#i might block and fuck up his attempts to reach me too

[coolauntlilith]

ATFC s1e8 Jerry has me fucking sick to my stomach about Simon's, "Wha- No, no! Why would I??"

I kinda am wondering if his lack of reaching Chaos Betty is maybe bc she now doesn't want him to reach her. If she's still kinda Betty, anyway.

Edit: I just finished my second rewatch and I do wonder where Golbetty is portalling him. 👀

#i mean. if i became half chaos deity & i could see the beginning & end of all & then realized the love of my life never really saw me...... #i might block and fuck up his attempts to reach me too #did he ever give a damn about her career?? like in their 'normal' human lives?? #she became useful for his work. would they have even bonded over her work??? did they at all in the original AT? bc i dont think so. :( #also he tried to not listen to her until she just said her thoughts on the vase or ran over the snake rocks. like she wasn't potentially #intelligent to him until she proved she was actually intelligent to him. like he just assumed he new better until she just did what she had #to do to prove herself. it was actually annoying to me the whole time. :( #i was glad that he wanted her to take credit for the expedition with him... but he also didnt fight for her there??? #im kinda mad at Betty at that moment too. Betty. darling. you did work too lol #ugh. i hate that Simon is just “why would i go with her??” simon is a dumbass. hes all girldad but im wondering if he was a onesided bf :( #adventure time: fionna & cake #adventure time: fionna and cake #atfc #atfc s1e8 #simon petrikov #betty grof #chaos betty #golbetty #aunt posting

[writingouthere]

friendswithbenefits!Sukuna x reader. Your friend Yuuji sets you up on a date with his co-worker to help you get over your recent slump, not knowing that his dear older brother had ended it months ago.

cw: none really, some possessive behavior

"He's really great though, I swear!"

"What does 'really great' entail, exactly?"

"Well he's nice! Like, super nice."

You waited to see if there was any more information and when there didn't appear to be any forthcoming, pushed your friend. "Yuuji, I'm going to need a little bit more than that."

Yuuji seemed to think about this for a second and as he did you snuck some dumplings off his plate. He'd taken more than his fair share of the take out anyway.

You loved Yuuji, he was one of the most genuinely kind people you'd ever met. He just happened to have terrible taste in men, aside from his own boyfriend.

"Well, when I got lost the other day, he gave me directions and they were super helpful!"

"Wait, did you find this guy on the street? Are you setting me up with a stranger?" It wouldn't surprise you, Yuuji tended to adopt human beings the way a normal person might adopt stray cats. You couldn't complain too much since it's how the two of you had ended up being friends, but it didn't necessarily mean that whoever he'd picked up off the side of the road this time was your one true love.

"No, no, he works in the school too. He teaches like history or something. He just teaches in the upperclassmen building, so I don't see him that much."

"So he gave you directions after you got lost in your own place of work?"

Yuuji either doesn't hear your tone or he chooses to ignore it. "Yeah, really nice dude. He's also good friends with Maki, so you know he must respect women."

That was actually pretty persuasive. Maki would never put up with any man who was a piece of shit, maybe there was something here.

"Is he cute?"

Yuuji scratched his head and tried to take some dumplings off your plate while you blocked him with your chopsticks.

"I mean I guess, he always looks kind of sad but you're into that right?" You blocked his attempts at stealing your dumplings with a little more aggression than necessary at that.

"I am not!"

Yuuji hummed unimpressed, chewing on the dumpling he'd managed to snatch away while you argued. Thief.

"He's like a little taller than me, pretty eyes and he's stronger than he looks. He actually beat me in some sparring matches last year when the teachers competed." You listened even as you scowled at the way Yuuji said all this with his mouth still full of stolen food. He swallowed and gave you a mischievous smirk. "He has really nice hands too."

"Yuuji!"

"They're big and his fingers are long but not too skinny, they kind of remind me of Megumi's-"

"Who the fuck are you talking about?"

You stiffened as Yuuji's older brother walked in, scratching his bare midriff since he seemed to have once again forgot that wearing shirts was an expected human behavior. Even though he was only a few years older than you and Yuuji, he always seemed larger than life. Maybe because you had known him for so long.

"Yuuta, this guy I work with," Yuuji said, pouting when his brother stole some of the food off his plate. Served him right. "Hey! I asked you if you wanted anything before I ordered it."

"And I told you, I don't want any of this garbage. I'm just sampling," Sukuna said as he popped another piece of chicken in his mouth.

"Go eat your stupid healthy food then and leave our garbage alone," Yuuji protested pushing the plate out of Sukuna's reach. Naturally, this led to Sukuna shoving Yuuji's head into the table as he reached over and stole more food off the tray in the middle.

"So why are you talking about Yuuta's hands anyway. You and Fushiguro finally call it quits?" Sukuna's tone was casual but you had once seen him knock out a guy for groping Megumi in a club. If the day came where Yuuji and Megumi actually broke up, you think he might take turns knocking sense into both of them.

"Mnat mor me."

"Huh," Sukuna said even as he kept Yuuji's face pressed to the table. You rolled your eyes.

"He's saying that he's not the one interested, he's trying to set me up with him." You tried to push down the guilt you felt as you spoke after all you had nothing to be guilty about.

There was a flash of something in Sukuna's eyes but it was gone before you could identify it and with one last shove that had Yuuji groaning, he let him up.

"That hurt, you bastard!"

"Not an insult, I'm literally a bastard," Sukuna said and Yuuji rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, anyway, back to helping you get laid-"

"Hey!"

"-I'll let Yuuta know you'll meet him at six?"

"Can you make it eight, only old people eat at six." Yuuji nods and goes to type something in his phone. There's an awkward silence that he doesn't seem to notice and you can't help but look at Sukuna who hasn't taken his eyes off you.

"Didn't realize you were so desperate," Sukuna says and Yuuji doesn't look up from his phone before throwing a punch at him. Sukuna dodges, his eyes still on you.

"There's nothing wrong with going on a date," you say and you wonder who you're convincing. "It has been a while since a nice guy took me out."

"Ah right, I forgot you liked nice guys." His tone is too knowing and you feel yourself flush.

"Stop picking on her, Sukuna. Don't you need to be going to the gym, anyway?" Yuuji asks, finally putting down his phone. He seems to attribute the current tension for you and Sukuna's usual animosity. You wonder if that's all there is to it. Sukuna scoffs and walks back to his room. You still weren't sure why he'd even come out in the first place.

"Whatever, you two have fun planning the wedding," he says, his tone making your hackles rise.

"Say hi to Uraume for me," Yuuji calls back, oblivious. "Tell them I still want a rematch after last week."

Sukuna waves a hand before shutting the door to his room. Yuuji turns back to you and the two of you talk about other topics while your mind wanders.

You weren't doing anything wrong. Were you?

You and Yuuji decide to meet up with Megumi and Nobara for a movie before you need to get ready for your date. While Yuuji goes to his room to change, you head to the kitchen to clean up the remains of lunch.

You're putting some glasses in the sink when you feel a warm presence at your back. You can't hold back your sigh as a familiar pair of thick arms comes to wrap around your waist and a pair of lips presses gently against your neck.

"I haven't seen you in forever," Sukuna murmurs, the movement of his lips against your neck sending a familiar pulse of want to your core. You tell yourself not to let the soft gesture get to you. He never did shit like this without a purpose and his usual purpose isn't going to be fulfilled with Yuuji in the next room.

"You saw me last week, Sukuna," you remind him before leaning away from him to close the dishwasher. His hands slip down to your hips and you just know he's staring at your ass. You roll your eyes even as he pulls you back to him once you're standing. His hands pressing into the curve of your hips, putting pressure on them in that way that makes you melt.

"That's too long, princess. I was getting lonely," he teases and you feel him smirk against your cheek. "You must be lonely too."

"Actually I'm just fine," you tell him but you tilt your head so he can kiss the skin of your face, your neck, the parts of your shoulders revealed by the stretched collar of your old t-shirt. You let him lull you into a false sense of security before he reminds you why that's a bad idea.

"Really? I just assumed you felt lonely and that's why you were agreeing to go on dates with losers you've never even met."

There it was. This was why you couldn't let Sukuna get soft with you. He never did it without returning your vulnerability with malice.

"Sukuna," you say and you go to pull his arms off you but he pushes you into the counter, you wince as the cold stone presses against your body. "Let go of me." Your tone is calm even as emotions band their way across your throat.

"I would, but you seem to get lost when I let you out of my sights. I mean you're going to go on a date with some high school teacher?"

"Your brother literally has the same job?"

"Well, are you going to fuck my brother too?"

"For fuck's sake, Sukuna, get off me!"

Sukuna does let you go but only so he can turn you to face him.

Sukuna doesn't get mad the way normal people do. Usually he's just amused, maybe even mildly annoyed, but blatant rage isn't his thing. After your years of-acquaintanceship? light antagonism?-friendship, you recognized this as the stage where he was about to make his insults increasingly personal until you needed to go cry in the bathroom later.

"We are not dating," you tell him and he rolls his eyes.

"Obviously."

"Therefore, I can go on dates with other people."

"I don't give a fuck if you go on dates with other people."

"Great, because I'm going to go on this date tonight."

"Good for you."

"Yes, yes it is good for me!"

"You seem really happy with your choices," Sukuna goads in that tone of his. You hate that tone.

"I am. I don't plan on just accepting whatever scraps some loser will throw me when there are actually decent guys who want a real relationship."

Sukuna narrows his eyes at you. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I wasn't being subtle," you tell him before leaning back against the counter. Going for casual, knowing you're not quite hitting it. "Don't worry, I don't hold it against you. You can't give what you don't have, you know?"

"No, I don't know," Sukuna bites out and if he was anyone else, you would think you'd hurt his feelings but this wasn't anyone else and there was no way something you said bother him.

"You're just not a relationship person and that's-that's fine, I knew that before we started this thing. It's just, sometimes I want more." You soften your tone from earlier but it doesn't do anything to relieve the tension between the two of you.

"And this, Yuka is going to give you that?" He sounds bitter and he's not touching you. You'd been the one to tell him to back off but you couldn't remember the last time he hadn't had his hands on you in some way when it was just the two of you.

"I think his name was Yuuta," you correct before his expression tells you this is the wrong step.

"Right, okay. You know what, you go on your date and have the best time with Yuuta. I got places to be."

He brushes past you and goes back to his room just as Yuuji opens the door to his.

"Geez, what's his problem?" He asks as he makes his way over to you. You shrug your shoulders and he takes your lack of response as just your normal discontent with his brother and wraps his arm around your shoulder. "Don't let him get to you, he's just a dick."

"I know," you tell him and you do. You know Sukuna's true nature better than most.

You two make your way out of the apartment so you can make your movie and you try to ignore the guilt you feel as Yuuji talks to you.

"You know, he's actually been in a better mood the past few months. I think he might actually be seeing someone. Can you imagine who would be crazy enough to actually date that asshole?"

new series? wrote this to get the rust off so we'll see.

#jjk sukuna #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen sukuna #ryomen sukuna #sukuna ryomen #sukuna x reader #sukuna x y/n #sukuna x you #jujutsu kaisen

[s3thwrit3sstuff]

❝ I WANT THE YOU WHO WANTS ME AGAIN ❞

Gojo Satoru x male!reader | angst, unrequited love, arranged marriage, some comfort, in the end, | wc: 4.5 K | not proofread

warnings: death of a parent through sickness (unspecified), cheating (gojo with geto), r! goes through it (lmao), megumi is rooting for r!

masterlist; part 1; part 2; part 3; alternate ending; playlist; au's and what if's

Perhaps at one point in your arranged marriage, you had loved Satoru but that’s all but vanished away when you see how he looked at Geto. Still, you provide comfort to your husband when he seeks you even if his six eyes (and soul) all bear to you that he does not see you. Satoru realizes too late that he cares for you - that he loves you. He despises your empty stare, he wants you back. He desperately wants you back.

authors note: i know i said i was taking a break but writing this made me feel a little bit better — cathartic almost. it's been in the drafts since last year anyways so might as well. (autumn leaves by bts inspired fic)

It seemed as though even the clouds were pitying the sight before it. Grey and darkened, they gathered to block the sun as whispers of doubt combed through the trees surrounding the temple — they reach your ears despite the attempts of your mother. "Now, don't you look handsome". She tucks a stray lock of your hair behind your ear, pursing her lips at the look in your eyes. "(Y/N)". Her hands grasp at your face. The warmth of someone's hands on your cheek jitters your brain awake, and your pupils contract back into focus. "Have you been eating well, darling?" For a moment, your heart squeezes at her kind words. It's been so long since another had asked you that question so sincerely. The tears well but your hair sways as you shake your head, urging your cheeks to form a smile. "I'm alright, mom. Just getting over a cold". She brushes her thumb over your cheek then presses a kiss to your forehead. "My son". You're pulled into an embrace and suddenly you're little again — clinging to her after she had bandaged you up from your training session. Your eyelashes darkened as tears slip past them, hands trembling as you grip her tightly. "My beautiful son". Eventually, the sun sets but the rain continues to pour. The sounds of the raindrops are violent, accompanied by flashes of lightning and thunder it seemed as though the Gods were angry. Angry Gods do little to scare your father. He gazes at you coldly from where your head is laid upon your mother's lap. Defiantly, you avoid meeting his eyes as you relish in the fingers smoothing out your hair. "Your husband will not be pleased with this," your mother's glare is reproachful. "Our son has come to pay us a visit, his husband needn't worry about him," his nostrils flare and he looks as though he's about to go on another rant about image, expectations, manners, servitude. But before he could, the shoji door slides open. It's one of the servant girls, her bow immaculate you could see the swirl pattern of her hair growth. "Gojo Satoru has arrived, Master (L/N)" She's addressing your father, you know because you are now Master Gojo. The air is filled with expectations. The rain does little to muffle it. Pitying her back, you rise from your mother's lap. "Inform my husband I'll be out in a moment" She bows deeper and straightens her composure to slide the door close but freezes as you address her. "Is my husband alone?" When her mouth opens to form the syllables of Geto Suguru your eyes turn to the floor. You're unsure if she's finished her sentence but find very little fucks to give as you silence her with raise of your hand. Wordlessly, she bows and closes the door.

"Ah, husband!" he slings his arm around your shoulder. His weight, his warmth, his presence — too casual it's an insult. You cared little for tradition, scoffing at it sometimes, but the way Satoru displays himself in front of your parents causes you to grit your teeth. Suguru shoes are in the peripheral of your vision, you will your gaze to the side.

Once upon a time, the four of you were friends. Satoru, Suguru, Shoko and you.

Those blue summers and warm winters as first-year sorcerers. Memories so bright and heartfelt others probably only see on movie screens. Then you were betrothed to Gojo Satoru, family stuff, expectations and duty, and everything the both of you roll your eyes at. A part of you had been elated. Blinded by the idea of marrying the boy your heart beats for. Sure, falling in love would have been preferred but despite the arranged marriage, you were thick as thieves. So, in your foolish daydreams, you'd sigh at the idea of you two falling in love. Shoko could only watch as your dreams crumble before you. She tried her best to be some sort of support — shocked when she spotted you smoking her cigarettes after a year into the marriage. "I never noticed the way they look at each other". Your words follow the stream of smoke and Shoko settles next to you with her elbows placed on the railings. "I mean, I knew but I just thought...I just thought he'd look at me the same one day". She is silent as you curl over the railing, shoulders jerking with silent sobs. "How foolish, huh?" She places a hand on your back, saying nothing as you wept.

Suguru greets your parents with more tact than your husband who is smiling ear-to-ear. "How was your mission, Gojo, Geto?" the way their surnames sounded made your jaw ache as you continued locking your jaw. Your husband is squeezing you to his side, like a friend. Satoru feels your shoulders stiffening and he loosens his grip to look down at you but you slip out from under him and hastily walk towards the car. "Young Master —" a servant gasps as he attempts to match your pace, the umbrella he holds barely shielding you as you feel your tears mix with the rain. "(Y/N)!" Suguru calls, catching up to you with his own umbrella and you feel searing guilt stab at your chest. Suguru had never been mean to you — he's been there for you through the years and despite your sudden avoidance of him here he was trying to ensure you remained dry. A clap of thunder muffles your sob, the only mercy the Gods are giving you, and you will yourself to pass Suguru. The car door is slammed shut in Suguru's face and before he can wonder the driver is driving off. He stands in shock, the servant that had been chasing you sharing his expression. Satoru tilts his head, hands in his pockets as he Suguru gives him a look of apprehension once he reaches him. Your parents — his in-laws — are apologizing. More so your mother. Your father's anger is palpable despite his puckering lips. "We'll get you another car, Gojo, Geto" your father calls for his personal driver

Satoru’s eyes — with that bright, heavenly, blue that put the sky to shame — linger on the fading signature of your aura. Suguru’s bangs stick to his forehead due to the rain and the sight of him alone has Satoru tear his gaze away. They land on Suguru who offers a furrow of his brows and so Satoru reaches to wipe the wetness away.

“Hey!” the action is rough, anything but romantic. Suguru feels like a cat being pet too roughly — with their skin stretching back and eyes growing wide — and so he smacks Satoru's hands away.

Friendly. Playful. Banter. Boys being boys.

Your mother squints her eyes nonetheless. She had heard that Satoru had been less than willing to marry. Her husband had thought it was his hubris but bowed until his forehead met the floor of the Gojo clan’s home. Their name was no laughing matter — a strong line of curse users much like the Zenin’s.

But Gojo Satoru was sought after by many the second he turned 16 — the marriage proposals flooded in like a tsunami.

He refused them all. Except the (L/N)'s.

She had thought it was the dowery. Perhaps, even the fact that an alliance would soothe whatever ill tides their clans had once had. Or maybe it really was just a stroke of luck her son got along so well with Satoru while attending Jujutsu High (her husband had enrolled (Y/N) only when he heard whispers of Satoru attending).

But fear gripped her heart as Suguru tugged on Satoru’s ear.

Had he accepted...just so he could remain close to his true love?

“I’m sorry”. You pause the wiping motion, delicately lifting your head as your mother’s cloudy gaze floats aimlessly in the room. You were used to her nonsensical speeches, her random bursts of conversations and weepy apologies. It's been a year since the sickness unexpectedly came over her and you suppose that is what most people do when they’re close to death's door. Confessions of this and that just shooting out in a weak attempt to right old wrongs.

“Nothing to be sorry for, mother”. She places a hand over yours and squeezes. How frail. When has your mother looked so frail?

“Come home, be a (L/N) again”, confusion contorts your face. “Mother, whatever you’ve heard is all unfounded. Rumours. Father has dealt with them”, despite her fragility her fingers squeeze your wrists so tightly it forces your own to release the damp cloth.

“Then say that to me. Look into my eyes and tell me that bastard husband of yours is better than mine, that he’s not off loving another while you rot here”.

Colour bleeds into those lifeless eyes. She feels that same squeeze she felt when she saw Satoru wipe away the rain from Suguru’s skin rather than your tears just a year ago.

Just as quickly as they appear, that dullness returns in your eyes and she reaches to hold your face but you stand.

“Father is cheating on you?”

She’s lost you.

You walk to dip the cloth into the bowl, and your shoulders are too heavy for a 17-year-old boy. Her precious son, so forlorn and withdrawn; humiliated by the society he was in for being inadequate and unworthy.

Perhaps she deserved those titles, sick and bedridden and dying, it was no surprise that her husband is seen courting younger ladies. But not you, not her son.

“He’s no shame, you know your father. His pride comes before all”. It elicits a dry chuckle from you.

Then you suppose Satoru had more in common with your father than you knew.

The Star Plasma vessel incident, you can't believe it's been a year.

A year after that man that killed that Amanai and Kuroi and Satoru.

You remembered dropping to your knees as he admitted it out loud with such an ugly smile, shaking your head in disbelief as anger swelled within you.

Before you could even think, even grieve and rage, Geto had beaten you to it. As you looked at him with his anger so visceral it came off of him in waves you felt your torn heart crumble into pieces. It felt good to dish out that anguish on Fushiguro Toji even if you ended up eating dirt.

“Wasn’t he your husband?” Toji placed his foot on your neck. “Damn, he treats you that badly or something? This freak put up a better fight”, that day you had surprised Toji by smiling with your teeth all bloody.

“He did, didn’t he?” Your laughter bubbles and you choke on your own blood.

Toji knocked you out after a scoff.

That still wouldn’t have killed you as much. The torn pieces of your heart were still salvageable.

But then.

Then.

As Satoru came back. Warm and alive. Bloody but grinning. He did not race to you, he did not even look at you. To his credit, he simply stood there with his arms wide open.

But then.

Then.

Geto’s the one to race into them.

Ah.

Right.

Shoko was shocked to see you in her smoking spot. She hadn’t even seen you as Satoru was whisked away by the Gojo clan, only spotting Suguru following along. None had wondered where Satoru's husband was; Suguru was always next to him, so there was no void that one could spot.

“Are you alright?”

The darkness in your eyes makes her flinch.

You were dead.

She’s been around enough of death and you were dead.

Your once warm, cheerful, eyes now devoid of anything.

She held you as you cried, not knowing what more she could say to help you.

“Leave me alone”, Satoru is under the covers. He has been for days now.

Grieving.

Grieving Geto.

“Husband”, you coax. It was once a funny joke. The laughter you shared as the both of you exchanged formal titles of your marriage. It hurt to know that it truly was a joke for Satoru - not for you.

Satoru grits his teeth. His eyes were rimmed red, he himself was surprised they weren’t swelled up. His throat was scratchy, his skin uncomfortable and untended from his refusal to get up. His hair was tousled, unkept and disarrayed. It's been a week since Geto's betrayal and Satoru had been laid in your bed, burying himself under the blankets and deeper into the mattress; as if determined to be buried with his sadness and anger.

“Husband," he feels your hands on his shoulder. You know him by his shape alone. If you closed your eyes you could trace the curves that made up Satoru; even if it killed you slowly, your love was a loyal curse.

“Don’t call me that!” he raises in a grand move. The covers flew and his voice was in a yell. His glare was spine-chilling but they faltered as he saw the outfit you were.

“What should I call you then, Satoru?”

He takes you in, frowns deepening at the awful way his name sounds as you call for him. Not like his Suguru; his one and only.

“What the hell are you wearing, (Y/N)?”

He feels awful as you answer: “Funeral garbs. My mother has passed”.

There’s some satisfaction that paints your features as he is rendered speechless.

“What? How?”

“She was sick”. As he sits there with nothing to say you move to kneel in front of him. Your touch shocks him to reality. He pulls his shirt down, hoping you haven’t seen the hickeys Suguru had left on him before he decided to massacre that village.

You had. You’ve seen all of it. The lingering scent of Geto on his clothes, the hair ties on his wrist, the love bites that mottle his pale skin. Satoru may have those six heavenly eyes but he seemed so blind when it came to you.

The way he grimaces each time you’ve said his name now.

“What are you doing?”

“I’ll help you wash up, Gojo”. He’d be an idiot to have not noticed that switch. Guilt is seeded into him. He stops your hands but you move them with a robotic stubbornness.

“Stop — Wait —”

“I know, Gojo.”

Silence drapes the room.

Your hands carefully thumb into his heart and cover the seed of guilt with such care Satoru’s pulse doubles its speed.

“I know you love him. So very much. I know, because when I go to clan meetings, my cousins whisper behind my back of the two of you holding hands and going on dates. When you come back late after a mission to go to Geto’s room. Or when you suddenly have Geto’s marks on you and yours on him”.

“(Y/N) — ”

“But this is my mother, Gojo”.

Your voice wavers just as he clutches your wrists in his hands. Your head hangs as your shoulders jerk up and down, twisting and squirming so you can help Satoru clean and dressed.

You know he was in pain and your heart feels for him. He needs your help. You were willing to strip down so you could wash him, and get back into this disgustingly heavy robe all over again despite how nauseating it was to do it the first time.

Funny. You can’t recall ever being one with Satoru. Your marriage was never consummated — he told you that there was no rush, you were still kids. What did he tell Geto then? Did he tell him that he had never taken you in bed? Was he fervent in his worship of him? Was their love akin to a religion? Did they worship each others temples like devout monks? How funny. The first time you’d get to see him naked and him you would be the day of your mothers funeral.

“She was my mother, Satoru!”

He has never heard you yell before. Satoru is struck by the that revelation.

It’s been a year since he was officially titled your husband and he knew you longer than that. But this was the first time he’s seen you in despair. Heard your yell.

Seen you cry.

“Please, I know he was your one and only but she was my mother. Please, please, don’t let me face this alone, Gojo”

“(Y/N)...”

“Please, Gojo...”

Your wrists slip away from his loosened grip. Crumpling onto the floor, your forehead meets the floor and his feet as your beg.

"(Y/N)". How long had your mother been sick? Why didn't you tell him — or did you? Why couldn't he remember? As his mind races to collect any memory of this past year, your tears that wet his feet water that guilt.

Satoru says nothing as the both of you appear at the funeral. The haughty eyebrows and curled lips sting more when he's there — was it shame? This burning feeling in your chest? Had you said too much to Satoru? Now he was acutely aware of how others looked at you, at your marriage. How awful.

Satoru is not used to this feeling. As a child, the eyes that lingered on him were hungry for the prize of beheading him. That had been more comfortable than this.

This was scrutinizing. They gazed on you with pity, even with his body attempting to shield you, the whispers reach your ears anyways. Have you been doing this all alone? All those clan meetings that you went to alone, the ones he'd excuse himself from saying he had a mission while he spent the day with Suguru to make him eat more and attempt to nurse him back to his side from the Star Plasma vessel incident.

Suguru had wept to him, telling him how terrified he'd been at the thought of Satoru leaving him. Why didn't you come to him? No. Why hadn't he noticed you?

The ride back home was silent. Satoru couldn't believe your father had brought his bride-to-be to the ceremony, you quelled his anger by muttering that your mother had given her blessing for their marriage.

You're staring out the window. Had those bags always been under your eyes? When did your cheeks get so sunken in? Had you...had you lost weight? He ignores the way your fingers twitch as he places his hand over yours. Your skin feels foreign — so does his. He offers a purse of his lips, sliding his hand up your arm and leaning in to embrace you.

But freezes as you pull your hand away.

"Don't force it upon yourself, Gojo". "Husband —" his smile falls as your shoulders tighten, lower lip quivering. "Please don't make me beg again, Gojo."

"What do you think, beloved?" Gojo grins brightly, bouncing his brow up and down. You were seated across from him in some cafe — he had been telling you all about how good the crepes here was a week before. "About...?" He pouts and places his elbows on the table. "My theory?" He watches as you blink, once, twice, then a faux smile climbs on your face. You turn your attention back to the melting ice cream. "Your theory about Okkotsu cursing Rika because of his love for her?" He nods vigorously. "It makes sense, right? His curse technique activating after seeing that brutal sight, it binding Rika to him". "Afterall, love is the most powerful curse", you said. Gojo's animated hand motions pause. He places his hand back onto the table. He reaches for your hand and you squeeze your eyes shut but allow it. He hates this.

Not you — He doesn't hate you. But he hates this.

After your mothers funeral, he looked through pictures. As first year students, all sunny smiles and bright eyed. The smiles got more tame as the four of you aged. His hands slung around Suguru's more tightly — even after they bared matching rings.

Satoru's never seen you smile like that anymore.

He brushes his thumb over your knuckles. Your jaw clenches.

"I love you, my beloved".

"...Thank you, Gojo".

"It's been awhile, Satoru".

No. No, no, no.

Nononononononnonononononononononononono —

Gojo can't take his eyes away from Suguru.

He tries and tries and tries but he can't. Pinned by his onyx gaze alone.

Satoru's ring burns viciously and he curls his fingers into fists.

Meanwhile, your dead-eyed gaze seemed to intensify. Everything is muffled, it felt like you were underwater. It felt like you were 17 years old again.

Abandoned. Unworthy. Unloveable. In love. Always have been. Always will be. In love with a man that was never yours.

"(Y/N), you look pale", Suguru condenscends. At least, that's what it sounds like.

Hah. Was he envious? Did he think that in the years he's been gone, you've filled the void he left? Or did he know that you never did but he was jealous anyways?

Fuck, Satoru thinks. His temples feel taut as his teeth grit together.

Kento steps infront of you and your eyes widen by an inch.

How pathetic, Gojo (Y/N). An underclassmen protecting you from your husbands ex-lover's gaze.

Why couldn't Geto Suguru just die already.

"What are you doing?" Gojo is grieving again. You should be elated but you're not. It feels too cruel. It wasn't your doing, you hadn't had any hand in killing Geto Suguru but a part of you wondered if your inner thoughts had been a wish you put out to the world. Now, Gojo was without Geto and Geto's daughters were without their father.

So you felt guilt anyways.

It was more feasible competing for Satoru's affections when his lover was simply exiled. How could you compete with a ghost?

"I'm praying for him", you replied. Gojo watches as you prepare to do so, kneeled on the floor. His eyes are rimmed with red again and he knows you've heard his cries; so here you are, sacrificing your happiness again for him.

"You don't have to do that, beloved". You say nothing as your eyes are closed in prayer. Satoru kneels behind you, his guilt had 10 years to grow and now it was a willow tree, with its leaves sweeping the lake of tears it grew from. Your eyes flutter open as you feel his head in the junction of your neck and shoulder; he fit so perfectly there, just like you knew he would. He's crying into your shoulder and your hand reaches back to card through the shaved sides of his hair. Your fingers lightly brushing the shell of his ear makes him shudder and he circles your waist to pull you against him. "Don't pity me, Gojo". He says nothing and neither do you.

"Say my name". His voice so close to your ear has you shivering.

"Gojo".

He shakes his head.

"My name, please, please, just say it".

Your heart clenches and as you close your eyes a tear slips past.

"I can't replace him, Gojo". He squeezes you tighter.

"I'm not asking you to replace him. No one can replace Suguru. I don't want them too, I don't want you too; I want you".

"I don't believe you".

He laughs, the slightest brush of his teeth on your skin has your stomach twisting into knots. Your breath trembles and you squirm in his hold, twisting away and getting onto your feet to get away from him. He doesn't allow you to. He blocks your way, shaking his head as he holds your shoulders next.

"I want you, (Y/N). I love you —"

How long have you wanted to hear those words. Your heart wants nothing more than to soar. But your brain knows better. "No, no, no, let me go". He doesn't let you. Satoru wraps his arms around you and your mouth opens to let out yells, fists pounding onto his chest as you try to get away from him.

"I hate you! You fucking bastard! I hate you, I loathe you!"

Satoru holds you firmly agaisnt him. Holding the back of your head preciously as he finally hears your voice raised above that whispering tone. "I hate you! I hate you so much! Why do you keep doing this to me!? I — I just wanted you, Satoru!" Your voice breaks and your sobbing turns into wailing. His heart squeezes, chest physically hurting as you sob and yell.

"I wanted you, Satoru! I just wanted you!" "Why didn't you love me, Satoru!?" Thunder rumbles and as your yells quiet down into hiccups, rain muffles it.

"I'm sorry, (Y/N)". He feels your knees give out and he holds you, making you lean against him for support. "I'm so sorry, my beloved. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, (Y/N)".

When he tucks you in to rest, he isn't surprised Megumi is standing in the doorway with his eyes set into a glare. Satoru wipes your tears away, sweeping some of your hair away before placing a kiss on your forehead. He raises to answer Megumi's burning questions.

"You heard?"

"I'm not deaf".

Megumi has his arms crossed. He was an observant boy. Being raised by both Satoru and you — he notices the overexuberant Satoru's confidence wavering every time you give him smiles that never reach your eyes. Tsumiki even told him once that she finds it sad, how you both seem to be so familiar but foreign to each other.

"But one time I did see (Y/N) get flustered because of Satoru", she told Megumi whilst on their way back from school. He looked ahead, sipping on his drink as a prompt for Tsumiki to continue. "It was during breakfast. (Y/N) woke up a little late because he was traveling around for clan meetings and missions. So he was panicking so much, he burnt our rice and stuff! But then, Satoru walks in and tells him he prepared our bento. He kept it in the fridge. All that was needed to do was heat it up, he helped (Y/N) the entire time and then he just — "

Tsumiki kisses the air with a loud 'mwah!'

"He plants a kiss right on (Y/N)'s forehead. (Y/N) was so flustered he just stared down at the sink. It was cute, he's definitely still in love, they both are!"

Megumi peeks into the room. The sliver of light on your peaceful expression highlights the content curl of your lips despite the swollen eyes you bore.

"...Don't mess up this second chance", Megumi warns. He turns and marches away while Satoru huffs, scratching the back of his head as he sighs. "I wasn't planning to". He really does love you. He does. He loves you, from the ends of your hair to the tip of your fucking toes; he loves —loved, Suguru too. But this is different, you're different. But his love isn't any less or more.

He loves you.

Whatever it takes, he'll make sure you know it until his last breath.

#s3thwrit3sstuff #reader insert #gay reader #male reader #male reader insert #male!reader #satoru gojo angst #satoru gojo x yn #satoru gojo x you #satoru gojo x reader #satoru gojo x male reader #jjk x reader #jjk x you #jjk x yn #jjk x male reader

[serpentandlily]

Untouchable VIII - Azriel x Reader

Untouchable - Azriel x Rhysand'sSister!Reader

Summary: For as long as you can remember, you have always had feelings for Azriel, your court’s spymaster. But after centuries of watching him pine after your own cousin, hoping he’d eventually move on, your wish came true. He moved on—with Elain, your brother’s mate’s sister. Unable to watch him fall in love with someone else again, you flee from Velaris, from him. But things are a lot more complicated than that—more complicated than you ever imagined.

Warnings: angst angst angst

a/n: Hey guys! Sorry I took so long to update this story. I got major writer's block for it :(( This chapter is short but I wanted to get something out to you guys. We're almost at the end though! One more part after this and then an epilogue <3 Thank you guys for all the kind words/support! I don't have a lot of free time so I'm shit at replying to your comments/asks but I promise I read them all and they make me so happy! Hope you enjoy!

➻❥ Part I ➻❥ Part II ➻❥ Part III ➻❥ Part IV ➻❥ Part V

➻❥ Part VI ➻❥ Part VII ➻❥ Part VIII ➻❥ Part IX ➻❥ Part X

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

Part VIII

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

You stumbled backwards, away from the evil sorcerer who was hovering above the lake. You frantically looked at Cedric. “Please, Cedric, what is this?”

He didn’t even look your way. You kept stumbling back until you knocked into the hard chest of one of the guards. He grabbed you by the upper arms, locking you in place despite your attempts to wiggle free.

“I brought you the girl,” Cedric said to Koschei. “Now it’s time to uphold your part of the deal.”

You twisted to look up at the guard. “Deal? What deal is he talking about?”

But the guard ignored you too. 

Koschei waved a dismissive hand at Cedric, his eyes still lingering on you as if you were the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. "Yes, yes. You will have my support to overthrow your father."

"I need more than just your word," Cedric grumbled. "I'm not handing over the girl until you make a bargain with me." 

Koschei laughed under his breath. "You wish to make a bargain with me?" 

While the sorcerer's attention was elsewhere, you realized this might be your one and only chance to break free. 

You threw your cuffed arms up around the head of the guard holding you in place and bucked forward as hard as you could, effectively tossing him over you and onto the muddy ground. A move Azriel had taught you once. 

You ignored the shouts and yells as you darted off towards the wooded area that surrounded the lake. You couldn't winnow away, not while the faebane handcuffs were still on you. But maybe you could run and hide, buying yourself some time to think of an actual plan to escape. 

You darted into the trees, forcing yourself to run as fast as you could. The air was cold, making it hard to breathe but you pushed yourself forward. You could hear the pounding of feet running behind you. You chanced a glance over your shoulder to see the three guards chasing you but no Cedric or Koschei. 

One of the guards winnowed into the clearing in front of you, causing you to scream as you ran straight into him, knocking both of you on the ground. You rolled off him before he could grab you and winnow you away, pushing yourself to your feet. The guard snarled, getting off the ground faster than you considering his hands were free. 

"Don't you run," he growled at you. 

You took a step back. Another.

Rhysand! Help!

You screamed and screamed for your brother in your head, even though you knew he wouldn't be able to hear you from this distance. You were fucked. 

"My brother will come for you if you don't let me go," you hissed at the guards, keeping out of their reach. They were circling you like they were predators who had just found dinner. 

One of the guards scoffed. "With Koschei on our side, your brother won't be able to do anything to us."

"Koschei is offering his support to Cedric to kill the King," you shouted back. "Not to help Vallahan fight against the Night Court and its allies once my brother has realized what you've done!" 

That seemed to make the guards pause for a second, the three of them exchanging glances as if now just realizing how stupid the Prince's plan was. Mor knew you were going to visit Cedric. That's where they'd look for you first once they didn't hear from you. And you knew your brother would rain hellfire down on the Prince's territory to get you back. 

Suddenly a loud noise cracked in the air like two boulders smashing against each other, causing the ground to rumble. You fell, your legs collapsing, as three people winnowed into the clearing. You let out a cry of relief. Your brother stood in his fighting leathers, looking ready to murder with Cassian by his side. But it was Azriel who made you falter.

You had never seen him look as angry as he did now—it almost spiked fear in you despite knowing none of it was directed in your way. He looked feral, unhinged. 

The three guards around you were misted by your brother before you could even blink. Their blood rained down on you, still slightly warm. You gagged, rolling over and trying to push yourself to your feet.

“Y/N!”

You heard your brother shout but his warning came too late. 

You felt someone grab you by your hair, lifting you off the floor. You let out a cry of pain, your cuffed hands rising to grab the attacker by their wrist to get some of the pressure off your scalp. You were turned forward to face your brother and the two Illyrians just as the cold metal of a dagger was placed against your throat.

“Don’t move,” Cedric ordered and you realized it was him who had you in his grasp. 

“Get your hands off of her,” Azriel growled. It was dark and full of primal rage. You knew Cedric felt it by the way his body shuddered in response but he held his ground. 

“I don’t think so, shadowsinger,” Cedric hissed.

Azriel’s shadows poised around him like venomous snakes ready to attack. Your heart was pounding in your chest, your nerves on fire. But still, the pain of seeing Azriel fought its way through despite the dire circumstances. The image of him and Elain together was enough to almost fold you into Cedric’s embrace. 

Perhaps death would be a mercy compared to the anguish building in your chest. 

You focused on your brother instead. His violet eyes were hardened with rage, his entire body tense. “Let my sister go, you bastard, and I’ll consider making your death swift and painless.”

Cedric chuckled, his hand in your hair tightening causing you to whimper at the sharp pain. Azriel took a step forward at the noise but came to a halt, his eyes drifting to the area above your head. 

You felt it then, that dark presence. The foreboding. You knew Koshcei was in the clearing now. Could feel his horrid magic in the air. This was a powerful death god sorcerer and despite your brother being the most powerful High Lord, he was no match with a God. None of them would be. 

“Kill them,” Cedric demanded as he too realized Koschei was here.

But the death god did no such thing. Instead, you felt his darkness wrap around you, encompassing you into its hold. You let out a cry of fear, calling out for your brother. 

“The girl belongs to me now,” Koschei said. “Leave and never return or I will do more than just keep her as a little pet.”

“Why do you want her?” Rhysand switched into his diplomatic role, realizing a fight would not be won here today. “Whatever you need her for, I’m certain I can do it all the same. Better, even.” 

He was…He was offering himself over to the sorcerer in place of you?

“No, Rhys,” you cried out. “Just go!”

But you were ignored. 

“Unfortunately,” Koschei drawled. “I do not have a taste for males otherwise I would take you up on your offer. But your sister will do just fine. There is nothing you can give me for her. I don’t think you even realized what a prize she was—what sort of power she holds.” 

“Anything,” Rhys begged. “Please, I will give you anything. You want my armies, you can have them. You want my court, take it! Just give her back. Please.”  

You couldn’t believe the words coming from his mouth. Rhys would never give up his power, would never give away his court and his people. But here he was, offering up all he had for you. You had caused this. You had made the mistake of running away to Cedric. This was all your fault.

“Get him out of here!” you shouted to Cassian and Azriel. 

All you could think about was your brother’s lovesick bargain with Feyre, of his death leading to hers, of Nyx left with no parents. No…Rhys needed to get out of here before things got worse. You tried to convey your thoughts to the other two Illyrians with a single look. Cassian gave you a dip of the head in understanding, evidently having the same thoughts.

Azriel wouldn’t look at you, his rage filled eyes focused on the sorcerer that held you. 

“Anything,” Rhys pleaded again, surging forward. But Cassian gripped him by the shoulders, holding him back. “I’ll give you anything.”

Your eyes darted between the three of them. At Cassian’s look of despair and uncertainty, Rhy’s pleading face and Azriel….Azriel who was shrouded in his shadows, who circled him in a frenzy—his eyes darkened, his lips twisted in a snarl. He took another step forward. 

“Let her go,” he growled. You swore the birds in the clearing took off fluttering, as if they knew the sort of darkness that was coming. But Koschei let out a small noise of understanding before he chuckled—an awful noise. 

“What an interesting turn of events,” Koschei purred, his grip on you tightening. 

“Kill them,” Cedric hissed, slight panic in his eyes. If Koschei left him behind, you knew your brother would tear him to pieces. 

Koschei chuckled again, as if realizing the same thing. In the end, he would get what he wanted without having to follow through on his half of the bargain, not if Cedric was dead. 

“Say goodbye to your brother,” Koschei laughed in your ear. ���And your lover and friend. You’ll never see them again.” 

“I’m sorry, Rhys,” you cried. “I’m so, so sorry.” 

Rhys fell to his knees, Cassian still holding him back with his lips pressed in a thin line. You felt Koschei’s shadows wrapping you up, spreading up your legs. Time was running out. Azriel stepped closer with another growl.

“I will kill you for this,” he promised, his eyes shifting from Cedric to the sorcerer. “Let her go!”

Your voice caught in your throat. All the words you wished to say to him with it. You loved him, still, even after knowing these past few months had all been a lie. Your heart was broken, stomped on, discarded by the only one you had ever given it to—but you loved him. You always would. 

He finally looked at you, his hazel eyes so full of rage but you saw it then, the fear. 

“Take me,” Azriel shouted. “Take me instead!”

Koschei laughed again. “Oh, but it is much more fun this way, shadowsinger.” 

His shadows spread over your torso, up your neck, nearly choking you. Tears ran down your face; you were gasping for air. You took one more look at Azriel. One more look at the male you loved with all your heart. One last look because you knew you’d never see him again.

Azriel met your gaze—fear and anguish written all over his face. And just as the shadows began to darken your vision, something snapped into place. Something gold and bright. A thread that extended from your chest and speared right into the shadowsinger. A mating bond. 

Azriel’s grip his chest, his eyes wide, as he stumbled back a step. You watched him realize it at the same time as you. Something burned on your hip and you realized you were feeling Azriel’s bargain tattoo dissipating. He screamed your name as Koschei laughed one more time, swallowing you in his shadows.

Azriel’s pained roar shook the trees of the forest around them and echoed all the way to the small cabin on the lake, where you were thrown to the hard flooring, still shackled and trembling. 

Koschei stood over you, his face a painted picture of glee and lust. He tsked, circling around your weeping form. Your thoughts were filled with Azriel. With your mate. You could feel his horror, his rage, his anguish, all through the bond. 

“Did you know,” Koschei purred, “that Cedric and his family are quite exceptional at illusions? The magic runs in their family.”

You were crying, panting—barely able to hear his words. 

“No, I suppose you didn’t,” Koschei laughed. “Those images of you walking in on your mate with that little fawn were never real, my dear. You fell for Cedric’s tricks and now you’re here. You’ll never see your mate again.”

Those images of you walking in on your mate with that little fawn were never real, my dear.

You hunched over, falling limp against the floor as sobs racked your body. You had lost everything, everything, tricked by that stupid Prince. You couldn’t breath, couldn’t think, couldn’t feel anything except the crushing weight of your despair.

 And all you could hear were those final words. 

Over and over and over again.

You’ll never see your mate again.

You’ll never see your mate again.

You’ll never see your mate again.

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

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(if you don't see your name and you asked to be on the taglist, I probably couldn't tag you for some reason)

#acotar #azriel #acotar fanfiction #acotar x reader #azriel x reader #acotar x you #azriel x you #azriel shadowsinger #azriel fanfic #azriel angst #shadowsinger x reader #azriel imagine #rhysand sister

[rosequarzo]

ong omg!! AVEN TIME!!

A short one for a cute brain rot: As for pining, do you think Aventurine would be active in courting you or would he be distant due to his animosity towards close relations- making you the active pursuer if you want anything to happen between the two of you?

If you want, you can give us a prompt of as to what you think pining would be like with Aven? 🫶

Your writing is so edible its crazy 💓💓💓

courting the enigma: pursuit amidst animosity.

૮₍ ˃ ⤙ ˂ ₎ა • ! aventurine + reader reader is gender-neutral reader is part of the ipc aventuring being insecure tooth-rotting fluff ☆ warning not proofread this was kinda messy to me urm . . . !? & 729 — catalogue

note. hihi!! this was really cute and sorry for the abrupt ending, i didn't want this to get way too long haha... but i hope you like it. tagging @neuvistar @rninies.

Oh boy, I think it would probably be him trying to distance himself from you, due to many reasons. Once the gambler realised he has feelings for you, Aventurine felt like he had transformed into a clown of a circus. He doesn’t know how or when it happened but it was too late, he had fallen head over heels for you. It also doesn’t help with the fact that he had fallen too deep to even find a way out. 

So Aventurine did the only thing he could think of: distancing himself from you. It was frankly confusing to see the usual loud and charismatic gambler suddenly avoiding you like the plague. Whenever he sees you entering his vision, he will immediately bolt out of the place, without sparing you a glance. The first two times it happened, you thought nothing of it since you knew how busy he was, considering his status in the IPC. 

But as time went on and as you began to notice how he was actively avoiding all forms of contact with you, you were starting to grow suspicious and worried. No matter how hard you tried to approach him, he was able to avoid you in a blink of an eye. Frankly, you were surprised with how good he was at running away; like something he had mastered with years of experience. This game of wild goose went on for two weeks until you had reached your limit: you were done. 

“Aventurine-” 

“Oh uh, I have something important to tend to, so if you don’t mind-” 

He awkwardly laughed, back facing you as he attempted to leave the scene, only to be interrupted when you harshly tugged him back. The sudden force made him stumble over his feet, wincing when he was slammed against the wall. Aventurine groaned when his head hit the wall, making him see stars and when it cleared up, his breath hitched in his throat at the sight of you blocking off any possible forms of exits. 

This isn’t good for my heart. 

He nervously gulped, praying with his entire might that you wouldn’t be able to hear how loud his heart was practically pounding against his ribcage right now. With the close proximity between the two of you, he could see every detail of your face. What was worse was how he could feel the warmth emitted from your body. Every part of him was tempted to just lean in and kiss you but he held himself back. 

“Aventurine, why have you been avoiding me? Did I do something wrong?” You asked, resting your left hand on the side of his head. 

Play dumb, Aventurine. You got this. You are a professional in acting. 

“Huh? What do you mean?” He forced a chuckle, pressing himself further into the wall when you leaned in, practically invading his sense of boundary. 

You scowled, narrowing your eyes at him; obviously not buying his lie. “I’m not stupid. I know you’re avoiding me. But why? If I did something wrong, please tell me so I can fix it.” 

Oh fucking hell. 

“It’s not you. It’s me,” he sighed, shoulders slumping and his response elicited a bemused look from you. 

“I’m avoiding you because I… I like you. And I’m scared that you might feel disgusted or-” 

“Aventurine.” 

The way you said his name in such a firm tone made him flinch. He heard a deep sigh from you, followed by you boldly reaching out to cup his cheeks, forcing you to look at him. He scanned your face and to his surprise, he couldn’t find any disgust, anger, disappointment or hatred. Instead, all he could find was love and concern. 

“You would never make me feel that way. In fact, I like you too. No wait, I love you,” you murmured, your words spoken in such a soft and comforting tone combined with the way you looked at him; like he was everything was a deadly combination. 

“Uh…” 

You were granted the privilege of witnessing Aventurine being rendered speechless, completely taken aback at your confession. You saw how the lightest shade of red dusted his cheeks and you couldn’t help but lean in to press a chaste kiss on the corner of his lips, earning a startled squeak from the man. 

“Sorry, but you’re too cute to resist.” 

And then, he fainted. 

#୨୧ magazine articles #honkai star rail #star rail imagines #star rail x reader #aventurine imagines #aventurine x reader #aventurine x you #aventurine x y/n #aventurine fluff

[ncteez]

Third Wheel: Part Two 

Mark isn’t sure what’s worse, the thirteen hour drive to the beach where he watched you get railed by his best friend in the backseat, or the five days he’s gonna be spending there knowing he is expected to watch—or join, whichever.

– read part one here! 

ao3 | m.list | minors dni! | kindly leave me some feedback, i will kiss your forehead so fucking fast if you do. 

WORDCOUNT―13.7k

PAIRING― haechan x afab reader x mark 

CONTENT― vacation setting, threesome, voyeurism, exhibitionism, jealousy (both haechan & mark), implications of a budding poly relationship, there’s a lot of dialogue to depict character development regarding the whole inviting mark thing. 

WARNINGS― haechan is a little touchy with mark, if you don’t like it, sounds like a you problem. 

NOTE― i reached 3k followers so here is ur present. the present was proofread by @domjaehyun​, we love her for putting up with my shit :D. this is not a stand alone fic, please read the first part if you havent! 

smut tags under cut:: 

smut tags― borderline infidelity (haechan is into but doesn’t wanna admit it), finger fucking, neglected cock syndrome, hair pulling, haechan teaches mark how to fuck his girl, haechan basically moves mark like a puppet, cum stuffing, humiliation/degradation, double vaginal penetration

             What Mark feels for the remainder of that drive was unexplainable. Looking at you through the mirror, Haechan next to you, it felt for lack of a better word, different. Sure, he’s walked in on the two of you before, and watched for a little too long too but, this was different. He personally saw Haechan stuff you full and not only that but he saw your face as it happened. You spoke for him, to him, and he didn’t even get his ass kicked by Haechan after the fact.

             The feelings in his head swirl around like a forming tornado threatening to touch down and cause him to lose all sanity. Five days with you two locked in this beach house with nothing but freedom at your feet. Worse, even when the three of you go home, he’s just locked in a different space with the two of you until he gets back on his feet. Mark isn’t even sure if he wants to leave now. On one hand, he wants to start running just to get away from the overwhelming embarrassment, on the other, he thinks he might like it. He thinks the two of you might like him being around to see too. 

 “Is this going to be a normal thing?” Mark remembers asking Haechan inside of the bathroom at the gas station. What was Haechan’s response? “Maybe, if you keep wanting to catch us.” 

             What to do, what to do, with a lust so hungry Mark feels like it’s eating him from the inside out? Catch you on purpose? Stalk your private moments with his best friend just to get another taste of that bliss just out of reach? Not even a taste actually. 

 ~

             Haechan drags his feet as he carries your bags along with his. He’s acting normal despite his constant groaning about how his legs hurt after certain endeavors on top of the thirteen-hour car ride. You stay close to him, attempting to snatch a few bags so that he would at least stop crying about the very deed he wanted to do during the ride. 

             Mark stays behind, quietly carrying in his things and avoiding the cracks on the sidewalk so as to not scratch his new suitcase set. One headphone in, he barely hears the two of you as he opts to try and escape the madness outside of the audio in his ear. That is, until he gets inside the beach house.

 “Okay so, hear me out–” Haechan smiles at Mark, stepping in front of him as he tries to pass. “Listen, Mark. Just,” Haechan puts his hands out in front of him, stepping both left and right to continuously block Mark’s path. 

 “There’s only one bedroom.” You announce, breaking Haechan’s plan of trying to convince Mark that it would be a sick idea for him to watch more. 

             Haechan did know. Of course, he fucking knew, he’s the one who booked the place. You didn’t know, but he knew you’d play along anyway. Given, Haechan hadn’t completely planned the whole car thing so it’s kind of awkward now. Despite always wanting to be caught, watched, and envied, Haechan really didn’t think past the idea of causing Mark inner turmoil with this rental.

 “S’cool. I’ll take the couch.” Mark waves off, dropping his bags and looking around the space.

             Your eyes drop before Haechan’s do. 

 “Wait, no,” Haechan groans out, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look, you can still sleep in there with us. There’s two beds.”

             Two beds. So it was intentional to put Mark in a position he couldn’t resist, huh?

 “Look, the idea was to invite you to watch. Surely you’ve caught on to everything by now, right?” Haechan looks at Mark with an apologetic stare. “It’s kind of awkward now inviting you, but I thought you’d be happy to take us up on the offer, especially after our little talk…”

             Mark looks to the floor with tinted red flushing over his cheeks. 

 “You really couldn’t just wait to get here first before sitting him down and discussing?” You ask, scolding your boyfriend despite the fact that you played at least fifty percent into his on-the-fly plan on the ride over here.

 “You looked hot and he was tired.” Haechan states the obvious. 

             Mark is just standing there trying his best not to let his mouth fall open. Haechan really wanted to propose that he should just watch? Nothing else? Just fucking watch? Ka-ching. It’s little to grasp at, but Mark’s gonna take it. After seeing everything and hearing you, why wouldn’t he? His best friend is practically giving him the ability to watch you be pleasured.

 “Okay,” Mark stops both of you from bickering. “Let’s discuss it now then.” He adds, averting his eyes from both you and your boyfriend to avoid showing how much interest he actually has in this little vacation plan.

 ~

             After a long and drawn out discussion, rules were set into place. Rule number one, Mark cannot touch you under any circumstance. You were quick to side eye your boyfriend’s best friend during that moment, noting the disappointed look that washed across his face. Rule number two, Mark can request things he wants to see, but if either you or Haechan are uncomfortable with it, the request can be ignored. Rule number three, you can talk to Mark while it happens and he can talk back, but Haechan will humiliate him the whole time if he feels like it. 

             Mark didn’t falter at any of the rules except for the first one, mostly because it’s going to be hard to not want to touch you. He assumes that’s part of the fun for Haechan though. He feels embarrassed accepting the terms, awkward as he places his bags in the shared room the three of you will be sleeping in, and restless at the way reality hits him. You, his best friend’s girlfriend, want him to see. You want him to get off to you.

             He feels a bit shameful about it. After all, Haechan has been his best friend for fucking years at this point and he’s a little unnerved that none of this is making him feel as weird as it should be. Should Mark really be excited about watching his best friend fuck his girlfriend? Probably not, but he is, and he just assumes this is another ‘weird’ thing he likes to add to his list. 

 “Hey–” Haechan nods his head towards Mark as you walk out of the room for a shower. You did your best to clean up at the gas station too but, to be fair, the bathroom was just as dirty and cum-covered as you were, probably.  

 “Yeah?” Mark looks over at him, unzipping his suitcase and pulling out a change of clothes. Mostly so he can hop in the shower after you’re done. 

 “You sure you’re cool with this? I know I kind of did a lot of this intentionally, but really, if you’re uncomfortable I’d rather you just tell us–”

 “No!” Mark argues at an embarrassingly desperate pitch. “I mean, no.” He corrects himself as he digs for his toiletries. 

 “That’s what I thought,” Haechan smiles knowingly at him, internally writing a list of things he can do to torture Mark, a list specifically made to cause envy and probably resentment. 

 “So, like,” Mark swallows, still unsure of his footing in this situation. “When will it happen again?” 

             Haechan actually laughs at him this time. 

 “Oh, you thought–” He shakes his head and goes to take off his shirt. “No, no. Mark. You’re still gonna have to catch us to watch.” He explains, throwing his shirt on the presumed “cuck chair” in the room. (Because most places have that, just so you know.)

 “Wait, what?” Mark is confused. They want him to watch, but they’re still going to make him go through the embarrassment of catching them? 

 “That’s the fun part of it for me,” Haechan tries to clear it up. “I like the surprise of someone seeing. I like the reactions. It’s exciting,” He continues, now stopping to really look at Mark. “Looks like you enjoy watching, so–”

             Mark nods slightly, tilting his head with a furrowed brow. “For the record, I’ve never been into this kind of thing. You kind of made it hard not to see things.” 

 “I know.” Haechan laughs. “Gotta get creative on weeknights when there's no parties going on.”

 “You do it at parties? Like just right there in public?”

             Haechan nods with a smug smile. 

 “A lot of people don’t even notice, but the ones that do–” Haechan’s eyes nearly light up. “They basically watch. They don’t even pretend to look away.” 

             Mark feels a little bit flushed at the idea of attending a party with the two of you. He couldn’t imagine being put in a situation where he, along with several others, get to watch you orgasm. 

 “She likes that?” Mark asks, a little shocked.

 “I mean, she gets really into it but I can admit that she seems to like when you watch a lot more.” Haechan glares for a second. “Which again, kind of pisses me off.”

             Mark waves him off, trying to act nonchalant about it. 

 “I hope you know that this is more of a trial run, Mark. If she gets bored of you, she probably won’t be as into it later.”

             Okay, ouch. Fair, though. Mark would never stick around if it’s not something you want. He can already sense that Haechan didn’t want it this way either. Maybe Mark watching was exciting, but he does sense a bit of tenseness in the air each time Haechan brings up how you lusted over him so blatantly in the car. 

 “And if she doesn’t get bored?” Mark counters and Haechan kind of takes internal offense to it. Passive aggressively chuckling towards him. 

 “Oh, she will.” Haechan says as a way to assure himself rather than answering Mark. “I’m the only person she doesn’t get bored of.” 

             Mark, for some reason, takes that as a challenge. He might be the one getting the short end of the stick here, but the only reason he’s getting a stick at all is because of you. Regardless of if Haechan wanted him to watch, surely he never wanted you to like it as much as you did. 

 ~

             Well, competition is one way to put it. Haechan resents himself forever even trying to get Mark all flustered. He did it because he wanted to be watched, but he also wanted Mark to be fucking jealous. How the hell is he supposed to be jealous when you, his own girlfriend, got entirely too wet for another man while he was buried into you?

             Playing it as cool as he can, Haechan is still excited, just a little less now that he knows he’s going to have to fight for your attention. Those set rules? Between you and Haechan, neither of you had to actually follow those rules. Mark can do what he wants at your discretion, but it’s not like Haechan is gonna just tell him that. He was shocked that you pressed to let Mark join just one time. His whole fantasy is about being watched during a private act, not inviting someone to actively play a part in it. Nevertheless, he granted you a small nod when you suggested it, sternly letting out a small “just this once.”

             Sure, he’s the one who fucked you in the car and he’s the one who told you to talk to Mark but, it’s not like he expected the outcome that came from it. It was a moment of lust where he thought it would be hot to see you unable to speak because you’re being fucked– but no. You were speaking to Mark and riding him harder because of whatever the fuck was going on up in that front seat. 

             Naturally, your boyfriend has that mischievous little glint in his eye when you return from the shower and Mark opts to steal the shower before Haechan can. 

 “You are aware that you’re getting more out of this than I am, right?” Haechan laughs, pulling you from your stance and flopping you down onto the bed. “I just wanted him to be jealous, you’re ruining my fantasy.”

             You smile at him with the same mischievous little glint. 

 “And you’re an amazing boyfriend for letting me try something new,” You praise, kissing the tip of his nose when he crawls on top of you. “I’m sorry that it’s hot knowing two guys want me this badly.”

             Haechan sighs, dropping his face to your neck. Of course, you’d be into that. His thing is people being jealous of what he gets and your thing just has to be the idea of being wanted. It fits a little too well. 

 “Bet you weren’t even planning to put anything on for bed tonight, were you?” He laughs with a groan, cursing how willing he is to let you have whatever you want despite not wanting to give Mark what he wants. 

 “Bingo,” You smile evilly, pulling away from Haechan so you can see his face. “Plus, it’s hot seeing you get all possessive. That’s new, even for you.”

             Haechan once again sighs with a groan. 

 “Promise you won’t like, up and leave me for my best friend?”

             Realizing there’s a bit of truth behind his concerns, you stiffen a bit.

 “You know I wouldn’t do that. Just because he’s hot doesn’t mean he can pleasure me better, or treat me better.” 

             Finally, a genuine smile breaks across his face and it makes you feel warm. 

 “Do you wanna play a little tonight?” He offers, wiggling on top of you with a newfound desire over the fact that you always know how to silence even the slightest of insecurity he feels. 

 “After everything from the ride over? I’m tired,” You admit with an embarrassingly cringey pout. 

 “I’m not tired yet. Just let me do the work, you can just rest–” He tries to convince you and it works, much like it always does. 

             Haechan was doing this specifically for you. It’s not like he always needs to be seen when the two of you are intimate. It is nice sometimes seeing you act real for him. Seeing your underwhelming and soft reactions to whatever he’s doing because you both know that you’re not putting on a show. He can admit to loving the way you still moan for him despite knowing nobody but him can hear it. 

             Even knowing Mark will be in the bed next to yours at any moment, you think Haechan can get away with whatever he wants to do privately. And for the most part, he does. At least, at first he does. 

             Lying on your back with a leg thrown over Haechan’s lower half as his fingers trace lazy circles against your bare skin, you knew his fingers were going lower and lower, but it was relaxing even as your eyes fight to stay open.  When Mark comes back into the room, hair still dripping a bit at his failure to dry it properly, you don’t move or react outside of looking at him. 

 “Hey, you ready to hit the sack?” Haechan calls out, fingers moving lower on your stomach and landing just above where your panties would sit if you were wearing any under this robe. 

 “Yeah. Water ran cold though, might wanna wait a little bit before you shower, Sorry.” Mark admits with shame, not making eye contact with either of you as he flops himself onto his bed. He’s wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants, which is something you’ve seen him wear time and time again at home, but man, why does it look so hot now?

             Haechan laughs, kind of like an ‘of course there's no hot water for me’ laugh, but he doesn’t mind, if anything, he’s having fun lulling you to sleep with a gentle finger fuck session behind Mark’s back.

             The room goes silent save for the television that Haechan flips to some random reality show. You’re still focused on his fingers, more gentle than he normally would be. Still, it’s probably just because, for once, he doesn’t want Mark to know what’s happening. 

             When your boyfriend’s fingers finally make their way to your clit, it’s not shocking that you’re already wet. Your breathing is still even, and it feels good to be touched right now. You turn your head only slightly to look at Mark. He’s so endearing to look at. Never once have you seen him preparing himself for sleep. For some reason, it feels intimate seeing his bedtime rituals. 

             With one hand scratching against his hair, he’s on his side and practically hugging his pillow against his head as he fixes his eyes on the television. You can see how heavy his eyes are. He was already tired when he first started his shift of driving, and the back seat doesn’t offer much in terms of a nap. You imagine if he knew what Haechan was doing, he wouldn’t have the energy to participate anyway. 

             You, though, are feeling a little bit more awake since your clit is being beautifully stimulated by your boyfriend. Mark’s supposed to be watching you with this little deal, but there were no rules that you couldn’t watch him and fantasize, right?

             Haechan is a little shocked when you hold his hand in place and turn to face Mark. You close your eyes at first, mostly so it still looks like you’re about to sleep, but you press Haechan’s fingers a bit lower, urging him to penetrate you with them. 

             He, like the amazing boyfriend he is, follows suit. He turns on his side behind you and spoons you, adjusting his position so that he can swoop his hand under your ass and between your legs in order to do just as you asked of him.

             This goes smoothly for a few minutes, with his fingers gently and silently plunging in and out of you. Honestly, Haechan is too good with his fingers. He’s being too quiet compared to normal, again, because of Mark. You know you shouldn’t be including him right now, but you are, even if secretly. 

             A breath falls from your lips when Haechan rubs his fingers against a particularly sensitive spot inside of you, sending a wave of warmth down your body and dripping out against his fingers. 

 “Feels good?” He whispers against your ear, noting the way your breathing is a bit more audible. 

             You let out a small groan in response, very small. Just loud enough for Mark to fix his eyes on you to find you blatantly staring back at him.

             You smile at him and press your ass back against Haechan just a bit, and he’s quick to move his fingers a bit quicker inside of you.

             Mark just looks at you, processing that it’s already happening again. 

 ~

             The summer air is salty but all too grounding for Mark as he sits on his towel and watches the way you and Haechan appear to be as comfortable as ever wrestling on the shore of the sea. Even after last night, part of him wonders what actually happened but he isn’t sure if he’s allowed to ask. Not only did you look at him as you hit your climax, but Mark was made aware that he needed to be silent in watching you due to your finger coming up to your mouth in a shushing action.

             His eyes darted to Haechan when you did that but he appeared to be a great actor as he watched the tv with his head tucked between your shoulder and neck, fingers plunging in and out of you casually. Even when Mark gently fucked his own fist, staring directly back at you, he realized that this shared moment with you was something Haechan wasn’t aware of. It blurs the lines a bit of what is okay and what isn’t, but the rule is that Mark can watch if he catches the act. He guesses you’re the one breaking rules.

             Even now, as he processes this newfound sexual adventure in his head, he’s fond of the relationship Haechan has with you. Incredibly jealous, of course, but also just– Mark wants what Haechan has. He wouldn’t share you, he wouldn’t want people to see him pleasure you, and he certainly wouldn’t want Haechan’s cock to make an appearance at any point during his relationship with you, but you’re not his. Still, the two of you seem to enjoy this kind of thing, and the fact that Mark appears to be the chosen third to take part makes him feel warm. Despite his jealousy, he respects the relationship you have with his best friend for the most part. There’s still that selfishness inside him though, the thought of being able to be between your legs rather than just a person to look at across the room? It drives him insane. Haechan gets to flaunt you, make you feel good, and make you moan but, Mark is very aware that he got all of your attention the night before, even if it wasn’t his own fingers doing it to you. He got your attention in the car too, to the point of Haechan showing his own jealousy. 

             Again, there’s a thin line between what he’s allowed to do and infidelity. If you ask him to do anything though, he’s going to do it. He’s going to be what you want or need at any given moment simply because he’s a single man forced to live with his extremely sexually adventurous friends, and you happen to be incredibly fucking arousing to him. Haechan kind of did it to himself. Never would Mark have fantasized about you like this if it weren’t for the fact that Haechan desperately wants people to see his cock inside of you.

 “Hey!” You shout from the shore, pulling Mark out of his thoughts. 

             He waves back to you and then glances at Haechan who has a huge smile on his face. Mark watches as you struggle to leave the water, the weight of the waves pushing and pulling you as you look at him. He stands to his feet, kicking off some of the sand on his legs, and makes his way towards you as well, meeting you in the middle. 

 “I’m gonna have a snack, go waterboard my boyfriend.” You joke when you stop in front of him. 

 “There’s chips in my bag if you want any,” Mark waves you off, realizing how normal the communication is between the two of you. In the silence, the communication is somehow more intimate.

             When Mark makes his way down to the water, straight up to his best friend, for some reason he still feels like he’s walking on eggshells with all of this. Not with you, because you clearly know what you want. Haechan, on the other hand, shows that he’s annoyed over his plan becoming more of a pleasure for everyone but him.

 “You’re not hungry?” Mark asks, dipping himself lower into the water and shivering at the ocean breeze. 

 “Nah, we’re finally here. I’m staying in the water ‘til I’m forced to leave.” 

 “Ah, good plan.” Mark confirms, allowing himself to float back a bit with the waves.

 “Are we okay?” Haechan suddenly asks, standing to his feet and looking down at him. “You really are allowed to decline this offer. I'm even a little nervous about it now.”

             Mark squints his eyes open towards Haechan, the sun blinding him more than his best friend usually would. 

 “It’s a little weird but I like trying new things. I’m not trying to disrespect you by accepting.”

             Haechan sighs in relief. 

 “I know. If it’s gonna be anyone, I'd rather it be you.” He laughs with a sigh. “Still would rather her focus on me but I guess I kind of owe her this.” 

             Mark adjusts himself back to his feet, tilting his head at Haechan.

 “Oh yeah?” 

 “I mean, it’s not like she was into the whole being watched thing until I told her I wanted to try it.” Haechan looks up into the sky, feeling the sun warm his face. “I liked it more than she did, but she came around, I never forced it or anything.” He breathes in the air and sinks lower into the water. “I think she did it to please me but she started getting really into it after a few times.” 

 “She’s definitely something–” Mark starts, glancing at your figure flopping back on the sand and sinking your hand into a bag of chips. 

 “Yeah, and I guess it’s my turn to let her try the things she’s curious about.” He laughs. “Even though it’s my fault and it involves my best friend. I’m trying to come to terms with the fact that neither of you would do anything behind my back.”

             Damn. 

 “Um, yeah.” Mark looks away for a moment. He knows he is famously awful at lying.

             Haechan looks at Mark knowingly. 

 “Like, without me in the room at least,” He smiles, winking at Mark once before throwing a splash at him. “because I know what you guys did last night.”

             Mark goes silent, wiping the salt water from his eyes and looking at Haechan apologetically. 

 “Relax, she told me while you were up there sulking. Said something about the danger of me finding out or something got her going.” Haechan reassures, explaining away any explanation of Mark himself being the reason for it. “I get it. You guys really had me fooled.” He laughs this time.

 “Should I like, have not watched?” Mark asks awkwardly, looking away from Haechan and floating back a bit. 

 “Nah, just give her what she wants. She’s gonna tell me regardless so let’s just try to have fun with this okay? If any of us are having issues, speak up.” Haechan glares for a moment. “Because you know damn well I’ll put a stop to all of it if it goes too far.”

             Mark nods, a small smile creeping up on his face. 

 “What happens at the beach, stays at the beach.”

 “God, I hope. I’m not moving you into our room at home.” Haechan laughs, feeling a little better about it. 

 ~

             A very sexually active trip indeed. Mark could sense the tension in the air by the time all of you return to the beach house. Even through dinner, he sensed both you and Haechan staring at him in very different ways. Even though talking made Haechan feel better, he’s still possessive over you and you seem to like it a lot. So, he might be playing it up a bit for your sake. 

             You are quite literally eye-fucking Mark, and Haechan’s eyes are basically demanding him to keep his cock under lock and key. It’s weirdly erotic, and insanely confusing, but he knows Haechan will speak up if shit goes too far, just like he said he would. 

             By the time the three of you are piled up on the couch and putting in some shitty romance movie, it gets a little more comfortable. 

             You’re leaned up against your boyfriend and Mark is leaned up against the arm of the couch at the other end. He doesn’t feel eyes on him anymore and it’s a relief. By the time it’s mid movie, he notes the soft snores coming from Haechan. You, on the other hand, are feeling mischievous. Haechan said to you specifically, away from Mark, no limits. Do what you want to him, ignore the rules, explore, have fun– but be ready to stop at the slightest mention of discomfort from either of them. You’re being given so much fucking power over both of these men. They both want you, and god does it feel fucking amazing to be wanted. 

             When you shift towards Mark, gently so that Haechan isn’t stirred from his slumber, Mark finds himself leaning towards you without question. Even when you grab his hand from under the large shared blanket, he doesn’t falter. 

             His attention to the plot on the screen in front of him surely falters though. You’re doing the thing again. You’re excluding your boyfriend and Mark can’t bring himself to give a single fuck right now because you’re quite literally slipping his hand into your panties without so much as a “please?”

             Immediately Mark’s fingers explore against his better judgment. He’s seen your pussy stretched out on his best friend, he’s watched you orgasm, he’s heard you moan, but never has he gotten to touch you. 

 “Mhm,” You encourage gently when Mark slides his fingers down your slit, collecting the slippery arousal and sliding his fingers back up to your clit. 

             You found yourself wondering how Mark would do it, especially the past day or so. Haechan knew how to please you, but you can’t help but think that the act of someone learning how to please you is just as hot. Mark appears to know exactly how to use his fingers against a woman, the thought of him alone with someone other than you only heightens your pleasure at this moment. 

             Mark does this for a while, silently and gently rubbing your clit as he forces his eyes to stay on the screen. You just watch him though, and the way he parts his lips in a silent moan when you press against his fingers with the smallest show of want. 

             The secretiveness of it really gets you going. Seeing Mark turn to mush in your hands, doing anything you could ask him to do, right there while your boyfriend is sleeping next to you? God, what a fucking simp. You love it. You love the fact that his fingers are slightly rougher compared to Haechan’s, and the way he avoids sticking them in you even if you insist by lifting your hips slightly.

             You lean towards Mark more this time, moving one leg over his lap and opening yourself up for more. 

 “You should fuck me.” You whisper into his ear with a voice far too sweet for the words. “He won’t mind.” You add at his silence, feeling his fingers halt as he processes the words. 

 “I can’t do that–” Mark whispers back, sliding his fingers down again and noting how much wetter you’ve gotten. 

 “Want me to ask him?” You joke, grabbing his hand and holding his fingers right against your entrance. 

             Mark shakes his head, feeling nervous as hell as his fingers rest in the one spot he definitely would love to fuck. 

 “You’re no fun,” You sigh in disappointment, releasing his hand.

             That makes Mark panic a little bit, the words of Haechan mentioning that you will get bored with him eventually. It drives him to just–

 “Brave boy,” You coo out at the feeling of Mark slipping his fingers inside of you, sliding them in until you can feel his knuckles against your folds. You knew he would give you what you want.“Your fingers are nice. Do you know how to use them, Baby?”

             Mark is fucking floored by the idea that his fingers are inside of you, you’re talking to him like this, and Haechan is missing out on all of it.

             Except he’s not. Atleast to Mark’s knowledge, Haechan is in dream land. You, on the other hand? You’re very aware that Haechan is terrible at pretending to sleep. Not only is he putting on this show for you, but he’s actually helping you. Kind of a shock, because you really did think he was asleep at one point. He blew his cover with a small smirk towards you, peeking an eye open at your shock of him resting a hand on your other leg and spreading it more in your attempt to get Mark to finger-fuck you. Haechan wasn’t going to help out, but the moment he heard Mark reject you, he figured that his best friend can definitely be trusted in this situation. 

             One of Haechan’s favorite things about you is how dirty you can be, but never once has he seen you be more dominant over another person. Certainly not him. He finds it incredibly sexy in the way you both mock and talk down towards Mark even though he’s making you feel good. You don’t do that to Haechan, you only moan for him. So yeah, maybe, going against his gut in this situation and allowing Mark to actually touch you is a bit hotter than he wants it to be. 

             The best part? Mark doesn’t know your cues when you’re nearing orgasm, but Haechan does and he uses that to his advantage. Spreading your leg out further so Mark can do whatever it is he’s doing with his fingers better, Haechan softens at the fact that he would have already brought you to orgasm by now. Your soft mews sound more like you’re trying to fluster Mark rather than a reaction to pleasure, and it’s fun. It’s boosting his ego so high that he actually wonders how long it’ll take Mark to get you there. 

             You feel just as boosted as Haechan does right now. With his false sleep as he attempts to help you through this, Mark is half-focused on finger fucking you out of fear that he will be caught. It’s all well and good, but you want to cum. 

 “Mark,” You whisper loudly, forgetting that you’re supposed to be pretending this is a secret. 

             When Mark tries to pull his fingers out of you at the loud whisper, ultimately so he could pretend he was just watching the movie and absolutely not burying his fingers into his best friend’s girlfriend, you hold his hand in place. Preventing his fingers from leaving you, you look at him. 

 “Fuck me like he’s not here.” You lean into him and whisper in a lower tone, rolling your hips forward against his fingers as you hold them there harshly. “You can make me cum this way, right? I promise I’ll be quiet.”

        ��    Mark looks at you, darting his eyes to the sleeping Haechan next to you, and then he slowly nods with a nervous swallow. 

             He wants to fuck you so bad, but this is all he gets. Still, it’s more than he anticipated and he will be damned if he embarrasses himself by not getting you off like this. Gently, Mark keeps his eyes on Haechan as he moves slightly over you, getting a better angle with his wrist so that he can quite literally, fuck you senseless with them. 

             With one hand on the couch over your shoulder, the other between your legs, you watch him as his eyes continuously dart between you and your boyfriend. Mark can’t watch the screen anymore considering he’s now faced away from it, he has to watch you. If this truly was a high-stakes session of pleasure, surely the two of you would be caught like this. Thankfully, Mark doesn’t notice the very aware hand of Haechan gripping your leg open, which makes it more sexy. To see him put your pleasure over his friendship with your boyfriend so willingly, to position himself in such a way that is far more telling than it needs to be, yeah, he’s a fucking simp. 

 “Oh, fuck–” You choke out, feeling Mark’s newly angled fingers plunge deeper into you. His knuckle bumps against your clit easily when he does this and it has your entire body jolting a bit. 

             Mark swallows that praise, pulling his fingers out and pushing them back in at a quicker pace. The sound of your pussy is not quite as loud as the movie on the screen, but all three of you can hear it. Even Haechan has to hold back a small moan at how genuine you sounded just now. His grip on your leg becomes almost bruising as his own arousal stirs past a comfortable level. 

             Mark’s eyes aren’t shifting anymore, you notice. As you stare up at him, he stares right back at you. Noting the way your body slightly shifts up when he harshly pushes his fingers in, he could nearly imagine he’s fucking you. Except if he were, he would hope to have you moaning more, moving more, fucking yourself on him, using him. 

             You can practically see Mark lose himself to lust. His eyes are dark, and messy hair falling against his lashes as if he were the one being fucked out right now. Internally, you feel such a large amount of fondness over him. You think back to when he fucked his fist in the car. He was showing an extreme amount of intent during that moment and it had your head fucking spinning watching him do it. You can imagine he must be hard right now. Haechan must be hard too. If you wanted to, you could expose Haechan for being awake and ask them both to fuck you right now, but you relent. Relishing in this power of having them both, one more unaware than the other. It’s too sweet to put an end to so quickly. 

             As you look back up at Mark, you want to kiss him. Haechan never said anything about that but you assume that could actually be crossing a line, so you don’t. Against your own wishes of wanting to keep this a secret, you lean yourself to Haechan who still tries to pretend he’s asleep. 

             Mark watches and panics, but can already feel you grabbing his hand and keeping his pace up. The fear that runs through of bones of being caught is fucking intense right now, especially when you lean your head into Haechan’s neck and start sucking it.

             You can feel Mark try to pry his hand back and you chuckle at it, and you can’t stop smiling against your boyfriend’s neck when you feel Haechan’s hand over yours, holding Mark’s hand in place with more force.

             Mark’s eyes widen at the realization, relaxing his hand against both grips that are on it.

 “Wait–” He says in a raspy voice, looking between the two of you as Haechan peeps an eyes open. “How long have you been awake?”

             Haechan drops the act, removing his hand and now grabbing yours to place against his embarrassingly hard length. 

 “The whole time.” Haechan glares at him. “Too late to stop now, go on.” He encourages, wincing at the way you instantly grip him through his pants. “Make her cum.”

             Mark feels embarrassed again. Despite technically not actually being “caught”, he still feels ashamed of what he was doing, yet, his fingers are still in you. 

 “Let me see if you can make her cum,” Haechan continues, adjusting his body so that he can look down at what Mark is doing. “Move the blanket babe,” He looks to you. 

             Shoving the blanket down, Mark notes how your hand is palming against Haechan, and his fingers are inside of you. For some reason, Haechan being hard makes him feel a little less ashamed but still embarrassed. How is he supposed to perform under pressure like this?

 “Stop looking at us like that. If you’re not gonna continue, I'll finish her off myself – without you,” Haechan half-insults, half-encourages his best friend. 

             Mark moves his fingers again, the realization of being given permission washing over him so quickly that it almost felt like an orgasm running through his body. He can do whatever he needs to do to make you come. He doesn’t have to hide it, it’s not a secret. 

             Without a second thought, Mark pulls himself off the couch and stands to his feet to get between your legs. He looks between the two of you one last time and then down at your pajama shorts. For the first time, without asking, Mark pulls them off of you in one swift motion before falling to his knees and examining how wet you look pulsing around the loss of his fingers. 

 “How does she look?” Haechan asks with a quirk of his brow, bucking his hips up against your hand and tilting his head to kiss you on the temple. 

             Mark says nothing but swallows in response, forcing himself to focus on you and pretend that Haechan isn’t there studying the way he fucks into you. 

             When you let out a small whine at his silence, rolling your eyes the same time you roll your hips, Haechan chuckles and reaches to pull his own pajama pants down. If you three are gonna be doing this, might as well have fun with it. 

             Mark ignores it still, using his fingers to spread your lips and watch your hole continue to clench around nothing. Even without seeing your face at this moment, he can see how much you want this. Your glistening core is practically begging to be fucked by one of them, if not both. He makes haste, watching as your pussy envelopes three of his fingers at once, clenching them so tightly that he can feel them crowd together inside of you. 

             You whimper at it, rolling your hips forward to sink his fingers further into you. 

 “Can I lick her?” Mark asks, not moving his eyes from the way he can see your slick drip down his fingers.

 “Does she want you to?” Haechan asks, also not moving his eyes from the way your fist circles the head of his cock before sliding back down and making his shiver.

             You don’t even answer, and instead use your other hand to reach for Mark’s head, gripping his hair that’s in reach to you and dragging his face forward until you feel his breath on your clit. 

             Mark takes that as an invitation, instantly flattening his tongue against your hardened bud and sliding down. You can feel his fingers spreading you open, reaching into you so deeply as you begin to feel his tongue trace around his fingers at your entrance. 

             You moan, which makes Haechan turn his face and lift your chin as if to shut you up from showing pleasure towards another man. You find that sexy, cute even, so you reward your boyfriend and reassure him with a harsher grip against his cock, milking him of his precum and chuckling into his mouth.

             Mark doesn’t even care about what’s happening on the couch. He’s on his knees in front of you, tasting you, fingering you, and he genuinely thinks this might be heaven. He can feel his own length adjust in his pants, happy that the loose fabric accommodates the growth to full hardness. Mark already knows he’s not going to be getting off tonight by anything other than his hand, and he does not give a shit about it. 

             He licks against you as if you are the last woman on earth, honestly, and Haechan can’t even bring himself to be in competition with Mark at this moment considering how much attention you’re giving to him and not Mark. This could work, surely, he’s never seen you so horny over a simple handjob before. 

             You roll your hips against Mark’s mouth repeatedly, chasing your high as he continuously tries to accommodate every spot of your pussy that needs stimulation. 

 “He’s good at eating pussy–” You choke out, reaching to grab Mark’s head and hold him in place against your clit. You can feel his fingers pick up speed when you do that, and you can feel the vibrations of his groans against your clit even more.

 “Oh yeah?” Hechans laughs in a breath, darting his eyes to see Mark’s shoulder flexing as he fucks into you, his hair a mess between your fingers. “Better than me?” 

             You shake your head, eyes sparkling up at Haechan as he finally leans down to whisper to you.

 “Are you close? You seem close–”

             You nod this time, rolling your eyes back a bit when Mark intentionally licks circles around your clit and pumps his fingers painfully fast into you. 

 “Don’t tell him,” Haechan warns, fucking himself against your now loosened grip. “Do you want me to take over?”

             You say nothing back but Haechan can see your body tense. He makes haste, jumping up from his spot and practically shoving Mark out of the way to get between your legs. 

             Mark doesn’t even know what’s happening, the loss of your warmth around his fingers and the taste of you lost all too quickly as he watches Haechan bottom out into you in one go. His best friend’s fingers replace was his tongue was doing, and Mark watches the way you lay breathlessly against the couch. 

             Now is his time, he guesses. Reaching one hand into his pants, he shows no shame in using his slick-coated hand to furiously slide up and down his length at a pace he wishes he were fucking you at.

             There, on his knees, Mark pushes and pulls himself to the edge in time with you. He watches your face and watches the way your hands grip against Haechan as he fucks into you at a pace that looks painful. The sound of slaps in the room coming from all three of you, finally, you come undone. 

             He watches the way you hold Haechan’s hips in place, burying himself into you as you quiver around him, and only then does Mark let out a choked moan, coating the inside of his pants with strings of white. 

             Just as quickly as you hit your climax, your eyes lazily fall to Mark as he sits out of breath, wet spots staining his pants as Haechan continues to chase his own high. 

             The two of you look at each other for a long moment. You can’t help but feel that he looks entirely sexy when he’s spent and empty of his arousal. You don’t sense a hint of disappointment in his eyes as he looks back at you, breath uneven, not at all bothered by the fact that he’s not the one fucking you.

             Except he is bothered by it. He felt like he came so close to making you come, all for Haechan to step in and take over. Still, that’s your boyfriend. Mark feels lucky enough to even be part of this. And by the time Haechan finally comes, all three of you just look at each other. 

 “So,” Haechan sighs, out of breath. “She tastes good, right?” He smiles, proud of himself for not letting Mark make you come.

             You playfully slap against his head with a laugh, shuffling from the couch and standing to your feet. You examine the wet spot from where you were being fucked open by both of them and smile at it. 

 “Let’s go shower, again.” You sigh, grabbing Haechan’s hand and dragging him to the bathroom.

             Mark is left sitting there, still on his knees, processing what just happened. He could get used to this. 

 ~

           By the third night, Haechan is geared up and ready knowing full well that Mark has already touched you and he’s going to have to share tonight if your words are anything to go by. If you’re asking him to let Mark fuck you, it’s gonna have to be his way. 

             Your eyes sparkled when Haechan agreed in the silent morning as Mark slept like a fucking rock in the bed across the room. 

 “Don’t worry,” You assured him. “I love you, I’m just having fun.”

 “I know.” Haechan responded to you, silently and looking back at you. 

             He didn’t worry so much about it after last night, anyway. He got more into it than he thought he would, and the competition of it all got both you and Haechan off. Mark appears to be having fun too, and staying aware of the fake-ass boundaries the two of you set for him.

 “Tonight?” You look to Haechan and nod as you head off for the kitchen in an attempt to make something to eat for both of them.

 ���Tonight, if he’s willing.”  Haechan responds, ultimately stirring Mark from his sleep. 

 “Good morning, you can sleep. She’s gonna make some food since we got her off or something.” Haechan says towards Mark as he stretches his arms and pulls himself out of bed. 

 “What were you guys talking about?” Mark asks as he hears your footsteps towards the kitchen fade away. The sleep in his voice is heavy and he clears his throat as he rubs his eyes. 

 “Nothing much. She wants to play a game later.” Haechan tries not to ruin the plan. 

 “Oh yeah, like what?” Mark sits up, reaching for his phone to check the time. 

 “Probably monopoly or some shit.”

             Mark notes that Haechan appears to not really want to get into it, so he drops it. 

 “We going to the beach today?” He asks, somehow not feeling awkward at all about last night. It almost feels normal now. 

 “Yeah, probably after we eat. Wanna go help her with me?”

             Something inside of Mark swells up at the invitation from Haechan to help you do mundane things. Boyfriendly things. As if the two of them are your boyfriends, and not just Haechan.

 “Gonna brush my teeth first,”

             Haechan nods, giving Mark a tired smile as he heads off into the kitchen after you.

 ~

             Mark isn’t sure if he’s thinking too hard about it or if he’s getting his hopes up. He’s a lover, not a fighter, and very much willing to share you if the two of you offered to involve him in the relationship more than just sex. Cooking in the kitchen with the two of you made him happy. Haechan was clearly in boyfriend mode, guiding you by the waist when you were wisping from one end of the kitchen to the other. Mark was also kind of in boyfriend mode, though the two of you probably didn’t catch on. It’s not that he’s trying to intrude, it’s just that, he kind of has a hard time fucking a woman and not having feelings after the fact.

             When Mark said you looked pretty, Haechan didn’t falter even a bit at the compliment. Instead, he smiled at Mark with a nod because of fucking course you look pretty. And when Haechan gave you a light kiss to the lips as you stirred something in a bowl, Mark found himself wanting to do the same. He knows he can’t though, so he keeps to himself in this little unsure bubble of what the two of you feel towards him. 

             The food was decent, save for the fact that none of you have stepped foot in a grocery store and are surviving off of what you brought in a cooler from home. Mark could tell some of the vegetables were wilted and needed to be cooked, thankfully, none of you enjoy letting food go to waste so that’s why you’re stuck eating it this morning. 

             It’s comfortable. Too comfortable. Especially when Mark takes it upon himself to do the dishes despite always arguing at home about doing them. Haechan finds himself in a strange kind of headspace too. Lightening up about the idea of Mark being around and touching you, but also, like, still being possessive because you're super into it. If Mark was anyone else, Haechan doesn’t think this trio thing would work out as well. Still, this is a conversation for after the trip. 

             By the time the three of you are at the beach, you make a show of yourself for both of them and anyone else who happens to be looking your way. If tonight goes anything like you want it to, you need them to be absolutely feral for you by the time the sun sets. 

             It works for the most part. Ghosting your hand over Mark’s cock under the water, blatantly grabbing Haechan’s out in the open just to see him buckle under the arousal of it being in public. You feel on top of the universe as their eyes go from bright to dark and full of arousal as the day goes on.

             When you part from both of them, heading back to the shore in order to find a bathroom somewhere, the two of them stay behind. You do your best in giving those two alone time too because surely they need to talk or something.

             That, they do. 

 “She’s doing all of this on purpose, you know.” Haechan laughs, wading in the water beside Mark. “How are you feeling about all of this?”

             Mark shrugs, avoiding the incoming wave and lifting his chin with a wince. “I’m feeling less weird about it now, I guess.”

             Haechan nods, looking at him and studying his expression. 

 “She wants to fuck you.”

             Mark can’t help but smile. He has no words to respond to what Haechan just said. 

 “Shockingly, I kind of want her to too.” Haechan splashes Mark as if he’s mad, but stands back as his best friend wipes his eyes. 

 “Yeah?” Mark’s eyes are beaming despite the redness of the saltwater hitting them, and Haechan just stares at him.

 “I don’t know man, I’ve never been into this kind of thing but like–” Haechan tries to explain, searching internally for a reason as to why he should hold onto the annoyance of sharing his girlfriend. “I don’t know.”

             Mark tilts his head, looking at him. 

 “It’s kind of fun?”

             Mark nods this time. He’s still getting the short end of the stick but he literally couldn't care less. 

 “I like watching and I like when you let me touch her.” Mark admits, glancing away and breathing in through an embarrassed wince over what he just said.

             For some reason, that sentence arouses Haechan. “When you let me touch her.” Mark is really giving full power to Haechan to control a sex life that isn’t his and it’s embarrassingly sexy to be given that power over another man. He’s not sexually interested in Mark, but he’s interested in Mark’s sexual interest for his girlfriend. Interested in controlling it. 

 “This is going a lot further than we ever intended it to.” Haechan asks, sinking himself lower in the water and thinking intently on what’s going to happen after the three of you get home. “Guess we will see what happens.” 

             Mark quirks an eyebrow. 

 “If I asked you to fuck her, would you?” Haechan continues, in his head, about why he feels like all of this is okay to him now. 

             Mark narrows his eyes, wondering if it’s a trap but ultimately nods. 

 “I mean, yeah, if you both told me to.” 

             There’s the control again. Mark blatantly gives it up just to get the smallest taste of what you share with Haechan. 

 “And you wouldn’t do it behind my back? Like, be for real with me right now.”

             Mark knows he would probably be too weak to say no to you. He thinks you know it too.

 “What makes you think she would go behind your back anyway?” Mark counters, challenging Haechan’s trust in you.

             And then it all makes sense. You wouldn’t go behind his back. You’d tell him everything, you’d involve him, or you’d at least ask if you can fuck his best friend behind closed doors. 

             It all feels like it’s falling into place too perfectly, and that’s the only uncomfortable thing about this. Haechan looks at Mark and then shifts his eyes over to the shore, where you’ve come back from your adventure to the bathroom. 

 “Nah, you’re right.” Haechan assures himself, standing back up and waving over to you. “Just keep in mind that she’s my girlfriend and I’ll be the one to make her come.”

             Mark is well aware that you’re not his, Haechan doesn’t have to rub it in.

~

             Though Haechan never explicitly stated that Mark would be able to fuck you tonight, it became increasingly obvious as the day went on. Even as you blatantly touched him in front of Haechan, he would simply avert his eyes from Mark and carry on with whatever he was doing. 

             By the time the three of you got back to the house, Mark had to fucking fight himself to not jerk off in the shower. Clearly you were wanting to have fun again tonight if the sheer amount of touching throughout the day is any indication. The showers from all of you went by far too quickly to ignore as well. Mark thinks he beat his record speed of being out and dressed in under six minutes. You and Haechan, opting to shower together, made Mark think the two of you would go in there and fuck behind closed doors, but even that didn’t happen as the two of you were leaving the bathroom in under fifteen minutes. 

             Now, the three of you are in this beach house away from a city that is far too familiar to you. The air feels electric but also slightly awkward. You don’t know how to start, Haechan certainly doesn’t know how to start, and Mark simply needs the green light to make his attempt at whatever the fuck is supposed to happen. It’s a knowing kind of look that the three of you share as you head into the bedroom one by one. Mark doesn’t know if he should get onto his own bed, or yours at this point considering he hasn’t exactly been told what’s supposed to happen. 

             He didn’t have to think too hard though, as he trails in behind Haechan who guides you to your own shared bed with him. Mark stands there in silence, watching the way both of you pat your hands on the bed as if to invite him in. 

 “Shit, this is really happening?” He asks, almost wanting to cover his ears and cringe at the way he breaks the silence. Haechan nods to him with a small shrug.

 “If you want it to?” You ask, scooting closer to Haechan and feeling him move a hand to your thigh. 

             Mark is careful when he makes his way to the bed, glancing at both you and his best friend as if the gig would be up soon and you’d both start laughing at him for believing that this is happening. Instead, though, you adjust yourself and your boyfriend on the bed as Mark makes his attempt to find a space for him to claim.

             Now lying on your back, head on Haechan’s lap as you both watch Mark, he sits himself awkwardly on the side of the bed and stares forward. 

 “Bro, why are you being all shy now? You literally ate her out last night.” Haechan laughs, reaching forward and over you to spread your legs out. Your bathrobe does little to hide the lack of material underneath, already bare and ready for both of the men in the room. 

 “I don’t know!” Mark argues, glancing over at you and instantly drawing his eyes to what’s beneath the robe. He tries to look away with a gulp of whatever the fuck he was going to say next, but ends up double taking at the view of you being presented to him by Haechan. “I’ve never done this before…” Mark trails off, voice coming to a whisper as he shamelessly stares and the arousal begins to take full hold of his body. 

             You shift your hips a bit, as if to grind yourself against nothing to show that just like him, you can be desperate too. 

 “Fuck,” Mark sighs out, shifting his body fully onto the bed and facing you. 

 “Go on,” Haechan encourages, noting the way his friend is practically drooling at the image of you in front of him like this. 

 “Should I just,” Mark stops, looking at Haechan and avoiding eye contact with you. “touch her? like, what are my limits?’ 

             Haechan honestly doesn’t care what he does as long as you want it but, what he’s damn sure won’t happen is Mark getting head from you. He can eat you out all he wants but your mouth is to never be on him in any way, shape, or form without being told to do it by Haechan himself. 

 “Help him out.” You comment, flicking your head back a bit to look at Haechan from under your lashes. He smirks at you in responds with a small nod. 

 “Remember, you can just tell us to stop if you change your mind,” Haechan directs towards Mark as he leans forward and pulls him closer to you by his arm. Mark falls a bit, on all fours right between your legs as he stares down at your folds. He says nothing in response to Haechan, now lost in the world of getting to taste you again and wondering how many more times he will be granted permission to do this. 

 “Lick her?” Haechan demands in a question, one that seemingly makes fun of Mark for not having touched you yet. “Get to it before I make you watch again.”

             Mark listens, granting Haechan a nice little ego boost as he hums from behind you at your sharp inhale when Mark kisses against your clit. Still, this is going to happen his way and if Mark thinks he can eat pussy well, he’s about to learn.

             Haechan leans forward, your body leaning with him as he harshly grabs Mark’s hair, pressing his lips against you harder, guiding his head up and down. “Stick your tongue out–” Haechan demands, ultimately controlling how Mark eats you out from above. 

             Strangely enough, Mark allows it. He sticks his tongue out the moment Haechan demands it, and allows himself to be guided by the hair against your pussy. He groans out against you, tasting you again despite it not being of his own free will. Would Mark prefer eating you out the way he wants to? Absolutely. Does the feeling of having his head guided between your legs also kind of get him off? Oh, fuck yeah. All he has to do is imagine it’s your hand doing it. 

             You, however, watch as Haechan pulls Mark up, still by the hair, and looks at him. 

 “Tongue fuck her, I’ll take care of the rest.” He says, releasing Mark and watching the way he sinks down between your legs again. 

             Making it easier for him, you prop your legs on his shoulders, ultimately boxing Mark in against your sleek and glistening hole. It isn’t long before you feel his tongue circling, inserting against your walls. It’s not a lot to go off of, but god he looks so good between your legs like this. The image only gets better when Haechan unties the loose knot of your robe and pinches against one of your nipples, his other hand going straight to your clit and rubbing it just the way you like. 

 “Can you cum on his tongue?” Haechan asks against your ear, holding you against him with the hand playing against your nipple. “Let him really taste you?” 

             You nod to him with a moan, shifting your hips as if to fuck yourself on Mark’s tongue. Each pinch against your nipple sends a sensation straight to where you’re being stimulated the most, and yeah, you can definitely come on Mark’s tongue if he keeps trying to reach as deeply as he is now. 

             Haechan’s fingers are experts when it comes to your body, he could have you falling apart right here, right now if he wanted to, but he doesn’t. He watches, instead, the way you tighten your legs around Mark’s head to pull him in closer. The way his best friend doesn’t even come up for air is laughable, but he gets it. 

             When your boyfriend rubs your clit faster, it has you chasing Mark’s tongue harder, and when you chase Mark’s tongue, he makes a point to lick every crevice you have to offer in order to entice moans and groans of his name from your mouth. 

             When you start to tense up, Haechan knows exactly what it means. He lurches forward again and pulls Mark away from you, reaching back just as quickly to rub your clit harder.

 “Watch her cum,” Haechan smiles, abusing your clit just the way you love it until your legs are shaking and falling from Mark’s shoulders.

 “Fuck,” Mark sighs out, watching your pussy drip out its continuous orgasm. Without any indication from the two of you, he takes the risk and dips back down, tongue lapping up the mess of your arousal and humming against your folds in a beautiful desperate mantra.

 “Oh god–” You choke out, jolting from the sensitivity of his tongue toying with your pussy, Haechan continuing to press your orgasm further, not relenting even as sensitivity takes hold. 

             Mark licks up every single bit of it and Haechan watches him, feeling you continuously quiver in his grasp as you come down from the high. 

 “Now, fuck her.” He smiles, looking down at you and the way you already look dazed.

             Mark shoots his head up to look at Haechan, instantly he’s nodding and practically throwing his pants off. A true desperate show of how much he wants to be inside of you. 

             Both you and Haechan examine Mark when he pulls his cock out. You’ve seen it before but never in its full glory. He’s big. Bigger than your boyfriend, thicker than your boyfriend.

             Haechan glances down at you with an ‘are you sure you wanna do this?’ look and all you can do is chuckle and wiggle your hips as if to entice Mark to fuck you so senseless that Haechan appears to be jealous again. It wouldn’t take much, really, because Haechan is jealous right now. He needs to make damn sure you know that his cock is the only one that can make you scream, regardless of size. 

             Mark watches the two of you share looks and instantly gets a bit shy, doesn’t change the fact that he’s gently jerking himself off in preparation though.

 “Condom?” Mark asks, obviously.

 “No,” You say, nudging him closer again with your leg. “Im on the pill and you live with us, I know for a fact that you haven’t been fucking around.”

             More shy now, Mark averts his eyes as he shuffles his way closer, all the way until he can feel his cock pressed against your leg. In one last attempt before he goes off the deep end, he looks to Haechan for approval and is granted it almost instantly with a nod. 

             He slides in, painfully slowly in your opinion, but to Mark it’s like he’s trying to feel each ridge, clench, and wall around him as he does it. You wince only a little at the size, taking a deep breath and grabbing Haechan’s hand when he bottoms out. 

             Mark attempts to let you adjust, but it doesn’t go as smoothly as he wants to because the second he pulls his hips back, he’s slamming into you with a force he didn’t even know he had. The sounds you let out as he does this has Haechan going fucking insane, you can feel his cock against your back continuously twitching as Mark fucks into you. 

             Only when you keep your eyes on his best friend does Haechan move from under you, replacing himself with two pillows as he stands at your side. 

 “Look at me,” He demands, lowering his pants enough to let his cock spring free and in front of your face. “Stop looking at him,” He continues, stroking himself as he stares down at you.

             This is what you want. You want them to fight for your attention right now. Thankfully to Haechan, Mark is in his own world, head thrown back as he continuously plows into you with the obvious need of a man who hasn’t had sex in months. 

             You stare up at Haechan then allow your eyes to fall to his cock in hand, without hesitation you open your mouth for him.

 “Good girl,” He praises, setting his cock on your tongue and allowing you to feel the weight of it before he slowly slides further into your mouth. “How does it feel to be fucked from both ends?” Haechan asks with a bit of a demeaning tone. “Is it everything you ever wanted?” He asks again, this time sliding further down your throat before taking hold of your head and holding it in place.

 “I bet it is.” He continues through a sigh, effectively fucking your mouth open much like his best friend is doing to your pussy. 

             One thing Mark doesn’t seem to catch onto is the fact that both you and Haechan are talkers during sex. Mark, not so much, so when your mouth is gagged by a cock, he has no choice but to listen to Haechan talk to you. 

             Mark’s hips stutter only slightly when you gag around your boyfriend, all because that gag appears to travel down your body. Your pussy clenches him so tightly that he could honestly start crying right now if it wouldn't end with him being made fun of. 

 “Do that again–” Mark moans, gripping your legs and spreading them away from his hips. He angles himself a bit more by placing both hands under your ass and pressing into you again, this time stilling his hips so he can feel your walls jerk him off. 

             Haechan smirks, not knowing what the fuck Mark is referring to. 

 “Do what again? Gag her?” He asks, jolting his hips forward and again sliding down your throat.

             You gag, and your pussy constricts.

 “Goddamn, yes, that.” Mark almost whines, trying to press his cock into you even deeper. 

             Haechan looks down at you and the way your eyes start to glisten with tears. He knows they’re good tears, especially with the way you try to smile around his cock. 

 “So dirty,” He compliments, sliding out of your mouth and wiping a tear from your cheek. “This okay?” He continues. Knowing you like it, but he still needs to get that confirmation considering this is new to all three of you. 

             You nod with a moan and a deep breath, grabbing his cock and sinking it straight back down your throat. Haechan seethes a string of curses when you do that. You’re too fucking good at deep-throating and it’s driving him up a fucking wall how hot you are right now. 

             Being fucked open is one thing, but being fucked open from both ends is another. Even with Mark practically cockwarming himself with you, you can feel how rock hard he is inside of you, his thickness consistently putting pressure against your g-spot. God, you feel so full.

             Haechan elicits gags from you, pulls out so you can breathe, and then goes right back to fucking your mouth at his own pace. Mark, on the other end, has since lost all form of self control with your last gag. Your pussy is so wet around him, clenching him so fucking tightly, he can’t help it when he grips your ass firmly and essentially gags you himself with how hard he begins to fuck into you. Even Haechan is thrown off by the way you stop sucking and your mouth goes slack.

             He slides out of your mouth, listening as a drawn out moan of Mark’s name comes from your lips. 

 “Look at her,” Haechan glares, forcing Mark to slow his hips and look at you. 

             Mark is looking, watching as your eyes fall to him and you buck your hips up as if to ride yourself on him. 

 “God, please Haechan, can she ride me?” Mark loses composure, slipping his hands out from under your ass and grabbing your waist. 

             Haechan doesn’t even get to answer, he can see you look at him with pleading eyes. You want to ride Mark. He bows his head in approval and wonders when the fuck he became the third wheel in his own relationship, that is, until you sit yourself up, push Mark back, and settle yourself on his thighs. 

             You don’t move as you look at your boyfriend, your pleading eyes now turning to concern as he stands by himself off of the bed. For some reason, it comforts him. 

 “She takes it so well, right?” Haechan averts his eyes to Mark, getting behind you on the bed and settling down with his cock in hand. “Ride him babe,”

             So you do, rolling your hips forward and backwards in a way that has Mark slipping in and out of you with ease. He can feel you drip onto his legs and honestly, he’s in fucking heaven right now as he places both hands on your thighs and stares directly at his cock disappearing inside of you. 

             It’s a shame really, considering being ridden is one of Mark’s weaknesses. 

 “Can I cum in her?” Mark blurts, his hips attempting to fuck into you despite your weight on him keeping his hips down. “Haechan, please? Can I cum in her?” 

             His questions come out frantic, pleading for the ability to release his control and absolutely let you fuck him into oblivion, but he waits, now halting your hits from moving as if to contain the load he’s about to release without permission. 

 “What if I say no?” Haechan laughs, gripping his cock and watching the way Mark twitches inside of you. 

             You move your hips again, a small chuckle lightly coming out alongside Haechan as Mark hits rock bottom and somehow spirals further down. 

 “Shit, shit!” Mark groans, urging you to lift up a bit as he painfully begins to slam into you.

             Haechan can hear his cum seeping out of you with each plunge of his cock, he can see the white running down Mark’s legs and goddamn it’s way hotter than he anticipated it being. 

             Without a second thought Haechan is pulling himself up and positioning himself behind you. He doesn’t say a word as he presses the small of your back forward and prods his cock at your entrance. Right there beside Mark, he slides in with an uncomfortable stretch. 

 “This is how you fuck my girlfriend,” Haechan groans, feeling your pussy hug around his cock and his best friend’s. He can already feel Mark going soft, but he doesn’t relent. Haechan starts moving his hips regardless, fucking Mark’s released load back into you with impossible speed.

             Honestly, Haechan is on cloud 9 listening to both of you whine and moan. Neither of you stopped him, and even Mark finds the sensitivity of his cock being fucked against as insanely pleasurable though painful. 

             You’re staring down at Mark, and he’s looking up at you as Haechan continuously stimulates you both. At this moment, you’re both in this together and Haechan has full control. Deserving control, you think. Smiling at Mark, you drop your head to his neck and start talking. 

 “You felt so good,” You praise him, moaning at the way Haechan slams into you. “Can you get hard again?”

             Mark simply nods because he cannot, for the life of him, think of words right now. He’s already feeling his arousal coming back to him. Even Haechan feels it, in the way his softening cock manages to get hard again within mere minutes. He’s never been able to get hard again that quickly, but then again, Mark was practically pussy starved so he doesn’t question it. 

             The fit inside of you grows tighter and tighter as Mark’s cock wakes up to the overstimulation, all the way until all three of you are wincing at the drag of Haechan continuously fucking into you.  The sound of moans, slick, and heavy breathing is all that can be heard when Mark moves his hips at an opposite rhythm of Haechan. 

 “Oh, shit–” Haechan moans, throwing his head back and looking down at how impossibly stretched open you are. “You’re doing so good, so fucking good–” He babbles on, praising you, or Mark, he doesn’t even know at this point. 

             Overstimulated, his cock feels as though your pussy has a death grip on it as he continues to squeeze along size Mark’s length, your pussy clenching them so tightly that Haechan barely has to move at all to feel like he’s fucking the daylights out of you. Mark’s small thrusts only push the orgasm to the edge for both you and Haechan. The head of Mark’s cock drags alongside Haechan’s length with each thrust and it has him nearly gasping for air when his orgasm hits him.

             Mark hasn’t stopped moaning, nor have you. Who has control in this situation? Not a single person, not even Haechan, as he frantically bottoms himself out and shoots his cum against the impossibly tight space inside of you. Haechan’s orgasm ignites yours, your g-spot having been stimulated this entire time, you nearly squeeze so hard that they both are forced out of you, but they fight the sensation, continuing to bury themselves into you through your high.

  Haechan’s now spent cock slowly slips out of you after your orgasm, he sees you slump over Mark whose cock is still hard inside of you.

             Mark struggles to orgasm again so he pulls out of you the moment Haechan shoots a look at him, as if to tell him to stop. Still in his aroused state of mind though, Mark practically shoves you back onto Haechan as he works himself up to whatever orgasm he has left by his own hand. 

             It takes a moment, but you feel his second load hitting against your thighs not long after and all that’s left to do now is assess the damage. 

 ~

             There was no damage. Even as Haechan apologetically begs you to tell him the truth. To tell him he went too far, or was too rough. You liked it, and you hate that you have to convince him of it. 

 “You sure you’re okay?” Haechan asks, kissing you once after you nod with a dazed smile. “And you?” Haechan averts his eyes to Mark, who is sprawled out regaining his breath at the foot of your bed.

 “I’m great, actually.” He says, looking over to Haechan with a dopey kind of smile. 

 “You’re both insane,” Haechan finally releases a breath of relief, realizing how much you and his best friend have in common sexually.

 “You didn’t like it?” You ask, and Mark nods along with your question to look at Haechan.

 “Of course I fucking liked it.” 

 “Then what’s the issue?” Mark asks, sitting himself up now and pretending he doesn’t get a headrush almost instantly. 

             Haechan thinks hard about it. Is there even an issue? Did he ever expect to actually share his girlfriend with Mark this way? Of course not, but it doesn’t change the fact that all three of you enjoyed every bit of that. Plus, Mark doesn’t appear to be super competitive and listens to everything Haechan says to do. 

             Who wouldn’t be turned on by that kind of control anyway?

 ~ EPILOGUE ~

             Mark has become a constant fixture in your sexual relationship with Haechan now, but he doesn’t step out of line much to Haechan’s pleasure. Even now, months down the road from the beach vacation, all three of you came to terms with the fact that Mark wants to stay, and so do the two of you. 

             Rent is split three ways, you’re split two ways, but you get it all. Truly, you feel like you have the best end of this bargain. Even now, Haechan tends to have more private sex with you as if to avoid constantly living in the world of kinks and pushing boundaries. You enjoy it. You love sharing moments with him without Mark around, and even when Mark does walk in on it, he doesn’t stay most of the time because now, when it’s meant to be for all three of you, Mark is blatantly invited. He knows now that any sex he isn’t aware of isn’t for him, despite it being the complete opposite from before. 

             It’s a comfortable kind of thing. Even if the three of you don’t talk about it outside of these walls, it’s what you like, it’s what they like. Even Haechan has loosened up a bit more about you and Mark together. It’s not like you’re dating him, but your boyfriend has actually implied you go busy yourself with Mark when he’s exhausted or too tired to fuck you himself. If anything, when you do go and busy yourself with Mark, Haechan usually ends up watching anyway. 

 “Mark,” Haechan says from across the room playfully. “I hope you know that she’s still my girlfriend and I will always be the one to fuck her better.”

 “You’re really gonna say that after I was the one who made her cum twice last night before you even got your cock out?” Mark laughs. 

 “She’s my girlfriend.” Haechan glares but Mark can see his smile.

 “I know. You keep her happy.” Mark drops the playful act and decides to genuinely let Haechan know. 

 “Unfortunately, your cock is required for her happiness sometimes.” 

 “No, his cock is required for fun. You are required for my happiness.” You interject, reminding them that you literally live here too.

 “And that’s why this little arrangement works out.” Haechan agrees, lifting himself to kiss you. “Only I get your love and affection. Mark just gets 30% of your orgasms.”

 “10% of yours too, apparently.” Mark shifts his eyes to Haechan.

 Haechan does remember the few times he’s let Mark fuck you and grew so aroused by how you act with his best friend in contrast to himself, that yeah, he guesses he can give Mark and his huge cock some credit for making him come a few times, but really, it’s because he’s seeing his girlfriend stretched out and cock stupid, definitely because they both whine in unison over him. At the end of the day, it’s cute, especially because Mark can still never fuck you as good as he will. You may be cock-stupid for his size, but you’re cock-drunk for how Haechan works it inside of you.

 And so, it appears that Haechan is in a happy relationship with you, a healthy one. One where he’s perfectly comfortable cleaning his best friend’s cum out of your hair. 

 ~

#mark lee smut #haechan smut #nct127 smut #nct smut #nct mark smut #nct haechan smut #nct dream smut

[cannedpickledpeaches]

Insert Your Name (4)

Mafia!Jade Leech x Mafia!Reader

Link to part one, two, three, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve!

Notes and TW: This series will have mentions of blood, violence, crime (kidnapping, attempted assassination, extortion), and harassment, as one might expect from a mafia AU. Please enjoy!

Tag(s): @guava-has-a-pen

Jade’s Signature Spell has several restrictions. The greatest variable about it is its rate of success. Only ten minutes after meeting with the captured thug, the four of you sit out in Azul’s living room with furrowed brows. Except Floyd. Floyd happily indulges in Azul’s expensive grapes.

“I didn’t think Moore looked like someone with a strong will.” You reach out a hand at Floyd. He drops a perfectly round, nearly black grape in your palm. “Maybe he was faking the terror? Or maybe the person who gave him Jade’s information is much scarier than a bit of persuasion from Floyd.”

“Looked and felt like a minnow.” Floyd’s jagged teeth tear through the fruit like it’s made of tissue paper. “His screamin’ was real, lemme tell ya that. Even if he’s scared of someone else, he probably thought he was gonna kick the bucket right then and there. If ya asked me, he woulda spilled even without Jade cuz he thought he was fucked either way. Kinda weird that he didn’t.”

If there’s anything you’ve learned from knowing him for this long, it’s that his gut feeling is rarely wrong. Intuition is his forte. But if that’s the case, how come Shock the Heart didn’t work?

“My guess is,” Jade muses with a hand on his chin, “there is a spell previously cast on him that can block mine.”

Azul considers it. “Memory wiping, maybe. Perhaps he really doesn’t know—or at the very least, doesn’t remember. Another possibility is a defensive spell cast on his mind.”

“Even if that’s true, he isn’t a mage.” You pop the grape inside your mouth. A sweet, delectable juice spreads over your tongue. “If he was, he would’ve tried to break out of those ropes.”

That’s a simple trap Jade likes to set. Without a magic tool like the mirror back in Night Raven College, it is difficult to tell who’s a mage and who isn’t. However, by using restraints that are not made of anti-magic material and relaxing security briefly, mages often reveal their hand with escape attempts.

“Maybe it was his boss or somethin’ who casted it. Y’know, to keep secrets from gettin’ out. Pretty nifty spell, if ya think about it.”

“Someone within the Carpenter Mafia, huh.” You curl up on the couch, pressed into the corner formed by its arm and back. “Guess we’ll have to investigate all the mages they have. Talk about time consuming.”

“Please leave it to me.” Jade places a hand on his chest, a reassuring smile on his lips. Reliable. Like a sturdy tree, or a nook in the cliffside. Someone you can lean on. Someone who can pick up your slack and watch your back. Trust given to Jade can only be from a naïve fool, a desperate person, or a wary one who has leverage on him or something to gain. Regardless, despite the fact that he is difficult to trust, he is terribly competent to make up for it.

“Will you have time for it, with all the other things you have to do? Like managing the mafia and the main story?”

“Please do not worry. If it comes down to it, there are tasks that I can delegate to other qualified individuals.”

Azul heaves a heavy sigh.

After a lengthy discussion, Azul all but kicks you three out of his house. You let Jade drive you home because you aren’t keen on sitting in Floyd’s passenger seat again anytime soon. Sitting in the leather seats of Jade's car, you watch as streetlights sweep by the glowing dashboard to a constant beat. The twins’ differing tastes are obvious even in their choice of car models. While Floyd prefers flashy sports cars that attempt to break the sound barrier, Jade prefers sleek, black ones that don’t make too much noise.

While Jade drives, your eyes drift to the night sky and your mind to the story. The next event is their second meeting. (Y/N) runs into him in the shopping district. Judging from the description in the manuscript, it’s on a street you frequented with her. Buskers at intersections. An ice cream shop next to an oak tree. A fountain with picturesque statues. You have a picture on your phone of her laughing in front of the water.

Does she think about you? If a friend suddenly stopped contacting her after being cornered in an alleyway, she’d naturally try to check up on them. That’s the selfless and considerate personality she has as the main character, after all. So why hasn’t she even texted you once? Were you truly even friends?

Of course you were. A kind person like her couldn’t fake affection. Those smiles she shared with you were definitely real. So then, why?

“You should sleep early tonight.” Jade suddenly speaks up at a red light. He takes the momentary break to glance at you. There’s an expression you can’t place on his face. Worry? No, nothing that strong. He looks back at the road before you can decipher it. “You’ve been stressed lately. I can brew you a relaxing herbal tea if you have trouble sleeping. It will guarantee you a relaxing slumber.”

“That makes it sound like I’ll never wake up if I drink it.”

He chuckles. “You can find out if you drink it.”

“Pass. Make it for yourself.”

“Perhaps I will. I often have difficulties falling asleep at night.” Unlike you, his insomnia is evolutionary. Moray eels are nocturnal creatures, and having grown up in the deep sea, day and night cycles took time to get used to. In the endless night of a place where sunlight cannot reach, circadian rhythms follow a schedule, not daylight.

“Doesn’t the story say you’ll sleep in the same bed as (Y/N) tomorrow?”

There’s only one bed. A common trope. This event seems to be shoved into the story, full of plot holes and reasons that don’t make any sense. (Y/N) is meant to lightly twist her ankle because of her endearing clumsiness. Jade will bring her to a fancy hotel room and tend to her wound there instead of bringing her home like today. Your only guess is that the story wants to showcase his wealth and influence. He can get a fancy room in a fancy hotel whenever he wants without a reservation. He can afford whatever her heart desires.

“Indeed.” Jade gives a half-smile. “Although I doubt it will happen. I find that I cannot sleep in the presence of strangers.”

Morays are cowards, Floyd once said. Ambush predators. They like hiding and darting out at prey or going after injured animals. Strong enough to have the confidence of living in a hole with no escape route other than the entrance, but careful enough not to chase down prey in open waters. Jade is more careful than most. You don’t think you’ve truly seen him with his guard down before.

“(Y/N) is harmless.”

“I am aware. It is only a force of habit.” His fingers tap lightly on the steering wheel. “I will stay until she falls asleep and then do some work. There is much to do, with so little time.”

You wonder if the increased workload has taken a toll on Jade. As competent as he is, he was suddenly saddled with the responsibilities of an entire syndicate and expected to run it with the same proficiency as his parents. His hobbies that he adores so much were all put on hold. There must be a mountain of pressure on his shoulders, but he never complains. Never one to show weakness. It is easy to exploit.

“You can give me more work. Just pay me and I’ll do it.”

Jade’s eyes flick to you, then back to the road. “How considerate of you. What are you willing to do if I take you up on that?”

“You can leave the investigation of the Carpenter Mafia to me.”

“Thank you for offering, but I would like to take that matter into my own hands. It concerns information about me, after all.”

“Then what do you want me to do?”

He hums in that way he does when he pretends to think. “How about guarding me when I sleep?”

You raise an eyebrow. “Didn’t you say you can’t sleep with other people around?”

“I said ‘strangers.’” A teasing lilt weaves through his voice. “You are my dear friend of many years. Surely, we are closer than mere strangers? I daresay we are even closer than acquaintances.”

“You really like bringing that up.”

“It is because you seem prone to forget.” The car turns into a side street. Houses pass you slowly. Your neighbourhood is quiet at this time of night. “If you were guarding me, I would not even mind sleeping in (Y/N)’s vicinity.”

“Don’t even think about it. I won’t be there.”

Despite the lighthearted tone of your conversation, you understand the undertone of his request. He doesn’t expect you to accept this responsibility. Instead, he is conveying a message: he trusts you. Enough that he’s willing to be physically vulnerable around you. When he’s asleep, you could slit his throat, press a pillow over his face, crush his windpipe. But he trusts that you won’t. Instead of attacking him, he trusts that you will protect.

But is that what he truly thinks of you? Or is that what he wants you to think that he thinks? How convoluted. Talking to him is taxing on the brain.

“Actually, Jade.” You hesitate briefly. “Can you ask (Y/N) about me? Or just, like, drop my name in the conversation.”

Mild curiosity fills his gaze. “Why do you ask?”

“Just do it.”

“I have no obligation to. But if you tell me, I might consider it.”

“Forget it, then.” It wasn’t important anyway. You’ll ask her once the story is over.

He pulls up on your driveway. The entire house is dark, save for a light in the master bedroom and in the entrance. You thank him and prepare to leave the car.

“Give your mother my greetings.”

You nod and wave goodbye. The car stays in your driveway until you enter your front door before driving off. It’s something you’ve noticed only he does. For safety, he had explained. He’s making sure that you’ve entered your home safely. You can never tell if he has some ulterior motive.

The first few things you notice when you step inside are the pill bottles left out on the counter. You take your shoes off and silently pad over to the washroom, returning the bottles to the medicine cabinet. Just as you put the final one in place, a voice calls out from the top of the staircase.

“You’re home late. Are you tired?”

A kind, familiar voice. You approach the stairs and look up to see your mother standing there in her sleepwear. The stress accumulated throughout the day melts away, temporarily forgotten. No matter how difficult things are, no matter how tedious the days become, no matter how much is on your mind—at the end of the day, you have your mother to return home to. Around her, you are just her daughter, without the need to be anything more.

“Hi, Mom. You didn’t have to stay up.” You ascend the staircase to meet her on the second floor. She gives you a warm, comforting hug.

“Nonsense. I can’t sleep until I know you’re home safe.” She pats your hair and lets you go. “Did you come home by yourself?”

“Jade drove me. He says hi.”

“Oh, Jade. He’s a good kid. Thank him properly, alright?”

A good kid. You almost laugh out loud. For one, both you and him are in your late twenties. For another, you wouldn’t use “good” to describe his character. But you don’t, because you don’t want your mother to worry. You only tell her the best anecdotes about the people around you so that she can rest assured you’re in good hands. She doesn’t know about your real job, either. She doesn’t need to. You prefer to keep things this way. She would never approve of a profession where you could get hurt.

“I will.”

She follows you to your room, where you start getting ready for bed. “What were you doing downstairs before I called for you?”

“You left your medicine on the counter again. I was putting them away.”

“Oh dear, did I?” She sighs and places a hand on her cheek. Wrinkles crease the skin around her mouth and the corners of her eyes. It is because I have lived a happy life, she always assured you, since I was lucky enough to have you as my daughter. “I must be getting old. These days, I often do one thing while forgetting another.”

“It’s a good thing you have me, huh?”

She chuckles. “You’re right. It’s a good thing I have you.”

When you lie in bed, your mother sleeping soundly in the master bedroom, you think back to Mr. and Mrs. Leech. To Jade and Floyd, who anxiously wait for a cure to that curse they still haven’t found the culprit for. Jade changes out the flowers by their hospital beds as soon as the petals start to wilt. Floyd bribes the hospital so that he can spend nights by their side. If your mother was in that situation, you know you would raise Hell on Earth. You can only imagine what the twins are going through. If they ever catch the assassin, you don’t want to know what will happen to that soul. There is no judgment against the twins here. You would do the same.

You don’t know when you slept, but you wake up before dawn to the sound of your ringtone. Upon picking up, Jade delivers two pieces of information.

Firstly, he fell asleep. And secondly, when he mentioned your name to (Y/N) last night, she smiled blankly and asked: “Who?”

#twisted wonderland #disney twst #jade leech #twst fanfic #twst jade #twst x reader #jade leech x reader #multi chap fic #mafia au #slow burn #azul ashengrotto #floyd leech

[divine-misfortune]

Alright so i MIGHT have accidentally deleted the ask that @mac-and-thefox sent like a dumb ass but she requested rulti for the kiss prompts with 'on a place of insecurity'.

With a few little splashes, the flat stone skimmed along the mirror like surface of the lake sending disruptive ripples across the water. Inevitably gravity took hold and plunged the rock beneath the surface and Swiss watched it go with a furrowed brow. Briefly interrupted, the lake settled back into its serene state. Unbothered by him and his influence on it like always. 

He laid back against the dock and stared up at the glittering sky, stars winking down at him in his misery. Swiss knew he'd regret the choice to collapse onto the dock and not the grass, sensing splinters and a lecture from Aether in his future, but the deed was already done. Resigned to his fate, he threw an arm over his eyes in an attempt to block out the silver moonlight. 

"There you are...Started to think you were hiding from me." The dock creaked under added weight, Swiss didn't know if he trusted it to hold two people. 

Swiss lifted his arm long enough to look up at the upside-down face of the water ghoul looming over him. Just as pretty from this angle, outlined in a soft white glow. 

"Not from you, from her" he gestured vaguely towards the sky and Rain's head tilted. "She's been mocking me for days." 

"The moon is mocking you?" 

"Yes! Yes, it fucking has. I know you've felt that tug in your bones all week." He watched Rain straighten out his spine, arms folded neatly behind his back as he tipped his head back. Natural and elegant in her presence like he belonged there. "Calling me back to the water despite everything," he scoffed "she loves my anguish apparently." 

"Now someone sounds a little too self important" he mused and seated himself on the space of the dock beside him, arms braced behind him, head still thrown back to admire the cloudless sky. "She doesn't call you for nothing, certainly not maliciously. You've got it inside you, Mr. Multi." 

"Barely. Hardly a multi ghoul as imbalanced as I am, water just...doesn't stick. Not meant for it." Swiss frowned and turned his face to the side away from Rain, watching the lake gently lapping at the shoreline. "I can make a little wave or two but that's not impressive." 

He turns towards him again and Rain's laying down as well, on his side, staring at him with a bent arm pillowed under his head. There's that tug again. Magnetic and persistent. He sighed and the other ghoul shifted closer, close enough their natural body temperatures clashed. It was impossible not to feel stripped bare when Rain looked at him like that - nothing short of adoring. 

"Still runs in your veins." 

Rain reached for his hand and pulled it closer, tracing the dark blue lines in his wrist with the tip of his finger. Examining him, studying what comprised the multi parts of him. Familiarizing himself with what made him. 

"You may run hot," he paused to kiss his inner wrist. His pulse stuttered under the cool grace of his lips "but that doesn't mean the element has gone and evaporated out of you." 

"Rain-" embarrassment crept into his voice, masking uncertainty. 

"See her in your eyes." 

His hand came to rest on his cheek, thumbing lightly at the space beneath his eye. Swiss exhaled, blinking sparingly as he stared at the silver rings in Rain's eyes. She resided there unapologetically, belonged amongst the sapphire. 

"If anything, I think she's just pulling me back to you," Swiss admitted quietly and mirrored Rain's position on his side. Closer than they had been but not close enough for her incessant pushing. 

"Calling you back to the water where you belong." Hand drifting, Rain cupped the back of his neck and Swiss laid his own on the dip of his waist. Touching to prove the ghoul in front of him, beautiful as he was, was real and not some fantasy. 

Exhaling softly, Swiss could almost taste the rosewater on his breath. He breathed in the artificial vanilla scent of Rain's preferred chapstick and pressed his fingers into his waist. Not hard. A miniscule adjustment, never wanting to let him go. His eyes drifted shut before Rain's lips ever met his, already drowning in the water ghoul's embrace.  

Rain kissed him like he's never tasted doubt on his name. It was easy to let him lead. Easy for Swiss to match the lazy pace, mouths moving together slowly with an unspoken coordination - Rain kissed him like it was his whole purpose in life to steal the air from his lungs and breathe his love back into him, and the idea was preferable to ever tasting oxygen again. 

From his waist, Swiss' hand slipped under his shirt to slide his palm up his spine. He ran hot but Rain, cool to the touch, never failed to even him out. He needed that, balance in skin to skin contact. 

Minutes, hours, centuries later is when Rain broke away and Swiss felt his lungs tight and hot crying for air. It was a feeling he could ignore with such a perfect distraction. Rain's gills fluttered as he drew his own breath. 

"She loves you." Rain squeezed the back of his neck gentle, foreheads coming to rest together. "She loves you because I love you, and the water belongs to you as much as me."

#aka swiss is insecure abt his unbalanced he is as a mutli ghoul #writing #void writing #nameless ghouls #rain ghoul #swiss ghoul #rulti #rain x swiss #swiss x rain #the band ghost #ghost the band #the band ghost ficlet

[sp0o0kylights]

Part Six / Part Seven (YOU ARE HERE) / Part Eight

A03

If the odd, small sounding Steve had been a weird pill to swallow, then the loudly swearing, furious one might as well have been a different person.

Worse?

He wanted Gareth and Eddie to stay behind.

“You are not going to the lab by yourself.” Eddie deadpanned, blocking the door while Steve acted like an agitated snake in front of it.

“You don’t understand.” Steve hissed, weaving back and forth on his feet, like he was trying to find a way out without bowling Eddie over.

Or breaking a window.

“Then help us understand!” Eddie shot back, throwing his hands up. 

Which was just the crux of the issue--because Steve seemed fine to talk about the lab being a horrible place, but kept refusing to answer why.

“You don’t have to tell us the full thing man, but give us something.” Gareth pleaded, hoping it didn’t come off as desperate as he felt.

Not his fault Steve was setting off his own anxiety.

The jock stepped back, running a hand through his hair and making a mess of it.

"I don't have the time." He stressed, anger, worry and pure fear mixing together in his tone.

In a mutter he added; "You wouldn't believe me anyways."

Tentatively, Gareth reached out, putting a hand on Steve’s shoulder.

For the first time since they’d known each other, Steve didn’t react to being touched.

"Eddie and I are gonna go no matter what. So you can either give us a heads up now, or you can be mad at us later when we just follow you anyway.” Gareth said, a hell of a lot calmer than he felt.

Steve had turned partly to glare at him, but seemed to at least let the words sink in. To get through that no, really, they were going, and all this arguing was just wasting time. 

Not that Gareth trusted it. 

"I don't want you guys getting hurt." Steve burst out, and it looked like it cost him to admit even that much.

Like it was inevitable and all this was a Hail Mary attempt to keep them from that future.

Eddie seemed to pick up on it too, because he caught Steve's gaze and held it. "You're a part of Hellfire now. If you were in that lab, we'd be all coming for you. Not one of us--all of us.”

He followed it up by invading Steve’s space, jamming a finger into the jock's chest.

“I don’t know why you think we’d be okay with you getting hurt." Eddie stared hard at him, voice as serious as Gareth had ever heard it. “You’re our friend, too Steve. We’re not abandoning Tiff and the rest of the Scooby Doo gang, and we're also not letting you do something that has you this freaked out, alone.”

Which is what this all seemed to keep coming down to. How Steve was willing to throw himself at problems, how he kept wanting to handle his own issues, while trying to manage everyone else so that he was the only target.

The only person in the know, the only one in the line of fire. 

Like he was a burden instead of a person. 

Gareth kept wondering how the hell that had happened. If this had been anyone else he would have written it off as some macho bullshit, but Steve wasn't like that. He'd didn't need to be the one white knight. 

The fear he spoke with had always been too real, for that. 

It wasn't like they--or at least, Eddie and himself, hadn't picked up that something was happening, either. Something big. 

Given the weird, hushed conversations Steve kept have with Nancy, and Jonathan and even the kids sometimes…

Once, just once, Gareth had seen Steve talk to the Chief of Police. The asshole had looked awkward as hell, giving Steve a few pats to his shoulder, and Steve looking equally as awkward, leaning into it--but they looked like two people who'd gone through the same shit and now were stuck together. Not a police officer giving a warning to a teenager. Not even a family friend catching up. 

Something was up in Hawkins and now wasn't the time to dog Steve about it, but Gareth still wished he'd give them a hint. 

A tidbit, a morsel, of what the fuck had him so riled up.

“And if all this means our friends are in danger, then we're absolutely going too.” Eddie continued, nearly nose to nose with Steve.

Steve put his hands on his hips, frustration written all over his face--but he didn’t step away. "I don't think you'd be okay with it, it's just-- I'm just--already involved! This is how it’s been."

As if that wasn’t fucking alarming.

"And now, so are we.” Eddie threw back, pointing at the phone. "It’d help if you at least told us what to watch out for, but if not then we need to stop arguing so we can go help.”

That definitely got through.

Steve tapped a foot, blowing out a breath and overall acted as if Gareth and Eddie were the ones being unreasonable here.

(Or a pissed off single mother of six, not that Gareth was voicing that image.)

"Fine." He snapped finally, pinching the bridge of his nose and backing away from Eddie. “Fine! But you listen to me when we get out there, and if I tell you two to run, I need you to trust me and run.”

A grin tried to blast across Eddie’s face, the smug one he wore when he won and he knew it, but he covered it up before Steve saw.

Gareth doubted it’d take much to slide Steve right back into trying to keep them at the trailer, or straight up pull some dirty ass move to force it.

(He belatedly wondered if he should worry about Steve trying to stab one of Eddie’s tires out, but didn’t think the older teen would go that far.

Not yet, anyway.)

"I wasn't kidding when I said you wouldn't believe me." Steve spoke over his shoulder, blowing through the door the second Eddie got out of the way, marching down the steps to his Beemer. "But let’s just say that lab did a lot worse than create shit like rabid dogs, and a few of their creations might still be there. Grab a weapon!"

“I thought there wasn’t any rabid dogs!” Gareth protested at the same time Eddie said;

"So the cops can get us on felony charges? What is trespassing not enough for you?"

Eddie shook his head, following Steve down to the gravel. "No thanks, man!"

“I never said their weren't rabid dogs at all, I said--wait, who told you that?” Steve asked, trying to turn and face Gareth but Eddie simply pushed him forward, kept him moving.

“They’ve waited for us long enough.” He whispered lowly, as Gareth scrambled about for something to use.

Managed to fetch the fire poker he knew Wayne kept around to scare away coyotes, or rival drug dealers, or anything else wandering about.

If Steve said bring a weapon, he'd bring a damn weapon.

Felony charges or not.

"The cops won't charge us. Not as long as Hopper’s the one who gets there first.” Steve said and the desperation in his voice had faded a little, revealing something hard and self-assured underneath.

Not cocky, but with the strength Hellfire had when approaching a boss or baddie they had conquered once before and were familiar with. 

"And if El's involved? He will get there first." Steve said firmly, whipping the backdoor of his car open and yanking a bag out.

A bag that had muffled squawking coming out of it.

Steve snatched a walkie talkie out from it, interrupting a stream of high pitched, upset nonsense coming out the tinny speakers.

Gareth caught someone half asking, half yelling if "-literally anyone could pick up!" before Steve hit the talk button.

"What's happening!?" He demanded, as he slammed the car door and stormed to the trunk.

"Steve!" Several voices yelled at once, the speakers shrieking in static feedback.

One beat out the others, as its owner screeched into the walkie in a tone that only children under fourteen and small dogs seemed to be capable of. "Where the hell have you been!? We called a code red an hour ago!"

"Bitch later Henderson, explain now." Steve commanded, picking out a bat with fucking house nails hammered into it.

Several of which were stained a rusted, blood-red.

Eddie stopped dead in his tracks, eyeing Steve with his mouth ajar as the nails gleamed lazily in his porchlights. 

Gareth couldn't blame him; his own heart had just picked up speed.

Steve gave the bat two experimental twirls, flipping it easily in his hand, before he seemed satisfied. Both the weapon and the movement worked together, elevating Steve into something straight out of the fantasy novels Hellfire traded around.

Like a fucking paladin come to life.

Gareth felt his breath hitch at the way it highlighted the guy's biceps, already on display since Steve had shoved his sleeves up. The movement was so smooth and well practiced that it was clear this was his weapon of choice--and that he’d definitely used it before.

Gareth wasn't even attracted to Steve Harrington, but one couldn't be blamed for having eyes.

"Mike insisted he saw lights on at the lab, and Will thought he might have felt something--" Henderson started, before being abruptly interrupted by someone on his end.

"He did feel something, Dustin!"

"Shut up, I'm talking to Steve!”

"Stop arguing and give me the short version. You're all in the lab?" Steve cut in.

‘It should be illegal to sound that annoyed while moving like that.’ Gareth thought idly, as Steve dropped the bat to the ground, then propped it up against his car.

He waved Eddie and Gareth over, one hand going to cover the walkie talkie’s speakers as it spat static. ‘Pick one.’ He mouthed, in the exact same way Gareth’s mom did when she was trying to talk to him and someone on the phone at the same time.

With a short glance at each other, they went.

"--we got to the lab and El and Max were already here--" Dustin tried again, and once again was talked over, making the conversation extremely hard to follow.

Kids, God.

"-You told us to meet you here-"

"-and there were these older kids running around-'

"-excuse you, tiny bratling, we are not kids-"

"Was that Grant?" Gareth found himself asking, as Steve waved a hand above his open trunk distractedly, like a vendor showing off wares.

Except instead of trinkets, it held a gun, a knife and a fucking candlestick.

The latter of which sported another suspicious red stain.

There was a second explosion of noise, and what sounded like multiple walkie's being fought over before a young, female voice came on, its owner having apparently won the tug of war.

"The idiots thought they saw something but it turned out to just be some teenagers breaking into the lab for fun." She scoffed, and sounded suspiciously like a Tiff Jr.

It took a second, but Gareth finally placed the voice to the redheaded girl--the one who rolled her eyes a lot.

"The wall and part of the floor collapsed, some guy fell through a hole into a locked room and El thinks the collapse wasn't an accident." The words were spoken rapid fire, like a front line soldier relaying information. "She and Will both feel something."

Eddie picked up the knife while Gareth simply held up his fire poker.

Steve nodded to them, and closed the trunk.

"Can you all get out of there safely?" He asked.

"El thinks if we leave, the--thing here will attack the guy that's stuck."

'Thing' Gareth mouthed to himself.

Not a person.

Not a dog, or bear, or--anything else.

A thing.

"Fuck." Steve spat, taking his hand off the talk button so no one on the other side heard.

"She and Will aren't sure what it is yet but they're thinking it's from the Upside Down."

After a brief pause wherein someone could be heard shouting in the distance, she sarcastically added; "Honestly I'm happy to leave the guy that's stuck here, he's really annoying--"

"No sacrificing Stewart!" Steve snapped instantly, and despite all the swearing and dramatics, having contact with the kids seemed to ease something in him.

His movements were no longer frantic, back and shoulders looser.

Even the way he talked seemed to unclench, like he'd been told the worst had come and now that it was finally here, he could deal with it.

"If you're sure, because I'm pretty sure Billy is gonna start looking for me soon." Max argued.

Steve groaned. "I'll handle him if he shows up."

For the first time since Steve had picked up the walkie, silence descended.

Gareth wasn't exactly an expert in such things, but it felt judgmental.

"Are you gonna handle it like the last time you handled it? Cause we don't have anything to knock him out with and I don't know if your head can--"

"Thank you Max, but I can deal with him." Steve cut in immediately, face flaming and yeah, they were definitely out of whatever protective crazy mode Steve had started off in. "This time I have my bat and backup. So unless your brother has taken to carrying stacks of plates around, I think I'll be fine!"

"Step brother." Max corrected immediately, huffing.

Then in a slightly quieter voice, she added: "Hey Steve? Get here fast."

"I'm coming. Steve over and out." He said firmly, like an older brother reassuring a younger sibling.

How the hell the guy had ever managed to appear like a heartless asshole was beyond Gareth.

Apparently it was beyond Eddie too because the guy was practically drooling with heart eyes in Steve's direction.

The kids signed off, before quiet, blessedly descended.

"Can I ask one question?" Gareth asked, as Steve cursed at the finally silent walkie talkie.

Steve stopped, entire chest heaving in a sigh.

"Yeah, one." He said, as though even that cost him a lot.

Out of the corner of his eye Gareth watched Eddie shake himself to awareness, and then try to flip the knife with the same move Steve used on the bat's handle.

He fumbled it immediately, chasing the blade as it clattered to the ground.

"Why a candlestick?" Gareth asked quickly, before Steve turned and witnessed Eddie's awkward, scrambling retrieval.

"Jonathan tends to grab the weirdest shit as a weapon." Steve responded. "He's used a trophy, multiple chairs, a lamp," he made an etc. all gesture, as if any of that actually explained things instead of causing about ten more questions.

"The candlestick actually worked pretty well so I kept it." He finished.

"Jonathan Byers?" Eddie said, holding the knife once more and clearly pretending he'd never tried to copy Steve. "How very Cluedo of him."

Steve frowned, nose scrunching in confusion. "Cluedo?"

"He means the game Clue. It's called Cluedo in Europe, Eddie's just a tabletop snob." Gareth rambled anxiously, because throwing Jonathan Byers wielding a candlestick into the mix was just the icing on top of the weird cake.

Part of him wondered if it would be rude if he asked Steve to spin the bat again, while the other part vaguely wondered if any of this was actually happening.

Maybe Eddie had accidentally laced the pot with a hallucinogenic.

(Frankly he wasn't sure how he'd have missed the addition of extra drugs, but hey; you couldn't say that made any more sense than Steve Harrington, small town golden boy, parading around with a fucking bat with nails in it, using a walkie talkie to speak to children about how a thing might try to attack one of their friends.)

The kid’s involvement at least, made a little bit of sense.

They were young but they weren't that young--and they also weren't as quiet as they thought they were.

Particularly not when they were riled up at the arcade.

Gareth knew the lot of them thought one of the girls had superpowers. He also knew they often pretended Will Byers, the kid who'd gone missing, had spent some time acting as a "spy" for whatever evil they all pretended to be battling.

He'd mostly assumed it was a D&D-slash- LARP kind of thing, or even just traumatized kids playing pretend to cope with what had happened, but now?

"I might have lied about just having one question." Gareth admitted as Steve picked up his bat.

"I'll explain some of it later, after we get them out." Steve said, as if Gareth might actually trust him to do so after doing his damndest to dodge giving an explanation. 

"Lead on, Sir Harrington." Eddie said before Gareth could say just that, like the lovestruck idiot he was. "We're going to need both cars to carry our wayward friends home, so Gareth and I will follow your lead."

Eddie spun his keys around his fingers, and given the smirk on his face, Gareth would bet money he was hoping it looked as cool as Steve's bat handling.

It didn't.

"Provided you promise to try not to lose us, because I've lived here all my life, I know where the lab is." He finished, and somehow managed to make the words sound fun and not the blatant warning it was.

Steve nodded once, hard. "Alright. Stay close to my car, and flash your high beams twice if you run into any problems--or see like, people in suites."

"People in suites?" Eddie asked, the knife still clutched awkwardly in his hand.

"Government agent kinda dudes, they're easy to spot." Steve said, like he was cautioning them to look out for deer darting across the road. "They usually look like they shouldn't be wherever they are."

"Alright." Gareth said, before his brain could come up with a list of questions regarding that.

Steve slung himself into the front seat of his car, Gareth claiming shotgun in Eddie's van shortly thereafter.

They waited to let Steve out first, and then stayed right on his tail as Steve promptly broke multiple laws to get to the lab.

"So this is all ominous as hell, right?" Eddie said, metal music pouring from the vans speakers and eyes on the taillights of the beamer.

"Oh dude, incredibly ominous. There was blood on that candlestick. " Gareth said, still in disbelief.

Whose candlestick had that even belonged to, originally? At what point in all this had Steve decided to hammer nails into a baseball bat?

Nevermind the weapon he was trying not to think about in the trunk of Steve’s car.

The gun.

Gareth knew instinctively why neither of them had gone for it. Eddie's father had drilled into him that the extra charge for carrying was never worth it and Gareth's own father had a firm "if you point it then you might as well have used it" mentality.

Steve didn't look like the kind of person to handle killing someone well himself, and yet the gun remained, locked up in the back of his trunk.

An option he'd offered to both Eddie and Gareth without bothering to fully fill them in.

"Blood on the bat too." Eddie said, dragging Gareth's attention back to the present.

Which at least, gave Gareth an opening for familiar ground. "I'm surprised you noticed that, given you looked like you lost all the blood in your head when he started swinging it around."

"Shut up." Eddie grumped, and though normally Gareth would tease him more, he found he just...couldn't. 

Not right now.

"I'm more worried that they all kept calling whatever the thing was…well. A thing." He said, because God was it bothering him. “I mean I guess it could be an animal still but the way they were talking about it…” He trailed off, uncomfortable.

"Personally I'm hoping for monsters." Eddie said.

Gareth turned to shoot him a look. "Seriously Ed’s?"

"Mmm. Because if it's not monsters Gareth, it's humans," Eddie tapped the steering wheel in time with Metallica's For Whom the Bell Tolls. "and humans scare me more than anything."

 Gareth leaned back, letting the seat absorb him, his own eyes sticking to the back of Steve's head. "I guess." 

Not that he wanted to deal with either.

Best case scenario in all this?

Everyone got out safely, and they drilled Steve into what the hell had happened to him, later.

Not that life was ever that simple.

xXx

Tiff met them outside the lab.

The place was desolate. Abandoned with the kind of tell-tale signs that boldly stated something awful had happened there.

Papers and a chair were still left in the guard shack and a phone dangling off the hook completing the look. The lab itself was dotted with broken windows, the corresponding shattered glass glittering all over the ground.

All it was missing was some lightning and it would be a great location for a slasher film.

One set of odd, claw-like marks on the ground later, right near where they all parked, and Gareth abruptly decided he'd rather focus on Tiffany rather than follow that thought more. 

Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, her expression annoyed, but the dead giveaway to her freaked out status was the way she couldn't seem to stop moving. Not even after they’d gotten out of their respective cars and started towards her.

Gareth hadn't seen her this bad since the day she temporarily lost her SAT guide.

It didn't bode well for the adventure ahead.

"Finally." She complained as the trio approached. "Did you three stop for milkshakes on the way!?"

"Traffic Tiff, you know how it is." Eddie said with an easy smile and a wave of his hand.

She simply gave a pointed look at her watch before glaring back at them.

"Steve!" Someone yelled, and Dustin promptly launched out of some corner at the older teen, babbling a mile a minute.

“Slow down, God!” Steve interrupted, doing a clear head to toe sweep of the kid. “You okay? Everyone good? Nobody dead?”

“Not yet!” Dustin said chipperly, which caused Steve to swat at his hat.

“Are you okay?” Gareth asked Tiff, as Steve and Dustin began talking rapid-fire, in the kind of way that spoke of past events and made little to no sense to anyone not in the loop.

"Yeah." Tiff nodded stiffly. “Would have been a lot happier if Stewart had listened to me for once, but.” She shrugged, her version of ‘it is what it is.’

Eddie reached out, squeezing her shoulder gently. “Is everyone else in the lab?” He asked, peering about.

He got another nod. “The room the idiot’s stuck in is just up the stairs and down the hall a bit. I’m amazed he didn’t get hurt, he fell through the ceiling.” She shook her head, clearly worried and trying her best not to show it. “Everyone’s kind of been wandering between there and here, but the random children who showed up are insisting we all walk around in groups.”

She turned to eye Dustin, before looking towards the entryway to the lab.

“Probably a good thing given the wall collapsed, but they all think there’s some,” She huffed, arms shrugging helplessly. “monster lurking about.”

Gareth stared at the lab entrance for a moment, once again taking in random stains and smears that were all around them. Spotted a few more of those weird, elongated claw marks raking down the stairs, spread more like fingers than anything else, and the group of them that surrounded a suspiciously large stain in the entryway. 

“What made you guys want to explore the lab tonight anyway? It’s Thursday.” Eddie asked. 

This earned him a more animated eye roll.

“Would you believe me if I told you I owed Jeff a favor, and he owed Grant a favor, and Grant got into it with Stewart over whether or not the lab had glowing goo hiding inside?"

“Glowing goo?” Eddie and Gareth echoed as one.

“Like what Mikey the bartender was saying last time he was drunk? The whole thing with that weird green goo that fell out of some truck?” Gareth asked, and it wasn’t the stupidest thing that had riled up Stewart and Grant but by God was it up there.

Tiff sighed a second time, sounding pained. “Yeah. That goo. Stewart kept insisting Mikey got a “hot tip” that some military guys knew it was here,” Her fingers came up to make the quotation marks, somehow managing to make the movement sarcastic. “and wanted it moved over to that new mall they’re building. Starcourt.”

“So Stewart had to come see it.” Eddie finished, as if he wouldn’t have also been dying to go get a look.

Frankly, Gareth himself was slightly annoyed he and Eddie hadn’t been called upon as it were.

“Mikey also apparently believes something else wants the goo and chased the military guys who were here out of the building. That part must be going around, because the kids here are pretty insistent there’s a monster inside.” Tiffany added, waving a hand towards Dustin.

Eddie made a move to slung his arm over her shoulder, giving her a full body squeeze before letting her go.

Tiff allowed it, and for the briefest of seconds, even seemed to lean in.

“Hello Steve, nice murder weapon.” She greeted loudly, entirely unphased by the nail bat in his hands as Hellfire’s jock and his favorite small annoyance stepped up to them. “Having met your children, I have to say, your parenting skills are utter shit.”

Dustin frowned up at her, instantly offended. “Steve’s our friend.” He corrected, angrily emphasizing ‘friend,’ right over the top of Steve’s loud protest of;

“It’s not a murder weapon, jeez!”

“If anyone is lacking in skills it’s your little group’s!” Dustin cut in, waving a hand around. “Not one of you was prepared for breaking into the lab! No weapons, no back up, you’re the only one who even had quarters and one of you isn’t even wearing a jacket. If we hadn’t shown up you guys would have been in some real shit!”

Tiff stared flatly down at Dustin, ignoring Steve entirely. “Sure, pipsqueak."

“What are you guys even doing here?” Steve asked, before Dustin could fuss more.

“Glowing goo, apparently.” Eddie answered, moving with him.

Tiffany took the hint, starting to walk towards the stairs as Dustin trotted forward next to her, clearly intending to “lead” just as much as she was.

Gareth watched from the corner of his eyes as Steve automatically stepped to Dustin’s right, making sure the kid was surrounded on all sides.

‘Fuckin’ softie.’ He thought fondly, even as he gripped the fire poker he held in his hand tighter.

Eddie had managed to stow the knife away, making it vanish somewhere among his jacket and Judas Priest shirt, so it was just him and Steve looking like lunatics.

Thankfully, Tiff had spared Gareth her opinion on the fire poker. 

“Goo?” Steve asked, and unlike the rest of them, he sounded downright alarmed.

“So there’s this bartender at the Hideout.” Eddie started, launching into the story with a lot more pizzazz than Gareth thought it really required. He and Tiff traded glances, and Gareth got to see the exact moment Dustin’s eyes caught sight of Eddie and went dinner plate wide.

Gareth would have nudged Tiff, maybe made a joke about how Eddie was gaining a new sheep just by his terminal need to be the loudest person in a room, but a movement on the left caught his gaze.

Gareth stopped, as something unmistakably fleshy slunk back in the shadows, one weirdly shaped paw flashing as something caught the light. 

Fear raked through him, freezing Gareth dead to the spot, hands tightening on his fire poker.

“Hey, guys? He asked, interrupting whatever story Eddie had inevitably gone off of (likely one of the many, many backstories involving Mikey the bartender’s belief in UFOs) “That monster the kids think they saw. What uh, what’s it supposed to look like?”

“Why?” Tiff asked, at the same time Eddie yelled at him to; “Keep up, Gary, god!”

Gareth didn’t answer, instead staring deep into the shadows.

Nothing moved.

‘You’re seeing things.’ He told himself finally. ‘Unless it went through solid fucking wall, you would still be able to see it. You're just stressing yourself out because Steve’s being weird.’

Fuck knows it wouldn’t be the first time he thought he saw something when his anxiety started acting up.

"So Gare, did you bring the fire poker along because of the monster?" Tiff asked, amused, as she briefly dropped back towards him.

Clearly, she'd just been waiting for an opening to tease him about it. 

He flushed scarlet. 

"No!" He spat, hugging the thing closer.

A grin unfurled on Tiff's face, Cheshire-esque.

"I'm serious, Steve told us to bring it!" Gareth insisted, trying to look manly with it.

He knew he failed as badly as Eddie had earlier.

"You know, I'm starting to think Eddie's not the only one gone on our human fighter…" Tiff trailed off, raising one eyebrow, and causing Gareth to flip her off.

Thankfully that train of conversation was interrupted by loud arguing.

“We’re not cats Steve, you can’t just put us outside!” One of the kids was bitching, the group having caught sight of Steve and hustling over.

Jeff was seated on the floor in the hallway, one hand holding up his chin while Grant leaned against the wall next to him, both looking incredibly bored.

Across from them was a door that had looked like it had survived a full-blown seige. Cracks ran throughout the wood, and with the entire center of it bowed inward it was clear why no one could manage to get Stewart out of the room.

It was completely wedged in the frame, with thick enough edges to make it impossible to just pop it out by hand. 

The hoard of gremlins were harder to make out now that they were all clumped together, but Gareth quickly made out their very….unique outfits.

Only the girls had dressed normally, while the boys looking like they either were planning on robbing a train.

Bandana’s over their faces and all.

“Yes, I can actually.” Steve retorted in the exact same bitchy tone. "Tiffany can stay with you guys by the cars while the rest of us figure out how to get Stewart.”

"Thanks for volunteering me." Tiff said flatly, but alas, was ignored by the group at large. 

“Really? So you don’t want El to, you know. Help.” The terminally loud one spat.

“El’s gonna dump your ass if you don’t stop talking for her, Mike.” Steve warned, making the girl puff up proudly while Mike immediately cut a fearful glance to his girlfriend.

“And if El could have helped before, why wait for me to get here?” Steve continued, one hand on his hip, the other resting the nail bat over his shoulder, cutting in before Mike's scrambled apology derailed the conversation.

“I cannot move the door.” El admitted in that sort of flat, blunt way she spoke. “There is something here that is making my powers unstable.”

Steve pointed to her, face morphing into a clear “see?” gesture.

“Now unless Dustin is going to science the door open somehow--and I’m not saying you couldn’t,” Steve spoke the second part quickly, as Dustin’s mouth popped open, “then all of you are going to wait outside. Where the demo-the thing, isn’t.”

Gareth really, really hated how he kept referring to it as a thing.

One of the kids rolled their eyes and muttered; “We literally said we don’t know if it’s a--” and promptly got elbowed in the stomach for it.

Right.

Not suspicious at all.

“But we can help!” Dustin protested furiously.

Gareth wasn't sure if it was because Dustin truly thought he could help, or if it was because he wasn't used to the pushback.

For all that he was an only child, Steve had clearly inherited an older brother's prerogative of letting kids do stupid shit so long as he supervised (and typically, laughed at the outcome.

Gareth still fondly recalled the time Mike declared himself man enough to smoke.

Steve had conned him into chainsmoking outside the arcade until the kid finally threw up in the bushes on his fourth cigarette and declared Steve's smoking habit disgusting.)

“El could help.” Steve countered calmly. “Max probably, if I gave her my bat, but the rest of you are just moving targets. So make like a drum, and beat it.”

"That was lame, Steve." Dustin sniffed, while the other kids groaned loudly. “A real low effort pun.”

Steve just flicked his hand out in a shoo motion before leaning his bat up against the wall.

Jeff stared it before making immediate eye contact with Gareth, every inch of him screaming ‘what the hell!’

With a sigh, and an unfortunate side glance at Tiff, Gareth explained; “It’s for the monster.”

That at least, was easier than explaining Steve knew what was here and was doing his damndest not to tell them what it was.

Even if it made Tiff grin manically in his direction. 

His only relief was that Steve got her attention right after, calling "Heads up!" before tossing her his car keys. 

Because her hand eye coordination was superior to Eddie’s, she caught them easily.

If there's an emergency, get them out." Steve warned, voice just over the edge of too serious, losing the banter he’d kept up since they’d arrived.

"If there's an emergency we're coming back on to save your ass." Dustin snapped back, arms crossed, because of course he was listening.

“No.” Steve told him simply.

“Yes.”

“No, no, no-!”

Tiff let out a sharp whistle, the sound piercing in the echoing hallway.

"Gremlins with me!" She commanded, before catching Steve's eyes over their heads . "You fucking owe me, Harrington."

He nodded, before dropping a glare to the kids. "Just don't let them drive my car."

“God I can’t believe he’s still upset about that, it’s not like we fucked up the Camaro.” Mike complained loudly, allowing himself to be herded back outdoors.

“Max did hit a mailbox.” Lucas retorted, and then yelped a loud; “Ow, Max!” as he was presumably punished for voicing the fact out loud.

Their voices faded slightly as they went down the stairs, and Gareth managed to drag his attention back to the problem at hand.

One very fucked up door.

"Do you think we could kick it down?” Steve asked, as Eddie bent down to examine the door.

Refusing to look anyone in the face, Jeff said; “We may have tried that already.” 

“My darling lambs, you’re approaching this wrong.” Eddie cooed, and got several glares for it.

“The door might be fucked by the hinges here, are not. Looks like all I need is the right screwdriver and lucky for Stewart!--” He yelled his friend's name, banging on the door and no doubt hoping to spook him.

A muffled shout of “Screw you Munson!” was all he got for his efforts.

 “--I have my toolbox in my car.”

“Do I want to know what you have a toolbox for, Ed's?” Steve asked.

“Perfectly legal avenues only, I assure you.” Eddie replied, batting his eyelashes up at Steve innocently.

Grant and Jeff both gagged.

“Would the two of you gentlemen be so kind as to fetch me my box?” Eddie said, pulling out his keys and offering them up to Jeff. “I want to try one more thing. I don’t think it’ll work, but I can test it while you boys are gone.”

“He’s going to try to kick it in himself.” Gareth tattled flatly.

“I am not!” Eddie immediately denied, eyes wide in feigned hurt.

It was fake as shit.

“Let him!” Jeff said over as he got up. “That way I won’t be the only one getting made fun of for doing it!”

A car suddenly honked from outside, startling them all.

“Check that the shitheads aren’t murdering Tiff while you’re out there!” Steve called as Jeff and Grant took off towards the entrance, before moving out of Eddie’s way as he surged upwards.

“It’s more likely she’d be murdering them.” Eddie replied, and sure enough he was backing up like he was going to try and kick the door.

“Do you see how thick that thing is? The indent, here?” Steve sassed, pointing towards the giant dent slightly off center, where the door bowed inwards. “I’m pretty sure Jeff wasn’t the one who did that. These things are built to hold, man.”

“Ah but you’ve seen Jeffery's legs. Our beloved new cleric should stick to punching things, he’s not made for kicking.” Eddie said, tongue peaking out of his mouth as he sized up the door.

An odd, low chittering caught Gareth’s attention, the noise like nails on a chalkboard as the older teens continued to argue. 

“Have you seen yourself?” Steve asked point blank, hip cocked and bitch mode on. “You aren’t either.”

“Don’t be mean, Steven, just because I don’t have jock muscles--”

The chittering got louder, and Gareth found himself taking a few steps away from his friends, in the opposite direction of the stairs as he tried to figure out where the fuck it was coming from. 

A light at the farthest end of the long hallway gave out, barely noticeable. unless one was looking for it. Gareth hadn't even internalized the hallway had lighting, he'd been too busying with everything else--but it did. 

Likely the place had a backup generator, but that didn't explain why the lights in this hallway were on--and now, suddenly, giving out. 

'Maybe the kids did it...?' He thought, still trying to figure out why the chittering sounded like it was getting closer. 

“You’re going to break your leg.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you need to believe in people more Stevie? Have some faith?”

“I have faith that you’re face is about to hit the floor, does that count?”

Another light failed, giving the appearance of the hallway warping. Not all of it, just one weird wall, that seemed to stretch like something was trying to break out. 

"Okay but if I kick the door and it busts in, you owe me ten bucks."

"If you kick the door down not only will I give you ten bucks, Eddie, I'll go see that stupid new movie you won't shut up about with you." 

"Oh we'll be seeing Fright Night with or without my door busting talents--" 

Another light, out, and now Gareth could see a shape taking form. Later he'd swear it had actually, crawled out from the wall.

(Later, he'd find out the Upside Down creatures had a habit of doing that.)

He thought it was a tiger at first.

It has the same overall shape--long body with muscular shoulders, head low as it prowled forward.

Except the tail curled up over its back, hanging like a scorpion’s and its face…

It took a second for Gareth to make sense of what he was seeing.

The huge, oddly shaped bulb, like a flower’s before it unfurled.

Thick liquid drooled out from red tinged edges, dripping onto the floor. It was too far away to hear, but Gareth imagined the little plinks of noise it made anyway.

"Guys." He said, voice pitched impossibly high.

The Not-Tiger stepped further into the light, revealing it to be hairless.

Its skin was flecked red and grotesquely gray, with odd, thick folds of flesh hanging off its sides. Those pieces moved in weird little jerks and flutters, almost like another appendage entirely.

Another step forward, the weird, folded pieces of skin moving out and out and out on either side of it, hitching up in a U shape and oh, God.

They were wings.

'Lion body, scorpion tail, dragon wings.' A far off part of Gareth identified. 'It's missing the human face, but otherwise that's pretty dead on for a--"

"Manticore!" Gareth screamed, right as the things head split open into five petals filled with rows of fangs.

It screamed right back, then lunged at him, claws and teeth and tail all extending to attack.

#adopt a jock #steddie #pre steddie #theyre getting closer lol #steven harrington #eddie munson #gareth emerson #outsider pov #tw anxiety #tw bloodstains #tw nailbail #< that TW is for eddie #mike attempts to chain smoke lol #fun fic facts I keep finding new ways to spell gareths name wrong #current favorite is Garereth #Also #Steve is canonically the one who uses literally fucking anything as a murder weapon. Lamp #a fucking dishtowel he threatens the kids with in S2 #etc. Jonathan grabs FUCK ALL idk how he made it this far #honestly. #everyone lives no one dies #sorry for the cliffhanger it was either cut it there or make a MONSTER chapter

[dilvuc]

❝𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐘❞ DAY 2: UNKNOWN MESSENGER

𝖌𝖊𝖓𝖗𝖊: angst

𝖌𝖊𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖗: male

𝖙𝖎𝖙𝖑𝖊: day 2: unknown messenger

𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌: ruggie x yandere!m!reader

𝖜𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌: manipulative reader, blackmail, kidnapping

𝖘𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖞: you have a crush on ruggie, however when you confessed, he rejected you. even after many attempts of trying to win his heart, he still rejected you. this was the last straw. if he won't accept you, then you're gonna had to force him to

“Sorry, I'm gonna have to turn down your confession, again.” ruggie rejected you after your 20th confessions. “That’s the 20th time this month you confessed to me. You're gonna need to give up already.”

“...”

ruggie sighed and placed his hands on his hips, “Look, I'm not looking to date anyone. I have some people who matter to me. We could only be friends, k?”

when you didn't respond, the hyena beastman awkwardly scratched the back of his head and backed away a little to avoid this silence, “Uh...bye…”

ruggie frustratedly dumped leona's dirty ass clothes into the basket. leona kingscholar, the second prince of sunset savanna, a lazy ass who couldn't do all the work himself and leave it for the hyena to clean up his crap. how lovely…

ruggie felt his phone vibrate, he tried to ignore it, but his phone started to vibrate rapidly, much to his annoyance. frustration, he pulled out his phone to check. it was multiple messages from an unknown messenger.

“It's probably a scam…” ruggie grumbled as he was about to block the numbers, but received another that made his heart drop.

『unknown』

blocked me or your grammy and your little siblings be killed. i know of their location and won't hesitate to used to do something i don't want to do

『ruggie』

is this a fucking joke?!

『unknown』

[photo]

[photo]

ruggie gritted his teeth with sweat pouring from his face. it was indeed photos of his family and their location. it made him concerned about his own family if he didn't cooperate.

『ruggie』

what do you want from me? why are you doing this?

『unknown』

just cooperate with everything i say. disobey, then bye-bye to your family~

『ruggie』

you're sick…

『unknown』

thank you, i've been doing this for years. you're one of those…interesting people that i thought might be a perfect match for me. the others aren't so lucky. i have my eyes everywhere. watching your every move. if you report this, then you know what happened next

“What is this…? How did they know about me and my family…?” ruggie thought to himself, grasping on his phone. “If I don't cooperate then they…”

『ruggie』

alright, what do you want?

『unknown』

meet me at [location]. alone. don't say a word to your housewaren or anyone…

“Isn’t that location—” ruggie gasped, but he wouldn't question it. he just rolled with the plan and headed to the location without telling leona where he's going.

it only took a minute until ruggie reached the location. he pulled out his phone and texted the unknown messenger,

『ruggie』

i'm here. what do you want?

“You're just where I want you to be~” a eerie voice chuckled from behind the hyena beastman. before ruggie could make a turn, the unknown figure placed a cloth over his mouth and wrapped his other arm around the male, holding him tightly in their grasp. the cloth has sedative on it, forcing the struggling hyena to lose consciousness.

the unknown figure turned to be you after you removed your mask. you grabbed ruggie’s phone with your gloved hand and deleted the messages. you then put his phone in your back pocket and lifted ruggie in your arms in bridal style, “...This is what happened to others who rejected me. Don't worry, you won't wound up like them.”

“You're too perfect…”

❝𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐘❞

twst masterlist

#male reader #top male reader #twisted wonderland #twst #disney twst #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland x male reader #yandere male reader #twst ruggie #ruggie bucchi #dilvuc #❝dilvuc 2024❞

[topazy]

Tomorrow's promise

Pairing: Daryl Dixon × reader, Rick Grimes × sister reader

Warnings: Swearing

Chapter: 3.05

There is a striking absence of noise during breakfast aside from the occasional sound of Jace’s babbling and spoons scraping bowls. It was too quiet—no conversation, no small talk of any kind, not even gunshots lingering in the background outside. The uneasy tension causes the hairs on your arms and neck to raise.

In-between observing Jace attempt to feed himself mushy oatmeal, you watch as Carl picks at his food; he looks so lost. Everyone present was trying their best to look out for him, but he was only beginning to mourn his mom’s death. Sensing you were being watched, you look across the table you’re sitting at to the concrete steps leading to the next room and meet Daryl’s gaze. You hadn’t spoken to him yet that morning, and since there was an unspoken vow of silence, it didn’t feel appropriate to even say good morning.

With the feeling of Daryl’s lips pressing against your own, heat rushes to your face. Just as you start to feel lost in the moment he pulls away, his lips are now ghosting yours. You start to grow nervous when he doesn't say anything, but he finally breaks the silence, whispering, “Fuck, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

Placing your hand on the back of his head, you pull him in for another kiss.

“Everybody okay?”

You’re almost startled to hear your brother's voice. As part of his grief, he had been avoiding everyone, including his new baby. You spin around to face him and are glad to see he looks better than when you saw him in the early hours of the morning, his hair, face, and clothes soaked in Walker blood.

After a long pause, Maggie answers, “Yeah, we are.”

You share a look with Hershel, who’s sitting beside you at the table; he had already tried to get through to Rick that he was being reckless and putting his life in danger, but he didn’t listen. The older man looks up at him and says, “What about you?”

“I cleared out the boiler block.”

You hear concern in Daryl’s voice when he asks, “How many were there?”

“I don’t know. A dozen, two dozen. I have to get back. I just wanted to check on Carl.”

You try your best to keep any hints of frustration out of your tone. He could hardly look at the sweet baby girl sleeping in Beth’s arms. “Stay here; rest. We can take the bodies out; you don’t need to do this alone.”

“No, I do.” He walks past you and goes over to Daryl. “Everyone has a gun and a knife?”

Daryl briefly meets your gaze; he swallows the rest of the food in his mouth before answering. “Yeah. We’re running low on ammo, though. Lily and Glenn are going on a supply run this afternoon to get bullets and baby formula, and we cleared out the generator room. Axel’s they’re trying to fix it in case of emergency... We’re going to sweep the lower levels as well.”

“Good. Good.”

When Rick walks out of the cell block, Hershel yells his name, but your brother ignores him. The older man sighs, “It might be time for tough love from a sibling.”

You both nod and settle Jace into Hershel’s arms before standing. Just as you go to leave, you feel a presence behind you and turn to see Carl looking up at you. His eyes widened with worry.

“Aunt Lily?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I go with Daryl and Oscar to clear out the ground floor? I asked Daryl earlier, but he says I need to check with you first.”

His words stung; right now, you were his only parental figure. You straighten the sheriff’s hat on his head and force a smile. “Sure, as long as you listen to what he says.”

“Do you think you’ll get through to my dad?”

“I hope so, munchkin.”

—

“Rick…Rick…” When your brother doesn’t respond to you calling his name for the third time, you say the one thing you know will get his attention, “Richard.”

He freezes just as he reaches the door leading outside. Rick slowly turns back around to face you, frowning. He says, “Nobody ever called me that, but dad.”

“I know,” you say, shaking your head as you walk towards him. “But it got you to stop, didn’t it?”

You had spent roughly twenty minutes trying to find him, and with each passing minute, you became terrified that something bad had happened. He had gotten himself killed by trying to take on too many walkers at once. When you open your mouth to speak, he waves his hand dismissively. “Lily, just don’t.”

Irritated, you clicked your tongue. You felt for Rick; it was obvious he was suffering, but if he continued acting the way he was, Carl and the baby would soon become orphans. When he goes to open the door, you slam his door shut and step in front of it. “I’m worried about you, Rick. I’m worried you’re going to get yourself killed.”

“I’m fine.”

He tries to pull the door open, but you press your full weight against it, stopping him. Rick’s grip on the ax in his hand is so tight, his knuckles turn white. You could hear the walkers outside snarling close by, and Rick was in no fit state to take them on himself. “But what about Carl and your daughter? They need you; I need you.”

You don’t even realize you’re crying until you taste the saltiness of tears on your lips.

“How do I move on from this?” He asks. “How do I even begin to recover from this?”

“I don’t know,” you admit. “I sometimes think about the way we were before the world went to shit, and when I do, it hurts like hell, but it was different for me. The man I fell in love with died long before he died on the farm. I’m not going to tell you how to grieve, because hell if I know, but risking your life isn’t the way to do it.”

His eyes became glossy with unshed tears. “I haven’t even held her yet.”

You say nothing.

“Did you forgive them?”

You chew on your lower lip, struggling to answer him. Did you? In the pre-apocalypse you would have cut ties with both your fiancé and sister-in-law, but in the new world, you didn’t have that luxury to hold onto pain the same way you would have before.

“I was just—” He presses his head against the metal bars of the cell, a sob escaping from his mouth. “We were just beginning to forgive each other, and then she died, and now I’ll never know if we could have made it. But we’ll never know because both Lori and Shane are gone.”

Rick drops the ax in his hand and slides to the floor. You mirror his actions and sit down beside him. “What’s done is done. We can’t bring them back, but we need to keep it together for our kids. And you have a beautiful daughter waiting to meet her father.”

—

While you’re handing Jace over to Beth, Daryl walks over to your bunker. He tilts his head to greet the young girl before looking at you. “Hey, are you and Glenn just getting ready to go?”

“We are just getting ready to go now.”

He says nothing while observing you, checking your ammo, and swiping your knife into its sheath. Beth takes no notice of this because she is so focused on Jace reaching for her hair, not that she seems fazed by it. It’s not until you reach for the long-sleeved top at the end of the bed and place it over the vest top that Daryl finally says something again. “The area has already been checked out; there are hardly any dead roaming. Should be in and out quick.”

Although it seems like a general conversation, the look Daryl is giving you is reassuring. “Yeah?”

He raises his eyebrows and points at your hands. Your fingers were trembling while you pushed the buttons through the holes on the top. Daryl was the only one that noticed. “You worried?”

You sigh, “I’m not worried about the run; I just don’t like leaving Jace, Carl, and the baby when my brother is absent.”

Hershel would no doubt be running point in the cell block while Daryl cleared out the lower level of the prison, but you still couldn’t help but worry about leaving them. Beth was amazing with the babies, but you felt guilty whenever she watched them for too long. On the flip side, you still needed to do your share of supply runs.

“I’ll make sure nothing happens to them while you’re gone.”

You press your lips together and smile, “I know.”

“Yo Lily,” Glenn says, standing beside Daryl. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you guys soon.”

—

“We just hit the powdered formula jackpot,” Glenn says, holding the store’s door open with his foot so you can get by. “I can’t believe we have all this stuff.”

Aside from a few birds nesting inside the store, it looked as if nobody else had been in it in a long time. There were shelves full of baby formula, diapers, and bottles that you placed either in your backpack or in red baskets. You’d even managed to find some toys for the kids to play with. “Thank God, I’d hate to go back empty-handed.”

“And where is it y’all good people are calling home?”

Being startled by an unfamiliar voice, you drop the baskets to reach for your gun. The man in front of you had blood sprayed across his face and a large blade at the end of his wrist instead of a hand.

Glenn comes up behind you, looking confused. “Merle?”

The man lets out a laugh, places his gun on the ground, and starts to come closer. “Wow!”

“That’s far enough!”

“Okay, okay, honey. Jesus.”

“You made it,” Glenn says, sounding surprised.

Merle, Merle, Merle You knew that name but couldn’t place it, and then it finally clicked for you who this man is. “You’re Daryl’s brother?”

He nods, “Can you tell me, is he still alive? Huh?”

“Yeah.”

Merle looks genuinely relieved to know his brother is safe. “Hey, you take me to him, and I’ll call it even on everything that happened up there in Atlanta. No hard feelings, huh?” When he notices Glenn staring at the large blade, Merle laughs. “Oh yeah. Well, I found myself in a medical supply warehouse. I fixed it up myself. Pretty cool, huh?”

Glenn tries to reason with Merle by saying he’d bring Daryl to him, but you already knew that wasn’t going to work. Even if you hadn’t heard stories about Daryl’s brother being untrustworthy, one glance at him and you'd know he was trouble. Merle expected you to believe he had made it from Atlanta himself, and aside from the blood that belongs to someone else, he looked clean and relatively healthy. You look at the car behind Merle, and in its reflection, you see another gun in his back pocket. He notices you looking and lunges for you.

“Get off me!”

He wrestles you to the ground and holds the gun to your head. You try to wriggle out of his grip, but he places the blade in your throat, and you are completely trapped.

"Merle, put the gun down and let her go!” Glenn yells, “Put it down now!”

Merle presses the gun closer to your face, and you tremble with fear when you hear him clicking the safety off. You met Glenn’s gaze and shook your head slowly. “We will never tell you where our camp is.”

“Very mouthy for someone with a gun to her head,” he laughs. “Put the gun in the car, son.”

Glenn reluctantly follows his orders. By the look on his face, you know he’s in a silent agreement that, no matter what, you weren’t telling Merle a damn thing. You’d rather die than lead a man like that to your family. With all the commotion, the garbage-covered street was beginning to fill with walkers.

“Get in the car, Glenn; you’re driving. The three of us are going on a little road trip.”

#the walking dead #daryl dixon/you #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon x you #daryl dixon fanfic #tomorrow’s promise #tomorrow’s promise 3.05 #Daryl Dixon/reader #rick grimes x sister reader #the walking dead fanfiction #the walking dead x reader #twd fanfiction

[tricks-tickles]

Asking For It

alternate title: Craig Tucker’s Foolproof Guide to Getting What You Want

creek is once again consuming my soul so have this my lovelies

word count: 2262

pairing: Lee!Craig/Ler!Tweek

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“ACK! Craig! What is wrong with you?” Tweek shrieked, flinching as Craig appeared from nowhere, his hands suddenly slamming down on Tweek’s shoulders, shaking him playfully.

The air was colder than usual, and despite being bundled up to his eyes in scarves and jackets, the movement was enough to make his face sting. Tweek took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his jackrabbit’s heart.

“I don’t know,” Craig responded, “I’m just in a weird mood.”

He smiled and fell into step next to Tweek as they walked to school, slinging an arm around his shoulders. Tweek leaned into him, soaking up Craig’s warmth to offset the winter day.

****

“Craig,” Tweek hissed, “Stop fucking prodding me.”

They were in French, and Tweek was desperately trying to focus on memorizing his past participles when he felt the end of Craig’s pencil press into his side again, making him twitch as a bolt of electricity shot through him. He turned to shoot Craig another glare, answered only by his sly grin. He glared until Craig turned back to the front of the class, folding his hands on his desk innocently.

Tweek grumbled to himself, then went back to work, still on guard for any surprise pokes. Urghh, what’s the past tense of vivre again? Vives? Or is it irregular? This is too much pressure…

****

“Craig!” Tweek called, jogging a little to meet him where he stood in the lunch line. He forced himself to ignore the way people glanced at him, and stopped in front of Craig. He tried to step into line but Craig blocked him.

“Let me cut in, man, I’m hungry.”

Craig grinned. “Hi hungry, I’m Craig.” He said, still blocking Tweek.

Tweek rolled his eyes. “You’re not funny,” He said, but he was smiling, a little. “C’mon let me in.”

Craig folded his hands behind his head, giving Tweek the smuggest look known to man.

“Make me.” He said, grinning.

Tweek groaned, then glanced down the line to where Jimmy was standing further up. He smiled cheekily at Craig and then turned and walked away.

“Hey, Jimmy! Can I c-cut in next to you?”

“S-s-sure, man.”

****

“Craig!” Tweek cried, sliding on the icy puddle that had formed outside of the school. Craig reached out, latching onto his arm to stop him from falling.

“Watch out honey, it's slippy.”

“I know it’s-GAHH- slippy!” He said, eyeing the ground with suspicion. There was a sheet of ice covering the short path outside of the school, and unlike Craig, his shoes didn’t have a good grip. He eyed the pavement, trying to look for clear spots when his whole world suddenly tipped as he lifted into the air.

He squirmed. “Put me down!” He said, hitting Craig’s back from where he was slung over his shoulder.

“Nope.” Craig smiled, crossing the icy path with ease.

“Craihig,” He giggled, trying to sound annoyed, “Peheople ahare staharing.”

Craig hummed, then put him down on the other side of the path. To anyone else, his face would look neutral, as monotone as his voice, but Tweek could see that shine in his eyes, the twitch of his lips and he knew that in Craig’s way, he was beaming. He felt his insides go soft, then grabbed Craig’s hand for support as they made their way down the street.

****

“Craig, you know you d-don’t have to wait for me.”

Craig was sitting in the stockroom of Tweek Bros Coffee, sprawled over some crates as he scrolled through his phone, clearly bored.

He hummed, scrolling further. “You’ll be done soon though, babe.”

“Yeah but- AH- your house is closer to mine than the s-store, so it would- ACK- be more convenient to wait there- and get off those boxes! They might break!”

Craig shimmied a little from side to side, then arched his back, stretching his arms towards the floor.

“But I’m comfy.” He moaned.

Tweek twitched. Craig had been in an… odd mood today. He leaned over and jabbed Craig’s side, grinning when he flailed and his arms shot up. Craig’s eyes were shining again and he looked almost- excited. Weird.

Before he could follow that line of thought, the doors to the stockroom swung open and his mother poked her head through. 

“Sweetie! Could you clean the tables at the back? Then you and your little friend can go home.” 

She disappeared again and Tweek giggled. “We’ve been together for y-years and you’re still my little friend. Come on buddy, get- ACK- ready to go.”

****

“Craig… are you listening?” 

Craig had been oddly silent on the way back home, not upset but- something else. Now, a light flurry of snowflakes had started and he hadn’t even noticed to put his hood up. 

“Craig!” Tweek grabbed onto his jacket, pulling on it lightly.

“What?” Craig snapped.

Tweek wilted a little at the response, “Are you mad at me?” He said quietly.

“Oh! No babe, I’m not mad at you,” Craig replied, “I’m just… thinking.”

“Thinking about what?” Tweek said, still gripping his sleeve. 

Craig smiled softly, then grabbed Tweek’s hands and pulled him close.

“You.” He whispered, leaning down to kiss him. He let go of Tweek’s hands, which wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer. Craig wasn’t overly fond of P.D.A. but there was almost no one willing to spend an extra second in the cold ogling some high schoolers kissing in the snow.

****

“Craig…” Tweek said, trying to wriggle away from him. A difficult task, given that Craig had wrapped his arms around Tweek and was softly kissing his neck. It turns out it was very difficult to concentrate on homework when your boyfriend was clinging to you like a koala. 

“Come cuddle,” Craig muttered into his ear, both shy and eager at once. 

“I- GAH- would! But I have so much homework.” He said, trying to spin around to reason with Craig.

Craig sighed, holding him tighter. “But honey, it’s Friday, and your parents will call us down for supper soon, then I won’t get to touch you for hours.” 

“You,” Tweek slid forwards, then stood up and around to the chair to grab Craig’s arms and push him backwards, “Are so,” He pushed him onto the bed, sitting on his waist and leaning down till they were nose-to-nose, “Dramatic.” Tweek kissed the tip of Craig’s nose, then sat back.

“You’ll live.” He said.

Craig groaned, covering his face. At the same time, Tweek’s father shouted upstairs.

“Boys!” He called, “Come down for dinner!”

Craig groaned louder.

****

“Craig,” Tweek said, voice muffled by his shirt which he’d somehow gotten tangled around his head, “What do you want to- AH- watch? I think Good Omens season two is out.” He trailed off, finally yanking off his shirt and looking at Craig, who was staring at his phone.

“Craig? Are you looking it up?” He pulled on his pajama top, an old one of Craig’s that he’d stolen at some point.

More silence.

“Craig?” He asked, concerned.

“I’m going to get changed,” Craig said quickly, throwing his phone and all but fleeing the room. 

Tweek stared at the door. It wasn’t unusual for Craig to get changed in the bathroom, but the silent treatment was different. Feeling his hands start to tremble, he fisted them into his shirt and took a deep breath, trying to figure out if he’d done something. Pressure started to build on his chest as one of his hands shot up to latch onto his hair, and his breathing sped up. 

He shook his head and took several long hard breaths, then grabbed Craig’s hoodie that he’d left on the bed and shrugged it on, enveloping him in Craig’s calming scent. He lay back on the bed and took more deep breaths. Thank God he’d started seeing a therapist, and started a new medication that let him rationalize that it was more than likely an issue with Craig, rather than one of his own, and that Craig would tell him when he was ready. 

He set up the bed and the T.V., and not long after Craig shuffled in. Craig made a beeline for the bed, pulling back the blankets and flopping on top of Tweek, resting his head on his chest.

They lay like that for a few minutes, Tweek playing with Craig’s hair and watching the T.V.’s idle screen while Craig fiddled with the hem of Tweek’s shirt.

After a period of silence, Craig finally spoke.

“I… need to ask you something.”

Tweek hummed, tilting his head, “What’s that, baby?”

Craig’s ears burned as he buried his face in Tweek’s chest.

“It’s embarrassing.” 

Tweek’s eyebrows shot up. Craig? Embarrassed?

“Is it a sex thing?” He asked, half teasing.

Craig’s face shot up, fully red. “No!” He said.

Tweek giggled a little, “I was just teas-”

“No, I need you to understand, it isn’t a sex thing. At all. Just… something I like. And that I want. And I’m usually okay with just thinking about it but I really, really want it and I figured I could just get you to do it but nothing I tried worked and…” He trailed off.

Tweek’s mind was reeling. What the hell was he talking about?

“It…” Craig sighed and shuffled upwards so he could hide his face in Tweek’s neck.

“I want you to…”

“Tickle me.”

Tweek blinked.

“What?” He said, a little bewildered. The wrong thing to say, as Craig shot up and covered his face with his arm.

“Forget it!” He said, embarrassment coming off him in waves.

“Wait! Craig,” He sat up too, lightly pulling Craig’s arm away from his face.

He was fully red, darker than Tweek had ever seen, and was dramatically avoiding eye contact.

“You want me to… tickle you?”

He nodded. 

“Okay!” Tweek said. Craig’s eyes shot up, studying him.

“Seriously?” He said suspiciously.

“Yep,” Tweek lay back, patting his chest, “Come here.”

Slowly, Craig settled back down, half happed in blankets and his face in the crook of Tweek’s neck.

“Do you want me t-to be gentle or-”

“Just do it,” Craig muttered.

Tweek laughed, “Okay.”

He softly trailed his fingers up Craig’s sides while he thought about the other times they’d tickled each other. Craig did always seem very down for Tweek getting revenge and, looking back, gave up much quicker than normal. Maybe. Tweek wasn’t exactly an expert on normal, and if he was honest he sort of liked tickling too, it was fun to be close to Craig, and let him turn his brain off for a while. 

He was drawn out of his thoughts by Craig’s soft huff of laughter and realized his fingers had crawled higher, onto Craig’s ribs. He dug in a little, relishing in the full-body twitch and bubble of giggles that worked their way out of Craig’s throat.

“Twehehek…” He said.

“Yeah?”

“Uhm, cahan you do a lihitle more?”

Tweek’s heart squeezed. He had never heard Craig sound so cute. Wordlessly, he gently flipped them over so he was half lying on Craig and scratched his ribs.

Craig tipped his head back in laughter, his legs kicking fruitlessly beneath the blankets.

“Twehehehek!” He cried, gripping the comforter. As his hands crawled higher, Craig’s laughter grew more frantic, but not louder. Tweek glanced up and was momentarily distracted by the sheer love he felt for the other boy. 

Craig’s head was turned to the side, half buried in the pillows. His face was flushed, eyes scrunched shut and mouth wide open (unusual, as Craig was as insecure of his braces as he was of his teeth before.).

And his laugh. Slightly monotone, like his voice, but so carefree and happy. Tweek felt his insides squirm at how beautiful Craig was in that moment.

Then, his hands burrowed into his underarms and Craig shot up nearly head-butting Tweek as he cackled.

“NOHOHOT THEHERE!” He laughed, shaking his head and gripping Tweek’s forearms and pushing them down. “ACK- sorry! Where do you want m-me to go?”

“Hehehe, uh,” Craig leaned back down, covering his face, “My stomach?” He said quietly. 

Tweek’s hands shot down, but Craig grabbed them before they could make contact.

“Gently.” He said, looking away.

“Aw, okay,” Tweek said, pushing up his shirt.

“Wh- uh, okay,” Craig said, watching Tweek’s hands with rapt attention. Tweek gently skimmed the light brown skin, grinning when it twitched beneath his fingers.

He drew soft shapes on Craig’s stomach, hearts and stars, and smiled at Craig.

“You’re s-so cute,” He said.

Craig groaned into his hands, “Shuhuhut uhuhup,” He giggled.

“Hmm?” Tweek asked, “Did you tell me to shut up?” He twitched his fingers, softly scratching his nails. 

Craig’s back arched, “Nohoho I dihihidn’t.”

“If you say-say so, man.” 

Tweek continued to softly tickle Craig’s stomach, drumming his fingers over Craig’s hips and spidering around his belly button. By the time Craig had had enough, he had a wide, dopey smile stretched over his face and sleepy eyes. 

Tweek rolled off of him, wrapping his arms around him from the back, and flipped through the T.V. to find something to watch while Craig drifted off in his arms. 

Thinking back to Craig’s behavior throughout the day, from scaring him in the morning, (playfully) annoying him throughout the day, and being weird on the way home, he realized Craig had been asking for it all day. He huffed and leaned down, kissing his forehead. Craig mumbled sleepily and Tweek smiled. He knew now. 

Eventually, he settled on a film and relaxed back into the pillows. It was a good day.

****

#i used a scots word at some point here and i was gonna change it but yk what im just gonna teach y’all the word is #happed or happit which means to be completely covered in something ie blankets #lee!craig #ler!tweek #south park tickles #wrote this 4 u danny welcome back #btw the past tense of vivre is vis 💫🌈the more you know🌈💫

[water-to-drink]

Be a Gladiolus in a Field of Belladonnas pt6

Encased In Ice

(Summary): After your sudden alliance with the fatui, it seems your plans of vengeance are possible

Part 1 Last Part Next Part

✧ Masterlist ✧

(Characters): Childe, traveler!Lumine, abyss prince!Aether, Paimon, Pulcinella, Capitano, Dottore, Pierro, Sandrone, Pantalone, The Tsarita, (the others are there they just aren’t mentioned), ??? & ???

(Warnings): Not beta read

(A/n): This took way longer than expected (writer’s block is a bitch), but it’s here. Now that I know where I want this fanfic to go hopefully y’all like what I have planned

─────────── ✧ ───────────

“DAMNIT!!!!”

The shrill voice was accompanied by the sound of a gold chalice being slammed on the marble floor

“What do you mean, there’s been no sight of them?!” Your doppelganger asked the cowering soldiers

“We’re sorry your Grace. We’ve combed through every corner and still there hasn’t been sight of them!” A nameless soldier spoke

“It’s only been a few weeks, they must be hiding somewhere!”

“We’re trying to find the imposter as best as we can-”

“Then try harder! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!!!!” The almost animalistic shriek sent the soldiers scurrying out of the room like rats

The doppelganger drags their hands across their face, revealing the dark circles that started to appear due to lack of sleep caused by anxiety

“Fuck, they’re probably assembling an army. And they’re gonna come after me and take my head like I almost took theirs….” The doppelganger grab chunks of their hair and begin to pull in an attempt to alleviate their growing panic. “Uhh? Yeah, you’re right. We just need to find them before their army can go against me. We have 6 nations and their archons under our thumb. There’s no way they can face us.” The doppelganger releases the grip on their hair. “I don’t know I would do without you…”

─────────── ✧ ───────────

The trip wasn’t that bad, the only part that you didn’t care for was trying to get Aether and Childe not to kill each other. Other than that, everything’s been alright. The crew treated you nicely, you introduced them to some card games from your world and played some of them on the regular to keep occupied

And before you knew it you reached the shore of the snowy nation, Snezhnaya. A familiar man with a short stature and tall hat waved as you walked onto the dock

“Your Grace, I’m glad you arrived to outr beauty nation safely. Though I wish it was under better circumstances.” Pulcinella said

“I’m just happy that you even allow me here, it’s nice not having to worry about being hunted down.”

“I do hope you find respite in our country, your Grace.” The elderly man turned his head toward Lumine. “I see you brought… the traveler.”

“She was the first one to help me evade capture and saved my life multiple times. Without her I wouldn’t be talking to you right now and I won’t stand for any of your subordinates to harm her or her Paimon in anyway, am I clear with that?”

“Y-yes, let me lead the way, your Grace.”

The harbinger began walking and you and your party soon follow him

“Woo, you gave Paimon a scare back there! It’s almost like you were a completely different person!”

“I have to agree with her, you looked like a sergeant giving orders to new recruits.” Childe leaned in and whispered. “This might be the only time I’ve seen him scared like this!”

Pulcinella lead you to the gate of Zapolyarny Palace. The inside looked absolutely beautiful. You walked down icy blue halls that seemed to be made of ice. The walls had intricate patterns painted onto them, a wall even a mural that was too far away to decipher them. The elderly man opened two big doors and held his head high

“Behold! The Divine Creator of Teyvat!” Pulcinella announced

All of the 8 attendees stood up and watched as you entered the room. Your eyes fixed onto the person in the center

A woman stood proud, a silver crown sat on top of icy blonde hair with light blue tips framing a pale face. Her eyes were a piercing blue and looked colder than the frigid weather outside.

The cryo archon. The Tsarita herself before you

“It is an honor to be blessed by your divine presence, your Grace.” She greeted as she and the other harbingers bowed

“There’s no need for the formalities, I’m grateful that you’re all helping me. But my double doesn’t know that I’m here, I wouldn’t want to put any of you in danger.”

“Only a select few know that you are here, your Grace. We can’t risk your safety by having knowledge of your whereabouts get leaked.” Capitano explained

“We’re already working on a plan to defeat the true imposter and as we this carry out, you can stay in palace for as long as you need.” Pierro said

“Thank you, but I request something else from you.”

“Anything, just say it and we will make come into fruition.” The Tsarita promised

“I need to take part in this plan.” The Harbingers shared glances at each other unsure of what to say. “I can’t sit around knowing that my doppelganger is out there, abusing their power and making the lives of people worse.” You put your hand on your chest. “So I request that you would lend me your resources, because I want to be the one to take my doppelganger off of the throne!”

As your voice bounced off the cold walls the Harbingers all looked at you in horror

“Your Grace, we can’t let you do that in good faith. Your powers aren’t the same as they were when you last walked Teyvat.” Sandrone pleaded

“I know, but Childe told me that you have stones that are the supposed remains of the Creator.”

“We do, but we don’t know if your human form would be able to utilize the effects of these gems and not reject it completely.” Dottore tried to reason

“Bring the gem in.”

The Harbingers turned their heads towards the Tsarita. All wanting to object but can’t bring themselves to do so

“Alright… your majesty.” Pulcinella said as he tried to stead his voice. “You heard her majesty, bring the holy stone in.” He said to an attendant guarding the door

Said attendant rushed out of the room and soon came back into the room with another attendant carting in a glass case containing a glowing stone.

Once the cart was in front of you, you admired the gem. Seeing it on a screen is one thing but seeing it glow with your own two eyes, it truly looked it was something holy

“Uh you know don’t have to do this, you might get hurt really badly.” Paimon pleaded

“She’s right, we can find another way to get your hold powers back.” Lumine suggested

“Your Grace, that is one thing I agree with them on. We nor you don’t know what would happen if you touch that stone.” Aether was the last one to urge you against this idea

For a second you thought maybe it was a bad idea to connect with it, but you had to do what needs to be done

“As I said, I’m a hell of a lot more resilient than I look.” You gave the Harbingers and the twins the most reassuring smile you could muster

You turned your attention back to the gem and mentally prepared yourself. You finally expended your hand and touched the Primogem

A flash of light enveloped you and…

Nothing happened

You looked around the room to see if anything was out of place, except for the gem being gone

“D-did the Primogem vanish?” You asked mainly to yourself

“It looked as if it had fused with you.” Aether replied

“How do you feel, is there anything out of usual?” Lumine asked

“Not that different. If the rock didn’t fuse with me I would’ve assumed it didn’t work.”

“It appears to be that these ‘Primogems’ have a lot less power than what we originally believed.” Pantalone muttered to himself

“If that’s the case, then I’ll put an order on searching these gems.” The Tsarita declared

─────────── ✧ ───────────

Things at the Grand Narukami Shrine have been… tense, to say the least

Everyone is so agitated at the news of an imposter still loose somewhere. It really isn’t a desirable environment to read light novels. But the Guuji is having much more fun listening to the shrine maidens expressing their concerns about the possibility of said impostor in their humble nation

“I’m just saying, where else would that rat go than here!” The shrine maiden Nana said

“It would be very foolish on their part, the Shogun and her army would immediately drive them out!” Hotomi scoffed

“Enough of that nonsense.”

The two shrine maiden turned towards the sound of the voice and saw the Shogun walking into view

“Al-almighty Shogun, we’re honored that you visited us, is there anything we can do for you!” Hotomi stammered through

“Leave, and tell everyone you see here to do the same.” The purple haired woman said

The two women run towards the stairs scared of the wrath they might face if they stall any longer

Once seeing that the shrine was truly empty the Shogun turned towards the youkai, who was enjoying her tea

“My, my, that was a little harsh to scare them away like that.” The Kitsune mused while standing up from her seat. “Seeing you here, I would assume you have something important to tell me.”

The head shrine maiden walked towards the taller woman

“So what do you have to tell me, puppet?”

─────────── ✧ ───────────

Taglist:

@chuuya-brainrot @creation-magician @transbirboi @tartarsaucechi1de @vvyeislazzy @kokomisimpppp @aludicpoet @undecidingfate @annoying-mary @randomnatics @ventixthexanemoxarchon @bore2808 @lizzheartz @bidisasterforevermore @dxprived4-starboys @angstylittleb1tch

If anyone wants to be on the taglist then say so

─────────── ✧ ───────────

Taglist:

@chuuya-brainrot @creation-magician @transbirbboi @tartarsaucechi1de @vvyeislazzy @kokomisimpppp @aludicpoet @undecidingfate @annoying-mary @randomnatics @ventixthexanemoxarchon @bore2808 @lizzhearthz @bidisasterforevermore @dxprived4-starboys @angstylittleb1tch

X

#genshin fanfic #genshin sagau #genshin imposter au #self aware genshin #genshin cult au #sagau #imposter sagau #sagau lumine #sagau aether #sagau childe #sagau fatui harbingers #sagau pierro #sagau pulcinella #sagau capitano #sagau pantalone #sagau sandrone

[dollyyun]

𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍𝒔 | chap 05

SYPNOSIS: wherein Hwang Stella's life is tangled in a predicament involving her clandestine identity as a racer, her seemingly daily life as the official heir to the Hwang Empire, and seven guys with whom she has a complex history with.

PAIRING: enhypen members x fem oc.

GENRE: 18+ (mdni), reverse harem, chaebols, semi-college & racing, eventual adulthood, non-idol au, eventual enha being f1 drivers, multiple pov (this fic is written in first pov).

WARNINGS: violence, drama, expletives, suggestive themes.

WORD COUNT: 5K+

TAGLIST: @aishigrey @kgneptun

🍒 MASTERLIST 🍒

"Sunghoon!"

Heeseung attempts to stop me, holding my arm tightly just as I am about to run past him. The others in our vicinity divert their attention to us while Heeseung looks at me with bewilderment. "What are you trying to do??"

"Let go of me." I try to yank my arm away from his strong grip, but he holds it tighter. "Fuck! Heeseung, if you don't let go of me this instant─"

"Don't even try to involve yourself between the two sisters." Heeseung cuts me off sternly.

"Fucking hell, Heeseung! Stella can't swim!"

The rage amidst the desperation in my voice is resonating, enough to draw more attention from the rest of the crowd while Heeseung's eyes go wide, but I use this chance to forcefully yank my arm from his grasp before making a run for the pool, despite the fact that this infuriating crowd is blocking my way.

The longer I delay, the higher the chance that I might lose Stella for good. I hear gasps from some, including the insufferable Hwang Rena, before I dive into the pool without any hesitation. Thank fuck that I left my phone and wallet in the car.

I see her, and she's getting pulled down further and further. With my swimming expertise, I expeditiously swim towards her. To anyone else, the height of this pool is not a big deal, but for someone who can't swim, it is. Especially when Hwang Stella has been traumatised once, and it was my fault.

Reaching near her, my hands grip her before pulling her close to me. I wrap an arm around her waist before quickly swimming back to the surface. Once we return, I spot Heeseung and even Sunoo preparing to assist me in getting an unconscious Stella out of the cold water, while the rest of the guys can be seen squeezing their way past the crowd before they are able to see what is happening.

With a grunt, I lift myself up and swiftly get out of the pool. From my peripheral vision, I see Rena attempting to reach out to me. "S-Sunghoon─"

"Don't ever try to touch me." My tone sounds venomous enough to make the others flinch before I direct my glare at the rest of them. "What the fuck are y'all waiting for? The party's over, so get out before I make you! Don't crowd around Stella!" I bark out orders, not caring that my reputation on campus could be tarnished by how I'm behaving right now.

I make my way towards Heeseung, who is attempting CPR on Stella, but she still remains lifeless. "Heeseung, move."

Surprisingly, Heeseung complies and steps aside, allowing me to take charge. Recalling the CPR lessons I've attended and learned, I utilise my skills as I place both palms on her chest.

"What the hell just happened?!" Ni-Ki asks, but nobody answers him as we are all too focused on Stella.

"Stella," Jay says, seeming hesitant. "Is she─"

"She will make it." Heeseung tells him firmly.

"Come on, Hwang!" I grit my teeth, the panic and guilt coil in my tummy. Finally, I lean in, providing her with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The thought of our lips touching does not even faze me a bit. Her life is literally on the line, for fuck's sake.

"Hoon!" The urgency in Jake's voice doesn't help with the trepidation in me either.

"She's not waking up!" Jungwon adds in.

"I'm trying, damn it!" Why the fuck are my eyes burning?

By some miracle, we are all startled as soon as Stella snaps her eyes open and abruptly sits up, throwing up the water and retching painfully. I don't know why or how, but I find myself supporting her upper body, which seems to be weakening each second.

"Shit, Hwang. You scared the fuck out of all of us." I speak beside her ear as I rub her back while the trepidation I felt earlier subsides.

From the corner of my eye, the movement from the other guys can be seen, as though they want to be the ones in my position, but they refrain themselves.

"Sunghoon," She cough out painfully, her arm locking itself around my shoulder. "Y-You saved me?"

I look at her with a slight smirk. "Your knight in shining armour for the night, Princess."

Though her face is still evidently pale and weak, she shoots me a scowl. "Help me up."

I comply, now standing with my arm still supporting her. "Careful, Princess."

There is a fury of vengeance in her eyes. "Where the fuck is Rena?" She doesn't bother to conceal the indignation in her voice, and she attempts to push me away. "I'm going to─ Woah!"

I manage to catch her swiftly, though at the same time, Heeseung instinctively steps forward to catch her, but upon seeing my swiftness, he awkwardly steps away from us.

"Let go of me, Park." She weakly protests against me. "I need to─ Hey!"

In a blink of an eye, I carry her in a bridal style, wanting to get this done. "If you want to take your revenge on Rena, do it any other day. For now, you need to go home and rest."

As always, she is stubborn. "But I don't need rest!"

"Say whatever you want, but I intend to drive you home." I say gruffly, and thankfully, she yields.

I feel her stiff body begin to relax in my arms before her head rests on my shoulder. She heaves a weak sigh, her eyes fluttering close. "Thank you, Park. I owe you."

My heart clenches with a familiar sentiment. "You don't owe me anything. You've never had." Besides, I was the reason why she first drowned back in elementary school.

"I still hate you, though." She murmurs, sounding languid.

A smirk tugs at the corner of my lips. "The feelings are mutual, Princess."

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

I cover Stella with my jacket, which engulfs her whole body. My eyes trail to her face as she is sound asleep, with her chest heaving up and down steadily. Though she is not entirely dry, I don't care that the passenger seat will be soaked.

After I manage to pull myself back to reality, I close the passenger door and pinch the bridge of my nose. A loud sigh leaves my lips. What the hell is wrong with me? One moment I hated her, and the next, I didn't hesitate to save her. For a moment back there, the thought of Stella being gone forever terrifies me, when I should've been glad since she's my enemy.

"Sunghoon," I hear Heeseung call for me from behind.

"Yeah?" I turn around to face him, but I am taken aback when the other guys are with him as well. I raise my eyebrow at them while nostalgia hits me. This feels like old times. "I thought you guys had headed back."

"We just─" Ni-Ki pauses. "We just wanted to make sure that Stella is─"

"She's more than safe. I know that you guys have known me as Stella's number one hater, but I would never do anything that jeopardises her safety. Heck, I even saved her life!"

"About that, how did you know she couldn't swim?" Heeseung asks, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at me.

"Hold on, we weren't aware of what happened." Jungwon intervenes, gesturing to himself, Jay, and Jake. "How did Stella drown?"

I click my tongue in annoyance. "Because Hwang fucking Rena pushed her. Speaking of Jake," I settle my eyes on him, which seem to be hardening by the second. "Try to keep your girlfriend under control, or who knows what she might do the next time?"

Instead of getting mad at me, Jake appears to be nonchalant but still curious. "Like Jungwon said, I don't have the slightest clue what happened."

"Rena was mad at Stella because she claimed that Stella was the reason things fucked up between you and her." Sunoo tells Jake sternly. "Is it true?"

Jake clenches his jaw and looks away briefly. "It's complicated."

I sigh loudly, enough to garner their attention. "Listen, I've had a crappy night, and I'm still freezing in my damp clothes." I pause, scanning their faces while my lips unfurl a smirk. "Don't worry. My feelings for Stella remain the same, if you guys are worried."

"Worried? Why would we be worried?" Sunoo scoffs as he folds his arms.

"I may be an ass, but I'm not stupid enough to notice that some of you clearly like Stella." I cast a side glance at certain faces. "Including those who had history with her. But what do I know?" I shrug my shoulders, preparing to get into my car.

Whatever I said is true, including my feelings for Stella. My actions towards her tonight don't mean that I hate her any less. So unless pigs started to fly, I would never fall for my enemy.

Last night's fiasco feels like a fever dream. I can't believe that was the second time I almost drowned to death and that everyone had witnessed it, especially my great nemesis. Yet, I didn't expect Sunghoon out of all people to be the one to save me.

Sunghoon saving me is ironic, given that when we were nine, we had an after-school activity that was mandatory for all students in our batch to participate in, an activity involving how to learn to swim. I remember when I was busy in my own world, walking by the edge of the pool, when Sunghoon and his fellow associates taunted me, and before I knew it, Sunghoon had roughly pushed me into the pool.

I heard their laughter above me as I was struggling, and I cried, feeling panicked because of how deep the pool was. I drowned, and nobody came to my rescue at the instant. I felt myself losing consciousness, almost succumbing to the darkness, when strong arms lifted me, who turned out to be one of the coaches.

From then on, I was specifically exempted from attending the after-school activity due to how bad my anxiety was after the incident. Even though the school alerted my parents about what happened, they couldn't care less about their daughter, who almost drowned to death.

So, yeah, I'm still astounded by Sunghoon's actions last night. It was as though he wanted to repay his sin by saving me. Though, that doesn't mean we're friends. At the end of the day, he hates my guts just as much as I do to him.

A sigh leaves my lips before I reluctantly lift my upper body up, sitting on my bed and reaching out for my phone on the nightstand, which has been chiming with notifications since earlier. Though I'm at the mansion and settled in my room, I didn't bother to step a foot outside my room.

Last night, I recall Sunghoon speaking with one of the helpers whom I'm a little close with and thankfully, my parents were out. He brought me to my room before leaving me in the hands of the helper.

I shake my head at the thought of Sunghoon again before looking down at my phone and seeing bunch of texts from different people.

HEESEUNG: Call me once you're awake.

▰▰

RIKI: I'm worried. Text me back once you see this.

▰▰

SUNOO: Your sister was a bitch.

▰▰

JAY: I know that we're no longer friends, but I hope you're fine now.

▰▰

UNKNOWN: It's Jungwon. I got your number from Sunoo. I need to know that you're fine.

I ignore the disappointment when a certain someone doesn't send me anything. Of course, he didn't. He's probably busy with Rena. I shove away that feeling before I contemplate who to reply to first.

My finger finds its way to Riki's text, but it hesitates. Instead, I find myself replying to Heeseung's first.

STELLA: I'm awake now. You're free to call?

After I hit the send button, I wait for his response. Seconds become minutes, and I find myself getting impatient. I let out a huff before proceeding to call him and hitting speaker mode. As I await his response, my heart seems to be racing at an odd pace.

"Heeseung, hey." I greet him with a subtle sense of nervousness as soon as he's on the line.

"Stella?" His morning husky voice erupts the butterflies in my tummy. "I thought you wouldn't call."

I guess he must've been sleeping, given how evident he sounds on the speaker. "Of course I would. You're my friend."

There is a brief silence before he speaks up again in that attractive morning voice. "I'm sorry, Stella. I didn't know you couldn't swim. If I had known, then I would've saved you."

"It's okay, Hee. Knowing that you're worried, I'm already grateful."

"I was more than worried, sweetheart." I hear shuffling on the other line. "I thought we had lost you. You looked so lifeless, and I don't know what I would do if you hadn't woke up."

I feel a pinch in my heart. Amidst the relief, he sounds devastated. I press my lips thinly before I make a firm decision. "Heeseung, are you free right now?"

"For you, yeah, I am."

"Can I head over to your place?"

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

It turns out that Heeseung lives alone in a two-bedroom apartment, which is more spacious than I expected. Instead of driving on my own here, I took an Uber, as I still feel debilitated from last night. Thankfully, when I left the mansion earlier, I didn't see any sightings of Rena. I don't know what I would do if she had shown her face to me.

"Here." Heeseung places a mug of hot chocolate on the table as I lean back against the kitchen island.

Feeling cold, I reach for the hot chocolate and place both palms on the sides of the mug, getting the warmth I need. I flutter my eyes up to take a glance at Heeseung, who is standing in my view as he is busily texting on his phone.

He is merely dressed in a white graphic tee with a pair of grey sweatpants, and yet he manages to look good. His jet-black hair is slightly damp as it falls over his forehead, and there is a discernible softness in his eyes. He doesn't appear as intimidating as he usually is on campus or the last time I saw him. Then, my gaze falls to his pouty pink lips.

I feel my cheeks heating up the longer my gaze stays on his face, especially his lips. Before he can catch me staring, I look down at my mug and proceed to drink it. The thought of what it's like to kiss him mortifies me, because why the hell would I think of kissing him?

"You're quiet." Heeseung points out as I feel his gaze on my face.

"I was just thinking." I place my half-empty mug on the table. "About last night."

It isn't exactly a lie. Whatever Rena said before she pushed me into the pool got me thinking deeply. Why would I be the reason behind their failing relationship when Jaeyun clearly doesn't love me anymore? And Rena, I didn't expect her to be capable of pulling a stunt like that.

"Right. I don't know what that sister of yours was thinking, but now I'm more worried that you live in the same house as her." Heeseung sighs. "Who knows what stunt she will pull next?"

"She wouldn't dare kill me in our house. Plus, I'm the official heir. My parents could never replace me with Rena as the heir." I smile faintly. "Despite their blatant favouritism towards Rena, they can never deny that I'm worthy of the position instead of her due to how incompetent she is."

Heeseung's gaze never strays from my face, as he appears to be thinking deeply. "You know, if you ever need a place to crash, you're always welcome here." He rubs his nape sheepishly. "Besides, I have an extra room that hasn't been used."

My heart races again, but I remain composed. "That's so thoughtful of you, but I don't want to be a burden."

"You're not a burden." Heeseung counters sternly, but the softness in his gaze remains. "I meant what I said before about whatever you need or want, I'll always be at your service."

The atmosphere in the kitchen seems to shift while there is an unspoken tension between us. I keep my eyes trained on his while noticing how he seems to be stepping closer. My heart begins to pound harder against my chest as the distance between us decreases.

I gulp. "Heeseung─"

"You have no idea how close I was to going fucking insane when you weren't waking up." His voice sounds deeper while his gaze darkens. "It doesn't matter that she's your sister. I would hurt anyone who hurts you."

I accidentally flicker my gaze at his pink lips. "Do you get protective of your friends like you do of me?" I ask, feeling oddly breathless.

"What if I say no?" He leans his face closer until the tips of our noses graze against each other's. "What if I told you that I hated whenever you brought up the fact that we're friends?"

"We are friends, Hee." I feel myself getting weaker, failing to resist the temptation to close the gap between our lips.

"Fuck," He cusses lowly, his hot breath fanning above my lips. "Say my name again."

I am utterly hypnotised by whatever spell he has cast on me. "Heeseung."

"No." I feel his hand latch on the side of my waist, igniting the spark I feel on my skin. "The other one."

"Hee." I utter his name softly, and my eyes flutter close before our lips finally meet. In an instant, I melt into the kiss like butter, my arms finding their way to drape around his neck. He kisses me as though he needs air.

I'm not stupid to know that he has quite a reputation amongst the females in our university, but I don't give a fuck about whether he's a playboy or not. I just need to be one of his girls for now.

As if he knows that my knees are about to give up on me, he swiftly lifts me up and places me on top of the kitchen island without breaking the lip lock.

"You have no idea how much you drive me fucking insane, sweetheart." He rasps against my lips, pulling away from the kiss, while I am panting heavily with desire. His hand gently brushes my hair behind my ear before his finger trails down the side of my neck. "I've been wanting to do that."

I don't know if I am driven by the desire or if I'm being desperate, but I need his lips on mine again.

Before I can make a request, he presses his lips on mine, this time kissing me twice as hard, leaving me completely breathless. His body is pressed against mine, and I feel a familiar heat between my legs. Slowly, I wrap my legs around his waist.

"Hee," I gasp as soon as he pulls away to leave trails of kisses down my neck. I close my eyes in pleasure while my hands tug gently at his hair. "We shouldn't be doing this. We're friends." I protest weakly.

Heeseung nips at my skin, enough to bring out another gasp from me. "You're right, but just for today, let me have you."

I understand the hidden message behind his words. So the moment our eyes meet, which reflect the same thirst, I nod my head in agreement. He leans in to kiss me again but stops when the doorbell chimes throughout the apartment.

"Shit." Heeseung runs his fingers through his hair, and I feel disappointment when he steps away from me.

I give him a tight smile. "Were you expecting guests?"

"No." A muscle ticks in his jaw, and there is pure annoyance in his eyes. "Be right back."

I manage to even out my breathing pace while my heart returns to its original rate. I clench my thighs together, feeling the heat that hasn't dissipated. I am annoyed as well. I guess I'll just have to relieve myself later.

As I get off the kitchen island, my ears perk up at the sound of familiar voices. I don't even have the time to hide myself from them, because the moment I turn around, my eyes lock with Jungwon's. His eyes go wide, obviously surprised to see me here.

"Stella, darling!" Sunoo's cheery voice prompts me to break eye contact with Jungwon, and before I know it, I am immediately engulfed in a hug by Sunoo.

"Sunoo." I deadpan, but the guy continues to squeeze me into his strong arms.

"I was worried that my only servant wouldn't be able to serve me anymore." Sunoo speaks with a pout while I scoff in disbelief.

"She's not your servant, dumbass." Riki's deep voice causes me to look up, and I chuckle when Riki smacks Sunoo at the back of his head, prompting the latter to release me.

"Thanks." I chuckle, smiling at Riki.

Riki's eyes soften as he looks at me before he cups my cheeks with his warm palms. "I'm glad to see you vertical, but what are you doing here?"

"Yeah, and you didn't reply to my text." Jungwon adds in, and the bitterness in his tone is evident.

I don't know what to say because I am feeling a little overwhelmed by them. Thankfully, Heeseung comes to the rescue as he comes in view. "We were just chatting."

"Hwang?" Sunghoon appears out of nowhere, shocking me. I look at him with mixed emotions, but soon, my eyes narrow at his smirk. "You came to Heeseung instead of me? The guy who saved your life last night?"

I roll my eyes. "I was feeling grateful to you, but now you're just overdoing it."

Heeseung's loud sigh garners our attention. "What are you all doing here? At least give me some heads up before coming here."

"Why? So you could have Hwang all to yourself?" Sunghoon's smirk widens, and his eyes seem to be scanning the other guys' faces, but I'm uncertain why.

"Anyway, we're here because of Sunghoon." Riki says, diminishing the awkwardness that surrounds us. "He said it's important."

"But we have an unwanted guest." Sunghoon fakes a cough, but his gaze remains on mine.

I clench my hand into a fist. "Says the guy who came here uninvited."

Sunghoon raises an eyebrow at me. "I'm always welcomed here, whereas you, on the other hand─"

"Enough." Jungwon cuts us off, sighing deeply. "Hoon, it's fine. Besides, isn't it related to Stella as well?"

"What do you mean?" I ask sternly with no intention to back down. "If it's related to me, then I should stay."

"Fuck, no─"

"Sunghoon." Heeseung glowers at him, resulting in the latter cussing at me once more with his piercing eyes.

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn ya." Sunghoon invites himself to sit on the island's stool. "It's about Jake."

I manage to catch the way their eyes divert to me briefly, but I ignore them as I keep my eyes trained on Sunghoon's face.

"Jake doesn't know about this, so you guys better keep this info to yourselves and don't even think about pulling some stunts involving him." Sunghoon warns the guys while it is evident that he isn't including me in the conversation.

Heeseung sighs annoyedly as he leans his back against the wall with his arms crossed. "What is so important about this matter?"

"It's important because I think Jake is being controlled by his mother." Sunghoon pauses. "Actually, fuck that. He is being controlled, and the reason behind his abrupt behaviour was related to the fact that he had tied himself to Hwang Rena."

The more I listen, the harder my heart seems to pound against my chest.

"We kind of got that the moment he started dating Rena." Sunoo says.

"No, you don't get it. He's being forced to date Rena." Sunghoon grits his teeth, and the revelation hits me like a whiplash. "On one of the nights, I met him at the arena, and we talked, which led to his accidentally revealing the truth."

I want to listen more, but I can't. Everything feels overwhelming.

"I gotta go." I tell them briskly before quickly making my way out of Heeseung's apartment. I hear some of them calling out for me, but I'm too busy reeling in all of these emotions.

It isn't long before I begin to head towards the elevator before I feel a hand firmly latches itself around my wrist, prompting me to look at him.

"I'm here. Let's go." He tells him firmly before pulling me along with him.

I don't bother to protest against Jungwon as I succumb to the numbness.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

"Here." My vacant eyes look down to see the bottle of water in his grasp, to which I shake my head before returning my gaze to the scenery in my view.

Jungwon has brought me to an unfamiliar park with a riverside. Even though I should be mad at him for taking me away without consent, I am actually appreciative, especially when he didn't ask me anything while we were on our way here in his car.

Jungwon mirrors my action, settling himself next to me as we lean our backs against his car. The wind gently breezes past us while the sound of laughter and squeals from kids can be heard in the background. Bit by bit, my mind is at ease.

"Are you fine now?" Jungwon asks, breaking the protracted silence between us.

"I don't know what I'm feeling right now, Jungwon." I reply calmly.

"I'm sorry, Stella."

A sad chuckle leaves my lips before I take a glance at him. "Don't you think that you're too late to be apologising?"

"Stella, please─"

"Don't, Jungwon."

I look down, refusing to look at Jungwon as he positions himself in front of me. But he tilts my chin up, forcing me to look into his eyes, which I used to love.

"I need you to know this. Please." He pleads, the desperation and regret glimmering in his glistening eyes. "I'm truly sorry. I shouldn't have abandoned you and broken our friendship."

I don't want to cry and never planned to, but the back of my eyes starts to burn with the incoming tears. "I hate you for leaving me. I thought our friendship meant something to you."

"It did, it always did." Jungwon says softly before his eyes harden. "It was all on me. I was a fool for believing in that note."

My face contorts into confusion as the tears that are threatening to spill cease. "What do you mean? What note?"

Jungwon hangs his head low. "The note that I thought you had it slide into my locker."

What the hell? "Tell me." I say sternly, but he refuses to look at me. I sigh and grab both of his hands, prompting him to meet my desperate gaze. "Tell me everything, please. Help me understand why you did what you did."

As I hold his hands, I feel his thumb caressing the back of my hand. "Seven years ago, you had written a note, telling me that you didn't need someone pathetic like me anymore."

It feels as though my heart has dropped to the pits of my stomach. "What? But I didn't and would never─"

"I know, Bubs, I know." He interjects me softly, cradling my face. My cold heart melts at the familiar nickname he used to call me. "It took me some time to realise that you would never do any of that."

I hold his wrist, squeezing it as our eye contact remains unwavering. "Tell me more about what else was on the note."

Jungwon visibly gulps. "You just befriended me because you pitied me, and you found me disgusting, and that you hated me. Stella, the note was written in your exact handwriting."

"Oh my god." I feel like puking. My eyes begin to blur with each blink, while my lips quiver. "Jungwon, I never did that─ oh my god."

Alas, the waterworks erupt, with sobs leaving my lips. Instantly, I am engulfed in his warm embrace. His arms feel like a safety blanket. His arms, which are now big enough to make me feel protected.

I can feel his hand holding the back of my head. "Naturally, I was extremely hurt, so that's why I did what I did."

"Who could've done that?" I continue to weep into his shoulder. Seven years of loathing Jungwon, all because of a fucked-up misunderstanding.

"I don't know, but I have a hunch who." Jungwon's arms tighten around me. "Though, I can't be too sure and blatantly start accusing."

"I'm sorry, Jungwon." I cried out, my hands fisting the hems of his shirt. "I've spent seven years loathing you and trying to erase our memories."

"Not as sorry as I am, Stella." Jungwon murmurs sadly as he presses his cheek against the side of my head. "I should've confronted you. I shouldn't have abandoned you."

I pull away while I am still in his embrace, tilting my head to look at him in the eyes. I catch a single tear rolling down his cheek, prompting me to raise my hand and gently brush it away from his cheek.

"You were hurt, Jungwon. You were rightfully hurt and angry because you thought I meant those things when I wasn't the one who had written the note." I smile sadly, allowing my tears to continue running freely.

"Stella?" Jungwon grabs my hand and places it on his cheek before he positions his hand on top of mine.

"Yes, Jungwon?" My heart flutters unknowingly with the way he gazes at me with such tenderness.

Another tear falls from his eye. "I've missed you."

A chuckle leaves my lips, followed by broken sobs. "I've missed you too, Wonnie."

We bask in each other's embrace, holding each other and, with me, listening to his heart, which seems to be beating fast. I feel a mix of emotions within me. Relief, regret, and fury. Without solid evidence, I can't make baseless accusations, but there is only one person I know who can copy my handwriting exactly the way it is.

PREV CHAP | NEXT CHAP

#enhypen #enhypen poly #enhypen reverse harem #enhypen fanfic #heeseung #jay #jake #sunghoon #sunoo #jungwon #ni-ki

[moodymisty]

Hi! I really love you work! I just finished Tree in Bloom on AO3, it’s so cute, I can’t wait to see where the relationship between strife and the human takes them! I was reading though your fics about taking the horsemen’s horses for a joy ride and was wondering if you could do something similar for Strife and Mayhem where we/the human takes mayhem on a little joy ride? Thank you!! 💖

Author’s note: Are we connected? lol but no joke, I’ve had this idea for a bit since someone on Ao3 was also interested in this idea, but I never went full ham on it since I had some other projects take precedence. But hey, here it is! Time to steal Strife’s ride too.

Also I'm glad you like tree in bloom so far! Your comment will fuel me for the next week while i finish blocking out the next chapter. I have a pretty decent idea on where to take it, but I won't say I'm not flying by the seat of my pants lol

Relationships: Strife/Fem!Reader

Warnings: None, unless you consider horseback riding and brief mentions of weaponry worth warning about

“Don’t wander off too far~”

You can’t help but sarcastically mimic the Horsemen, as you kick around small rocks and pebbles that are unfortunate enough to come into the path of your worn old boots.

You wouldn't have had to wander off, if this whole day hadn't been so tediously fucking boring.

The Makers are some of the only beings alive who can even attempt to fiddle with Nephilim weaponry, and even then, they still have trouble. Lots of it, apparently; As what sounds on paper like a quick fix, had turned into an all day affair.

It’s a lost art, sadly. But Alya and Valus are willing to try, which is more than enough considering the circumstances. Even if Strife tries to maintain an attitude of eternal nonchalance about Nephilim relics, even he can't deny the importance of safe guarding them from being used; At minimum, if his sentiment on the matter is long gone.

Not for their lack of trying, fixing the weapon seems to be taking quite along while however, as you’ve long since wandered out of the Tri-Forge. You've since taken to wandering the wooded paths surrounding, while you wait for Strife to have the knife finally returned to him. He refuses to let it out of his sight, so he stays. He says Death would throttle him all the way to Hell if he lost it.

At least the Maker’s realm is so pretty.

If you look high and far off in the distance, you think you can see the Tri-Forge, but it’s hard to tell. Maybe if you started walking, you could make it there before it got too dark. Probably what you should do in all honesty, but the temptation of spending some more quiet time out here is to strong for you to actually make any effort to move.

This patch of soft grass has become your pleasant little spot, brushing it with your palms as you breath in the woodsy scents of the forest.

Suddenly, a rustle in the woods makes you perk up from where you’re sitting on the ground. You're hand instantly reaches for your hip, while your eyes scan the surrounding area for the source of the movement. It couldn't have been too far away.

You have your knife, but not much else. Most of the aggressive wildlife in the forests around the Tri-Forge only come out at night, or they’ve been pushed far back now that the Makers have a better hold on the realm. Either way, you aren't exactly interesting in having a tussle with anything that might try to start one with you.

Thankfully however, it isn’t an angry creature looking for a meal.

“Mayhem?”

The ghostly looking horse is standing about two meters away as he breaches a set of closely knit together trees, curiously looking at you. His hooves are muffled by the dirt as he walks closer, staring dead at you during the entire approach.

“Something didn’t happen, did it?” The horse looks at you, black eyes staring; Before then giving one indignant snort that is powerful enough to shake his head.

“Guess not.”

Looking away from the horse your watch your feet, tapping the ground with a toe as the grass bends beneath it. As you do you suddenly see a front hoof enter your vision, having to move said foot to avoid it being accidentally stepped on. Shortly there after you can feel the harsh snort of hair blow your hair around, as his head comes even closer to you.

He’s curious, looking around and watching the way you seem bored. For a moment his upper lip just barely brushes the top of your head, before he moves his head lower to your front.

“Hey, gentle.”

His snout presses into your stomach, making it easy for your arms to wrap around his large head. You do so loosely, before putting your cheek to the top of his head in a gentle hug. You're surprised he let you, honestly. His fur is warm in the few areas where you can feel it, while the rest is covered by armor. When he pulls back, you shake your head of at him.

“You are a strange horse.”

Strange but, nice. Over time you’ve found yourself becoming less scared of him like you had been on first sight. Mayhem is intimidating on first glance, but soft on the inside. Much like his rider.

After giving you a curious sniff Mayhem takes a few steps sideways, getting enough space between the two of you that he can safely pivot, pawing at the ground a few times while you watch.

Gently he gets down on one front hock, and then the other, before he then flops onto his side with an ungraceful ‘thud’. He’s now laying down and looking right at you, nostrils flaring as he lets out a harsh breath while his legs are curled inward. He looks remarkably comfortable like that, laying in the grass and crushing a few flowers underneath his weight. A few manage to avoid that unfortunate fate, and stay upwards brushing against his legs or belly.

Mayhem at first was incredibly finicky and distrusting of you- much like his rider in some ways, but it seems over time he’s gradually opened up. As such he doesn’t much mind when you get up to move and sit down beside him, right in front of his chest, putting your back against it. His neck brushes against your right arm while looking at you.

“He’ll be done eventually, I hope. I can feel myself aging.”

Mayhem gives an uncaring blow of his lips, much like a raspberry, in response. Your fingers absentmindedly play with the fabric of your pants, trying to find something to occupy your mind as you relax. The ghostly horse meanwhile just watches, his armor pieces clinking against each other whenever he does any significant adjustment of his body.

You reach up and feel at the soft fur behind his ear, eyes hooded, feeling it flick in your hand. He doesn't move away from it, and if anything, drops his head a bit lower so you can get a better reach until the hand pull away. You scoot your body downward ever so slightly, now leaning onto the horse a little bit more than before.

“Shouldn’t be much longer,” You hope.

Suddenly jerking upright, your muscles are tight at being moved so quick, eyes still blurry as you yawn and look around.

Shit, you’d fallen asleep.

The sky is now turning a pretty orange, but it still isn’t quite dark yet.

Meanwhile Mayhem whinnies at your sudden movement, having been startled but not enough so to move. Guess he didn’t mind being a pillow for awhile, if at no point did he decide to get up. If anything, he seemed to have gotten a bit of a nap in himself. Or whatever the ghostly, distinctly un-horse-like creature equivalent is.

That also meant at no point had Strife called for his steed, which does manage to worry you slightly. Then again, it probably just means that damn weapon is taking even more time that had been originally thought.

Maybe you should head back to the Tri-Forge, especially now that it’s getting dark. Even if the woods are wonderful, it still might not be the brightest idea to stick around them when you have no source of light.

Still a little stiff from sleep you groan as you pull away from Mayhem, slowly getting to your feet. Given his stature it takes Mayhem a moment longer to do the same, but it’s not long after you that he’s all the way upright. He gives himself one good shake, rattling all his armor and letting out a loud snort.

Mayhem is perhaps the most lithe of the Horsemen’s steeds, though it’s not to say the horse is of smaller size by any means. He still towers over you more than almost any normal horse could dream of.

He's also your best chance at getting back to Strife before it's pitch dark, and you'll only have the moon to light your way. Not nearly enough light, by your human standards.

“The forge is a decent walk away,” You’ve ridden Mayhem before, but never without Strife, so you know this might be a bit of a tough sell.

“Mind giving me a ride?”

Cold eyes stare you down- but he didn’t recoil in disgust, or anything similar. Then again, can he even really understand what you're asking of him?

Stepping closer you grab the side of the saddle and attempt to hop on, but end up coming quite a bit short. Getting quite quickly keen on what you’re trying to do Mayhem bends his front legs before laying back down, putting his back low enough for you to throw a leg over and hop on.

Good to know you don't need Strife for a boost, if he insists on being an ass about it again.

“Thanks for the assist.” The horse whinnies.

He also begins moving much to your surprise, though he already has the right direction in mind.

Your feet sort of dangle uselessly close to the stirrups, unable to actually put any weight on them. They were adjusted for someone with quite a bit of height on you, after all. Though at least the saddle itself is comfortable, with a comfortable curve meant for long hours of sitting and stability. The reins in your hand stay loose and floppy, unused, as Mayhem just seems to be going where ever you’re looking anyways.

It’s getting pretty dark now; The sky is now a deep orange fading into purple, with rays of light drastically retracting themselves from the scenery. With it getting so dim you decide to pick up the pace a little bit, sending Mayhem into a light run.

It’s wild; Having to hold on so tight without Strife here to be a brace against your back, but it’s invigorating, for sure. And Mayhem is being quite the good soul, not throwing you off to leave you in the dust. He could've quite easily done so at any point, especially since when you two first met, the horse was distinctly not fond of you.

“We’re here!”

Slowing back down to a walk you reach the front of the Tri-Forge in nowhere near record time, but you at least beat the sunset; Which was the main goal. Doing it fast was just a bonus.

As cobblestones slowly peek up more and more frequently between tufts of grass you move closer, listening out for anything familiar. The sound of hooves on the paving stones is such a nice sound, gentle and even paced as you enter. You could maybe get used to riding a horse everywhere, if it was always this peaceful.

Knocking you out of your thoughts however Valus suddenly stops you, and with quite the look, too. Not that you can blame exactly blame him. He's always been the Maker that seems to have it out for you- but in a overprotectively caring sort of way.

“And uh, what are you doin’ there lass?”

You glance from side to side for a moment before responding.

“Looking for Strife? He’s been gone awhile and it was getting dark, so I decided to head back.”

You speak about the Horseman with such familiarity, more so than any of the other three. He sighs, watching you intently.

“He's by the inner forge with Alya. Givin' her quite the stare down as she fixes that nasty ol' dagger for him.”

Nasty more so in the sense that it's apparently an old weapon of mass destruction, than dirty.

At least you assume mass; You don't know any of the details, as Strife unsurprisingly beat around them when you inquired. He still has some problems telling you about the Nephilim.

You smile at Valus, wide enough to nearly show teeth. Feeling Mayhem shift underneath you, you decide to sit up straight and keep moving.

He says one more thing, however.

“Be careful, lass.”

You don’t know what Valus sees in Strife that you don’t; But then again, he could say the same sort of thing right back at you. You know that the Makers don’t have a fond view of the remaining Nephilim, and while you might be understanding, you’ve been too close to Strife to even think ill of him. Or any of his siblings, for that matter.

Riding forwards you pass Valus and don’t look back out of just a little bit of nervousness, and seeing Alya indeed working at the forge. You see Strife once you get close enough that one of the pillars no longer obscures him, and you call out his name and hope to catch his attention.

“Strife?”

You can see his back is turned, but he noticeably perks up the moment he hears his name. Quickly taking the knife from the Maker he moves away, down the half flight of steps right towards you and his horse.

He tries to hold back the look of surprise when he sees you sitting astride Mayhem, but you still manage to notice the way his eyes widen behind his mask.

“Hey gorgeous,”

He comes closer, slotting the dagger safely back into the the sheathe he has on his hip for it. Heavy boots hit on the cobblestone paths as he crosses his arms, hip cocked slightly out to one side.

“So uh,” Strife takes a look at Mayhem, who has his head held low and relaxed. His ear twitches as he hears his rider speak, eyes moving to look towards the Horsemen. “He just let you get on, huh?”

You nod. “Yeah." Your face suddenly becomes a bit more unsure. "Why, was he not supposed to let me?”

Strife shakes his head and laughs you off.

“Nah, you’re fine. I was just surprised you managed to even get in the saddle, that’s all.”

Insulting your shorter stature than his own manages to sway your attention for just a moment, and he can look over the scene.

The amount of times you've ridden on Mayhem with him has made you significantly more comfortable around him that you had when you'd first met, as your legs dangle comfortably, arms at your sides. Mayhem rests as well, body loose as he waits for something interesting to happen.

Creators, she’s even got my horse wrapped around her finger. I’m fucked.

Stepping closer he grabs along the front of the saddle, before using his other hand to hit your hip softly.

“Let me on, will ya?”

It’s not like you have any issue with him taking his horse back, grasping the saddlehorn and sticking boot in the stirrup, the weight of him putting pressure on it leaning the saddle towards him. Once he finally seats himself behind you however he puts his hands on your legs, rather than taking the reins from you.

“Well now that you got here, how about you let me have a break for a second? Not like Death'll notice me being a few minutes late.”

Of course he’ll take the opportunity to be lazy; Not that you blame him, his lot in life doesn’t exactly leave many opportunities.

You gently move Mayhem forward, walking out the same way you entered as Strife lazily lays against you. He’s massively overdoing it and with how ungodly heavy he is, especially in his full armor, and it’s hard to not just crumble forward. The chin of his armor rests on the top of your head, and he feels content as can be.

Once you’re out of the Tri-Forge and back out into open land you still keep moving with no clear destination in mind; Strife hasn’t given you one, so you largely just steer towards whatever catches your interest.

Before you have a chance to reach any of those interesting points however, Strife gently grasps the reins with one hand for caution, while then talking close to your ear.

“Now, wanna try going for a real ride?”

You barely have a chance to answer Strife gives Mayhem a good kick to send him barreling forward, forcing you to hold onto the reins for dear life. Strife's right here however, and even going so fast nothing would even happen with him and Mayhem both looking out for you.

So he watches you in front of him as you learn on the fly, even if he’s helping to tell Mayhem when to turn with pressure from his legs.

You’re laughing like mad and the wind’s blowing in your hair, even on a horse meant to bring suffering and unrest to anyone who catches even a glimpse.

Strife had thought he was fucked before, but now he realizes he really is; Holding onto you tight so you’ll never leave his vision.

#strife x reader #darksiders x reader #Strife/Reader #strife x you #darksiders x you #mywriting

[kingkatsuki]

Bakugou Katsuki & @theloveinc

How you meet.

You’d tried to make it to the show early so you could line up and grab a good spot inside. But you hadn’t expected the line to be quite so long, curling around the block as you groaned internally. It still wouldn’t be so bad, because most people would probably grab a drink at the bar first, grab some merch or hang out during the supports.

It was easy enough weaving through the crowds, coming around the left side to avoid the busiest areas as you managed to get about five rows back. Avoiding the pits perfectly, and having a practically perfect view in between two large guys. But you would’ve preferred to be in front of them, especially when you could see the perfect spot to stand right there—

“Oh, can you see, sweetheart?” One of the guys noticed you standing behind them, looking down at you with a smile.

“Yeah, but do you think I could maybe stand there?” You pointed to the space in front of them as the redhead grinned at you.

“Yeah, sure.” He moved back so you could squeeze past them, the blond beside him making no attempt to move.

You felt like you’d finally found the perfect spot as the bands started up, and you were grateful for the guys behind you. Who managed to stop any crowdsufers from falling on top of you, watching as they went directly over your head. And any time the crowd pushed, you fell back into pure walls of muscle.

The support band finished and you hated that you needed the bathroom, wondering if you’d be able to make it back to your perfect spot. But the blond guy behind you had left to go to the bar and made it back, so surely you’d be okay too.

“Where you going, cutie?” Kirishima looked worried as you began to make your way out of the crowd.

“Oh, just to the restroom! I’ll be back!”

“Why’d you dare so much?” Bakugou grumbled as you left the crowd.

“She’s on her own, man. Just making sure she’s okay.”

You were grateful the guys you’d been standing with were so tall, it made it easier to find them in the crowd as you tried to get back to your spot— but of course you managed to get stuck behind rude assholes that refused to let you past. Not even moving to the side so you could squeeze by and slip through somewhere else. You’d already spent too long making your way back to this spot that you didn’t want to go backwards.

Sighing as you decided that you’d probably just be stuck here, the spot wasn’t awful at least. But it definitely wasn’t as good as the spot you had before.

But what you didn’t expect was Bakugou to turn in the crowd, crimson eyes combing over the sea of people as though he was looking for something. And he stopped when his gaze met yours, even surrounded by so many people he’d still picked you out.

Handing his beer to Kirishima as he made his way towards you, the crowd parting with ease as he stepped through. A muscular arm reaching through three separate rows of people to grab your hand as he pulled you through. His fingers lacing with yours to bring you back towards your perfect spot.

“Fuckin’ pricks.”

It’s funny how they didn’t move for your polite excuse me, but they moved when a hulking wall of muscle pulled you through.

“Thank you,” You breathed softly, secretly grateful to be back in the same spot.

“You get lost or somethin’?” He scoffed as he took his beer back from Kirishima.

“No,” You shook your head, “They just wouldn’t let me back through.”

“Assholes,” Bakugou muttered beneath his breath.

“Kats was getting worried about you, thought you might miss Gorillaz.”

“Fuck off, no I wasn’t.” He growled, but his cheeks betrayed his words as they tinged a dark pink.

“I appreciate it the same,” You smiled softly as the band began to take the stage.

The crowd was tighter now as you felt yourself pressed against Bakugou’s chest, apologising profusely whenever someone would push you into him.

“Stop apologisin’, you’re fine.”

The arm he weaved around you to protect you from the crowd didn’t go unnoticed by Kirishima who raised his brows at his best friend, taking a sip of his beer as he gave him a wink.

You ended up singing along with Bakugou and Kirishima during the show, Kiri drunkenly slinging an arm over your shoulder to sway to one of the songs as he encouraged Bakugou to do the same.

They both waited for you after the show to make sure you got out safe, and waited for your Uber to come. Grabbing your phone number just to make sure you got home safe. They both gave you hugs goodbye, and Bakugou lingered a little longer, his eyes drifting down to your lips and then back to your eyes and for a second you thought he might kiss you.

You got a text a little while later from Bakugou.

Bakugou[12.02AM]: I shoulda fucking kissed her.

And it was definitely meant for Kirishima, not for you. But it made your heart race all the same— you’d been thinking about kissing him practically the entire night, but you didn’t have the confidence to do it. So instead you text him back.

You[12.03AM]: Yeah, you should’ve :)

#you know he’d be kicking himself!!! #not only because he text you instead of Kiri #but that you would’ve let him kiss you!!! #jos festival matchups #ask games #ask game