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borathae · 3 months

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"You run in on Yoongi touching himself in the shower and he begs you to punish him because of it. Hard."

Pairing: Yoongi x n.Reader

Genre: established relationship!AU, Smut

Warnings: sub!Yoongi, masochist!Yoongi, rough Dom!Reader, he is naked and wet, CBT, cock slapping, safe ball busting with a knee, leaky cocks, dirty talk, degradation, he wants to be called dirty/bad slut, hair pulling, subby boy tears, drool, praise, handjob, overstimulation, multiple orgasms (m.receiving), Yoongi has a kink for being manhandled, male masturbation in shower, nipple sucking, cuddly aftercare, he's just a cute lil masochist who wants his balls busted and get hugs after <3

Wordcount: 2.5k

a/n: okay so, I'm trying trying the new format. istfg besties, Patreon is so stressful I might actually cry. idk how to do it so I'll like it 😭 okay so, my idea is that i'll post the story and a very cropped art preview (as seen on the header) here on Tumblr and if anyone wants to check out the full art to the story, they have to go to my Patreon. Engagement as far as stories is concerened is very bad on Patreon *glares* and I really miss yelling about the stories with you guys. So for my own peace of mind, i'll keep the stories on Tumblr and give all my true connoisseurs something extra spicy to thirst over on Patreon hehe <3 thank you for being patient with me. I promise to keep drawing and improving and to feed y'all thirsty hoes (affectionately) as much as I can 💜 also lmao those are long a/n fjajsdf have fun besties sorry it took a lil longer today, i tried to figure out how i wanna do sexy art of the month from now on fajdjfs

The bathroom is fogged up and smells heavily like Yoongi’s soap. Masculine, clean and expensive. You find yourself hazy because of it. What truly seals the state of you, however, is the view. Mirrors misted up, air milky from steam and right there in his expensive walk-in shower, Yoongi is having his throbbing cock in his tight fist. The water is turned off right now, but his body is still wet. His dark hair is slicked back, his silky skin is glistening and his head is tilted back in bliss as soft sighs slip past his pouty lips.

You walked in on him touching himself. You really didn’t plan on doing so, but can’t seem to get yourself to leave. Or to stop staring for that matter.

He has a languid rhythm going. Slow, but clearly skilled. His long fingers are wrapped tightly around his veiny cock. His thumb is drawing circles on his flushed tip and pretty frenulum. He is sensitive there, likes it especially when someone is being gentle with it. His dark nipples are hard and the pale skin around them is flushed as if he had played with them moments before. Knowing Yoongi, he did. He is such a slut for nipple play. He is so fucking tender there.

“Fuck”, Yoongi presses out breathily, gliding his left hand up his own torso as he fucks his cock slowly.

He is tensing and relaxing his stomach, broadening his stance as his knees wobble. He furrows his brows, biting down on his lower lip as small mewls leave him repeatedly. His long fingers close around his own biceps, giving it a needy squeeze. Look at the marks he leaves, look at how he is tensing his muscles.

You find yourself gulping and taking heavy breaths at the view.

What made him so goddamn needy?

One thing Yoongi rarely does, is to jerk off. He sees it as something useless because if he gets horny, he has you to take the burden off his shoulders. He also rarely gets horny without you in the first place, so there is that. So to have him so incredibly lost in masturbation is rare and therefore insanely addicting.

What made him so needy? Was it a memory? A fantasy? A picture or video? Was it nothing of that sorts and he merely touched his cock wrong as he cleaned himself? Did the water hit the right spot and trap him in the delicious sensation of its wet massage?

What did it to him?

“___”, Yoongi moans loudly, leaking onto the floor.

Your stomach clenches. Holy fuck. You did it to him. You did. The thought of you, the memory of your touch and the image of you did it to him. You let out a small gasp at the realisation.

Yoongi startles at the sound and opens his eyes. He stops, tenses up. You freeze, holding your breath. The air between you and him is tense and electric. He blinks at you, mouthing your name quietly.

“I uhm”, you begin, clearing your throat loudly.

He drops his hand from his biceps, tightening his fingers around his cock. He can’t seem to leave his trance of shock. The only indicator that the view of you is turning him on, is his increasing breathing and how needily his long fingers still hold his cock.

“I uhm, sorry. I wasn’t staring, I mean, I was but I- sorry, I uhm, I’m gonna leave now”, you stutter and turn to leave.

“Help me.”

You halt, wobbling slightly because he is making your knees buckle. You turn around, dancing your eyes over his body.

“Sorry?”

“Help me. Please”, he begs and tugs at his cock weakly, biting down on his lower lip as he does. Look at the needy kitten eyes he is making at you.

“Really?” you get out, feeling dizzy at the view. You want to ruin this man. You really do.

He nods his head, lowering his eyes at you. He is taunting you as much as he is begging you.

You do not bother to take off your clothes, he only has to nod his head twice and then you are already in the shower, eating him up with just your eyes.

Yoongi cups your face and kisses you. He mewls needily as he does it, sucking on your lips and tongue more than he actually kisses you. It is so lazy, so slow and yet so intensely passionate. He is so lost in you, so entirely addicted to your taste that he is solely running on it. Whatever he fantasised about before really did it to him. You feel up his torso hungrily, moaning at the delicious taste of him.

He is shivering with each touch, chasing the feeling of you with wiggles of his hips which force his cock to grind against your clothed stomach. The fabric of your hoodie feels rough against his sensitive tip. He craves the silkiness of your skin like plants crave sunlight.

He breaks the kiss with a sigh of your name, resting his forehead against yours.

“I was bad”, he breathes.

“You were?” you are kneading his waist, staring at his flushed face with hazy eyes.

“Yeah. Thought of you ‘til I got needy”, he rasps and mewls quietly, mouthing at the tip of your nose, “touched myself to you.”

“Fuck, Yoongi.”

“Punish me.”

“Punish you?”

“Please.”

You step back and pick up his cock so you could slap his tip. Gently for now, to test the waters.

Yoongi moans loudly, squeezing your cheeks softly. His knees buckle slightly.

“Like this, mhm?” you ask, slapping him again. Soft. Careful. Get him used to it. Or needy for more. You are fine with both options as long as it ends in your boyfriend panting and needy.

He scrunches his face in pleasure, letting out a shaky “mh-hm” before he follows it up with a breathy, “don’t stop please.”

“Fuck Yoongi, you’re driving me insane. You’re so hot.”

“I’m a bad slut”, he croaks.

“Yeah, the fucking worst. Bad slut, such a bad slut”, you growl, giving him harsh spanks. Now that you know he wants it, you are so happy to give it to him.

He takes each of your spanks with a blissed moan and a twitch of his cock. His pink tip got so much pinker ever since you started playing with him. His chest is flushed as well, looking so untouched.

You take his heavy cock between your fingers and pick up his favourite rhythm. Then you step closer to litter his chest with kisses. Wet and sloppy. You need to mark his skin as yours and taste him in the process.

Yoongi arches his back, dropping his head against the glass behind him. Your name slips past his lips, his hands grab your waist and squeeze.

“You’re a bad slut, Yoongi love, but you’re such a pretty slut at that”, you rasp and take his left nipple between your teeth. You tug on it, making him moan. You suck on it, making him mewl. You lick it, making him sigh your name.

He is tender there. Just as you said.

And as you give him heaven with just your mouth, your hands are busy feeling him up. Your right hand fucks his cock like it deserves to be fucked, while your left hand feels up his waist and hips. He fits so perfectly between your fingers. It is like he is made to be touched by you and only you. His skin is so soft and warm, leaving behind wetness on your fingertips from the previous shower. His cock is twitching so cutely in your hold.

You lift your lips from his right nipple after worshiping it as well, tilting your head so you are looking at his pretty face. You cup his pink cheek.

“Look at me.”

Yoongi obeys, fluttering his lashes at you. He is breathing so heavily, gazing at you as if you were his fucking everything.

“You’re a pretty slut. You know that, don’t you?”

He nods his head, choking out a shy “yeah.”

“You do. Good. Don’t forget it, kitten”, you order and slow your hand around his tip. It sits between your fingers. You increase the pressure slightly and move your hand again. Just a little, just enough that he’s getting fucked so good.

Yoongi gasps, widening his eyes for just a second before rolling them back.

“No, no look at me.”

Yoongi obeys with a mewl of your name.

“That’s better. I wanna look at your pretty eyes.”

“I have to cum”, he moans.

“Cause you’re looking at me?”

He nods his head, leaking all over your palm, “can’t hold it…like…this.”

“God, you lovedrunk slut, you”, you tease, giving his favourite spot a good rub.

“Please”, he begs, “please, can I cum?”

“Mhhm, don’t know. Do you deserve it?”

“Please I, mghm, I’ll give you head later”, he bargains with the prettiest kitten eyes.

“Obviously, you’re gonna do that anyways. Do better, Yoongi slut”, you warn, slowing down dangerously.

“Please”, he begs louder and thrusts his hips into your fist.

It earns him a harsh spank, “behave.”

“Fuck please. I-I’ll cockwarm you, promise I, I won’t move. Please.”

“But Yoongi, where is the fun in that? I’ll do that anyways. You know that bad, dirty jerk off sluts get cockwarmed”, you coo as your skilled fingers torture his flushed tip. He is burning up, smearing his precum all over your digits.

“I have to cum so bad”, he croaks and spills tears, “please can I cum? I’ll be so good please.”

“Fine. You can cum”, you say calmly even if your hand is giving his cock such a good fuck. He didn’t convince you, you just simply have a better way to ruin him how he so clearly craves.

“___”, he moans and closes his eyes sensually. Moments later, his swollen cock releases all over your hand. His knees buckle, he finds support by grabbing your shoulders and arching his back. His moan is loud and drawn-out.

“Look at you”, you moan with him, speeding up your hand now that he is giving you such a good show, “good slut, cum for me. That’s my good slut.”

Yoongi is shaking and trembling in bliss, but soon begins shaking and trembling for other reasons. You aren’t slowing down. His balls are empty, his cock so overstimulated, but you aren’t slowing down. You jerk off his cock as if it has a debt to pay, giving him burning heaven in the process.

He finally realises what he signed up for and that your sweet words were nothing but deception. He didn’t convince you. You aren’t done with him. One wasn’t enough.

“Please, please, pl-please”, he begs, trying to flee you as much as chases you.

“One more, kitten. Give me one more.”

“I can’t. Oh god, I can’t”, he mewls and stumbles as he tries to flee.

You grab him and pin him against the glass harshly, knocking a weak gasp out of him. His knees buckle, his teary eyes gaze at you with all the devotion he can muster. He loves when you’re rough with him, when you show him that he is yours to manhandle.

“Give me more”, you growl, speeding up around his cock.

“No please”, Yoongi mewls and tries to wiggle away just so you can put him back in his place. He parts his legs, hoping that you take the silent hint.

You do. Of course you do. You lift your knee against his balls hard enough that it hurts. Yoongi folds into himself with a pained moan, grabbing your waist. He is already so fucking hard again, throbbing in your hand as if he never released before.

“Stop fleeing me”, you growl and knee him again, twisting your hand around his burning tip at the same time.

Yoongi sobs, burying his face in your shoulder. It hurts so much. He has never been so fucking high on pleasure before. It feels so good. Yoongi swears every second is the best second he ever experienced.

“Understood? You do not flee me”, you give his tender balls one last harsh nudge with your knee, then grab his hair to pull his head back.

He coughs out a sob, spilling tears and drool all down his pretty face. He can barely even keep his eyes open, let alone stop them from crossing.

He is so pretty.

“What’s with that pretty face?” you challenge, pumping his overstimulated cock quickly as you grind your knee against his balls at the same time.

“Yours”, he croaks.

“That’s right. Mine. My pretty slut.”

“You’re making me cum.”

“See? I knew you could give me more. Don’t hold back, slut.”

“Knee. Please.”

You knee him a fourth time. Yoongi wails up, folding into himself in both pain and pleasure before spilling all over your hoodie and his stomach. So his balls weren’t empty yet. Of course they weren’t. You are proving to him how much of a slut he actually is.

He melts into you, shaking on your knee as your name leaves him like his prayer of bliss.

“Good slut, give me everything. Such a good slut. That’s so much better, I knew one wasn’t enough. Your pretty balls are never empty after only one. That’s it. Good slut”, you talk him through it, holding him safely as your hand milks him dry.

Soon Yoongi slacks into you, grabbing your wrist to stop your movements.

“No more.”

You don’t listen just to tease him, giving his burning tip a tight massage. He trembles and writhes, squeezing your wrist.

“Stop.”

You are going to stop, but first you need to tease him just a little more. A few more squeezes and rubs, a little pump and tug.

“Please”, he begs breathily, wiggling his hips away from you.

“You’re so cute”, you coo and finally drop his ruined cock.

“Thank you”, he sighs and sinks into you, hugging you tightly as he recovers.

You hug him back, tracing his spine.

“How was that, mhm?” you ask him, speaking in a soft voice.

He nods his head slowly, humming.

“Yeah? Was it good for you?”

“Was perfect”, he lulls and purrs contently, “thank you. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Oh god, I need to lie down now”, he says and chuckles, “my balls are so fucking tender.”

“I can imagine. I kicked them really hard. Are you okay? Should I get something for the pain?”

He shakes his head, “you did it so right. Thank you so much.”

You smile, “that’s good to hear. You’re such a good boy.”

Yoongi nuzzles his nose against your neck and purrs softly, melting under your praise. You know exactly how to love him.

“I love you so much”, he mumbles.

“I love you too.”

“I actually wanna lie down though.”

You chuckle, “okay, okay let’s get you cleaned up and cozy. You’re gonna get back scratches in bed”, you say as you lead him to the shower head.

“And ear rubs.”

“And ear rubs. As my prince wishes”, you say and turn on the water to wash away the mess he left. Yes, you will change into different clothes, “how’s the temperature, love?”

“Good. Nice.”

“Yeah? Is it good how I’m touching you?” you ask as you clean his cock and balls with gentle fingers.

He nods his head, “hm.”

“Good. God, Yoongi love, you’re so handsome.”

Yoongi blushes, lowering his eyes shyly. Yeah, you definitely know how to love him.

451 notes · View notes

theitgirlnetwork · 17 days

Text

Earn It

Ch. 4: Perfect

Baby Pics:

Birthday Looks:

Note: Okay, the love this story is getting is insane! I appreciate it so much because I love these characters and hearing what you all think. Thank you for the reblogs, notes, likes, comments and messages, I love hearing your feedback and all of the interaction. Apparently this obsession isn't going away anytime soon so I should update frequently. Also, I feel like Long Way 2 Go by Cassie is the perfect song to describe where Art and Heaven are right now. And Boyfriend by Dove Cameron gives me Heaven and Tashi. Best Friend by Rex Orange County reminds me of Heaven and Patrick right now. Let me know if you guys want me to keep giving song recs. There is a trigger warning in this one, pretty mild mention of eating disorders. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading! MDNI! Love y'all <3

Warnings: Mild sexual content, mild eating disorder, strong language.

Taglist: @spookystitchery @anehkael @fkaams @butterflyybabe @sun2flower @holierthancunt @silkenthusiasts @wolflover384 @liziihorta @summerssover @jackierose902109

“It’s supposed to be right up here, on the left.” Art instructs, pointing to try and guide Patrick along the cobblestone road to the large black metal gates. “Are you…left not right.”

“Okay! Well, you said both so-”

“Yeah, right up here on the left.” Art laughs, shaking his head and resting his forearm on the hot leather under the window on the passenger side.

“Would you chill out? It’s…we’re not even that late. Plus, I’m not especially excited to be meeting two sets of parents today.” Patrick drums his fingers on the steering wheel, leisurely turning onto the road and pulling up to the gate.

Art scoffs, looking at his friend out of the side of his eye. “I guess I’m not under the same pressure as you.”

Silence falls over the car as they wait for the man at the gate to place a guest sticker on the windshield of Patrick’s car. The brown haired man sits with a wry smirk, staring forward while willing himself not to glance at his friend. He was happy that overall, things haven’t changed between him and Art despite the fact that they were no longer going to school together and his sweet, sweet best friend is clearly desperately into one if not both of his girlfriends.

To be honest, it was nice to see Art want something. He’s always been a, you get what you get and don’t have a fit type of kid. The kind of guy who agreed to race Patrick to the dorms when they were kids and slowed to a jog at the first sight of Patrick pulling forward slightly. But this time things were different. He wasn’t stupid. He could see the looks. He could hear the little snarky remarks Art hides behind his easy smiles and feel the pats on the back that are suddenly leaving behind a little sting.

But he was also still his best friend Art Donaldson. The guy he taught to jerk off. The friend he shares everything with. The best partner he’s ever had. Maybe that’s why he thinks he’s okay with how he looks at them. It’s interesting to watch these two women they met draw out a side of his friend that he could never. That doesn’t mean he’ll let him have them, though.

Which is why, he made sure to take the weekend off of his tour, to the coordinator’s outrage, to attend Tashi and Heaven’s joint birthday party back in their hometown.

People used to say that Patrick and Art were crazy close, but Tashi and Heaven were on another level. Apparently, the two were born a couple hours apart. Tashi on the night of September 15th and Heaven the morning September 16th. So here they were, driving to Heaven’s big ass house for their birthday party.

They pull up to the imposing home, and see various balloons and streamers. Next to the columns bracketing the stairs are two blown up pictures, the one on the right is clearly a baby picture of Tashi posing cutely with her hand out. The left is of a little Heaven, smiling hard with little pigtails on the side of her head.

Art hangs back a little as Patrick argues with the valet who is apparently parking the guests' cars, demanding he treat his truck with kindness. The blond man smiles softly at the picture of young Heaven and discreetly snaps a photo, sending her a text.

8:30 p.m.: Oh god, burn that shit. We’re out back. Tashi’s gonna come get you guys.

He laughs to himself and glances over to see Patrick reluctantly handing his keys over to the clearly annoyed valet.

He had been worried he and Heaven were gonna stop talking after he basically begged to finger fuck her and eat her out over the phone. There was an awkward lack of calls and messages for a few days and he grit his teeth and gave her space. But when he was sitting in the cafeteria with Tashi, she mentioned that Heaven’s first rehearsal was later in the afternoon and he couldn’t help himself. A quick message telling her he thinks she’ll do amazing revived the conversation between the two.

The large dark wooden door swings open and reveals Tashi in all her glory. She has her hair pinned up to look shorter and curled. She’s wearing a tight white shirt with light washed baggy jeans and golden hoop earrings. She looks great. A bright smile fills her face as she sees them, jogging halfway down the steps before tugging Art into a hug. “Hey, you guys made it.” she pulls away from him and Patrick steps forward giving her a kiss on the lips. Art doesn’t bother looking away and is surprised by how little the action bothers him. “You’re late. Heaven’s in the back with everyone else.”

Patrick rolls his eyes with a scoff to Art but otherwise lets the girl drag him along, Art following behind. The house looks even grander inside. Marble floors, long wooden tables with floral arrangements. A balloon arch leading into the backyard area.

Tashi moves about the place like she owns it, like she does with most rooms. But it was something about knowing she and Heaven had grown up spending time here together that made the men curious.

She steps out into the grass and smiles brightly at a group of girls that neither man recognizes, waving hi and accepting the ‘happy birthdays’ like a fucking celebrity. Music booms through several speakers and crowds of people stand in the grassy space. The gift table is filled with presents, split down the middle, one side labeled Tashi, the other Heaven.

“Tashi come dance with me.”

And there she was. Her silky dark hair is down and curled with a colorful scarf wrapped at the top. She was also wearing large gold hoops with a tight, white crop top and baggy jeans. So baggy that Patrick and Art got a clear shot of her underwear peeking through. She’s standing on the edge of the crowd with her hand outstretched for Tashi to take.

“Damn.”

“Fuck.”

Tashi smirks as the pair of men drool over Heaven, pushing from in between them and going to take her hand. “One second. You’ve got to say hi. The world’s worst boyfriend and friend are finally here.”

“Hmm,” Heaven hums, wrapping her arm around Tashi and resting their intertwined fingers on her hip. “Late, aren’t we?”

“Uh, there was traffic-”

“He said we didn’t need to leave so early-”

Patrick and Art look at each other briefly before back at the girls.

“Hm.”

Tashi shrugs, pulling Heaven along with her to the drinks table, ignoring the fact that Art and Patrick were tailing behind. “Did you invite my cousin Vivian? She's over there boring my hitting partner to death.”

“No,” Heaven snorts, grabs a solo cup, putting it between her teeth as she reads the different punch flavors they had in supply. “She’s a bitch, it was probably your mom, or mine-”

“Cousin Vivian, she’s the one who-” Art begins.

“Tried to drown me at Great Wolf Lodge? Yeah, fucking lunatic. I can believe you remember that story, I told you that while you were half asleep.”

“I told you I was listening, it’s fucking wild.” Art laughs.

“I don’t know it.” Patrick cuts in, eyeing the exchange with a smile.

Heaven shrugs, passing the first cup of punch she poured to Tashi and grabbing another. “Oh, baby, the story is dorky and boring.”

“Yeah and speak of the devil and she shall appear.” Tashi chuckles, bringing the drink to her lips.

Patrick reaches into his back pocket, glancing around before producing a flask, waving it between them. “Should we, uh, make these drinks more interesting?”

Tashi’s face immediately drops and Heaven rolls her eyes, kicking Art in the shin lightly underneath the lawn table, nodding her head in Tashi and Patrick’s direction.

“We have matches coming up. No alcohol.”

“You’re going against college kids, you’re gonna win regardless of whether you have a drop of tequila.”

“Yeah, that’s not the point. And Heaven’s in rehearsals-”

“Heaven is a big girl-”

“Heaven, what do you want to drink?” Art pipes up, grabbing a solo cup himself and walking around the end of the table Heaven is on.

She clasps her hands together, glancing at the first jug she sees and decides on that. “Just, some lemonade would be great.”

“Okay.” Art smiles, starting to pour.

“I know Heaven is in rehearsals. But it’s her fucking birthday.”

Heaven’s eyes widen at that, immediately shooting to Tashi’s face. Her scowl is set in stone as she leans down into Patrick’s face. Her grumble of “You think I don’t know that?” drowns out Heaven’s correction of “Our birthday.”

A second barely passes before Tashi is flipping her hair over her shoulder and storming off in another direction. Patrick scoffs, as if he didn’t already take a step forward to follow her, being propelled even further by Heaven’s mouthing of “fix it”.

Art sips his own lemonade, looking to the ground and shaking his head.

“I don’t want to hear it. Seriously.”

“I wasn’t gonna say a damn thing.” He laughs, ignoring Heaven’s small fist colliding with his muscled arm. He bites back a smirk when she winces, pulling her hand back to herself. “Did you…hurt your hand?”

“Could you like, shut the fuck up? Thank you.” Heaven whines, rubbing the wounded hand with the other. “You think you’re all big and bad because college tennis is doing you good? Giving your scrawny ass some muscle.”

“Glad you noticed.” he says playfully.

Heaven opens her mouth to respond, her lips part and no words come out as she drops her gaze to the ground, taking a swig of the lemonade. Two women step out of the backyard doors and make their way over to the pair, dressed in workout clothes. One of them is a black woman that could only be Heaven’s mom. She looked exactly like what Art envisions Heaven will look like in about 20 years and if you asked Art the future is fucking bright.

The other is an older white woman with a kind face and eyes that reminded him of Tashi. They looked like extremely unlikely friends. Heaven’s mom holds a stern face that makes Art feel like maybe he should take several steps away from her daughter right now while the other woman looks like she’d probably made the sugar cookies that people have been shoveling since he’d gotten there.

Despite having spoken about her family, Art knows very little about Heaven's mother. All she ever mentions about the woman is that she's very invested in her dance career and has always been pretty strict. Beyond that, whenever Heaven recounts pleasant memories from her childhood with Art, they always involved her stepdad, Tashi and her family, or when she was performing. Her mom is notably absent from almost all of her stories.

Heaven’s mother lowers the dark shades rested on her face to get a good look at Art before pushing them back into place, letting go of the other woman and wrapping her arm around Heaven’s shoulders.

“Hi, mom.” Heaven smiles in a way that doesn’t quite reach her eyes, placing the cup Art poured her down on the table.

Her mother picks the cup and sniffs it before putting it back down. “Let this be the last drink you have that isn’t water, Hev. I think we’ve had enough calorie intake for the day, we don’t need you slow when you go back to rehearsals this week.”

Art’s brows furrow as he watches Heaven deflating, nodding quietly as her mom pats her stomach and talks about not eating any birthday cake on her birthday. He can’t envision anyone finding her to be anything other than beautiful, dancing or not. But he rolls his tongue in his cheek and stays silent. Maybe her mother knows something about her health that he doesn’t.

But from Heaven’s face with the verbal lashing is over, that’s not the case. Heaven’s sad brown eyes land on Art’s and she remembers that her mom hadn’t even taken the time to introduce herself. “Mom, this is Art Donaldson. He plays tennis for Stanford.”

The inspection is on him now. Heaven’s mom scans him from top to bottom before fixing him with an unimpressed look. “Is he any good?”

“Oh, I’m…I’m pretty okay-” Art says nonchalantly, cheek dimpling with an easy smile. Heaven’s mom simply blinks at him before shifting her gaze to Heaven.

“He’s great, Mom, full tennis scholarship.” She tries. “And…Tashi says he’s really good too.”

“Well, good for you.” The older woman says, nodding at her friend waving her over. “We’re going to give you kids some space and have a late dinner over at the Duncan’s house. Nothing but fruit and water, Hev.”

Heaven just dumps the lemonade into the grass, and refills the cup with water. Art watches as her mother murmurs a patronizing ‘good girl’ into Heaven’s hair, pressing a kiss there before slinging her purse over her shoulder and power walking away.

He searches his brain for something, anything to say that might make her feel better as she tugs her crop down a little in an attempt to cover up as her eyes follow her mother.

Heaven’s face is hot with embarrassment. She was used to her mother’s comments about her weight, her looks, her focus on dance. She knows that it's for a reason. She wants her to be the best dancer she can be and so she prioritizes that over all else. She’d given up her life to put Heaven in the best position possible to become a prima ballerina. Heaven is…grateful. She should be grateful. But it’s pressure. She’s doing what she loves, but it's never enough, there’s always weight to lose. She can always be stronger, faster, and work harder. And her skin could always be thicker. But even diamonds crack with the right amount of pressure.

Heaven just hates when people are there to see it.

Tashi is fucking pissed. Her hitting partner was sick and she needed to practice for a tournament coming up, so she’d asked Heaven to fill in. She couldn’t count how many times she’s sat up with Heaven, watching her dance, standing in as a partner, plotting what dance she should master for which audition. She doesn’t ask for much else in return. So, the fact that the bitch failed to show up at the courts knowing what this meant to Tashi…

She’d better have a good fucking excuse.

The tennis player storms around the back of the house, not bothering with the front door and streamlining for the stone elephant statue that kept the spare key to the back door to the house, Tashi snatches the key out of the trunk hole and pushes her way in.

Mrs. Whitlock’s car wasn’t in the driveway so she doesn’t bother stopping by the woman’s office to say hello, opting instead to stomp her way straight to Heaven’s studio. She pushes the sliding door open and prepares to tear Heaven a new one, her bag clutched tightly in her fist. She can hear her inside. She knew she’d be here. She probably found some kind of new dance she just had to learn. Or she’d forgotten her while daydreaming. Or she was late.

Tashi fucking hates late people.

“So, it’s fuck me huh?” Tashi asks, crossing her arms as she leans in the doorway. She was right, Heaven was inside. Facing away from her, standing in front of the large mirrors, something white at her feet. When the girl doesn’t even acknowledge that she’s there, Tashi rolls her eyes and steps into the room. “Fuck you, Heaven.”

She fully plans to whirl around and stomp her way out of the house. If she wants to forget her, ignore her, fine. Plenty of people would fucking love to be Tashi Duncan’s girlfriend.

But then she sees that the floor is soaking wet. Heaven’s bun is curling up from the water. The girl is drenched, standing in a pink leotard, her shoulders shaking. “Heaven?” Tashi powers forward, grabbing a wet shoulder, not letting her shock show on her face as she cups the girl’s cheek, forcing her to look at her and sees the tears streaming down her face. “What the fuck’s wrong?” She leans forward to see what’s in front of her.

A scale.

“Heaven-”

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m-” Heaven wipes a hand roughly at her cheeks, turning in Tashi’s loose grip. “Nothing, what time is it?”

“It’s…it’s uh, four.”

Heaven’s watery eyes widen, a stray tear manages to escape as the girl glances down at the bag in Tashi’s hands. “Shit, babe, I’m late. I…got caught up. M’sorry. Let’s go practice. Really, m’sorry, let’s practice. We can walk to the court’s at the center.”

Tashi’s eyes flick between the scale and Heaven’s determined look. “You good?”

Heaven sighs, scrubbing a hand down her face. “Let’s practice.”

“Yeah?” Tashi asks, tilting her head to the side as she observes her girlfriend. The girl impatiently shifts on her feet, looking off to the side and Tashi nods. “Okay.”

“Um, so,” Heaven clears her throat. “I think my dance partners are busy. You wanna dance?”

Yes. Art thinks. Immediately yes. But, was he supposed to pretend he didn’t see that interaction? Was he supposed to act like he didn’t watch how quickly her mother was able to stomp out the light in her eyes? The flirty smile she offers him isn’t the real thing that makes his heart beat fast. “Heaven-”

“Look, Art, it’s my birthday. It’s not gonna get better in one day, and right now I want to dance with a friend.” She sighs. Heaven pulls his own drink from his lips, placing it down on the table and taking his hand as she backs towards where the crowds of people were dancing. “Is that gonna be you, or do I need to find someone else?”

The pleading look on her face wears Art down and he lets her pull him to the edge of the makeshift dance floor. “I’m not a good dancer.”

“It’s not about being good, it’s about having fun.” She grins, this time genuinely as Art lifts her hand, spinning her as she leads them the rest of the way.

“Yeah,” he laughs sarcastically. “Says the best fucking dancer in the world.”

“Okay, okay, it’s a little bit about being good.” Heaven giggles, pushing up on her tiptoes and raising her own arm, eyebrows lifting as she waits for Art. He shakes his head chuckling.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, go.” she snorts as he rolls his eyes, ducking down under her arm so that she can spin him too. “Okay, ow, my arm, too tall.”

“See?” Art snarks, hooking his finger into her belt loop and tugging her closer, rocking them side to side as Heaven wraps her arms around his neck.

“Okay, normally I’m the one being turned, so that’s on me.” She shrugs. The music changes and Long Way 2 Go by Cassie starts blasting through the speakers. “I fucking love this song. You know this one white boy?”

“What is with you and Tashi and calling us white boys?”

“Is that not what you are?” She asks, spinning away from him as gracefully as she had the day he’d watched her at the school theater. But this time he’s part of it. He’s not just an observer, even with her just dancing casually he’s hypnotized. He hadn’t even realized he was moving with her. She’s all there is. It’s just Heaven. “It’s about how it makes you feel. Dancing makes me feel better.”

Art nods, watching her intently as she turns in his hold, back pressed to his front, hands in his hair. “I think it feels just fucking amazing dancing with you.”

“Well,” she smiles, sliding her hands over his where they’re resting on her hips. “I think it’s fucking amazing watching you play tennis. I wanna see you play again.”

“I wanna play for you.” He says desperately.

“You really mean that, don’t you?” Heaven grins, facing him again, pressing their fronts together, giggling as he turns his face into her palm, pressing a kiss there. “You want to play for me?”

Before he can answer, the smile drops from her face, her head turns to the left slightly as she looks off to the side. Art turns his head, his gaze follows hers and lands on Patrick and Tashi. Always Patrick and Tashi. He brings his hand up to her jaw, gently guiding her face back to his. “I want you to look at me.”

“I am.” she whispers, looking up at him.

“Just me.”

“Art.” she says, stepping away from him with a disappointed frown.

"I know, I know, but-"

"Jesus fucking christ." She huffs, pushing his hands away completely and stomping off.

Art’s eyes scan the party carefully, as he tries to nonchalantly flick the ash from his cigarette to the ground. He has seriously cut back on smoking since he doesn’t have Patrick everyday to share them with and Tashi and Heaven turn their noses up at them. But, to say he felt anxious was an understatement.

He’d thought they were having a…thing when they were dancing before. To be fair he’s thought they’d had a lot of ‘things’ and each time they do, she retreats back. He’d like to be able to just shrug her off. To decide that she’s more trouble than what she’s worth and obviously the opposite of available and fuck off. But he can’t. It was something about her. Her eyes, the way she moves, her smile, laugh, just…Heaven. It’s what she is. The name just fucking fits.

Which is why he’s turned away three girls since she’d scrambled away from him into the house with one look back over her shoulder that had him wanting to follow behind her like a lovesick puppy.

So, here he was, blowing smoke into the night’s air while he stares at this pristine, glass back door that the girl he’s obsessed with that happens to be, at minimum, fucking his and her best friends, disappeared into.

He should have some self respect.

He should find a girl…hell he should find Tashi, the other girl who seems to occupy his mind, albeit less and less.

He should let Heaven fuck off if that’s what she wants to do.

How long can he beg her to like him back, to be interested in him?

How much more can a man take?

Art, apparently, can take at least a little more.

He flicks the bud of the cigarette to the ground and pops a piece of gum into his mouth, worried that Heaven will smell the smoke on his breath when he finds her. Art pushes the door to the house open, glancing back once to see if Tashi and Patrick were still “talking” back by the garden area.

When he’d first walked through the house he took the time to appreciate it in its glory. It’s a fucking ritzy house. It reminds him of Patrick’s house. Large and beautiful. It echoes. It’s not like his parent’s house at all. His is a family home, nicely sized but nothing as grand as this. Patrick always hated his own home, ever since he’d gone home with Art one Christmas, he almost refused to spend any holidays there. He said Art’s house seemed more ‘lived in’. Even when Art finally did get to see his best friend’s house one summer, he felt like his friend looked out of place there, even though it was where he was raised.

But Heaven…she looks like she belongs in a place like this. A place full of beautiful things is where she should live.

After searching the lower level Art stops at the bottom of the spiral stairs. His mom would kill him if she knew he was considering going through someone’s upper level without explicit permission like this. But, if…if there was a chance she was up there…

He respects the place enough to take his shoes off before making his way up the cold stairs. The upper level is dark and several degrees cooler than downstairs. He knows her mother stepped out about an hour ago, so he’s a little more confident as he slips through the long hallway, peeking his head in the open room doors, searching for her.

“Can we please not do this now?”

“So when, Heaven? I broke up with you and you don’t seem like you give a fuck. You haven’t checked on me once.”

Art pauses, hearing what he knows to be Heaven’s voice accompanied by a distinctly male voice in a room he can see is lit through the bottom of a sliding door.

“What was I supposed to do? Beg? I have too much shit to do. We didn’t work, that’s fine.”

He can almost envision the shrug she must’ve given. Her voice is so unfeeling, indifferent as the man spoke passionately, voice raising that has Art stepping closer to the door.

“So you don’t give a fuck?”

“Do you really want me to answer you?”

I wouldn’t. Art thinks to himself.

“Fucking-you can be such a bitc-”

Heaven flinches as the door to her studio slides open roughly, wood slapping into the wall as quick, heavy footsteps make their way into the room and suddenly Trevor is ripped from in front of her.

“Who the fuck are you talking to?” Art grits his teeth, his fists balled in Trevor’s shirt, the men stumble away from Heaven a little due to the momentum of Art rushing his way into the room.

Heaven’s eyes widen at the act of aggression from the gentle man who literally refuses to bring his voice above a soft tone when speaking to her and it's almost humorous. Like, she didn’t know what was throwing her more, the fact that he’d basically appeared and darted in to defend her honor, or the fact that he felt like he needed to defend her from the literal nobody that is her ex Trevor that clearly came to her party because he was some kind of masochist. “Oh my god, Art, that’s not necess-”

“Jesus, Heaven, how many guys are you fucking at this party?”

Oh. Well.

Now that he said that, she doesn’t feel bad when Art’s fist goes flying into his face.

Shocked? Yes. Bad? No.

A little turned on…maybe.

And that tennis must be doing more for the blond man than just making his muscles look good, because Trevor fucking hit the deck. She’ll acknowledge that she was attracted to the way Art’s jaw ticks in anger as he positions himself in front of her and plays knight in shining armor. A nice guy like him getting so mad on her behalf…

“Oh, shit.”

Trevor sputters, gripping his nose and looking up at the man in front of him. “Did you just hit me?”

“Don’t fucking talk to her like that-”

“Okay, okay, Arthur…um, wow,” Heaven chuckles humorously as she stands between the two men, nodding her head toward the door. “Trevor, get the fuck out, you dumped me okay? You win. Get the fuck out.”

The red-headed boy grits his teeth in annoyance, pushing off of the floor but opting not to do much more than give Heaven a sneer because, truthfully, this blond, preppy looking kid she has guarding her knocked the shit out of him. But as he makes his way to the door, he stops and turns, unable to hold his tongue completely. “I wouldn’t bother, man. She plays games. They only give a fuck about each other. It’s not worth it.” He finishes as he cups his aching nose, turning and leaving the room.

Heaven looks at Art at that, carefully watching his expression. She can’t tell what he’s thinking as he stares after Trevor, tight muscles still tense.

“What am I supposed to call you my hero or something?” she jokes, awkwardly trying to break the silence. The room suddenly feels too full with Art’s presence in it, despite the fact that Trevor had left.

“He shouldn’t be yelling at you like that.”

“Pft, Art,” she giggles, wrapping her arms around herself. “I am not afraid of Trevor. Trust me. It doesn’t matter-”

“No one should talk to you like that.” he says seriously. He doesn’t take the bait at all, and suddenly, Heaven realizes they aren’t just talking about Trevor anymore, and not only does the room feel small, she suddenly feels naked, for his examination. His eyes are somber as he looks at her, he steps forward and she’s even more crowded.

“Did you know you have heterochromia? Your eyes are a little blue…a little brown.” She tries, taking one step back for his two steps forward. Art stops, eyes flicking down at her movement before trailing back to her face. He takes a non threatening stance, shoving his hands into his pockets and tilting his head down as he looks into her eyes with the softest gaze anyone had ever given to her. He won’t push. Not if she doesn’t want him to. “Are you enjoying our party?”

Our. Right now she’s running. And he’s chasing. It seems to be how they like it. Both of them.

“I am.” He says breezily, a small smile gracing his face. “I even danced with this girl.”

“Was she hot?” Heaven jokes, walking out of the middle of the room and resting her hands behind her on one of the bars on the wall.

Like a string is pulling him, Art follows. She leads this dance. Bringing him in, enticing him to follow her, giving him a taste before pulling away for him to trail behind her again. It’s like an invisible string is pulling him when he steps forward, wetting his bottom lip as he moves to stand before her again. “Fucking gorgeous. But she left me on the dance floor.”

“What a bitch.”

He chuckles, shaking his head no. “She’s just got a lot going on.” He shrugs, looking down at his feet. Art sucks in a breath at the next thing that pops into his brain, but he can’t stop it. He looks back up at Heaven with a wry smile and releases his breath. “But I’ll wait.”

The offer hangs in the air. And Heaven retreats. Her hand shoots up to her name chain as she uses the other to clutch the bar even tighter, dragging herself closer against it. “Why?”

“Because she’s…perfect.”

Heaven’s head drops immediately at that, she purses her lips, looking over to the large mirrors to the left of them, staring at herself. “No. She’s not.”

“Yes, you are.” He says indignantly, dropping the facade and taking away the privilege of space. He reaches out and encases her wrist gently in his large hand, tugging her closer to him. Art walks them over to the mirror and pushes Heaven to stand in front of him, rubbing his hands along her sides. “You’ve got perfect everything.” His hands slide along her hips and squeeze, eliciting a gasp from Heaven. “Perfect hips. Perfect legs-” they move to the front of her thighs before trailing over her pelvis and along her stomach, “Perfect stomach and arms,” Art’s hands squeeze Heaven’s shoulders before dropping back to her stomach, holding her against him, “Perfect shoulders, and neck-” he murmurs against the soft skin of her shoulder before dragging his way up to her neck, placing deep kisses there.

He expects her to push him away. He feels her hand slip up into his blond curls like it had when they’d danced, but she just pulls him closer. Her back arches forward slightly as she tugs his hair and he kisses her neck. “Art-”

“You’re so fucking perfect, please let me touch you.” he pleads. And forces himself to wait. All he wants to do is bruise her perfect neck. Leave his mark. Make her feel good. Know that he did it. Art knows he’s playing the long game. The first match that he lost to Patrick, it was just the first set. The game isn’t over. Art wants to win.

So he fucking waits.

He’s easygoing, and offers her a smile when she wrenches herself from him, breathing heavily and rushing off to a bathroom to get a first aid kit from his hand he hadn’t even noticed started bleeding.

“Does, um…does that hurt?”

“No.” He says, sitting criss-crossed on the polished wooden floor with Heaven perched in front of him, refusing to look up from his hand. “Thank you.” he smiles sweetly.

“Yeah, for sure.” She stammers, finishing off with the last of her band-aids. “Sorry, they’re all my skin tone-”

“No, it’s fine, thank you, Heaven.” He tries to soothe her nervousness. “She’s a fucking medic too, ladies and gentlemen. See, fucking amazing.”

Heaven rolls her eyes and leans down, pressing a light kiss to his hand. “All better.”

Art hangs his head, laughing breathily and before looking back at her, scrubbing a hand down his face. “You suck you know that?”

A small grin forms on Heaven’s own face as she rocks from side to side. “What? Why?”

“How is a guy not supposed to fall in love with you when you’re doing shit like that?” He says, laying back on the wooden floors, absently thinking how nice it would be to see her dance again as he envisions what it's like in here when she’s alone, letting go, dancing for herself.

Heaven shrugs, laying down beside him, nudging his arm. “I dunno. Remember that I'm dating your best friend…and mine…and that you walked in on my ex basically calling me the wicked bitch of the west-”

“He’s stupid, you’re a goddamn princess.”

“I just dance like one, Art,” she turns her head to face him and wiggles her eyebrows. “It’s all an illusion.”

“No. It’s not.” He says, reaching over and taking her hand, bringing it to his lips before resting it on his chest, toying with her fingers with his own. Heaven groans loudly, kicking her feet up and letting them slap back to the floor sloppily. “What?” he chuckles.

She sits up, twisting her body and planting both hands on the floor, one on each side of his head, her hair dangling around them as she stares down at him. His blue and brown eyes swirl with something she’s not willing to acknowledge as she stares down at him. Heaven leans down, bringing her face close to his. “You’re not making this easy for me, Arthur.”

He offers her an innocent look back, willing himself not to tug her down the rest of the way. “Can’t help it.”

“Hev,” a voice calls from the doorway. Heaven scrambles back from Art, leaping to her feet and sees Tashi leaning in the doorframe, an easy smile on her lips. Her arms are crossed as she takes them in. “We’re ready to sing happy birthday. It’s a few minutes ‘til midnight, you’ll officially be 19. You done here?” She asks, a cocky smile on her face as she raises her eyebrows.

“Um,” Heaven smoothes her hair out, glancing down briefly at Art who is still on the floor, staring up at her. “Yeah.”

Walking straight for the door, Heaven grabs Tashi’s hand and leads her out of the room, powering forward as she drags her girlfriend out of the room. She doesn’t bother looking back for the blond man she left behind, painting a smile on her face as they made their way back outside.

As their friends and family countdown from 10 she and Tashi are guided to the middle of the backyard with a large cake in front of them, their names scribbled next to each other. Heaven squeezes Tashi’s hand, pulling her closer and wrapping her arm around her as they look at the blue and pink candles lit in front of them. “It wasn’t anything, T.”

“S’okay, babe. Seriously.” Tashi says through her smile as one of the girls from school takes a picture of them, cupping Heaven’s face and kissing her deeply. She knows that he’s watching. That they’re both watching.

So Art won a set. So the fuck what? Tashi smiles to herself as Heaven grins at her, murmuring a happy birthday as they hug each other. She can see the two men standing together, watching them intently, not knowing if they were jealous of them or because of them, and she knows the match isn't over.

#oc #earn it #art donaldson x you #art donaldson #art donaldson x reader #art donaldson x oc #art donaldson x patrick zweig #tashi duncan x oc #patrick zweig x tashi duncan #art donaldson x tashi duncan #tashi duncan x reader #patrick zweig x reader #patrick zweig x oc #patrick zweig #love #art donaldson challengers #challengers spoilers #challengers 2024 #challengers movie

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ghouljams · 6 months

Note

Gnnh. Mii brainrot intensifies.

I am in love with your Viking!AU, because I’ve always been fascinated by this civilisation. This is probably why I’ve been having thoughts about a völva!reader (völur for men), a prophetess in Germanic paganism, the kind of woman who was told to be feared and revered by both mortals and gods alike because of their inextricable link to Fate. Even Odin was said to consult them. They had a powerful role in politics, as well as in everything spiritual and magical in their society. From what I’ve read, women already had a high status in the societies of the North (I like this name, for some reason - it gives them a mystical and powerful aspect in my eyes), and those northern witches were thought to be descendants of the Jötun. Their stories are really interesting ; if you haven’t read about them already, I think you would really like them.

So, to come back to the Viking!AU, I could really see one of the guys with a völva as a darling. For some reason, I immediately picture Price or Ghost ; maybe because I am biased and love them so much, but probably also because of the fact that I could see them to be almost « worshipping » their darlings. It would probably be challenging for them to try and get the attention of such a powerful and mystical being, but I could see the end result to be worth all the efforts and frustration (and the whole « I’m so needy for her » part too).

Perhaps they would stumble upon her as she is praying the gods (Freyja, Odin and Sif were apparently the deities dedicated to the völva/völur, mainly the first one as she is deeply associated with all kinds of magic). It could be a beautiful, mesmerising scene filled with things bringing all 5 senses (and maybe more ?) to attention. Since those priestesses were threatened by the rise of Christianity, the warriors would probably feel the need to protect such a sacred being. I could see this character getting close to the Healer!reader, discussing herbs and magical recipes.

I hope I’m not being too overwhelming. I just love paganism and magic so much, everything about it is so interesting.

As always, lots of love on you Friend. You may not be too well, but know that I’m not really either, and that your writing always makes things better for my little head. Please, take care and stay safe <3

As usual y'all find ways to engage me special interests and also

Mii, you're putting Witch in the Viking au. You're giving me another opportunity to use my favorite special little girl who I am insanely brain rotten for. Obviously I'm going to put her with Price, obviously. Although I do love Ghost as a worshiper.

I will disclaimer, the viking au is not magical. There's no "real" magic that the völva!reader could perform, like Witch does. But from a religious standpoint I do fucking love it.

Price obviously is heading, captaining, the expedition Soap is on. Big scary viking man who sits around pissed because he's gotta be away from home and out from under the blessed eyes of his lovely völva. He's good at his job, he loves his job, loves his boys, but he misses the pretty priestess back home. Of course you never give him the time of day, too busy communing with the gods and doing your religious duties, managing politics and all that. You probably don't even notice him lingering around the temple, trying to find the right words to ask if you'd like to share a meal with him. Have you noticed that he always brings you something from his trips? Do you pet the soft furs he brings you and think of him? Do you run your fingers along the ridges of the shells he gives you? Do you know him? Do you want to?

Oof lots of pining in this au. The viking au is for pining.

#ghoul speaks #cod x reader #x reader #x oc #cod x oc #oc: witch #hey friends I'm sorry that I have made price and witch my otp #but really you can't offer me a witch and mention that price could be her lover #and expect me to be normal about it #viking au #völva!witch

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sinclqir · 1 year

Text

Cheat

terzo x female reader

warnings:

angst, cheating, breakups, and a very VERY rude terzo (it’s only for the sake of the story)

there will be a part two!

you’re a very well respected person in the ministry. you organized the tours, made sure all the siblings of sin were in check, and a very hard worker. you were also dubbed one of the most attractive sisters in the ministry. you had many siblings of sin try to hook up with you, but you didn’t per sue them, thinking it can interfere with your work. and you were not going to let all your hard work go to waste for a one night stand. but you weren’t perfect, and you let all that aside for him.

papa emeritus iii.

his charm and flirting got to you and you got with him. the casual sex quickly turned into a relationship. this was one of your first relationships you’ve been in. it was perfect, you would spend all your free time together, him buying you the most lavish gifts, him whispering sweet nothings in your ear, but that ended fairly quickly. he kept flirting with other siblings but you just assumed it was only his personality, which wasn’t half untrue.

he was always a very flirtatious man. to your knowledge he was loyal though. his flirting was the only thing he shared with others.

until the rumors started to fly. a new sister had been introduced to the ministry. she was beautiful. her name was daniela, and she was one of the most attractive people in the ministry. yet every time you tried to talk to her she was insanely passive aggressive. you didn’t think anything of it, people thought you were intimidating due to your high ranking in the ministry. if sister imperator needed anything important done, she would go to you immediately.

terzo started to become more distant with you, it hurt, but you didn’t know how to talk to him about it. he was a busy man, he’s papa. you decided to shrug it off until someone showed you that his relationship with sister daniela was starting to become something more than just acquaintances. they showed you a picture of terzo with his signature sly smirk, and the sister blushing. that wasn’t crazy to you, but the picture of him with his hand on her thigh made you a little uneasy. and then the video. it was of them kissing. your heart broke at the sight. you were never good with emotions so this feeling was unnatural to you. you didn’t know what to do.

you decided to confront him tonight, tired of everyone telling you he was cheating on you.

he walked out of his dressing room, prepared for a concert. “terzo…can we talk?”

"what is it?" terzo asked, he put a hand to his ear to block out the sound of the crowd, "what do we have to talk about? i am very, very busy and i have an entire crowd to sing for! so what is it!?" you looked at him sadly, “never mind, we’ll talk after the show.” terzo took in a sharp breath, but covered up his reaction with a smile, "alright! i will be very happy to, after the show." He grabbed the microphone out of the stand and stepped to the front of the stage, "are y'all ready to rock!?" the crowd roaring, "are you ready to let the devil in!?" the crowd roaring.

he performed a fantastic show, as usual, and stepped off stage. "whew! What a tough crowd tonight. but, it's time to have a little chat, isn't it?" terzo sighed as he slid his papal robes and placed them down on the ground. the backstage was quiet as the staff put away all of the instruments and audio equipment. the room was dimly lit, as terzo had demanded that no light be shed on it, as it was part of his dark aesthetic. "let's have it, what did you want to ask me?"

“can we talk in the dressing room? please?” your voice was light, which took him by surprise, he was used to your very stern voice. “of course!” he grabbed your hand and walked to his dressing room. he closed the door and walked to his vanity to take off his papa paints. “terzo, i’ve been having this problem recently…that i can’t ignore any longer.” you avert your eyes to the ground. "hm. go on. i'm listening.” his voice sounded uninterested as he took a makeup wipe and carefully took off his paints. “people have been…gossiping recently and…. a lot have been saying things.” you trail off as you felt a lump in your throat.

terzo looked concerned, though he hid it well. "tell me, what have people been saying," it may be difficult, but i want to help you, he thought, "i need to know, you understand?"

“they’ve been saying that you have been unfaithful to me…with sister daniela. is it true?” you already knew the answer, but you wanted to hear him say it.

terzo turned bright red and his jaw dropped as his head whipped around, "what?! that's... that's ridiculous! who... who would spread such horrible lies!?" his eyes filled with fury and he slammed his fists on his thighs, "that's absurd!"

you look at him with sad eyes, “terzo, i know you’re lying.”

"excuse me!?" terzo stood up and stormed over to where you were standing, "why would you be so stupid as to believe that!? just because other people say it doesn't make it true! how on earth can i tell you to trust me if you're gonna fall for stupid rumors like that!?" he grabbed your shoulders, "i would never do that to anyone! how could i even do such a thing!? i’m papa! i serve Satan! do you really think i could cheat on someone!?" you shrugged off his hands.

you pull out your phone. “they have shown me pictures!” you showed him said photograph. “how do you explain that?” he could see the tears in your eyes. threatening to fall.

terzo grew extremely quiet and pale in the face. "that-..." he paused, not quite sure how to explain it, "that's me comforting her! sister daniela is very close to both sister imperator and i. she's been struggling with some pretty... sensitive things lately, and i was making sure she was feeling alright! we weren't... we weren't trying to do anything! i swear it! how can i... can i even prove it?!"

“stop lying to me please…they have more.” you swipe and show him the second picture.

"w-what!?" terzo stuttered. he grabbed the phone and looked at the picture in sheer disbelief. his jaw dropped. oh no. this is bad, this is really bad. but... terzo was a quick thinker. "you- no... this is- this is a deepfaked image! i would never do that with sister daniela!" he said confidently, "i would never do that with anyone that's not you!" a tear slipped out of your eye. “why would someone do that…?” you whispered.

"because they want to spread lies! i'm papa. i'm a public figure. people want to tear me down, and you, you foolish idiot, you just blindly believe in whatever anyone tells you!" terzo shouted, "i would never cheat on you! do you... do you even trust me??" when he called you an idiot it hurt, you told him how you hated being called anything that had to do with your intelligence. your ex wasn’t a good person, he always degraded you and made you feel like you were nothing.

“i did trust you! since you want to keep blatantly lying to me, here’s a video!” your emotions started to take over as you showed him the video.

for the first time in all of his life, papa emeritus the third was speechless. he stared into the phone, frozen completely into place. his eyes seemed to bulge out of his head. after several seconds had passed, he swallowed hard and spoke quietly, "that... that... there's..." he sighed, "it's... true."

you backed away from him. “how could you! you…you said you loved me!” the tears started to fall. you hated to show your vulnerability, especially in a situation like this. "it was just... just a one time thing! i- i didn't mean it! she was just so sad... and she... it meant nothing! it was just one time!" terzo begged your forgiveness, "i swear it won't happen again! it meant nothing! it won't happen again! i promise you! just, please, forgive me! PLEASE!"

“yeah…you’re right…it wont happen again because this,” you gestured in between both of you, “this is over.” you turned to leave but terzo grabbed your forearm.

terzo gasped. he couldn't believe you would say such a thing! tears filling his eyes, "NO! PLEASE! I LOVE YOU! DON'T LEAVE ME, PLEASE!" he pleaded like a child, "I BEG YOU!!!"

“get off of me! if you loved me, you wouldn’t have fucked another!” you yelled at him, letting him know how bad he fucked up.

before he could speak there was a knock at the door.

his eyes were glossed over as you walk to the door. to your luck, it was the topic of the hour. sister daniela. “is terzo is here?” her voice was like sandpaper to your ears. “yes, he’s here.” terzo said meekly. “what do you want?” he couldn’t help but give a nasty tone to his question. why is she even here? what does she have to say about this? this was just a one time mistake that meant nothing! it's not even like it was planned or anything... it's just... that she's sad! i was just comforting her! i didn't mean for it to turn into THAT! i didn't mean for it to turn into anything!, he thought.

you step aside and let the sister walk in. she harshly shoved your shoulder and gave you a smirk. "oh, you have to be kidding me..." terzo mumbled in annoyance, "get out! get out!" He pointed to the door, trying desperately to get rid of her, "this has NOTHING to do with you! just... just get out, you..." he tried to think of something mean to say, but couldn't think of anything, so he finished with, "...brat!"

the sister looked shocked at his sudden outburst, “but…but terzo…” you stared at the two of them.

"yes? what? what do you want!?" terzo yelled, clearly getting more and more upset by her presence, "go on! spit it out already! what is it that you want!?" he tried as desperately to hold back, "just get to the point, you... you... BITCH!"

sister daniela look as if she was about to cry, “never mind you asshole! i should’ve never fucked you!” she started stomping towards the door. before she left she got up in your face. it took everything in you to not fuck her up. “oh and by the way, he said that you could never compare to what i gave him.” with that she left.

terzo stood still for several seconds after the door had slammed shut. a million words ran through his head, but none of them made it out of his mouth. he was stunned into silence... and then he was mad. "that BITCH! that SCULLION! that SLUT! i'll show her! i can't believe she's this petty!" he stormed a couple steps towards the door, "i'll show her... i'll show everyone!”

“show everyone what exactly? that you’re nothing but a liar and a cheat.” you were tired. tired of all of this. "do you seriously think i care what people think?!” He snapped, pacing back and forth, “im papa, don’t you forget that! i have a responsibility… a mission! one that’s much bigger than some stupid little cheating scandal! i’ve got the whole world to enlighten!” He shouted, then he began to grin, “i’m gonna use this as marketing! shat a scandalous papa am i!”

“i should’ve never loved you…this was the biggest mistake i’ve ever made.” your words were laced with venom.

he felt his heartbreak. “w-what?” he clutched his chest, the pain feels physical. “i thought what we had was special? how…how could i have been so stupid?”

you laughed in disbelief, “how could you be stupid?! i gave this relationship all i had for a year! a year terzo!!”

“i know… i… i was wrong! i was... i was so wrong! i'm… SORRY!” Terzo sobbed, trying to get the right words out, “i just… i just…” Terzo curled up into the fetal position on the floor, “i can’t…” He began to hyper-ventilate.

you stare at him, “satanas you’re pathetic..”

terzo's jaw dropped as you spoke. " you're cruel..." he wiped a string of tears from his eyes, "i... i can't believe this. how could you be so... cold? i just... how could you?"

“need i remind you that you’re the one that cheated!? and i’m the cold one? really!?”

"I-I KNOW I'M THE CHEATER! BUT YOU'RE... YOU'RE THE coldest person i've ever met in my LIFE! *and ive met some people!" the pope shouted, "SO YES, FOR THE LOVE OF SATAN WHY ARE YOU SO COLD!?. WHAT'S YOUR DEAL!?"

“i am only giving you the same amount of treatment you have been giving me!”

"THAT'S A PILE OF BULL!" the papa yelled, "I WOULD NEVER BE AS COLD AS YOU!" he stood up, pointing a shaking finger at you, "you're so cold you're a monster! you're no better than the rest of humanity!" he spat, "you just play the role of 'the good girl’ but you're just as cruel and heartless as the rest of... everyone." he finished, tears filling his eyes once more, "i... i didn't wanna say this... but I've always known it."

you got up in his face, feeling his breath fanning yours. “all you did was lie to me…all you did was hurt me…and IM the fucking monster? really!?”

"YES!" the pope yelled, "YES YOU ARE! you're a monster! you're a cold hearted, unfeeling, heartless monster and i don't know why i didn't see it for so long!" he laughed in bitter annoyance, "is that what you want me to say? i'm a lying cheating bastard and you're a *saint!?"* He scoffed, "well, good for you! you're right! i am a lying cheating bastard, and you... are a cold hearted, unfeeling, heartless monster. congratulations."

“I NEVER SAID I WAS A FUCKING SAINT! BUT ME BEING HEARTLESS IS NOTHING BUT FUCKING BULLSHIT! ALL I GAVE TO YOU WAS LOVE TERZO! WHEN SISTERS AND BROTHERS OF SIN THREW THEMSELVES AT ME I NEVER ONCE THOUGH ABOUT PERUSING THEM!” your noses were practically touching.

"OH, DON'T YOU BRING THEM INTO THIS, YOU HYPOCRITE!" terzo yelled, "you and i BOTH know i could bring up something from your past here, but I'm not THAT petty... but o should be, because you aren't worthy of being treated with even an ounce of respect! you deserve to be mocked and laughed at, so you can fully understand what you've done to me! YOU ARE A HEARTLESS, COLD-HEARTED FIEND!!! AND DON'T YOU COME CRYING BACK TO ME WHEN NO ONE ELSE WANTS YOU!"

he reminded you of your ex. it’s fully broke your heart.

“FUCK YOU, YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A JOKE! EVERYONE IN THE MINISTRY THINKS THAT YOURE ONLY GOOD FOR SEX! THATS ALL PEOPLE THINK OF YOU! YOURE NOTHING BUT A PATHETIC JOKE OF A POPE!” you couldn’t take it anymore, you spat at him, tears flowing down your face.

terzo gasped as his heart shattered? into a million pieces. he didn't know which was worse... the heartbreak of realizing that the one person he ever really loved didn't love him back, or the heartbreak of realizing that others never loved nor respected him back.

the truth of what she was saying was way more painful than she could imagine...

The pope fell to his knees, sobbing, "n–no... no, it's not true... i-i'm..." he fell to his side, bawling uncontrollably, "I'm nothing but a-a joke?"

“i set everything aside to love you…to show people that you’re better than that. that you’re a good guy….but…they’re right.”

"they're right..." he mumbled, lying completely prone on the ground. he tried to speak... but his words were only a garbled mess of tears and snot, "i-i'm... I'm nothing but a joke and a-a joke like me... doesn't deserve love..." the pope started to laugh as all the pain and hurt and anger and fear and sadness all built inside him, "i-i don't deserve love, do i?" His words seemed to turn into a mix between crying and laughing, "no... no one... deserves a freak... like me..."

“have fun with your pathetic life…this is the last time you’ll be seeing me… have a terrible night terzo.” you turned at left. slamming the door. you walked outside the venue and completely broke down. all of it hurt too much. the love of your life….cheated on you…called you an idiot….and a monster..

terzo watched you leave... still just lying there on the floor. he curled himself up and kept crying. It's... it's true... he didn't deserve love... he was a freak. was sister y/n right? did everyone think he was worthless? was... was that why no one took him seriously?

"f-freak..." he whispered to himself, his self esteem broken in a million little pieces...

"that's all i'll ever be... a pathetic.…freak...”

——————————————

my guilty pleasure is writing angst. anyway lmk if you enjoyed this!

#papa emeritus iii #papa emeritus iii x reader #daddy terzo #terzo x reader #terzo fanfiction #the band ghost #ghost band #papa emeritus fanfiction

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hairstevington · 1 year

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i can't tune you out (part 3)

Eddie Munson x Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley x Chrissy Cunningham

Summary: Eddie and Chrissy become friends. Robin and Chrissy bond. Eddie and Steve strike a deal.

(part 1, part 2)

Word Count: 4.8K (it's a long one!)

Warnings: Rockstar!Eddie/Musician!Steve, modern day AU, enemies to lovers STILL very much enemies sorry I love a slow burn, Chrissy x Comphet, allusions to Chrissy having body issues, Hellcheer being wholesome, angst upon angst baybeeee, this chapter is very fun just bear with the boys absolutely despising each other lmao

A/N: Hello friends! From here on out, this fic will only be posted to my Ao3. If you're digging the story so far, go ahead and follow along here! To those that don't have accounts, I might be able to finesse some sort of system where I let you guys know when I've updated. Also, for those in need of Soft Steddie (tm), more "Flowers and Ink" is coming soon! Love y'all <3

Eddie got to the bar before Chrissy did, but he kind of preferred it that way. It gave him a chance to sit down, order a drink, and settle into the environment before being thrust into more chaos.

Sometimes, even though he thrived in insanity, he needed a moment to breathe. Not that he’d ever admit that out loud, of course.

“Hey, stranger!” Chrissy’s voice rang from behind him. He spun around and was surprised when she threw her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. He’d thought that she’d been extra sweet and friendly the night before because of the alcohol, but apparently that was just her vibe. It was actually really nice.

“H-hi, Chrissy,” Eddie replied, hugging her back. She pulled away after one last squeeze, then plopped herself beside him. “How’s it going?”

“Pretty good,” she answered. “I was up all night, so I slept most of the day. Now, I’ll probably be up all night again. Such is life.”

“Been there,” Eddie replied, taking a sip of his drink.

“Can I get a vodka soda and two shots of tequila, please?” Chrissy asked the bartender.

“Tequila?” Eddie asked, attempting to hide the disgust on his face. He hadn’t touched the stuff in years, after one fateful night involving a playground. Helpful tip - being drunk on a swing set is not the move.

“Tequila,” Chrissy confirmed with a smirk. “I’m invested now, and considering this is our first of potentially many drinks together, I figured we should start off with a bang.”

Eddie stared at her, blankly. She wanted to see him again after this? But he hadn’t even really done anything!

“Why are you so invested in this?” Eddie asked.

“I dunno,” Chrissy replied with a shrug. The bartender put the vodka soda down in front of her, and she started mixing it around with the thin plastic straw. “I guess I’m just kinda…bored?”

“Bored?” Eddie repeated. “How could you be bored when you’re doing all the shit you do? Going to parties and photoshoots and - I mean, you barely know me.”

“My life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” she responded. There was a flicker of sadness in her eyes, but it left as quickly as it had come. Chrissy sipped her drink, then thanked the bartender as she set the shots down. “Come on, let’s commemorate this!”

She took out her phone and gestured for Eddie to hold his drink up so they could take a picture. He was blown away by the whole thing, honestly. He almost texted Carla just to be like - can you believe this shit?

It all seemed too easy. She was too open to being his friend, and he didn’t know why. He’d worked hard and all that, but he didn’t feel like he was decent enough of a person to get any sort of karmic reward. So this all felt a little suspicious, but he tried to enjoy it anyway.

They did the shot. At least Chrissy had sprung for the high-quality liquor. It was still kinda nasty.

“How was the rest of the party?” he asked.

“Good,” Chrissy responded with a tight-lipped smile. She didn’t add any details, which was odd, but she spoke again before Eddie could ask any follow-up questions. “So, what’s the deal with you? People say you’re dating Steve, but you didn’t even know what he looked like last night, soooo…”

Alright, here we go.

“Yeah, well,” Eddie began. “I’m not dating him, clearly.” No sense in lying to Chrissy when she already knew.

“But you want to?” Chrissy asked. Eddie shrugged. He would have flat out told her the truth, but he was hesitant to give everything away immediately. Steve was the one with the power, and Eddie hated that. “Do I need to order us another shot?”

“Please, no,” Eddie shot back instantly. When Chrissy laughed, he realized she’d been joking. “Sorry, it’s just -”

“It’s okay,” Chrissy assured him. “Talking to people in this business is hard. You never know who you can trust. I used to be a lot more open, and then you kinda just learn that you…can’t be, most of the time.”

Eddie furrowed his brow, wondering what exactly Chrissy felt she couldn’t tell people. Even moreso, he wanted to know who had broken her trust in the past. Then, he felt a pang of guilt, since he’d been mostly excited about this drink because it would boost his fame. Everything about all of this was corrupt and morally ambiguous. He sighed.

“I’m just trying to make it out there,” Eddie admitted. “And I - I mean, I don’t know what to do, or how anything works.”

“Yeah, I remember what that’s like,” she empathized. She took a sip of her vodka soda, then turned back to Eddie. “Do you ever feel like -? I mean, do you ever feel like you’re losing your mind?”

“Uhhh, just on a daily basis,” Eddie replied. He and Chrissy smiled at each other, and he could feel her authenticity. Maybe it was stupid for him to open up to her, but he was going to do it anyway. “Chrissy, have you ever, uh - like, have you ever done one of those PR relationships?”

“Oh, yeah,” she replied, unfazed. “I can’t really say anything, but yeah. It happens a lot around here.” Eddie nodded, then sipped his drink. “Wait, are you trying to do that with me?”

“Not quite,” Eddie mumbled, his lips pressed to his glass.

“I thought you were gay,” she continued.

“I am.”

“Oh, okay.” She thought about it for a moment, then her eyes widened. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Oh,” she repeated. “Ohhhh!”

“Got any other letters?” Eddie teased. Chrissy giggled, then shoved him playfully.

“You’re funny,” she said. Eddie wasn’t used to people enjoying his often wicked sense of humor. This was refreshing. “So, who’s idea was it?”

“My manager, I guess,” Eddie answered. “Well, she told me to use what the fans were saying and to meet up with the guy. But it, uh - it didn’t go well.”

“No?” she asked, surprised. “What happened?”

Eddie wanted to keep talking to Chrissy. He didn’t care that she was famous anymore - he wanted her perspective as someone who’d been through it. He also knew that Chrissy could tear him down just as quickly as she could build him up.

“Did you mean what you said about us getting drinks more often?” he asked.

“Yeah!” she replied, smiling brightly. “Like I said, you’re funny. And I - hmm. Okay, um. This next part might sound really bad at first, but I can explain.”

“Okay…” Eddie said, feeling his walls come back up.

“I don’t really have a lot of male friends,” Chrissy admitted. “It always feels like - like they’re just waiting for their chance to strike.”

“Like, try to sleep with you?” Eddie asked. Chrissy nodded. “Oh. Christ, that sucks.”

“Yeah,” she replied with a half shrug.

He skipped the part where he doubted whether or not what she was saying was true, because it was clearly affecting her whether it was true or not. Eddie also had an urge to diffuse the tension with a joke, because that was kind of his thing.

“Chrissy Cunningham,” he stated, “- are you trying to make me your gay best friend?” She bit her lip, fighting a guilty smile. “Cuz like, I’m down, but I’ve never really done this before so I don’t know what the role entails.” She stopped fighting the smile, so Eddie continued. “I mean, is there a rulebook out there? I think there’s a movie about this on Netflix. Should I watch that first?”

“Eddie!” She interrupted, fully laughing now. Eddie joined her, feeling accomplished that he’d lightened the mood and set her at ease again. “I’m in the modeling industry, I’m surrounded by gay men all the time. It’s not just about that, I promise.”

“Okay, then what is it?” Eddie wondered. She sighed, her body much more relaxed than it had been before.

“It’s just that everybody I’m around talks about their looks all the time. I mean, it’s our job to be beautiful, I know that, but it’s tiring to just constantly hear about new diets and calories and what I should and should not eat. It’s just - it’s nice to get away from that, sometimes. You’re nothing like them, and I like that.”

“Nothing like them, huh?” Eddie smirked. “Are you saying I’m not beautiful?” She laughed and shook her head.

“Okay fine, you have one thing in common,” she teased back. “You’re not mad?”

“Nah,” Eddie said, shaking his head. “But while we’re coming clean, I definitely was excited to come here because I hoped I’d get more followers if we hung out.”

“Well, obviously,” Chrissy responded, flipping her hair. “Okay, so that’s out of the way. Can we stick together, then?”

She asked it so sweetly it made his heart ache.

“Yeah, ‘course,” he replied. He thought back to what Chrissy had said earlier about her model friends and decided to commit to being the opposite. “So, uh, I dunno about you but I could really go for some fries right now.”

Chrissy’s eyes widened.

“I’d kill for some fries right now.”

“Great,” he said, grinning. “Who are we killing?” They laughed together, and then he got the bartender’s attention so he could order.

“For the record, I’m not doing this for you.”

It took Robin less than two seconds to agree to going to the bar with Steve. Now, they were walking down the street so that they could spy on two people they barely knew but were somehow entangled with.

“I know, I know,” Steve replied.

The bar was in sight. Chrissy hadn’t tagged the location or anything, but he recognized the place because he went there often. So often that it wasn’t out of the ordinary for him to show up with Robin. They’d done it before and they’d do it again.

The plan was for them to discreetly sit at a table in the back. But then they were at the door, and then they were opening the door, and then they were immediately being stared down by a blonde and a brunette at the bar.

Shit.

“Steve, what do we do?” Robin muttered rapidly.

“Uhhh,” he said, glancing over at the table he imagined they’d sit at. He thought about ignoring them and just sitting down, but they’d all already seen each other so that would have just been rude. “I think we just have to own it.”

“Own what? That we’re psychopaths?” Robin hissed.

And then, Chrissy was waving them both over to join them.

“Just follow my lead,” Steve said.

In hindsight, this plan had been really, really stupid.

Steve knew that his cover for all this was to get Robin and Chrissy in the same room again. But truthfully, Steve didn’t know Chrissy’s deal or if she wanted anything other than friendship. Steve could say this had nothing to do with Eddie all he wanted, but that wasn’t true.

He’d been wracking his brain all day to make sense of this. His fight with Eddie the night prior had been a little fuzzy, but one part of it really stuck with him.

Just a few years of King Steve bullying the school freak.

Well, that comment plus Eddie saying that Steve’s music sucked. That stung, but he wasn’t expecting someone like Eddie to appreciate his music anyway. The truth was, Steve had left high school behind, and he’d moved on, and he’d forgotten the shit he’d done back then. All that bystander crap, the teasing, the little comments that Steve didn’t understand the impact of at the time.

Steve didn’t like Eddie. He still thought Eddie was a dick. But that didn’t mean Steve hadn’t also been a dick back then.

All of this was very complicated, and the residual headache from the hangover made his head spin. Actually, the dizziness was probably also from the hangover. The thought of drinking made him want to hurl. Good thing he was at a bar, right?

“Hey!” Chrissy said as they approached. “What are you guys doing here?!” She jumped up to hug Steve, then Robin, and Steve watched as his friend acted as if the physical contact with her crush didn’t affect her.

“We, uh -” Steve began. “We come here a lot, actually. Well, I do. I live just down the road.”

His gaze drifted to Eddie, who gave Steve a knowing smirk.

“Oh my god, Robin, I’m actually so glad you’re here,” Chrissy said. “Your style is just - I mean, wow! Where do you get your clothes?”

Robin’s eyes landed on Steve’s for a nanosecond, but it was enough for him to know exactly what was going through her brain. Basically just the embodiment of a bunch of exclamation points.

“I - I usually thrift them, actually!” Robin responded.

Then, Chrissy continued asking where Robin thrifted, and whether she could come with sometime, and Steve figured they’d be at it for a while.

Huh. Maybe there would be something there after all.

Of course, while they were talking, this left Steve to either stand there awkwardly or interact with Eddie. He probably would have chosen the awkward standing, had Eddie not chosen the opposite.

“Well, if it isn’t HARVEST in the flesh. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Eddie began. He was smiling, but his tone was biting. Steve looked at Eddie, nodded his head toward Chrissy and Robin, then looked back at Eddie. He shrugged. “Ah, I see.”

“Yeah.”

“No other reason?” Eddie prodded, playing dumb.

“Nope,” Steve said. “Like I said, I live right -”

“Down the road,” Eddie interrupted. “So I heard.” Steve swallowed. He kinda felt like he was being interrogated or something. Eddie was making this extremely uncomfortable.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Steve wondered, desperately wanting this interaction to be over. Unfortunately, Chrissy and Robin were still chatting eagerly.

“Like what, HARVEST?” Eddie asked. Steve rolled his eyes.

“Steve is fine.”

“Hmm, is he though?” Eddie retorted. “I don’t think you want me to treat you like I treat Steve.”

God, Eddie knew how to push Steve’s buttons. His heart was racing, he was so mad. He clenched his jaw and considered how bad it would be to smack the smug grin off Eddie’s face.

Really bad. He knew that. He took deep breaths instead and relaxed. His hands had balled into fists at some point during the conversation. He extended his fingers out, flexing them. He was trying to leave this version of himself in the past, not bring him back. Another deep breath.

“Whatever, Munson,” Steve sighed. “I just -”

“Hey, guys?” Robin said, diverting the attention to her. She pointed to the window, where a crowd of people had gathered.

Some of them had cameras.

“Shit,” Chrissy said. “How long do you think they’ve been there?”

“I dunno,” Steve responded. “You wanna get out of here?”

“Yeah,” Chrissy agreed. Eddie and Robin looked at each other this time, both outside of Chrissy and Steve’s shared understanding.

Good thing all of them looked nice. Those pictures were gonna be all over the place tomorrow.

Steve was here a lot, so he knew the bartenders and the owners, and he also knew how to sneak out when things like this happened.

“Come on,” he said, urging Chrissy to follow him. With Steve came Robin, and Eddie sure as hell didn’t want to be left there alone, so he came too. Oh, joy.

The four of them walked past the bar and through a sign marked for employees only. They wandered through the kitchen and left out a black door that led to an alley behind the building.

“So, what now?” Robin asked once they were outside.

“I’ll give them about two minutes until they find us,” Steve replied.

“Is there somewhere else we could go?” Chrissy wondered. “I kind of don’t want to go home yet.”

“Well, I know HARVEST over here lives nearby,” Eddie said.

“Will you quit it with the HARVEST thing?” Steve complained.

“Sorry, do you prefer Harvey?” Eddie shot back. Steve groaned.

“You’re impossible.”

“Oh, boy,” Chrissy mumbled.

“I know, right?” Robin agreed. “Steve, can we go back to yours?”

“All of us?” Steve asked, knowing the answer already. It was his apartment. He could have flat out said that Eddie wasn’t allowed in. But he saw the look in Robin’s eyes, and he knew that if they all went back to the apartment, she could spend more time with Chrissy. “Alright, fine. Let’s go.”

Steve’s apartment was nice. It was huge, spacious, and all the utilities worked. It was also minimalist in that Steve hadn’t put up any decorations. He had the essentials - a couch, a TV, a table. Not much more.

“Sorry, I wasn’t expecting to have people over,” Steve said as they walked in.

“It’s beautiful,” Chrissy said.

“It’s empty,” Eddie noted. His apartment was a lot smaller, but it also was a lot more filled up. This place had nothing, basically. Eddie almost made a comment about Steve not having any money to decorate after paying what he assumed was an absurd rent, but he held his tongue.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Robin agreed. “I keep throwing ideas his way, but he’d rather live in an asylum, basically.”

“I’m not here that often,” Steve explained, shrugging. “Sue me.”

“It definitely could use some color,” Chrissy agreed. “Art on the walls, maybe a rug -”

“Yes! Exactly!” Robin exclaimed. “I even have a Pinterest board.”

“Oh my god, can I see it?” Chrissy asked. Robin nodded, and then they were both sitting across the room looking at decor or some shit. All of the logistical stuff related to interior design was beyond Eddie. He just bought things that he liked and then put them where they best fit. He didn’t know anything about color-coding, and he didn’t even know what Pinterest was.

Anyway, Robin and Chrissy bonding so aggressively and so immediately (which was interesting, to say the least) left Eddie semi-alone with Steve once again.

“Can we talk?” Steve asked, surprising the hell out of Eddie. He had given Steve zero reason to want to talk to him, he’d made sure of it. Like, Eddie had been at his maximum asshole level for a few reasons. First and foremost, it was payback for high school. Second, it was fun. And third, because Eddie didn’t like Steve, and because he currently didn’t have anywhere else to direct his anger.

He didn’t say they were good reasons.

“Uh, suuuuure,” Eddie replied. Steve gestured for Eddie to follow him down the hall so they could have some privacy.

Oh, great. Now we’re fully alone.

Chrissy was amazing. She was wonderful. She was everything Robin hoped she’d be. It was almost too good to be true. No, it was definitely too good to be true.

They were huddled over Robin’s phone, talking about color theory and decorations which turned into art and hobbies which turned into a discussion about college (Robin went, Chrissy didn’t) and then finally their conversation settled on music.

“Have you listened to their stuff?” Robin asked, gesturing towards where the boys had gone. It had been a few minutes and no arguing or fights breaking out yet, as far as she could tell. Of course, she hadn’t been listening that intently.

“Sure,” Chrissy responded. “Corroded Coffin not so much, but that’s just because I’m not into that sort of music.”

“Very fair.”

“Yeah. But HARVEST I hear all the time. That one song is literally impossible to escape from.”

“Oh, we know,” Robin replied with a laugh. “Steve secretly can’t stand it’s that song that blew up.”

“What do you mean?” Chrissy wondered.

“Like, it’s definitely his most commercial song,” Robin explained. “I’ve been listening to Steve’s music since we met, and it’s a little out there sometimes, but now that I’m used to it I’m all for it. Anyway, his favorite songs are the ones most people haven’t heard. That’s why his new album is - I mean that’s why he -”

Robin stopped herself from saying the rest. Chrissy was great, but Robin wasn’t about to spill all of her best friend’s secrets.

“That’s why he what?” Chrissy teased, nudging Robin in the shoulder.

Dammit. It was really hard to avoid temptation when temptation was someone as vibrant as Chrissy Cunningham.

“That’s why he’s so excited about it,” Robin concluded.

Thank god. I can keep my best friend card.

“Oh, okay,” Chrissy said, nodding. “I’ll have to listen to his other stuff then.”

“Let me know what you think,” Robin replied.

“Of course I will.” Chrissy smiled, then pulled out her phone. To Robin’s surprise, she handed it to her with an empty contact open.

Holy shit.

Robin typed in her name and number, then triple checked to make sure she put it in correctly before handing the phone back to Chrissy.

“There you go,” she said, doing her best to remain calm.

“Thank you,” Chrissy said. “Wow, it’s so crazy. First with Eddie, now with you. I just feel like we’re all going to be really good friends.”

Friends. GOD. Ouch.

Robin probably should have expected that. She had expected it, really, but it stung nonetheless. That was okay. They could be friends. Robin cleared her throat and hoped she didn’t sound too disappointed.

“Yeah, if the two idiots in there can get their shit together,” Robin joked.

“I know!” Chrissy agreed. “Like, what’s going on with them?”

“I honestly have no idea.” She looked down the hall, still not hearing any arguing.

If she’d been alone, she would have pressed her ear to the door and listened in, but she had to be on her best behavior. You know, for her new friend.

“Sooo, what the hell is going on?” Eddie asked once they were in a different room. It looked like an office. There was music equipment everywhere.

“I’m just gonna go ahead and tell you a bunch of shit, okay? Because the last hour or so has been crazy and I’m still kind of hungover and I’m not interested in doing a whole dance with you.”

“Yeah, you made that clear last night when you didn’t dance with me,” Eddie deadpanned.

“Jesus,” Steve exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Could you just -”

“You wanna tell me something, so skip the preamble and tell me -”

“I’m sorry, okay?” Steve snapped. “I’m sorry for - I’m sorry about high school. I was an idiot.”

Oh. Well, shit.

“Past tense?” Eddie teased.

“Go to hell.”

“Okay, okay, point taken,” he relented with a light chuckle. “Thanks. I appreciate the apology.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really,” Eddie confirmed. “Don’t worry, I’m still iffy about you for a bunch of other reasons.”

“Great,” Steve said, returning Eddie’s sarcastic tone.

“Cool,” Eddie replied. “So, is that it?”

“No.”

“No?” Eddie prodded.

“Wait, what are the other reasons?” Steve asked, losing his train of thought. Eddie scoffed.

“You want me to tell you why I don’t like you?” Eddie rebuffed. “Are you into that or something?”

“No, I just -”

“Come on, spit it out,” he demanded. “The quicker you say what you’re gonna say, the less time we have to talk to each other. What is it?”

Steve took a deep breath.

“I want my album to do well, and ever since this whole steddie thing happened, people have actually started talking about it, and -”

“Waaaait a goddamn second,” Eddie drawled. “Are you saying you want to actually, like, do the fake relationship thing?”

“No, I just don’t want to deny it,” Steve responded. “Let them talk, you know.”

Eddie almost laughed. Jesus Christ, this was rich. Eddie thought he’d be the one begging for scraps, yet here he was, in Steve’s apartment, listening to his high school bully ask him for a favor.

Eddie weighed his options. If he said no, it would feel great in the moment, but then this would be over.

The tables were turning, and he wasn’t going to let a bit of his power go to waste.

“Hmm, very interesting, Harvey,” he said. “The King’s come crawling back to the freak.” Steve scoffed.

“Our fake relationship benefits you more than me, you do realize that, right?” he reminded Eddie. “I’m just fine on my own. You get a popularity boost from this, so maybe you should try not to be a total asshole for once. I could find literally anyone else to do this with.”

The thing was, Eddie knew that wasn’t true. He could see right through the bullshit.

“You’re bluffing,” Eddie stated.

“What?”

“You’re bluffing,” he repeated. “Lest we forget you’re the one who asked me to go along with this.” Steve rolled his eyes.

“Ugh, ‘lest we forget.’ Why do you talk like that?”

“You’re avoiding the question,” Edde said, his eyes boring into Steve’s.

“What question?”

“Come on, Harrington. You want me. Why?”

Steve’s eyes narrowed, but didn’t break away.

“Okay, calm down with the whole ‘I want you’ thing, alright?” Steve’s agitation was just too cute. It was so easy to rile him up. “I’m doing this for my album, just like you are.”

“Yeaaah, I don’t buy it. What else is it?” Eddie couldn’t help it. He had to keep pushing.

“There’s nothing else, Eddie.”

“Don’t tell me, then,” he teased. “Let me guess. All those years ago when you laughed at me in high school, you were really just harboring some hidden crush on me that didn’t fully come to fruition until you saw me at Frolique?”

Steve’s face went pale, and for a moment Eddie wondered if he’d gone too far.

“Oh my god,” Steve scoffed. “Could you not be a jackass for literally one second?”

“Wait, was I right?” Eddie took a step forward, intrigued by the idea.

“No, you weren’t right, Munson,” Steve insisted. “I didn’t have a crush on you, I was just a dick.”

Ah. So much for that. Eddie shook his head and smiled.

“And now you’re just so goddamn pleasant, huh?” He turned to look at all the expensive shit Steve kept in there - high-tech recording equipment, instruments, microphones, sheet music.

“Usually, yeah,” Steve replied. “I’m actually nice to most people.” Eddie’s eyes were still focused on the sheet music, an increasing curiosity within him, but he held back and returned his focus to Steve.

“Aw, so I’m the exception? See, I knew I was special.”

If being a dick was so bad, then why was it so fun?

“Seriously, what’s wrong with you?” Steve asked.

“Oh god, sooooo many things,” Eddie replied. He meant it, too. He knew he had issues, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to talk to Steve about them. “And for the record, I can be pleasant too. Just ask Chrissy.”

“When did you get so close with her, anyway?”

“Since about an hour ago,” Eddie answered. “Anyway, I’m an absolute delight, Harrington. I only bite when it’s fun.”

“Then you must be having the time of your goddamn life,” Steve remarked.

It wasn’t not true, but once again, Eddie needed to be unpredictable. He just had this compulsive need to throw Steve off, to keep him guessing. Yeah, being an asshole to Steve Harrington was fun, but Eddie didn’t forget how much he hated the guy and everything he stood for.

“God, I wish,” he replied. “I hate this, but I’ll have fun when I can. I mean, my career is important, too. Why do you think I made a big fool of myself at that party? I fucking danced in public so that I could talk to you. I already told you - I don’t like your music, or your weird persona, and I don’t really care for you off-stage either.”

“Yeah? Well, the feeling is mutual,” Steve shot back.

Eddie smirked, a fire within him that somehow bloomed and burned at the same time. Matter is neither created nor destroyed right? Eddie was never that good in school, but that phrase always stuck with him. The fire - the anger, the pain, the hurt - it fueled him and it broke him down. An endless cycle. What he loved. What he didn’t. All of it was the same.

“Let me be fucking clear,” Eddie said. “I’m not doing this because it’s fun. I’m doing it because I get something out of it, got it?”

“Got it,” Steve replied. The air between them was tense, and it made Eddie feel alive.

“Okay,” he said at last. “Then we’ll let them talk.”

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

@paintballkid711 @abraca-fxckyou @allbimyself26 @jellybabiesforall @allbymyselfexceptformycactus @justaloadofgarbage-blog @alliemunsonsstuff @undreamingnscatworld @hobbitnarwhal @calivanus @wreckmyplans-thatsmyman @antheia @goodolefashionedloverboi @lillemilly @missmagillicuddy @steviesbicrisis @gamerdano @menamesniall eyeslikewildflowers111 @callmesirkay @stringischeese @eds-trashmouth @mnl-enuh @redfreckledwolf @itsanarrum @soulsofstarsliveinyourveins @gregre369 @stevesbipanic @momotonescreaming @aryakanojiaa @wrenisflying @comicmadlover @lilacrobin @itch-my-b0nez @anonymousbandgirl @disastardly @dangdirtydemons @daisyellsong @val-from-lawrence @starryeyedpoet17 @taikawaiteatea @clumsiluni @hollysimone @swimmingbirdrunningrock @witchofhawkins @steddiegarbage @suddenlyinlove @ricekristytreaty @eddielives1986

#steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #stranger things #robin buckley #chrissy cunningham #buckingham #steddie fic #i can't tune you out #st fanfic #writing #eddie munson x steve harrington

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elvisabutler · 1 year

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So, I have one last Dove anon question! This is the last one, I promise. 😁 I apologize for all the asks; it's been an insane week of work and Dove-verse is my escape. 😁 How do you imagine Dove feeling emotionally/ feeling about her body during her pregnancy? Based on the OG story and headcanons it seems like she would love being pregnant; do you imagine her actual pregnancy that way, or do you picture it going differently? Thank you again so much for being so patient with all my asks; I promise this is my last one! 😁

BUT ANON!! anon. what if i want more. what then?? honestly anon i really enjoy these so keep them coming to be honest. also i am deeply flattered it's your escape tbh. anyway! answer to you question.

okay so once she's over any lingering priscilla and elvis feelings she loves it. like she's always wanted the four kids with her thriving career and the lovely partner and now that she has the lovely partner in austin and the slowly starting to thrive career. does she necessarily like how her body is changing? not all the time. she knows she's growing a baby and everything but austin has to reassure her sometimes when she's in the mirror looking at how her body's changed. like no matter her body type, it's still a baby making her boobs bigger and giving her a firm bump and all that jazz. sometimes it messes with her head.

and she feels a little bad about it because it's what she wanted you know? but her mind sometimes does this annoying slide into thinking austin is going to be like- allegedly elvis was with priscilla- and not want to touch her after she has their baby even if he can't keep his hands off of her while she's pregnant because he's a damn horndog. it's weird how she feels. happy beyond belief while sometimes just feeling like trash and sad and wanting to just curl up on their shared bed and cry. their couple's therapist and her own therapist basically see her whenever she makes an appointment for the first pregnancy at least. the second and beyond she's way better at handling it emotionally and well. the second, third and fourth babies are proof austin still wants her even after things start being saggy and aren't in the same places they weren't originally.

i hope this kind of answers the question? like honestly she really loves being pregnant but pregnancy hormones can really mess with a person, trust me. even post pregnancy my brain still is a little asshole sometimes.

this is where i make the throwaway comment of watch one of y'all request a pregnant dove fic and one of y'all actually does it to make me giggle in delight isn't it? i secretly specialize in breeding kink for a reason ya know.

#little dove series #dove series #ally writes #austin butler x priscilla actress reader #you read your lines so cleverly and never missed a cue

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sophsun1 · 1 year

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Gale and Randy were really doing one insane sex scene after another in that first season 😭😭 But what would you say are the top 3 from s1?

Hey anon!

Listen Gale was not lying when he said that he dove in so deep, so soon, so quickly with Randy. They really threw them into the lions den and said "Here you are, now get to it!" in the first season!

They kind of covered this in the 10 year reunion panel I giffed (which if you haven't seen and you're a fan of qaf you should definitely check it out, it's so funny and such a joy to see some of the cast together. I adore Peter, Randy and Gale so it was like a dream for me to watch)

Gale talks about the logistics behind filming those sex scenes and how he kind of had to get into the right mindset doing them. They suffered for their art especially in that first season because apparently they had a terrible costume designer who hadn't quite worked out a comfortable and easy way for them to cover their modesty and they were gluing fabric onto themselves asdfgjhkdhd.

For us watching it's like a quick two minute scene but for them it's hours and take after take. You can tell he really, really cared about getting it right and getting the character of Brian to be an authentic portrayal of a gay man and what the writers had written for him. He talks about having gay friends who were out and some that weren't and even though he was straight he didn't want to get it wrong and not do it justice. No wonder he developed that really close bond with Randy on and off screen it absolutely helped with making it so believable along with their mind blowing chemistry. There was a lot of pressure on those two as they were the first pair to shoot the sex scenes and the writers were like "You're setting the standard for the rest of the show and the rest of the cast would be watching and taking your lead." type of thing. I mean we only got Justin topping Brian one time because Randy insisted on it so you know, it was a difficult process for them at times.

Also being arguably at your most emotionally and physically vulnerable, totally naked with a new co-star you've just met and having it all be filmed, whilst it's your FIRST tv acting gig - crazy.

Anway that was me going off on a tangent - sorry!

Now to answer your question there isn't actually that many sex scenes between britin in season one, surprisingly when you go back and watch.

I will always maintain that for me the scene in 1x10 in the hotel is the hottest scene they ever filmed. Again the first season y'all!!! The chemistry and sexual tension is literally on fire and popping off the screen. From Justin undressing them both to the soundtrack playing over them as they make out 🔥

The one in 1x04 in Michael's bedroom when Justin runs away and Brian is supposed to get him to leave and instead they fuck of course. Once again the soundtrack and music choice always adds to it- the qaf soundtrack is just the best. Plus Justin coming downstairs with that "I just fucked your best friend in your childhood bedroom face" is goals. Teen Justin ftw.

The one in 1x07 is the most graphic I think for the first season but the montage of Craig finding the picture of britin together with them fucking in the background. The writers really went for it.

Also I can't not give special mention the pilot episode. The perfect mix of comedy with Justin saying he prefers Cheerios, is allergic to Tylenol and then proclaiming he's a top and bottom who loves to rim. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. Also that scene set the bar and they only got better as the show went on.

As much as a lot of the relationship had sex scenes in it, the chemistry between Gale and Randy and the story made it so much more. That's why I love them and why they are such an iconic pairing.

#britin #soph asks #sorry for the ramble but im incapable of being coherent about the show #qaf cast #brian kinney #justin taylor

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not-so-mundane-after-all · 1 year

Note

Hi my love

💝💌💘

Z, my darling!

💝what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

I have to talk about My Hand Was The One You Reached For here, my first ever TLOU fic. The response to it? INSANE. I came here from a fandom where, especially recently, stuff about a father-daughter relationship wasn't getting much traction, so since I was used to a small response, I wasn't really expecting anything. I first made a Tumblr post about it, again, not expecting more than a handful of notes. After all I'm a fandom newbie who only came here because of the show, I knew close to nothing about the game. And then the post got thousands of notes in a matter of hours. People were dropping their own fics in the reblogs!!! I dropped mine on ao3 and it got more kudos & comments in a single day than my most recent Titans fics got in months!!! That never happened to me before. I've had popular fics but never to this extent, never so fast. So I was absolutely blown away. Thank you guys for welcoming me so kindly 🥹

💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

Since I'm currently splitting my writing time between two fandoms, right now I don't have anything started for The Last of Us, but I can list the ideas I will be working on once I'm done working on my Titans ideas.

Ellie forgives Joel by writing a song about it, based on Back to December by Taylor Swift - but before I get to that I want to watch the gameplay of tlou2 and torture myself since I don't know the full story. For science.

Ellie overhears the word "adoption" at school and asks Joel to explain it to her.

Another dancing fic, something based in Jackson, though I don't have a clear picture of it yet. Although I'm thinking about the kitchen. You know, another T Swift lyrics, dancing in the refrigerator light.

As for Titans, I'm currently in the process of writing the last two chapters of my newest multi-chapter Acrida, which is a time travel fic that can cause you a baby fever 🤭 but come on, which fictional father we all know and love would pass on a chance to go back in time and get to know his adopted kid when they were just a tiny little baby? There's some angst though, I actually wrote the heaviest scene today and I spent a good ten minutes crying. But I'll be keeping that under wraps and instead share something sweet.

The snowflakes falling around them became bigger. Few of them settled on his hair, one dropping right onto his nose and that was a game changer; Rachel's eyes grew round like dinner plates, lips forming a tiny ooh as she swatted at it with her hand.

"What's that?" Dick gasped, his eyes as wide as hers. "Snow? You like snow?"

She blinked at him a few times, entranced by the sound of his voice. Then she broke into a giggle, twisting in his arms as she laughed.

Dick tucked her closer to himself, laughing as well. She was the sweetest child, her sparkling personality already shining through, and her baby laugh could easily have the power to clear the sky off the heaviest clouds.

💘Is there any posted fic you want to rework/re-edit/re-write?

I once had this thought to rewrite my earliest fics because reading them made me cringe and I know I would have done them better now when I'm more experienced. But I decided against it because it shows the progress I've made as a writer, how much I've actually learned. So they'll stay cringe. If y'all want to binge my fics, start from the bottom so they get better instead of getting worse lol 😂

There's one though, where I only realized the issue recently. There's this collab AU fic for Titans I wrote with a friend. Huge thing, our best work to date, HIGHLY RECOMMEND READING (shameless self promo but fuck it we ballin) it's called Wicked Game. Recently, we started developing a sequel. Nothing written yet, only brainstorming and exchanging notes for now, but I realized recently that damn we really fucking put ourselves into a corner with that epilogue 🫣🤭

#mundi asks #writer ask game #dc titans #the last of us

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khoicesbyk · 1 year

Text

The Royal Romance.

Love Everlasting.

A/N: I had a different name and plot for this fic over a year ago. But after being in the RP community for more than a year, I've decided to write the current Royal Life of my favorite OTP.

Rated: Mature (at times can and will be Explicit. I'll be sure to change the rating when and if that happens). | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual. Y'all should be used to this from me by now 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: King Marquise Rys (LI) and Queen Shanelle Miller-Rys (MC) | All Characters and names: (except MC and original characters created by me and/or other authors [their characters have been mentioned and/or used in the story with their permission] ) are property of Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: 40K words. (may be slightly more or may be slightly less. Look, I stop counting after editing and re-editing and driving myself insane. 🤷🏾‍♀️)

If you’d like to be added to my tag list. Just reblog or dm me and I will gladly add you! 😁😘

This series is rated Mature and/or Explicit. It is NOT reading material that is safe for those under 18. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised!

Missing a chapter or want to read a chapter again? I got you covered! Click ——> Here!

Tag List: @choicesficwriterscreations

Chapter 7.) One Last Goodbye. Part 4.

When she woke up the next morning, she had vengeance on her mind. After jumping in the shower and throwing on a charcoal gray sundress, Shanelle was ready to give Marquise a piece of her mind. She stormed down the back stairs to the kitchen, only to find him shirtless and in an apron and jeans. He was fixing them breakfast.

“Oh good! You’re awake. I thought I was gonna have to come wake you up. By the way, how do you like your eggs, love?” he said to her.

She was stuck. Every ounce of rage she had drained out of her the minute she saw him. He looked at her with a teasing smirk.

“See something you like, Princess?” he asks.

She crossed her arms and huffed.

“Take a picture, love. It'll last you a lot longer than staring at me will.”

“Why are you not wearing a shirt?” she asked.

“Well for starters, this is my house. Which means I don't have to wear a shirt. But since you asked I got flour over it when making scones or what you Americans call biscuits.” he replies as he puts the biscuits in the oven and sets the timer for 15 minutes.

She couldn't help but look him up and down.

“Come here, Shanelle.”

She huffed.

“I'm not one of your subjects. You don't get to order me around.”

“Is that what you think I'm doing?” he asks.

“Why not? You wouldn't be the first Royal to try and tell me what to do,” she replies.

“No, I wouldn't. But I'm also not your father and I'm certainly not your uncle. Now come here. You’re too far away.”

Shanelle unfolded her arms and walked over to him.

“Much better.” he said as he moved a few strands of hair from in front of her face, “now did you sleep well?”

“Yes. You know I love that bed,” she replies.

“Good. Now breakfast will be ready soon. I hope you’re hungry because we have much to discuss.”

“We certainly do.” she agreed.

He wrapped his left arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. While holding a strawberry in his right hand to her lips.

“Bite,” he instructed.

She looked him in the eye as she took a bite of the strawberry. She watched him eat the rest of the strawberry.

“Sweet enough?” he asks.

She nodded her head yes.

“Good.” was all he said before he pulled her tight to his chest and kissed her deep. He knew she was angry with him, but he also knew how to disarm her. Their kiss was also sweet thanks to them sharing a strawberry. They also began to intensify and become very heated.

“How do you do that?” she asked breathlessly in between kisses.

“Do what?” he replies.

“Make me want to take your head off in one breath then make my heart stutter in the next?”

He smiled against the spot just below her right ear.

“It's because I know you, Shanelle. I know what buttons to push to get the reaction that I want.” he whispered before nipping her earlobe, “I know where to touch. I know where to kiss. I know how to make you mine.”

His lips traveled from her ear to the crook of her neck. He would've kept going if the timer he set hadn't gone off. When he pulled away from her, she had a glow to her from the cold sweat on her skin.

“Have a seat, love. Breakfast is just about done.”

She blinked before taking a deep breath and taking a seat at the kitchen island. A few minutes later breakfast was served and she was impressed.

“This is like the breakfast we had in Cordonia at your duchy. And you did all this yourself?” she asks.

“With my own two hands. Mostly everything is homemade and handmade. Except for the eggs, the thick-cut bacon since I couldn't find pancetta, the potatoes, onions, and peppers, the shredded Gouda, the brioche to make the Pain Perdu, and the yogurt to make the parfaits with. Those I had to go to the store for. Now eat up.” he replies.

Shanelle inhaled her food right in front of him.

“Were you hungry, love?” he asked.

“Just a little. Are you gonna eat that last biscuit?” she replies.

“All yours. I've learned to never stand in the way of you and food.” he replies.

He watched her polish off the last biscuit.

“So how’d I do?” he asks.

“You did a lot better than I thought,” she replies. “Now you said something to the effect of we have business to discuss?”

“I did. And we do. It's about your role as the next Queen.”

“Okay. Can I ask questions?” she asked.

“Always,” he replies.

Marquise opened his laptop to her.

“Now this is a list of every council, commission, guild, charity, and club in Cordonia. I want you to go through all of them and pick your top 10.”

“Why?” she asks.

“Because every Queen has to have a cause she believes in. Even you,” he replied.

Shanelle nodded as she went over the list. After 30 or so minutes she had her favorites picked out. Half had to do with Education and the other half had to do with Healthcare in Cordonia.

“That didn't take as long as I thought it would.”

“How long did you think it would take?” Shanelle asks.

“At least half a day. I am curious as to why you chose those as the causes you believe in,” he replies.

“Because of my mom and my grandmother. My mom is a teacher who has always fought for education. And my grandmother was a nurse who believed strongly in healing.”

“Those are excellent reasons to choose the causes you chose.”

“Now I have a question for you.”

“Ask away love.”

“Who would actually rule Cordonia? Me or you?” she asks.

“That's two questions. But to answer them both, I would,” he replies.

“What?! Why you?” she asks.

“Hierarchy. Although you and I are the oldest heirs in our families, I am still older than you. Thus…” he replied.

“You get to be King.” she pouted.

He smirked before kissing the back of her left hand.

“Now now, no need to pout or feel jealous love. You will always be my equal. I would never allow anyone to treat you less than you deserve to be treated. You are the Queen Of Cordonia. I will be damned if anyone were to ever disrespect you.”

“You can't control how the world sees me, Marquise.”

“True. But that would never stop me from trying.”

She smiled softly at him.

“Come here,” he said as he hopped off his stool and pulled her to her feet.

“Do you know what I see when I look at you?” he asks.

“What?” she replies.

“I see a gorgeous woman with a courageous and loving heart. I see a fighter who would never give up fighting for what she believes in. I see a beautiful soul who lights up every room she's in. That's what I see when I look at you.”

She couldn't help but blush.

“You know what else I see?” he asks.

“What?” she replies.

“I see a woman who is destined for greatness. I also see a woman who will one day be an amazing mother.”

“Me?! A mom?!” she asks.

“Yes. Unfortunately there is one non-negotiable caveat to being the next Monarchs of Cordonia. We would have to produce an heir.” he replies.

Shanelle let out a breath.

“Nobody told me that.”

“I'm sure and I'm sorry for just dropping a bomb like that on you. But I do strongly believe that you would be a great mother. You have this incredible maternal instinct to nurture, love, and protect like no other.”

“Thank you. My mom and grandmother always believed that family is a community and that community is family.”

“They taught you well.”

“Yeah, they did. So what do you think we’ll have? A little girl or a little boy?” she asked.

“I'm praying for a boy, one of you is more than enough,” he replied.

She sucked her teeth before playfully shoving him.

“Getting handsy are we?” he asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Uh oh.”

“Yeah. Now’s the part where you run from me.”

He chased her around the island until he had his arms around her waist and both were breathless and laughing. He moved her hair out of her face.

“This is where you belong, Shanelle.”

“And where is that?” she asks.

“In my arms,” he whispered in her ear.

She had to close her eyes and take a deep breath to stop her heartbeat from racing. It did her no good once he started nipping at her earlobe. He went from her earlobe to the crook of her neck across her left shoulder. That's when he noticed something.

“You're not wearing a bra, are you?”

“You just now noticed?”

He groaned.

“You could've told me.”

“You would've pouted if I told you instead of letting you find out for yourself.”

“True. Well now that I do know, I can do this…” he trailed off before pinning her against the wine cellar door. She had her palms braced against the door. He tilted her chin up so she was looking him in the eyes.

“Don't move. Think you can do that?” he asks. She nodded her head yes. “Good girl.”

He traced her neck and shoulder with a finger exposing both and followed that finger with his lips, making her tremble. He slowly pulled the strap of her dress down her arm, kissing and grazing her skin with his teeth. He repeated the process on her right shoulder, exposing her chest to him.

“Beautiful,” he said before placing light kisses across the top of her sternum. He listened to her take slow breaths. As he kissed her skin, he slowly slid his right hand up the slit on the side of her dress.

“Thank God this dress has slits on the side. You wore this dress to tease me, didn't you?” he asks.

“No. I'm wearing it because it was the first thing I grabbed out of my closet.” she replies.

She felt his hand graze the inside of her thigh and had to bite her lip. He swirled his tongue around her right areola and swirled the fingers he had on her thigh the same way. The sensation gave her a very heady feeling. She let out a breath as his hand slipped into her panties. With his thumb on her clit he slid two fingers inside her.

“Shit!” she breathed out.

It felt good. He felt good. His mouth was warm and his fingers were magic. She wanted more. More of his warm touch. More of his intoxicating kisses. More of him. She pulled his mouth from her breasts to her lips.

“Should I stop?” he whispered against her lips.

“No,” she replied.

As they kissed again, she felt his fingers move causing her to moan loudly. Which is exactly what he wanted. He worked the fingers he still had inside her and went back to sucking on her nipple. The pleasure was so intense it caused her to curl her hands into fists with her nails digging into her palms. He continued to drive her up a wall as he played with her. Sending her orgasm peaking higher. He loved the sounds she made as he teased her. When he felt her thighs clamp shut around his wrist and her walls squeezed around his fingers, he knew she was getting close. That's when he stopped cold.

“No! No!” she protested.

“Shhh! You'll get what you want. But first I want you to go upstairs and take a hot shower or a cold one whichever you prefer, I want you to find something to wear with a little less fabric, and I'll be upstairs to finish what I started once I'm done cleaning the kitchen. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Yes what?” he asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Yes my Prince,” she replied.

He tilted her chin up, while he rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip.

“King, my love.” he corrected her, “from this moment on, I am your King. Is that clear?”

“Why would I call you my King?” she asked.

“Because you are my Queen. And it's time we learned and spoke our titles into existence," he replied.

“My uncle won't like that. Neither will your father.”

“I don't give a damn what they like or what they think," he growled. “We are the future of Cordonia and they are the past, my love. It's time for us to take the helm.”

Shanelle nodded.

“Now go upstairs, I'll be upstairs soon.”

“Yes, my King.”

He smirked as he watched her go up the back stairs.

“Quit staring at my ass you creep!” she yelled over her shoulder as she walked up the steps.

He returned to the kitchen to begin cleaning up. After about 45 minutes he was done and on his way up the stairs to her. When he got to the top of the stairs, he heard the shower turn on. When he walked into the Master Bedroom, she was getting undressed.

“Didn't I tell you to take a shower before I got up here?” he asks.

“You did. But then I decided for myself,” she replies.

“What did you decide, my Queen?” he asks with an eyebrow raised.

“I decided I didn't want to be in the shower alone. So get undressed. We have a shower to take.” she replies.

A slow grin bloomed on his face.

“As my Queen commands,” he said as he started getting undressed.

He followed her into the bathroom. They spent an hour in the shower. She couldn't keep her hands off of him and he couldn't keep his off of her. Every touch was just as heated as the water and every kiss was more desperate and hungrier than the last. They couldn't get enough of each other. They finally washed up and then exited the shower. She stopped long enough to spray herself with a little perfume. He brought her left wrist to his lips and kissed it lightly catching the scent of her perfume. She grabbed her lotion and went to sit on the bed after drying off. Just as she was about to apply her lotion, he snatched the bottle away from her.

“My job," he said to her. “Now hold your arms out.”

She held out her arms as he gently applied her lotion. Slowly massaging it into her soft skin. He slowly opened her towel revealing all of her to him. He continued to apply lotion to all of her exposed skin. His touch was warm and gentle and sensual. When he was done, she was ready to pounce on him. When he went to lotion himself she stopped him.

“My turn,” she said to him.

“No. My Queen. You serve no one. Not even me.”

“But I do serve you. The same way you serve me. We serve each other. My King.”

He smirked.

“As you wish, my Queen.”

She was just as slow and sensual with him as he was with her. Taking care to leave goosebumps on his skin. When she was done, they crawled under the covers and were snuggled up together.

“So is this what we're doing all day? Just laying in this bed naked?’ she asked.

“Yes. I just want you safe in my arms,” he replies.

She sighed contentedly.

“Good.”

He kissed her forehead softly as they spent the day curled up in bed together, only leaving to order from his favorite Greek restaurant around the corner from the brownstone. The more time she spent with him, the further she fell in love with him. She started to believe she found the one she loved.

Marquise hated having to split his time between his home in Cordonia and the home he was starting to create with Shanelle. So he decided that it was time to propose. He couldn't wait any longer. He needed her. He wanted her. While in Cordonia he picked out the engagement ring of her dreams. A 12-carat Princess Cut Canary Diamond. He knew her ring size because while she slept he would sneak and size her ring finger. His plan was perfect. He was flying into Boston the day after having the ring shipped there and would surprise her with it.

There were just two problems. Her ex and worse: his.

When Naya found out Marquise had plans to formally propose to Shanelle, she was livid. It was unacceptable. It was unfathomable. It was not going to happen. He couldn't propose to her. But no one would talk to her. That's when she cornered Maxwell.

“Where is he, Maxwell?! Where is my husband?” Naya demanded.

“At home waiting on you obviously,” Maxwell replied.

“You know what I mean!”

“No, I don't.”

“Where is Marquise?!” she asked.

“I don’t know, I haven't seen him. Not lately anyway,” he replied.

“You're lying Maxwell! I know you've seen him! So where is he?!”

“Even if I knew, I couldn't tell you.”

“You couldn't tell me or you wouldn't tell me?” she asked.

“For the sake of my sanity both,” he replies.

“Whatever! Just tell me everything you know about this girl.”

“I don't know anything about her.”

Naya was losing her patience.

“Maxwell…I will have you castrated if you don't tell me everything that I want to know.”

She forced Maxwell to tell her everything that Marquise was doing and had done. It broke her heart but Naya was determined to make sure that they were never to be engaged. All that was left was for her to convince Marquise to break off this engagement.

She tried everything she could think of but none of it deterred him. She was getting desperate. So she tried one last time to convince him. She reached out to him and asked him to join her for dinner. He agreed. He didn't want to hurt her but this had to end. He also wanted to be transparent with Shanelle. So he let her know the minute he said yes to Naya’s invitation.

“And you’re sure this is just dinner?” Shanelle asked.

“Yes, love. It's just dinner. I owe her that much.” he replies.

“Okay. Where are you going to dinner?” she asked.

“At one of her favorite places in the city center,” he replied.

Shanelle nodded.

“Well have fun, Your Highness.”

Marquise can hear the tone in her voice.

“Shanelle. I swear to you, nothing will happen.”

“I just don't want her to guilt trip you.”

“Don't worry, my love.”

“Okay, I won't worry. I do hope that you have a good time.”

“Thank you, beautiful. I'll call you later.”

She smiled at him softly before hanging up the FaceTime call. Marquise made his way to the restaurant which was empty. He found Naya sitting on a bench waiting for him.

“Good evening, Your Highness,” she said as she greeted him.

“Good evening. You look absolutely beautiful tonight,” he replies.

Naya smiled softly.

“Thank you. Please let's take our seats.”

They walked to their seats, where he made sure to pull her chair out. When he sat across from her, she felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter. He noticed her perfume.

“Is that the perfume I got you for Christmas last year?” he asked.

“No, my birthday. It's my favorite. You always knew what I liked.” she replies.

“Indeed.”

“I hope you don't mind. I ordered for both of us.”

He smiled softly.

“Not at all. Now, why are we having dinner?” he asked.

“I just…I need to talk to you,” she replies.

“About what?” he asks.

“About us,” she replies.

“Naya. We've been through this. There is no us.”

“No. You've just avoided me left and right. You won't even talk to me.”

“You know that I don't like repeating myself. And I've told you that we are no longer together.”

“But why? Why don't you love me?!” she asks.

“My dear. I care about you. Deeply. And I would never want or intend to hurt you. But I'm not in love with you. I need you to understand this. Then there's the fact you are already married.” he replies.

“You know I don't love him.”

“I know you don't. But it doesn't matter. You still married him. And you know damn well that I don't play second to any man.”

“Okay fine. I'll leave him. If that'll make you stop this madness.”

“You know you can't do that.”

“I can and I will.”

Marquise exhaled slowly.

“Okay let's say you do leave him, what will you do about your father’s debt? Because if you think for one second that my father won't force him to pay it out of spite you’re sadly mistaken, love.”

“I can't be in a loveless marriage, Marquise. I can't.”

“You said he was good to you.”

“He is good to me but he doesn't love me. Not like you would love me.”

“I'm sorry, Naya. But you and I just aren't meant to be.”

“So that's it? You’re just going to throw me away? After everything?” she asks, holding back tears.

“In another life Mi Hermosa, we would be perfect,” he replies.

“But we are perfect. And we can still be perfect. I know you want to be King. I understand that. I commend that. And you can do that. With me. We can rule Cordonia together. You don't have to choose her.”

Marquise rubbed the knuckles of her left hand, toggling her diamond wedding band.

“I do have to choose her. She and I are destined for each other. This kingdom deserves us. I deserve her. I need her. I have never met anyone like her. She's what Cordonia needs. And if anything, I love her Naya. I am in love with her. That's not to say that I don't care for you. Because I do and I always will. But I'm not in love with you.”

“What's so special? What does she have that I don't?” Naya asks.

“She's kind. She's beautiful. She's smart. She makes me smile. She has a heart of gold. She's a fighter, Naya. She never gives up. She's always fighting. I can't stop thinking about her. I always want to be around her. She's everything I could ever want. I love her. I'm in love with her.” he replies.

Naya dropped her fork.

“I am begging you, Marquise. Don't marry her. Please don't break my heart. You are the love of my life. I am begging you. Come back to me. Be mine.”

“Naya…Mi dulce amor. I can't. I can't be with you. I'm so sorry. I love you. I care about you. But we will never be together.”

Tears in her eyes, Naya pulled her hand away from Marquise.

“Fine! Since you want to be a stupid stubborn fool, be my guest! Just know that I will make your life a living hell!” she hissed at him.

She stood up and turned to walk away but his guards stopped her.

“Get out of my way!” she yelled at his guards. They didn't budge. “I said move!”

“You know they don't listen to anyone but me,” Marquise said to her.

“Then tell these baboons of yours to move!” she hissed.

As she stood there fuming, Marquise walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She stood there trembling in his arms. He buried his face into the crook of her neck.

“I want to leave!” she said to him.

She felt his lips softly kiss under her left ear.

“My beautiful love. You know you can't threaten me and think you can just walk away,” he growled in her ear. He felt her flinch in his arms.

Slowly he turned her around so she could face him. He watched silent tears stream down her face.

“You would never hurt me,” she said tearily.

“You're right. I would never hurt you. I couldn't. My love for you…my love of you would never allow me to harm you. That's how much you mean to me. But you need to know that I will not ever be threatened. Not even by you. Now, I understand your anger and your heartbreak. You have every right to be angry with me. But no matter how angry you are at me, you will NOT defy me. You will NOT stand in my way. Do you understand Naya?”

She whimpered.

“Naya…”

“Yes. I understand,” she replies.

He tilted her head up so she was looking him in the eye.

“Yes, what?” he asks.

“Yes, my Prince,” she replied quietly.

He kissed away her tears.

“King, my love. From this here on out, I am your King.”

Naya nodded slowly.

“Yes, my King.”

“Come here,” he said to her.

He wrapped his arms around her as she burst into tears.

“Shhhh! Don't cry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.”

“I'm not in trouble?” she asks.

“No love. You’re not. Now it's time for you to go home. Don't worry about the check. I'll pay for everything.” he replied.

He rubbed her back as she started to calm down.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Mi Amor. I'm sure. My guards will make sure you get home safe.”

Naya looked up at him, as he kissed her forehead gently. He watched her follow his guards out of the restaurant. Marquise let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in. As much as he loved Naya, his heart belonged to Shanelle. And for him, it was time to make it official.

Later that night, Marquise was on a red-eye flight to Boston. He couldn't wait to see her, to hold her, to kiss her slowly, and to finally make her his wife. He took a good nap, he wanted to be in tip-top shape when he finally saw her. As he got closer to Boston, he called her.

“Helluh…” she answered half asleep.

“Good morning my love. Did I wake you up?” he asked.

“Mmmhmm,” she replies as she sat up with a stretch.

“I'm sorry, beautiful. I didn't mean to wake you up but I have a surprise for you and I need you to wake up.”

That's when Ozzie woke up with a loud yawn and a shake of his head. Ozzie laid his head in her lap.

“Uh, is your dog in my spot?” he asked.

“Yes. He kept me company last night,” she replied.

Marquise shook his head.

“I've missed you.”

“I've missed you too, my love. I'll see you soon. In the meantime, I want you to get up, go get in the shower, and get dressed and I will see you later. Sound good?”

Shanelle nodded.

“Good. I'm still in the air. So I'll see you in an hour after I land.”

“Okay.”

Marquise ended the call and took a deep breath. This was it. She was about to be his wife. There was just one problem. Naya had one more card to play. A few days before she had dinner with Marquise, she had contacted Cassian under a fake name and convinced him to save Shanelle from Marquise.

When Marquise landed in Boston, he went and picked up the ring. Holding the ring box was a sobering reminder that he was about to make Shanelle an honest woman. And she's about to make him an honest man. The drive from the jewelry store to the brownstone had his mind and emotions all over the place. He was so close to being King but more importantly, he was close to being with the love of his life for the rest of his life.

When he pulled into the garage he started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. When he walked into the house, Shanelle had just come down the back stairs.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said as he greeted her.

“Hey yourself,” she replied.

When she got to him, she couldn't wait to throw her arms around him. Feeling her in his arms made his heart flip.

“How was your flight?” she asked.

“It was alright. It's better now that I'm here,” he replied.

“How was dinner with your ex last night?” she asks.

Marquise let out a breath.

“It was…hard. I hated seeing her like that,” he replies.

“Like what?”

“Heartbroken.”

“Come sit down,” she said to him.

They sat down at the kitchen island.

“Tell me what happened.”

“I'm surprised you want to know.”

“Of course, I want to know. Because I know it's bothering you.”

Marquise took her hands in his.

“I hated it Shanelle. I hated every minute of it. I hated seeing her like that. She was desperate. She was hurt. And when she started to cry, I almost lost my nerve. I love her Shanelle. I always have and I always will. She's a good woman. And I care about her deeply. But as I have said before I'm not in love with her. I'm not. I wish I could be. I never meant to hurt her. And I hate myself because I hurt her.”

“I understand. I understand why this bothers you. You’re right, you never meant to hurt her. But you told her the truth. And I'm proud of you for that.”

“You should've seen her, Shanelle. I could barely look at her. And then she went off on me and she threatened me.”

“She threatened you?!” she asked.

“It's not as dramatic as it sounds. She was angry and hurt. And I wasn't in any danger but my guards didn't see it that way.”

“Hell hath no fury.”

Marquise chuckled.

“True. I want her to be happy. She and I just aren't meant to be together.”

Shanelle nodded.

“I'm proud of you and you did the right thing by telling her the truth.”

“Thank you, my love. Now onto better things. I have a surprise for you.”

“What kind of surprise?” she asked.

“If I tell you then it's not a surprise,” he replied.

“If you tell me, I'll still act surprised.”

“Oh, you are a naughty girl! The surprise is for later. Now I hope you’re hungry because I am starving.”

“Didn't you eat on the plane?” she asks.

“Airplane food is upscale hospital food,” he replies.

“You've had hospital food?” she asks.

“I had my tonsils taken out when I was 9. And I had appendicitis and had to have my appendix removed a few years ago,” he replied.

“Oh okay. So what's for breakfast?” she asks.

“Every college student’s midnight savior, Tina’s” he replies.

“Well, what do you know? The Prince does have good taste,” she replies.

He smiled tightly.

“Shut up and walk out the door.”

Shanelle put on her shoes and out the door, they went. They spent the morning having breakfast and he took her to his favorite park to watch a youth soccer tournament that the foster homes he sponsored were hosting.

She loved seeing him with the kids. He came alive around them. Teaching, encouraging, and training the children. She especially loved when the kids tackled and piled on him. When he finally emerged from underneath the pile, he was out of breath and smiling.

“Having fun, Your Highness?” she asked Marquise.

“I…love…this!” he replied out of breath.

“You looked good out there.”

“Thank you, beautiful.”

That's when Marquise’s friend Tommy jogged up.

“Marquise! Thank you again for coming! I truly appreciate it.”

“It's always a pleasure to be here. Let me introduce you to Princess Shanelle Miller. Shanelle, this jackass with a heart of gold is Tommy Mason.”

Tommy snickered.

“You spoiled bitch!”

Tommy turns to Shanelle.

“It's a pleasure to meet you Shanelle.”

“Likewise, Tommy. I've heard nothing but great things about you.”

“Oh so this asshole with a scepter stuck up his ass, actually said something nice about someone who isn't his ugly reflection?”

Marquise rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

“How are you doing on the Christmas toy drive, Tommy?” Marquise asks.

“We're doing great. Thanks again for securing everything.” Tommy replied.

“It's a joy, Tommy.”

One of the kids called out to Tommy.

“Duty calls. I'll see you soon.”

“Of course Tommy.”

Marquise watched his friend jog off toward the kids before he and Shanelle headed back to the brownstone. The more time they spent there, the more it felt like home and a refuge to him. Unfortunately for the Prince, that home and refuge were about to be tested.

As they made their back, his phone buzzed, it was a notification from the security system. Someone had tripped the silent alarm and motion sensor on the kitchen door. And when he pulled into the garage he was ready to fight, but he didn't want to scare Shanelle so he acted like nothing was wrong. As they walked into the house, he pulled her aside.

“I have a job for you,” he said to Shanelle.

“What?” she asks.

“It's about your surprise. But first we need to get changed,” he replies.

Before going up the back stairs she had a question for him.

“Hey, Uncle Scar! Will I like this surprise?” she asks.

“Simba it's to DIE for,” he replied.

She snickered before both headed upstairs. While he watched her disappear into the shower, he heard a noise coming from downstairs. So he snuck out of the Master bedroom and headed toward the stairs by the front door. When he walked into the living room he didn't see anything. But when he walked back into the kitchen, he was greeted by the barrel of a gun.

“What the fuck?!”

At the other end of the gun, stood her ex Cassian.

“Where is she?!” Cassian demanded.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Marquise replied.

“Where is Shanelle?!”

“She's upstairs!”

“I swear to God if you did anything to hurt her, I'll be the last thing you ever see in life!” Cass seethed.

“You're not too smart, are you? You’re threatening the son of a foreign diplomat!”

“I don't fucking care! Far as I'm concerned you've earned it! Especially after everything you've done!”

“Put the gun down!”

“Not until you tell me where Shanelle is!”

“I just told you she's upstairs!”

“Prove it!”

“Put the gun down and I'll prove it.”

“Yeah, no!”

“Fine, then we’re gonna be standing here.”

“No. I'm gonna be standing here and you’re gonna be bleeding out on the floor from a gunshot wound.”

“Are you seriously threatening to shoot me?!”

“It's a promise, not a threat.”

That's when they heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

“What is all that racket going on down here?” Shanelle asks.

“Shanelle, stay where you are!” Cass told her.

“Cass?! Is that you?” she asks.

“Yeah, it's me. Stay where you are,” he replies.

“Do not stay where you are! Get down here and stop this idiot from doing something incredibly stupid.” Marquise piped up.

“Shut up!” Cass hissed at Marquise.

When Shanelle got to the bottom of the steps she couldn't believe what she saw.

“What the hell is going on?! Cass, why are you pointing a gun at him?!”

“Are you alright?” Cass asked her.

“I'm fine. What the hell are you doing?! Put the gun down!” Shanelle replied.

“Not until I know you’re safe.”

“Cass you have until the count of 5 to put the gun down otherwise I will make you swallow it! Put it down!” she yelled.

Cass finally put the gun down on the island countertop and everyone took a breath.

“Oh. My. God. Cass…WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! You know what? Scratch that I don’t care about that right now. Why are you here?!” she asked.

“I came here looking for you,” he replied.

“Looking for me for what?” she asks.

“I got a tip that you were in trouble so I came here to see if you were here and if you were okay,” he replies.

“How noble.” Marquise mocked.

“Shut up before I shoot you in front of her.” Cass hissed.

“Cass if you shoot him and I will have you sent back to your daughter in pieces. Do not touch that gun!” Shanelle warned.

Cass looked back at her.

“You know what? Hold on! How in the hell did you get in here, Cass?” Shanelle asks.

“Oh I can answer that. He tripped the silent alarm and motion sensor.” Marquise replies.

“What are you talking about? What silent alarm and motion sensor?” Cass asked Marquise.

“The one on the kitchen door genius,” Marquise replies.

Shanelle looked back to the kitchen door then it dawned on her.

“Oh no! No! No! No! No! No! NO!”

“What?” the two men ask.

Shanelle took a deep breath before balling her hands into fists and glaring at Cassian.

“Cass, I will only ask you this once, did you pick the lock on the kitchen door?”

“I didn't have a key so I had to get in somehow,” Cass replies.

Shanelle wanted to scream.

“So you broke into someone else's house. Is that what you’re telling me?” she asked her ex.

“When no one answered the front door, I came around back to see if there was a back door or something. I found it and picked the lock to gain access,” Cass replies.

Shanelle could feel her blood pressure rise.

“Oh my God. This is a nightmare. It has to be. I must be dreaming. That's it. I'm dreaming. I must've slipped in the shower and hit my head. Because that's the only plausible reason this shit is happening. Because this is not real life.”

“It's real Princess. I'm here. The question is what are you doing here?” Cass asked her.

“I live here you green-eyed airhead! I've been here for months,” she replies.

“Okay, then why is he here?” Cass asked.

“He owns the house!” she replies.

“When were you gonna tell me you moved back to Boston?” Cass asked her.

“I wasn't,” she replies.

“Why?” Cass asks.

“Because where I go, who I'm with, and what I do is none of your fucking business anymore.” she replies.

Shanelle exhaled before sitting down at the kitchen island.

“Cass, do you have a warrant?” she asked.

“No,” he replies.

Shanelle screamed silently.

“Cassian. Sit. Down. Now!” she instructed.

She watched him sit on the stool next to her.

“So you might wanna holster your gun, Cass,” Shanelle said to him.

“Why?” Cass asked.

“Because if you don't you'll more than likely, wind up getting shot by your own service weapon,” Shanelle replies.

Cass grabbed the gun off the island and holstered it.

“I have told you that you have an unnatural lust for violence before, right?” Cass asked her.

“Whatever. Where did this tip that I was in danger from?” she replies.

“That's confidential. I can't tell you.”

“You have two choices. You can either tell me where you got the tip from or I can call your superiors and ask one of them. Because I'm sure they'd love to know why you’re here WITHOUT A WARRANT!”

Cass groaned while Marquise snorted. Cass glared at the Prince over Shanelle’s shoulder.

“Some girl who claimed she was from Cordonia said that the royal jackass over there was dangerous. And she gave me this address.”

“She give a name?” Shanelle asked.

“Nyla something,” Cass replied.

“Nyla? Who the hell is that?” Shanelle asked.

“Ask the Prince. She said you and her are on his list of people that he's hurt.” Cass replies.

Shanelle looked back to Marquise who was equally confused until it dawned on him.

“You've got to be fucking kidding me!” Marquise hissed.

“What? What is it?” Shanelle asked Marquise.

“Her name isn't Nyla, it's Naya. She's the one who called.” he replies.

“Your ex? The one you saw last night?” Shanelle asked.

“The one and the same. She called him and he came running,” he replied.

“Okay. Here's what's gonna happen. Marquise you go deal with your ex. And Cass you stay where you are.”

Marquise got up with his phone to his ear and went upstairs without looking back.

“Look Princess—” Cass started to say before she cut him off, “whatever excuse you’re about to give me, don't! Because I'm not in the mood for you.”

“It's not an excuse! You need to listen," he said to her.

“Listen to what?” she asks.

Just as Cass got ready to respond, Marquise’s voice boomed from upstairs.

“WHAT IN THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU NAYA?! YOU TRIED TO SET ME UP?!”

“Whatever she did, he deserves it,” Cass muttered.

“Stop it! No one deserves to nearly be shot, Cass.”

“I wasn't gonna shoot him.”

“Yes, you were. You had every intention of shooting him.”

“Okay fine so what if I did?” he asked.

“YOU COULD’VE SET OFF A CHAIN REACTION THAT COULD HAVE STARTED WWIII!” she replies.

“How?!” Cass asks.

“You could've killed him! And if you did that would have caused his father to declare war and we’d all be in some shit!” she replies.

Shanelle let out an explosive breath.

“Do you know how much trouble we could've been in?” she asks Cass.

“We would've been fine,” he replies.

“No, we wouldn't have. You'd be locked up here in the states and I would've either been locked up here or worse I would've been locked up in Cordonia.”

Shanelle shook her head.

“So why are you here, Princess?” he asked her.

“Because I have to be. I can't be in New York anymore. Too many memories. Too much heartbreak. I needed to get out. And he gave me that way out. He's letting me stay here for however long I want.”

“That's not why you’re staying here, and you know it.”

“You're right.”

“Then why Princess? Why are you here?” he asks.

“Because I love him, Cass. That's why,” she replied.

“You love him?!” he asked.

“Yes. I love him. So much. He's been everything to me.” she replies.

“Everything, how?” Cass asked her.

“When I needed someone to be there, he was there. He's been so patient with me. We've gotten to know each other. I've gotten to see sides of him that no one gets to see. He's gentle. He's kind. And he makes me feel loved. He loves me. And I love him. I can't help it. I can't fight it anymore.” she replies.

“He's not who you think he is.”

“He's not who I think he is or he's not you?” she asks.

“He’s the reason why I left you!” Cass replies.

“I know.”

“What?!” Cass asks her.

“I know he forced you to leave me,” she replied quietly.

“How?! How did you find out?” Cass asked.

“Nina accidentally let a small part slip a couple of weeks ago and when I asked her what she meant, that's when she told me everything. Including you making her promise that she wouldn't say a word to me about it. It didn't take long for me to put two and two together after that.” Shanelle replies.

“I wanted to tell you, I swear.”

“You should have. It would've saved me a whole bunch of trouble.”

“I'm sorry, Shanelle.”

“Why didn't you trust me enough to tell me the truth?” she asked.

“I didn't want to stand in your way. I wasn't going to come between you and your destiny,” he replies.

“That's not your decision to make.”

“I know and I'm sorry. I should've told you.”

“Cass I pleaded with you hell, I begged you to tell me what was wrong! And you chose not to. That is what broke my heart. You wouldn't say anything. You didn't trust me enough to tell me. That's what hurts.”

“All I can do is say that I'm sorry, Shanelle.”

Shanelle took a shuddering breath.

“I know. And I'm not saying that I'm not pissed at him. Because trust me I am furious. But still, you could've told me. I had a right to know.”

Cassian nodded.

“So now that you know the truth, what happens now?” he asked Shanelle.

“He and I will be having a long conversation. But ultimately I'm staying. Besides, I can't go back to New York. There's nothing left for me there. My life…my new life is here. In Boston. With him.” she replied.

“Do you love him Shanelle?” he asked.

“Yes. I do. I love him. I am in love with him. Despite everything, he's the one for me. But please don't think that I don't love you. Because I do. I always have and I always will. We've known each other since we were kids. A love like that doesn't just go away overnight. But I have to move on. I can't stay stuck in my feelings for you. It's not fair. Especially when I have a chance at true happiness, devotion, and love.”

“Okay. If this is what you want, I won't stand in your way. I won't stop you.” Cass said to her.

She smiled softly at him.

“This is what I want. This is where I'm meant to be. He's who I'm meant to be with.”

“So if he were to propose to you, you'd say yes?” he asked.

“Yes. My life and my future involve and revolve around him,” she replies.

Cass nodded.

“Then I guess that's it. I feel like an idiot.”

“Don't. You did what you've always done Cass, you protected me. Now go home. Go back to Bella. Go back to her.”

Cass looked at her quizzically.

“I know about your girlfriend. So go. Go make her happy. You deserve to have that happiness.”

“Does this mean you forgive me?” he asks.

“Of course I forgive you. I have to. I can't move on with hate in my heart for you.” she replied.

“You're way too forgiving. You know that right?” he said to her.

“I could always take it back.”

The two laughed.

“Come here,” he said to her.

She stood up and then threw her arms around him. She did love him and he loved her. And they cared deeply about each other. But they both knew that the relationship between them was over. He had his life and she had hers. But no one could take the bond they created from either of them. They both knew that they had to let each other go.

“I love you,” he whispered to her.

“I love you too Hotshot,” she replied.

They stood there quietly in each other's arms. Until he broke the silence.

“I should go.”

Shanelle nodded.

“Before you do, take this.”

She walked over to her purse and pulled out two wads of cash and handed them to him.

“Shanelle I can't take this.”

“Take it anyway. For all the trouble you've gone through.”

“Are you sure, Princess?” he asked.

“Positive.”

Cass shook his head.

“You always were a good one Shanelle.”

“So are you. You're a good man. Impulsive and arrogant at times. But you’re a good man. Just let me know that you got home safe.”

“Will do.”

“One more thing…” she trailed off before she kissed him one last time. One last chance. One last goodbye. To an old life. An old love. To an old chapter in her story.

“Take care of yourself, Princess.”

“I always do Hotshot. I'll walk you to the door.”

Silently they walked to the front door and with one last look back, Cassian was out the door and out of her heart. Shanelle felt numb as she walked back to the kitchen. She had just said a final goodbye to everything she ever knew. She knew she had to do it but that doesn't mean that it didn't hurt. She was so lost in her thoughts that didn't hear Marquise come down the back stairs.

“If you came down here to gloat, save it! I'm not in the fucking mood.” Shanelle said to him.

“I'm not here to gloat, Shanelle.”

Shanelle took a deep breath.

“You know. Cass is a lot of things. Impulsive and arrogant mostly. But when it comes to his instincts about people, 9 times out of 10, he's never wrong. He told me you aren't who I think you are. So is he right about you? Are you not the man you've shown me?” she asked.

“I've always been that man. I have never hidden who I am from you.” he replied.

“Then you tell me what in the hell were you thinking when you interfered in my life?!” she asks.

“I was only thinking about one thing. You. Being with you. Needing you. Loving you. Wanting you.” he replied.

“So you accomplished this by ruining my life?” she asks.

“Please let me explain. I've known for years that I was destined for greatness. For love. And that love is with you. I couldn't let you slip away. I couldn't let you stay with a man who was never going to love you the way you deserved to be loved.”

“That's not your decision to make! Only I get to make that decision! Not you! Not my father! And certainly not my uncle! None of you have even stopped to consider how I would feel or if this is what I wanted!”

Shanelle stood up and started pacing.

“I knew something always felt off about you. I thought maybe I'm tripping. Maybe I just hadn't gotten over Cass. But no it was you. It was always you. You were perfect. God, you were everything I could have ever wanted. And I should've known that when I couldn't put my finger on what it was about you that always felt like a question mark, I should've put one foot in front of the other and took off. And kept running til I got away from you.”

Shanelle shook her head.

“You were a unicorn. Someone so unlikely. Someone, I didn't think I could ever have. But then I met you. And slowly I started to believe in a love I never thought was real. And then you showed a world I never knew I was worthy of. And now, I don’t know what to think anymore.”

“I need you to know that I am sorry,” he said as he got closer to her.

“Sorry for what?” she asked.

“I'm sorry for making you feel like you have no control over your life and who you are. That was never my intention. My only intention was to show you the life and love that you have always been worthy of and that you have always deserved to have,” he replied.

“I want to believe you. But it's hard to believe a man who sleeps with his ex.”

“Shanelle, I told you why that happened. I didn't lie to you about that.”

“I believe you. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt knowing. You willingly slept with her. And okay, I get why. She was vulnerable at that moment. But at the same time, this is the same woman you had dinner with last night. How do I know your feelings for her have changed?” she asks.

“Because I'm here with you. Because I am terrified that I have lost you forever. If I wanted her I wouldn't be here. My chest wouldn't be tight right now if I didn't want you. I can't even breathe right now, that's how scared I am. I don't want to lose you, Shanelle.”

“You should be scared. Because I should be running out of this house right now. I should be running back to New York. I shouldn't still be standing here.”

She felt his arms wrap around her gently.

“I shouldn't still be here. But I'm here. Whether that's out of love or fear I can't quite tell. But I'm here. I'm still standing in this kitchen. I'm still calling this house my home. And I don't understand why.”

She felt his breath warm her left ear.

“You're here because this is where you belong. This life is the life you have always deserved. You’re here because this is the love you've always wanted.”

“How do I know you love me? Just like my father, you would take my autonomy, my anonymity, and especially my freedom away from me. What kind of life is that? What kind of love is that?” she asked.

“I would never seek to take any of that from you. If anything I want to enhance that for you. I want to make sure that it will never be taken from you. I want the chance to prove that being with me isn't a prison sentence but the one fairy tale that you've always hoped for and wanted to come true.”

Slowly he turned her around to face him.

“Close your eyes.”

Shanelle closed her eyes.

“Now I want you to follow my voice and out every sound around you. And then tell me what you hear.”

Shanelle blocked out everything until the only things she heard were her heartbeat, that small voice in her head, and Marquise’s heartbeat.

“What do you hear Shanelle?” he asked her.

“I hear this tiny voice in my head that is screaming for me to run and not look back because you aren't worth it. Because all I'll ever be is invisible. And that's not who I am. Then there's my heart.” she replies

“What does your heart say?” he asks.

“My heart…says you. It screams for you. It's yearning for you. It's telling me to trust you. To trust this. To trust us. It swears that you’re the man I want. The man I need. The man I…” she trailed off.

“The man you what?” Marquise asks.

“…the man I love,” she replied quietly.

“Open your eyes, Princess.”

When Shanelle opened her eyes Marquise was down on one knee. Gingerly he took her left hand into his.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Trying not to lose my nerve,” he replied with a shaky breath.

He rubbed his thumb over the knuckles of her left hand.

“I love you. I am in love with you. I want you in my life. I want you as my wife. I want you as my partner. You have become my refuge. The source of my joy and happiness. I can't function without you. If I'm not around you I can't think straight. You are everything to me. my life has been made so much better because of you. I am better because of you. Yes, I fucked up. But if you'll have me, Shanelle I swear to you, I will spend the rest of this eternity proving to you that I am yours wholeheartedly. Just please…say you'll give me that chance.”

She looked at him with tears in her eyes. She knew at that moment this was where she was meant to be. He is her forever.

“If you are doing what I think you're doing, then you have to promise me something first,” she said to him.

“Anything.”

“If you are indeed proposing then you need to promise me that if I give you my heart and my trust that you won't ever betray them. That you will care for and nurture them both. Because Marquise if you ever do anything to break both, I swear with God as my witness, I will bring hell down onto you.”

“Shanelle I swear to God and my Mother that for as long as I live on this earth, you will be my top and foremost priority. I will do more than talk about my devotion to you. I swear to always prove it in every way possible.”

Shanelle nodded tearily.

“Then I guess you have a question to ask me, Your Highness.”

“Before I do, I need a little help. So come walk with me.”

He took her hand and they walked outside to the patio, where he had a picnic under the setting sun waiting on them.

“How the hell did you have time to do all of this?” she asked.

“This was my plan all along. But to answer your question, I had a rental company come by and set everything up. Which is why I'm glad you used the front door and not the back door. That's why I was so quiet upstairs. I was looking out the window to make sure they didn't tip you off.”

Shanelle shook her head.

“I should punch you in the jaw.”

“You would but you aren't going to.”

Shanelle smiled.

With a loud whistle, Marquise summoned Ozzie from the house. The adorable ball of fluff made it halfway down the patio stairs before tumbling down the last four steps

“Did he just?” Marquise asked.

“Yup," Shanelle replies.

Marquise shook his head.

“Dumb dog,” he muttered a little too loudly.

That caused Shanelle to pop him in his head.

“Ow! That hurt!”

“Good! That's what you get for calling Ozzie dumb.”

With a shake of himself, Ozzie was right as rain before trotting over to Marquise.

“Good boy Oz. Now let's see your collar.”

Shanelle watched Marquise detach a small black box from Ozzie’s collar before he turned his attention to her. He inhaled and exhaled slowly before taking her left hand in his again.

“The only question I have is this one. Shanelle Dominique Miller, Princess of South Cordonia and Brooklyn, will do me the honor of being my wife. Will you marry me?” he asked.

“Yes. Yes. I will. I will marry you. I will be your wife.” she replied.

It felt like life was going in slow motion as she watched him carefully slip the ring onto her finger. It was official. They were engaged. He would be the next King of Cordonia. And she would be the next Queen. As he stood up, he took her gently in his arms. They were finally together. And nothing and no one would change that.

“You have no idea what this means to me, Shanelle. You have no idea what you mean to me,” he said to her.

“Then show me. Show me what I mean to you, my King.”

He kissed the back of her newly adorned left hand, before turning it over and softly kissing the palm of her hand.

“As my Queen commands. But just not out here. Wouldn't want us to be arrested for indecent exposure.”

“Let them watch.”

Marquise smirked before picking up the picnic basket and blanket and leading her back into the house. He set the blanket and basket on the counter closest to the door. When they walked inside, he took her hand and twirled her into his arms. When she looked up into his eyes, she saw her future and her home.

He kissed the back of her left hand again then continued to kiss softly and slowly up her arm. Each kiss raised goosebumps on her skin. She was thankful to be holding onto his arm. His kisses grew more heated and hungrier as he got closer to her neck. He grazed the top of her shoulder with his teeth. When he got to her left ear he could feel her shiver underneath him. He pinned her hips between him and the edge of the island. They were both still dressed, which simply wouldn't do for the Prince. With his lips still on her neck, he sat her on the edge of the island before he reached behind and pulled the zipper of her dress down.

“As beautiful as this dress is, it's got to go. I do appreciate the colors. Navy Blue and white looks beautiful on you.” he whispered in her ear as the top of her dress fell between them. He slowly let his hands travel to her ass.

He sucked on her neck hard as he slid his hands to the bottom of her dress. He gathered up the bottom until it was bunched at her waist. With her dress bunched at her waist, he had free range to palm her ass. He loved the feeling of her ass as he kneaded, squeezed, caressed, and rubbed her ass. He couldn't help himself. He couldn't control himself. He had to have her.

When she finally looked into his eyes, he had this look that was one part carnal, one part obsessed, and one part possessive. He stepped back to admire her beauty. Her hair was down just barely covering her breasts, her legs dangled over the edge. She is perfection in human form to him.

“You are a Goddess, my Queen.”

“Prove it.” She challenged him.

She watched him sink to his knees and place her feet on his shoulders. He took his time slowly licking, sucking, kissing, and grazing her feet and toes. He wasn't ready to be rough with her yet. There was a spot on her left foot that he sucked that nearly made her jump out of her skin. It felt so good she had to clamp her thighs shut to trap the growing heat.

“Who knew the Prince would be so kinky,” she said to him.

“Most women would call me weird. Hell, even Naya thought I was weird for this.”

“Why because you have a foot fetish?” she asked.

“Yeah. I can't help it. What started as a fondness for women in heels blossomed into this.” he replies.

“No judgment here. You aren't the first man I've met with a foot fetish.”

Marquise looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

“No. Not Cass. He’d think it's completely gross.”

“But you don't?” he asked her.

“Nope. You forget I started here in the Boston Kink scene,” she replies.

“So out of curiosity, if I wanted to…” he trailed off.

“Yes. You could suck on my toes. Any time you wanted. Hell, you even kiss my feet as I walk on the ground. And if you’re a good boy I might even be nice to you and…”

She watched him shudder in delight.

“You are my life,” he whispered.

“Show me, my King.”

With a sound that was a half moan half giggle, she ran the bottom of her right foot across his tongue. The wicked grin on his face excited her.

“Now that I know I don't have to hide who I am from you, I have so many wickedly fun things planned for you, my Queen.”

“I hope fucking me within the next 5 minutes is in those wickedly fun plans of yours. Because I'm getting really needy over here.”

“But of course Mon Amour.”

“But first, we have to get rid of all these clothes. If I have to be naked, so do you, my Prince.”

“But you’re not naked, my Queen.”

“Not yet.”

“Touchè Mi Amor.”

They made quick work of each other’s clothes. Tossing them wherever, before sending Ozzie upstairs to lie down. He let his eyes roam over her body slowly.

“I thank the Gods above for giving me a Goddess here on this earth.”

“Quit thanking the goddamn Gods and fuck me already!”

“So bossy, Princess.”

“You know how I get when I want you.”

“True. Now I get to claim you for myself.”

“No, you don't. I'm not property. You don't get to claim anything. I'm not a trophy. I am a Queen.”

“True enough. Please accept my apology, my love. I meant no disrespect.”

“Good. See that it never happens again.”

He nodded as he placed himself in between her thighs and planted her with a kiss that could've stolen her soul. It was so deep, passionate, and powerful that it took her breath away. She felt his tongue wrestling with hers for control. Meanwhile, he ran his hands up and down her body. Touching her everywhere all at once. It was driving her crazy.

He broke their kiss just so he could drag his mouth from her chest along her neck. He wanted her and he wasn't about to wait much longer. He pulled her off the edge of the island and spun her around so she was pinned between him and the island.

“This is how I want you. Underneath me. Desperate. At my mercy. Needing and ready to be fucked into oblivion.” he whispered in her ear.

His hands traveled the length of her body, sending a delicious warmth coursing through her.

She moaned softly after he started kneading her ass again while kissing the back of her left shoulder.

His left hand stayed on her ass, as his right hand traveled up her body. When it reached the base of her skull, he rubbed his thumb in a soft sensual circle, sending electric pulses shooting from her neck to her toes. She shivered at his soft yet pointed touch. She felt his fingers walk and then tangle themselves in her hair.

“I came here to please your body, my love. I know I’ll satisfy your every need. All you have to do is trust me. Love, I’ll take you to ecstasy.” His voice was low and husky, sending shivers winding down her spine.

She felt him smile against her neck. This is what he wanted, to have her in a frenzied heaven. His right hand went from being tangled in her hair, to resting on her hip. He was more than ready to take her.

“Now my love, what do you think is about to happen?” he whispered to her.

“You’re going to stop torturing me now?” she replies.

“Torture you? My love, I would never do that. I may tease you quite a bit but I would never torture you.”

“Then what would you call all of what you are doing, now?” she asks.

“Driving you crazy. Now close your eyes my love, and brace yourself.”

She closed her eyes and bit down on her bottom lip. Eager and scared to know what he would do. She could feel his breath on her neck, it was making being trapped between him and the kitchen island extremely hard. She was so focused on his warm breath, that she missed his fingers sliding between her parted thighs.

She moaned softly as she felt the fingers of his right hand brush against her slick folds. As he kissed the spot behind her left ear, his fingers dipped inside her. Her eyes snapped open as he started fingering her.

She shuddered as he continued to touch her. She wanted him to take her right then and there. But he had plans for her and he was determined to stick to them. With his thumb circling her throbbing clit, he slipped into her hot entrance. She gasped as his fingers filled her.

“So wet for me. Just how I want you. All for me.” he purred in her ear.

Between his right hand between her legs and his lips on her neck, she was steadily unraveling. Every whimper, broken moan and strangled scream made him harder than before. He brought her closer and closer to her orgasm climaxing. She was trying to but failing to hang on. She could feel her body starting to give out and so could he.

“That’s it, my love. Don’t hold back! Cum for me! Give me what’s mine!”

Hearing his husky voice mixed with his right hand driving her crazy, was all it took for her orgasm to explode. She watched stars burst in her eyes as she rode the wave of her orgasm. When he let her go she was shaking and out of breath. But he still wanted to feel himself inside her. She leaned against the counter to steady herself.

“Take a moment to catch your breath, my love, because we aren’t done.”

“You’re insatiable. But I don’t need rest. I just need you.”

He slid between her legs and lined himself with her hot entrance. With a kiss on her right shoulder, he entered her.

“Shit!” she hissed as he slid inside her.

“Fucccckkkkk!” he growled.

He felt amazing to her and she to him. Their bodies were in sync with every thrust of his hips. He would pull out until just the tip remained then surge in deep, filling her completely. She clawed at the countertop as he took them both higher and higher.

“Say that you belong to me, Shanelle.” He said to her.

“Marquise I—”

To illustrate his point, he pumped his hips fast and hard. Hitting her G spot with laser precision. It caused her to cry out from how good it felt. He kept at it, causing her to ruin her nails on the countertop as she tried to hang on. It was starting to become too much.

“Marquise! I…I can’t hang on…shit! I can’t take much more!” She cried out. She was desperate for release.

“Then say it, Shanelle!”

At that point, he could’ve asked her to run the Boston marathon butt naked on a Tuesday. She didn’t even care. She would’ve done anything he wanted her to do, as long as she got what she wanted from him.

“Say it Shanelle!” He growled.

“Marquise please!” She begged.

“Say! It!”

She wasn’t one to just give in. But this wasn’t the place for stubborn pride. She knew she had no other choice but to tell him what he wanted to hear. Especially if she wanted to cum.

“I belong to you! Only you! My King! My heart! My love! I need you! I want you! I have to have you! I love you! I love you! God I love you!” She said as he continued fucking her senselessly.

“Yes, my love! You belong to me! You will always belong to me! You are my Queen! My Goddess! I worship you! I love you! I love you! I! Love! You!”

With one final thrust of his hips into her, her orgasm shattered and it swallowed her whole. He wasn't too far behind her as he succumbed to his own orgasm. They stayed still for several minutes both breathless and deliriously happy, before he pulled out and pulled her to the kitchen floor with his arms wrapped around her.

“It's still early. We can go grab a bite to eat like I had planned to do all along.”

She shook her head no.

“I don't wanna go anywhere. I just want to stay here in your arms where I'm safe.”

He brought her left hand to his lips and kissed her engagement ring.

“As you wish my Queen.”

After months and years of chasing her, the Prince finally got the girl of his every dream. And now, nothing and no one could ever stand in his way.

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huge-enthusiast · 3 years

Text

MIRACULOUS FIC RECOMENDATIONS!! (Part 2)

You can find part 1 here.

The first one was really popular! So I decided to make a second part.

The rules are the same:

All of the fics will be rated Teen and up audiences or lower. Also if I don’t put the author’s tumblr is because they didn’t put it in the fic or/and I couldn’t find it.

The only thing that changes is that I would be putting the pairing in the description of the fic.

Without further ado...

Written in the Stars by Boogum (@botherkupo here on tumblr!)

Pairing: Marichat and Adrienette.

He was the god of destruction. She was a princess whose kingdom had been prophesied to fall. To save her people, she became his wife. To save him, she would have to do the impossible. The castle has secrets, the gods are watching, and time is running out.

Chapters: 37/37

TW for mild violence.

Arrange marriage, God AU. While I'm making this list, I still haven't finished the fic, but I had to recommend it because is THAT good. The way I gasped out loud while reading some of the plot twists. The worldbuilding is so good, and even if you aren't into AUs that deviate a lot from cannon like me, I 100% reccomend it.

Need a Lift? again by Boogum.

Pairing: DJWifi

Getting stranded on a foreign planet sucked. Luckily for Nino, his rival was willing to give him a lift home. Unluckily for Nino, she was beautiful and funny and he might just be in love with her.

Chapters: 1/1

Space Bounty Hunter AU! Really sweet and funny. If you are into flustered!Nino then this fic is for you.

hey, you by peachcitt (@peachcitt here on tumblr!)

Pairing: Adrienette

“Have you ever had a dream about someone that changes the way you think of them?”

or Adrien has a dream about Marinette.

Chapters: 1/1

Okay so, peachcitt is one of my favorite ml writers. Everything that they write is sooo good y'all, and i'm already a sucker for adrienette, so I cannot recommend this fic (or any of theirs) enough.

double dare again by peachcitt (I told ya!)

Pairing: Ladrien (with lots of sided ladynoir)

“Don’t ever do that again,” Marinette says, maybe a little too emphatically, and Adrien looks at her, his expression quiet. His cheeks, Marinette notices, are a little red.

“But I wanted to save you,” he says.

or Ladybug and Adrien can't seem to stop running into each other. (whether that is on accident or on purpose is nobody's business but their own, of course).

Chapters: 30/30

This was a ladrien june fic! Every chapter corresponds to the day's prompts but it also continues a story. If that doesn't make you want to read it then I don't know what it will. I fear fanfic writers, they're insane.

(not) so much by therentyoupay (@therentyoupayfanfiction here on tumblr!)

Pairing: Marichat and adrienette

(The claws are sharp, but the host of Destruction—for all of his loudmouth chaos and lack of reserve—is paradoxically careful.)

Chapters: 1/1

In which Chat Noir pays a visit not long after Marinette has made a pretty difficult decision, and they accidentally make a routine.

Prompt: Marinette gives Chat a hickey. Adrien has a suspiciously similar looking hickey the next day at school...

Gotta be honest with y'all, I did not expect this fic to be as good as it is. The adrienette has everything a stablished!Marichat should have. Marinette conflicted with her feelings? Check. Adrien being a hot mess bc That's My Girlfriend But She Doesn't Know That? Check. Them being absolute idiots? Check. It's good!

Doctor, Doctor, Give Me The News (Your Lips Is The Only Cure I Could Use) by BreG21.

Pairing: Adrienette

Rainwater sloshed up from the pools they had made on the sidewalk and coated his jean pants with every step he took. He couldn't bring himself to care.

He sniffed away some of the water that dribbled down his matted head. "Yeah?"

He paused as if to consider his words while Adrien stared down at him, so lost. "You weren't wrong when you thought you knew. A part of you wanted it to be her, but it was too perfect, you let the illusion fool you because how would you get that lucky. But trust me, Adrien. You weren't wrong."

He wasn't wrong? What was he not wrong about?

You weren't wrong. You want it to be her.

And it finally clicked as a small gasp wisped past his lips. He wasn't wrong.

In which, Plagg falls ill, and with Fu gone and Ladybug being the guardian now, has to go find her civilian self-even with the knowledge that she might not like that-is shocked to realize that even with having the kwami that was supposed to embodied the very being of bad luck, Adrien could conclude the very opposite of what he had thought for so long.

He was so very lucky.

Chapters: 1/1

I screamed so hard while reading this fic. It's just one of those who gets the characters right. Do you like a good reveal? Go read this now.

Operation Mega Sleepover by InTheWild (@smellerbeee here on tumblr!)

Pairing: Adrienette

When Alya and Nino drop out of their long awaited mega-sleepover at the last minute, it leaves Marinette and Adrien alone together for the night. An Adrinette one-shot with lots of fluff and sleepover shenanigans.

Chapters: 1/1

I just,,, I love adrienette fluff so much,,, I love them,,,

You, Me & A Little Bit Of The Future by joonapeach.

Pairing: this is a fortunate case of all lovesquare shenanigans™

Marinette expects some disaster on her first outing alone with Adrien.

She just doesn't expect that disaster to be her future self passing off a baby for her to take care of with Adrien.

(Alternatively... two idiots obliviously in love cooing over their daughter while acting like they have no idea whose kid this is.)

Chapters: 1/1

I think the description says anything that it needs to be said. It's really sweet and funny and I love how they just change their minds so quickly and get emo for literally nothing. Peak shakesperean dumbasery.

The entire Marry That Girl series by Miraculous_Max (Maximilian_Alexander).

Pairing: Adrienette

Let’s say Marinette has a special sketchbook. This sketchbook is filled with drawings of their future house, of Adrien as an adult in multiple occupational settings, of Marinette and Adrien’s wedding, and most importantly, their future children.

Let's say Adrien found this sketchbook.

Works: 8 (All are 1/1 chapters)

Just realized how this list exposes me as number 1 adrienette sucker... oh well. I love how Adrien doesn't feel weirded out by the intensity of Marinette's crush. He likes it! He's as weird and romantic as her! That's one of the reasons I love the lovesquare so much and it makes me happy to see that everyone is in the same boat with me.

Strenght by 11JJ11.

Pairing: Adrienette

Marinette knew she was much stronger than she looked thanks to being a hero. So when her class had an arm wrestling contest she knew that she could beat all of them with ease, but she wasn't expecting anyone else to come close.

Chapters: 1/1

Good ol' accidental reveal feat. the entire class shenanigans. I, once again, screamed for an adrienette fic. Who could've thought.

Super Fan by Taliax.

Pairing: Ladrien

It was a good thing Alya was holding the phone and not her, because it would have slipped from her fingers and shattered. How had she not noticed? She had been there, and somehow she’d missed her crush looking at her like she was an angel sent from heaven.

Forget the perfume ad. This picture was going to be her new desktop.

(In which Marinette realizes that she and Adrien might both be obsessive fans.)

Chapters: 1/1

Canon divergent from after Gorizilla. They're so dumb. That's my opinion on this fic.

How to Kiss Your Crush in Five Minutes or Less also by Taliax.

Pairing: Ladrien

He just needed to know if Ladybug needed Chat Noir. He didn't expect to learn just how much she wanted Adrien.

This would be the best five minutes of his life, if he didn't expect her to forget it.

Chapters: 1/1

CW for making out.

Set during Desperada. I promise there's a happy ending. Also Luka is there for some reason, felt really bad for him.

Laying Down the Rules: The Gabriel Agreste Clauses by LadyKae

Gen

Adrien leaves the manor on a dark and stormy night and seeks sanctuary at the only place he feels safe: The Home of the Dupain-Cheng Family. When Sabine learns why her dear boy is fleeing to her home in the middle of the night, she makes a personal visit to one Gabriel Agreste.

There's more rules in play, but not for Adrien and Marinette.

Chapters: 1/1

This is just Sabine going to beat the fuck out of Gabriel and it's really satifying ngl

4am. by hannieks

Pairing: post-reveal lovesquare

In which Adrien has the cat tendency to wake up their owners at stupid o'clock, and Marinette just wants to sleep. Cuteness ensues.

Chapters: 1/1

Really short but really sweet. If you like Adrien acting like a cat then you would like this.

Can I Date You(r Character)? by midnightstarlightwrites (@midnightstarlightwrites here on tumblr!)

Pairing: Adrienette

Adrien turned to her, something unreadable in his gaze. “Are you ok with this?” he asked.

And what a loaded question that was. Was she ok with it? Was she ok with the one guy she couldn’t seem to get over in real life kissing her in a game of Dungeons and Dragons? When she put it like that, it seemed a bit silly to get so worked up.

It was just a game...right?

She was ok with it, right?

“Sure,” she lied. “I’m ok with it.”

When Adrien's character falls in love with Marinette's, they decided to date in-game. What could go wrong?

Chapters: 7/?

THIS ONE IS SO CUTE. You want to scream??? Read this.

two idiots and a hamster by Boogum (again) and carpisuns (@carpisuns here on tumblr)

Pairing: Adrienette

How do you hide your superhero identity from your roommate? (spoiler alert: badly)

Chapters: 5/?

Once @anna-scribbles described this fic as "is literally the closest i’ve ever seen a fic come to matching the energy of canon", and I couldn't have described it better.

And that's all for now! Next time I will probably make an only DJWifi list since I've been treating them so dirty lol.

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thoughts-on-bangtan · 3 years

Text

Memories of 2020 - A first look into all the content (OT7 as well as vmin and namjin)

As promised here’s my second post in which I just want us to have a look at some of the amazing content Memories of 2020 has in store for us. If you don’t want spoilers while you wait for your DVD (though I don’t know how anyone can hide from all the pictures and videos being posted everywhere) this post isn’t for you. If you want to have a look, than it’s very much for you. Truly there is so, so much here and everything I mention just scratches at the surface of it all. There’s more than eleven hours to go through after all!

From anon: Good luck for all the incoming questions regarding j*k*ok and their moment in memories - I think you know which one! I for one am enjoying all of the content and the love that each member has for the other, including vmin ofc. My favorite moment so far is definitely vmin kissing namjoon though - excited to hear about y'all's favorite moments :)

As I mentioned in my previous post, no worries anon, we barely got any and I already gave my opinion. As for our favorite moments, some of them are listed here along with other fun things, though I’ll admit, that forehead kiss was just so, so adorable. I mean, what other way is there to celebrate Namjoon’s birthday if not by kissing his forehead and squishing his cheeks?

One of the first things for the year were their practices for ON and Black Swan with the LAB dancers. We got a wider shot of Jimin helping Tae stretch, which we also previously got in their IG story last year, as well as Tae cutely asking Jimin to teach him how to do the cartwheel.

Furthermore we also saw Jimin practice his Black Swan solo dance which, what a surprise (not really), Tae was present for and (by the look of it) was filming him to show him later how it looks. I wonder if this was around the time when Tae wrote on weverse that Black Swan=Jimin.

Then when filming the ON MV we got to see vmin dancing, the full version of what we originally saw in the teaser and contrary to what anons tried to suggest, as in that Tae wanted to remove Jimin’s hand, it was actually him moving Jimin’s hand so he could twirl him around and continue the dance further. Afterward Tae also repeats the dance with the little girl that starred in the MV alongside him so I wonder if this is when Tae introduced Jimin to her.

A lot more below the cut:

Then we saw some more of vmin being adorable at that one MOTS7 interview in NYC whereafter Jimin led Tae down the stairs while JK was behind them asking Tae if he was crying. The context here being that Tae was “sulking” because he didn’t get a chance to say the answers he’d prepared in English so, once downstairs, Jimin along with JK and Hobi (who was filming him much the way he did at the Grammys when a similar situation happened) encouraged him to at least show them his answers while Tae pretend cried and sulked some more.

Speaking of MOTS7, we also got some more behind the scenes of the jacket photoshoots which included vmin as dark angels and Jimin charming Tae while he was speaking, namjin making jokes about darks/ducks, and Tae and Seokjin looking stunning but we have an entire Bangtan Episode for that so I’ll save including a visual for this so I can include more pictures of other things instead. I hope you don’t mind.

We also had Jimin visiting Hobi and Yoongi on the sets of Interlude: Shadow and Outro: Ego which, judging by Jimin’s outfit, might’ve been filmed at the same time? Which, to be honest, makes a lot of sense. But the reactions were so different, as in Hobi was so happy and bubbly when Jimin came while Jimin “complained” that Yoongi barely even paid attention to the fact that he came. Their different dynamics are just so cute and interesting.

We also got so, so much content from the Daechwita MV filming, including a video of JK petting a chicken to the point that the chicken fell asleep. JK and animals, a very precious concept. Honestly I love this MV (the visuals are unreal) and the song so I’m glad we got to see more of the behind the scenes.

We also got plenty of Dynamite dance practice shenanigans like this:

Since we’re on the topic of dance practice, one thing that truly impressed me was Jimin’s core strength which we got a presentation of via him doing a headstand, as well as some gymnastics type looking something with JKs help. The control and strength he needed in order to lift himself up like that? Insane. Especially since he also lowered himself back down again in a controlled manner as well which makes it even more impressive. These men are so athletic, wow.

One of the moments I loved the most because it’s so meaningful and genuine is this one where they were filming their AMA performance and it was also the day of Tae’s grandma’s 70th birthday so, like the good boy he is, he decided to call/FaceTime her and Jimin joined him. From what I’ve seen Jimin used language showing that he’s familiar with her and it’s cute how natural this moment looks, like of course Jimin is there with Tae wishing his grandma a happy birthday. To be fair Seokjin also comes by and calls out a happy birthday but walks away just as quickly leaving just the two of them behind. Adorable.

Some more fun, random and cute stuff includes, but very much isn’t limited to, all of this:

Side note - Hobi singing You are my soulmate while vmin were practicing their Chingu performance? It really is his favorite song.

Honestly all the Seokjin and JK, as well as Hobi and JK content is so adorable and fun and there is so, so, so much more of it to be found and enjoyed than what I managed to include here. I’m glad we got to see so much more of their interactions across Memories of 2020 especially since they are the kinds of bonds that don’t get nearly enough attention most of the time which is a shame.

There were quite a few things included from their Esquire photoshoots but this moment with Namjoon, Tae and Hobi is just...wow. Love it. It’s one of my favorite moments and now also one of my favorite pictures of those three together. The fact that Tae was wearing a crop top for his solo pictures yet we didn’t get to see it (properly)? Wow.

From anon: Why is there so little Namjin in the memories of 2020 😞 I’ve seen so much from all the other pairings. It’s made me sad.

I don’t know who lied to you, dear anon, or who hid all the good stuff from you but rest assured we got plenty of wonderful namjin content, and this likely isn’t even all of it.

Does Seokjin’s sweater say RM in hangul? Yes, it very much does. And is that Namjoon trying to stop Seokjin from walking away? Yes indeed. Much to think about.

And that’s about all I’m able to include without tumblr telling me I’m just doing too much. Like I said this is just basically a glimpse at all the content so everyone who ordered the Memories of 2020 DVD, there is plenty more for you to look forward to. Once I’ll be able to watch the full thing, I’m sure I’ll make more posts and if there’s something you’d like me to talk about or a moment you particularly enjoyed, let me know.

#vmin #namjin #Namjoon #Seokjin #Hoseok #Yoongi #Jimin #Taehyung #Jungkook #BTS #bts memories of 2020 #memories of 2020

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thefallenbibliophilequote · 3 years

Text

You Are In Love

Loki x Reader

1989, epilogue

"You are in love, true love."

Summary: It's hard to find the one, but even if you do find him it's always going to be a daily struggle to make it work. Can you even make it work after he broke your heart? The answer to that is complicated, but it all started when you found each other again in the stark tower- and that's where our story begins.

Word count: 7,106

Warnings: some angst, some unreliable narrator, fluff, me being a hopeless romantic.

A/N: this is the very end- the epilogue, and it is based on the 1989 deluxe song You Are In Love. I really think this is important to the story despite it being an epilogue because I based some of the things solely because I wanted a scene here to happen, I needed that scene. Okay idk how this got so long, I'm sorry! Also, not me stealing quotes from my favourite book… I cried writing this.

A/N2: thank you to @chrissquares for all the incredible dividers she made for my series, and for @nacho-bucky who beta read it all and managed to put up with me. I appreciate you two so much, I love y'all!

No one is allowed to repost my writing or steal or copy my work! Reblog on tumblr is fine.

Series masterlist

Song on Spotify and YouTube

The room was dark and silent as you got into bed, playing the same thing that has been in your mind for weeks now. You heard him in your head, and saw him in your mind as you went to sleep. It hasn't been long since you first saw Loki, but he plagued your mind. Being asleep did not make him go away. You shut your eyes.

The wind felt cold on your skin but your palm was warm as he held you close. When you looked down you found yourself in a dark golden gown, a smile spread on your lips when you looked into his eyes and he took you to dance with him. You saw nothing but him as he twirled you around, your surroundings did not matter as the whole world stood in silence, the two of you were only focused on each other. You were wonderstruck, dancing around with him and looking at his bright blue eyes, you prayed he won't let you go. He only held you lightly with the palm of his hand and the arm around your waist but you felt enough.

He whispered in your ear terms of endearment and you could feel yourself blush. He twirled you around and out of his reach. You danced around all alone, until you turned around and saw Loki sitting on the back of a car, his hand inviting you. You felt your confusion go away as you climbed up to sit next to him, your jeans barely touched his black pants. Then he talked to you.

"Do you remember?" You heard his voice say to you and you turned your head.

"What?" You sat there when Loki talked to you.

"Look up." You heard his voice say to you and you turned your head up and looked at the stars, and your shoulders brushed. A shudder of warmth coursed through you as you saw the brightest star in the sky. You turned your eyes on Loki and the lights turned out.

You woke up in a shudder, heaving, you looked at the clock that mocked you. 1:58.

You turned to the other side of the bed and hoped sleep would take you quietly this time.

•

Loki walked along the bifrost, his heart was beating and racing, it didn't matter how many times he visited Heimdall, he was still anxious for his answer every time.

"Heimdall," Loki greeted the guardian.

"Prince Loki, are you going to ask the same question every time?" Heimdall looked over at the distressed prince. He remembered seeing him, when he was so young, so happy when he snuck him out at night so he can go to see the human woman he fell so hard for. He remembers Loki coming back in the morning with a smile on his face that he has never seen on him before; he remembers the young innocent prince showing him the necklace he carved especially for you, with his insignia on it; he remembers him being hopeful for the future- with you.

"I just want to know how she is."

Now he is an idiot.

"Just like she was the last time you asked me." Loki merely nodded, looking down on the ground. Heimdall waited for him to ask the other question he always asked.

"Is she- is she seeing someone?" Loki kept his eyes down, he held his breath.

"No." Heimdall tried to comfort the prince but he knew the answer won't do. Loki nodded to him, he never knew if he liked the answer or if he wanted you to find someone and be happy even if it is without him.

"Is she happy?"

"Yes, she is. She is happy and content," Heimdall stepped forward and put a hand on Loki's shoulder. "But it's been four years- don't you think there is a reason why she is still alone?"

"She just hasn't found-"

"She won't find someone who will make her happy like you did."

Loki refused to be selfish like he was in the past with you. Now that he understood what you asked him all those years ago at sunset, he refused to destroy your peace. Yet, he refused to forget you.

"However, your highness, she will not be available forever." Loki finally looked up at him, "and forever is not a lot of time for mortals."

"Then what am I to do about it?" Loki has told Heimdall a great deal about you, he never told his mother about you but since Heimdall was the only one who knew- Loki conversed with him after you had a fight, gushed to him about new midgardian stuff you taught him, and Loki knew that he didn't have to hide you from him.

"Do not sabotage your own happiness, it is not a selfish act if both of you will be happy from it. She will be happy to see you again, I can see that." Heimdall looked into the prince's eyes and hoped he could bring some sense to him.

He almost missed the way his eyes shone for just a moment, before the prince turned away to go back to the palace.

"Thank you, Heimdall, truly." Loki turned to him briefly before turning once again.

He wasn't as uncertain as he thought he would be; he pondered as he made his way across the rainbow bridge.

•

You woke up yet again alone, another sleepless night made you long for something you didn't have, leaving you tired. You reluctantly got out of bed, closing the curtains and concealing daylight and opting instead to turn on the lights. You had a long day ahead of you, so you shook the blue eyes that haunted you from your mind, you could almost see them in the shadow at the corner of your room.

It was just a trick of the light. You checked.

You walked out the door, not before taking a double look at the apartment, it was empty but… it felt wrong. You could almost see a silhouette, you must have been losing your mind, you thought, as you turned out the lights and walked to work. But right before you closed the door you sneaked one last glance, and you could still see it with the lights out.

Work had been tedious, Pepper was busy which meant that so were you, but at least you amused yourself in your breaks. Seeing the competitive supersoldiers spar on the mat sure could bring a smile to your face any day.

You weren't lonely by any means, you were happy with your new family that seemed to adopt you the moment you got the job, you were happy with your job, but from time to time you couldn't help but feel… hollowed. Something was not quite right, something was missing and you couldn't figure it out. Sure, you didn't have a boyfriend but that wasn't it. Every guy that hit on you just seemed wrong, you didn't feel the need to get one. You were satisfied and happy… was that enough?

You buttoned your coat to shield you against the autumn chill as you went back home. Happy suggested driving you, Tony basically commanded it but you sneaked out as he was arguing with someone on the phone, waving Happy goodbye as the elevator doors closed. You felt like walking today.

Autumn air swept past you as you walked, you looked through store windows at the TV, one reporter was talking about how there were sightings of the evil god of mischief. You stood there and stopped to look at it, could you have missed him? You remembered when you saw him at the Avengers Tower- when you first met him at the Tower- he left too soon, you fixed yourself in your own mind and watched as the reporter showed pictures after rambling about how dangerous it is.

Your heavy chest breathed again when you saw the photos- Steve's hair has not been like that in years, this was not recent. You shook your head and continued walking.

You remembered when he passed by you, you remember the chill of him that for some reason gave you warmth. And now in the cold weather you could feel it all over again on your way home. You could imagine it, and it was so real there, him being on your left, you could almost feel him breathing on your neck.

You opened your eyes and looked over your shoulder. He wasn't there.

Long story short, you were sure you were going insane- having an unexplainable crush on a god you met once upon a time, what was it? Four year ago? You hoped your mind would stop listening to your heart this one time.

You met him one time, you talked a bit before he passed by you, meeting him was rare as the glimmer of a comet in the sky- that is what you told yourself at least, when days passed and you remembered him but you didn't see him again.

You shook your head again, shaking him away, you were just chasing shadows and there was no point in that. You knew that and wished logic would calm your racing heart.

•

Loki stepped into the Allfather's throne room and dismissed all the other Asgardians that were there.

"My son, what are you doing?" Odin rose up before he saw the look on Loki's face and with a raised interest he sat down as Loki went up the golden stairs.

"I have a request, it is important to me."

"And you came to ask me to grant it?" Odin raised a brow and studied the god of mischief, doubtful with every moment that went by. This sure is intriguing.

"I am afraid you are the only one that will be able to fulfill my wish." Loki's thoughts were still messy in their silence, scattered in ways he didn't try to collect. He thought about it the whole way to the palace. Even when he was satisfied here, and when he and Thor became true brothers after everything went down… it still wasn't home. It isn't home- it never was since he met you.

"Well do tell me what made you so desperate that you came to me?" Loki took a breath in.

"My love." He breathed out.

"The mortal midgardian girl?" Odin seemed to understand the situation. He never thought it would come from Loki, he never thought anyone would come to him for it, especially not the prince. "What would you want me to do?"

"The one thing only the Allfather is capable of doing." Loki lifted his head up and looked at his father with determination. He was certain with his decision.

•

Loki walked the rainbow bridge feeling different and yet the same all at once- he felt new. But with one weight lifted, another dread took its place.

Heimdall nodded at him with a small smile and Loki found himself returning it, it reminded him of the first night he came back to Asgard after meeting you in Midgard. Heimdall always knew from the start.

He stepped into the Avengers Tower, knowing that by this hour you were probably back at your apartment- at home. He stepped into the living room and found the witch, the billionaire, and the captain there sitting around on the several couches.

"Loki?"

"Captain," The god nodded to him in recognition. He wasn't quite sure what to say.

"What are you doing here?" the god walked around to stand in front of the three avengers.

"I've come to a decision."

"I used to want the Throne, father." Loki continued, "The very one you are sitting on, or the one I'd put on Midgard. As the rightful heir to the throne, and as the King of Jotunheim, I deserve that.

"I was born for it- and so, I used to want the throne. I used to think myself superior to everyone in the nine realms, the mortal midgardians out of all… that was until I met her, my love. When you met your love, father, it didn't change you. You caused ruin and shed blood and now you are sitting on a throne built on that in a world that now I am fit to rule." Loki did not let the Allfather speak in between. He deserved this, he knew that now.

"During the time you were away and under my spell, I made Asgard prosper… look how well it all turned out," he chuckled bitterly. "I used to want the throne but now I realize I just wanted to be acknowledged for my abilities, for my wit, instead of being shadowed to the side- all because you decided to pick up a baby and use it as political gain only to find it useless." Loki took a breath to close his eyes, he remembered it all, he remembered the day he found out about it all, about his glorious purpose his father planned for him.

"And Then I met my love, and she saw everything- all of that-inside me already without me having to prove it to her. She made me realize that I have nothing to prove to you- an abuser who calls himself king.

While Thor is my brother, and I acknowledge that I still am both Odinson and Laufeyson, this is not the home I thought I could make it out to be… by fixing everything else and making the people love me, fear me, acknowledge me. Even when my mother was here, I was not able to be fully myself, not here, not like I was whenever I'd sneak out of Asgard to be with her." Loki smiled, thinking about all of your moments together.

"Those were the sole moments where I felt what a home should feel like- though I never had anything to compare it to, and you made me think that somehow I should be grateful for you- for taking me here instead of dying in the cold, even though you were planning to use me as bait to gain advantage on your opponent.

Then I found her and she warmed her way into my heart and despite it all she still loves me and cares for me and I know that if I ever had a home… it wasn't on Jotunheim or here with my brother- it was with her: In a small apartment in Midgard, surrounded by mortals.

"And so, yes I am the rightful king of Jotunheim and a prince of Asgard, god of mischief… but I also have a home waiting for me in Midgard and I also am in love. And only now I realize all I want I can get, which is the home that I gave up on all those years ago- trying to make this home better. I don't want the throne anymore.

"So now, now I choose her."

"You decided to come back?" The witch leaned forward and asked him, he was about to nod when the captain spoke up.

"What about you saying that you want her to have peace?" Steve crossed his arms and rose up, "You said that as a god you won't be able to give her a peaceful life?"

"Yeah what changed in the last few years?" Tony continued sipping on his drink, casually looking over at the god with an arched eyebrow.

"Well, I came to a few realizations about her and myself which is why I am here now." Loki started, "now I can be what she needs me to be, if she will take me back."

"She still thinks of you, her thoughts are so loud sometimes." Wanda smiles at him, he is still wary with her after she saw inside of his mind. "How did you change then?"

"Well," Loki took a breath. "The ruling god, the Allfather, has the ability to revoke the immortality of a god. And so- I asked my father to take away my immortality."

They stared at him in silence, one in disbelief, one studying him, and one confused.

"So now if I stab you, you will die?" Stark asked and the god rolled his eyes.

"The Asgardian gods were never immortal, we are almost immortal, so even if you had stabbed me before I could have died- I however doubt you would have managed to do any harm to me." Loki dismissed the small man.

"Wait, what about your… magic?" Steve asked and one shrug later an identical Captain America stood in front of him, smirking.

"Patriotism, Justice, god bless America!" Loki shapeshifted back to himself before continuing, "I still have my magic, powers, and the rest of the qualities as the god that I am- that make me way above all of you- I am just not as immortal, and I will be able to live with her properly."

"So, you are like a supersoldier." Steve nodded in understanding, and Loki smiled slightly.

"Yes, but a lot more powerful and better."

Steve shook his head but let out a small laugh.

"So when are you going to see her?"

"Well, I think I wasted enough time already." Loki let out a chuckle, and he didn't even bother hiding the excitement in his blue eyes.

•

Loki hoped his excitement, as well as his nervousness, were hidden- he gave up using illusions around you a long time ago, and it was very long ago but he didn't want to use them now. This time he was going to make it right.

It was weird, not having unlimited time anymore. But his doubts about the decision stopped when you opened the door after hearing his soft knocks.

Your eyes were beautiful, they always were but he missed them terribly, now they were filled with a mix of confusion and excitement. He couldn't help the slight smirk that slipped out across his lips- at least he still had that affect on you.

You had a hard time processing who was at your doorstep, but you could already feel the butterflies blooming in your stomach. So long trying to suppress your weird crush. It seems to be inevitable now that he showed up years later.

When you saw his smirk you realized you must have been staring at him longer than you should have.

"Loki?" his name tasted weird on your tongue, you couldn't place the little spark that flew in your mind, making your head ache a bit.

He brought his hands up and with a light green glow he held blooming flowers in his hand.

"May I come in, love?" you could barely speak with the way his blue eyes shone, like moonlight against the darkness of the night like the suit he wore.

You nodded and stepped back to let him in.

You were certain that when he walked past you and handed you the flowers he had a certain glow to him, like an aura that was visible to the naked eye, it both calmed you down and overwhelmed you, so you looked away.

"These are my favourite, how did you know?"

He turned to look at you and you couldn't help but blush, wonderstruck at the little whispers you could almost hear his eyes hold, a silent question. You couldn't answer.

"I have magic, did you forget, dear?" Loki smiled when you locked the door and turned back to him. "I can read minds."

You laughed, and what a sound it was.

"That's bullshit, I didn't think about flowers now. Can you read what I'm thinking now?" you raised a brow at him, happy to call him on his bluff- you hoped it was a bluff, you'd rather the earth swallow you alive than if he could know what you're thinking while he is here.

"You are wondering what I am doing showing up at your door close to midnight." He took a step towards you. He wasn't wrong. "A little birdie told me."

You let out a nervous chuckle when you saw him standing closer now, but it turned to anger when you understood his words.

"Steve told you?" you went around him contemplating how to kill Steve, Natasha owed you a favor after all; you muttered, "That son of a bitch…"

Loki figured he will go with your answer, it is the easier answer. You came back shortly with a vase and the flowers in the water in it.

"Do not fret, those flowers are special, they have an enchantment on them so they will not die."

At least you didn't have to worry about that, he was so considerate and normal that you almost forgot about the odd situation.

"Why are you here?" You asked and clasped your hands in front of you.

"You told me to come to you if I ever plan to take on the planet again, so here I am." He smiled at you such an honest smile, and you didn't even know why he was so happy, but you knew that smile will linger in your mind like a tattoo kiss. It was so tempting to look at his lips for longer and imagine to yourself what his kiss would taste like. "If I'm honest, you've left quite an impression on me the last time we met."

"Oh?" you hoped the heat in your cheeks was not visible, you bit your lip. "Can I trust the god of mischief to be honest?"

"Of course you can, just trust me." His serious look contrasted your playful one.

"Why do only the untrustworthy people say that?" you mused and smiled at him, hoping to ease whatever tensions you felt brewing in his mind.

"Well, love, that is because the people that you know you can trust don't need to say it." He looked at his shoes and you took the time to really admire him now that he was up close and real.

"Well then, I guess you don't need to say it." You found pride in how he lifted his head and a sly smirk took over. "Do you want something to drink?"

If he was here, after all those years of only imagining him, you could ignore the odd situation just so you could make him stay a little longer this time.

"I'd like that, thank you." You invited him to your kitchen as you made yourself some tea.

"What would you like?"

"Coffee is good." He wondered how far he could take it with you, letting a gentle glow almost reach you when you turned around and he stopped.

"Coffee at midnight?" you questioned him, "Okay, what kind of coffee do you like?"

"I am a god, love, it doesn't affect me the way it affects you," he laughed when you rolled your eyes. "Pick whatever you think I would like."

You nodded at him with a shy smile. You turned away from him and made his coffee as he sat around you at the isle. You felt little tickles in your brain then. You tried to shake them off somehow but when they got stronger you winced at the slight headache.

"Are you okay, love?" god, you were already getting used to the pet name he gave you.

"Yeah, just a headache- nothing tea cannot fix." You laughed and turned back to him and the headache was gone, you couldn't help but wonder if he used his magic to heal your headache. It would be stupid to assume that though, so you stayed silent and took a sip of your tea. You gave him his cup of coffee and your hands brushed- it was one touch but you felt enough to know that he will linger on your skin.

"So tell me," you broke the silence that took over as he kept looking at you with soft eyes. He hummed and urged you to continue, "How can I help you take over earth? Where do we start?"

He laughed and you promised yourself to make sure he will laugh again. And you wanted to hold him, but you held back that urge and relished his familiar- no, comforting presence as you talked through the night.

•

From there you saw Loki around more, at work or when he would invite himself into your house at night or during your day off. You fell so easily into routine with him, he filled the space in your life that used to be vacant, you never really noticed it until he had to go to Asgard for a month to deal with a meeting. He made up for it when he came back though, walking you home that night and the next night, and the one after that…

It did nothing to sooth your crush on the god, it increased it if anything. Whenever you saw him, he would sooth the headaches you were getting lately, you could almost feel the gentle almost featherlike caresses of his magic- it had to be his magic, even if he never said anything, you saw it in his eyes.

You managed to handle it until he followed you around at work- and you were surprised when the Avengers did not even comment on it or flinch.

"You look lovely as ever, my love," he picked the necklace on your neck and your breath hitched at his closeness and the way his fingers brushed your chest and throat, "Always a sight to behold."

"Oh, Loki," you always stammered at his compliments that he shamelessly threw at you, "you're so sweet thank you, I- I have to go now, I need to go to Pepper- I have work, yes work."

You cringed to yourself as you turned around and down the hallway, only to shriek in surprise when Loki suddenly materialized in front of you, causing you to fall… almost.

Loki caught you just before you hit the ground, with a hand around your waist and the other holding your hand and bringing you upwards to him. You didn't dare say a word.

"You know that with a beauty like yours Asgardian princesses could never compare- and for your steadiness I'm certain I could teach you Asgardian ballroom dancing- to help you, of course."

As if it couldn't get worse, your cheeks were heating up, and you were caught in his eyes before he thankfully let you go.

"I assure you I am steady and not clumsy, a person appearing in front of me would catch anyone off guard!" you laughed it off.

"I am not a person, dear, I am a god." At the intense look in his eyes you clutched your hands to your side, holding in a gasp you just nodded and went around him to try and get work done.

If Pepper noticed anything, she didn't comment on it.

•

As the days went on, he became bolder and bolder and you couldn't deny that you loved him courting you this way and knowing that he only has his eyes on you. On some days he was bolder, on others you took the leap to get closer to him when you noticed he was having a bad day, and sometimes he would be so gentle with you the genuine way of it made your heart soar.

It was all gentle touches and intense eyes that you still saw when you closed your eyes in the dark of the night. It was the slowest build up that made you feel like he was always there with you, whether it was in your heart or soul or body, it surrounded you in warmness you didn't know you missed.

And then he asked you out, as you showed him your favourite spot in the park. He just laughed and smiled at you and when you asked why he held your cheeks and asked you out on a date. He wanted it done properly.

So now you stood at your home in your best dress- it was green, you found it in your closet and you liked how it matched the colour of the shirt he often wore.

The doorbell rang so you looked in the mirror one more time, seeing the dress and the necklace he seemed to love. You looked around the dimly lit room and the set table and once you were sure everything was ready- you opened the door.

And there he was in all his glory, you couldn't have stopped the smile you shone at him even if you tried, he seemed to have that affect on you. You could see royalty on him, you could feel it, even when he stood there with a simple black suit.

"Hello dear," he looked you up and down, remembering another night you wore this very same dress, only you didn't wear that necklace, not yet. "You look ravishing."

"As do you, I really like this suit on you." You brushed your hand on his chest, straightening the tie. "Come on in."

Loki stepped into the room, appreciating the memories he has of all of your date nights, even those that you had before the two of you got together. He appreciated every single one of them.

Then he once again looked at you, the candles giving you a glowing aura, making you shine and his breath left him speechless.

The light reflected the chain on your neck, the one he gave you all those nights ago, that faithful night.

"Loki? What are you hiding there?" you laughed at him as you tried to circle him and see what he was clasping behind his back. Only to see green lights as he made whatever it was disappear with a smug smile on his face. "Hey that's not fair!"

He put his hands on your hips and pulled you to him as you tried, and failed, to stay stern.

"You are dating a trickster, love, you brought this on yourself." He laughed at you as a giggle escaped you before you again tried to drop the smile that gave away your true emotions. "It's your fault that you love me!"

His laugh stopped when he saw the wondering look in your eyes and he realized what he had said. Then he backed away from you.

Shaking his head, he laughed it off before putting on a smile that you knew was a cover for his true emotions. He pulled out a golden box, you had never seen something like this before. You knew he was distracting you but chose to let it go- for now, at least.

He looked at you with gleaming eyes, urging you on as you held it and opened it.

You caught your breath when you saw a golden necklace laid inside it. It was fairly simple, but it was golden and even had a glow around it. The pendant of the necklace was a simple circle that held a weird S shaped symbol on it. You looked at Loki as he took it out and held it in his hand.

"What is it, Loki?"

"That, my love, is my symbol. Two snakes circling each other, biting each other's tails, and in a way- they symbolize me."

"That is beautiful, Loki, thank you." You traced the symbol delicately- it was intricate but you could tell it was hand carved. You let him put it on you.

"This way, you will have a part of me wherever you go."

You held back tears and tuned around to face him, jumping in and hugging him close.

"You were right before, you know, I've been meaning to tell you this anyway." You pulled back only by an inch but he went and sat on the couch, so you went ahead and sat on his lap, letting his arms circle you.

"What do you mean?" he asked nervously.

"I love you."

Norns, he was so afraid to tell you back then, but now he wasn't afraid, and all he had to do was wait. He was willing to wait until you were ready, he hoped the light spells he had been casting were doing their work well, he hoped it won't be long.

•

You woke up in your bed, smiling at the golden daylight, you turned around and reached for the other side of the bed, happy to see Loki was still asleep.

It was rare to see him like this- peacefully sleeping. You lightly traced his face, careful with the light bruises he came home with. They were already healing but you still didn't like seeing them. You convinced Loki to let you clean them up, he argued about how he is a god, and yet he let you do it anyway.

"Good morning, beautiful." He murmured, still half sleeping, he grasped your hand in his and kissed the inside of your wrist.

"Good morning, handsome." You smiled at him. "You said I have you for the week, right?"

"I'm all yours, my dear." He pulled you closer now, "I have a few ideas on how to spend these days…"

You laughed and let him kiss you, you were just happy to have him home.

It was a few hours later that morning that you got out of bed, groaning at your sore muscles and chuckling to yourself at the smell of the burnt toast, it was only Sunday.

You put on his shirt and stepped outside to the kitchen.

"Will you ever not burn the toast?" he shrugged at the comment but didn't reply as he tried to break an egg into the pan.

"This is ridiculous." He grumbled to himself. "After all this time and I still don't get it."

"You didn't try to do this that long." You chuckled as he finally gave up and used his magic. "You have only been here with me for like half a year now."

"Right," he fixed himself, quickly coming back to you and serving you your breakfast the way he remembered you used to like.

"Thanks, Loki." You kissed his cheek as he sat next to you. "But how about you take the first bite?"

You bit your tongue to stop yourself from smirking.

"Now, darling, there is no need for that."

"Sure there is, I'll be very amused." You laughed at the look he gave you and how he tickled your side.

"I am not amused."

"You know, for an Asgardian you sound so British."

"False, English people sound like Asgardians." He pointed a fork at you before he ate from your breakfast, you joined in only after he approved of it to your surprise.

You sipped on your tea, sighing at the perfect morning you got to enjoy. That was when you realized that you are in love. In love with a god. You read books after you met him, you knew that this wouldn't last.

"How are your bruises? They seem to be healing okay, do they hurt?" you brushed away a strand of hair out of his face.

"I told you, darling-"

"I know, I know, you're an immortal Asgardian god, you can handle wounds like these." You laughed and hoped he wouldn't see through it. That was the one sentence from the book you read that haunts your brain. It made you remember a sunset, but you've never been with Loki to a sunset, maybe you should go sometime.

"Actually, Asgardian gods are just almost immortal. But I am not immortal anymore." He said, sensing your anxiety, hoping that this information will make it all okay, hoping you will realize that this will last.

"What? Why not?" you should not be delighted by the news, you should be worried of him getting hurt now.

"I decided to give up my immortality, while I still am a god and I assure you I am just as strong as I was before," he took your hand in his and looked into your eyes. "I decided that I want a better, more peaceful, life."

"But why would you-" you shook your head.

"I had my reasons." He kissed the back of your hand,

You nodded to him and looked away, a sinister kaleidoscope of butterflies of hope rose in your stomach.

Maybe some things last forever after all.

•

"I am both terrified and excited." You held onto Loki's arm for support, praying to any god out there that you won't mess it up and stumble.

The gown you were wearing was golden, with a dark glimmer to it, Loki was matching you in his royal suit in black, green, and gold. Loki finally took you to a ball a year into your relationship, you asked to celebrate it here and he complied

Asgard was beautiful, though you were getting a bit lightheaded from it all, it got worse when you entered the ballroom.

"I told you." Loki leaned in to whisper to you as you took in the scenery.

"What?"

"You are more beautiful than any Asgardian princesses in their best dresses." Heat rushed to your cheeks at the compliment, remembering when he so casually said it to you at the tower.

Loki remembered the night he taught you to dance, the one he finally kissed you and told you those same words.

Loki made sure to keep you away from Odin, and put an armor of magic around the two of you, hoping it would ease your headaches. And then you danced in your own little world, around and around until you got tired and Loki took you home.

•

Half a year later you were going to sleep, Loki was right there beside you, holding you close to him as you laid your head on his chest.

"Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight… I love you."

"I love you too." Your lover kissed your head and then as you closed your eyes you felt the same tingles in your brain that you started to get whenever you went to sleep or even when you went to work.

Soon enough you fell asleep and your dreams took you along.

You wandered along places with Loki beside you. You were there with him on a high hill, staring at the sunset. "I'll treasure this moment forever." You heard him tell you but you didn't hear him- no, it was something else. You smiled at him and suddenly you were in your apartment, and you were smiling as he kissed you, you saw two paper airplanes flying around and he said- talked to you. "I told you my way was better." You heard yourself laughing at him and felt yourself bringing him back to a kiss. You were there with him as you ran through the trees until you stopped and climbed up, where was this again? "Come on, Loki, I now a place we won't be found." You giggled to him- no- you heard yourself giggling. Was this a dream anymore? With the growing headache this must be a nightmare. Since when do you have vivid dreams like this? Your apartment looked different as you danced around it with Loki. "I bet you'll look just as beautiful in an Asgardian dress. Like a true Asgardian goddess." But no- he couldn't have told you that there. You felt ecstatic as he leaned in to kiss you right there, it's your first kiss. No, it wasn't. You felt it all, you knew this was inevitable. Did you know that? Your head was spinning as you saw that golden necklace you found in your drawer. "It has my symbol on it, two snakes circling each other," biting each other's tails. No, you must have read it somewhere. Then you walked towards the spot in the park that you loved, at least that was familiar. "You will get a cold if you keep sitting in the rain, don't you have an umbrella?"Loki looked at you, he seems so much younger, you got shivers from his blue eyes. Your head hurt more and more, you didn't know where you were. All you felt was confusion. You saw the bifrost and there you saw the man with the golden eyes greeting you, he knew you- he knew everything. Did you know? "Do you remember?" Loki came home to you, with a fake smile which turned real when he said "I love you." He loved you. In Asgard yet again, why were you saying goodbye? "Promise you'll get me back, Loki." And then he bowed- but you already knew he was going to do that, the dream didn't have to tell you- "I'll see you around, my love." You remembered.

"I'm going to miss you, even if I won't know it." You did miss him, you missed him all along.

You waked, shot up from Loki's grip, with a hand over your mouth. You could hear the hushed whispers of memories in the silence of the bedroom; you could feel him on the way home even when you had nothing but his necklace; you could see it all now in a kaleidoscope of memories playing with the lights out. You were in love with him- you were in love with him over and over again. You never stopped loving him.

Now you saw it all: yes Loki was your lover, but before that- a lot of things happened before that, he was your best friend.

Loki woke up to the strange look on your face, rising up to be face to face with you. You paused before looking at him and he teared up at what he saw.

"You're my best friend." He saw you- his love- and now you saw him. And he knew what it was, you came back to him.

He took you in and held you close in a hug, laughing as tears ran both of your faces.

"So, 1989." He brought you in for a chaste kiss.

"What?"

"It's been 1989 days since the last time you remembered me." You chuckled.

"Took me that long?"

"It felt like an eternity." You tentatively caressed his cheek.

"Why did you give up eternity for me?" you asked him and he laughed as if it was obvious.

"The only way to survive eternity is to be able to appreciate each moment- and I couldn't do that, not without you." He pressed a kiss to the palm of your hand, "and now- now I get to spend my eternity with you."

You leaned in to kiss him once more, savoring it, you knew: You were ready to fall in love with him all over again.

You lost each other, but you found each other again, and somehow that was everything.

•

Tags: @ayybtch @buckys-other-punk @chaoticpete @madcrazy50 @mishkatelwarriorgoddess @the-departed-potato @rogerrhqpsody @onceupona-happilyeverafter-love @percabethismyotp14

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