities kept piling up and more and more often, you were sacrificing sleep in order to continue making improvements, even despite having your team’s help. In your mind, time couldn’t be wasted when good soldiers were losing their lives, and you would be damned if you didn’t take every opportunity to make sure they lived another day.

But Fives eventually wore you down. (You have a sneaking suspicion he was relaying everything to Echo who then in turn made sure Fives turned his “charm” up to the highest notch to get you to take a break.)

(It worked.)

If anything, you were shocked when you received the message that not only was your leave accepted, but you were encouraged to take a sabbatical for a few weeks.

You weren’t planning on doing so, but after Fives, Prauf, Sonia, and even Rex of all people ganged up on you, you didn’t think you had a choice.

Even now, you’re still not sure what to make of it. Granted, the extra time means you can reach out to family and dust off former projects, but you kind of miss the hustle and bustle of your job. It simply isn’t the same without your friends always nagging you and cracking jokes. You would never tell Fives, but you even miss his terribly endearing flirting.

After the glamour of the sabbatical wore off, you decided to dive headlong into the numerous ideas collected in your engineering notebook over the years. It’s an old gift given to you by your parents, made out of paper and bound by string, encased in a decorated hard-shell cover to protect the inside. Such rarities are difficult to come by these days since datapads are so prevalent, but you always liked the smooth glide of an inkpen against scratchy paper better.

You turn to a new, precious page and meticulously begin fleshing out a prototype. Each line is drawn precisely, every mark exact. As you design, you keep a datapad open with the list of items you need to get. You have a makerspace where you can engineer to your heart’s desire, but there are some select objects you require you doubt you’ll be able to find in the marketplace.

So you head for the makerspace in the engineering garage in the basement of the Senate building on Coruscant. Your office is still there, and you still have your holoid with you–you’ll be in and out in no time.

Or so you thought.

“Astro! It’s good to see you,” a voice calls out. You turn around to find both Ahsoka and Padme side by side, R2-D2 trailing behind Padme’s lovely gown.

“Padme! Ahsoka! I haven’t seen you both in so long,” you greet kindly, eyes curving into crescent moons. R2-D2 beeps indignantly as they stop in front of you and you laugh, bending down to pet the droid’s head affectionately.

“And hello to you too, R2. Anakin making sure that capacitor is working smoothly?” R2 whumps and warbles and you nod in satisfaction.

“For once, he’s actually taking my advice.”

All of you laugh, knowing just how headstrong Anakin is when it comes to technology–or anything, really.

“Why are you here? I thought you were taking some time off?” Ahsoka pipes up, her confusion as clear as day. You shrug in slight embarrassment at getting caught so quickly.

“I wanted to pick up a few things from my office downstairs. Thought I could do something useful to help the war effort even though I’m not here,” you explain and Padme raises an eyebrow.

“Astro, I believe the point of taking leave is to not do work?” she points out and you rub the back of your neck sheepishly.

“Yes, well, this...this is more of a personal project than a work project. I like to keep busy,” you say, hands gripping your bag tightly.

Ahsoka opens her mouth to speak, but Padme places a hand on the Padawan’s shoulder. “In that case, we won’t stop you. But please do take some time for yourself, hm? And you’re always free to stop by anytime,” she says instead, and you nod in agreement, not sure what else to say.

“Take care Astro! See you later!” Ahsoka fills the silence as the three of them begin walking away and you wave back in response.

Once they turn the corner, you let out a breath you didn’t even know you were holding, too focused on not slipping up in the conversation. At least that’s over.

You make your way to the makerspace swiftly, not keen on meeting anyone else. You love your friends, but you doubt you can handle any more guilt-tripping. Besides, you’re still taking a break–you don’t really see what the problem is here.

The sharp scent of oil and grease fills your nostrils as you step into the engineering garage, saws and cutters whirring throughout the spacious area. Lights spark here and there and you relax, feeling at home. Before you can make it any farther, your best friend seemingly materializes out of nowhere.

“What the hell are you doing here? Go home,” Prauf exclaims, already trying to push you back out the door. You roll your eyes as you easily duck under his outstretched arm.

“I am, I am! I just came by to pick up a few things–please, for the love of the Maker above, do not tell Sonia. She’s going to rip me apart to shreds if she finds out,” you please, clasping your hands in front of you as Prauf folds his arms over his chest.

He relents, though, sighing out your name in resignation, and you whoop in joy.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyou! I promise I’ll make it up to you,” you say as you throw your arms around him and he pats your back gently.

“Yeah, yeah, you owe me,” Prauf agrees. “You should use your time to go on a date with your boyfriend though.”

He darts away back to his work before you can smack his forearm in retaliation because you do not have a boyfriend, thank you very much. Your heart beats faster at the thought anyway.

Instead of following him, you accept defeat retreat to your office to grab the materials you need. You end up needing a cart to tow everything back to your makerspace back home. Realizing you can’t walk back without the high chance of one of your parts being stolen, you opt for grabbing a speeder taxi up at the ship docking bay.

You make your way back upstairs, dodging busygoers this way and that before finally making it to the bay. So close…

But of course, the universe is against you when you see his telltale armor standing near a ship. Oh kriff.

You saw both Ahsoka and R2-D2 today, meaning Anakin and the 501st were probably here too. You can’t believe it didn’t connect the dots in your head sooner. For someone whose life's work is putting things together, it’s ironic you didn’t realize.

In an attempt to make sure he can’t see you, you turn at an angle and try heading for the far end of the hanger as fast as possible, pulling your hat down lower over your eyes to obscure your face.

It doesn’t work.

“Astro?” Echo’s voice calls. You close your eyes in defeat, posture softening into a sag. Damnit. But despite your reluctance at being caught, you can’t help the spark of warmth that shoots through your body at the sound of his warm acknowledgment.

“In the flesh.”

You turn around and Echo jogs up to you, a look on his face you can’t quite decipher. He gazes at you when he ends up in front of you, a small, disarming smile. It seems as if he knows something you don’t.

“Need help?” he gestures to your heavy cart and you look down, momentarily forgetting about it. You don’t comment on your surprise.

“Oh, uh–yeah. Thanks,” you say instead. You step back, but it’s not far enough. Echo bumps into you when he tries sliding into your space to take over. It knocks a breathless laugh out of him and your stomach flips. Whether it’s out of embarrassment or something else entirely, you don’t know.

“I–sorry, I didn’t mean to–”

Echo waves you off nonchalantly. “Don’t apologize, happens all the time. You should have seen Fives yesterday at 79’s. Tup accidentally tripped him and he went careening straight into a commander. And boy did they give him a piece of their mind. All of us were losing it when he came back to our table,” he laughs effortlessly.

You’re suddenly jealous of how natural he is, how easily he smooths over awkward bumps and cumbersome smalltalk. Your hands curl at your sides, unsure of where to place them.

Echo guides you both across the large docking bay, filling the silence gracefully with one story after another, each as funny as the last. You stay quiet most of the time, appropriately laughing at this point and that, inserting a comment here or there. He doesn’t seem to mind though, instead building off of your reactions. It’s almost… relieving.

“And we’re here!” You’re shaken out of your reverie by the exclamation, and you look around to confirm that you indeed have arrived. Wait… how did he even know this is where I wanted to go?

You choose not to dwell too long on the thought.

Echo lets go of his grip on the cart, making space for you to push it. He waves down a driver and instructs them to load your parts into a crate to take on the back of a speeder before turning to you.

“Thanks, Echo. It was nice to see you again,” you remark, lifting your gaze to meet his eyes. He smiles in acknowledgment and something about him pushes you to continue.

You hesitate for a moment before opening your mouth again. “Would… would you like to accompany me back? I’m working on a prototype and I wouldn’t mind an extra set of hands…” you trail off. The offer hangs in the air, uncertain–a lingering question.

Echo’s comm answers for him. He steps back and you feel the same urge as you felt in the cantina all those days ago to pull him back to you, pull him close to you. You stay stuck by the cart.

“As much as I would like to, duty calls,” he says apologetically, echoing your statement from when you first met him. As he walks backwards, he gives you a lazy salute accompanied with a lopsided smile.

“Until we meet again, Astro!”

And with that, he runs off, leaving you alone with the grouchy driver, mumbling about how he doesn’t get paid enough.

It’s only until you get home and unload the equipment that you realize Echo was the only one who didn’t ask why you were there.

---

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 📍 (you are here!) | part 4 | part 4.5.1 | part 4.5.2 | part +1

please consider reblogging! it really helps me and is super encouraging ^_^

#echo #star wars #tbb #the bad batch #bad batch #echo x reader #arc trooper echo #arc trooper echo x reader #arc trooper echo x you #clone trooper echo #the bad batch x you #the bad batch echo #the bad batch x reader #tbb echo #echo x you #star wars tcw #star wars clone wars #star wars: the clone wars #sw fic #star wars fic

[aranict]

Book asks! 9, 12, and 19 please :D

OOooh that was a hard one!

Wall of text incoming :D

9.if u were stuck on an island and could only have three books w u what would they be? (series would be counted as one cuz as i said so)

The Coldfire trilogy by C.S Friedman

Havenstar by Glenda Larke

Deathless by Catherynne Valente

Those books mean a lot to me, to be fair they are the only books I went back to  re-read right after I finished them. Each one has a different appeal, either due to its story, or its characters. 

Coldfire is a masterpiece of how to write a dark fantasy tale with The Most Memorable Villain (™) in the genre, whose moral decline goes far more than the lust for power; Tarrant is an once hailed saviour, a killer, a martyr, a master of demonic forces and unimaginable powers, who yet manages to have such a strong presence in the world, that even the main hero - Damien, the equivalent of the upright cleric of light - is drawn to. Damien’s own change of beliefs and attitude to him towards the series is beautifully executed and more importantly, believable ; in the end of the series, they are both changed, moved by their respective rigid values and beliefs, into camaraderie and understanding. Even if the book shows its age sometimes- its 34 years old by now -  its flaws can be overlooked in favour of the fantastic worldbuilding and the memorable main characters.

Havenstar is perhaps the most underrated standalone novel I have ever read. Again , published in the early 90s and relatively unknown, it has one of the most original concepts regarding the impact of magic and such forces - magic is chaotic, unpredictable, and seemingly controlled by demons, having disastrous effects when used without care.  The land itself is changed, where magic is present in abundance, with magic users being hunted as servants of the dark. People rely on mapmakers who can see and chart the ever changing landscape to travel  - people like the main protagonist, who takes it upon her to pick up her father’s work in mapping out the unstable wild lands. Keris is forced in one such journey to work with a man who is bound to the dark - Davron, a magic user, who represents the evil she has been taught to hate all her life. Only things are not what they seem, and Keris comes to understand that what she has been shown about magic is not quite true, and to see the plight of a persecuted people first hand, which helps here to grow out of her taught prejudices and narrow mindedness of the society she has been brought up in. Keris and Davron’s gradual transition from hate to understanding and eventually, to something more, is a masterfully told enemies-to-lovers story, which again, puts newer works on the genre to shame. I could go on and on about this book, but I would rather you just read it instead :)

Deathless is… I don’t really know what to say about this book, it walks the fine line between genre fiction and literary fiction, the prose is a work of art in itself, a lyrical, dark fairytale inspired by the Russian folklore of the Tsar of Life and Death. I do not think that I have read a love story more profound, more memorable, than that of Marya and Koschei; their love is something terrible to behold, bound to surpass the bounds of life and death. A fairytale told in the age where magic dies, the a dark , twisted story with the backdrop of the political turmoil and wars of the 20th century. It just something that you have to read :)  

“I do not tolerate a world emptied of you.” :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

12.a book/book series u wish u could read for the first time ever again?

I think that I would want to re-read the Malazan Book Of the Fallen series again, and re-live all the beautiful, tragic, heart-wrenching moments of this epic like the first time. It’s the pinnacle of epic fantasy for me, the kind that you cannot really describe in a short summary. It has the right amount of action, character development, insane lore and magic - think D&D but in a more mature setting. Gods walk the earth, magic tears the realm and the sky, legions battle impossible odds…It’s military fantasy, at its best, with politics, power plays between gods and mortals and flawed, tragic characters. Add to that the masterful writing of Steven Erikson, who writes a D&D fantasy like it's a Greek tragedy, and come on, what’s not to like?

Provided, they are difficult books. There is a lot of philosophy and symbolism thrown in and the prose is quite heavy, but… it’s beautiful :)

19.a book u came across randomly but ended up loving it?

Ok, a really random read that I actually enjoyed quite a lot was Anthony Ryan’s  A Pilgrimage of Swords. Although I’ve read quite a lot of Ryan’s works, I found this novella by chance while browsing books on the kobo store. It is not a full length novel but it’s exceptionally good, reads a lot like a D&D party adventure , a party of people thrown together on a quest. However, this is Ryan we’re talking about, so the worldbuilding is terrific, and the main character , the Pilgrim,  is just a chef’s kiss kind of morally grey character, who is equal parts intimidating, sarcastic, utterly likeable.  :) 

Thanks for tagging me!!!

#aranict rambles

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

May i have a monster tom x reader?

Plot: While reader was out grabbing some groceries they recognize tom in his monster form getting chased by the cops and tom ends up in the forest and reader, searching form tom, eventually finds him in a cave and try to calm him down while also removing the bullet holes only having the cops find them again and reader convincing to put their guns away but one of thems just "NAW HE GOTTA DIE" and reader ends up with a bullet in their leg and also monster tom killing that one cop while the others got away and monster tom, with tears in his eye(s?) Kinda carries and injured reader. And also reader wakes up them covered in bandages and a half transformed monster tom silently crying while hugging them and they reassure him that it's not his fault and they cuddle :3

Also somehow tom got the groceries

Y e s good 👀👀👆👆👆

........

"Man, I sure do love grocery shopping for my roommates and boyfriend." You hummed out loud as you were walking back home, bags in-hand from your trip to the store.

It was just a normal day for the most part, which was quite strange considering something bizarre was bound to happen.

But so far nothing odd has occurred.

"It's nice to not worry about anything going wro-"

The sound of rumbling made you stop short, and you felt the ground tremble as you looked around in bewilderment.

Seconds later you noticed a giant purple beast roar as it ran past you, followed by several police cars and a few helicopters. You saw the beast flee into the nearby forest.

"Huh, that creature reminds me of Tom......HOLY SHIT THAT'S MY TOM!!"

Dropping the groceries, you dashed after him, noticing the knocked-over trees as you entered the wooded area undetected.

You had no idea what happened while you were gone to make Tom transform and wreck havoc again. But you've decided that you'll blame Tord once you get him back home.

Only that bastard could've done something to piss him off this much.

........

After much searching, and evasion of the spotlights and cops, you found a cave. You were worried that a bear lived here, but given the trail of blood that led into the entrance, you knew for certain it couldn't be one.

It had to be Tom.

"Tom? Sweetie? It's me." You called out gently as you went inside, hearing the monster's whine in response.

Eventually you turned a corner and found him, smiling at first. But then you saw the bullet wounds and gasped in shock, rushing over. "Oh jesus..it's okay, I'm here now. Let me see." You gently took his paw, gazing at the injury. A bullet was clearly lodged into it.

"Damnit..I did buy pliers at the store," you grumbled. "If I didn't drop all that stuff like an idiot I could've-"

Tom let out a displeased grunt, prompting you to look back up at him. "No, I don't care about groceries more than you. I'm just saying it would've been more convenient if I..."

However, you trailed off as his single eye squinted in pain. He lowered his head to nuzzle it against your forehead.

You sighed and put your hand on his cheek, hushing him. "I know it hurts, but we'll be okay. I'll find a way to-"

"HEY YOU! Step away from the scary monster!!"

Your eyes widened as you glanced over your shoulder, seeing several cops with their guns drawn blocking the way out.

Tom was starting to get angry again, but you hushed him once more, slowly standing up. You turned to the cops, keeping your hands out so they knew you weren't armed.

"Just go home, fellas. I got this under control. I know him. He's my uh....pet...dragon." You nervously chuckled, glancing back at the unamused Tom.

"Don't dragons have wings?" One of the cops remarked.

"How rude of you to stereotype." Huffing, you shook your head in dismay. "Listen, it's okay. He won't hurt me. So just please..put your guns away and I'll take him home. That way, everybody wins. Okay? Nobody has to die."

Although hesitant, they slowly put their guns back in their holsters. Though one cop who looked immensely paranoid suddenly took his back out, aiming it with shaking hands.

"Woah hey! What are you-?!"

"Y-You're lying!!" He shouted. "You probably created that thing and set him loose upon this city!! WELL THIS ENDS NOW!!!"

A single bullet was fired directly at Tom, but you jumped into its path, getting hit in the leg.

As you collapsed and yelled out in pain, Tom could only see the blood coming from you, and that was enough to fully enrage him.

He roared loudly and jumped over you, tackling the cop who shot you and tearing him apart, while the others fled the scene in fear they'll be next.

Once the man beneath him stopped screaming forever, he huffed as he got off of him. Then he looked at you, seeing you leaning against the wall, holding your leg. His eye began to water as he picked you up gently, whining as though to apologize for what happened.

You just smiled tiredly at him, though you couldn't say much as you gradually lost consciousness.

...........

When you woke up, you weren't aware of the time.

Just the fact you were laying in bed--back in the safety of Edd's house, with bandages covering your leg. But you realized that you weren't in your own room, but Tom's.

'Wait..is he..?'

Hearing a small sob, you looked to see your boyfriend curled up beside you, his head on your chest. You noticed his horns were still present and his arms were still fuzzy and large.

But besides that he was back to normal.

As you hugged him back, he looked up at you, tears staining his cheeks. They began falling faster. "I..I let you get hurt. I'm sorry..damnit." He cried silently. "I admit it, I lied about having this thing u-under control-"

"Hey, it's okay." You smiled as you kissed his forehead. "It was my decision to take that bullet, not yours. It's not your fault you can't control it just yet."

Tom sniffled. "S-So you're not mad?"

"No, I could never be." Rubbing his horns seemed to soothe him, as he purred and nestled his head back into your chest. "My leg hurts like a bitch but I'll live."

"My arm doesn't hurt anymore...or any other part of me that was shot."

"Huh..strange. Maybe you unlocked your regenerative healing powers." You mused.

He just chuckled, hugging you tightly. "Probably. By the way I..uh..got those groceries you dropped."

"Awh, really?"

"Yeah." He gazed up at you. "On the way home I scented the sminorff and, well..y'know I couldn't let that go to waste."

"....so you care about sminorff more than me?" You pouted.

"No. I'm not saying that." Tom was back to his usual grumpy self, which made you chuckle as you caught him off-guard with a kiss.

"I'm only teasing."

"....let's just stay like this for a while, alright?" He cuddled closer to you, sighing tiredly.

You agreed and just closed your eyes, glad to be back in his arms.

#eddsworld x reader #ew tom x reader #tom x reader #monster tom x reader #angst #hurt/comfort

[entishramblings]

The Essence of Arda [Legolas X Reader]

A.N: whoA okay so this fic took me on a whole ass adventure. I kinda just let the story go where it wanted to and ya know I’m kinda happy with how it turned out. Also, “(h/c)” means hair color...there is something I included but I wanted to make sure you guys could still see yourself as the character so yeah! Another also...I’m sorry....this was requested literally so long ago.

Request: @sokkasdarling — heyhey im gonna request smth cus i LOVE U AND UR WRITING HHHH okay so how about a jealous legolas fic where he thinks the reader and aragorn have a lil thing going on but they're just really great friends and she actually likes legolas very much?? please and thank you<3333

Pairing: Legolas X Reader

Summary: (Y/N) and Legolas’s paths cross in an unexpected way and the two develop feelings for each other. However, Legolas is unsure and gets jealous bc of the way Aragorn and (Y/N) interact.

Word Count: 3,661 (sorry I got a little carried away)

Warnings: angst, fluff, cuteness, jealousy, the tiniest amount of nudity

(gif not mine)

MASTERLIST | AO3

Legolas had met many wandering souls throughout his travels of middle earth—weathered, withered, and warped humans in particular, for the elements and loneliness seemed to affect them more so. Elves, on the other hand, were bound to nature. It was where their hearts rested and their spirits thrived; therefore, the desperation of the empty lands of Arda did not affect him. However, that didn’t mean he did not wish for company. So, on that account, Legolas made his way north towards the Dundain, in hopes to see his good friend Aragorn once more.

It was there, in the northern wilderness, where he met the most riveting and thought-provoking individual. The intriguing nature that compelled his attention was that she was so unlike the other humans he ventured upon, specifically because she wasn’t exactly human.

The first time he had met (Y/N) was when her sharp canine teeth were at his throat.

A (h/c) she-wolf had launched herself at him with an unhinged jaw and barring teeth. The nimble creature had been so swift that he, even as an elf, did not have time to react. The wolf had pinned him down with a viscous expression—laughing at his surprise. Legolas was only quick enough to pull a knife from his belt once he was already knocked down upon the mud. However, he hesitated just before he was going to strike the blade into the beasts’ belly.

As intimidated as he was, something in those vibrant earthy eyes made him halt. Was it the deep churning of the sea? The fresh breath of the sky? The moisture of the leaves? The pooling of sun-kissed honey? The thickness of clay-like soil? Legolas was unsure why exactly, but those eyes reflected the essence of Arda—they reflected it right back into his soul. And here was his miscalculation, for the natural instincts of a wolf would not suspend for its prey—well, not without a familiar voice calling out....?

“(Y/N), NO!”

The creature froze. She reluctantly backed off of his form but she did not let her guard down. Instead, she circled him with those same barring teeth and low growls.

Legolas inhaled a deep breath of cold air as he tried to re-center himself, for it was not often an elf got knocked on their ass and enthralled so deep in a beauty.

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and focused in on his elvish senses—feeling every nerve in his body scream out to be alert.

Legolas’s ears picked up the first indication—the speaker.

A sound of rough, ragged panting carried through the breeze as his gaze whispered upon the being who had previously hollered—a worn down Ranger.

A small grin crossed the elf’s face. Aragon stood before Legolas, with hands on his knees, sucking in deep breathes. An entirely human action. The Ranger clearly had a hard time keeping up with the canine creature—which he surprisingly seemed to be acquainted with.

“Legolas, by the Valar, I didn’t know you were traveling through these parts,” He exclaimed.

The elf chuckled as he stood, brushing dirt off his palms.

“Well, I suppose I am lucky for she listens to you well,” He nodding at the wolf for reference.

The Ranger shook his head and let out an amused laugh. “She never listens to a thing I say. So, you are lucky, indeed.”

The wolf released a snort-like sound as if she was retorting to his words.

The Ranger rolled his eyes before speaking to Legolas again, “Let me show you to where we are camped. A hot meal will be waiting.”

Legolas smiled softly, “Thank you, Mellon Nin (my friend).”

The group—consisting of man, elf, and wolf—traveled through the woodland tundra with small conversation between the two who could speak. They shared their recent adventures and current news across the lands until they come upon a handful of Rangers around a blazing fire. They were clad in similar attire as Aragorn, being worn leather boots and thick fraying fabrics. Each of them had the same haunted expressions as many people Legolas had met, yet nothing like the joyful grin that pulled slightly at Aragorn’s lips.

The Ranger introduced each of his companions to the elf as he settled down upon a log. Legolas did the same, allowing himself to become enthralled by the brilliant flames. The she-wolf left his thoughts.

As the moon rose high and stars stretched across the sky, the rangers began to settle for the evening. It was then when the elf ducked away to relieve himself.

He made his way through the twisting trees in silence for he enjoyed listening to the sounds of night’s nature. But the normal chirps and hoots was not what met his ears; rather it was snapping bones and ripping skin, small groans and weak whimpers—it was pain.

Legolas narrowed his eyes and crept forward cautiously, fearful of what he might find.

The sounds let him towards a rather large bolder that was impeded in the ground and covered in thick moss. He was startled as he laid a hand on the cold stone, for a leg protruded upon the side—a leg belonging to the canine species.

It bended and it snapped, morphing into one of human nature—much like his own. It then disappeared behind the rock once more. He could not hold back the gasp that left his lips for witnessing such a thing was—shocking, confusing, terrifying. It was unnatural, but then again, what was ever natural within the lands of Arda?

Legolas’s attention was drawn upwards as a naked figure shakily stood before him.

She stood straight, with impeccable posture, and a head held high; but that is not what claimed his consciousness. It was that vibrant gaze, burning angry holes into him.

She spoke sharply, “Well, are you going to pass me my clothing?”

Instead of responding or making any motion, he froze as if he was deer hiding from the predator once more. His blue orbs locked onto hers, for he dared not let his gaze wander.

Dreadful silence hung in their air as he processed that the person before him indeed was a wolf moments before—the wolf.

However, that antagonizing absence of sound was disrupted when life was breathed back into him and he could finally move his lips. Though it came out as a whisper, for elves were conservative creatures and such a sight had caught him off guard, it still came out nonetheless.

“You are—are not entirely human.” He stated with an expression that seeped curiousness and inquiry.

“Though, currently, I am shaped like one. So, as you are in my way, I will ask you once again to pass me my clothing.” She reiterated.

Legolas’s brows pulled together and his lips mumbled her words back to her as he searched his mind for the meaning. He twisted around and around until a pile of dark fabrics caught his eye. He grasped them gently and passed it over the boulder between them into her calloused hands.

He turned so his back was facing her. His anxiety and awkwardness reverberated off of every word that non-consensually tumbled from his lips. “You are a shifter then—able to alter your form? A wolf....so I suppose it was you who almost tore my throat out.” He paused before recalling her name, “(Y/N).” He should have stopped there if he could, but alas, he couldn’t. “I have only ever met one other like you. His name was Beorn—a great black bear he was—“

She interrupted him, “Most elves I come across are not so verbal. Though, Strider had mentioned you before, Legolas. A strange fellow you are indeed.”

A small grin of embarrassment flickered across his face, not that she could see. “He called me strange?”

A laugh, sounding of blades of grass rubbing together against the wind, struck the air. (Y/N) spoke, “For an elf he had said. But truly, he was too generous with those extra words.”

Legolas tilted his head at that for it seemed to be an insult; but before he could decide on such a matter, she called out to him again—this time fully clothed and ten feet in front of him.

“Are you coming?”

He quickly scampered after her.

As he and (Y/N) entered the area, Aragorn, who still sat by the fire, glanced up with a shimmer in his eye.

Legolas gridded his teeth and sat down next to the man. In a voice as low and quiet as he could muster, he spoke to the Ranger. “Why didn’t you tell me she was the wolf?”

Aragorn smirked in amusement before whispering back, “I figured you would eventually come to that conclusion and by your expression it was not of the best experiences.”

Legolas shot his friend a glare, but that only made the Ranger grin more.

Luckily for the elf, (Y/N) interrupted the moment. “Strider, did you save me some stew? I’m starved.”

The man passed a bowl to her as he spoke, “You know I always do, (Y/N).”

She smiled gratefully.

The Ranger stood and made his way to his bedroll, clapping the elf on the shoulder as he went.

Legolas took notice of the interaction between the two and turned his attention to the woman sitting across from him.

Once he was sure Aragorn was out of ear shot, he spoke quite bluntly, “You and Strider....are you—“

She snorted, “No, no. His heart lies in Rivendell.”

Legolas raised an eyebrow, “And yours?”

(Y/N) shrugged and glanced up at the scenery around them. “Here. In the lands of middle earth.”

The elf tilted his head, examining her again.

She stopped her chewing and sent him an accusatory look. “What?”

Legolas smiled softly, “I sense that shifters are much like elves in that regard—bound to nature and tethered in the sky.”

She raised a brow, “And what makes you think that?”

He chuckled lightly at her bold fierceness, “Your eyes. I can see the essence of Arda in them.”

(Y/N) shook her head in amusement, “Elves and their poetry.” She paused, taking a moment to think. “Although what you say is true, it is within that where I think we differ. You elves are laced up spiritually whereas shifters are tied animalisticly.” When the elf did not respond she continued, “You care for morals, I care to survive.”

Legolas nodded in understanding, “Yet we both appreciate the beauty of it.”

The corner of her lip pulled upwards and she shook her head in agreement.

......

As time went on and the small group traveled, the female shifter and the elf became great friends—bonding over their infinity with nature. The two had split off from the rangers for a little while because (Y/N) wanted to see the forest of Greenwood and examine what seemed to be haunting it. However, after approximately two moon cycles, they met with Aragorn once more. He was not with his previous companions though, so it was only the three of them.

The months had gotten colder and they traveled upon open plains so (Y/N) stayed in her wolf form. It was easier for the time being. And it was in this shape that she came bounding towards the ranger that she had not seen in a while.

She jumped up upon him, knocking him to the ground as she had once done to Legolas. She plastered wet slobbery licks upon his face as his chest rumbled with laughter.

The elf could not help but feel a pang of jealous encase his heart. He had grown to develop feelings for the shifter as they had grown close over their journey. 

Just as he felt bound to nature, he felt bound to her.

So he stood, with a fire burning in his heart, as he watched (Y/N) give canine affection to his human friend.

As the days continued on, Legolas’s irritation grew. (Y/N) strayed closer to Aragorn’s side—rubbing her face against his leg and pawing at his feet in attempt to trip him.

Of course, Aragorn could pick up on the elf’s mood and angry looks. He had thought Legolas was aware of his lover in Rivendell, but perhaps not. The Ranger had wanted to find a moment alone with the elf so he could assure him of the sibling-like relationship between him and the shifter; but with open freezing lands like this, there was no privacy.

The small trio had settled upon large rocks for the night as that was the only shelter available. They lit a brilliant fire in attempt to starve off the nipping wind, but it only did so much.

Aragorn, wrapped in blankets, had fallen asleep quite quickly; whereas Legolas sat brooding, leaning against a boulder.

It was a moment before he noticed those curious eyes on him. They twinkled with the emotions of Arda, searching his soul. With a tilted head, the wolf approached him slowly.

She crawled forward, so close that her wet nose was inches from his own. She resting one large paw upon his thigh but her weight did not hurt him.

Legolas did not move because he was taken by surprise. (Y/N), as partially human, did understand boundaries; yet, she did not seem to care about them in this instance. Instead, she studied him—up close.

The elf knew that she was searching him for answers given she had noticed his mood as well. However, Legolas did not wish to give any. Therefore, he held his porcelain elf features strong, not bending to her intimidation. He starred right back at her. Though this time, his eyes were filled with anger and frustration—and (Y/N) could tell.

Legolas was upset with her for she blatantly gave Aragorn affections.

Could she not see his heart?

He had said he would not bend to her will and intimidation. He had decided he would be cold towards her. He had made a choice—a choice that he could not uphold as he gazed into her soft eyes of nature.

Slowly, he raised a gentle hand. He brought it close to her face. When she did not pull away, he cupped the canine’s features.

To his disbelief, (Y/N) completed an action he had never seen her do before—even with Aragorn. She leaned into his touch.

Legolas’s lips parted as the moment encapsulated his mind.

He let his hand fall slowly and (Y/N) leaped off his lap. But she did not scamper off in a different direction. Instead, she ducked into his side and curled up against him. She let her head rest on his lap.

Cautiously, Legolas began to stroke her soft, (h/c) fur. He let the short strands slip through his fingers, lulling her to sleep.

.....

When Legolas woke, (Y/N) was not in his sights. He sent a confused expression towards Aragorn who was tending to the dwindling flames.

“She will be back,” the Ranger stated simply.

The elf stood and walked towards Aragorn. “Where did she go?”

The ranger shrugged while biting back a smile.

Legolas frowned at his playful expression, “I know you know something, Aragorn.”

The man raised his brows. “I woke sometime in the night. You and (Y/N) seemed quite close.” He paused, the tone of his voice changing, “You know, she never lets anyone touch her like that.”

“Never have you....?” Legolas let his sentence trail off as the ranger shook his head.

Aragorn spoke again, “My heart rests with another.”

Their conversation was cut short by a feminine voice. “Have either of you seen my cloak?”

Legolas’s head snapped in the direction of the sound for it had been long since (Y/N) was in her human form.

The shifter stood before them shivering slightly in her clothes. They were clearly not fit for the freezing air as the fabric was thin—so thin that her the curve of her breasts and nipples was easily seen.

Legolas adverted his eyes and instantly began to ruffle through his bag as he spoke with concern in his tone. “(Y/N), why have you shifted to your human form? Did you not say it was safer for you to travel through this weather as a wolf?”

She sighed, “It is harder to communicate in my animal form.”

Both of the men knew what she was alluding to.

Legolas cleared his throat and pulled out a couple fabrics from his bag. “I have been carrying your cloak.” He moved towards her as he continued speaking. “Wear this as well. It is an elvish tunic weaved from my homeland; it will keep you warm.”

“Legolas, you don’t ha—“

He shook his head, “Please, I insist.”

(Y/N) reluctantly took it and pulled the fabric over her head. She frowned as she handled the wrap around ties, not quite able to figure out how they were supposed to lay.

The elf smiled softly, “Here, let me.”

Ever so gently he took the extra fabric in his hands and begun to weave it around her form. He tied the delicate cloths in a simple knot before moving to fasten her cloak under her chin.

“Thank you, Legolas.”

He tucked a stray hair behind her ear, “It is no problem.”

He turned to gather his belongings as they were to continue their way through Arda. However, as he did so, Aragorn shot him an amused playful look. The elf sent him a sharp glare in retribution.

.....

Within a couple days, a winter storm hit the group. Luckily, they were not far from a human town which they gratefully took refuge in. Of course, as they busted into the inn, many weird looks were thrown their direction. It was not often this area was crossed by elves and rangers—and skin changers, but they were unaware of (Y/N)’s less than human nature.

They each paid for a room and took time to settle into the warmth.

Legolas rested on the edge of the cot, fiddling with one of his blades. He had let his thoughts wander to a place he had been avoiding. A bond with nature was one thing he knew deep within his soul, but a bond with another was something untouched and left uncovered. Of course he had had acquaintances with friends and family; however, the bond he was debating over was one with a lover. He knew where his heart craved to be, yet he was unsure how to proceed.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the frame of his open door.

Legolas looked up to see (Y/N). She was wearing fresh clothing, likely washed and pressed by a maid. All the filth and grim had been scrubbed from her skin and her wet hair was pulled into a tight braid.

“(Y/N),” he stated simply. “Is something wrong?”

She shook her head as she stepped into his room, “Well, not entirely.”

Legolas frowned at that comment.

The shifter walked closer until she stood only a foot from the elf.

He looked up into her vibrant eyes with question.

(Y/N) cleared her throat as she gently placed something soft and neatly folded into his hands. “Thank you for lending me your extra tunic.”

He smiled softly at her, “Won’t you need it again when we depart? The weather isn’t getting warmer anytime soon.”

A light chuckle rumbled in her chest and she shook her head in response.

Legolas placed the fabric next to him and looked up at her again. He did not notice he was staring until she whispered his name.

“Legolas, why do you do that?”

He tilted his head trying to hid his embarrassment, “What do you mean?”

Her teeth scraped her bottom lip, “Why do you look at me like that?”

The elf adverted his gaze, “My apologizes. I did not mean to offend you—“

(Y/N) interrupted him, “It is not an offense.” She sighed before speaking again. “You look at me like you marvel at nature—as if I am something so breath taking.”

“You are.” He frowned, “Do you not think so of yourself?”

The woman did not say a word; instead, she shifted her vision to the floor.

Legolas reached outwards and took her hand in his own. “You are breath taking, (Y/N)—even more so than nature.”

She shook her head, “I—I don’t understand.”

Legolas could not hold back any longer. He knew he needed to explain what he meant but no words could formulate such a thing. Therefore, he gave into his impulses and did the only thing he could think of to demonstrate it. The elf pulled her into him and grasped her cheeks with his hands. Legolas drew her face downward and smashed his lips against hers. When she did not reiterate any action he instantly pulled away. Had he taken a step too far?

“Legolas,” she breathed out in a whisper.

“I...I am sorry...I didn’t—“

She shook her head and clasped his cheeks, bringing his mouth to hers once again. Their lips moved together like the rhythmic dance of the wind—swirling and intertwining with eagerness. Legolas could taste the essence of Arda upon her lips—the sweet honey from east of the Anduin, the fresh berries from the region of Eriador, the bitter nuts from the mountains of Angmar. (Y/N) moved her body in-between his legs, but she decided that that was not close enough. So, she lifted herself into his lap, letting his calloused hands encircle her waist and hold her steady. She could feel the warmth of sparking fires, the comfort of soft wool, the shield of shelter from harsh winds. Legolas laid down upon the bed, pulling her form with him. He could hear the pounding of her heart and the gasps of her breath. Every sound she made did not escape him, it fueled him. (Y/N) tangled her fingers in his blonde locks and smiled against his lips for she recognized every aspect of nature within the elf, for it was in her too. It was the essence of Arda.

.....

Everything Tag: @sokkasdarling @scxundress @quilledinkpen @hufflepuffinblr @lea----b @aredhel-of-gondolin @princecami @the-fandoms-georgie @jazziwritestolkienprimary @swimming-in-stardust

Legolas Tag: @dark-angel-is-back @mylittle-escapingdreams @arandomfandomblog @moriamithril

#lord of the rings #lotr #the hobbit #legolas #aragorn #Legolas x reader #Legolas fic #legolas one shot #legolas drabble #legolas imagines #legolas one shots #legolas imagine #mirkwood #lotr fanfic #lotr fanfiction

[manyfandomsonelog]

26 for the writing prompt? if u have time 💛

26. “I’m not gonna let you get yourself killed!”

Title: Not On My Behalf

Ship: Prinxiety (Roman/Virgil)

Word Count: 1,755

TW: Imprisonment, violence mention, death mention, self-sacrifice?, I’m not sure what to tag for this, please inform me of anything I’ve missed

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe: Medieval, Alternate Universe: Fantasy, prince!Roman, knight!Virgil, it’s like a colosseum situation where one of them has to face certain death, unexpectedly angsty, ambiguous ending, open ending, I might add another chapter of people enjoy this one

Summary: After Prince Roman and Sir Virgil are captured by a group of bandits in the woods, they are stuck with one another, for better or for worse. Together, they must find out what exactly the king of bandits has in store for them.

Virgil sat on the dirty, cobblestone floor with his back pressed against Roman’s. The dungeon was dark and damp, and the thick bars of their cell showed no means of escape.

Virgil let out a sigh, “Remind me why you thought that loudly singing in a bandit-infested forest was a good idea?” He asked Roman.

Roman made an offended noise, “How was I supposed to know they were bandit-infested?!”

“I told you to shut up!”

“You always tell me to shut up!”

“..And yet you never listen.” Virgil muttered.

Though they were tied together, Roman managed to elbow Virgil, “I heard that!”

“That was the point, Princey.”

“You can’t address me in that way. You may be a knight, but I’m your prince! I could charge you with treason.”

“I said Princey.”

“That is not a proper form of addressal and you know it! A prince is addressed by your highness or your royal highness- never your majesty, because I’m not-“

“Oh, shut up, Princey.” Virgil said. If he hadn’t known that Roman was joking, he might’ve found a way to punch him.

“There you go again with-”

Just then, the door to the cell opened, causing them both to fall silent, faces hardening. A huge thug dressed in leather armor entered bearing a halberd and a crooked grin.

“Boss wants to talk with you.” He said, entering the cell.

Another thug followed him in, and they untied the rope that bound the two together, hoisting them to their feet. Then, the thugs ushered Roman and Virgil forward, prodding them with their halberds.

“Ow!” Roman yelped.

“Keep your mouth shut.” The second thug told him.

“Finally, someone else says it.” Virgil teased.

“You too!” The first thug barked.

“Alright, alright.” Virgil said.

On the inside, he was terrified. His heart was beating at an alarming rate, and every instinct in his body was screaming bad, bad, bad, bad. But he couldn’t show it. He was a knight. He had to be brave. He had to make it seem like he wasn’t intimidated by them.. even if he really, really was.

Eventually, the thugs led them to a set of double doors, which were opened by two more lackies. Once the doors were open, the thugs pushed Roman and Virgil into a new room. The entrance they had taken led them into what looked like an arena, with dirt on the ground and wooden walls surrounding them on every side. These walls were lined with a grotesque display of bloodied swords and pieces of armor. Around them, on raised platforms, more ruffians and bandits looked down at them, jeering and booing at the sight of them. And, at the head of the room, sat the roughest of them all, a great, muscular man draped in gold and rare furs. He had pale skin, blond hair, and a tangled, once-blond beard, and as the two of them were pushed into the arena, he grinned at them maliciously.

“If it isn’t the pretty prince and his puny knight.” He bellowed. His voice carried through the room, echoing off the walls. “I am Awarnach, King of the Bandits of the Eastern Woods. I welcome you to my arena.”

Thugs and bandits whooped and hooted on all sides, cheering. Virgil felt sick to his stomach. He had heard of places like these, but he had never thought he would find himself in one.

“What do you want from us?!” Roman exclaimed. “I demand to know!”

The crowd around them laughed. Apparently, they found that funny.

The bandit king smiled, waiting for the laughter to die down before he gave his reply, “Entertainment, of course.” He said. “What else?”

“Enter..Entertainment?” Roman repeated. “What exactly does that mean?”

Again, the crowd laughed at him, harsh and cold.

“You’ll see soon enough, your highness.” Awarnach sneered.

He turned to the onlookers, “Now!” He called. “Which of these rats should face first against the beast?”

He motioned to Virgil, “The knight,” There was a weak cheer, and Awarnach grinned.

“Or,” He motioned to Roman, “The prince?” The crowd exploded into wild, bloodthirsty cheers.

Virgil looked at Roman, and was disheartened to see that he appeared to be utterly terrified. His eyes were wide, and he was turning his head from left to right, as if trying to find a way out of the room. Clearly, he hated this just as much as Virgil did.

After the crowd had died down, Awarnach spoke again, “Well!” He said. “It looks like we have our winner! Or should I say.. our loser.” He laughed.

He turned to the two thugs from earlier, “Escort the knight to the stands- it’s his lucky day.”

As the thugs approached Virgil, he took one last look at the wide-eyed terror on Roman’s face, and he made up his mind.

Just as the thugs began to drag him away, Virgil struggled out of their grip and shouted, “WAIT!”

Surprisingly, it worked. Through the stands and all around him, the commotion came to a halt, and all eyes turned to Virgil.

“Let me take his place.” Virgil said. There was an edge of desperation in his voice that he didn’t recognize.

“Virgil, what are you doing?” He heard Roman whisper. He didn’t dare look over to see his expression.

Then, Awarnach laughed, “And why should I allow that, knight?” He asked.

Virgil’s mind raced. Why should he? What leverage did they have against these people? What did they value more than entertainment?

Suddenly, it clicked, “He’s Prince Roman!” Virgil blurted.

Awarnach frowned, “Yes, I know that. That’s rather the point.” He said. “Now, if you’re done-“

“So, you have a prince in your custody, and you’re just going to send him to die? What good is that? Why not get a ransom?”

At first, Awarnach had seemed mildly amused by Virgil’s intervention, then, when he was not sufficiently interesting, he had grown frustrated. However, at the word “ransom”, Awarnach’s entire demeanor shifted.

“A ransom, you say..” He ran a hand through his beard, “Hm..”

Virgil held his breath, and he could feel the crowd doing the same in anticipation of Awarnach’s decision.

Finally, the large man spoke, “You make a good point, knight.” He said. “Tell me, what is your name?”

“..Sir Virgil.”

“Tell me, Sir Virgil, are you truly willing to risk your life for that of this prince?”

Virgil looked him dead in the eyes, “Any day of the week.” He stated. It was the truth.

Awarnach let out a cruel laugh, “Devotion is an admirable trait.” He smirked. “But devotion can get a man killed.”

Virgil’s fists clenched, “Probably.” He said.

Awarnach let out a chuckle. Then, seemingly satisfied by Virgil’s answer, he turned to the crowd.

“The prince shall be held for ransom, and the knight will fight!” He bellowed.

The crowd cheered, and Virgil let out a sigh of relief, which was a bit ridiculous considering he was to be sent to his probable death.

Awarnach motioned to the thugs from earlier, and they stepped away from Virgil, moving towards Roman, instead.

The prince stood in complete shock, unmoving, his mouth agape as he stared at Virgil. However, the moment the thugs grabbed his shoulders, it was as if he had been unpetrified. All at once, he swung into action, jolting forward towards Virgil.

“No! I- You- You can’t- What the hell- No! Virgil, what-?!” He tried desperately to rip himself away from his captors, “Let- go- of- me!” He yelled.

Despite his efforts, Roman failed to break away. He was half the size of the men holding him, and his princely duties hadn’t exactly built up his muscles. As he struggled and yelled, the crowd yet again began to laugh, which only made Roman more angry. Soon enough, Awarnach was laughing, too.

Roman whirled on the bandit king, “Let me fight!” He demanded.

“No.” Awarnach responded. “As your friend here said, you’re worth more to me alive.”

He motioned again to the thugs, and they again tried to drag Roman away, but he continued to kick and yell and make the process as difficult as possible.

The longer he went on, the less and less laughter was drawn from the crowd. Virgil glanced at Awarnach. The man did not look amused anymore. Instead, there was a hard set to his jaw, and his left eye was beginning to twitch. He was getting angry.

If Roman didn’t shut up now, he was going to get them both killed.

Before the prince could say anything else, Virgil was at his side, one hand at his shoulder, “Roman.” He hissed, “You need to stop. There’s too many of them. If you keep this up, you’re only going to make things worse.”

Roman looked at him, his eyebrows tilted upwards, “I- You- Virgil, I- I’m not gonna let you get yourself killed!” He exclaimed. He lowered his voice, “..Especially not on my behalf.”

His words came out pained and cracked, pulling at Virgil’s heartstrings. The way his green eyes were filled with raw fear and anger, as if his entire world was falling apart.. Did he really care that much?

..Did it even matter, if this was the last time Virgil would ever his prince?

Virgil swallowed and looked away, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall. He had to be strong. He couldn’t show weakness. Not now. He was a knight. It was his sworn duty to protect the crown, whatever the cost.

More than that, he cared about Roman, even if he was an annoying, pretentious, cocky, rude, oblivious moron 90% of the time. He cared about Roman more than he cared to admit. If this is what it took to ensure his safety, then Virgil would do it. Whatever challenge he needed to face in this colosseum, whatever beast he needed to fight, he would do it.

Virgil took a deep and forced himself to look at Roman again. Once he was looking at the prince, he took a moment to drink in his entire appearance. His white tunic, smudged with dirt. His bright red sash. His tan skin. Those stupid golden shoulder tassels that Virgil made fun of him for. His chapped lips, pressed into a thin, concerned line. His fucking gorgeous cheekbones. The way that his brown, wavy hair fell perfectly around his face. His long lashes. His deep, green eyes.

Virgil felt something clench in his chest. He squeezed Roman’s shoulder, his prince’s shoulder, and he said, “I’ll try my best not to die.”

#Sanders sides #writing prompt #Prinxiety #medieval au #prince!roman #knight!virgil

[sp00kyjellybeans]

YO DUDE I HAD AN EPIC THOUGHT AND IMMA TELL YOU COZ YOUR WRITING IS INCREDIBLE!! So like imagine being a psychic or something. Like you’ve got an intuition that tells you shit about things and is correct 99% of the time, you’re into tarot readings and seances, and you meet the ghostface boys. IMMEDIATE alarms are going off in your head but you give them the benefit of the doubt and get to know them. Eventually you can’t ignore your intuition anymore and do a tarot spread to find out wtf exactly is going on with these boys and WHAMO your “I’ve got a bad feeling about these two” is backed up by the cards saying they’re serial killers. That’s all I got lol do with this as you please

Intuition

First off, so sorry this took so long. I absolutely adore this concept though so I’m going to make this the best I can hehe. Don’t expect a happy ending though. Thank you for your patience, I love ur prompts u send so pls do send more!

---

You weren’t popular in high school. If we’re being honest here.

Often times than not, that was your doing. You grew up with this gut feeling. That’s what you would call it for people who didn’t understand. For those rare friends that weren’t into anything remotely spiritual. 

Spirituality has been your staple for many years. That’s why so many friends have come and gone and why you were considered an outcast at Woodsboro. The self-proclaimed Witch. 

Your practices in the Occult were important to you. Your rituals were sacred and nothing was going to come between that. And that gut feeling, aka intuition, guided you to help avoid the most dangerous of situations. Or just plain inconveniences. Whatever it may be. You never ignored it. Because that feeling was always right. 

So here you were, desperately trying to find a store called ‘The Energy Within’ since you had nothing better to do after school. It was a new metaphysical supply shop that had found a home in the vacant building of the Woodsboro Shopping Center. Since it was bound to disappear in the next month and be replaced by some other local business moving from place to place... You figured you would check out the place to see if it had anything decent. Any crystals that you may not have or maybe a decently carved set of runes. 

You had your eyes trained on the sidewalk to avoid the stares of others you passed when suddenly you bumped into not one but two people.

“Woah-”

“Hey!”

About seven movies in total landed in front of your feet. All were cheesy horror movies. 

“Sorry!” You muttered, dropping down to collect the VHS tapes. “I didn’t mean to run into you I’m trying to find this store.” Neither bothered helping and when you finally stood back up you came face to face with two boys you recognized from school. One of which you had homeroom with. 

“Thanks,” One of them muttered, this wasn’t the one you had a class with, and took the movies from your hands. He was chewing on a piece of gum but it was seemingly robotic, as if his stoic face rarely changed from the harsh glance he was currently giving you.

“No worries. Hey-” The other one interjected, obviously more hyper than the other. “Don’t we have homeroom together? You’re uh...” He tapped a finger to his chin, bouncing on his heels, “(Y/n) right? You’re the satanist or whatever.”

You pursed your lips to form into a thin line, “No, actually. I’m not.”

“Then what are you?” The other boy asked. The more you looked at this kid the more unsettled you were by his lack of emotion. But there was a glint of curiosity that shined in his brown irises to you remained polite. 

“Wiccan,” you answered. Both of them tilted their heads, obviously clueless to what it was. “A witch, basically.”

“Cool,” The taller boy said. “Like The Craft?”

“Sure...” You mumbled, wanting to leave. The two of them seemed kind enough but the pit in your stomach had you itching to push past them. The better part of you was shoving any negative inkling to the back of your mind. They were just asking questions. Plain in simple, there was no harm in that.

“Well,” The taller one spoke again. “I’m Stu and this is Billy. He looks cranky but that’s just a defense mechanism. His mom left,” Stu introduced the two of them and slung a shoulder around an even more annoyed Billy. He responded with a grunt and an aggressive shoulder check to knock off Stu’s lanky arm. 

“Nice to meet you two,” You half-smiled. “I do have to get going, I really wanna find this shop.”

“Oh... right,” Stu nodded. “Have fun!”

And with that, the two boys glided past you. You stood in place for a few seconds, marinating in what had just happened but eventually you moved on. The store was a few blocks ahead which you were grateful for. And unbeknownst to you, the pit in your stomach had evaporated as fast as it had appeared.

___

Much to your dismay, Billy and Stu had interacted with you more often than you expected at school for the rest of the week. Sometimes you would come across them after school, too. Although you wanted to believe otherwise it was unnerving.

Not for any particular reason either. They were beyond nice. Stu was funny as all hell. Billy apologized for being cold when you first met. He hasn’t said anything since then but you assumed that was the nicest he’s ever been to a stranger. He doesn’t glare at you anymore either.

Although every time you spoke with them you were left feeling unsettled. You couldn’t explain it and above all else, you ignored it. The kindness they showed you, or rather that Stu showed you, was nothing like what you were used to. Students at school made fun of you. In town, people ignored you. When they went out of their way to interact, it made your heart all fuzzy. But the rest of you felt troubled, in danger, even.

After another week you turned to what you knew and trusted best. Your tarot deck. You collected several decks over the past few years but this one was your favorite. It was hand-drawn and decorated with the most intricate details. You fell in love with the set as soon as you had set eyes on it.

The reading wasn’t anything like the others you pull from your day to day rituals. You set out the intention of wanting to know why you felt so perturbed after speaking with the pair and the deck gave you a clear answer. 

Two of the three cards that were pulled had fallen out swiftly. You flipped over one of the cards to reveal The Devil card. You weren’t unknown to this card, it had appeared more frequently than you wanted, so this wasn’t concerning. Rather, it was unhelpful. You were feeling negative in general after each occurance with the boys, you made that obvious. You went on at least feeling validated in your feelings.

The next card was revealed to be the Three of Swords. You pondered on this for a moment. Was this a warning? Warning you to be wary of the two? No matter what it was, the card set so far was basically screaming at you to listen to your gut. Listen to it like it had been warning you since the beginning.

The final card you had pulled basically shot out of the deck as you shuffled. You had put it off to read for last, but your intuition was telling you that this could be the most important one. Inching your fingers over the smooth card, you turned it over to reveal The Tower. 

For a moment, you froze. This card was rare for you. Usually, you took things with a grain of salt... but it didn’t feel right. Everything about the situation didn’t feel right to you. You tried rationalizing it in your head. Maybe it wasn’t the boys themselves. Maybe you three were correlated somehow. The universe intended you three to be in a terrible situation. You wanted to believe that rather than the possibility that these boys were... bad. No. One word screamed out to you. Dangerous. 

You attempted to shake off your nerves. You threw the cards back into the deck and shoved it to the side, folding your arms around yourself in a form of comfort. It was fine. You trusted that everything would be fine.

And then suddenly, without a moments notice, your gut feeling had returned. Your phone was ringing.

#scream 1996 #billy loomis #stu macher #slashers #slasher fic #slasher community #scream #scream oneshot #wiccan!reader

[wonderlustlucas]

i hemoglobin you - byun baekhyun

⇢ prompt “Yeah, but Baekhyun doesn’t really talk romantics with me.” ⇢ pairing baekhyun x gender neutral reader ⇢ word count 4.8k ⇢ genre fluff ⇢ warnings swearing. kinda descriptive when it comes to the actual needle idk i’m bad at warnings if needles make u uncomfy don’t read. ⇢ summary You’d think, after some time, your crush on the annoying little shit named Byun Baekhyun would fade away. Fortunately for him (and you), falling out of love with someone brighter than a star is near impossible. Plus, needles are scary and even med kids need their hand held sometimes. Alternatively: Junmyeon found dead in a ditch.—friends to lovers!au ; college blood drive!au ⇢ a/n ok yes i realize this is an odd setting for fanfiction but like,,, my school had a blood drive & what happens in this is exactly what i experienced, minus the whole crush revealing they like me with a kiss thing. so i decided to WRITE IT OKAY?! also, i really tried to make this gender, color, absolutely everything reader neutral but then when i was editing i saw the nurse call y/n ‘miss’ so if i missed anything pls lmk so i can edit it!!! thank u & i hope u enjoy ♥︎

If it weren’t for that time you tried anal with your ex-boyfriend back in high school, you’d consider Byun Baekhyun to be the biggest pain in your ass. If asked, you definitely could come up with a hefty list of all the things about him that annoy the living daylights out of you, things from the unnecessary high volume of his voice to the time he introduced himself as “Bacon” on the first day of your internship at the hospital.

Truthfully, however, it all comes down to one certain realization: seeing Baekhyun’s stupidly cute smile has become the sole thing you look forward to everyday. For the first two years at university, you did not know Byun Baekhyun. You knew of him. As fate would have it, you were bound to meet at some point with an undergraduate enrollment of around four thousand, and your sanity began its downward tumble the third week of junior year.

At the time, you couldn’t quite put your finger on why he left such a sour taste in your mouth. From a distance, he was a star; this great, big bundle of sunshine and joy, full of life and spirit and in the eyes of someone as mild-mannered as yourself, he was magnificent and everything you wished you were. But, once the barrier between you fell and your relationship swiftly jumped from strangers to friends, you realized just how polar opposite you were. Always going out of his way to meet new people and a little too chaotic for you personally, Baekhyun draws attention to himself without even trying. And you can’t blame him— it’s hard to go unnoticed when you prance around with a thousand-watt smile and the energy of a three-month-old golden retriever.

Sometimes, you wished he had chosen one of the arts as his major rather than health sciences.

Nevertheless, it is hard to ignore such an innocently beautiful soul such as Baekhyun. No matter how many times you told yourself to find a new lab partner, no matter how many countless nights you found yourself rolling out of bed, bundled up in your blankets and into the cold hallway of your residence hall to knock on Park Chanyeol’s door and tell him to open the window for his frost-bitten roommate hiding in the bushes, no matter how many this or how many that’s, you couldn’t help but fall in love with the friendship and chaos that came with Byun Baekhyun.

If it weren’t for that time you tried anal with your ex-boyfriend back in high school, you’d consider Byun Baekhyun to be the love of your life.

“Absolutely not,” you interrupt, looking up from your clipboard in order to search the crowd for the younger boy. Baekhyun groans, wrapping his arms around your waist and dropping his head on your shoulder. “C’mon, ___. He’s fine, you know Sehun.” He whines, adding a drawn-out ‘please’ against your ear. It makes your stomach sink for reasons you’d rather not disclose.

“Baek,” you scoff, wiggling out of his grip despite his best efforts of keeping you against him, “are you serious? Sehun quite possibly may be the smallest person in this room. He needs to rest.”

“He’s twenty pounds heavier than me!”

“Taller, too.”

“___,” he groans, crossing his arms over his chest and mustering his best straight face. It makes you laugh.

“I’m not arguing with you. He did Power Red; he’s not going anywhere. If he didn’t want to miss chem, then he should have made his appointment later. It’s one class. He’ll be fine.”

“Why must you be so stubborn?” Baekhyun sighs in defeat, combing muted silver hair away from his forehead. Your eyes follow the movement, distracted for hardly a second, but he doesn’t seem to notice. “I learned it from you,” you smile, nudging his arm with your elbow. The signature tilted smirk returns. “Tell Sehun I’m sorry, but I—well, we—can’t risk letting him leave. He could have a delayed effect and end up passed out in the staircase. Twenty more minutes and he can go.”

“I get it,” he hums, snatching the tentative schedule out of your hands before you can even protest. For as rash as he may be, Baekhyun is not dumb. And even if he was, he knows that when you are as unrelenting as you are now, there’s no point in arguing. “I think I’m gonna try and donate.”

“What?” You exclaim, maybe a little too loud if all the Red Cross employees shooting annoyed glares your way is anything to go by. Baekhyun truly is started to rub off on you. “I thought you were scared of needles?”

“Heights, ___,” he scoffs, “needles aren’t my favorite, but if I’m going to eventually put them in other people, I better get used to them for myself.” As he explains, he rolls up the sleeves of his hoodie and presses at the soft skin on the inside of his arm before stretching it out for your examination. “I mean,” you hum, holding him still and feeling around for a thick enough vein, “you definitely have the veins. Do you want me to hold your hand?” You sing the last part cutely, lips puckered out at him.

“Will you? Since Sehun has to stay over there, I have no one else,” Baekhyun retorts, using your previous resolve to his advantage. You can’t tell if he’s oblivious or simply choosing to ignore your mockery. Rolling your eyes, you drop his arm and reach for your clipboard, tearing it out of his grasp. “Don’t you have anything else better to do than annoy me? Aren’t you supposed to be watching the donors?”

“Well, yes, but—”

Baekhyun starts, trailing behind you before the shout of his name promptly cuts him off. “Baekhyun! Can you help Jongdae carry in more water?” See, precisely as you were saying.

“But I like annoying you,” he pouts, hugging onto your arm and holding on tight. “Sorry, Baek,” you offer, feelings in shambles because 1) he is so cute you could cry but 2) he’s really distracting and now you finally will be able to focus, at least while he’s gone. Frowning, he releases your arm at last, combing his hair back and once again, you feel like throwing up.

“Go see if you can donate when you’re done,” you remind him, nodding toward the rather quiet donor room. “Yeah, I will. Wish me luck,” Baekhyun grins, blowing you a kiss. Without a second thought, you blow one back.

You have begun walking on an incredibly unstable rope, you realize, the thin line distinguishing the way you look at Baekhyun diminishing each and every day. On one side, he is simply your friend, your lab partner, a coworker of sorts. Comrades working toward the same goal, and once it’s reached, you go your separate ways. But on the other hand, he is much more than that. Now that you no longer live on campus, days spent bullshitting in the dining hall or dorms over, you most certainly do not spend as much time together.

And yet, nothing has changed. Except for your feelings, of course. This time last year, you were minding your own damn business when Chanyeol had to go and mention how much time Baekhyun spends with you instead of him. “Sorry?” You had offered, unsure of what the crease in his brow meant.

“No… don’t be sorry,” he hummed, deep in thought and stabbing at his salad in disinterest, “not to be blunt, but he usually bounces from person to person each week. He’s been sticking to you for, what, six months? Something is up.”

“Don’t you live with him?” You asked, confused. What was he getting at here?

“Yeah, but Baekhyun doesn’t really talk romantics with me.”

“Romantics?” You exclaimed, spit flying from your lips. Luckily, he didn’t seem to notice.

“He definitely likes you. God, it all makes sense now! Okay, I need to do some interrogating,” suddenly rushing, Chanyeol was up and swinging his bag over his shoulder before you could blink an eye. “See ya, ___!”

“Wait!” You yelled out for him, but the obnoxiously tall boy just kept running, dodging students meandering around the dining hall. Slumping in your chair, you eventually turned to look out the window, watching as he continued his flight across campus. “Good talk.”

Nothing ever came up afterward. No answers, no clarifications, nada. Chanyeol never brought it up again, despite the expectant raise of your brows the next lunch you had alone with him. You were content shrugging it off— it was out of your hands. If Baekhyun liked you, so be it.

Or so you thought. Turns out, having such unanswered questions dangling over your head every time Baekhyun left his friends for you at parties, fell asleep with his head on your shoulder during chem, or arrived at your front door with your favorite boba in hand just because he ‘was driving by’ left your mind racing almost as fast as your heart. You thought, for some time, that you could dodge such budding emotions by countering it with all the things you didn’t like about Baekhyun. (Spoiler: it didn’t work.)

Even now, as you watch him catch up with Jongdae, the left side of your brain has already begun arguing with the right. You miss his annoying ass already, one side points out. But he was a distraction, now you have double the students to check in, the other reasons. With a heavy sigh, you shake your head to rid such enraging thoughts and turn to said students, counting each one before making your way to the first in line.

He can’t donate. You realize this before he has even left his seat.

From across the gymnasium, you have continued glancing his way as he went through the mini physical. Just before the finger prick, he shot you a thumbs up and a beaming smile bright enough to challenge the Sun before jerking in his seat at the sudden pinch. Laughing, the grin you returned has not even left your face before his shoulders are sagging, a cloud of disappointment replacing the anxious excitement that was there hardly ten seconds ago. Your smile is gone just as quickly as his.

Standing, Baekhyun nods one last time to the nurse before making his way over, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck from side to side. “Low iron?” You guess, opening your arms for him to nestle into your side like the little munchkin he is. “Yeah,” he mumbles, miserable, and you cringe knowing he’s going to be like this all day now. “I wish I could donate, but…” You drone emptily, trying to change the subject despite the deceitfulness of your ‘wish.’ Over your dead body would you lie on one of those tables and have a harpoon in your arm.

“You should, now that I can’t,” he hums, breath warm on your skin. Convincing as snuggly Baekhyun is, it’s not happening. “Yeah, I’ll pass,” you snort, offering a faux smile to a group of sophomore girls making their way in, shooting confused and envious glances your way. “Make sure to grab a water before starting your Rapid Pass, ladies. If you have not eaten much today, there are snacks by Katie,” you spew, pointing to said girl across the room, “if you have any questions, let me know.” With one last feeble smile, you turn your back to them because, well, it’s awkward facing multiple females whose eyes are trained solely on the boy clinging to you.

“You’re hot when your all doctor,” Baekhyun whispers, lips brushing ever so softly against your collarbone. Suddenly, you regret taking your sweatshirt off during lunch. Swallowing past the panic rising in your throat, you scoff. “Doctor? What doctor are you seeing that directs their patients toward donuts, muffins, danishes—”

“Hot ones, I guess,” he interrupts, smirking against your skin. “Ooooh ‘kay,” you wheeze, heart racing and eyes wide as you wiggle away from him, “y’know, maybe I will donate. Just so you stop bugging me.” Gasping, Baekhyun fakes a bullet to the heart. “Ah, but here’s the thing,” he counters, following close behind as you make your way to the front table, “my job is to distract donors from the needle, hold their hand, tell them ‘good job!’ So, it looks like you’re stuck with me.”

Groaning, you choose to ignore the inexhaustible boy and smile to Lauren once you have reached her. “Do you know if anyone can cover for me for a little? I’m going to try and donate.”

Gasping, she ruffles through the papers spread about her for the volunteer log. Then, “You should be fine. After those girls, the next appointment isn’t until two. I thought you hated this whole concept?”

Snorting, you pull one of the laptops towards you and begin filling out the information needed for a walk-in. “Yeah, well,” tilting your head in Baekhyun’s direction, you sigh, “he couldn’t donate, so now I feel obligated to. Plus, I need a break.”

“Ah,” Lauren hums, writing your name and ‘Walk-In’ on a sticker before passing it to you, “are you guys…?”

Immediately catching what she is hinting at, you jump up from your knelt position and quickly return to your station. “Nope! Negative! Okay, bye Lauren! Thanks!” Laughing, she chooses to ignore your antics, watching after you with a knowing smile when Baekhyun realizes you have left and scrambles to catch up.

You’re hoping you won’t be eligible since you left the country for vacation with your family nine months ago.

Never mind. It’s fine.

Perhaps your heart rate will be too high. You’re pretty anxious, after all.

84. Shit.

You flinch when the quiet-mannered nurse pricks your ring finger. Praying that your iron will be too low, you lean forward in your seat just enough to see the machine’s reading. 13.4. Fuck.

“Alright, I’m just gonna need you to read this first paragraph and sign here,” she directs you, using a pen to point at each spot. When she stands to wave for the next potential donor, you glance up to search for Baekhyun. You could use one of his smiles right about now.

And what you ask for, you receive. Finding your gaze instantaneously, he shoots you bright, encouraging grin and a thumbs up. It’s enough to calm your nerves. A little.

Offering an uncomfortable smile back, you return to your paperwork and hurriedly finish up, your leg bouncing ceaselessly. “All done?” The nurse returns, smiling softly at you and taking the papers when you nod. “You can head over to the third table in the middle.” “Okie,” you squeak, nice, “thank you!”

Good god, what happened to never allowing one of these needles to go in your arm? Sure, you have had blood tests done before, Hell, you have even given someone else one! But this… this is different. This is no ordinary needle, and you certainly do not have Byun Baekhyun veins.

“How are you doing today?” The Red Cross worker greets you once you have reached the table, smile warm and comforting. Seoyeon, her nametag reads. “I’m, ah… I’ve been better, honestly,” your voice comes out shaky and weak. You cringe. Going to med school and you’re whining over a needle. A big, fat, wide needle that will stay in your arm for more than five minutes. “Aw, no! Why’s that?” Seoyeon pouts, shuffling through your papers and slapping a big sticker onto the bag your blood, eventually, will fill.

“I have pretty tiny veins, so I’m really nervous this isn’t going to go well for me,” you admit, artfully rolling the sleeves of your tee even higher. Humming as she finishes carrying over the rest of the equipment, Seoyeon helps you onto the cushioned table before standing beside you, reaching for your arms. “Well,” she starts, brushing over each one for a few seconds before tying a tourniquet around your right bicep, “lucky for you, we do in fact check to make sure your veins are big enough. Hansol, can you double-check that this is alright?”

Your nerves seemingly do not know how to feel at the given moment. On one hand, these are professionals. They know what they’re doing. Plus, Seoyeon is lovely and has certainly eased your anxiety. Nevertheless, you realize that if your veins are okay, that needle is going to be in you in minutes.

This Hansol skirts around the table to feel the two veins Seoyeon has gone back and forth prodding. “Hm,” he grunts, pressing harder on the vein set deeper beneath your skin, “this one is good.” Oh, Christ. “Okay! Thanks,” Seoyeon smiles, then, once he has left her side, “you can lie back this way, sweetie.”

“Okay,” you sigh, settling back and resting your head on the pillow. Unsure of how to situate yourself, you awkwardly cross your legs and nestle your left arm into the pockets of your joggers, right arm dangling over the edge of the table. Then, just as you have closed your eyes, “___!”

Oh, good. This should be interesting. “Hey, Baek,” you smile at the boy as he jogs over, stopping on your left side. “You made it! No backing out now, right?”

“No, no. I’m praying for the best,” you hum, turning away from him to look straight up at the ceiling as Seoyeon begins sanitizing your arm. “You’re gonna be fine,” Baekhyun sings, tugging your hand out of your pocket to intertwine his fingers with yours, “if Sehun could do it, so can you.”

“I’m just marking where your vein is, no need to tense up,” Seoyeon interrupts, chuckling at how easily your posture has gone rigid at the sensation. Funny, how you only tensed up because of Baekhyun’s tender gesture. “I know I’ll be okay, I just,” anxiously licking the desert-dryness of your lips, you once again turn to Baekhyun, “I’m not looking forward to feeling this thing in my arm for ten minutes.”

“Nah,” he giggles, thumb swiping back and forth against your skin, “I’ll distract you!” Yeah, well you do that every day anyway, you snort to yourself, shamelessly taking advantage of the moment and scanning over his features, zoning in on the pinkness of his lips and the tiny moles sprinkled about his face. From this angle, even the shitty LED lighting of the gym somehow makes him look immaculate. “Alright, I’m going to count down from three,” Seoyeon interrupts your gawking, though you haven’t really processed her words until she’s on two. “One…” She utters, and you are instantly squeezing your eyes closed just as hard as your squeezing Baekhyun’s hand as the needle first breaks skin.

“Oh, shit,” you heave once it’s completely sheathed, rolling the plastic grip anxiously in your increasingly sweaty hand, “that actually wasn’t so bad.” Now that Baekhyun has moved to stand directly behind your head, you stare straight up at him and muster your best smile. Really— it was not as bad as you imagined, felt just like regular blood work. As long as you don’t focus too much on it remaining in your arm, you’ll be fine.

“See! I knew you could do it,” he cheers, letting go of your free hand in favor of combing his fingers through your hair. “Ooh,” you quite literally purr, leaning your head back to give him further access, “so, Mr. This-Is-My-Job, is this how you distract donors?” Chuckling, Baekhyun continues to comb through the knots that have accumulated throughout the day. “No,” he admits, “I usually just talk to them about what they did over the weekend. You’re an exception, though.”

Christ, you hope he can’t feel the way your face heats up at his words. “Ah, well, this is great. Thanks, Baek,” humming, you cannot help but let your eyelids fall closed. Peak comfort when you're donating blood? Not what you would have expected.

“So, what did you do this weekend?”

“Well, I went to Target, which was kind of disappointing.”

“Oh, yeah! Didn’t I see on your story that you only got one pair of pants or something?”

“Yeah! Crazy, honestly. I needed to pick up some things and they were completely out. Even their clothes were kind of slacking.” Before he can reply, Seoyeon returns to check up on you. Gasping in surprise, she gives your shoulder a congratulatory nudge. “___! Look at you! You’ve already filled up a fourth of the bag.”

“Oh shit, really?” Laughing, you try to lean up in order to see, but there’s no use. “Have you been drinking a lot of water today?” She asks. Well, now that you think about it… “Huh. I guess I have. Nice.” Chuckling, she fiddles with the tape holding the needle in place before turning away once more.

“So,” Baekhyun starts conversation up once more, “did you do anything else?”

“I hung out with Junmyeon on Sunday again.” Suddenly, you wish you didn’t tell him that.

“Oh,” Baekhyun coughs, accidentally yanking too hard on the tiny braid he’s attempted by your temple, “how was that?”

“It was fun. He’s a great guy…” Clearly, you are hesitant and he easily catches it. “But…?”

“I don’t know,” he’s not you, “I feel really immature and lame compared to him. He’s like, super chill and polite and somehow, it makes me nervous and then I act like I’m on crack. He needs someone older than him, not younger. A lawyer, or something.”

“___, you’re getting a degree in Neuroscience. What the fuck is lame about that?” Baekhyun scoffs, undoing the braid and starting over on the other side. “I don’t know! I guess I just don’t have romantic feelings for him. Everyone keeps pushing me to go for it and he really is amazing, but… it’s just not what I want.”

“No one’s forcing you to date him, ___.”

Well, yeah, but he doesn’t know the bit where your friends are doing it so you can get over a certain someone else. “I know. I think he’ll be fine when I tell him I just want to be friends.”

When a heavy silence falls over you, you rush to change the topic. “So! What did you do this weekend?”

“I played New Horizons,” Baekhyun chuckles, giving up on the braid and going back to simply combing through your hair. When you laugh, you feel the vibration in your arm and realize with another wave of surprise that you still have a needle in you. Damn, looks like you’re a pro at this. Who knew!

“All weekend?” You snort. He definitely went out for drinks with Chanyeol or something.

“Yes, sadly,” oh, never mind, “I couldn’t help it. It’s so relaxing. I can’t wait to go home and play.” He sounds ashamed. “Hey,” you shrug, “sometimes we need a mental health day. Or weekend.”

“Or week.”

“Month?”

“Year, I’m thinking.”

In the midst of your giggle fit, Seoyeon returns, evidently shutting the two of you up. “You’re all done! I just have to take a few tubes and then I’ll tell you when I’m going to take the needle out.”

“Wow, was it just me or did that seem really quick?” Baekhyun asks, frantically moving to hold your hand when he notices you wince at the uncomfortable feel of the needle moving slightly as Seoyeon fills each tube. “No, you’re right,” she hums, “six minutes! Wasn’t so bad, right?”

“Not at all,” you agree, blinking up at the ceiling. Still, you can’t wait to be done. “You sure? Your hand is shaking really bad,” Baekhyun murmurs,  hovering directly above your face. He looks funny, messy hair cascading around him and cheeks looking extra squishy. It makes you smile. “Yeah, just nervous for it to come out, actually. Feel like it’s gonna hurt,” you admit, accidentally squeezing his hand when all Seoyeon does is remove the tape on your wrist keeping the line in place.

“Alright, you ready? It’s just going to a be a little pinch,” Seoyeon interrupts, giving your fingertips a reassuring squeeze. “Yeah,” you hum, instinctively sucking in a deep breath and squeezing your eyes shut.

The sensation that first registers in your brain is not that of Seoyeon slowly withdrawing the needle from beneath your skin. Actually, it’s unnoticeable behind the gentle pressure lingering upon your lips, soft to touch and minty in taste. Blistex, you recognize, eyes flying open just in time to see Baekhyun leaning back up. “Did you just—”

“Alright, keep pressure on this for me and keep your arm straight up,” Seoyeon interjects, oblivious to what just transpired as she presses a hefty square of gauze to your skin. You oblige, brain cells going haywire still trying to piece together the fact that Byun Baekhyun just kissed you.

“Do you do that to everyone?” Is the first thing you blurt to the grinning boy, who, surprisingly so, wears cheeks just as rosy as yours. “No,” he laughs, moving to the side and continuing to stroke you hand, “just donors named ___.”

“Oh,” wrinkling your nose, you slowly lean upright once Seoyeon instructs you to do so, “can I ask why or am I just special?” When she busies herself for few moments cleaning up all of the equipment, Baekhyun releases your hand in order to cup your face with both hands. “Well, of course you’re special,” he murmurs, thumbs swiping against your jaw, “but I figured this was a good opportunity to show you how much I like you.”

It takes a fat second for you to realize what he’s just said. Like you?

“I’m gonna kill him,” you groan, definitely not the response he was expecting if the way he retracts is anything to go by. “Kill who?”

“Chanyeol! Like, a year ago he went all detective mode on me trying to figure out if you liked me, but then he never said anything again, so for the past year I’ve been going nuts trying not to fall for you because I figured if he had nothing to say, you probably didn’t like me like that, yet here we are a year later and—”

In the midst of your mindless babbling, Seoyeon coughs, promptly shutting you up and you turn to her with a wince. “I just need to wrap you up, then you can head over to Recovery,” her attempt to hide her smile is futile but you don’t comment on it, instead allowing her to wrap elastic tape around your elbow. “Leave this on for about an hour, or you can take it off after twenty minutes. Other than that, you’re good to go!”

“Thanks so much, Seoyeon,” smiling appreciatively at her, you slowly turn to slide off the table with the help of her grip on your other arm. Before you are even fully upright, Baekhyun has rounded the table to help, slipping his arm between yours. Honestly, you feel perfectly fine, but you’re not about to go arguing right now. Once he starts leading the two of you toward Recovery, he breaks the silence once more. “So, were you finished back there, or can I talk?”

Cringing, you shake your head, avoiding looking him in the eyes. “No, I’m done.”

“Good,” at this, you pinch his arm, “Chanyeol didn’t say anything because I told him not to.” Baekhyun shushes you when your mouth opens to argue. “I thought I would make a move a lot sooner. But every time I went to, I just started panicking thinking you didn’t feel the same, because, y’know, you don’t show much emotion. And then you started hanging out with Junmyeon… but that doesn’t seem to be working out, so I decided to wing it.”

Your jaw certainly must be on the floor. Stopping by the snacks, Baekhyun releases your arm so you can fill your hands with a donut, apple juice, and a bag of Cheez-Its. “Glad to see we’re both airheads,” you grumble with a mouthful of donut, “I say we blame Chanyeol.” Making sure you safely seat yourself onto the mats spread around the room, Baekhyun then joins and sits crisscross across from you. “I agree. It’s his fault.”

Then, once you have stopped laughing, Baekhyun leans in close, face centimeters from yours and evidently stealing all the air from your lungs. God, he sure is beautiful. “This means you’ll go out with me, right?” He whispers, wiping away a sprinkle that has managed to stick itself to the corner of your lips.

“I thought you were going to play New Horizons when you got home?” You tease, raising one arm to sling across his shoulders. Groaning, he finally cups your face in his hands, strawberry pink lips ever so slightly brushing yours as his smirk deepens. “I am, but you can come watch.”

#kwritersworldnet #byun baekhyun #baekhyun #exo #byun baekhyun fluff #baekhyun fluff #exo fluff #byun baekhyun smut #baekhyun smut #exo smut #byun baekhyun x reader #baekhyun x reader #exo x reader #byun baekhyun scenarios #baekhyun scenarios #exo scenarios #byun baekhyun au #baekhyun au #exo au #byun baekhyun fanfiction #baekhyun fanfiction #exo fanfiction #byun baekhyun fanfic #baekhyun fanfic #exo fanfic #byun baekhyun fic #baekhyun fic #exo fic #byun baekhyun ff #baekhyun ff

[ashtonangst]

Bet. / Ashton Irwin

Hello friends and welcome to ashtonangst’s first ever full on smut! This was something I typed up at midnight, during my prime thirst hours. Thanks to @kindahoping4forever​ for proofing it for me and hyping me up xoxo luv u 

Word Count: 2.6k

Rating: R

Warnings: blink-and-you’ll-miss-it masturbation and daddy kink; dirty talk; oral (m+f receiving); teasing; unprotected sex in a committed relationship

Let me know what you think!

----------------------

     The book sat heavy in your lap. Unopened, begging to be read. The fantasies within its pages were nothing compared to the ones you couldn’t stop thinking about.

     It was a dare. You were fed up with Ashton’s incessant need to be fucked (not that you protested often). It was as if his hands had a libido of their own. You’d dared him to go one week without touching you--or himself. General displays of affection were permissible, but absolutely nothing sexual. The winner of this dare would choose what the other did to them. When you gave him this challenge, you knew he would cave. He always does. Except this time it was different.

     After a year together you knew what made each other tick. You shared the same fantasies and carried these out often. This time, Ashton decided to use this knowledge to his advantage. He started walking around in nothing but his (and your) favorite pair of lounging shorts. He made a show of adjusting himself to let you know he wasn’t wearing any underwear. Then, in his practice sessions, he invited you to watch, knowing how much you loved to watch him make perfect rhythms from his head. He waited until you were up and focused on other things to go for his daily canyon jog. He made a show of stretching (his “warm ups”) in that tank top--the white one that he knew drove you mad--until you were practically drooling at the sight of his muscles flexing under the fabric. 

     One particular day, closer to when the tension was so thick you almost thought you could give in, he caught you ogling at the combination he’d chosen for his workout: the dreaded white tank and the tightest pair of black athletic shorts he owned, a combination that was sure to send warmth between your thighs. 

     “Like what you see, love?” he smirked, choosing his playlist for the workout. 

     “I always do, but don’t think you’re gonna win this one this time, baby,” you retort, trying not to stare as he made his way over to stand next to you while he prepared his water bottle. He chuckles softly, screwing the lid onto the container and flexing at the same time. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you trying to get me to cave. My willpower has always been stronger than yours, you know this.”

     “I know,” he breathes, coming to stand behind your chair at the kitchen island where you were enjoying your morning coffee. “But never underestimate a man’s desire to have his girlfriend writhing under him in complete and total ecstasy,” he places kisses up and down your neck in the process--just barely staying within the guidelines of the dare. “I can’t wait to have you screaming for my cock...begging me to fuck you raw because you were just too fucking greedy to win at your own game and you’re mad that I haven’t let you cum all night.” He leans up, walking towards the door and grabbing his belongings. You frustratedly sigh at his absence, the filthy words that came from his mouth only seconds before making you want just that--right then and there. 

     That’s how you ended up trying to read the latest novel on your list to distract yourself from the growing need you felt deep in the pits of your stomach. The further your eyes scanned the pages, the more the words ran together, eventually forming pages and pages of black lines. Between those lines was Ashton, his cock hitting in those just-right places, coaxing you to your fifth orgasm. Eventually you blink yourself out of this fantasy. 

     You were the one who suggested this little game, you weren’t about to lose at your own game. That was until you found your hand traveling farther and farther down your body, until it disappeared under the waistband of your panties, finding your clit with ease. As you slowly started to rub yourself, you’re drawn out of your own fantasies by the sound of Ashton’s keys jingling in the lock. You quickly compose yourself, and before he has the door open you’re waltzing into the kitchen to place your mug in the sink. You give him a coy smile, “hi, darling. Looks like your workout went well.”

     “It was very nice, thanks for asking. I kind of bit myself in the ass, though, from my stunt this morning. I couldn’t stop thinking about licking your pussy until you’re cumming all over my mouth.”

     You look up at him with wide eyes before a smirk forms on your lips. “Ashton Irwin, are you admitting defeat?” 

     His shoulders hang in mock surrender. “Only if it means that part of your punishment for losing the bet is that I get to taste that sweet pussy of yours.”

     You slowly approach him, giving him the same lust-filled eyes he’s giving you. “Think about how good I taste while you’re showering. Then I’ll think about letting you eat my pussy.” He hums with lust thick in his throat as he heads toward the shower. You smile to yourself, knowing you’re not going to give up so quickly.

     You’re nowhere to be found when he’s showered from his late-morning jog. You’re out grabbing the groceries he forgot to pick up, he thinks. He also wonders if he’ll have time to hide the evidence if he spurts his own load all over his clean shirt, his shorts, and the sheets. Just as you had been so rudely interrupted earlier, he, too, found himself scrambling to act casual as he heard the sliding door to the garden snap shut. He smiles at you as you make your way back into the shared bedroom. “I wasn’t admitting defeat, you know. Just letting you know what I’m going to do to you once I win our bet.” 

     You give him a curt smile. “Fine, let’s add three more days onto this bet.”

______

     The week passes with relatively little tension. Sure, it’s always there, but the two of you were too stubborn to admit defeat and give into your own desires that the bet was still on and going strong. That is, until you hear Ashton’s weak groans as he’s in the shower. You immediately know that he’s launching weak spurts of his cum onto the shower wall. He’s caved. You knew he always would. You pity him, really. 

     You were getting close to inserting your own two fingers into your warm and aching pussy at this thought when you decided to make his punishment an anti-punishment--reward him for holding off for a whole week with the promise of your sweet, sweet pussy on his tongue at the end of it. 

     As always, he’s only wearing a towel when he emerges from the steamy room. “Enjoy your shower this morning, baby?” You know the answer to this question, but he still stops dead in his tracks. “I at least hope you rinsed your cum off of the wall. That shit’s a bitch to clean once it’s dry.” 

     He turns slowly on one heel. “Do you think this is fun? Is this your sadistic way to prove to me that you’re the dominant one in this relationship? Daddy gets to touch himself any fucking time he wants to.” The switch had flipped. He tried to be submissive to the woman who makes his heart soar--to make her happy, to fulfill all of her desires--but he needed her too badly. He had to have his way, that’s just how it’s been the entirety of your sexual relationship. 

     You gulp, unsure of what to respond. You notice he’s begun to grow hard again, and finally admit that he’s too sure of himself to let you win this game. You both want it now, you’re both going to get it now. He turns to dig through his drawers, searching for an outfit for the day. “Let me help you, baby,” you speak, but it’s barely audible over his rummaging. You come off of the bed and pad closer to him until you’re standing behind him, kissing his back. “Come to the bed, please, baby.” He turns and looks at you, lust and exhaustion clouding his eyes. He bounds over to the mattress, deciding to stand instead of sit. “I know you're tired of my game. Truce?” 

     He nods quietly, and the silence is deafening. He’s not going to give you the satisfaction of winning, but he’ll take the loser's prize. Never breaking eye contact, you sink lower until you’re eye-level with his now fully hard cock. He watches in silent awe as you salivate when you finally drop the towel he’d loosely tied around his hips. His cock springs free, the tip red and needy despite his quick jerk in the shower only minutes before. You take it in your hand, its weight fits nicely in your hand, your favorite feeling. You look at him watching you as you lick a thick stripe up the underside of his cock, making it twitch on your tongue. You hum as you take him fully into your mouth, hollowing your cheeks as you take every inch of him. 

     He’s amazed. He loves that pretty mouth of yours, and fuck, does he love having his cock put in it. He gathers your hair into a loose ponytail, just enough for him to see the tears develop in the corners of your eyes. Your free hand fondles his balls, just the way he likes, causing his hips to snap, pushing his cock deeper into your throat. You pull off of it with a breath, a string of spit connecting your chin and his tip. With doe eyes you rasp, “fuck my face, you earned it.” He groans in delight, his cock twitching in your hand for the umpteenth time. He tightens his grip in your hair, causing your scalp to sting. 

     He puts the feelings of the past week into every thrust into your throat. He watches the tears fall from your cheeks, but the hum in the bottom of your throat tells him you’re enjoying this, too. His thrusts become sloppy, his moans growing louder. You feel his cock jerk on your tongue in the same instant that he’s pushing your head still on his cock. His load comes hot, thick, and with loud moans of praises and thanks. You stand, humming with pleasure as you wipe the last bit of his cum from your chin. He’s breathless, but the look on his face tells you he’s far from spent. 

     “Lay down. Strip. Spread,” he gruffs out. This is a new reaction that sends sparks through your body. You quickly oblige, excited for his repayment. As soon as he catches a glimpse of your glistening pussy, he’s holding down your hips in preparation for his assault. “So wet for me, baby. You haven’t touched yourself, not even once, this whole week? What a shame, such a pretty pussy,” he tuts, running a finger through your slick folds and taking your nipple between his teeth, sucking harshly. He lets go with a loud pop, but follows it with firm slaps to each sensitive breast, earning a whimper from your lips. “I bet you thought about this every day...having my cock so deep in you you can feel me in your stomach...crying out, begging me to let you sit on my face. Fuck me, baby, you’re gorgeous. So wet, so needy for me. Where’s that dominant spirit that was here last week? She saw Daddy’s hard cock and got greedy. Needed me to touch her and wouldn’t tell me. Pitiful.” You can only respond to his words with whimpers, a stark contrast from the filth that you spewed to get him riled up. 

     “Ash...please...I need it...need your tongue, your cock...please.” You’re writhing under him, just as he imagined. He only gives a smile before diving in between your thighs. He hums when your fingers pull immediately at his scalp as he begins to suck harshly on your clit. He alternates between this movement and licking wide strips up the length of your pussy. You’ve begun to squirm more than he likes, so he wraps both arms over your thighs to hold them in place. He darts his tongue into your hole before deciding quickly to assault your clit and leave the rest up to his expert fingers. He knows you always beg for more when he begins with one finger, so he thrusts three fingers into you from the get, curling them up to hit your g-spot with each thrust. He moves his fingers and tongue faster when he hears your whimpers of praise fall from your lips. He knows you’re close, you’re clenching on his fingers so hard that he can hardly move them. Fuck, he wishes that was his cock. He feels it tremble again, a painful reminder that his needs were far from met. Your quiet moans turn into screams as his quiet hums turn into vibrating groans against your throbbing clit.

      “Good girl...cum on my fingers for me...jus’ like that,” he coos as he feels your fingers dig into his scalp. He resumes his onslaught just in time for your first orgasm to hit. He licks your pussy clean, and by the time the stars have faded and the sounds of the room have floated back into your ears, he’s grabbing his long-forgotten towel to quickly wipe anything that his tongue couldn’t clean. 

     Without warning, his elbows are next to your ears as he pushes your thighs apart to settle between them. You can feel his needy cock brushing against your stomach. He swipes the head between your folds only once before bottoming out. You whine at the new sensation just as he lifts your leg over his shoulder, groaning at this new angle. 

     “Fuck, Ash...so fucking big...I’m so full,” is all you can repeat as his thrusts become heavier and longer. He pulls out almost completely just to slam himself back in several times, causing your head to spin. 

     “God, darlin’, you’re takin’ my cock so fucking well. Never gonna go without your pussy ever again. Never.” The fire returns in your belly as his thrusts are more sporadic and followed with loud groans and countless affirmations of praise. 

     “Ash, Ash...I’m close,” you breathily moan.

     “Me, too, baby. Want you cumming on my cock...so tight...made just for me.”

His words are what finally send you over the edge. The stars shine brighter this time, the ringing in your ears the loudest bell ever made. He follows not far behind, his cock releasing thick ropes of cum deep inside of you. As you both fall from your highs, he leaves soft kisses along your neck and collarbone, staying buried inside you for as long as he can stand it.

      You’re rubbing his scalp calmingly, breathing in his scent, a mix of citrus, musk, and Ashton. You break the comfortable silence with a chuckle and, “I don’t think I’ll be denying you anything for a very long time, Ashton.”

     He laughs at that, agreeing. “Same here. I love you too much to go without showing you my love. But if we decide to play this game again, let’s make the reward more clear, yeah? We both got our way this time, I don't think that’s how this was supposed to work.” He laughs quietly and rolls to your side, pulling you to him in an almost fluid motion. “That was fucking worth the wait, though.” He kisses your forehead before giving you a soft peck on the cheek. He lets out an “I love you,” thick with sleep. You hum in response. 

“I love you, too, especially when we both lose the same bet.” 

#5sos smut #5sos writing #5sos fic #ashton smut #ashton irwin #ashton irwin smut #5 seconds of summer writing #5 seconds of summer smut #my writing #5sos blurb #5 seconds of summer blurb #kindahoping4forever #cal-puddies #irwinkitten #whyashton #gigglyirwin main #sexgodashton

[allstarsstorymode867]

All-STARS -STORY MODE- CHAPTER 18 PART 2

Part 3

Part 1

This is a continuation of the first part.

-Back to the rest of the Group in the hardware store-

10:48

“Do any of you believe in the existence of evil?”

Ash had asked the whole group that question after they got back without U!Takeo, after they had to explain what had happened back in Wonderland Plaza. “A force of nature capable of giving rise to all things wicked?” his back was back to everyone with his hands on his hips when he asked further, waiting for an answer.

“Most of us do.” Primis Richtofen answered as he was seated on a crate he shared with the Engineer, “Back in 1918, before the end of World War I, me, Doctor Maxis und our men had gone to Excavation Site 64, we had uncovered an ancient tomb vith large amounts of Element 115 inside, from vhat ve had found is very likely from zhe middle ages, zhe statues zhat looked exactly like us und elemental stones zhat can be used by staffs.”

“It was long before we got involved, German.” Primis Nikolai growled in anger as he glared at him, “You and others had uncovered and created something that should never be unburied and undisturbed but you went ahead and unleashed the evil upon the land with no second thoughts!”

Diego was silent as Ash turned around to face them with his arms crossed, Engineer then spoke up “Before all of this, we had met and seen things on every Halloween, most of it was normal before but some of ‘em ain’t good.”

Ash looked at everyone as he explained “Guys, listen to me and what I had gone through in my own experience, alright?”

“It happened 30 years ago, my friends and I spended the night at the cabin,”

[Digitally drawn by Meaghan “Icefir” Halter, images, screenshots and movie poster belongs to Sam Raimi and the one and only; Bruce Campbell.]

The walls shown the memories of Ash’s younger years with his former girlfriend, a friend with a girlfriend of his own, and his sister in the car riding into the woods and arriving to the old cabin behind everyone as they settled to listen to his story

“We shouldn’t be looking but we have found the book… Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, Book of The Dead. Created by the Dark Ones as it was inked in blood and bound in human skin. Having the power to resurrect demons and summon the powers of darkness.” as the scene of these memories changed into a book, like Ash had said himself; the book was bound in human skin and flesh, and it was inked in blood of the fallen to write and drew the book in as Ash and his friend, Scotty, looked at it before they found a reel-to-reel tape player with the type left behind.

“The professor, Raymond Knowby, long before we got there, had taken it to the cabin to study but when he read the box’s text out, he was never seen again.”

Scene had rewinded to an elderly man, Professor Raymond Knowby, his wife, daughter and assistant wandering into the ruins of a castle until they discovered Necronomicon Ex-Mortis and along with a dagger, both of them were covered in dust before it showed the cabin once again as the windows was glowing light through them.

“When we played the tape Knowby left behind, we unleashed something dark, something evil that lasts for centuries that lives in the woods.”

Then we are shown a flashback of Ash having pinned his possessed hand onto the floor with a knife in order for it to stay in place while he uses a chainsaw to sever it while blood- his blood, sprayed onto his face as he screams in agony.

“It got into my hand and went bad so I lopped it off.”

We then saw into the evil entity's point of view flying and dashing through the forest as it was going towards the same cabin and it broke down the back door, flashbacks shown the images of Scotty, Sherry, and Cheryl had been possessed; Cheryl was the first one to be possessed, locked in the fruit cellar of the cabin as she was banging under the chained up cellar door for most of the night. Sherry was then the next unfortunate victim of the Kandarian Demon when she was attacked in her room and eventually Scotty was too the next one to go as he was severely injured when he tried to find an alternate route back to the outside and he was eventually resurrected into a Deadite.

“It then got to my friends, twisting them, changing them, they made them… less than human. And Linda, she…”

We are then presented to one more flashback of Linda in her night gown as an unseen force breaks through the glass while she screams and then presented to the now Deadite Linda being decapitated by Ash with a shovel and her head flew upward and back down to him in a struggle.

“...And then soon, things escalated quickly after that.” he finished.

“Escalated quickly?” Primis Nikolai commented on Ash’s story, the way he looked at him now as the Russian suspects that this Necronomicon Ex-Mortis may have something to do with this and Ash Williams may somewhat be involved with it.

“A lot of sh!t, I was the only one that managed to escape and now all because of a screwup I’ve made; read from that book, one lousy time, evil has found not only me but all of you somehow. and I am now, as I was thinking, responsible for all of this.” Ash somewhat confessed with his hands raised and then fell down onto his sides, everyone looked at him as silence remained until U!Dempsey said “Huh, funny that you were the reason why we are here in the first place.” as he gave him the stink eye while Ash then remarks “You don’t think to catch a rabbit once it’s on the wrong foot, do you?”

“Okay, that’s it; I’m shooting him.” before he got out a pistol and then aimed it at Ash who got his “Boomstick” out and the only one that prevented this was the Engineer who stood between them and said “Hold on, let’s not make it worse, boys.” with his hands raised in a gesture of calming the situation or an attempt to calm it down.

“There’s gonna be other theories, if what Ash says about the Necronomicon story didn't have anything to do with this then what we are dealing with is worse than zombies and Deadites.” Shaw had to explain as he stood up from his place towards the standoff between El Jefe and the marine.

“Examples?” Corporal asked as he still was looking at Ash, “Stanton may have a point.” Primis Richtofen added with must, “Apothicons are the second one to be on the list, as of now the Book of The Dead is top of it but now with other theories that anyone want to share?”

David Tapp then spoke up with raw rash, “Jigsaw may be behind this zombie outbreak but now when I think about it, I don’t think that kidnapping people through interdimensional means was a way for him to act out his games on.”

More and more theories are coming up more in people's minds as Ash and Tank had to lower their weapons to listen.

“A part of us believed that the Order was somewhat behind all of this,” Diego finally spoke up before two of his teammates could, “If this was their plan the entire time, then we must surely do something about it.”

“Maybe Saxon’s mistake,” Medic suggested, “He might have caused a universal rift in our universe to yours.”

“Stop, stop, stop!” Miss Pauling interjected, “It could be Gray Mann, he is the only one that is advanced with machinery and technology, maybe he could be responsible for all of this.”

“But it doesn't explains how those creepy-looking f*@#ers that brought us here, ones with jack-o-lantern faces.” U!Dempsey had poked a hole into these conspiracies'.

“Still,” Bill finally spoke after they all talked, “Last thing I remembered was turning on the generator to help my teammates to get away from zombies and then getting the wind out of me before things turned back.”

David Tapp, up until now, looked at Bill with concern and said with hasite “Did you think that you’d died?”

“I think so, Detective.” Bill Overbeck had confirmed and then the store went still, silent, “I think I had died too but how are we even alive?” David said as he placed a hand on his forehead as if he was pressing against a headache.

“How the hell are you even here, breathing, not undead?” U!Dempsey asked, adding further questions but Primis NIkolai already figured out how, “You were both resurrected. By something.”

“Resurrected?” They both said, not believing the Russian but before he could say anything, a knock was heard and he honestly had no idea who got out a shotgun as a bang was heard and split the wooden door and a yell was heard.

“Engie!” Ash yelled to whoever saw him with the Frontier Justice, “Sorry, Ah panicked!”

“Stand down!” A familiar voice was heard from the back of the door, their ears perked up as P!Richtofen questioned “Takeo?”

As if it was automatic, Pyro had gotten a flamethrower and then walked over to the door as P!Nikolai tried to stop them but Spy stopped him. “Don't recall what happened in the Wonderland Plaza.”

Nikolai looked at him for a moment and said “Do you think Mercer had found us?”

“Oui., I believe so, if I am wrong, it could be Takeo.”

Pyro slowly grabbed the handle and then slowly pulled it open and pointed at whoever it was on the other side of the door with the weapon. On the other side was Frank West who had his hands up and beside him was Ultimis Takeo who tried to ushered to the pyromaniac but then realized two reasons: his encounter with the shapeshifter with biomass and his allies may had relayed this to the rest of the group.

“Pyro, lower the flamethrower, we are not like him.” he reasoned as Pyro looked at U!Takeo with suspicion, he carefully walked over to the Pyro as slowly as possible. When he got close only for Pyro to see more than Frank, and then rolled his sleeve a bit for the same vine to present a flower for them as proof.

It was good enough for Pyro but not for Frank West yet the Samurai were able to have their back turn and they talked quietly as the photojournalist watched rather dismayed with tribulation.

“He?”

“Hai.”

“But what if he’s?”

“He’s not Mercer, if he’s him, he could’ve consume me rhen he had the chance but he didn’t on rhe rhole way here.”

“He’s not him?”

“Iie, his name is Frank West-san, not Alex Mercer.”

Frank examined the private conversion between the two with loathsome pause while these two whispered to each other with no end it seems, Pyro seemed to be in two minds on the dilemma until the delay that took 5 minutes they finally turned to Frank West, saying nothing but Pyro moved and lets Takeo in, he turned and looked at Frank before saying “Are you coming?”

Frank was a startled at first as he was be bit suspicious of this before he cautiously walked into the hardware store, so far on his first day; he had countered a mad man known to him as a Psycho in form of a gun shop owner when he was out trying to find more unlucky survivors in the zombie after he helped Brad to try take down a terrorist reasonable for this.

He was thinking that these people could have something to do with this outbreak as well when he entered the store and there were people inside, he recognized them right away as they were with the other townspeople before the barricade was broken in but there are two old-aged men who are unfamiliar.

“Well, hello there, stranger.” Diego was the first one to greet him, “Hey, you must be the ones from the Entrance Plaza, I guess they did get away rather all.”

“And you are?” Ash asked as he crossed his arms while he looked at him. “I’m Frank West,” Frank introduced himself, “Right now I rather want to know than exchanging pleasantly.”

“Right on the spot,” Bill said as he stood up, “Are you writing a story about this?”

“I’m a photojournalist, just listen, your friend has led me here, I guess to convince all of you to come with me.”

“To where?” U!Dempsey said with suspicion, “As I recall nothing in this mall is safe.”

“There is,” Frank rebuked, “An security room was wielded shut so none of these walking corpses could get in.”

“Welded shut?” Scarlett perked up, that caught their attention so the Engineer urged “Is it true?”

“A Janitor, Otis, had wielded it shut with a blowtorch to make sure none of them would get in, that would be the only place left that could be safe.” He explained to the group who were interested in this conversion.

Miss Pauling looked at him before pulling Primis Richtofen, and Scarlett away, “Guys, a word please?” and they were on the other side of the store right away. “What do you zhink, Frank vas telling zhe truth or…?”

“If he was lying, he couldn’t spill it out. There’s hardly a window there and…”

“If the door was wielded shut from the inside, how did he manage to get out of the room?” Scarlett had to inject the two, “And I want to know how.”

“Still, better than being here with the dead.” Miss Pauling as she and P!Richtofen looked at her with treaty, “If ve follow him, he could-”

“He had said rhe “helicopter” ras coming,” another voice joins in the meeting of theirs, they looked and saw him, Takeo who was watching them with arms crossed across his chest.

“Vhat/what?” the three said at once.

Ultimis Takeo walks over to them, stopping once he got close enough to them, “He had spoken of his “ride ``coming rithin three days. Rhis is how he had planned; find the story to make sure it will be worth for these three days.”

“Why can’t it be three hours?” Miss Pauling thought with hefty impatience, they were silent for a moment and soon, Richtofen said “Is his escape route reliable?”

The warrior nodded, “Hai, story was the reason he is here.”

The three looked at each other with the thoughts, possibly thinking it over about it but you could ask why couldn’t Primis Richtofen use the Summoning Key?

Well, he had tried earlier but for a shocking reason, Key didn’t open up the portal like before. He had tried and tried but it failed each one time.

Primis Nikolai had berated him on this but it wasn’t honestly his fault, the key wasn’t working and something was very wrong.

This seemed to be the only option for them now, much as he doesn’t like it but he had to agree to the deal. “Alright.”

“Okay.”

“Sure.”

U!Takeo looked content with their decision, but not before Richtofen stated “But if ve all had to vait for three days for it to arrive, ve'd need supplies.”

“Brad’s gonna handle that.” Frank had came around the corner where the four were, “Frank, you see-”

“I kinda heard the whole thing, Tak,” Frank had confessed, no joke, he had listened to what he said, U!Takeo felt a bit bad for what he had overheard and looked at him to say something but Frank continued “I'm gonna check if everyone could fit inside the helicopter, afterall, my guy is reliable.”

“Well, Brad is going to need help with supplies.” Scarlett suggested, “Where is here now?”

“Well…”

12:14

Two hours it took for a few of them to get in the security room with much supplies they needed but of course, they had to share them with the survivors Frank had rescued for the three days as Tank had tied his jacket around his waist as he had a black tank top with his dog tags is standing guard of the vent, making sure that there won’t be any shambling zombies won’t get inside the room through the vents.

Brad had got back with more supplies as Tank was pressing his back against the wall close to the door to the monitor room, Brad looked and then said “Yo guys! Gimme a hand here!’

Dempsey and Frank walked over to Brad who had the supplies in a box that was sitting inside the air duct, Frank grabbed a cola from it but Brad gently grabbed him by the arm and made the photojournalist look at him.

“Wh-what gives?”

Brad grabs the soda and pulls it away from him, “Considering the helicopter, bringing more hands here and all, we have to work together.” Brad said as Ultimis Dempsey nodded and added “But that doesn’t mean that we all tell you anything of what was going on.”

“The corporal had the point; things are classified for security reasons and things that, if we do tell you, cannot be printed as necessities.”

“Yeah?” Frank sledded with his arms crossed, “So?”

“So, we just want you to appreciate the situation.” Brad answered as he and Tank looked at him, Frank looked up at the ceiling and said “Well, we are all trapped in a mall with a bunch of zombies.” before looking at them again “Yeah, I think I appreciate the situation just fine.”

“Zombies….” The Afican man looked down at the floor before looked back to Frank, “I still can’t believe all of this is happening, you know, it seems unreal.”

“But this is reality, we know how to take them out.” Tank blissfully thinks as Brad gives the cola back to Frank West and carries the box to the monitor room as the marine goes with him.

“Ya alright there?”

“Yeah, we got it.” Dempsey answered as he opened the door to let Brad and himself in while Frank opened his drink and sipped it down.

Dempsey went into the hallway as where the rest of the group was, Shaw was making another batch of Acid Bombs with Ash looking over at his work before looking over at the old man and greeted with “Making new friends, already?”

“Hahaha, go f*** yourself, Ash.” mocked Dempsey with a sneer as he walked to P!Richtofen with Scarlett and Pauling on what they will be doing once the rescue arrives. Tapping him on the shoulder, making him jump a little but realized that it’s Dempsey.

“It was a tiring day, too bad that the stuff we could use is back at the hardware store.”

“Ve could always come back to it vhen ve go out of zhe room vhen ve still can but on limit of three days,” P!Richtofen recounted with the 1940’s marine, “Ve sleep for about 4 hours per night to switch shifts, ve vill figure out more by morning.” he then turned to walk over to his own living place with little supplies he had carried with him as U!Takeo nodded in agreement.

4:56

Four hours passed with David Tapp, P!Nikolai and Richtofen and Engineer kept awake, ready for action while others slept. U!Dempsey was up to get ready for watch as he cracked his knuckles as Miss Pauling was up as well with her legs against her chest, looking down.

“Your turn was up, German.” It was Primis Nikolai who looked over and said this to Richtofen to rest, with a nod as he got and then walked away so Ultimis Dempsey could take watch. He looked back and saw David Tapp doesn’t let anyone have a turn, just kept watching that lead having five of them, one being the Pyro, sat with them.

“He must’ve been determined.” he thought as he walked over to his sleeping quarters, gently sitting down on the floor and sat down with ease next to Bill. The old man looked at him and said “Did you figure out what the hell was going on?”

P!Richtofne looked at William with confusion at first, “Hmm?”

“The whole “Interdimensional Time travel” bullsh!t?”

“I do not know yet, William.”

“Not even the parts on how me and Tapp are still alive?”

“I do not know about zhat either, if I do know, I vould.” P!Richtofen replied with skepticism. Bill looked at him with his arms crossed, he had been through hell and back in a form of war through Vietnam and Green Flu zombies with his teammates whom he will now consider them as friends and he hoped they are still alright right now after… What he must do to ensure their safety.

“Doc,” Overbeck insisted, “I am not that stupid, if this… Whatever is happening, did those “App-o-con” creatures have something to do with this?”

“I believe so, William-”

“Just call me “Bill,” Ed.”

“Bill,” The Doctor corrected himself, “As much as I vould love tell you everything about vhat had been going on und vhy zhis is happening in zhe vhy is has been, I couldn’t find zhe words for that. Time travel und all zhat had happened, vhy zhe dead vas resurrected but as a normal person, not a zombie is beyond my level of reasons.”

Bill seemed to get that but then said “Maybe it was out of no reason whatsoever or just brought me and David back to live on purpose, a bullsh!t purpose.” before turning over to Richtofen before he lays down.

“Besides, I didn’t sign up to be in this hellhole but I’m here anyway.” before closing his eyes and then starts trying to close his eyes to sleep.

Primis Richtofen looked down at the floor as he wondered back at what had happened at the hardware store. “But it doesn't explains how those creepy-looking f*@#ers that brought us here, ones with jack-o-lantern faces.” U!Dempsey had poked a hole into these conspirities.

Frustration, irritation and condemned in this dimension, he groaned in fervid and furious at this sudden change to his plans to save the universe as something had not only brought him and his fri- Allies to do god-knows-what, but everyone else getting involved in this agenda as well. He fully believed that Dr. Monty would do something about this but…. A thought came to him, it should’ve been sooner but his mind had heaved it from it too late; Why wasn’t Dr. Monty doing anything right now? Putting a stop to this?

Edward was amazed yet uncertain by it. If Dr. Monty knew what was holding him and his team up and figured it out, he could do something to cut this situation short, get everyone home and resume what they were doing but why wasn’t he?

Maybe, just maybe, something must’ve figured out that Dr. Monty could try but must’ve shuttled him out from this strange modern dimension as a precautionary measure if he did find out what was going on. Or maybe it had found him, Dr. Maxis, Samantha and-

“Nein, Edward, do not overzhink it…” he swallowed those thoughts before they could get more avid. Shaking his head at this as he closed his eyes to let out a sigh.

“Hopefully soon, ve could be able to get back vith zhe rest of our groups und figure what is going on yet most critically: vho vas behind it all.” he whispered to himself as he laid down at last.

Using a handbag filled with clothes from the store as a makeshift pillow for his displeasure yet usual slumber, it took him a jiffy for him to find comfort on the floor until he eventually found it and fell off into a slumber….

#Ash #Bill #All-Stars -Story Mode- #Call of Duty Zombies #Saw #Dead Rising #Evil Dead #Aether Story #Chaos Story #Left 4 Dead #Team Fortress 2 #Prototype #Ultimis Takeo Masaki #Ultimis Tank Dempsey #Primis Nikolai Belinski #Primis Edward Richtofen #Frank West #Ashley Williams #William Overbeck #Medic #Engineer #Spy #Miss Pauling #David Tapp #Amanda Young #Scarlet Rhodes #Stanton Shaw #Diego Necalli #Brad Garrison #Jesse Mccartney

[imnotwolverine]

Doggy hikes and third dates

Henry Cavill x OC Lisa - multi-chapter fic

Author’s note: I’ve been mostly quietly enjoying all the smutty stuff available, but I guess it’s time to share some writing for you fellow Tumblr smutties to enjoy. I’ll be snipping the story into segments, so let’s start with the beginning. In a land far far away, called LA, a girl named Lisa encounters a familiar face. #yayhenry #bearkal

Word count: 11.553 

Disclaimer: Smut and fluff

---

This is part 1 of the Tea for Two story.

Find the masterlist here.

---

I was taking my early morning hike, the sun just rising over the LA hills. And already I felt that all familiar sweat starting to seep down my arm pits - a never ending story when you live here. It was going to be another long, tiring day. But alas, first things first: a good hike. 

I pushed forward, up the steep hill, seeing the glorious orange glow popping over the horizon and smiled as I managed to conquer the last few meters. I put my arms in my sides and panted slightly, casting a side eye on my watch. 6.35 AM. Good. 

There was nobody else around. Just...nice and quiet. ..Or not. A soft rustle. Panting. Strange. I looked around, seeing a large dog coming out of the rough bushes, his leash dragging behind him.

‘Hey..boy.’ I said, gently, seeing if it was friendly. The both of us hesitated, but, after a long good look it started wagging its tail. ‘Haha. Oh you lost your owner somewhere on the way little rascal.’ I cooed, letting him sniff my hand, which he licked. Salty goodness. I sniggered, picking up the leash so he wouldn’t walk off and ruffling his thick black and white fur. An akita. Quite an usual dog to keep here in LA. I checked his collar, finding a small badge with a phone number and dug around my pockets to find my phone and rang the number.

‘Uhh..hi?’ I said, not hearing anything at the other side of the line, except for a soft panting sound. ‘Good morning?’ A deep voice finally spoke. ‘Uh..hello. Uhm, did you happen to lose your..dog by any chance?’ ‘Oh! OH you found him? Oh that’s great. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience.’ He spoke. ‘That’s alright. Are you near?’ ‘I ..don’t know...Where are you exactly?’ He hesitated, dragging the words out as if he was looking around, seeing if he could spot me. ‘Top of the hill good sir, haha, sorry. If you’re fast you might just see the sunrise with us!’ I quipped. He sighed in relief. ‘Ah. Stay there, I’ll be there shortly.’

Just some minutes later - me and the dog having sat down to look at the sunrise - we heard some heavy panting behind us. The dog looked around, jumping up and starting to pull his leash, leaving me just a split second to grasp the leash before he’d escape again. Also rising up, I could see a buff guy in tank top and shorts climbing up the last bit of steep hill. 

‘Good morrow.’ I said, smiling, pulling the dog back a bit so he did not block the way up. The man looked up, smiling in return, not being able to speak from being so out of breath. It was..the Witcher. Henry Cavill. He climbed up the last bit of steep hill, then rose up to full height, looking me in the eye. ‘Wew..what an adventure. Thank you…SO much. He’s never ran off like that.’ He widened his eyes, looking exasperated at his dog. The dog yapped happily. ‘That’s quite alright haha.’ I offered him the leash. ‘Your hound good sir.’ I offered and he took it without hesitation, an honest thank you on his lips. 

I smiled at the little moment him and the dog shared (naughty dog!), then looked back at the sunrise. The sky was bursting in rich orange and gold colours, Henry’s rhythmic panting the only sound in my ears.

Following my gaze to the view he smiled. ‘Good view indeed.’ I chuckled, agreeing. He licked his lips and straightened up even further. ‘Sorry, I haven’t caught your name..’ He finally said, looking back at me. ‘Lisa, from marketing. Also.. for the Witcher series.’ I smiled at him kindly, our eyes meeting for a good moment. He nodded, smiling. ‘Well, I thank you dearly.. Lisa from marketing.’ We both laughed and let our eyes glide back to the sunrise. If only I could stay here forever...but no. 

‘I better get going. Can’t arrive at work like this.’ I pointed down at my dusty, sweaty shorts and sports bra. He nodded. ‘Yea, let’s get going.’ Henry leaned down, folding his large hand around the dog’s snout. ‘Don’t you run off on me again, Kal. That was extremely naughty.’ 

I laughed, seeing the dog struggling to get away from Henry’s grip, then nimbly hopped down some rocks to skip right off the hill. Something Henry couldn’t quite manage, from the sound of it. I heard him and Kal struggling behind me, his heavy body and over-eager Kal making it far less easy to get down in one piece, sand moving and heels digging in. 

I looked around, raising an eyebrow. Henry smiled awkwardly, then caught up with me, setting a brisk pace down hill as Kal was more than eager to try and run ahead, pulling the leash. Seeing the over excitement, I eventually clicked my tongue. ‘Kal.’ He looked up. I gave him a discerning look and like magic he immediately fell back a bit, allowing me to take the lead, his nose staying in the curve of my knee.

I heard Henry chuckle. ‘Good with dogs huh?’ He asked. I smiled, though he couldn’t see since all he saw was my back. ‘Kind of. Grew up with big dogs. Bouviers des Flandres, german shepherds, Rhodesian ridgebacks.’ 

The path got a little wider, so I made way so we could walk next to one another. I smiled at him, before looking back at Kal. Henry started: ‘I adopted Kal about 6 years ago. He is mischievousness itself, but I love him ever so dearly.’ I sniffled, understanding. ‘But it’s trying too, right? You must have a terribly busy schedule.’ I asked, seeing him nod in silence. ‘Yes. But for some things you MAKE time. And I gladly make time for things that make me feel happy.’ He said thoughtfully, to which I nodded, looking down the hill. 

Other people were starting to pop out of their cars at the bottom of the hill, walking their dogs. ‘Including great doggy escapes.’ I said softly, seeing Kal had noticed these dogs as well. ‘Kal!’ Henry said sternly, to which Kal looked back at his owner, his ears folding flat in submission. No more escapes today, that was. 

‘So what’s your day looking like today?’ I asked, curiosity taking over. Our eyes met for a brief second, a smile pulling at his lips. ‘We have a script run through, some costume checks and a stunt rehearsal after. You?’ I looked at him, surprised he asked about me. ‘Same script run through - my manager’s on the bench so someone’s gotta be there to know what’s in the curtains. After that moving papers at the office and some freelance animation stuff. Which is really cool; Studio Ghibli is making some short show reels and I’m helping out. BIG dream.’ I nodded excitedly, smiling at Kal as he jumped up at me in mirroring excitement. 

‘Cool.’ He said, smiling broadly, petting Kal to calm him down. ‘And you like hiking?’ He continued. ‘Absolutely. Running too. But the smog is awful here. And other sports whenever. Though it’s hard to find time. LA life’s ..hectic.’ ’You are quite right.’ He agreed, before stepping back, since some big boobed bombshell in pink tracksuit came to walk passed us with her tiny chihuahua - or was it a rat? Hard to tell.. 

With the blonde bombshell being too occupied with Henry, it was bound to happen: I saw the chihuahua shoot nervous glances at Kal, who was already starting to pull on his leash, trying to shoot past me. And thus, without hesitation, I grabbed his thick fur, pulling him towards my knee, before nodding at the unimpressed woman who languidly walked passed us, trying her most obvious flirtatious look at Henry.

He stepped back besides me. We shared smiles. ‘Women..’ I quipped, laughing. ‘And men too..’ He said exasperated. We both laughed. Not long after we reached the first houses. I saw him looking around. ‘Well, this is me.’ He said, pointing at one of the large gates which probably led to one of the mansions hidden away behind the greenery. I nodded. ‘Well, have a good day and …I guess..see you at work.’ I winked, giving Kal a scratch behind the ears. 

Henry folded some rogue hair behind his ear, smiling awkwardly, hesitating while I got back up. I looked back at him, waiting him for to speak. ‘Uhm..thanks again for getting Kal. And..nice to meet you. Truly. It’s refreshing to meet someone like you..Lisa.’ He finally said, looking at me with an honest, though surprisingly dorky smile. I nodded, humoured by his awkwardness. 

‘You’re most welcome Henry. It was quite refreshing to learn you are such a …normal..’ I looked at the large gate behind him..shrugging..’Well sort of normal.. guy.’ We both sniggered. ‘See ya!’ I winked, before starting my walk down the bendy road. 

Just when turning the corner I could see him still standing there, looking at me, which was probably the moment he realized I could see him, and he quickly made a U-turn to get to his house. His face even more awkward, being caught in the act of staring.

---- 

Just a few hours later we sat in the same meeting. He had brought Kal along, who was let off his leash. Henry shook some hands of new cast members at the table and listened to some remarks from one of the assistants, not heading much mind to Kal, whom impatiently tried to push his nose under Henry’s arm.

Not much later everyone settled down and the meeting started. Me and a bunch of other crew members were seated on a row of chairs that were placed against the wall. Flies on the wall. Which meant we just had to be quiet, listen, take notes. But be it so, it got boring for me as well, once they started rereading the same scene a few times and my attention was drawn by an equally bored Kal whom was now popping his nose in between some people. They petted him, but he soon lost interest again, continuing his way. 

Cute dog, I thought, then got back to making notes when a new scene was started. It was then I felt his fluffy coat brush against my legs as he plopped down in defeat, melting into a puddle of black and white at my feet. It was also then, when Henry finally looked around, seeing us, smiling a heart melting smile. He sure loved his dog. 

——

‘Lisa from ..Marketing?’ I looked up. It was Henry. ‘Hello stranger.’ I quipped playfully. He joined me on a barstool at the coffee bar, which was opened during set hours. I sipped on my tea, looking back at the bar tender busying himself. 

‘How are you?’ He asked. I looked back at him. Was he really going to  ..put an effort into having a conversation with me? He saw my questioning gaze. ‘Busy with your thoughts?’ He tried. I laughed. ‘Sorry haha. Yes. Quite possibly. They’ve let go part of the team yesterday. Which means..a ridiculous amount of work for us to tackle.’ I raised my eyebrows in exasperation, sighing. ‘That’s showbizz.’ He said, knowingly. I shrugged. ‘Yep. You’re either in full sprint, or pacing in place. There’s no in between... How are you?’ I asked, noticing with half an eye that the bartender was walking up to us. ‘Can I get you anything Henry?’ Henry looked over at my cup. ’Tea.’ he said, giving a single nod. The bartender nodded in turn and moved away again. 

Henry looked back at me, smiling tenderly. ‘To get back to your question. I’m actually having a really good day. Scenes are running smoothly. Just..feeling good.’ He shrugged nonchalantly. I smiled at him. ‘Good to hear. And.. good to see you.’ I smiled honestly. He received his tea and thanked the bartender.  ‘It’s good to see you too.’ He turned a bit, hoisting up his tea in cheers. I raised my nearly empty cup, clinking. ‘Cheerio.’ I quipped. 

We turned around, looking out over the set, which was right now mostly stored away pieces of set. From the looks of it they were currently rebuilding a throne room..meaning everything was squeezed back in the corners, including practically whole the coffee bar area. 

‘I looked up some of your work. Really cool stuff.’ He flapped out. I looked at him in surprise. ‘What did you look for?’ I used my fingers as quote marks. ‘Lisa marketing LA?’ I sniffled. He smiled, a hint of shyness there. ‘I was actually smart enough to look at the employees list first. And.. looked up all 20 Lisa’s.’ He pulled a face, then continued; ‘Strange last name you have…’ He knitted his eyebrows. ‘It’s dutch. Roughly translates to..farmer.’ I shrugged. He smiled, shrugging along, understanding. I continued: ‘I guess not everyone is blessed with equally nice last names. Cavill is pretty cool.’ ‘Aye. Tis. It’s old french. Though my family is most..definitely British.’ He quipped, a tone of amusement in his voice. 

‘Do you miss your family?’ I asked. He took on a pensive expression, not answering immediately as he stared at some people hoisting up a heavy piece of decor. A large statue. He sighed, looking back at me. ‘I do. Mostly now I’m leaving my wild years behind me. Family starts to become more important.’ He said slowly, thinking, his gaze quickly moving to his cup of tea. 

‘So are you married, steady partner..something?’ I asked honestly, sipping the last of my tea, then putting it back on the counter. ‘Not as of right now. It’s just me and my trusty partner Kal.’ ’Oh mighty fluff-ball Kal’ I smiled, looking at my watch before hopping off my chair. I smiled at him kindly. ‘I hope you find yourself someone nice Henry. Gotta go, meeting starts soon.’ He looked at me, a glint of sadness in his eyes, then offered me a smile, nodding. ‘See you around.’ He said softly. I flew off, leaving him with his thoughts.

—

The next day, moving mindlessly to my usual spot at the coffee bar, I halted in place. He was sitting there.. again. And he was clearly waiting, playing around with his cup while letting his gaze fly over the seats beside him. Was he looking for someone? Maybe I shouldn’t disturb him, I thought, looking at another girl also sitting there. I turned around, deciding I’d better start looking for some coffee machine to ease my tea cravings.

—

Just three days later, same time, same place, he appeared again. For months I would not EVER see this guy, and now I saw him several times in two weeks. He sat down next to me, ordering a cup of tea. I was working on my laptop, only looking up after he had ordered his tea. ‘Hi.’ I said casually. We clinked cups again, sniffling. Silly. He smiled broadly. ‘Hi there.’ He was wearing his full-on Geralt costume and turned a bit towards me, looking at me studiously while blowing on his hot tea. It looked funny. A big buff guy in full leather armour, sipping on a cup of tea.

I turned back towards my laptop, quirking my head. ‘You know, I could use your vision and ideas on this.’ I said, turning my laptop a bit. I showed him some sketches for a red carpet event design. ‘Since you…walk these things and stuff.’ He scooted closer. I could feel his breath on my cheek. We exchanged a look. Gosh this man was soooo pretty. Even his stubble was…pretty. He smiled, knowingly, then looked at my screen. ‘Explain your vision.’ His voice kind and curious.

I explained, showing some examples. And how I wished to …freshen it up a bit. ‘More fantasy, less commodity.’ I stated. He scooted even closer, putting down his cup of tea. ‘I like that, that and that. This you should probably change. The press is not a fan of blocked views.’ His voice hummed in my ear while he pointed at some elements on my mood board and technical drawings. I looked over my shoulder. He was almost pressed against me. 

He sat back a bit when he noticed I glanced over. ‘Sorry. Uhm, you probably have a partner who’d KILL me if I dared touching his pretty lady.’ He said. I smiled, realizing what he was on to. ‘Not really. Just a fat, lazy old cat. I doubt she’ll even bother as long as there’s a lap to lay on at night.’ I sniffled in amusement. He smiled, his gaze flying over my face, then quickly looking back at the screen. ‘I like your sketches. This should be..really cool. They’ve made a good decision getting you on-board.’ I nodded. ‘I’m worth every penny.’ I said confidently, focusing on the screen, moving around some elements, then nodding and saving the design.

I felt his breath on my cheeks again. I felt his gaze. What was going on with this man? I looked up, closing my laptop. ’So.. how are you? Any more involuntary doggy search quests?’ I quipped, trying to ignore the electricity that crackled through the air as my lips half mindedly reached for my tea, sipping it. ‘Oh cold.’ I groaned, pushing out my tongue in disgust. He laughed heartily, turning away a bit to not get suspicious looks from the rest of the crew. 

‘Thankfully no escaping hounds and actually a pretty good week.’ Our eyes met again. ‘Want to maybe go on another hike with me?’ I asked honestly. His face shot from surprise to studious to overjoyed. ‘I’d like that!’ He smiled, then hesitated, ‘Though it won’t be in the morning. I’m…up at 3 in the morning for make-up.’ ‘Holy cow! Well eh..let’s look.’ I gasped, opening my laptop again to look at my calendar. He got the hint and opened his phone, swiping through several agenda apps. ’Thursday afternoon? Or..the weekend?’ He suggested. I scrolled through my calendar. ‘All fine. My weekend nights are booked, so preferably no early morning hikes after…’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘It’s called D&D sessions with lots of wine.’ I sniffled. His eyebrow rose even further. ‘Dearness me. What do you play? And let’s pin Thursday afternoon.’ I nodded, putting it in my agenda. ‘I play a bard armed with a panflute and awful singing skill, level 14, and definitely stuck in a dungeon with my murder hobo party right now.’ I said, playfully earnest, looking him dead in the eye. He belted out a laugh. ‘I did not see that coming.’ We both chuckled.  

He sighed, still smiling, looking at me. We were interrupted by the bartender. ‘Another cup of tea?’ He pointed at my gone-cold cup. I smiled. ‘Yes please. Thank you Joey.’ He shrugged, looking at Henry, then back at me. ‘What?’ I smiled, confidently. ‘Are you two..dating?’ He asked, unbelieving. I looked over at Henry, raising an eyebrow. Henry smiled gingerly, then nodded, winking at Joey. ‘Sorry mate.’ Joey pulled a sour face, quickly turning away jealously to pour me some tea. I looked away awkwardly - WHAT?! What did he just say? I felt Henry’s warm, strong hand on mine. He smiled at me in question. ‘Are we?’ He whispered very softly. Our eyes met. His hand on mine I needed to swallow first, before even managing anything. Words Lisa, words. 

‘I ehh...guess we’re still figuring that out, aren’t we?’ I gulped, quickly straightening my back while looking at him. Joey handed me the fresh tea, quickly moving away to help someone else. Henry turned around completely on his bar stool, hanging with his elbows on the counter, his face was blank but I could see the little cogs turning in his mind. I knew men well enough by now.

I turned a quarter way to face him. He looked up and I smiled at him gently. ‘Women are complicated, but I’m not..not really. If I say we’re still figuring out what we are to each other, then that’s that. When we pinned this hike, just a minute ago, I did not have in mind it would be a date, just ..fun…figuring out. I know nothing more then your Wikipedia page by now. And that you have a dog named Kal. You ..well..I don’t know what you have found about me on the web. My work. But most definitely not even a Wikipedia page.’ I sniffled. He looked back up, inquisitively, then his face softened to that of one of understanding. 

‘For a moment I thought you were friendzoning me.’ He said honestly. I laughed, poking his arm, turning around to also be able to lean with my back against the bar. I sipped my tea. ‘Are you willing to date though? If it’s…right?’ he asked, trying to sound casual. I looked up while sipping my tea, then lowered my cup slowly. ‘Yea.. sure I..am.’ I nodded, then looked at him comfortingly. ‘I just don’t want casual sex right now. These LA men and women can be quite draining..they make all the effort to get into your pants..and then poof they’re gone.’ I shrugged, looking at Joey flirting with one of the make up ladies at the end of the bar. I looked back towards henry. I could see him smile while looking at the crew moving some set pieces. ‘Tell me about it.’ He said, his eyes a shade thoughtful.

A metal voice shrieked over the speakers. *SET RUN 4 in 5. CREW REPORT. I REPEAT SET RUN 4 in 5*. Henry effortlessly jumped off the stool. ‘That’s me.’ He looked up at me, hesitating. ‘You have my number.’ I winked, then said; ‘Good luck Witcher.’ He smiled, nodding. ‘Thanks. I’m looking forward to Thursday!’ ‘Same’ I said, quietly, which he probably didn’t catch as his white wig was already disappearing in the crowd. I sighed, finishing my tea and checking my agenda for my next appointment.

---

It was Tuesday evening. A day after I asked him to join me for a hike. And, with some surprise, I noticed an unread message in my Whatsapp from a new number. A picture of a pair of feet wearing huge ugly slippers, a familiar dog laying beneath them. I smiled. Ah. The mysterious Witcher. I was sitting on the couch with my cat Bib so I took a picture of her on my lap, me wearing equally awful slippers and sent it in return. 

Not much later a message popped up. ‘:) Looks like we have equal taste in awful looking slippers hahaha’ ‘Welcome to the gang ;D Had a good day?’ ‘Sure did. Got a new costume which is really…really cool. And the day truly flew by :) How are you and what have you been up to?’ ‘A rather boring day here actually. Lots and lots and lots of waiting (they call it meetings, but lets be honest, its just boring monologues) *meme of chef shooting himself with a penne pasta* And right now writing some recipes for my cookbook with my cat Bib keeping my lap warm.’ ‘Cookbook huh? You like to cook?’ ‘Sure do! And for some years now I write down my recipes and bundle them in a cookbook so I can give them away as Christmas presents to friends and family :)’ ‘I’d love to cook with you sometime!’ ‘Let’s first see if you survive a hike with me ;D’ ‘Should I be worried now..? ;)’ I snickered. He soon typed again. ‘Can Kal join us by the way? And what time are you off?’ ‘Of course! And about 2-ish, you?’ ‘3-ish I think. I’ve to check with my PA, I’ll let you know.’ ‘Sure. So you also cook?’ ‘Yes of course! Though not as often as I’d like since my schedule is pretty..crammed haha.’

We chatted for another hour or so. It was fun. I didn’t get any recipe writing done, but that was quite alright. ‘I’ve got to go. Hitting the hay. Zzz. Good night dear!’ He sent. I sent him a funny GIF of a sleeping bear. ‘Sweet dreams :)’ And he was offline. I sighed, sinking down further into my couch. Bib was softly snoring and drooling - old cat syndrome. I tickled her to wake her up, which she did ever so reluctantly. It was difficult to catch sleep. I just, silly as it be, couldn’t stop thinking of him. Of how ridiculous this all was. I had to resist the urge to look him up on Google. No, I didn’t want to find out every little thing about him through the internet. No, no. But maybe just..watching some pictures? No Lisa, no! Eventually I had to give myself some release before sleep would catch me.

----

Thursday. It was a grey, humid day. Work was running a bit late - I was glad we had set our hike at 3. It was about 2.30 when I made my way to the hall where Henry was having some stunt run-through. I sat down on the floor against one of the walls with a thermostat can with tea, sipping it while studying the men prance and dance around each other in a play-deadly fight scene. I laughed out loud when one of the men tumbled over his own feet while trying to step again, making myself known to Henry, who looked over his shoulder at me. He winked a ‘hello’, then with renewed enthusiasm jumped in place, getting ready for the next try. I noticed a few more ladies trying to be as casual as possible about hanging around. I grinned, studying their hungry glances, their legs fiercely crossed, lips pouted, eyes big. It sure must be tiring to be surrounded by all these horny women ALL the time, I thought. 

It was 3.10 when the stunt team dispersed. Henry, slightly sweaty, came over to me. He nodded, reaching out an arm to pull me up. ‘Hi.’ He said with sparkling eyes, making my heart flutter for a moment. ‘Hi there.’ I said gleefully, taking his hand and feeling how he so very easily pulled me up. I awkwardly pulled my underwear a bit after getting up. ‘Such a sweaty day.’ I said, rolling my eyes, earning a loud snigger from him. ‘Yea, let’s make a quick stop at my trailer so I can change clothes and pick up Kal.’ ‘Sure.’ He looked over his shoulder endearingly, sighing content. ‘Very Lara Croftey.’ He said while we walked out of the hall, looking at me up and down. I laughed, taking a fight stance. ‘Bring it on LA sun!’ He chuckled in turn. We arrived at his trailer. A large trailer. We could hear a dog waking up, his paws scratching the door.

‘Hey there pal!’ Henry said through the door, while fussing with the key. A dog bark. I smiled, taking the moment to put on some new sunscreen. The door opened and Kal stormed out, jumping up like a young calf, making Henry laugh out loud. Henry petted him fiercely. ‘Hey boy. Hahaha. Oh I hope you’re ready for ..a walk!’ At those words Kal got even more excited, yapping happily. 

When Henry made his way into the trailer, leaving the door on a slit, Kal decided to say hello to me. ‘Hey Kal. Pfff. You must be WARM in that big fur coat. We better find some shade - for both us that is.’ He licked my hands happily as I knelt down, looking him calmly in the eyes. He calmed down, sitting down as well, panting happily.

‘I don’t know how you do that.’ I heard Henry’s voice coming from the trailer. I noticed his face peaking from the door, smiling. I smirked. ‘He’s just a very good boy.’ I said, winking at Kal. Henry’s disappeared again, but I what I saw instead was him changing shirts through the small opening of the door. I blushed, quickly getting up and turning a bit to hide the redness. 

He soon popped out in some shorts, shirt and cap. ‘Put on some sunscreen?’ I asked while he closed the door. He looked over. ‘Ah..I forgot.’ I pulled the sunscreen out of my bag. ‘Don’t want a lobster Henry or the makeup team will kill me.’ I said. He chuckled, gratefully taking the sunscreen and spraying some on his muscular arms, rubbing it over his exposed skin. 

He didn’t properly smudge out the sunscreen on his face, so I stepped in, wiping it away. He smiled, closing his eyes, folding his hand over mine. ‘Soft hands.’ He hummed. I smiled, feeling my cheeks once again blush a tinge, making me look away quickly. He opened his eyes again looking at me sweetly. ‘Thanks.’ He handed back the sunscreen, our eyes locking for a good moment. We both smiled stupidly at each other, soon being disrupted by an impatient Kal who pushed his nose in Henry’s crotch, which made him wince forward. ‘OOopphhf.’ 

I laughed out loud. ‘Alright, time to get cracking. I have a pretty nice walk set out for us, bit shady, few hills, not too long.’ Henry nodded, chaining Kal on a blue leash and following me.

We talked and talked and talked, keeping a relaxed pace while pushing ourselves up the steep hills of the Hollywood hills. Kal was walking freely by this point, sniffing and peeing all over the place, his tail wagging happily. Me and Henry spoke. About the set, about the dialogues he had to learn, about my animation work, cooking. About life. We had more in common then I ever thought possible. We were quite introverted, quiet people in public, had truly enjoyed MMORPGs but could no longer find the time, loved reading fantasy, cooking, hosting small parties for friends, unwinding in a bath with a good glass of cold white wine. We had similar humour. And were equally honest and direct. We were raised by parents who were quite similar. A somewhat nervous and emotional, but passionate mother and a relaxed, hard toiling father. The only difference being his relationship with his brothers was more close.

We sat down on a bench overlooking the valley, settling down in a relaxed, though quiet moment. I used the moment to wipe off some late summer sweat from my forehead with a makeup remover tissue. It was all greasy from the smog. ‘Yuk.’ I said, looking at the tissue. ‘Oh..can I have one too?’ ‘Sure.’ I handed him one. ‘Hehe mine is dirtier.’ He commented after wiping his face as well. 

‘Such a dirty man!’ I sniggered. He gave me a cheeky glance, to which I raised my eyebrow. ’Oh please!’ I started, but our interaction was interrupted by Kal who pushed his snout in Henry’s crotch again, making him wince forward... Again. I belted out a laugh. ‘Ooph.’ He groaned. ‘Mmm…Kal knows things..’ I grinned. Henry looked up, serving me a handsome smile, slowly sitting back up. ‘If anything.. he knows I haven’t been with a woman romantically for a very long time.’ He pushed some air through his nostrils, as he rearranged his trousers. 

Eventually I spoke again. ‘So you like men now? Or are just genuinely done with half of Hollywood?’ I quipped. He grinned painfully. ‘No men. Uhm. But, yes, I’ve dated… many women and just haven’t found any that I …clicked with.’ He said. ‘I’m sorry to hear.’ I yawned, stretching, earning a quick poke in my ribs from him. I snorted. ‘Oophh’. ‘Am I boring you good lady?’ ‘No, but I do think I could use some food, my tummy’s quite empty.’ He smiled. ‘Yea..let’s get going.’ 

We walked down the hills in steady, but much slower pace. Kal had also lost his quick step, now sometimes falling behind a bit. Henry clicked his tongue whenever he was slowpoking too much.

We arrived at Henry’s car (I got to work by public transport that day). I started noticing a pattern as Henry fell a bit quiet again, so I decided to say goodbye to Kal first, going down on my knees to give him a good ruff through his thick fur. ‘See ya Kal. You’ve been a good boy.’ He licked my face happily. I wiped off my face with a grin, then smiled at Henry. He sighed, then looked down as Kal got back to his feet. ‘What’s up?’ I asked. ‘I had a good time. I didn’t quite expect it to be so …nice.’ His gorgeous blue eyes looked at me with a mix unsure happiness. ‘Good. I enjoyed it too. Quite a lot.’ I smiled. He nodded, looking again at Kal, then back at me. I shrugged, hesitating. ‘Well..see you at work I.. guess.’ Should I just go?

I started turning around, hearing him sigh harshly, his eyes unsure. MAKE A MOVE - my brain screamed. I sighed in turn, turning back towards him, making sure we got good eye contact. ‘You know….if you are feeling like it you can join me for dinner at my place. Going to make greek food.’ He blinked. ‘Uhh..yea. I’d like that. If it’s no hassle’ His smile grew again. I smiled. ‘Well I don’t know how large of an appetite you have, but nobody has ever left my dinner table hungry.’ His cheeks coloured a tinge. ‘Where do you live?’ He asked. ‘Down south, 20 minute drive. Or public transport, though I’m not sure you’d survive that.’ ‘Ah yes..fan hordes. Let’s take my car.’ He nodded smiling, a visible weight being lifted from his shoulders, as he gestured to join him, walking towards the shotgun door to hold it open for me. I curtsied and got in. And just like that we went.

I was kind of zoned out, staring at people on the sidewalks, with Kal in between my legs, Kal also staring out of the window. Henry prodded me. ‘Here?’ I sat up a bit and nodded. ‘Yep. Don’t park next to that red car. My neighbor can’t drive for shit.’ I pointed. He grinned and parked at the end of the parking lot. It was about 6 pm when we walked up the stairs to my front door. My cat came up to greet us, but quickly dispersed when Kal jumped in. I followed my usual routine; keys on the hook, cooing at my cat Bib, throwing off my shoes after which Henry followed suit and tipple tapped into the kitchen for a large glass of water. I could see he was somewhat exhausted too, slumping down on a chair.  

‘Want a glass of wine or something?’ I asked. ‘Uhm..I’ll wait a bit. Still have to drive. Some water please.’ I nodded. ‘Mind if I have some wine though?’ ‘Oh no, please. Wine for the cook is always good. Can I help with anything by the way?’ ‘Slice these eggplants lengthwise in 2cm thick strips and salt them either side. We’re eating Moussaka!’ His face lit up. ‘Sounds good.’ ‘Ever had it before?’ I poured myself a glass of wine. ‘Once, in Greece.’ ‘Ooh, so I’ve got some competition.’ He grinned, chopping with great ease through the eggplant. Strong arms. I looked at him from the corner of my eye. When he noticed me looking, I averted my gaze and smiled.

I moved the moussaka into the oven and sat down opposite of him at my small square kitchen table. ‘Hi.’ I beamed, rolling wine around in my glass. He nodded in greeting. ‘I usually feed my cat around this hour, shall I give Kal some food as well?’ He sat up in his chair and nodded. ‘Uhm yea. Good thinking. He’ll probably hate me if he needs to wait all night.’ ‘All night?’ I raised my eyebrow, smirking. His eyes darkened as he held his breath, slowly nodding. I got up and looked for a bowl and whistled. Kal sat up and Bib also sneakily peaked around the corner. ‘Who’s hungry?!’ I belted, filling their bowls with pellets and a bit of wet food. 

Kal pushed his nose in my crotch in all excitement, making me squeal. ’Ooph okay boy. Haha. We’ve got to stop having you do that.’ I laughed. Henry gave him a pat on his butt, laughing in turn. ‘He sure likes crotches.’ I snorted, looking at Kal, who immediately sat in anticipation. I lowered his bowl in a corner of the kitchen and stroked his snout. I looked at Henry, who simply said: ‘Eat’ and Kal started hogging down his food like he hadn’t eaten in days. My cat on the other hand wasn’t so eager to come into the kitchen so I placed her food on a good lookout place. She took a few bites but soon enough left to hide somewhere higher up.

I poured some more wine in and Henry pointed. ‘I’ll have one too.’ I nodded, getting him a glass. ‘Just an FYI; it’s simple supermarket wine.’ He smiled, shrugging like he didn’t care, then clinked his glass with mine. Not long after the moussaka was done and we sat down for dinner. What I thought would be a meal for 4 days, became a meal for 1 day. Henry sure was munching it away like sweet cake. ‘This is..freaking delicious. My god.’ He mumbled. I smiled, sipping my wine. He sat up a bit, wiping his mouth in giddiness. ‘Where are my manners?’ He smiled. 

We ate and ate until our plates were empty and our bellies filled to the brim. I rolled my wineglass around in my hand, looking at Henry. He was silent, looking back at me. I shrugged. ‘Superman for dinner, how about that.’ I smirked. He looked at me, his eyes locking with mine. ‘I like you.’ He blurted out. I looked at him, a touch surprised, then smiled. ‘I like you too.’ We just continued looking at each other, gentle smiles tugging at our lips, lust darkening our eyes to the point that I... I... I felt uneasy and got up. ‘Want some tea?’ I croaked. ‘Sure.’ He quickly said. 

I felt his eyes piercing my back while the water cooked. Come on, come on. Cook faster! I almost trembled, so unlike me, while filling our cups, soaking some tea bags in them. I put his cup of tea on the table, immediately feeling his hand sneaking up my leg. He was looking at me, questioning me. I tilted my head as my head really started to race. FUCK. ‘That’s reserved for third dates.’ I said, trying to keep my voice level. He grinned, nodding in understanding, then suddenly got up, closing the small space between us. But instead of fully bridging the distance, he cupped my head with his hand.

He folded a rogue hair behind my ear and just looked at me, endearingly. ‘Hi.’ He whispered. I held in my breath. ‘Would you like to go on a date with me?’ He asked in earnestness. I snorted. ‘Hahaha. Oh. Ehm. Yes. I’d like that. Go…’ He kissed me. And somehow that still caught me off guard. It took me a second to realise what was happening. It was a slow sweet kiss, a gentle one. A much to short kiss, my mind reeled. He smiled at me. ‘Good.’ He stated proudly. I was still a bit flabbergasted by all that had happened. Why? Dazed I looked at him for a moment. Fuck this. I eagerly pressed my lips against his again, a kiss he accepted with similar eagerness. It became a passionate, almost sloppy kiss. One that left me all flustered and slightly out of breath. ‘I better get going before we don’t make it to a third date.’ He whispered in gruff voice. I blushed feverishly, nodding.

Half an hour after he left I saw a new Whatsapp message popping up. I opened it. A picture of Kal on his lap. I burst out in laughter and plopped down on my couch, just staring at the picture for a bit. My cat didn’t let a moment waste and quickly plopped up on the couch to butt her head against my hand. I petted her. ‘Oh Bib. What is this?’ I made a picture of Bib curling up against me and sent it back. No more response after, but all was right, my heart was pounding and all I really needed was some me-time. I put my phone under a pillow, so I could resist to urge to keep texting him and put on some Netflix series. Not long after I felt my eyes droop and I could barely make it to my bed before falling right asleep.

The next morning I checked my phone, seeing he had sent some app messages last night while I had been watching my series. ‘Hi ;) so how’s Thursday evening? Go for drinks?’ I smiled and  responded. ‘Good morning :) Thursday’s good. Any place in mind?’ Before I had fully gotten out of bed I heard my phone buzz with a new message. ‘Good morning dear one. Rooftop winebar with cats good?’ He responded pretty much straightaway. At once my heartbeat was back to racing speed. I took a deep breath, playing it cool and first doing my morning routine (getting dressed, toilet break, petting Bib)..though perhaps a bit more rushed than usual. I got back to my phone, answering: ‘Mi-auw! Sounds perfect.’ ‘I’ll pick you up at 8, good?’ I sent a smiling cat with thumbs up. Immediately feeling silly. But just shrugging it off and putting my phone in my bathrobe before making breakfast. I felt the phone buzz in my pocket. Right after putting a spoon in my yoghurt, I looked: a dog with a thumbs up. I giggled.

It took a lot of self control to not constantly check my phone every second over the next couple of days. We would occasionally share some details of our day. He mostly responded really eagerly when I shared my tomato red head after I had done some running. Of course, he exercises practically non-stop. And lots of pictures of our animals. Me walking Bib on a leash had him send a GIF of a cat on leash being dragged around since it didn’t want to follow. Hilarious.

Anyways. It was Thursday evening. I had dolled up a bit in a cute dress, black choker necklace and beachwave hair. No heels since I didn’t know whether it’d be a lot of standing or walking stairs. I heard my doorbell ring, finding a sexy man in buttoned open blouse and tight pants, a smile from ear to ear. Okey. Gotta admit. Ravishing. I would have loved to drag him into my bed then and there. Instead we shared a quick peck and he took my hand walking to a cab. Arriving at the roof top there were a few people, but it was mostly secluded. And there were indeed a few cats. We ordered a bottle of Merlot and let ourselves melt into a lounge bench overlooking LA. I noticed a couple that was secretly looking at us. ‘Do you ever get used to these people blatantly staring at you?’ He looked over his shoulder, waving expressively at the people who quickly looked away in shock. He smiled. ’Never completely. It is kind of dehumanizing at times. But then again, part of the job.’ ‘Do you miss it..just being able to walk the street unnoticed? Doing groceries?’ ’That’s been a long time ago honestly. But occasionally yes. At least some trainers and a cap work wonders.’ I laughed, taking a sip of wine. He looked at me. ‘They’ll start noticing you too.’ His voice was tender, but serious. ‘So quickly?’ He nodded, looking into the distance. The sun had started to go down and lights were being turned on. ‘Did something happen with your previous girlfriends?’ I asked with honest curiosity. He hesitated for a moment. ‘It always changes things. Some love the attention so much they want all of it. Some get suspicious of every bush and tree and don’t want to go out at all. Most of them got way too obsessed over looking dolled up 24/7.’ He slowly shook his head. I studied his face. ‘The press is a hungry beast.’ He finally said.

He looked back up at me. ‘What do you want? Stay hidden for a while?’ ‘We’re not really hidden right now..are we?’ I winked, hinting at the couple once again staring at us. He grinned. ‘They’ll probably not get further than starting a gamble on how long you and I would last.’ I shrugged, smiling. ‘But to get back to your question. No public events or any of that. But I sure as hack don’t want to give up being able to go outside together, since I love outdoor dates. I just want to get to know you. We are in the end an unlikely pair.’ ‘Unlikely pair?’ He raised his eyebrow. ‘Well, Henry, make an educated guess.’ I sat up, looking at him with a challenging smile. ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife..’ He recited. ‘Pride and prejudice.’ I nodded ‘Do you think we don’t match?’ ‘Well, other than that you are WAY more handsome, you are probably an even bigger dork than I am.’ I leaned over, giving him a peck on the lips. He smiled into our little kiss, cupping my cheek with his free hand, his other one balancing his glass of wine. ‘You are one of the few women I’ve met who dare to look closer than skin deep.’ He hummed. I moved back a bit to be able to look straight into his eyes. ‘Scaredy cats.’ I whispered in Annie voice. He tilted his head. ‘Annie, League?’ He gasped. I snorted out a loud laugh. ‘Boy, you are equally dorky!’ He laughed in turn. ‘Girl, that is. But yea, maybe just a little.’ He got up and pressed his lips against mine more feverishly before resting his nose against mine, gazing blurrily at me. ‘I’m so glad I’ve met you.’

After our date we got to another awkward little situation. I thought it best to just take two cabs. I mean. He lived up the hills, so it would be a whole trip to go around whole the city to bring me home. But he insisted. In the cab he pulled me closer, just squeezing me in his strong arm, resting his cheek against my head while I was staring at the lights flashing by. We got to my place way too quickly for my liking. Saying goodbye was getting harder each time we met. ‘I want to see you again.’ He whispered right after we kissed our goodbyes, standing by my door. ‘I’ll pick the next date.’ I stated quickly. He looked at me in slight confusion. ‘Aren’t men supposed to..?’ ‘Goodness, it’s the 21st century.’ He snickered, kissing me again, more passionately, pressing me against my front door. ‘Okey..okey..Let’s..’ I pushed him away out of breath. ’Say goodbye.’ Our eyes burned into one another. ’Speak to you soon.’ He said hoarsely, and quickly made his down the stairs. I felt almost depressed seeing him rush off, then again realising why he didn’t stall. He hadn’t been with a woman in over 1 year, yet had to act it out over and over on set. Surely he had some pent up feelings from just that. I opened my door and found my cat meowing impatiently at me. I had an uneasy feeling coming home. I could reason it all. But it left me feel a bit cold and lonely all the same. I looked at my phone. ‘Henry is typing….’ I closed my eyes, sighed, then typed: ‘You ok?’ He removed his text. Then again ‘Henry is typing…’ I waited, looking at the screen. Eventually his message was sent. ‘Didn’t mean to rush..sorry..:/‘ ‘You need to chop some wood.’ I sent, with a cheeky winking emoticon. He sent an uncomfortably smiling emoticon. ‘Yes..I forgot the number one rule before first dates..come prepared and ‘chop’ one first.’ With winking smile. I returned a kissing smiley and walked towards the kitchen to make a cup of tea. The cold feeling left. I felt my heart warm up as quickly as it cooled down before. And just like the other day, he sent me a picture when he got home. It was the wood logs near his fire place, followed by a shrugging emoticon. I sniffled. I had some wild dreams that night. Wood chop worthy ones.

I’d decided our date would be a doggy bootcamp. I had picked up a dog from the local shelter and there we stood in full track suit with dogs at the ready, along with some other sports crazies. It was sunday 8 o’clock in the morning. And the dogs were ecstatic. We decided to go for a gentle jog, since the dog I picked up was ALL over the place and definitely not following - like the lady at the shelter said he usually does. Probably his first sniffs at actual freedom, not a simple driveway walk, made him go mad with excitement. We chuckled and spoke of our week while we got to the first set of hurdles. Two of the women who joined us were totally gushing at Henry, continuously trying to flirt with him, unnecessarily sprinting after Kal who quickly outran them and asking him all sorts of slightly inappropriate questions. But he shrugged it off effortlessly. ‘Sorry ladies, if you don’t mind, me and Lisa are quite happy as just a twosome.’ The ladies huffed fiercely, giving me a dirty look, then spurted off with their pitchy dogs that were barking top lung.

Henry and I sure had to convince our guest dog to participate. His name, Scuff, seemed appropriate. He was a shaggy, confused dog, that didn’t really get what we wanted to do. Only when Kal did a few show runs, did Scuff follow with a dumb smile on his snout. All and all though, we had great fun, a little workout, the dogs were completely exhausted and after I pulled out some picknick gear for us to enjoy at the top of the solarium hill. A great view, almost alone, and the dogs eagerly ate the dogfood I had brought along. We sat there slightly sweaty, but satisfied, eating our salad and sandwiches. Henry gazed out over the trees, then halted. He pointed. ‘Hey, that’s my house!’ I followed his pointing finger. ‘Which one, the huge bachelor pad, or the ridiculous super villain mansion?’ He gave me a silly look. ‘The house with a good view, in-door gym and ..if you care to know, a really glorious shower.’ ‘Is this your way of saying I need a bath?’ ‘Well, we both do, don’t we?’ I chuckled, then my thoughts wandered. I knew that my 3-date rule was getting hard to follow with such a shower. My silence did not go unnoticed. ‘I chopped some wood.’ He added. I gave him the look, then smirked. ‘Well, i didn’t.’ He smiled, then fiddled with some grass, sighing. I looked back at the direction where he had pointed. ‘But a cup of tea sounds like a good idea.’ His gaze travelled over my legs, to my torso, to my neck, my face. Hungry eyes. He blinked. ’Tea.’ He croaked, catching himself giving thirsty looks.

We walked down the road to his house. Scuff was completely wasted, no longer following, but Kal was ever as excited, realising he was nearly home. The house was indeed large, with high fence, tropical garden, long driveway, pool, modern style supersize bungalow with top to floor windows. ‘It’s temporary, while we are shooting here. I actually live in London.’ I looked at Henry. Only now realising he was in fact a European too. He looked at me. ‘I spied with my little eye you’re from the Netherlands. Not very far from Britain.’ I smiled, somewhat uncomfortable. It kind of broke the fairytale experience. Realising we wouldn’t always be so close to one another. We stepped into his house. It was rather empty, just some straight from the box furniture with little soul. And dog toys and pictures, lots of those. I let my gaze fly over the pictures. His brothers, parents, family, some shots with fans, at movie sets, Kal. He halted, looking over his shoulder. ‘Make yourself at home. Green tea?’ ‘Yes, lovely. No milk or sugar!’ He grinned. ’Naa…that’s even for me, a brit, too awful.’ ‘Thanks.’ I grinned, taking a closer look at the pictures at the bottom of the wall. I heard him shuffling around in the kitchen, glasses clanking. Kal and Scuff had followed him into the kitchen, hoping to fetch some snacks. Which, from the sound of it, they got. I walked in seeing them chewing on some pig ears. ‘Oh you lucky fellas!’ I smiled, following Henry who nodded we would be sitting outside. ’tWas a lovely afternoon.

‘So how long are you still here?’ ’Till end of September, then we’ll fly to Poland…will your team join there?’ ‘Yea.’ ‘Cool..so..Poland. Up to December. Finish shooting there. Fly to England, press tour worldwide in January..which is going to be truly hectic..then a long break. And then shooting here starts again.’ He shrugged. ‘Someone once told me to never date a colleague. Perhaps he was a wise man.’ He looked at me with a question in his eyes. Unsure what to make of it. I looked out over the valley. ‘My year: contract up to first month in Poland, after that a BBC movie in the shetlands till end of January, but probably half of February, I know that director too well. Free schedule after that.’ He took my hand, taking my cup of tea and putting it on the side table, then took both my hands, looking deeply into my eyes. ‘I know this is all so very quick and we need to get to know one another. But please know I wish to invest my time and love into you.’ Those words hit me. I looked back into those deep blue pools of trust and warmth and couldn’t help but smile. Then sighed. ‘It’s quite a thing to have to think about. We’re going to be all over the world. And right now, we have only just touched surface on getting to know each other.’ ‘We have some months to figure it out.’ I looked at him, agreeing. ‘Yes. October.’ He pulled me closer, kissing my hair. I laughed. ‘Aiiii…I’m smelly. Don’t kill your nostrils with my stench.’ He grinned, pulling me all the way up in his lap, with great ease, and hugged me like I was his dearest toy. ’Stink or not. I like you.’ I pulled my arms out of his tight grasp and wrapped them around his neck. I gazed into his eyes, curiously. We looked at each other for a minute or so. Just, silently watching each other. Studying the fine lines on our faces. The way our eyebrows arched over our eyes. Our noses. Our lips. Curious lovers. Then finally our eyes met again. His eyes watered ever so slightly. I kissed him, crushing my chest against his. I could feel his heart beating harshly against his chest. Silently I cursed my three-date rule.

We had a busy week after. Shooting had fully started. This meant long ass 14-hour shoot days. And two of my team members had burned out, leaving us working overtime just like the actors and film crew. It was Saturday evening. We’d have a day off tomorrow. I had just finished up my day, it was 11pm, when I waddled towards the warehouse where they were shooting the last scene of the week. A pub scene. I squeezed in with some of the makeup staff. Henry was playing Geralt, absolutely covered in monster guts. It was even steaming. And everyone was singing toss a coin. The scene was cut and the director applauded. ‘And cut. Great work everyone. See you on Monday! Hair, can I have a word?’ Everyone dispersed, with the warehouse being practically empty in the stretch of just two minutes. Henry had noticed me and walked up to me. ‘Hmmm’ He rumbled in character. ‘You, need a bath.’ I stated. He grinned, making his appearance all the more scary. ‘And a nap and some food.’ He agreed, silently referencing a previous conversation. One of the make up ladies came hurrying up to him, hesitating to tug his gut covered arm. ‘I’m coming Suzan. Wait for me?’ The makeup lady gave me a weird look. As in; why would you wait for him? What the fuck? You two ..dating?! Iewl. I shrugged. ‘Sure.’ I smiled, nodding sweetly at Suzan. Not soon after they locked down the warehouse, leaving me outside in the cold. I looked over at the car park. Might as well wait for him at his car. Just when I wanted to text him I got a message from him; ‘Meet at car? Warehouse locked’ I returned a thumbs up, already seeing him in the distance.

‘That was quick.’ I grinned. ‘They didn’t have hot water.’ He groaned. ‘Military style hosing down.’ ‘You poor bird.’ I gave him a peck on the cheek and petted his back. He looked over my shoulder checking if the coast was clear before cupping my chin and giving me a deep kiss. ‘Maybe not as glorious..but what about a third date? Takeaway at my place?’ He smiled, arching his eyebrow, while circling his large arms around my small waist. I looked at him curiously. ‘I think I’ll fall asleep before we can finish our date, won’t you?’ ‘Then we just sleep.’ His eyes pierced mine. ‘Ok.’ I finally agreed. He cheered, picking me up and swirling me around. I belted out a loud giggle. While lowering me down he kissed me deeply again, resting his nose against mine before reaching for his car keys.

20 Minutes later we arrived at his place with some Mexican food, were greeted by a sleepy but very happy Kal who came pitter pattering out of Henry’s bedroom. We snacked on the food, made out, drank wine, got lazy, then after some serious yawns decided to hit the hay. It had been a very long week. It was nevertheless strange how comfortable sleeping together was. Usually at the beginning of relationships I would barely sleep. But this felt good. I snuggled into his arms, he talked a little, then soon enough my eyes fell shut and I felt his lips touching mine. ‘Sleep well my sweet princess.’ He whispered. The next morning there was no alarm clock, just Kal’s claws ticking on the floor. I stretched out finding Henry looking at me. ‘Hi sleepy head.’ He said. I yawned, then smiled at him. ‘Hmmm. Hi.’ ‘How did you sleep?’ ‘Oh I feel like I’m still dreaming, so good.’ I smiled lazily. He brushed some hair from my face, then slightly bent over me, studying my face. ’Maybe.. this requires a magical kiss!’ He said playfully earnest, studying my face some more, then kissing me, before studying me again. I sniggered.

‘Ah, the princess seems to have awakened!’ I booped his nose with my finger. ‘Carefull. You may or may not risk getting yourself turned into a frog.’ He laughed in return, kissing me passionately and climbing completely on top of me. ‘I take that risk.’ He said gruffly. It made my heart race within seconds. His muscular, heavy body pressing me into the soft mattress. His thirsty look. I dared not look down at his trunk. I felt my breath choke while I looked up at him. He broke his thirsty look with a sweet smile. ‘The safeword is stop. And then I’ll stop. Okey?’ My breath felt ever more laboured. Wow. This wasn’t a dream. This was real. This was. Oh my god. Third date. 

He started languishly kissing me, his left arm keeping himself propped up while his right arm looked for my arm, entangling our fingers. I felt my groin catch fire. And I could feel him. His taught muscles, his bit of chest hair, his erection that was now pressing eagerly into my hip. I sighed in between our kisses, taking a deep breath, looking at him. ‘Oh my.’ I whispered. He grinned, before cupping my face sweetly. ‘Too fast?’ His eyes pierced mine, a gentleness overtaking them. ‘No. It’s..it’s good. It’s great. Oh my.’ I uttered. He kissed me again, smiling, then took my hand and placed it on his chest. And there my hand slowly travelled over his chiseled body. Feeling it. I closed my eyes to focus on the sensation of finger tips rippling over his muscular physique. I could feel my groin getting soaked, but I didn’t mind. I sighed a more laboured breath, then returned his kiss feverishly. He kissed me, but quickly pulled back. 

‘I want to feel you.’ He said gently. What? I was a bit at loss of what he meant. He was on top of me right? Then he nodded at the underwear I was still wearing. I laughed. Silly me. ’Take it off of me.’ I smiled, which he did with trained hands, flipping us over so he could reach the clasp of my bra. He threw it aside while continuing kissing me. Then he took a breath, looking at me while his hand travelled over my undies, questioning me. I gave a slight nod, which was all he needed before removed my last piece of clothing in one fell motion. 

His eyes languishly travelled over my body, a finger tracing what he saw in appreciation. I shivered under his touch, already very much aroused by simply having one of his fingers touching me. He then moved away the blankets and crawled on all fours to bend down in between my legs. I felt my breath completely choking. He noticed, looking up at me, looking for confirmation. All I could do was sigh a soft ‘yes’, while I felt his breath on my southern lips.

Oh. His wicked tongue. This tongue! His strong hands pulled up my legs in a strangling position while he lapped me like he hadn’t seen water in days. I squealed and shivered, feeling heat coil up inside me. Where an orgasm would usually take me forever, it already engulfed me. It took seconds before I felt my every nerve, electricity curling my toes, my mind putty. I gasped while he continued, now adding two fingers. I huffed and puffed, feeling my whole body tingle and shake. ‘Oh Henry. Ohhh…’ 

He finally got up from between my legs, looking devilishly satisfied. He crawled up, hovering over me once more, looking at me. I closed the gap, kissing him feverishly. He groaned, sinking his hips closer to mine. His erection now pressing harshly into my leg. I could feel the weight of it. Oh darn. ‘I want you.’ He said hoarsely. ‘Condom.’ I breathed. He nodded, moving to his side of the bed to reach into his bedside table. He got up, removing his trunks, looking at me in full naked, erect glory. I could only stare. That was…very well endowed. A greek god wouldn’t look any less divine. 

He crawled back on top of me, grunting while rolling the condom over his erection. ‘Hmmmmpfff. Fucking things’ He huffed for a bit, looking at me while panting slightly. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath before lowering himself down. It felt like he was holding back a whole lot of pent up energy. He kissed me. First sweetly, but soon passionately, almost feverishly, and I could feel his erection starting to press against my maidenhood. I panted in unison with him as he slipped in. He lay quietly for a bit, prepping up. ‘So tight.’ He gasped. I laughed, then groaned when he moved. ’Oh Lisa.’ He started to slowly push further into me. Which I didn’t know he could. So big. I groaned, slightly in shock and grasping his arm as he started moving in and out.

The feeling was so deep and big, it shocked me, stirred me, made me almost lose consciousness at some point. Our breaths were laboured while he moved up my legs, hitting an even deeper spot, which I did not even know I had. 

After a few minutes of his incessant pounding, his hip bone rubbing just right, I came, again, shivering around his erect cock in such a way he couldn’t help but release himself as well. He grunted, squeezing painfully in my leg, after which he fell over on top of me. I gasped at his weight covering me like a weighted, very much penetrating, blanket. ‘Can’t breath.’ I whispered, to which he quickly propped himself up, apologising. ‘Oh my gods. That was glorious.’ I smiled languidly pressing my head back into the pillow, taking a few more laboured breaths as he pulled out. He just looked at me, panting slightly. ‘Haa.’ He uttered smiling. ‘I almost forgot what it felt like. So good.’ He whispered. ‘I haven’t come like that in 5 years.’ I stated, looking at the ceiling in utter awe. 

He liked to hear that I think, as he rolled over and propped himself up on one arm, looking at me with a smile of victory. ‘Well I can give you many, many more.’ He kissed me. Slowly. Sweetly. I let my hand travel over his chest, then looked back up at him. ‘Your condom is…full.’ I stated. He looked down at the large blob of latex that was hanging from his cock. ‘Ha...Yea…haven’t found a condom yet that can truly…handle me.’ He grinned, slightly wincing while he pulled it off, quickly wiping the leftovers with a towel. He sighed, stretching out on his back.

I peeked at his still erect penis. It bounced slightly off his lower belly. I propped myself up on one arm in turn. ‘Shame they haven’t put a pill for men on the market yet.’ He raised his eyebrow at me. I grinned. ‘Do you use the pill?’ ‘Yea..just to be sure. Don’t want to become an accidental mom.’ He nodded, looking down at his penis. ‘I would however like to still use a condom for the first while….’ I said. He looked back at me with an endearing smile. ‘A small price to pay for such a big reward.’ He pulled me on top of him and pulled my hip against his still erect penis. He closed his eyes, clearly enjoying the sensation of skin to skin. Not long after I felt his erection starting to stir again and his right hand hastily grabbed another condom from the still opened drawer, expertly tearing the packaging open with his teeth. His darkened eyes interlocked with mine while he rolled the new condom over his cock. ‘Come here.’ He pulled my face towards his lips and just while he kissed me I could feel his hand moving his cock somewhat, positioning it. Seamlessly, while he cracked open my lips with his tongue, he re-entered me. Slower, with more rolling hip motions he rocked his cock against my insides. I melted into his arms, his hands keeping my hips lifted while he slowly picked up speed. It felt like a warm shower. Tingling, so hot, but comforting and healing.

After a few more hip thrusts, I climbed off of him, feeling frisky and perching up on all fours, wiggling my hips. He didn’t waste a second, bending over me, re-entering me in one fluid motion, hitting an even deeper spot. I gasped. I felt him bend over me completely, kissing my back and neck as is hands traveled to my hips, pulling me even further on his cock. I let out a little whimper. ‘Oh good gods.’ I whispered. He groaned: ‘You are so…tight.’ Not long after he started thrusting again. These thrusts were so deep I could feel them come up half my belly. I gasped and gasped some more while he ravished me. He eventually pulled me up, thrusting upwards while his lips interlocked with mine. ‘I’m coming.’ He said hoarsely, starting a punishing pace, making me bounce up from the mattress entirely. And then he groaned a final sigh of relief. He collapsed into me, letting us fall sideways on the bed. Still interlocked. 

He sighed, spent and satisfied, enveloping me in his arms while his lips pressed a kiss in my neck. I was just laying there limply. ‘Are you okay?’ He asked softly. I nodded, while slowly turning my head towards him. ‘I’ve never been with someone so well endowed.’ I whispered, looking into his eyes. He smiled. Even now, I could feel his cock deep inside me. ‘I have some pain killers for cramps.’ I huffed: ’He said while still fully burrowed inside me.’ He nuzzled his face in my neck. ‘Sweet womb.’

---

Part 2 >

#henry cavill #smut #fanfiction #henry cavill fanfic #meeting #dating #henry cavill smut #henry cavill x oc #doggy hike #la #third date

[signetxego]

Okay so. I was thinking about things. Things being the flintseol dorm story. And idk now i’m Dying To Talk About It so here is a very detailed crash course on the Boys PLEASE talk to me abt it im begging you hit up my dms i’ll marry you

Under the cut for obscenely long post for smth with no actual writing.

When Ace loses his alchemy homework, Epel advices he goes to his classmate Blaise for help, who can find anything if he gets a good description of it. Ace, Epel, Deuce, Yuu and Grim find Blaise, who uses his unique magic to locate the lost homework.

Deuce is really impressed, and tells Blaise that a magic like that is super valuable, but Blaise becomes downcast and explains that he can’t find things unless he has a clear idea of what he’s looking for in his minds eye, so it only really helps him retrieve small things that he’s already seen. It never works for the thinks he’s looking for.

Blaise goes on to say that the dorm he is in, Flintseol, has a long-standing legend, one that has puzzled students since the founding of the dorm. The first dorm leader, before he left the school, hid a stash of treasure somewhere on the grounds, and a trail of clues to locate it. Over the years, nobody has been able to solve the puzzles and locate the treasure.

Grim and Ace her excited at the prospect of treasure, and ask Blaise if they can help him look for it, and split it between them, however Blaise gets annoyed and says that a true pirate doesn’t accept help, and he can do it by himself. He storms off, but Ace isn’t willing to give up on a legendary stash of treasure hidden, and suggests that they try and find it without Blaise’s help.

After school, they go to the library, to do some research and see if they can find any hints on where the first clue is. As they talk, they are overheard by a strange boy with a mechanical eye, who joins their conversation, and tells them it’s been years since students from another dorm have tried to find Flintseol’s hidden treasure vault. Yuu mentions that it’s odd, since surely students from other dorms, like Azul or Ruggie, would want to get their hands on something so valuable. The cyborg laughs, and tells them that the first clue is hidden in the Flintseol dorms, and it’s protected fiercely. An unseemly fate awaited all students who tried to break in and steal it, and so eventually they all gave up.

He says that over years, clues have been found and lost, their whereabouts gone forever. Pirates can’t be expected to work together, especially when treasure is involved. He encourages them to do their best finding the treasure, but once he leaves Yuu decides he sounded quite patronising.

The next day, the gang decide to sneak into the Flintseol dormitory, having stolen some uniforms from Vil’s stash in the pomefiore dorm. However, as soon as they set foot inside they find that it’s nothing like any other dorm, and they struggle to find their way around the complicated layout without disrupting any students. They’re saved from a run-in with some delinquents by Blaise, who pulls them aside after a time limit fight and asks them what they’re doing at his dormitory.

Blaise tries to convince them to leave, but Ace and Grim are determined to find the clue for the treasure. Blaise is torn, but eventually decides to sneak them up to the port, an area at the top of the dorm where most of the ships are docked. At the end of the largest of the rope bridges, is a single mirror carved into the floor, the first clue.

After looking around the mirrors on campus, Blaise thinks they should sneak into the dorm leaders room, since a mirror hangs in there. Blaise picks the lock and he and Yuu sneak in whilst the others stand guard.

They find nothing around the mirror, but Blaise’s attention is drawn to a folder slightly open. Going through it, he and Yuu find some old photos, moving back into sketches and portraits from the past at NRC. it seems to be the dorm leaders personal investigations into the treasure stash. They go from very old to very recent, and there are some of the current flintseol students.

Meanwhile, outside, Deuce and Epel are spotted by Inigo, who they mistakenly believe to be the dorm leader due to his strict way of speaking to them. They try to stall him, but he quickly realises they’re not members of his dorm, and drags them by the ears down the corridor, where he sees Blaise and Yuu leave Finnian’s room. He says that as much as he can’t stand finnian, he has to turn them in for breaking the key rule of the dorm, respect the captain above all else.

Inigo drags the group into the common room, and loudly announces that there are intruders in the dorm, and the dorm leader needs to deal with them. The commotion draws a huge crowd, and inigo uses his unique magic to trap the perpetrators in front of a portrait of a pirate holding out his hand, after Grim tries to make a runner.

Finnian appears, and Yuu is like ‘oh i thought i recognised u st the library it’s bc ur the dorm leader and were at the entrance ceremony. He laughs and seems pleased to see Yuu and the idiot gang, he gives them a lecture abt going through his stuff, although blaise retorts that he shouldn’t have left it lying around so carelessly. Importantly, he tells them that trying to follow the trail of clues will be pointless, since over the years students have taken clues for themselves and hidden them.

This angers a lot of the spectators, saying that the treasure must exist somewhere and they can definitely find it. Finnian laughs at their optimism, and tells them that their mindless enthusiasm is worthless without the drive to use your brain. It’s why none of them have overthrown him as dorm leader. At least Blaise was able to find the best hint there is left in the school.

He touches the threads binding them, and they shimmer and melt. He then tells them to start running, and not to drop the picture folder. Theres a rhythmic thingy where the idiots run away from the rest of the dorm, chasing them to try and get the folder for themselves.

They get split up as they run, and Yuu ends up with Grim and Blaise. After settling down, Yuu contemplates on how Finnian seemed totally different to when they met him in the library yesterday. Blaise says that his mood is pretty unpredictable, and he doesn’t take anything seriously. Grim asks what finnian meant when he said ‘none of you have managed to replace me as dorm leader’ and Blaise explains unique way Flintseol dork choses it’s leader. Apparently, the treasure hidden in the dorm was the puzzle set by the first dorm leader, so technically it’s the ultimate test to be ‘worthy’ of the dorm, but nobody really cares abt that, they just want that sweet gold.

Grim agrees that he just wants the gold, and prompts the other two to go through the folder from finnian’s room, to see if they can find out what he meant by ‘the biggest clue’ being hidden in there. They find an annotated excerpt from a diary, written by the first leader of the dorm. What catches their attention most is the annotation ‘surrender your physical riches to the spirit of adventure’.

At this point, Inigo finds them, and tells Blaise he always hides in this cupboard when he wants to get out of chores. Since they’re not technically breaking rules anymore, since Finnian let them go, he’s not going to fight them. Blaise shows him the excerpt from inside the folder, and explains that he’s not going to give up, and that he doesn’t think finding the treasure is impossible at all. If the dorm leader thinks that, then he’s not fit to uphold the spirit of this dorm at all.

Inigo starts to say something, but bites his tongue, and sighs, saying it’s not really any of his business as long as the day to day life of the dorm is ticking over smoothly. He explains the meaning behind the ‘adventurous spirit’ that Flintseol is founded on. The one-eyed cyborg who they follow the example of was a legendary pirate who followed a treasure map to the greatest stash of treasure in the galaxy, but in the end he gave it up to save a young shipmate who was travelling with him. Afterwards, he stopped seeking treasure, and traveled the universe alone, not bound by materialistic possessions, and instead basking in the wonders of the galaxy. Contrary to the popular image they portray, Flintseol aren’t pirates, they’re supposed to be explorers. Although, that ideal has been lost over time, as the dorms obsession with finding the rumoured stash of treasure has shown.

Blaise finds it upsetting that Inigo is so disillusioned with the other students in the dorm, and says that he never thought Finnian would turn out to be that type of person.

Inigo tells Blaise that Finnian isn’t someone he should look up to, he’s someone who can be pretty terrifying and toys with people to get what he wants from them. He’s clever, and Inigo gets the feeling he intended to leave that folder lying on his bed for someone to find, but he’s not sure why. Knowing Finnian, if there was a clue in there, he’d be able to crack it himself.

Suddenly, there’s a huge commotion outside, and the four rush over to the nearest window to see the rest of the idiots getting into a fight outside. Inigo rolls his eyes and says that they’re totally on track to getting killed, and instructs Blaise, Yuu and Grim to stay put whilst he goes and gets them.

Once he leaves, Blaise notices how quiet it is inside. It seems the commotion caused is so large that almost all of the Flintseol students have gone to watch. Yuu thinks it’s unnerving how bloodthirsty they are, and Blaise admits that things can be a bit rowdy at times. He looks down at the folder again, and reiterates how determined he is to find the treasure, and explains to Yuu why he was so eager to join Flintseol after Finnian overthrew his older brother as dorm leader. He wants more than anything to prove his worth, and puts his determination into his unique magic to locate ‘the spirit of adventure’ mentioned in the journal. To his shock, a green thread does appear at the end of his finger.

He and the ramshackle duo follow it to the main lounge where they had spoken to Finnian earlier, where it connects to the outstretched hand of the pirate in the portrait they had seen earlier. Blaise realises this pirate isn’t actually a pirate, he’s supposed to be the young shiphand who the cyborg gave up the stash of treasure to protect.

After thinking it over, Blaise solves the puzzle. As the cyborg achieved happiness through surrendering his ‘treasure’ to this boy, they must do the same to find the hidden treasure.

But what constitutes a treasure? Blaise admits that even though he is very wealthy, he doesn’t have anything that could be considered treasure. He tries handing money to the portrait, but nothing happens. Yuu suggests that maybe you need to give up a personal treasure, something that it hurts to part with. Blaise thinks of what it might hurt him to part with, and finally settles on an old, rusty compass. He explains that it was a gift from his grandfather, and was supposed to always point him back home, so he could explore to his hearts content without worrying about getting lost. He places it in the portraits hand, and the portrait moves to grip the compass. Blaise jumps away and the portrait stretches and turns into a huge door on the wall.

Going through the door and down some steps, they find a huge chamber filled to the brim with gold and jewels. Truly, a legendary stash of treasure. They take a moment to be happy, until the rest of the idiots come down the stairs and O.O at the treasure as well.

Grim asks why they went and got in such a huge fight, and Ace explains that it wasn’t their fault. They ran right into that creepy robotic dorm leader, who used wind magic exactly like his to attack some nearby students, and vanished as soon as the fighting started.

As if on cue, Finnian comes down the stairs behind the idiots, waving happily. He congratulated Blaise on solving the puzzle, even if he did need an awful lot of help from his dear dorm leader. Finnian says that he had discovered the secret to finding the treasure at the end of last year, and had debated over his to get a hold of it. The last puzzle was really unfair. The point of the trail of puzzles was to hammer in the belief that experiences are worth far more than material possessions. To achieve the ‘spirit of adventure’ and uncover the most sacred mystery of the dorm, you’d have to give up something physically important to you.

Of course, it was probably stupid of the first dorm leader to expect a pirate to change their ways. He didn’t care about the experience of a treasure hunt, or the reputation it would give him, he wanted the treasure! He wasn’t going to play along with the puzzle, and give something up, so he tricked Blaise into doing it for him. From telling Yuu and the others where to find the first clue, to leaving his folder out and hinting at the clues hidden inside, and finally to clearing out the dorm by starting a fight, so that when Blaise opened up the treasure vault, nobody else would be around to intrude as he snuck in after him.

Blaise is understandably quite angry, and says that was a horrible thing to give up his compass for. Besides, what does Finnian hope to achieve with this treasure? If everyone knows that he wasn’t the one that found it, what does he get from it?

Finnian doesn’t answer, as a loud rumbling sound behind in the background. Shouts can be heard above them. Finnian guesses that the first lot of students got bored of Inigo’s lectures and returned to the lounge, to see the newfound door. Sadly for them, they can’t get in, since his unique magic is holding the door shut. However, Blaise notes that a few students couldn’t be making such a noise by themselves, and when rocks start clattering down from the ceiling he realises the treasure room must be about to collapse down. They try to get through the door, but it’s been turned into a wall of silver. Blaise shouts through, and manages to communicate to Inigo on the other side what’s happening. Inigo tells them that if they break Finnian’s concentration, his unique magic will reverse.

They fight Finnian and get the door back to normal, and Inigo and the rest of Flintseol pour in. Finnian is trying to gather the treasure, and Inigo urges him to leave because theres no way he can take all the treasure before the room collapses. Finnian uses his unique magic to turn the walls of the chamber to silver, and try to forcibly keep it upright. As he expands his magic, the silver begins to cover the floor and grow up some students feet, pinning them in place. After exerting all this magical power and arguing with Inigo, Finnian overblots, and the squad have to fight him before he runs out of magic and the chamber fully collapses.

After the overblot we unlock Finnian’s Tragic Backstory TM, which starts with him as a tiny little kid helping his father care for his ailing mother, in a very run down, poor area of the city. His father promises that even though things are hard, as long as they all stay together, things will be okay, and gives Finnian a tiny, hand-knitted teddy bear to accompany him as he cares for his mother. Later, his mother dies, and as Finnian sits with her in her last moments, his father gets up and walks away. Finnian tries to run after him, but can’t find him, and when he returns his mother has passed away. He decides that whatever his father said was false, clearly ‘staying together’ and ‘family’ were not all that mattered. He left because they were not enough for him, and because all humans are selfish and want material goods to prove themselves. Finnian took to growing up on the streets, amassing as much wealth as he could through gambling and stealing, getting richer and richer every time he betrayed someone’s trust and took what they had for his own. The only way to be happy had to be through selfishness, right? But still, he didn’t feel any happier than he had when his mother was alive. So, he must be doing something wrong. He obviously didn’t have enough yet. Not enough money, not enough possessions. Not enough rare trinkets collected from across the land. He must not have been selfish enough yet, for simply no amount of treasure in the world could make him feel any happier.

When he wakes up, Blaise, Inigo and the idiots have dragged him out of the chamber, which has completely collapsed. Inigo scolds him for being so stupid and losing control, when he’s supposed to be the one who always has *everything* under control. Finnian comments that on retrospect, he should’ve predicted the chamber being set to self destruct. Why would a quest about giving up material possessions give you a huge hoard of treasure at the end?

He apologises to Blaise for losing his compass, and admits that the real reason he didn’t open the portrait himself was because he doesn’t have anything of value to give away, nothing he’s tried has worked. Blaise thinks back to when he was in Finnian’s room, and remembers seeing an old, knitted bear lying by the bed, and asks why he didn’t try something like that. Finnian says he only kept the bear to remind him not to get too comfortable around people, but realises that the real reason he hung onto it was because it reminded him of the happy times when he had a family, and all this time, it had really been his most valued possession. It’s enough to make him laugh, which causes him to fall backwards again, and get dragged off by Inigo to the infirmary.

As Blaise goes to follow, he catches a glint of gold in the corner of the room. The portrait on the floor is broken, and behind the frame sits his compass, untouched, and with a note behind it, old and worn, reading ‘congratulations for solving the puzzle. continue to search for adventure and happiness in the skies, and stay true to yourself.’ he pockets the message, and decides to show it to Finnian once he’s better.

A few days later, the idiots are invited back to Flintseol by Finnian, who has made a full recovery, and is as lively as ever before. Grim grumbles about how he’s hardly changed following his overblot, and is still a bit of a weirdo, and Inigo sighs and says that’s just his personality. Finnian invites them out, and the group fly on their brooms/hoverboard to the top of a huge cliff, where the view of the starts is completely beautiful, and Inigo informs them that hopefully they’ll be able to come and visit the dorm more often now that students have no need to protect the clues to the treasure. Although, he decides, looking over at Finnian, that whilst someone so unpredictable is dorm leader, they and he as well would probably be safer keeping themselves at arms length.

And tadaaah everything is fixed and the mystery has been solved!!!

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland oc #twst #twst oc #twst fan dorm #flintseol #finnian argent #inigo ciellion #blaise rosien #shiro writes #or rather... shiro word vomits #inigo doing an impression of finnian on game night for charades like: boo hoo my parents r dead im gonna destroy the school :

[jinruihokankeikaku]

I have been listening to Inherit Nothing, so Heir of Void?

Another Heir, and this time the Mythological Role of a canonical character, Equius Zahaak, who, alas, did not live to fully realize his destiny as the Heir of Void. Or so it would seem. However, Void is a cryptic Aspect, and leaves open all kinds of angles of interpretation when it comes to the notion of realization of one’s Role. Here’s my take on the…

Title: Heir of Void

Title Breakdown: One who passively manipulates [inherits, becomes one with, invites change in, invites others to change] Void [nothingness, vacuums, darkness, oblivion, depth, silence, irrelevence]

Role in the Session: The Heir of Void is a fascinating Role, due to the fact that in a sense, they write themselves out of the story. By becoming one with nothing, however, they gain tremendous power, as Void’s depths could well be infinite. Void encompasses not only darkness, secrecy, and obscurity itself, but also that which lurks in the darkness, the whispered words which comprise the secret, and all those forgotten and abandoned things obscured until the time is right to find them – it is all the potential of an unopened door in a building hitherto unvisited. It would be redundant for me to say that Void is a mysterious Aspect, but, well, it is – the magnitude and character of its power is almost by definition indiscernable. Therefore, when we examine the Heir of Void, it’s probably best to interpret their inheritance not only as “nothing” (though that is applicable) but also “everything within the nothingness”.

Void and the Heir share an interesting quality in terms of their Hero’s Quest and personal narrative/story arc – they both involve absence, leaving home, learning, and making an eventual return. However, because of Void’s proximity to Space and the metaphysical depth of Introspective Aspects in general, I’m not entirely certain that the odyssey undertaken by an Heir of Void would end with the Heir’s return. The Void stretches on forever, and it changes all who touch it. This isn’t an ending without hope, it’s simply an acknowledgement that Void is an Aspect of irresolution. It doesn’t give easy answers or swift resolution, and it makes no promises. It simply renders apparent that which is absent, that which is untouched and unseen and ripe for exploration. Light players cut apart the Void to render it known; Void players bask in the ineffable sanctity of all that which remains unknown. The Heir of Void ultimately becomes one with the Void – that is to say, they learn to take on the ineffibility, become unseen, and in so doing triumph.

An Heir of Void’s ideal co-players are rather hard to pin down, as I think Void players are rather adaptable, but to continue with my pattern of naming players with players whose Aspects share a Trine with the Aspect of the subject of the analysis, I’ll name the Seer of Breath and the Prince of Heart. The Seer is someone who makes a leader of everyone in their party by teaching of freedom and independence, awakening that in even those like the Heir who might ordinarily be loathe to stand out or distinguish themselves; the Prince “destroys the Self” as the Heir of Void “becomes one with nothing” -  two concepts that are discrete but clearly overlaps strongly, two lines running in not-quite-opposite directions along the same track.

Opposite Role: The Mage of Light. The Mage of Light, as noted in our analysis of that Role about a month ago, is a performer – the Active Understanding Class, and bound to the Aspect most strongly associated with information, attention, and awareness. Light is arguably the more “active” Aspect here, as well, given that light can illuminate darkness, while darkness itself cannot quench light, because darkness doesn’t exist any more than cold or silence do, on a physical level. Void permeates the totality of these concepts, lining the metaphysical walls of the spaces, the absences, the Voids where some thing or another is absent. The Mage, who actively involves themselves with, and teaches others of by example, Light, is opposed to the Heir of Void almost by accident – not due to any normative discrepency between the narrative arcs of the two Roles, as is so often the case with opposite/Inverse Role, but simply because the Mage’s very presence destroys the Heir – literally preventing them from becoming Void by depriving them of their nonexistence, forcing them, intentionally or otherwise, to be real or to be seen. The Heir’s only recourse here is, well, that which is so often a Void player’s only resource – to leave. If the Heir makes themselves absent, they are free to do their work; they need only stay one step ahead of the Mage, or come to an agreement to stay away from one another. There’s a whole lot of potential for drama here.

God Tier Powers

Void is the Actual-Introspective Aspect, which probably warrants some as it makes the unnecessary (A/N: 8ut true!!!) metaphysical assumption that reality can understand itself, and it also seems to directly contradict what Void is all a8bout – Void players tend to be associated with unreality and somewhat avoidant of self-examination. I see Void as Introspective because it looks inward in the same way that Light looks outward. It’s Actual in that the abyss it is gazing into isn’t one’s own psyche/soul – that’s Heart’s area of concern. Rather, Void looks at what we can’t see, at the negative left behind by Light’s (meta)physical photography. Engaging with Void is like searching for lost time, or for a forgotten phrase, or for the path through a darkened city that you once knew well to a familiar place from which you have long been absent. Once you get close enough to it, you begin to realize that the search is the object.

The Heir is the Passive Manipulation Class, and the counterpart to the Witch. The Heir inherits, invites gradual change in, surrounds themselves with, and ultimately unifies with their Aspect.

One With Nothing: The Heir of Void ceases to exist, in part or in whole. They don’t actually die, of course – they just set their consciousness or their body out of phase with reality, leaving a Void where it once was. They can return whenever they will, and this ability can be employed as both a long-term tactic for secrecy and espionage, or as a simple means of phasing through matter and across distances unimpeded.

Hole in World: Matter, energy, and information tend to spiral towards the Ascended Heir of Void as though they themselves were a singularity, amassing a literal or metaphorical accretion ring which could be used for any number of purposes – a weapon, a shield, or an implement of area-control in strife, preventing encroaching Underlings or Dersite soldiers from engaging directly.

Circle’s Summoning: The Heir carries their inheritance with them – as our Heir of Void becomes increasingly suffused with the Void, they are drawn closer and closer to the maddening knowledge and enfeebling power of the Furthest Ring and its occupants. “Becoming the Void” sounds a lot like going Grimdark to me, but I imagine the Heir would have somewhat more… discretion? over their access to the power of the Noble Circle of Horrorterrors, perhaps being able to access Grimdark capabilities without entirely losing control of their identity.

Personality: The Heir of Void would likely be somewhat quiet and self-isolating, and may struggle with the concept of identity in general – attaching themselves to a particular label instead of engaging in deeper introspection. This may lead to tension in personal relationships due to the Heir’s apparent emptiness and attachment to a smokescreen of structure. The Heir isn’t deliberately concealing their identity here – they’re just transferring their sense of identity to an artifact in a conscious or unconscious attempt to avoid the, well, Void within them. Their soft-spokenness and idiosyncracies can cause them to be overlooked or disappear in social settings, which may cause a no small amount of longing and angst. For the Heir to fully develop as a person and a player, they need to look inward – Void being as it is an Introspective Aspect – and forge for themselves an identity independent from extant structures or formulae.

(A/N: For the foreseea8le future, I’m afraid I’m goin to 8e retirin the Songs section, 8ut do feel free to send playlist requests regardin specific Roles.)

I hope you enjoyed this analysis!! It has, 8y a wwide margin, set the record for the longest time I’vve t8ken to complete an analysis, for various reasons (computer difficulties and also some reconsider8ion of Void as an Aspect. Thanks for your request ::::)

~ P L U R ~

#Heir #Void #Classpect #Mythological Role #Heir of Void #Homestuck #Equius Zahaak #Class #Aspect #lordofthetermites #ask

[isolavirtuosa]

U-Turn

[fanfiction] NaruSasu

Started out as a short story exploring Reason #837 why Naruto and Sasuke didn’t get together in canon, Naruto is STRAIGHT!, but then it became this.

U-Turn

Isola Virtuosa

 - 10 -

  I didn’t even know that they had reached a verdict in Sasuke’s trial when I opened my door to find him standing there.

“But… how…?” I trailed off, staring at what must have been a mirage.

“They released me,” he said with a shrug.

I felt my mouth fall open, but no words came out.

“Can I come in?” he asked irritably.

“I, uh, yeah, of course, of course,” I said, standing aside.

He pushed past me, kicking off his shoes and making a beeline for the living room.  He closed the curtains with a harsh tug, his eyes stuck in a seemingly permanent squint.  I had fought with Kakashi for hours over how keeping him blindfolded wasn’t right, because something about light deprivation that Sakura had painstakingly explained to me but I just couldn’t remember.

No one listened to me about anything.

I’d also been removed from the proceedings for being too ‘emotional’ and ‘disruptive’.

And now it was all over, and Sasuke was here.

He sat on the couch, an arm tossed over his eyes like it was still too bright for him here in the dark.

I felt myself drawn to him.  I moved slowly, letting him feel me coming before I leaned over the back of the couch and wrapped both arms around him, stub and all.

He breathed out heavily.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” I said quietly, leaning in closer and pressing my cheek to his.

He swallowed.  “I…” he started to say, and stopped, his arm dropping from his eyes as he leaned back into me.

I couldn’t help but grin, squeezing him tightly.

Sasuke’s eyes met mine and his cheeks flushed.  “Enough,” he muttered.

I bumped my forehead to his, then backed away.  “Do you need anything?  Are you hungry?  Oh, you know what, we should have a party!  We could get everyone together and-”

“No.”

“Whaaaat?” I protested, climbing over the back of the couch and sitting next to him.  “But you’ve been in prison for like months, and you’re finally free and you can do all the things that you missed out on!”

“I didn’t miss out on anything,” he said flatly.

“But everyone-”

“My head hurts and I just want to be here with you, okay?”

“I, uh, yeah, I mean… yeah, okay,” I said, not sure how to take that, but overall feeling happy.  I just felt right when Sasuke was next to me.

We were both quiet, but it didn’t feel strained.  Since the Valley of the End, our relationship had gotten easy.  Late night talks in the hospital faded into daily visits to his holding cell.  We’d probably spent more quality time together in the last year than we had in total the rest of our lives.

“You can finish that book,” he finally said, eyes closed and his head leaned back.

“Ah-HA, so you do like it,” I said, grinning.  I had been reading Sasuke an assortment of books during his blind imprisonment, and the latest had been what I had assumed to be a cheesy teen romance recommended by Sakura, but had ended up being a really interesting mystery that also happened to have a surprisingly engaging romantic plot.

“It’s fine,” he said with a shrug, because Sasuke could never say anything nice about anything or anyone.

I bounded off to my room to pull the book from my ‘prison visit bag’ that I suddenly realized I wouldn’t need anymore.  I grinned, coming back to flop on the couch and cracking the book open to start reading.  I realized it was too dark to read, so I flipped on the table lamp.

Sasuke kept his eyes closed, but his posture seemed to relax the longer I read.

I found my eyes darting over the book to watch him, so close I could reach out and touch him if I wanted.  Sasuke was really here, and I could feel myself smiling stupidly.

I tried to focus on reading, but I was starting to spend more time staring, and Sasuke finally caught on, eyes drifting open to meet mine.

Those eyes were mesmerizing.

“You stopped reading,” he observed drily.

“Nuh-uh,” I said.

His lips quirked into a crooked smile.  “You definitely did.”

“You stopped reading!” I declared.

The smile evened out, soft and secretive.  “Idiot.  Pick up where you left off.”

“Who is the idiot here?” I grumbled.  Then I startled as I felt a squeeze around my hand.

Sasuke’s eyes were closed again.  “I like hearing your voice,” he said quietly, already reclaiming his hand like he hadn’t just reached out.

I swallowed.  It was one thing to have the new-and-improved, vulnerable and now-fifty-percent-more-honest Sasuke in front of me but out of my reach due to a set of iron bars.  It was quite another to have him sitting on my couch.  I wanted to move heaven and earth for him, but I settled for reading him some fiction instead.

We finished the book.

Sasuke slowly unsank from the couch, eyes blinking open.  “Thanks,” he said, standing up and stretching.  His nub of a left arm barely reached over his head.

“Anything for my felon best friend,” I said, standing up, too, since that seemed to be what we were doing.  “Are you hungry?  You sure you don’t want to see anyone else?”

“God, no,” he said, which I assumed was his reply to the second question.  He did look a little thin, though.  “I just don’t want to think for a while, okay?”

“How does one not think?” I asked.

“I don’t know, I just watch you and do whatever you’re doing.”

“Jerk,” I said, giving him a playful shove.

He definitely looked like he wanted to shove me back, but he somehow restrained himself.  “Naruto.”

“Yes?” I said, standing at attention.

“I know you said I could stay if I got out…”

“When you got out,” I corrected him.

He half-smiled at that.  When had he started doing that?  I hoped Sakura didn’t see because she claimed to be over him and didn’t need to be having any relapses.  “Yes, well, here we are.”

“Here we are indeed,” I agreed.

“You don’t have to feel obligated.”

“I don’t.”

“I mean it.”

“I know.”

“Naruto.”

“Sasuke.”

He looked at me.

“I want you here,” I said.  “I need you here,” I correct myself.

“Lame,” he muttered, but there was that crooked half-smile again.

“Stay as long as you need,” I said firmly.

And he did.

 - 9 -

  Sasuke was simultaneously an amazing and terrible house guest.

He was always picking up after me, which made my apartment really clean, but also resulted in me never knowing where anything was.

He also cooked for me, which was delicious and nutritious, but the lack of cup noodles was a little depressing.

He was always there for me to come home to, but I knew he was there because he had nowhere else to go, and I knew he wasn’t happy here.

It had been almost five months now, and when I came clomping through the door, Sasuke already had dinner on the table.

“Hi, honey, I’m home!” I chirped, snagging a piece of fried chicken from the table and munching on it as I moved towards my room to dump my bag.

“Wash your hands,” Sasuke grumbled after me.

I was starting to think that living with Sasuke was probably what having a mother would be like, if said mother low-key couldn’t stand me.

“I don’t hear running water!” he yelled when I had dallied too long.

“Yeah, and I’m touching everything I possibly can!” I yelled back.  We did enjoy pissing each other off.

Sasuke was scowling at his rice bowl when I came back.

“All nice and clean,” I said, waggling my fingers at him.  The fingers of the prosthetic were a little stiff as I did so, but Tsunade said the arm would start to feel more natural eventually.

“You’re a pig,” he muttered, picking up the bowl and starting to eat.

“Yep” I agreed, picking up my own bowl and shoveling in as much food as could fit in my mouth.

He sneered at me.

I grinned.

There was the smallest uptick at the corner of his mouth.

I couldn’t stand to look at him anymore, so I focused on eating instead.

“I’ve got a place,” he said suddenly.

I opened my mouth to protest, but it was stuffed with food.

“Disgusting,” he growled at me.

I informed him that he shouldn’t just spring stuff on me while I was eating, but I don’t think he understood a word of it.

Or he was just pretending not to understand.

I swallowed the last of the food in my mouth as loudly and dramatically as possible.  “I told you that you can just stay here.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because we’re best friends!”

“What does that have to do with anything?” he asked, seeming to actually be getting annoyed now.

“Uhhh, because best friends being roommates is awesome?” I said.

That seemed to irritate him even more.  “I’m not really interested in being your live-in butler.”

“You’re not-” I started to say, but that was actually pretty accurate.

“Realized the truth, then?”

“It’s not like I asked you to do all this stuff for me!” I protested.

“It’s just that you’re a lazy, pathetic slob, and I have no choice as long as I’m here if I want to maintain my personal dignity?”

“You’re an asshole,” I complained.

“Naruto, really, really think hard about who the asshole is in this situation.”

I thought about it really, really hard.  “Shit, is it me?”

Sasuke swallowed down a smile.

His eyes wouldn’t meet mine, so I leaned into his vision.

The whole smile came out, lighting up his face.

“Why are you so good-looking?” I complained.

He quickly looked away again.  “Jealous?” he muttered.

“Yes!” I exclaimed.

“Good,” he grumbled.

“Sasuke, don’t go.”

“I already put down my first month’s rent.”

“Why would you go and do that?!” I cried.

“You’re a big boy, Naruto,” he said, looking down his nose at me.  “I’m sure you can live by yourself.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to,” I said.  “I like living with you, even if you’re a nag.”

‘A nag?’ he mouthed at me.

“I mean, you’re super uptight and obsessive combustive or whatever, but you’re pretty alright sometimes,” I said, trying to sound casual.

“You’re ridiculous,” he informed me, going back to eating like the conversation was over.

And it was.

He moved out the next day.

“This is dumb,” I told him as I dumped the one and only box of things he had from my apartment on the floor of his new place.

“You’re dumb,” he answered easily.

“You don’t even have any pots and pans!” I said, gesturing around.  “How are you going to eat?”

“You have literally one pot, Uzumaki,” he said, shaking his head.

“I have TWO!” I yelled.

“I don’t count the rusty one.”

“Why not?”

“How have you survived this long living on your own?” he asked, shaking his head.

“Very well, thank you!” I snapped.

“Naruto,” he said, shaking his head harder.

It always gave me a strange thrill when he said my name.

Somehow we ended up getting take out, sitting on the floor of Sasuke’s semi-furnished apartment and passing a bottle of cheap wine between us that Kakashi had given Sasuke as a housewarming gift.

It got late and the bottle got empty, so I made myself at home on Sasuke’s futon.

“Why are we still living together?” he complained, nudging me with his foot to get me to slide over onto the second futon that he set out.  “I specifically moved out so we wouldn’t be living together anymore.”

“I like living with you,” I whined, kicking my feet around to show my protest.

“You’re a child,” Sasuke said, throwing a blanket over me and getting into his own futon.

“Sasukeeee,” I complained, creeping over to him and snuggling in close.

“Knock it off,” he muttered, turning his face from me.

“Jerk,” I said, closing my eyes and starting to drift.  It was possible that I was mildly intoxicated.

“Naruto, move,” Sasuke said, startling me awake as he pushed me away.

“Neveeeeeer,” I complained, attaching myself onto him tightly.

His face whipped around to glare at me, and then our faces were just right there in front of each other, millimeters apart.  Whatever he was going to snap at me died on his lips.

I snorted at that.  If he could only see his face.  He looked so uncool at that moment, and it was a memory I wanted to treasure forever.  I leaned in closer, feeling the heated skin of his forehead against mine.

Sasuke’s breath caught and his eyes locked onto mine.  There was something… hopeful… in his eyes.

I could feel myself going soft, reaching out my hand to rest against his cheek.

Then he pressed his lips to mine, warm and gentle.

It was just a brief touch and then it was over.

I shook my head at him, smiling.

It was like a signal, and suddenly his lips were back and it was much more than a simple touch, it was full of need and want and other nameless things, and what had I just done?

“Sasuke,” I said gently.

His mouth paused against mine.

“Sas’, I’m not gay,” I said, stroking his cheek with my thumb.

He stared at me.

I stared back evenly, trying to convey with my eyes that I was unbothered by this turn of events and still loved him like a brother.

He seemed to get the message, and he seemed to not like it very much, shoving me away and moving to make a run for it.

“Sasuke,” I repeated, grabbing his arm.

He turned back to look at me.

“It’s not a big deal,” I told him.

Something broke behind his eyes.

I realized that that had been the completely wrong thing to say.

He snatched his arm out of my grip and stormed out of the room.

“Sas’, come on,” I called, chasing after him.  “This is your house, where are you going anyway?”

“Away from you!” he snapped, finally speaking for the first time.

“Okay, but… this is your house?” I tried again.

“Just fuck off, Naruto,” he said, and I could hear all the cracks in his voice.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, I was definitely awake and sober now.  What had I done?  What had I done?  Oh shit.

“Go,” he said, his voice getting smaller and smaller.  “Please just go.”

“Sasuke,” I tried one more time.

He was standing in front of the kitchen sink, his back to me, unmoving.

“This doesn’t change anything…” I tried, wondering if I was cutting him with every word.  “You’re my best friend.  I don’t care if-”

“Go,” he growled, strength returning to his voice even as his shoulders seemed to be shaking.

“I’m going,” I said, backing my way towards the door.  “I’m going, okay?  I just want it to be clear that I don’t actually want to go and am only doing so because you asked me to.”

He didn’t say anything else.

There was nothing for me to do but leave.

 - 8 -

  “Naruto, no,” Sakura said, shaking her head.  “No, no, no, you did not leave him like that.”

“What else was I supposed to do?!” I cried, knocking my heels anxiously against the counter that I was sitting on.

“Anything!” she cried exasperatedly.  “Just don’t leave!”

“Well I did leave, and that’s where I’m at, so can you please give me some advice?”

Sakura sighed loudly and dropped herself onto one of her kitchen chairs.  “Naruto.”

“Yes?”

“Are you sure you’re not gay?”

I looked at her.  I hesitated.

Her expression perked up at that.

“I’m not gay,” I said quickly before she could get too excited.  “I definitely like girls.”

“Okay, but you could be bi,” she pointed out.

“I don’t like guys,” I said with a shrug.

“Okay, but you like Sasuke.”

I let her words sit between us for a moment.  “I can’t say clearly that I… I don’t know.  As you love to point out, I talk about Sasuke all the time, I think about him all the time-”

“He’s basically your reason for existence.”

“…that’s fair.”

She smiled at that.

“Like, I get all that,” I said.  “I get that our relationship isn’t normal.  But there’s no… spark?”

“You two literally set each other on fire,” Sakura said, not buying it.

“It’s hard to explain,” I said, shaking my head.  “But when he kissed me, it was warm and it was nice and all, but there was no spark.  It wasn’t… I don’t know.  If I was in love with him, wouldn’t I have felt something… more?”

“So what you’re saying, if I am getting this correctly, is that the warm, nice feelings that Sasuke gives you are nothing compared to the cheap sparks you feel with all your floozies?” Sakura asked, giving me an unfriendly look.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying,” I grumbled, glaring at her.

“Interesting how you started going on all these dates after Sasuke came to live with you,” she commented.

“Interesting how?”

She shrugged.

“After the trial was finally over, maybe that was the first time in my life that I had time to put myself first,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest and daring her to find fault with me just living my life for once.

“I…” she trailed off, shaking her head.  “We all want you to be happy, Naruto.  But really?  Those underclassman girls?  Couldn’t you find someone… better?”

“What’s wrong with them?!” I cried.

“They don’t have any… substance,” Sakura said.  “They just like you because you’re the hero of Konoha; they don’t know anything about you.”

“That’s why we go on dates to get to know each other,” I explained to her.

“There are plenty of girls our age who like you, too, you know.”

“Yeah, but…” I trailed off.  I didn’t know how to explain it without Sakura hitting me.

Her look turned suspicious.

“I just… need something different,” I said with a shrug.  “I need… a break?  I guess?  Sometimes it’s nice to be around people who didn’t go through what we went through?”

Sakura was suddenly up on her feet and moving towards me.

I flinched.

“I’m not going to hit you, jerk,” she complained, punching me in the arm anyway.

I cringed, rubbing at the spot she’d hit.

“You want to be normal,” she said, her voice gentler now.  “I get that.  I do.  Everything that’s happened the last few years…  And then it seemed like things were finally going to get better and all that stuff with Sasuke being arrested happened…”

We were both quiet at that.  Sasuke’s arrest and confinement had been a sobering reminder that things were not right with the village.  When I thought about how Sasuke had been mistreated, tortured even, and had just endured it so he could stay…

Everything always came back to Sasuke.

“You really aren’t gay?” Sakura asked, sounding almost hopeful.

“I’m not gay,” I affirmed.

“What are you going to do?”

“I came here to ask you that!” I cried.

“You’re the Sasuke-whisperer,” she said, shaking her head.  “All I ever seem to do is make him annoyed.”

“The Sasuke-whisperer?” I repeated incredulously.

“He listens to you, even if he belittles you the whole while,” she said with a smile. Then her face went serious.  “He loves you.”

That was a heavy word to throw into the conversation.

I dropped my head in my hands and yelled my frustration, kicking my feet anxiously against the cabinets.

Sakura rested her hand on my head, calming and soothing.

“His face…” I mumbled.

“What are you going on about?” Sakura asked.

I finally sat up properly and looked at her.  “His face when I rejected him…  I hurt him.  I really, really hurt him, and I don’t know how to fix it.”

“He does have his pride.”

“Ughhh don’t remind me.”

“Just be your usual jackass self, and I’m sure things will go back to normal eventually,” she said, patting me on the head.

“You think so?”

“Yeah,” she said, climbing onto the counter and sitting next to me.

I leaned my head against hers, kicking my feet absently.

“It really doesn’t bother you, though?” she asked quietly.

“What?”

“That he likes you.”

“…no…?”

“It can be stressful on a friendship,” she said carefully.

“Are you trying to say something about my childish crush on you?”

“More about my childish crush on Sasuke, but that, too,” she agreed.  “You could be so annoying, and it was uncomfortable.”

“Sorry,” I said, tapping her knee lightly.  “I know.  But it’s not like Sasuke’s anything like me, yeah?  I mean, I act more like I have a crush on him than he acts like he has a crush on me.”

“That’s for sure,” Sakura snorted.  “You really do.  But I see it in him, you know?  He’s just different with you.  I think you don’t always notice, because how he acts when you’re around and how he acts when you’re not are completely different.”

“What, does he suddenly become a nice and charming guy?” I asked with my own snort.

She shook her head.  “He’s… softer when he’s with you.  He smiles more.  His shoulders relax.  When you two fight, he gets this wrinkle between his brows, and he finally looks young, he finally looks like the teenager he’s supposed to be.  But when you’re not around, he’s just dark and… hard to approach.  He has this impenetrable armor up that only comes down around you.”

I squinted at her.  “And you don’t still have a crush on him, right?”

“What do you care?” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Well you just seem to have put a lot of time and effort into your observations…”

“Don’t you keep like a diary about your Sasuke observations…?”

“That was for the trial!” I cried.

Sakura laughed.

I tried to laugh, but I felt tired and defeated.  “Did I lead him on?”

“Yes,” she said flatly.

“Crap.”

“It’ll work out,” she assured me.

It didn’t work out.

 - 7 -

  It felt like we were twelve again.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Sasuke scoffed at me as he easily dodged my attack.

“It’s not even half of what I’ve got!” I roared as I chased after him.

He stopped mid-step, spinning around effortlessly and putting his sword to my neck.

I jerked myself back, leaning away from the glittering steel.

“Pathetic.”

“Is it?” I asked, my clone suddenly attacking from above.

“Absolutely,” he affirmed, taking his sword from my neck to slice through my clone.

It gave me the time to dive-bomb his legs.

Sasuke let out a grunt as we hit the ground, then took advantage of our momentum to flip me onto my back.

I got a foot free and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying backwards.

Unfortunately, he had a grip on my leg, and I went flying with him.

We were a mess of fists and kicks and pain and blood, and I wasn’t quite sure when this training session had turned into a street brawl.

“What is wrong with you two?!” Sakura asked exasperatedly as she patched us up at the clinic.

“We were training,” Sasuke said, a sullen look on his face as he held a cold compress to his black eye.

“Is that what you call it?” she muttered, slathering the antibacterial ointment on my gaping sword wound with a little more roughness than seemed necessary.

“Owwww…” I whined.

She smacked me upside the head.

“You’re the worst doctor ever!” I cried.

“And you two are the worst patients!” she snapped back.  “Why are you wasting my time with this juvenile nonsense?”

“We were training!” I protested.

“This is not normal training!” she yelled, smacking me again.

I stuck out my lower lip at her, rubbing my head.

“And don’t think I only blame this on the dumb blond!” Sakura said, turning her fury on Sasuke.  “What were you thinking, using your sword on his prosthetic?!  There could be permanent damage!”

Sasuke glared at her but didn’t speak.

“You’re being a child,” Sakura said, eyes locking with his.

Sasuke’s expression immediately transformed into rage, and I took a step back.

Sakura just raised an eyebrow.  She had really grown in the last year and a half, and I was very impressed by it, which was the reason I was letting her stand between Sasuke and I now.

It wasn’t because I was hiding.

“Naruto, just go,” Sakura said irritably, gesturing me towards the door.

I glanced at Sasuke, but his gaze was still fixed on Sakura.  “Are you-?” I started to ask.

“Go!” they both snapped at me.

So I left.

Things between Sasuke and I hadn’t been right since the night he moved out.  Since he… you know.  And now he was saying that as soon as his probation was over, he was going to leave the village.

It was all so stupid.  I didn’t understand why things couldn’t go back to how they were before.  Well, I mean like how they were after the war, not to how things were when we couldn’t be honest with each other and just fought all the time instead, which was basically the same as things were now.

“What happened to you?!”

I slid into the booth across from my girlfriend Moe, grinning sheepishly.  “Training.”

“I’ve never had a training session like that,” she said with a laugh.  She laughed a lot, smiled easily, and was in general a pleasant, happy person to be around.

‘Easy to be happy when there’s nothing between the ears,’ Sakura had been known to say.

I mostly ignored her snide little comments.

“Oh, the stupidest thing happened on our mission today,” she said, still smiling.

I felt myself smiling for some reason.  All the heaviness I’d been feeling all day suddenly seemed to drop away.  I leaned in closer, and listened intently to her story.

 - 6 -

  “I don’t agree to this,” I grumbled, slumping into Sasuke’s couch.

“Good thing it has nothing to do with you, then,” he replied, putting down a bowl of popcorn on the coffee table.

I reached for it, stuffing the popcorn into my face as angrily as I could.  “It has everything to do with me!” I yelled with a full mouth.

“You are disgusting,” he informed me, giving me a light shove.  “Move over.”

“There’s plenty of room,” I complained, gesturing to the open space next to me.

“Why do you always have to sit in the middle?” he asked irritably.  He gave me another shove.  “Sit next to the armrest like a normal person.”

“Oh, I’m a normal person now?” I asked, feigning surprise.  “Because you keep telling me how weird and crazy I am for not wanting you to leave.”

“Because you are weird and crazy,” he said, sitting as close to the armrest as he could, which subsequently meant he was sitting as far away from me as possible.

“In what way am I either of those things?!” I demanded.

“You know what the village did to me,” he said, his voice low and dark.

I stopped at that.  We were being serious now, no more play-fighting.  “I know.” “Nothing has changed, Naruto.”

“No,” I agreed quietly.  “But I’m trying.”

“You’re one man.”

“Sometimes I’m a hundred men.”

He gave me a withering look.

I reached for him then, my hand resting on his shoulder as I sought out a physical connection.  “Everything that’s happened… it’s never going to happen to anyone ever again.”

“Oh, really?” he asked, looking unimpressed.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, my voice cracking.

Sasuke softened.  “Don’t be like that.”

“Be like what?”

“You’re blaming yourself for something you fought tooth and nail against.”

“I couldn’t stop them.”

“Exactly.”

“Exactly what?” I asked, starting to feel blubbery.  I always felt so frustrated and helpless thinking about what had happened to Sasuke and how I hadn’t been able to stop it.

“If you couldn’t stop them, then no one can,” he said.  “Konoha won’t change, so give up and move on.  Now can we watch this damn movie already?”

If I wanted to continue the tentative peace that we’d developed over the last couple of months, then I would back off and watch the movie.

“We have to be the ones who start the change,” I said, still holding onto his shoulder and staring him down.  “I need you here with me, fighting the Council, fighting all the backwards-thinking clan leaders, fighting-”

“-the hokage?” Sasuke suggested, raising an eyebrow.

I took in a breath and let it out slowly.  “Baa-chan is doing what she can-”

“She approved the terms of my surrender.”

“You approved the terms of your surrender.”

“Pretty sure I didn’t agree to abuse and torture.”

“She didn’t… know…”

“The beatings, sure, even you didn’t know, and you were there to see me every day,” he said, meeting my gaze calmly.  “But the constant blindfolding and the binding… you fought about it with Kakashi.  He had to be reporting to her.”

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly, feeling my heart break all over again.

“All of that doesn’t matter,” he said, pushing me back into my seat.  He stood up and pressed the tape into the VCR.  “Ninety-eight more days and I get what I wanted.”

“…I wish you’d told me.”

“Because you were making so much headway on the blindfolding issue.”

“Yeah, but that guard…”

“And what did you do when I told you?”

I flushed.  Maybe I had rushed off to the prison in a blind rage and had only come back to my senses when the guard was lying bleeding on the floor while a hysterical Sakura held me back.

“You can’t be so emotional, Naruto,” he chided me, adjusting the volume of the TV as the coming attractions played.  “I was never in any danger-”

“He beat you for no reason-”

“He was scared of me,” Sasuke said with an easy shrug.  “And for good reason.  He could cover my eyes as much as he wanted; I could have broken out and broken him any time I wanted.”

“You didn’t have to endure all that.”

“I did.”

“You didn’t.”

“I did it for you, you dumbass,” he said, staring very pointedly at the TV.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, feeling weirdly happy while also simultaneously pissed off.

“You’re so ignorant,” he muttered.

“Use your words,” I complained, giving him a shove.

“Use your brain,” he shot back, giving me a return shove.

This was about to dissolve into more schoolyard brawling, which I thought we had moved past, but clearly we had not.  “Just explain it to me,” I said, the grip I hadn’t even realized I had on his collar loosening.  “Since I’m so dumb and all.”

“You are dumb,” he agreed, his own grip relaxing.

The movie started playing, but it was just background noise now.

“You can’t be associated with a missing nin,” he finally said.

“Why not?” I asked, leaning back against the couch.

He clearly wanted to say something cutting but swallowed it back down.  “I’m not going to take your future away from you,” he said, the words straining to come out.

“How-?” I started to ask.

Sasuke made a very frustrated-sounding noise.  “Stop asking questions.  What are you not getting?  You following a missing nin around like a lost fucking puppy does not exactly instill the Council with trust in your ability to lead.  So I did my fucking best to be reinstated to this bullshit village that murdered my family just so you could stop fucking up your future, and then you fucking go and still fuck it up anyway by losing your shit on that guard.  You’re right, me enduring all of that really was pointless and I should have just…” he trailed off, running out of steam.

“Wait, wait, you did all this just so I could be hokage?” I asked, scratching the back of my neck.

“Go die,” he muttered.

“You are the most awful human being I have ever met,” I informed him.  “Sas’, I… I mean, I don’t get it.  You have so much pride, and I can’t imagine you…  He hit you!  He left marks on you, and you’re saying that you just put up with it so I could hypothetically be the leader of the village you hate one day?”

“I need you to be the hokage,” he said, his voice so soft it was hard to hear.

“Why?” I asked, inching closer and trying to get him to meet my eyes.

“Can you just drop it?” he asked, skillfully avoiding my gaze.

“No.”

He took in a breath and let it out loudly,

I put my hand on his knee, fingers curling into the loose fabric of his pants.  “Why do you need me to be the hokage, Sas’?” I pleaded.

His eyes slid shut, a worry line forming between them.  “Why can’t you just let things go?”

“Because when you keep secrets from me, our relationship gets all messed up,” I said.

“It’s not a damn secret, you’re just incapable of connecting the dots.”

“Well if it’s something I’m apparently too dumb to understand without further explanation, then you are keeping it from me by not explaining.”

Air escaped from his nose in what was either a smothered laugh or an exasperated sigh.

“Naruto…”

My breath caught a little.  Sasuke just had a way of saying my name.

“You’re the only one I trust, okay?” he said, eyes flicking to mine and then flicking away again.  “You’re the only one who can fix everything.”

“…but you’re always telling me I can’t change anything…”

“You are very, very incompetent,” he agreed, that sideways half-smile making a reappearance on his lips.  “But I… I told you.  At the Valley of the End.  It was my loss.  I’ve thrown away my revenge to follow you.”

“You don’t… follow me in anything…” I said, not sure why my face was suddenly heating up.

“I’m not going to be one of your mindless sycophants and just agree with whatever you say and do,” he said.  “And I don’t think you want me to.  You know you only reach your highest potential when I’m challenging you on everything.”

“Yeah,” I said quietly, squeezing his knee.  “So why are you leaving then?”

“It’s what’s best.”

“Well I don’t think it’s what’s best, so…”

“Naruto,” he said, eyes finally meeting mine without running away.  “If you…” he paused, licking his lips like he was nervous.  “If you really… if you ask me not to leave, then I won’t leave.  I’ll listen to you and I’ll follow you, but… if you keep me here, I don’t think I can… I feel trapped, Naruto.  It’s painful to be here.”

I could see the pain in his eyes, and it made my stomach knot up.

“I didn’t want to tell you all this because now you know how much power you have over me,” he said, his hand pushing against mine like he wanted me to move it, but then his fingers laced into mine.  “I don’t show my weaknesses to anyone, and I feel… exposed.  But I trust you with that.  Do you understand me?  I’m trusting you not to exploit this.  I’m trusting you to do the right thing.  Because if you don’t, then you’re just showing me that I was wrong and that you’re just like everyone else.”

Vulnerable Sasuke was the most cutting Sasuke.  “Sneaky bastard,” I muttered, because how could I ever ask him to stay after he said all that.

“Do you understand everything now?” he asked, taking his hand back and looking away.

“No, not at all,” I said.  “But I guess I get the important stuff.”

“Good.  So what the hell has been happening in this movie?”

I laughed.  “Rewind it.”

He got up and hit the rewind button.

“Sas’?”

“Yeah?” he asked, his back still to me as he crouched in front of the VCR.

“What if I don’t want to be hokage?”

“Don’t be stupid.”

“What if I don’t want to be, and I want to go with you?”

“Don’t be stupid,” he repeated.

I sighed loudly.  “Fine.”

The tape finished rewinding and Sasuke hit play, coming back to sit next to me.  He rested his head against the back of the couch, then turned to look at me.

I turned to look at him, too.

He smiled at me, soft and sweet and a little sad.

My lips parted.

He sat back up straight, attention focusing on the TV.

We watched the movie.

 - 5 -

  Sasuke was annoyed.

Of course, he was always annoyed when he was in Konoha, and he had to check in every six months, which meant that twice a year, Sasuke was very annoyed.

He was annoyed a lot of other times throughout the year, too, but he was particularly annoyed now.

“If you want to go and breed with your female, then just go,” he grumbled at me.

“Did you really just say ‘breed’?” Ino repeated, cracking up.

“Don’t forget ‘your female’,” Sakura chimed in, and the two of them started laughing harder.

“Hey, nothing is more important than spending time with you,” I slurred, significantly inebriated.

Rino waved at us from across the bar where she was getting more alcohol to inebriate us farther.  Her boobs jiggled in her low-cut top as she did so.

I smiled dreamily.

“At least she’s a chuunin this time,” Sakura muttered, losing her amusement at the sight of a young, attractive female.

I suddenly found myself being punched in the arm.  “What the hell!”

Sakura glared at me.

“You said that out loud,” Sasuke whispered to me.

“Oh…” I said.  “Oops.”

Sasuke smiled at that, making me feel warm and happy.

All I had to do was act like an idiot to make him smile that amazing smile.

He looked away, flushing.

“You said that out loud, too,” Ino said, laughing.

“Umm, maybe I’m too drunk for this bar…” I trailed off as Rino reappeared with our drinks.  “Thanks, babe,” I said, taking a beer from her.

She grinned at me as she passed out the rest of the drinks.

“Maybe it’s time to head home,” Sakura suggested, having finished her entire drink in one go.

“Aw, what, no way…” I complained.

“Sasuke seems tired,” Ino said.

If I wasn’t mistaken, Sasuke was shooting her a grateful look.  But that was ridiculous, because Sasuke only liked me.

“People are allowed to like more than one person,” Ino informed me.  “And I am very likeable.”

“Not that much,” Sasuke said, taking a casual sip of his drink.

Ino’s mouth twisted into a snarl.  “To think I was going to save you from-” she started to say, but stopped.

Sasuke and Ino seemed to be having a conversation with eyes and head tilts that was completely unreadable to me.

“What’s going on?” Rino whispered to me.

“I have no idea,” I whispered back, sliding an arm around her waist.

She smiled at that, pressing closer to me even though our chairs were already plenty close together.

All of the sudden the other three were standing up.

“Okay, we’ll see you later,” Sakura said, patting me on the arm.

“Bye, ‘kura,” I said.  “Bye, Ino.”

Sasuke moved to walk past me.

I caught his arm.

He looked startled, which couldn’t possibly be, because Uchiha Sasuke was never startled.

“We’re training tomorrow, yeah?”

“If you can find your way to the training field,” he said with a shrug.

“Your ass is mine, Uchiha,” I said cheerfully.

Sasuke just frowned at that, shaking me off.  “Tomorrow then.”

“Bye, Sasuke,” Rino said, waving to him with a friendly smile.

He inclined his head towards her and made his exit.

Rino giggled.  “He lives up to all the rumors.”

“What kinda rumors?” I asked, trying to narrow my eyes but it felt more like I was going cross-eyed.

“That he’s mysterious and hot,” she said.

“Oh,” I said, relaxing.  “Yeah, he is definitely those rumors.”

Rino laughed.

“Let’s get out of here,” I suggested, and she nodded happily, linking arms with me.

We stumbled along to my house, and I somehow managed to get the door open and get us inside.

“You’re drunk,” Rino teased.

“Drunk on you,” I said, leading her to my room.

It felt different than usual.

I couldn’t stop myself, pushing her onto her stomach and staring at the white skin of her back.

“Naruto!”

I was lost, moving like an animal.

“Naruto!”

“Sasuke!”

 - 4 -

  “So you’re definitely not gay?” Sakura asked.

“I’m not,” I confirmed, pacing around my kitchen.

“Okay, but you called out your male best friend’s name during sex, so…”

“I don’t know why that happened.”

“Well, I mean, you were having sex, and you were thinking about Sasuke while you were having sex, so…”

“I’m not gay,” I said flatly.

“How are you so sure?”

“Because I don’t like dicks,” I explained.  “And I feel like liking dicks is a very important part of being gay.”

“I mean, it could be important, but I don’t think it’s the defining factor of whether or not a person is gay,” Sakura offered.  “Do those cookies have peanut butter in them?”

“They do,” I confirmed, picking up the package from the shelf and handing it to her.

“How do you even know that you don’t like dicks?” Sakura continued.  “Have you ever tried touching one that wasn’t your own?”

I wrinkled my nose at her.  “No, thank you.”

“How do you know you don’t like it if you don’t try it?”

“Have you touched a dick that isn’t your own?” I shot back.

Sakura gave me a withering look.

“Well?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

“A lady doesn’t stroke and tell,” she said with an enigmatic shrug.

“Sakuraaaaaa,” I groaned.  “This isn’t helping.”

“There’s no help for you if you insist on staying so deeply closeted,” she replied.

“How do you just decide a person’s sexuality for them when they’re clearly telling you that you’re wrong about it?” I asked irritably.

“You’re in love with a man,” she ground out, just as irritably.  “That, by definition, makes you gay.”

“I love him,” I said, waving her off.  “That’s not the same as being in love.”

“Okay, then stop calling his name out during sex and everything will be fine.”

“…I was thinking about him…” I whispered.

She looked at me, waiting.

“…I was imagining it was him in front of me, and it just…” I trailed off.  “I was drunk, it didn’t mean anything!”

“We are venturing into TMI territory here, but Naruto, you need to explain this to me,” she said, nibbling on a cookie.  “Why were you thinking about Sasuke and not about your girlfriend?”

“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head.  “I really don’t.  I mean, I really like Rino.  She’s so nice and friendly, and she always smiles, and she’s really pretty…”

“Sounds like you’re describing me, but okay…”

“You in an alternative universe, maybe…”

“Do you want my help or not?”

“You’re very nice and friendly and pretty.”

“Thank you,” Sakura said, finishing off her cookie and pulling out another one.  “I know you don’t want to hear this again-”

I groaned.

“-but you tend to date girls who don’t have a lot of substance,” she forged ahead.  “And at first, it made sense because you were young and unattached…”

“I’m still both of those things…”

“Funny that you think so.”

“I am in the prime of my youth!”

“Uzumaki, you are twenty-five years old,” Sakura said, shaking her head.  “Your dad was already the hokage and married with a baby on the way younger than that.”

“Like you���re dating anyone!” I cried.  “I mean, who from our generation is even remotely on track to get married?!”

“And why is that?” Sakura asked, tilting her head to the side.

I looked at her.

She looked back at me.

Since the war, Sakura had been my best friend, despite me always giving the title to Sasuke.  We told each other everything, whether it was easy to hear or not, and she had certainly dropped a lot of hard-to-hear truths on me over the years.

“Because we’re all traumatized from being child soldiers?” I asked.

She nodded at me.

“So I choose to date girls who I can’t form meaningful relationships with because I’m not ready to confront… something something,” I concluded.

“Close enough,” she said with a rueful smile.  “I want you to be happy, you know.”

“I know,” I said, knowing better than to protest that I was happy.  “I want you to be happy, too.”

“Maybe Sasuke isn’t so crazy…” she said quietly.

“Whaddya mean?”

“Maybe leaving the village…” she trailed off.

It wasn’t the first time we’d broached the topic, but we never saw it through.

“Baa-chan said the Council is thinking about making me hokage soon,” I said.

“She’s been saying that since the war ended,” Sakura said with a frown.  She would always love Tsunade as much as I did, but we both knew that things weren’t right in the village.  Kakashi tried to act as a go-between, but the more he asked us to compromise while literally nothing changed, the less we were inclined to.

We were both quiet.

“So your thing about dicks, is that because of the Kiba Incident?” Sakura finally asked.

“DON’T BRING THAT UP!” I shrieked.

“But I was thinking…”

“About Kiba’s dick?!”

“God, no,” Sakura said, making a face.  “I was thinking about the time we were on a mission, and you were on watch while we were sleeping-”

“Sakura-chan, you stop right there.”

“-and you went to get Kiba for his watch, and he was in flagrante-”

“I told you to stop- wait, what is ‘foie gras day’?” I paused, scratching my head.

“Caught in the act, dick in hand-”

“OH MY GOD, SAKURA, STOP!” I cried, covering my eyes with my hands even though the vision was burned into my memory for the rest of time.  “It was so red and angry…” I whispered.

Sakura made a face but laughed.  “See, but what if it was Sasuke?”

“IT’S NO DIFFERENT!” I yelled.

“Really?  ‘Cause I definitely don’t want to picture Kiba in your story, but if it were Sasuke-”

“Sakura-chan!” I cried, incensed.  “Don’t sully our Sasuke like that.”

“He’s an emotionally stunted asshole, but he’s still eye candy,” Sakura said with a shrug.

“Okay, but you clearly like dicks,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

“‘Like’ is a strong word,” she said, shaking her head.  “I tolerate them.”

“Gross,” I muttered, and then unbidden the image of Kiba in the tent reappeared in my mind, only with Sasuke’s face floating over Kiba’s.  I gagged.  “Nope, nope, nope.”

“I don’t understand you,” Sakura said, shaking her head.  “So if Sasuke was like in between your legs right now going down on you, you’d be absolutely disgusted just because he’s a guy?”

Sakura certainly painted a picture, because now there Sasuke was between my legs, mouth full, eyes creased in concentration before suddenly darting up to meet my gaze.  He smirked, and I felt my entire body shudder.

“You got turned on!” Sakura accused me, pointing her finger.

“I… did…” I trailed off, thoroughly confused.

Her expression softened.  “I’m not trying to push you into something,” she said, patting my head.  “I just... I look at you two, and I wish that someone would love me the way you two love each other.”

“Sakura,” I complained, shaking my head.  “You know I love you.”

“You wanna marry me?”

“Definitely not.”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t want to marry Sasuke either,” I pointed out.

“Yeah, but you want him to blow you.”

“Oh my god, Sakura, never say that out loud again!”

She shrugged.

“Sakura-chaaaaaaan,” I whined.

“I won’t,” she said, serious again.  She hopped onto the counter and put her arm around me.  “I won’t bring any of this up again, okay?  I promise.  We’ll only talk about it if you bring it up.”

“Which I won’t,” I said, but I could feel her side-eyeing me.  “Unless I picture him in fois gras day again.”

Sakura cracked up.

 - 3 -

  I woke up on Sasuke’s floor, a blanket tossed over me.  I groaned, sitting up and stretching my aching back.  “Sas’?” I called.

He didn’t answer me because he was an asshole, but I could hear water running in the kitchen.

I stumbled to my feet and took a quick stop at the restroom before stumbling the rest of the way to the kitchen.  “Saaaasukeeeeee,” I whined, dropping onto one of his kitchen chairs.  “What did you make me drink last night?”

“Don’t blame me for your bad decisions,” he said with a shrug.

I squinted at his shirtless back, watching as he moved around preparing breakfast.  “Hey, you,” I said.

“Hey what?” he asked, cracking an egg over the frying pan with one hand.

“When’d you get all… manly?” I complained.

“This might surprise you, but I’ve always been a man.”

“No, no, no,” I said, shaking my head.  “You were a boy before.  You had some muscles and all, but not all this finely-chiseled definition.  You look like a freaking statue that some old statue guy would make.”

“‘Old statue guy?’” he muttered incredulously, flipping the eggs.

“You know what I mean!” I said, flailing my arms around.

“No, not really.”

I sighed loudly.  “I wish I looked like you.”

“Why?” he asked, genuinely perplexed.

“Your body is amazing.”

“Are you fishing for compliments or something?” he mumbled.

“Huh?”

He stayed silent, his back rigid.

I had as usual stumbled into the ‘danger zone’.

I found myself stumbling into it more and more since the whole Wrong Name Incident.  It wasn’t like I was trying to flirt with Sasuke all the time.  It happened by accident.  I was really just trying to give the guy a compliment and express my jealousy over the fact that his body was a work of art.

...was that gay…?

I stared at those rippling back muscles, mesmerized.

Then I was having eggs slammed down in front of me.

Sasuke sat across from me, stabbing his food with what seemed to be much more force than necessary for something that was already dead.  “You’ve grown up, too, you know,” he finally mumbled.

“I have?” I asked with a mouth full of food.

“Swallow.”

I swallowed.

“I take it back,” he said, not looking at me.

“No takesy-backsies.”

“This is how you convince me that you’ve grown up?”

“…yes…?”

There was that half-smile.

I grinned, shoveling my food in my mouth and feeling content.

 - 2 -

  Sakura came into the restaurant, looking around furtively before her eyes locked on mine.  She made a beeline in our direction.

“Hey-” I tried to greet her.

“Sasuke is here.”

I blinked slowly, then broke out into a grin.  “Really?  He’s early!”

“He’s pissed,” she said, trying to drag down my good mood.

“About Tsunade trying to give him that mission?”

“He told her he doesn’t take orders from Konoha,” Sakura rushed on.  “So she said, ‘then maybe you don’t need the immunity that your Konoha headband gives you,’ and then he did his sneer face, you know the one, and he said, ‘make Naruto hokage or I walk.’”

“Whaaaaat?” I cried.

“And Tsunade was playing it cool, like, ‘well, walk then,’ and Sasuke said, ‘I walk, he walks.’”

I stared at her.  “…and then?”

“He stormed out of there without waiting for a reply in typical over-dramatic Sasuke fashion,” she concluded.

I groaned.

“Who’s Sasuke?” my girlfriend Naomi asked cheerfully.

We both looked at her.

“What do you mean, ‘who is Sasuke’?” Sakura finally asked incredulously.

“He’s my best friend…” I tried.

“Oh, the weird guy who’s never around?” she asked.

“Yes,” Sakura said, nodding her head and tugging on my arm.

“He’s not weird!” I cried, feeling offended.

“We need to mediate this before it turns into something bigger,” Sakura urged me.

“But I was-” I started to say, glancing over at Naomi.  Then I realized that we were talking about Sasuke and felt myself rising out of the booth, date long forgotten.

Naomi looked at me, confused.  “Naruto?”

“Rain check!” I called, already moving after Sakura.

She turned back after we got onto the street.  “Where do you think he went?”

“Training grounds,” I said, nodding my head in their direction.

“Okay,” she said, taking to the rooftops.

Sasuke was there as expected, angrily setting things on fire with his katon.

“Are we talking him down or beating sense into him?” Sakura asked, cracking her knuckles.

“Oi, Sasuke!” I yelled.

Sasuke stopped setting things on fire.

Sakura shook her head.

He sat down on the grass, and we came over to sit on either side of him.

“I didn’t know you were here,” I said, nudging his side with my elbow.

“I had business with the hokage,” he replied with a shrug.

“Business,” Sakura grumbled.

“You know I’m right,” he grumbled right back at her.

“Of course I know!” she snapped.  “But if what you’re saying to Tsunade-sama gets back to to the wrong person, you’re going straight back into the Bingo Book!  And then what?!”

“I can take care of myself.”

“You know if you leave the village again that we’re going to follow you,” Sakura muttered.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at that.  “Do I know that?”

“You know that Naruto will,” she said dismissively.

“I didn’t know that you would.”

Sakura shook her head.  “Underestimating me like usual.”

“Underestimating that you wouldn’t be as dumb as Naruto?” Sasuke asked.  “Yes.”

There was a pause, and then Sasuke grunted and I knew that Sakura had inflicted some kind of hurt on him.

“Sas’, it’s just reconnaissance,” I said, hoping to change the direction of the conversation.

The glare I received did not ease my mind.

“And what is the illustrious Council going to use that reconnaissance for?” he ground out.  “Because you know they’re stirring up shit with Lightning again.”

“Sas’…”

“The whole point is that you become the hokage and stop all this nonsense,” Sasuke said.  “It’s the whole point, and the Council knows, and they know that as long as they keep dangling the carrot and saying that they’ll make you hokage one day that I have to do whatever they tell me.  They fucking own me, and I can’t… I can’t breathe, I can’t…”

I was at a loss.

Sakura put her arm around Sasuke, and he leaned into her, away from me.

This was all my fault.  I had let this drag on, I had accepted all the soon’s and the be patient’s.  I looked at my two best friends, both hurting, and I knew that I couldn’t keep on just going with the flow.

“I’ve got you,” I said, standing up.

“What does that mean…?” Sakura trailed off as I walked away.

“Naruto.”

I stopped and turned back to look at them.

“Don’t do something stupid,” Sasuke said, already on his feet.

“Just trust me,” I said.  I grinned at him.  “I’ve got this.”

 - 1 -

  Sasuke unzipped the flap of the tent, his toiletries tucked in a bag under his arm as he entered.  “You’re not asleep?” he asked.

“You’d think I would be, with how friggin’ long you take to get ready for bed,” I complained.

“I was checking the perimeter, dumbass,” he replied, putting his things away in his pack.

“He’s over here calling me ‘dumbass’,” I muttered.

“He’s over there talking to himself,” came his easy reply.

“Okay, but would it kill you to show me like a modicum of respect?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“It would not!” I cried.

“Oh, but it would,” he said, getting into his sleeping bag.  “Good night, Junior Hokage.”

“Okay, see, you’re still alive.”

Sasuke didn’t answer.

“Very alive and not dead.”

He still didn’t answer.

“Jackass,” I complained, throwing my pillow at him.

He caught it and threw it back at me, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

I melted a little.

“What’s that stupid look for?” Sasuke scoffed at me.

“What look?  There’s no stupid look!” I protested

He rolled his eyes at me.  “You have clearly never seen your own face.”

I gave him the most shocked and offended look I could muster up.

His haughtiness softened around the edges, the left corner of his mouth twitching upward.  “Sorry, sir.”

I bit my lip a little too hard.

Sasuke looked pleased with himself as he settled more comfortably into his sleeping bag.

I tried to pull myself together, but being on a mission in close proximity to him was starting to become a mission in its own right.  The Council had agreed to my three-year transition plan, and had begrudgingly accepted Sasuke as my ‘chief adviser’ or whatever they were calling his job to make an Uchiha in power sound more palatable.

What they didn’t get and never would get was that Sasuke was my partner.

“You lead and I’ll follow,” he’d told me the night it was decided that I was the hokage-elect.

“Like you’ve ever followed anyone a day in your life,” I’d scoffed.

Four months into the transition, and Sasuke had yet to just do something because I told him to.  That wasn’t what he meant by following me.  What he meant was that I could tell him to do something, and then he would give me ten reasons why he wasn’t going to do it.

And it was exactly what I needed.  I felt re-energized.  I felt hopeful.  I felt like I was making a difference.

And I felt like I was probably most definitely in love with Sasuke.

“Are you going to sleep?” he asked.

My eyes flicked over to him nervously.

He gave me a strange look.  “I’m sleeping,” he said, rolling so his back was to me.

“Don’t be boring,” I complained.

“You’re the one who dragged us out to this god-forsaken place to do charity work,” he grumbled at me.

We’d had this conversation a hundred times already, but with us, what was a hundred more?  “You said that I need to change what it means to be the hokage,” I said.

“Okay, but you could change what it means to be hokage somewhere… better.”

“Somewhere better?” I asked with a snort.  “Are the accommodations not to your liking?”

“I’m just saying that helping some podunk little village rebuild from flooding isn’t going to do anything for you politically,” he said, sitting up and running a hand through his hair.”

“Uh, duh,” I said.

He looked at me.

“That’s exactly the kind of hokage I want to be,” I said, smiling happily.  “Someone who helps people for no reason or personal gain.”

“Stellar strategy, I’m sure the Council won’t find a way to back out of your agreement and make someone else hokage.”

“You know you support me one hundred percent,” I said with an easy shrug.

“Maybe one percent.”

“Ninety-nine percent.”

“Zero percent?”

“One hundred and fifty percent!”

Sasuke was shaking his head, but I could see his smile.

I lived for that smile.  “Hey, Sas’?”

“What?”

I looked at him.  I really looked at him.  I wanted to tell him.

“Did your brain break?” he asked.  He stifled a yawn.

“Probably,” I said.

That got a little laugh.  “Go to bed, Naruto.”

“Yeah,” I said, settling into my sleeping bag.  “Good night.”

Sasuke snapped off the light we had hanging in the tent.

I lay there, staring into the dark, and it was driving me crazy.

“Stop,” Sasuke finally grumbled.

“Stop what?” I whispered.

“Whatever you’re doing.”

“Breathing?”

“Yes, stop doing that.”

“Do you want me to die?!” I snipped.

“Why are you so damn loud in the middle of the night?” Sasuke sighed.

“You’re the one wishing death on me!”

“Just get it out, already,” Sasuke said irritably.  “Obviously something is on your mind.”

“No, I don’t think so,” I protested.

“Then why are you all… frenetic?” he asked.

“Who’s frenetic, I’m not frenetic.”

“I can hear your leg bouncing,” he muttered.

I hadn’t realized I’d been doing that, and I quickly stilled my leg.  Then I found that my fingers were tapping against the ground.

“It’s not like you,” Sasuke said quietly.

“Huh?”

“You don’t usually…” he trailed off, thinking over his words carefully.  “You don’t usually keep things from me.”

Why did this man know me better than I knew myself?  “Sorry,” I mumbled.

“I really don’t care.  Just say it or go to sleep,” he said, but I had the feeling that he did actually care.

I opened my mouth and nothing came out.

“I’m going to sleep outside,” Sasuke growled.

“No, you’re not,” I said with a sigh.  “I just… I’m not ready to say it.”

“Well get ready or figure out how to stop crawling out of your skin.”

I’d planned this.  Not consciously, but now I could see how my sneaky subconscious had brought us to this point, alone on a mission just the two of us, sleeping in the same tent like we used to when we were twelve, with no one to interrupt us until the construction started in the morning.  I wanted to tell him.  I needed to tell him.

But should I tell him?

I thought back to the night that Sasuke moved into his own apartment, both of us a little drunk, the gentle touch of his lips to mine.  Then the betrayal in his eyes when I told him that I wasn’t gay.

I wasn’t, but apparently it didn’t matter.  I’d been too young and dumb at the time to realize it.

Sasuke was special.

Maybe I could just tell him that without getting into the whole calling his name while I was with women, and having almost daily sex dreams about him part.

I mean, he probably wouldn’t care, anyway.  That kiss had been like ten years ago, and surely he had moved on since then.  It wasn’t like he… stayed connected with a village he hated just because of me…

It wasn’t like he only smiled for me.  I saw him almost smile at Sakura once.  It was the smallest uptick.  Nothing compared to the crooked smiles he showered me with, but…

“I’m going to slowly choke the life out of you,” Sasuke informed me, suddenly sitting on my chest with a hand wrapped around my throat.

“Uhhh…?” I said.

“You are so fucking annoying,” he ground out, applying light pressure.  “What?  What is it?  Just say it.”

“Well, you’re kinda making it more awkward,” I squeaked out.

“Good,” he growled.  “What did you do?  What stupid thing did you do?  Did you forget to do some important paperwork?  Did you tell Sakura that her hospital clothes make her look like an middle-aged woman after I specifically told you not to?  Did you piss off the Council and they decided to just cancel your whole hokage probation?  Just tell me already.”

“Um, it wasn’t any of that,” I gasped.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, letting up on my throat and sitting back a little.  “You’re still going to be the hokage in three years?”

“Duh.”

His expression relaxed and he gave me one of those smiles that, okay, were only for me.

I felt myself smiling back.

He pinched my cheek, then moved to go back to his sleeping bag.

I caught his hips, pulling him back.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at me.  “You into being sat on?”

“Yes,” I replied without thinking.

“That’s an odd fetish,” he said, his eyes searching mine.

I should just say it.  What could be a more perfect moment than this?  I should definitely just say it.

“Naruto.”

I swallowed.  “I’m.”

He waited.

I nodded my head.

His brow lifted.

“So,” I said.

He tilted his head to the side.

“Good,” I said.

“Did your brain break?” he finally asked.

“Yeah…” I said quietly.  “Can you… come down here?”

Both of Sasuke’s eyebrows shot up.  “Down where…?”

“Next to me,” I said, letting go of his hips.

He looked at me for a moment, then slid down beside me, propping his chin up on his hand as he lay on his side facing me.

I just had to get it out.  I opened my mouth, and then remembered that I needed to get it out, but in a way that wasn’t going to piss Sasuke off.  That’s what kept on silencing me.  “I’ve been confused lately,” I said, deciding to be as honest as possible.

“How is that different from usual?” he asked.

“Are all the little zings really necessary?” I grumbled.

“The way you’ve been dragging this out, yes.”

“Okay, fine,” I said.

“Better be worth it,” he muttered.

“I love you!” I blurted out.

“Okay,” Sasuke said.  “That’s not getting you out of telling me whatever horrible secret you’re hiding.”

“No, that’s the horrible secret,” I explained.

Sasuke let out a sudden bark of laughter.  “What kind of secret is that?”

His sheer good-naturedness told me that he didn’t get what I was saying.  “Sasuke, I’m in love with you,” I tried saying.

A little of the humor left his eyes.  “What’s this about?”

“It’s about me being in love with you,” I said, feeling stupid and small.

“You’re not gay, Naruto,” he said flatly.

“No, I’m not,” I agreed.

Sasuke’s frown deepened.  “I’m a man, Naruto.”

“I’m aware,” I said, trying to exude sincerity.

“Then do you see why what you’re saying is ridiculous?” he asked, sitting up.  His arms crossed over his chest, a physical sign that he was starting to close himself off.

I sat up, too.  “I know it doesn’t make sense, okay?  I’m not gay, and you’re a man, but I love you so much it’s crazy.”

“That’s one word for it.”

“Yeah, it is, because I don’t get it, okay?” I said.  “I don’t know why I feel this way about you, but I do.  And I’ve asked you to do this huge thing and be my partner when I become hokage, but I can’t start off the new Konoha lying to you, yeah?  I have to be honest or this is never going to work, and honestly I’m in love with you.  So.  Yeah.”

Sasuke was staring at me, and definitely not in a good way.

“Sas’…” I tried.

“I fucking hate you,” he whispered.

Oh, fuck.

“You piece of shit,” he said, his voice getting louder.  “You fucking piece of shit.  Don’t you ever fucking say another word about this to me ever again.”

I knew all along that he was going to react badly, but I didn’t really know why he would.  If I asked him why, he was going to react even more badly, so I was kind of stuck just staring at him pathetically.

“Do you hear me?” he growled, grabbing me by my shirt and staring me down.  “Do you understand what I’m saying?” “…no?” I said quietly.

He shook me, then dropped my shirt in disgust, standing up in a crouch in the low tent.  “I need to go.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, trying to get him to stay.

“Fuck your sorry!” Sasuke snapped at me.  “And fuck you,” he added for good measure.

“Do you think I’m joking with you or something?” I asked, not used to being the target of Sasuke’s venom after so many years.  “Do you think I’m not being sincere?”

“Of course you’re not being sincere!” he yelled.  “What kind of straight man tells another man that he loves him?”

“What, just because I’m not gay, I can’t have feelings for you?!” I cried, standing up and crouching in front of him.  A tent was a terrible place to have an argument.

“Yes, Naruto!” he said.  “That’s exactly what it fucking means!  Not being gay means that you are not attracted to men, you dumb shit!”

“Okay, but maybe consider that I’m Sasuke-sexual!” I snapped.

Sasuke opened his mouth but then immediately closed it.  He sat down on his sleeping bag and stared up at me.  “Sasuke… sexual…” he repeated, shaking his head.

“I am…” I tried to assert.

“There’s no such thing as Sasuke-sexual!” he yelled, but he wasn’t as mad anymore, and I felt some of the tension release from my shoulders.

I sat down across from him.  “Well, that’s what Sakura said…”

“Sakura knows about this?”

“Well, I told her about all the sex stuff, so…”

“What.  Sex.  Stuff.”

I could feel my face burning.  “Just sex stuff.  About you.  Um.  Sexy dreams and uh… other stuff.”

“I don’t like it,” he said.  “I don’t like it,” he repeated.  “Naruto, don’t do this to me.  Please.”

“I’m not doing anything to you,” I protested, feeling a little annoyed now.  “I’m telling you how I feel.  That’s more than you’ve ever done.”

He looked like I’d slapped him.  “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“No, Sasuke, I’m not fucking kidding you,” I said irritably.  “You kissed me, and then you ran away.  You acted like it never happened.  And maybe if you had used your goddamn words instead, we could have figured some of this shit out.”

“You told me you weren’t gay!” he yelled, getting mad again.

“Yeah, and it’s pretty fucking weird that a non-gay guy was so cool with his gay best friend kissing him, wasn’t it?!” I snapped.

“You told me you weren’t gay,” he repeated, his voice getting softer.  “You humiliated me.”

I was gobsmacked.  “I humiliated you?”

“I was so sure you felt the same way about me,” he said.  “I was so sure, and then you pushed me away and said you weren’t gay, and I felt so… beneath you.  Like you were looking down on the poor little queer, telling me that it didn’t matter and you would forgive me-”

“I never said that-”

“Oh, okay, then how am I supposed to interpret all your little good-guy speeches about how it wouldn’t affect our friendship, how you still looked at me the same, whatever bullshit you came out with that clearly said that I’d done something wrong, but you were such a great guy that you would just overlook it?”

“That’s not what I meant…” I mumbled feebly.  “You just gave me this look like… I betrayed you, and I kept rambling, trying to make sure you wouldn’t just throw me away…”

“You threw me away,” he muttered.

“Sasuke…”

“So you suddenly want to fuck me now?”

“I…” I trailed off, feeling strange.

“No, really, tell me all about these sex dreams you’ve been having about me after telling me you weren’t gay.”

I was red again.

“Do you picture me with a pussy so you can stomach it?” he growled.

“No...” I said, cringing.  “Sas’, it’s not like that.”

“Then what is it like?”

“Is that the most important thing to fixate on when I’m telling you that I love you?” I asked.  This conversation was getting way off course.

“I just want to understand what a straight man sees in me,” he replied, eyes meeting mine in an unwavering stare.

“Oh, that’s easy,” I said, relaxing.  “You’re strong, you’re smart, you’re nice when you want to be, you’re good at making ramen, you fight for the people you love, you always stand up for what’s right even if it’s hard…”

“…none of those sound like romantic attraction,” Sasuke muttered.

“What, do you want me to tell you how attractive I find you?”

“Honestly, I think you just want to be me and are confusing that with physical attraction,” Sasuke said with a shrug.

I gaped at him.  “Jerk, who would want to be you?!” I snapped.

He smiled at that.  “You.”

“Ohmigod, you are the most narcissistic asshole on the face of this earth!”

He shrugged again.

“Please explain to me how it makes more sense that I want to be you than I want to be in you,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

Sasuke startled at that.

I thought back over what I’d just said carefully.  “Uhhh, I mean… be with you…?”

“Do you even know how gay sex works?” he asked, eyes very carefully not meeting mine.

“I researched it,” I said confidently.

“And you’re just fine with it?” he asked.

I swallowed.  “I… don’t know if I’m ready for everything, but… I’m very interested in some of it.”

“You’re very interested in some of it?” Sasuke scoffed.  “Which parts?  Please do elaborate.”

I was red again.  “Is that what you want to hear?”

“Most definitely.”

“I mean, how much detail…?”

“All the details.”

“All the details?”

“All the details.”

“I mean, do I start with you, um…”

“With me what?” Sasuke asked, clearly starting to feel back in control as he looked me in the eyes.

“Well I guess um… you know… with your mouth…”

“So you’d like to get blown,” Sasuke said, nodding his head.

“I mean… yes…?”

“Interesting, and were you planning on returning the favor?”

I looked at the ground.  “If you wanted me to, I could… try.”

“So really you just want me to suck you off and then you give me a pat on the head for a job well done?”

“You asked me what I was interested in and I told you,” I growled, crossing my arms over my chest.  “This is all new to me, I’m not a professional gay like you.”

Sasuke very slowly raised an eyebrow.

This was already a disaster, and I seemed to be adding more flames to the fire.  “Forget it.  Forget everything I said.”

“Oh, are we just going to pretend that this didn’t happen?” Sasuke asked in that jackass tone of voice of his.

“Yes,” I said.  “We’re going to go to sleep and wake up tomorrow in a world where I never said anything, and then I’m going to tell you in a non-offensive way that I love you, and you will graciously listen to me and shake my hand at the end and agree that you don’t mind me having feelings for you and that you still want to work with me to build the new Konoha.”

He didn’t say anything at first, and I held my breath waiting.

Then I needed air and pulled it in with a loud gasp.

“Idiot,” he grumbled.

I gave him my biggest, roundest puppy dog eyes.

“You’re serious?” he asked, his voice taking on a vulnerable quality.

I nodded my head enthusiastically.

“Okay,” he said, getting back into his sleeping bag.  “Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow!” I agreed, clamoring back into my own sleeping bag.  “So…”

“So?”

“We’re… okay?”

“Well, we’re pretending nothing happened, so we can also pretend that we’re okay,” Sasuke reasoned.

“Saaaaasukeeeeeee,” I complained.  “I’m sorry,” I added.

“Sorry for what?”

“For my behavior for the last… fifteen-ish years.”

“You’re going to need a lot more sorries than that.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, as sincerely as I could.

“Weirdo.”

“I know.”

Sasuke sighed.  Or maybe he was taking a breath.  “Naruto?”

“Yeah?”

“Tomorrow…”

“Mm?”

“When you tell me whatever it has that you have to tell me…”

“Uh-huh?”

“What if I…” he trailed off and was silent.

“Tell me tomorrow,” I said.

“Okay.”

I slept fitfully, constantly waking up to every little noise.  The ground was more uncomfortable than usual, and I found myself constantly shifting and readjusting.

It was barely what could be called morning when I opened my eyes and found Sasuke right in front of me.

“Tell me the thing,” he said quietly.

“I’m in love with you,” I said, still half-asleep but never surer of anything in my life.

“Not just as friends?”

“Definitely not just as friends,” I said, trying to blink my eyes awake.

“Promise?” he asked, looking into my eyes.

“Promise,” I said, looking back and smiling.

He took a breath and shifted closer, then stopped.  His eyes kept staring into mine, asking a silent question.

I didn’t want to misread him, but it seemed like the longer I hesitated, the more anxious his expression got.  I reached out, curling my fingers gently behind his neck and pulling him in until we were sharing air.  “I promise,” I repeated.

“Okay,” he said, his voice soft.

We just breathed together, both of us about to have mutual nervous breakdowns.

“Naruto,” he said, and there were those eyes again.

All I had to do to answer the question…

It was the most tentative brush of lips in the history of brushing lips, but Sasuke endured it silently.

I looked at him.

He looked back at me.

I wanted him to talk to me.  I wanted him to tell me exactly what he expected.  What he wanted.  But in this moment, I knew there was no way that he would expose himself like that.  I had to be the one to take the risks.  I had to be the one to be vulnerable.  And it was scary.  It was really scary, and my breathing was getting more and more erratic, but Sasuke was just looking back at me and waiting, so I knew what I had to do and I kissed him like I meant it.

It was sparks.

It was fireworks.

It was home.

 - 0 -

  Naruto was spread-eagled across our bed like the whole damn thing belonged to him.

I sighed, dropping my travel bag on the floor before giving him a light kick.

He grumbled and shifted over about an inch.

“Uzumaki, you need to move,” I growled, peeling my shirt over my head and tossing it into the hamper.

“But I’m comfy,” he mumbled, smacking his lips sleepily.

“Get comfy somewhere else,” I complained, adding my pants to the hamper and walking over to the dresser.  The room was dark, so I felt along in the drawer with my hand until I found my nightclothes.

Naruto made some incoherent sound that probably meant he had gone back to sleep.

He worked hard every day, and I hated how tired he always was, but I had just traveled eighteen hours straight to get home, and he needed to move his ass over.

Dressed and ready for bed, I gave his bottom a much more significant kick that jarred him enough away from my side of the bed that I could squeeze in.

I don’t know why I bothered, because he immediately rolled right back over, wrapping himself around me.

“Hey,” he said, kissing my shoulder sleepily.  “I missed you.”

I was ready to be annoyed, but our bed was comfortable, Naruto was warm, and it was nice to be home.

“How was your mission?” he hummed into my skin.

“The usual.”

“That’s a pretty crappy mission report.”

“Well, you’re a pretty crappy hokage.”

“What is wrong with you?” he snorted, nudging me until I turned on my side to face him.  “Show your hokage-to-be some respect.”

“No,” I said, which only seemed to make him smile even wider.

Naruto didn’t mind my shit when he knew I didn’t mean it.  He rested his hand against my cheek, grinning dopily.

“I missed you, too,” I finally acknowledged, giving him a chaste kiss at the corner of his mouth.

His face lit up and I found myself being aggressively cuddled.

Our breathing started to even out as we both drifted towards sleep.

In moments like this, our relationship was easy, but when we woke up in the morning, the world would come crashing back in and everything would be complicated again.

“It’s in less than a week,” Naruto said, breaking up the silence.

I breathed in sharply, coming fully awake again.  “Yeah, it is,” I agreed.

“Will you stay home more?”

I couldn’t answer that.

Naruto sighed, kissing the top of my head.  “I need you,” he said quietly.  “I’m not… I can’t do this on my own, ya know?”

“I know,” I said.  I was the one who’d put the responsibility of changing the entire ninja world on his shoulders.  I just found it easier to support his ideals when I was as far away from Konoha as possible.  “I’m here now.”

“…for how long?”

I took a breath, weighing my answer so it didn’t turn into a fight.  “Until you send me on another mission.”

“Okay,” he said, rubbing his cheek against mine.  “Sorry for keepin’ you up, I just… every time I start to fall asleep, my mind starts goin’ a million miles a minute…”

I took his hand that was resting on my hip and laced our fingers together.

Naruto relaxed, some of his nervous energy dissipating.

“You’ll be a great hokage,” I said quietly.

“If I make it to my inauguration without being assassinated…”

“That’s the spirit.”

“…is that why you rushed back here so quickly?” he asked.

“I didn’t rush,” I said, despite how obvious it was that I had.

“Aw, did you wanna proteeeeect me?” Naruto cooed.

“Idiot,” I muttered.  Of course I wanted to protect him.  He had almost as many enemies as I did now after all his campaigns for reform.  He also had just as many loyal allies willing to lay down their lives for him, but try as I might I just couldn’t trust anyone else to watch his back.  I had to be here, making sure that nothing happened to stop Naruto’s becoming the sixth hokage.

He was smiling at me dopily, reading my thoughts clearly.  “Tomorrow morning, I’m gonna totally rock your world, okay?”

I rolled my eyes at that.  “Okay, let me get out my day planner and pencil in a world rocking from 7:00 to 7:02.”

The look on his face was priceless.

“Saaaaasukeeeee,” he whined.

“Go to sleep, Naruto,” I said, squeezing his hand.  I was always being meaner to him than necessary, but he understood.

“I’ll try,” he said, snuggling into me.

Fuck, he was adorable and more than I deserved.

I tended to be insecure about our relationship, and that led to me being an unnecessary asshole.  Our sex life was especially complicated, and we still had to tread lightly sometimes.  If I didn’t like something that we were doing and promptly informed Naruto, he would immediately stop, give me a kiss, and do something different.  If Naruto informed me that he didn’t like something, I took it as a personal insult against myself and my lineage that needed to be avenged immediately.

Naruto dealt with the fact that he was a straight man in a gay relationship better than I did.  ‘Heteroflexible’ he called it.

Not that Naruto was always perfect and kind and understanding.  We fought at times, mostly about the village.  He sometimes forgot to take off his rose-colored glasses and remember what had been done to him by the people claiming to have his best interests at heart.  No matter how many times I tried to convince him that the Third Hokage had neglected him, he refused to hear it.

I wanted Naruto to recognize the wrongs done to him, but that was a losing battle.

Much faster to just remind him that the Third Hokage covered up the slaughter of my family.

Naruto always got pissed off on my behalf.

Maybe one day we’d work out all of our psychological issues, but until then I just wanted him to understand that condemning the atrocities of one’s followers while helping them to cover it all up did not a good leader make.

I don’t know why I worried.  Naruto was already the best hokage Konoha had ever seen, and he hadn’t even officially taken the title yet.  Because in the end, Naruto always did the right thing.

I held him close, listening to his obnoxious snoring.  It lulled me into sleep, my eyes sliding shut.

We didn’t have it all figured it out yet, but we’d figure it out together.

Starting with a world rocking promptly at 7:00, apparently.

I stayed curled up in bed as Naruto shuffled around after, getting read for work.

“You sure you don’t want breakfast or anything?” he asked softly, the mattress dipping under his weight.

I mumbled something that probably resembled “no” and buried myself deeper in the blankets.  I felt the warmth of his hand as he touched my cheek, my eyes staying firmly shut.

“Okay, I’m off to save the world now.”

A little smile twitched at my lips.

“Love you,” he said, leaning in and pressing his lips to my temple.  “Come in before noon with your mission report, or you’re fired!”

My smile got a little wider.  Naruto’s fake power trips were cute, mostly due to how obviously fake they were.  “Like you would ever fire me,” I hummed.

“Try me,” he said, his voice teasing.  He pat my head, fingers running through my hair lingeringly before disappearing.  “See you at eleven fifty-nine.”

I scoffed, because I certainly hadn’t been planning to arrive exactly one minute before the deadline he gave me just to be contrary.  “Bye.”

“Bye!” he called, his voice drifting in from the hallway.

I listened until his steps disappeared and the front door closed.

Naruto had seemed so lost and aimless after the war, never knowing which direction to go in.  Ever since that day in the training field, though, when he forced the Council’s hand to name him officially as the sixth hokage...  Ever since that day, it was like Naruto had finally gotten on the path he was always meant to be on.  He moved with purpose again, his inner light filling him up after being dim for so long.

That light illuminated my own path.

I was still working on myself, trying to sort out the anger and the loss and the helplessness and the longing for revenge that never quite went away, but when I watched Naruto moving forward with no trace of doubt, it was like I could see my own path forward.

Naruto’s face was priceless as Shizune let me into the hokage’s office.

“You’re… early…” he said, glancing at the clock which read, ‘9:01’.

“I like to keep you on your toes,” I said, striding across the room and dumping my mission report on Naruto’s little desk that was pulled up next to Tsunade’s.  I didn’t spare her a glance, because it had long since been established that I only answered to Naruto.

“Consider me toed,” he said, raising his leg over his desk and pointing his toes.

Everyone in the room stared at him.

Naruto laughed his stupid laugh, and I felt myself almost smiling.

This idiot was going to be the hokage in five days, and I would move heaven and earth to make sure he was the greatest hokage Konoha ever saw.

#narusasu #fanfiction #isola u-turn

[whyisnicole]

Show Me Your Darkness

Hey guys!

I decided I wanted to post this. I started it about a year ago, and I’m hoping that it reinspires me to finish it. I hope it gets some views and some notes, and I really hope that you enjoy it and please let me know what you think.

Don’t read if you are easily triggered (warnings can and will include torture, language, graphic violence, assault, and so on).

Summary: 

You remember it all. Everything. 

Every little cut, scrape, burn, everything. All of the never ending tests...

And then, after it all, you remember dying.

But death was not it for you. It was simply the beginning. 

This is your life after death. Your story. After all, doesn’t every great hero - or villain - have one?

Chapter 1:

 Drip

 Drip 

Drip  

The constant sound of liquid bouncing off the echoing walls of the cold, concrete floor wasn't the only thing driving you mad.

You couldn't remember the last time your hands and feet weren't bound, but you imagine it was around the last time you cried… the last time you spoke… the last time your eyes had any hope hidden within the dulling shine of their dull, (Y/E/C) iris's.

Whether it was rope, chain, or barbed wire, you were always tied down.Exam tables, beds, insane dentist looking chairs - you name it, your ass has been on it. 

"Suka ne mozhet umeret', prosto zapustite yeshche neskol'ko testov... YA khochu, chtoby eto vyyasnilos'. Teper'." 

You'd think after 12 years in this prison you would have picked up at least somewhat of what the hell they were saying, but you'd be wrong. The harsh bang of a metal door connecting with the wall of the decrepit, grey stone wall didn't even phase you at this point. Everything has become routine. Though the individual tests they perform may be different - some are a series of injections, some seeing how long you can go without breathing, how much blood you can lose, how much pain you can tolerate - it's always the same.

You always end in pain, and they never get the answers that they're so desperately looking for. 

But something felt different…One of the "doctors" that you recognized all too well sauntered up to your side.You didn't move a muscle as you feel him check over the straps binding your limbs to the stained mattress underneath your cold, aching body. Not even your eyes move yet you see everything happening around you. 

You'd be lying to yourself if you said that you didn't think you were different; that there was something not quite normal about you.

You'd be lying if you said that you didn't want to know just what it was.You'd be lying if you said that you didn't have control over whatever it was inside of you. Because you do. As tempting as it was to know, as tempting as it was to finally have an answer to the question that you've been asking yourself ever since you could remember, you could not give them that win.

Because you knew that if they ever did crack you, if they ever did find out just what makes you so damn special, they'd use you in the most horrendous of ways.

They’ve already tried their so called "Winter Soldier Method", yet the brainwashing never worked. You'd end up fried and somehow you would morph right back into the same person you were before, just with a new memory or torture to hold onto. You'd heard rumors about the Metal-Armed Man that they had broken, that they had thought they'd claimed. You went from hearing warnings to rumors. You went from fellow prisoners telling you to watch yourself, that if you ever saw him I would be over, to hearing stories of how he was gone. Stories of how HYDRA had lost to him… and something about some man with the last name Rogers. 

These stories used to give you hope, but quickly shifted to only bringing you pain. You first thought that maybe, just maybe you could be like him and break free. That maybe he'd come back and set all of you free. But all that happened was angrier guards, more security, and moving locations. No rescue. No freedom.

How silly of you to hope. Hope is for fairy tales, not horror stories. 

It all remained the same. Just never ending torture.Routine.

 The sting of a needle snapped you out of your memories and back into the present.

You knew what was coming.

Your half-delirious mind began bracing itself for the following injections and the inevitable burning.

Sure enough, as each needle was pierced through your skin, you felt your veins spreading fire throughout your body - your heart filling your arteries with the flame as much as you try and force the beating to stop.

You knew that the calmer you stayed the slower the burning would spread, but you didn't know if that was better or worse than rushing it through your system; than feeling everything at once and recognizing your body screaming that it is alive as your voice stays quiet and eyes stay dead.

 "Bol'she! My ne delayem etogo snova. U nas zakonchilos' vremya - eto vse ili nichego. Yeshche raz! YA khochu uvidet' yeye pereryv…". 

Following the meaningless words, you were almost surprised to immediately feel another series of injections - making your body convulse with the pain no matter how hard you tried to force yourself still. Your eyes were wide and unmoving as your lips remain firmly shut, yet your body was thrashing. 

Then it stops.

 It felt like mere seconds yet long, agonizing days have gone by, but it stops.

 The straps were undone and your body was dragged from the bed… Just to be thrown to the dry concrete floor. 

Silence. 

Nothingness. 

Then everything. 

One after another, punches, kicks, and blunt objects all come into contact with your purpling skin - giving you no break, no mercy, and no time to breathe. 

"Stop!"

Teetering on the edge of consciousness, you recognized as they all stop, yet you were too numb to care. You almost wanted them to keep going. You wanted them to finish it - to finish you. Dying would have been an escape at that point.

 "Zakonchi eto. Chto by eto ni potrebovalos', ubeyte yego, yesli vam nuzhno. No zakonchite. Byli sdelany." 

There were few times since being in that hell-hole that you had been truly tempted to unleash whatever you actually were, to give them what they wanted and release the unknown monster within you…But none topped this.

Suffocation.

Cuts.

Slaps.

Punches.

Kicks.

Injections.

Everything all at once.

 You had never wished for death more than in that moment. 

And then it happened.

Your eyes closed.

Your breathing completely ceased.

Your blood no longer raced and flowed.

Everything stopped.

 You, (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N), had died.  

You felt nothing, and then… You felt everything. 

Your eyes shot open as oxygen flooded your lungs. Your body jolted as you sat straight up on the rolling cot you had been placed back on top of.

Shouts of panic and confusion were echoing around you, but none topped your screaming. 

For the first time in seven years, you let your voice be heard.

The burning, ripping sensation spreading across the span of your back was all that consumed you.

 Reaching behind you, clawing at your skin, falling from the cot, you were desperate to do anything to stop the pain - but, as you returned your hands to your line of sight, you were met with a grueling image…

Blood and ash colored feathers stained and coated your skin.

You were stunned into silence, the pain still pushing it's way through your nerves but your mind becomes uncaring. 

You feel it… It felt as if you grew an extra pair of arms; unexplainable in every form but… right. 

Your mind was racing and your body was pulsing with something new, something different that you couldn't quite put your finger on… Until someone put their finger on you. 

As soon as you felt the hand of one of the unknown people in the grey stone room on your shoulder, your arm shot out and head turned back - the change in your eyes obvious but unknown to you. But what shocked you most was the sight of the HYDRA scientists laying limp on the floor in front of a dented wall…

 Panic ensued.

Those around you did everything they could to pin you down. Weapons were drawn, fighting was pursuing, but for once you were finally stronger. You couldn't understand it, but everything that you wanted to happen was happening.

Your hands were radiating bursts of energy as you threw people against walls, flipped tables and equipment, and essentially disabled everyone and everything in that room aside from yourself.

It was like your imagination was coming to life, from your mind's eye, right in the reality in front of you. 

Once silence overtakes the cell, you stumble outside of your grey box and into the hallway lined with fellow prisoners. Guards try and approach yet get nowhere close. You're exhausted, but your instinct is wild and your adrenaline is racing; guiding your body and mind in what to do. You throw your arms up, and the bars follow suit. 

Yells and shouts of surprise are heard, but are followed by the confused and awe-stricken expressions of those around you as they shuffle their weak bodies towards the front of their cellars. You were sure you looked like a true monster, soaked wet from the sprinklers raining down, red light glaring on and off your face from the emergency alarm and dirt and blood smeared across your body and remaining clothes; morphing with the sprinklers stream and flowing into a browning puddle beneath you.

 "Go." 

Your rough, shaky voice quietly yet forcefully commanded the one word before everyone around began cautiously walking, then running, towards the door. 

Complete silence surrounded you. The only company you had was the flashing emergency lights. 

The guards were dead. The prisoners were free. 

And you were a monster. 

You still didn't know exactly what you were, but one thing was certain… 

You were done here.  

Making your way to the very top of the building on your shaky legs, you eventually found the roof. You still hadn't gotten a good look at yourself, but just glancing to the side you saw raven-black  blood coated wings, each one long enough and wide enough to engulf your body. You watched as the prisoners made their way out of the now-abandoned building, no doubt on a mission to find any civilization available. But you were past that.

You didn't want to be saved. 

You'd been imprisoned for years, and the only thing you wanted was to be free. 

You wanted to go.  

Not knowing what the hell you were doing, but not caring one single bit, you staggered towards the edge of the building, climbing over the safety railing.

 After one last glance down, you look out, shut your eyes, spread your arms and your wings, and fell. 

You didn't care that you may hit the ground. You didn't care that you may fly. You almost don't expect to catch yourself.

You're eerily calm as the wind rushes against your skin. The freshness foreign and sweet. The sunlight you felt along your back was like an old friend from a far distant memory. 

All you feel is free. 

And then, you feel yourself stop falling,  

and start flying.   

 ------------------------------------------------

TRANSLATIONS: 

Suka ne mozhet umeret', prosto zapustite yeshche neskol'ko testov... YA khochu, chtoby eto vyyasnilos'. Teper': 

The bitch can not die, just run some more test ... I want this to clear up. Now 

 Bol'she! My ne delayem etogo snova. U nas zakonchilos' vremya - eto vse ili nichego. Yeshche raz! YA khochu uvidet' yeye pereryv…: 

More! We do not do it again. We have run out of time - it's all or nothing. Again! I want to see her break …  

Zakonchi eto. Chto by eto ni potrebovalos', ubeyte yego, yesli vam nuzhno. No zakonchite. Byli sdelany: 

Finish this. Whatever it takes, kill it if you need to. But finish it. Were done

#marvel #marvel imagine #reader #marvel x y/n #y/n #hydra #fanfic #peter parker #peter x reader #peter parker x reader #matt murdock #daredevil #oc #original character #wade wilson #deadpool #frank castle #punisher #tony stark #steve rogers #bucky barnes #avengers #avenger #avengers x reader #hurt #comfort #angst #fluff #reader insert #show me your darkness

[snazzy-suit]

Luigi: Liaison of Ghosts Chapter 7.3 - Fool Me Once, Fool Me Thrice

MP - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5.1 - 5.2 - 5.3 - 5.4 - 6 - 7.1 - 7.2 - (7.3) - 7.4 - 7.5

Part 3 of 5

In which Luigi over-thinks and Hellen gives a proper welcome.   

===

The plumber is making his way back down the basement hall, a noticeable limp in his gait. He has just completed his little impromptu practice session with the Polterpup, something that had taken a bit longer than he had anticipated. It was all thanks to a rather... unique addition to the newest ghost-capturing device. At first, aside from its appearance, there didn’t seem to be any difference between the latest model and the previous one.

That’s when Luigi found the unmarked switch.

He hadn’t known what to expect when he gave the innocuous switch a flip, but it certainly wasn’t being launched nearly three feet into the air. It goes without saying that Luigi did not land gracefully. One bruised tailbone and two banged-up knees later, the plumber finally deemed himself capable of handling this new “Burst" function without face-planting on the floor.

Luigi is going to have a few choice words with the professor when he finds them—namely about the importance of labels.

Flashlight in hand, Luigi approaches the elevator with significantly more confidence than he had leaving it. He presses the call button and watches the arrow of the floor indicator slowly slide its way to his current level. Luigi can’t help but notice that the elevator hadn’t been at the lobby, but several floors higher. The fifth floor, if he saw correctly. Could that be where the spirits were holding E. Gadd?

Luigi’s grip on the Poltergust’s wand tightens when the lift announces its arrival with a gentle ding. He braces himself as the doors slide open, anticipating a ghostly entourage to come pouring out of the cabin. Luigi relaxes marginally when all he sees is his reflection in the mirror of the cabin’s back wall. The plumber follows Pepper inside the lift and turns to select the fifth floor as their next destination. It was as good a place to start as any.

Except, the button is missing.

Luigi takes an unconscious step back, alarmed by the panel’s vandalism. The button for the fifth floor is completely absent, and it isn’t the only one. Nearly all the elevator buttons are gone. For a moment, Luigi thinks they might be hidden by spirit orbs, but without a Dark Light to reveal them, he can’t test his theory. Either way, the plumber’s means of transport has been sabotaged. Luigi has been left with only two floors to choose from—the very floor he is on, and the lobby.*

He was trapped.

The hand that had been reaching toward the panel drops to his side and slowly curls into a fist. Steward...the bellhop must have informed the other staff members that Luigi had seen through their (terrible) disguise. Sometime between then and now, the spirits saw fit to disable the elevator. It was a smart move, he had to admit.

Unlike his little stunt back in the lobby, Luigi thinks sourly. If only he had been more careful…

The Polterpup doesn’t allow Luigi to stew in his self-deprecating thoughts for long. Pepper bites onto the plumber’s pant leg and begins to insistently drag them out of the now-useless elevator. Luigi awkwardly stumbles after them, and the pup doesn’t let go until he begins to follow at a pace they deem to be satisfactory. Pepper bolts ahead and stops at a door to Luigi’s left—one the plumber hadn’t noticed when he first arrived in the basement. Realization suddenly hits him, and Luigi feels incredibly scatter-brained for not remembering sooner. There had been another door by the elevator up in the lobby.

It was the stairwell entrance.

“Good boy, Pepper,” Luigi praises quietly.

The spectral canine’s tail wags in acknowledgement. With a cheerful bark, they leap through the door, expecting him to follow their lead. Luigi intends to do just that, but halts when he is faced with an odd contraption barring the exit. Two segmented metal beams lay horizontally across the door’s framing—one toward the top and one toward the bottom. Luigi can very clearly see the door handle—reach it, even—but when he tries to turn it, he finds that it won’t budge. So much for just climbing over the barricade.

Luigi’s eyes are drawn to a green light on a panel to the door’s left. Its glow undulates, dimming and brightening in even intervals. A steady jumble of beeps and chirps accompanies it in its cycling. The plumber blinks at the arrangement, abruptly struck with familiarity. It’s a locking mechanism—one very much like what the professor uses to secure his own doors. Why was it here in this hotel? Why would the spirits use a security system that is disarmed by bright flashes of light?*

Without a word, the plumber activates his flashlight’s Strobulb and watches quietly as the lock disengages. The arrangement didn’t make a shred of sense, but Luigi wasn’t about to question his good fortune. He quickly pushes his way through the door once the bars have completely withdrawn.

The stairwell is just as dusty and dreary as the rest of the basement, though marginally better lit. There is a modest sitting area tucked beneath the bend of the u-shaped stairs where a small lamp glows piteously in the gloom. A vending machine to Luigi’s left offers its own ambient light—the green LEDs in the buttons cutting rather sharply through the darkness. For some reason, it, too, is equipped with a light-activated sensor. Luigi shoves down his growing bewilderment and elects to ignore it. He quickly begins ascending the stairs.

The plumber is so focused on watching his step, that it isn’t until he reaches the first landing that he notices the massive windows before him. He falters. It had been late afternoon when he and the others arrived at the hotel. Now, the sun is dipping into the horizon—taking with it the last dregs of daylight. Dusk is upon them.

Has he really been down here that long?

Something nudges the plumber’s leg, and Luigi nearly leaps out of his skin as he turns to face the disturbance. He is infinitely relieved to find Pepper’s dopey grin beaming back at him. The Polterpup turns and bounds the rest of the way up the stairs, halting at the landing and offering Luigi an encouraging bark. With mute horror, Luigi discovers that the staircase ends on the first floor, and there is only one exit at the top.

The door out into the lobby.

Luigi hesitates. There’s no telling what is out there now. The spirits clearly know where he is, trapping him the way they have. They must have an ambush set up for him just outside the elevator—he can’t imagine why they’d leave the button to the lobby otherwise.

The plumber frowns to himself. What was the point of taking the stairs if it led to the same place? Maybe Pepper thought he would be less likely to get cornered this way. It made sense, he supposes. Plus, the spirits wouldn’t be expecting him to come from the stairwell; it had been locked, after all, and as far as they knew, Luigi had no means to open it.

Luigi briefly considers going back to the parking garage. If he can get outside, maybe he’ll find a side entrance into the hotel…

The plumber shakes his head and continues to ascend the stairs. Pepper wouldn’t steer him wrong. The pup always seemed to know where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. If they knew of a better route, they would have taken Luigi down that path instead. He trusts their instincts.

Luigi eventually reaches the first-floor landing. Pepper waits just long enough to ensure that he has conquered the final step before they leap through the wall and out into the lobby. Luigi pauses before the door, habitually checking it for traps or any sort of paranormal tampering. He finds none. It does little to ease his nerves. With a final, composing breath, Luigi braces himself and slowly opens the door.

Luigi has to bite back a sharp gasp as he is abruptly struck by a change in pressure. Spiritual energy crashes into him like a wave, sending a chill down his spine and standing his hairs on end. The plumber’s skin prickles unpleasantly with the crawling sensation of paresthesia. His shock is brief, and he adapts fairly quickly, but Luigi is immediately on high alert.*

The first thing Luigi notices is that most of the lights in the lobby have been doused, leaving only a few lamps and wall fixtures to compensate for the rapidly receding light of the setting sun. The second is that the lobby is completely vacant—not a single costumed soul to be found. Luigi frowns to himself. He supposes he should be relieved, but he knows better than to assume that there aren’t any spirits around just because he can’t see them. The constant buzz of energy in the air is evidence enough that something is amiss. How the spirits were able to suppress it until now is beyond him.

Luigi gingerly steps past the threshold and eases the door shut behind him. Despite his meticulousness, the door seals with a rather loud click that cuts sharply through the eerie silence. The plumber cringes—holding his breath for several agonizing beats as he listens for signs that he had been heard. Nothing stirs. It is deafeningly quiet. Luigi distantly laments the absence of the lobby's cheery ambiance he hadn’t paid much mind to until now.

Deeming it (relatively) safe to proceed, Luigi begins his slow trek through the lobby’s lounge area. His timid footsteps echo softly off the nearby walls. The closer he gets to the lobby’s center, the quieter the sound becomes until the room devours it entirely. Luigi unconsciously skirts a wide radius of flooring beneath the massive chandelier as he casts the beam of his flashlight about the room. The pile of presents Mario had lit ablaze are nothing but ash and dimly glowing cinders. The acrid stench of smoke taints the air, though it is muted somewhat by a competing odor of fire-dousing mixtures. White foam greyed by soot coats the scene of his brother’s arson, and the floor beneath what is left of the table is deeply scorched. Luigi isn’t sure how, but it appears some of the blaze found its way to the curtains framing a nearby window. The flames consumed nearly a third of the drapery before it was extinguished, and what fabric remains is littered with holes singed through by stray embers.

Mario would be proud.

Other than the catastrophe before him, everything seems to be how he left it. Princess Peach's towering pile of luggage is still stacked haphazardly by the front desk, as are the rest of the group's baggage. The tables by the front entrance are still loaded with sweets and fanciful decorum—though the dripping ice swans are looking considerably less majestic. Luigi is about to turn his scrutiny elsewhere when his light passes over something new.

A toolbox.

Luigi’s brows pinch together as he squints over at the rusty container. It was open, but most of its contents were scattered carelessly around it. Hammers, nails, screws, cordless power drills—things you’d see at a construction site, not a high-end resort. Upon closer inspection, the plumber notices the strewn tools have been left in a vague trail leading away from the box. He traces the line of hardware with his flashlight and finds that it ends at the front entrance. Hesitantly, Luigi drags the cone of light up from the ground and allows it to envelope the massive double doors.

Wooden boards of varying length and quality crisscross the door frame with a sloppiness born of haste. Crooked nails pepper their anchoring points, and if it weren’t for the abundance of screws drilled-in to compensate, Luigi doubts the boards would have held firm. In addition to the hodgepodge of lumber, a set of chains stretch between the door frames in lax arcs. They seem more like an afterthought than a vital piece of the puzzle. If nothing else, the chains convey a clear message in their foreboding presence—no one would be leaving this nightmare through the front door.

“Ah, our VIP has finally arrived.”

Luigi whirls around at the unfamiliar ethereal voice. He doesn’t immediately spot the speaker, but then, he was only searching the ground floor. A flicker of movement catches his eye. There, on the mezzanine above the front desk.

“I was beginning to worry that you got lost down there,” the entity continues in an oddly dulcet tone. “Another five minutes, and I would have assembled a search party.”

Luigi finally gets a good look of his ghostly addresser as she approaches the mezzanine’s railing. She is a tall, slender woman—humanoid in appearance, but certainly not of this world (not anymore). Her attire makes Luigi feel out of place. She is dressed to the nines in a sheath-cut powder-blue gown that pools loosely on the floor, hiding any evidence of a spectral tail far more convincingly than what the hotel staff had managed. An indigo fur boa rests delicately in the crooks of her arms, its dark color complimenting the lighter fabric of the cape draped over the woman’s shoulders. Her glowing, yellow eyes stand out flagrantly against her purple complexion. They glare down at him with thinly veiled ire, lip curled marginally in disgust. It’s a stark contrast to her proclamation of concern.

Luigi adjusts his hold on the Poltergust's wand. He meets her leer, face set with determination and a hint of unease.

“You must be the owner of this hotel,” he guesses. “Hellen Gravely.”

The ghost’s eyes narrow imperceptibly. She lifts her chin with a silent haughtiness, causing the massive beehive on her head to bob like some strange, supernatural buoy crafted from hair.

“I am,” she affirms. “And you must be Luigi—the mortal responsible for the charred mess in my lobby.”

Technically that was Mario, but Luigi doesn’t correct her. It was his idea, after all.

“I do hope my basement hasn’t suffered a similar fate.”

“Nothing worse than what you did to the elevator,” Luigi retorts. “Rest assured, you won’t find a cobweb or dust bunny out of place."

Hellen arcs a perfectly manicured brow, accentuating her pink eyeshadow.

“You’re mouthier than I expected,” she notes coolly.

“I’m very tired. Maybe I should go on holiday."

“Hm. Cute.” Hellen’s glare sharpens. “If rest is all it will take to restore your manners, perhaps it’s time we get you checked-in.”

Luigi eyes the vacant front desk with a quirked brow.

“You seem to be a little understaffed at the moment. I take it you will be the one to help me with the paperwork?”

“That won’t be necessary. As one of my special guests, you needn’t worry yourself with something so trivial.”

“Sounds unprofessional to me,” Luigi quips. “I think I ought to cancel my reservations; this hotel wasn’t really my first choice anyway.”

“I see. I can’t say I’m surprised that you would be a man of poor taste." The hotel owner smirks. “Unfortunately for you, Luigi, it’s a bit too late to back out now. There are no other options. This is... the last resort."

Luigi blinks at her strange use of emphasis. Last resort…was that a joke? And why does it feel like he’s heard that phrase recently? Again, the fanciful invitation flashes in his mind's eye, but this time Luigi doesn’t have to retrieve the slip to recall its words—to recall the name of this very hotel.

The Last Resort.

A pun. A threat. A title with double meaning. It had been right there in front of him this entire time and it hadn’t even been subtle about it.

“I’m an idiot.”

Unaware of Luigi’s silent revelation, the slipped utterance seems rather apropos of nothing. Regardless, it doesn’t appear to faze the ghostly entrepreneur.

“A redundant observation on your part, but yes, I wholeheartedly agree.” Hellen flippantly adjusts the fur boa threaded through her arms, watching Luigi with an air of indifference. “Though I suppose you’re not entirely brain dead, having seen through my ruse as quickly as you did.”

Luigi frowns, embarrassment replacing itself with indignation.

“That’s not much of a complement given the quality of the masks your employees were given."

The hotel owner growls lowly at Luigi’s retort.

“I had thought if you were gullible enough to accept my invitation, that you would also be too oblivious to notice such details. Clearly, I underestimated you.” Gravely sneers. “It won’t happen again.”

“What do you want from me?" Luigi asks, a note of exasperation entering his tone. “What was the point of any of this?"

“I thought it would have been obvious by now. My intentions were—are—to capture you."

Luigi glances back at the barricaded exit.

“I gathered that. What I want to know is why."

“Vengeance," she says simply.

Luigi furrows his brows at the woman, bewildered.

“What have I ever done to you?"

“To me? Personally? Nothing," Hellen replies, casually examining her nails. “Though your occupation as a ghost hunter is reason enough, I suppose."

“I don’t hunt ghosts," Luigi swiftly interjects. The Poltergust suddenly feels very heavy on his back.

Hellen Gravely arcs a brow at his defensiveness. A sinister smile creeps across her face.

“Is that so? What wondrous news! I’m sure my new partner will be delighted to hear it."

Luigi’s confusion only deepens.

“...partner?"

The woman’s expression turns smug.

“I never said the vengeance was for me."

The plumber doesn’t get the chance to ask for clarification, but it turns out he doesn’t need to. Hellen grasps at the cloak draped over her shoulders with both hands and raises the cloth behind her in a mock imitation of wings—arms stretched high like a bird about to take flight. Then, with a flourish, she ducks to the side—revealing another entity in a dramatic flutter of fabric. Glowing magenta eyes, a flash of fangs, and a lolling blue tongue—it's all Luigi’s mind is able to process before it goes blank with horror. The Poltergust’s nozzle nearly slips from his grasp.

No...it can’t be.

Deep ethereal laughter booms through the silent lobby, resonating off the walls and rattling the delicate fixtures of the massive chandelier. A year ago, Luigi’s terrified screams would have accompanied the din.* It’s incredible progress, but after how far he’s come in conquering his fear of spectral beings, the plumber can’t help the distant frustration he feels when his body begins to involuntarily tremble. Only one spirit could still elicit such a response.

“Hello, Luigi," the entity purrs. “It’s-a me, King Boo."

===

*[Spoiler if you haven’t finished reading the chapter] At first there weren’t going to be any buttons except for B1, just like in the game, but then I realized something. Hellen is waiting for Luigi in the lobby, which means she expects him to come back up. As far as she knows, he doesn’t have a way to access the stairwell, so in order for him to return to the lobby, the first-floor button would have to remain in the panel. *Seriously, why is this a thing?? It made sense in Dark Moon because E. Gadd had been staying at these places, but why would the sensors be at The Last Resort? *I know I've had him react similarly in previous installments, but since this takes place really early in the time line, I thought I'd elaborate on this. I like the idea of Luigi being sensitive to the energy of spirits. In the games, his demeanor immediately changes when he enters a room occupied by ghosts, even when they're not visible. (I'm certainly not the first to make this observation.) *I have no idea how much time has passed between Dark Moon and LM3 so I was like “A year? Yeah sure that’s good enough”. If you guys know the actual time span let me know cause I sure as hell couldn’t find it.

Well dang, that sure is a cliffhanger! I'm a mean person. >:3c

Don't worry, you'll finally get to see King Boo next chapter. Honest and for true.

#Luigi #Polterpup #Hellen Gravely #King Boo #Luigi's Mansion 3 #remember when I said you'd hate me? #it's because of the cliffhanger #that's literally it #see? it wasn't so bad! #you'll forgive me in a week #probably #sorry for the filler-y chapter btw #the next update will make up for it #Luigi's Mansion 3 AU #LLoG Fic #LLoG AU #suit speaks