#its hard to leave guess who & mystery lover behind but it must be done........

[welcometothebookreport]

In 2020, I read 40 books (with maybe a few more to be added after I post this) after discovering my love of reading all over again. I am not a very hard reader to please, so it will be rare for me to rate a book with a low score, so I doubt you’ll ever see any criticism from me. So, here we go!

A few things before I start: There are three series in this list (but technically only two, because I’ve only read Serpent & Dove so far) but I’ve limited myself to no repeat authors. That must have been the hardest part for me. Since Jessi went the extra mile and ranked them in order, I’ve decided to make myself suffer the same. And while most of these were not published in 2020, they were read in 2020.

I am (sometimes) a picky reader, but any book that is on this list, I have loved. I chose not to rate them because honestly, they would have all been high. I give ratings easily, and try not to pick things apart even for books I truly did not like.

Please keep in mind that I do my best to add trigger warnings, but you should always check for certain triggers before reading. Triggers vary for everyone.

10. Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

Warnings: There’s a male character that’s a creep and you’ll spot him as soon as you crack this one open. This tale deals with Peyton being sentenced to prison, and their mother practically glossing over what he’s done by victim blaming.

I have read Dessen’s books since I was 13 and I truly still enjoy her stories as much as I did then. While this was a re-read for me, it’s a tie for my favorite book of hers. It’s tied with Along For the Ride.

Sydney is left in the aftermath after her older brother, Peyton, is sentenced to prison after a drunk driving accident that paralyzes a boy. Formerly in his shadow, Sydney struggles to discover what it is she wants, and how she wants to be seen as her own mother seems to gloss right over her. It’s a YA read that always feels like more than the romance that originally interested me.

9.  Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

Warnings: Misogyny. The church and religion plays an extremely heavy part of this plot, which was hard for me to get into. It’s clear that some characters do not value women in their actions and words toward Lou. It made me uncomfortable in spots because I just wanted to get past it, but I plan to read this one again since I know that it won’t bother me this time! Still, there is: violence in parts, religious zealots (in case that’s something that makes you uncomfortable like it did me), derogatory slurs toward women, and again, misogyny.

I finished this one two days ago, and I sincerely cannot wait to dig into the sequel. Lou is a witty, snappy character that was such a breath of fresh air from the normal. You usually see the male lead that’s a bit crude, a bit quick to pull the trigger, and the one that’s harder to crack. Is that what happened here? Absolutely fucking not. Shelby Mahurin took something I loved, enemies to lovers, and kicked its ass. Forced marriage? UM YES. A witch and a witch-hunter? Mortal enemies? Characters that can never possibly love each other? DONE DONE DONE.

It’s hilarious in parts. Serious when it needs to be. A bit spicy too, while not a lot, which I certainly appreciate. Reid’s character development is a wonder to watch, at least for me, and by the end of the book, I am so in love with him that I don’t know what to do with myself. I have so many annotations for this novel.

8. The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

Warnings: There’s a fair bout of murder. Women are expected not to take lovers before marriage while men are not held to the same standard. Gross. Allessandra is continually underestimated so let me say: let the women do the work.

It’s called the Slytherin romance we’ve been waiting for, and I agree. While this is a shorter read, and a standalone, I was pleased with it. Both characters are incredibly ambitious, but it’s Allessandra that steals the show. The plan? To enter the palace, woo the king, and then kill him in order to take his kingdom. She’s wicked in all the ways I love.

I loved this book, and each page, but this was the line that will make me return to it: “I’m not a trollop,” I announce to the empty room. “I’m a sexually empowered woman, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

The Folk of the Air Series by Holly Black

Warnings: Aside from murder, there’s nothing that stands out to me as a trigger.

A series! The first! There’s something interesting about this series for me, and it’s that I didn’t fall in love altogether, all at once. It was gradual, like wading into water until it went right over my head. By the final fourth of The Cruel Prince, I was fully invested in this world and I absolutely needed to know how Jude and Cardan would become, well, Jude and Cardan.

As a YA series, I was not expecting the sheer amount of mystery, political intrigue, and plot twists that came with this series. However, I never knew what was going to happen, and if I did guess what was coming, Black had at least two more twists to send me for a loop. The Queen of Nothing was likely my favorite book of the series, with The Wicked King as a close second.

6. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Warnings:  Discussion of attempted non-con assault, forced disclosure of sexuality

I laughed until my eyes watered and I nearly cried in this book. Delightfully funny, and snappy, RW&B delivers on everything I didn’t know that I needed. I had never read a book where LGBTQ was represented in such a positive light. As someone raised in a more conservative household, I’ve known my own sexual orientation for a long time, but this book made me feel like I could relax in my skin because this story was stunning.

Alex and Henry left me with so much hope that it’s impossible to ever put the lid back on. I’m so happy I read this.

(oh, god, we’re in the final five.)

5. The Caraval Series by Stephanie Garber

Warnings: Physical and emotional child abuse.

I could dedicate multiple posts to this series. Maybe I still will. While this is at number five, it’s my favorite series I’ve ever read. If I could only have one series to read for the rest of my life, I would choose this one. Hands down. Full stop. These characters live in my head constantly and I would give an obscene amount of things to read it all over again for the first time. I actually read this with two of my closest friends in our many book club, and we all loved it.

Doused in magic, this world is unveiled to us with excellent descriptions. Truly, Garber owned my heart within a few chapters. Scarlett is the elder sister, Tella the younger, and if you don’t love Tella by the end of Caraval, I promise you will. I know because I was skeptical, but here I am. I’ve said it to my friends, but Scarlett is the one who holds my hair while I have a hangover. Tella is the one that helps me start the bar fight.

With non-stop turns, and magic, everything comes to life on these pages. And the romance, the romance. Please, please give me my great love in this style. It’s not too much to ask for, is it?

4. Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer

Warnings:  loss of sibling, loss of parent, alcoholism, mention of infidelity, mentions of previous physical and emotional child abuse.

Mae sent this recommendation to me, and I devoured all of Kemmer’s books post-haste. Declan and Juliet fall in love without knowing who the other is, while also not liking the real version of their penpal. Juliet has lost her mother, and she’s treading water, but not well. Declan has suffered in the years that follow a family tragedy, and he’s not adapting to life with his new step-father.

But he opens with CemetaryGirl (Juliet) and it’s raw in the best of ways, and the openness between them that eventually moves from their bubble to reality is one of the most pleasing things to read. I’ve read it twice this year. I will read it again next year too.

I also read this twice this year and will for sure be reading it again in 2021.

3. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Warnings: Child abuse.

This was another novel that I fell in love with as I went, and that’s definitely because of the non-linear narrative. It was a little confusing, but I’m going to read it again someday since I know everything now! I read this to follow-up to Caraval with my book club pals, and it’s just what I needed to leave Caraval behind. Marco and Celia are incredible and I absolutely believe that the ending of this novel is one of the best endings I’ve ever read.

My book club has not finished this book entirely this so I’m not sharing any spoilers, but I would like to share one of my favorite quotes. “What did you wish for?” “I wished for her.”

2. Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

Warnings: Cuba is in the middle of a revolution, and it’s tense in parts. There are some bittersweet elements and I think the parts of the ending are like the punch in the gut you need in order to wake you up and remember to live.

This was my first read once I really dug back into this hobby in August. It was picked by Reese Witherspoon for her book club, and she always picks good books. This is a dual timeline romance, and mystery. It’s an absolute stunner of a book. It’s a dear favorite to me now. I’ve never been to Cubs, or heard stories, but Cleeton manages to make you feel like you’re right there feeling saltwater spray across your face.

The romance made me feel breathless, but truly it’s the strong familial ties that make this such a beautiful gem. It leaves you with hope even in the dark and with love in the absence of it. I could scream about this book for the rest of my life, which I absolutely intend to do.

Favorite line? “You’re going to be difficult to walk away from, aren’t you?” “I hope so.”

1 In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren

Warnings? There are none that strike me. This is a lighthearted read that pulls at the heartstrings, but it’s by no means short on the laughs. And, I’m sorry for the long wall of text below.

In A Holidaze is the story of a woman stuck in her ways of never going after what she truly wants until a stray wish lands her in a time loop over the holidays. It's only after repeating the same day a few times that she quite literally says "fuck this," and starts living for HER. I really expected this to just be a Hallmark kind of read, but it was SO MUCH MORE. You should read it, even if it's after the holidays.

It's witty, and heart-wrenching, and it's just everything I didn't know I needed. Mae is snarky, and brave when she figures out that there is nothing stopping her, and the romance is - GODDAMN. Andrew. I need an Andrew and a fan.

It's not quite a love triangle, which was what I expected and I was so pleasantly surprised. I have grinned like a goddamn fool all day. I have giggled all day in front of customers, and my co-workers. I have nearly CRIED in my bedroom when my heart fell out of my ass and landed somewhere near my ankles, because hello, it's gonna get you.

This is going on my yearly re-read list for the holidays.

In the two days since I’ve finished, I’ve convinced my two friends in book club to read it, convinced Jessi to order it from Book of the Month Club, convinced another friend to read it, and bought it for Mae on Christmas day because her library had a six month hold and that was simply unacceptable.

#kelseyreads #2020 Top 10 Reads

[nat-roman0ff]

lover - pt. 1

lover, pt.1 - the first wedding there’s a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you, dear. -- words: 2k warnings: fluff, weddings and string lights

There was always something about a wedding that was just plain magical. The mix of love in the air and an open bar brought out the best in you. It was a cool early October evening when your childhood best friend married the love of her life. Crisp red and orange leaves lined the picture perfect vineyard as you watched her walk down the aisle. The air was just cool enough to prickle your skin when a breeze ran through, causing the hairs on your arms to stand at attention.

It couldn’t have been a more perfect day for the occasion; the weather was flawless, your shoes surprisingly weren’t killing your feet, and you found the perfect shade of lipstick at the last moment that matched your burgundy bridesmaids dress. The ceremony went off without a hitch, and as the glow in the sky faded into the horizon and tiny nighttime stars popped up in their place, shining down on the couples dancing you were strikingly reminded of how single you were.

The other bridesmaids all brought their significant others, and you were stuck at the table with the groomsmen you’d walked down the aisle with. You weren’t unfamiliar with him, of course, he was, after all, one of the most famous popstars on the planet currently. But to you he was just the cousin of the dude marrying your best friend. He sits across from you at the circular table, his navy suit jacket unbuttoned, tie missing from around his neck and the first few buttons of his black shirt undone. You swipe your bottom lip with your tongue as your eyes trace the chest hair that peers from above the collar of his shirt. 

 “Are you drunk or checking me out?” He asks.

 You snap back to reality, cheeks immediately flushing, “both?” 

 Shawn chuckles and washes back the last of what’s in his glass, “good, because so am I.” 

 “Checking yourself out?” You jest.

 “Clearly,” he scoffs.

 Shawn stands and moves to the chair beside you, “so you’re the bride’s best friend, right?” He asks.

 You nod and fold and unfold the place card in your lap, your mind was always calmer when your hands were busier. A terrible trait to have, really. 

 “Shawn,” he thrusts his hand towards you to shake, “sorry we didn’t get to hang out much before the rehearsals and stuff. Work has been crazy.”

 “I can only imagine,” you pip, “almost done with a world tour, eh?” 

 He smiles and scrunches his nose in that way that makes you sense his discomfort, “yeah, almost there. Always fun being on the road but always better coming home.” 

 “I couldn’t do it,” you sigh, “first of all I couldn’t bear being away from my cat for that long and secondly...aren’t you tired? When’s the last time you slept?” 

 “Probably 2015.” 

 You snort, “sounds like you need a nap,” you fold your arms across the table and rest your head on them, closing your eyes.

 “What are you doing?” Shawn asks. 

 You yawn, “taking a nap. Try it. It’s cathartic.” 

 He looks around to see if anyone is watching. 

 “Don’t worry about anyone paying attention. They’re either too busy being drunk or too busy trying to get laid.” 

 Shawn follows suit and rests his head against his arms on the table, his face just inches from yours, “and where do you fall in that?” 

 You ponder for a moment, “somewhere in the middle.” 

 He laughs and stifles it in the crook of his elbow. 

 “You laugh at me a lot, I’m really not that funny. So thank you for inflating my ego” you say. 

 Shawn lifts his head to rest his cheek back on his arm, “but you are funny. Not with what you say but how you say it. I don’t know how to describe it.” 

 You roll your eyes, “I think you’re drunk.”

 “I’m most definitely drunk,” Shawn says, “but I’m also right. Fuck - this is the first normal conversation I’ve had in months.” 

 You snort, “this is normal conversation? Shit, I am so sorry for you.” 

 Now it’s Shawn’s turn to roll his eyes, “you know what I mean. It’s hard to be me and still talk to normal people about normal things without it turning into an interview.” 

 “Ah yes, the peasants shalt dare not speak to thine King Mendes.” 

 He rolls his head to rest his chin on his elbow and glares at you, “you’re simultaneously the best and the worst at the same time.” 

 You follow suit, moving your head a little too fast and blinking the stars away, “I jest. I get it, you write mediocre pop songs for the masses and now all anyone cares about is who you’re dating this week and when your next album comes out. It all must be incredibly boring, especially when you’re rubbing elbows with Taylor Swift.” 

 Shawn’s eyebrows furrow, “I take that back, you’re the worst,” he says, shifting his body away from yours and turning his head to the other side of the table, “let me nap in peace. Maybe I’ll dream up some more mediocre songs.” 

 You ruffle his hair, “I’m kidding, Shawn. Your songs are lovely. In fact, I go super hard to ‘There’s Something Holding Me Back’ in the shower.”

 He turns to look at you and glowers.

 “I’m still fucking with you.” 

 “And you’re still the worst.” 

 You laugh and punch his shoulder, “c’mon, let me buy you a drink and I’ll make it up to you.” 

 Shawn sits back up and presses at the wrinkles in his shirt, “it’s an open bar.” 

 “Two drinks then!” You exclaim, standing and pulling at his arm. 

 Something happens when he holds your hand and you can’t quite explain it. Your fingers fit and lock like your hands have been searching for each other your whole life and there’s a warmth that spreads inside of you like the way a lava lamp ebbs and flows under the glass. It’s all warm and blobby and all over the place and you can feel the heat rise in your cheeks when Shawn notices it too.

 “Two drinks still makes it an open bar,” he says, breaking the tension. 

 You tug on him to follow you, following the zigzags of the threaded bulb lights against the murky midnight sky. You weave him through crowds dancing, reminiscing, taking selfies. Past the low orange leaved trees adorned with dimly lit lanterns. The hazy warm glow of everything masks the pinks in both your cheeks but can’t hide the wonderment behind both your eyes. Perhaps it’s the promise of something different, or the universe telling you this was the beginning of something new, but all you did know was that this wasn’t the first time you’d be crossing Shawn’s path again.

 ---

 After too many drinks, three rounds of karaoke, two dance offs and one sloppy makeout session in the mens room, you and Shawn found a quiet place to be. Now, your lipstick was worn off (mostly evidenced by the smears of burgundy across his neck and chest that he had no interest in hiding), his suit jacket long gone (now wrapped around your shoulders) and the sleeves of his button up rolled to his elbows.

 The reception seems to go on forever, and you’re not complaining. It’s reached a point in the night where everyone stops looking at the clock, and the party lives in its own timeless bubble where the sun never rises and everyone was effervescent in their own beautiful existence. The night was free to be whatever it wanted to whoever it wanted.

 It’s an abandoned little area, where you’re at. It had been the spot of the cocktail hour after the ceremony and now had about a dozen or so high top tables adorned with wispy white tablecloths that blew in the night breeze. The tiny bulbed lights thinned out here, and it was almost too dark to make out the strong features on Shawn’s face, but you do your damndest to memorize them in the darkness as he sits beside you on the grass.

 “Okay, give me your worst.” 

 Shawn takes a deep breath, “violets are red, Roses are Blue. Guess what? My bed has room for two.” 

 You choke on your lost count of a gin and tonic, tucked somewhere in the back garden of the venue. The music from the reception is faint and overpowered by the booming laughter coming out of your chest. 

 “Something in that is wrong,” you manage, “and violets are blue, dumbass.” 

 “Hey, I’m drunk, I’m trying here,” Shawn slurs, leaning in, his face getting almost too close to yours. 

 The smell of gin radiates off of him, his pink cheeks liken him to a sort of porcelain doll and the string lights in the trees around you reflect off the glassiness of his hazel eyes, “that has to be the worst joke I’ve ever heard. It doesn’t actually work does it?” 

 Shawn moves closer and brushes his nose against yours, “you tell me.” 

 You gasp, clutching your chest and leaning back away from him, “you’re fucking brilliant,” his face cortorts in confusion, “it wasn’t the joke at all that you use as the pickup line - it’s the follow through.” 

 He grins wide and takes another sip of his drink, partially missing his mouth as a dribble falls from his chin and soaks into the collar of his shirt, “you caught me,” he opens his arms out, “I wouldn’t say I’m a master, but I’m pretty goddamn good.” 

 “You’re tricky,” you swirl the liquid in your glass, “and you’re deceiving.” 

 He scoffs, “I’m deceiving. You’ve been playing all night like you haven’t been checking me out, bought me a drink at an open bar and you touched my butt. Twice.” 

 You purse your lips, “the second butt touch was an accident.” 

 Shawn narrows his eyes, “you’re a terrible liar.”

 You shrug, “maybe I am.” 

 A breeze rolls through and chills your spine and kicks up the leaves around your feet. You look at Shawn, all faded out and glossy eyed. His lips are pressed a little too hard together into a wet pout and his half hooded eyes stare right back at yours. 

 It’s quiet like this for a while, the crickets chirp along to the faded big band music from the reception and you find yourselves in a comfortable fog. Shawn’s fingertips play with yours as you try and busy your fingers to slow your brain. His face droops slowly with the mixture of drunkenness and sleepiness. 

 You reach out, running your fingers through his hair, “what are you thinking about?” You ask.

 Shawn leans forward, pressing his forehead to yours, interlocking both of your fingers together. His lips brush past yours softly like you hadn’t been biting and tugging on them barely an hour ago, “the rest of my goddamn life.” 

 He presses a kiss against your lips but as soon as it starts it fades and his head drops to your lap with a soft thud. Tiny snores emit from his lips and you chuckle to yourself as you play with his curls, twirling the soft strands of hair around your fingertips. 

 You let your fingers trace the sharpest points of his face; chin and jaw. But you also make it a point to reach the softest, like the dulling blush high on his cheekbones or the softly etched scar on his cheek. It’s not until you’ve run out of canvas on his face that you realize his hand is still holding yours tightly. Shawn moves ever so slightly when you shift, but nuzzles himself closer in. 

 There’s a creeping gnawing feeling coming on and you know this has to end eventually. Soon the party will be over, everyone will go home and the sun will rise to a new day and this encapsulated bubble of love and warmth will be nothing but a memory on Instagram feeds and yearly anniversaries. Frankly, it makes your heart sink into your ass and your overwhelming warmth is replaced with overwhelming sadness. It’s the high of happiness and a surge of endorphins followed with the crash and burn of the reality of tomorrow.

 Even though you hadn’t realized it yet, that was the very first time you ever felt the pang of missing someone who was right in front of you. 

 But it wouldn’t be the last.

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes blurb #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes fluff #shawn mendes fic #lover

[ghostlywritten]

Too Nice To Say Goodbye Pt. 2

A/N: Look, a bias wrecker.

For those, who are waiting on an update for ‘Uncertainty’: I’m having a tough time coming up with an interesting plot, because the third season royally sucked in my opinion. I’m gonna try, but it will take a while.

Words: 3,5k+

Part 1 

It took you a huge amount of self control to keep the tears at bay throughout the night. Haechan was fidgeting nervously every now and then next to you, his eyes constantly flickering over as if he was afraid you would blow up at any minute.

You almost rolled your eyes. You were not going to cry in front of anyone. You had never even cried in front of Mark despite all the time you’d shared together so far.

‘Speaking of’, you let your eyes wander to your ‘boyfriend’ or whatever he was right now, who was completely immersed in the show, his arm loosely hanging over Yeri’s back of the seat. 

‘They would look good together,’ you realised, noticing the admiring look Yeri would occasionally throw at him. You had known about her feelings right from the beginning. Not that she was mean to you or anything, she was just as nice as Mark. It was the quiet but passionate way she always looked at him when she thought no one was watching. 

You felt uncomfortably out of place. As if you were the villain standing in the way of their love. The best friends separated by a third person, because they hadn’t yet acknowledged or admitted their feelings to each other. It was so cliche, it was sickening you.

For the rest of the night you kept to yourself, nursing the one drink you had as you watched the others chat animatedly over mindless discussions. You wondered briefly if they had known all along what you had just concluded for yourself and felt your cheeks warm in embarrassment.

‘I can never show my face here again,’ you thought to yourself as you bid them goodnight after a few hours, the cold air refreshing as you stepped out with Mark in tow. You breathed in deeply, finding it easier now to keep your emotions in check since you got out of that stuffy room (and away from the lovesick eyes of Yeri).

“That was cool, right? Just us chilling, all relaxed and stuff,” Mark commented, sighing blissfully as he fell into step beside you. You had decided to walk the short way to Johnny’s flat earlier but you started to regret it now as it seemed to be a much longer route than you had in mind, not to mention the wind being freezing cold. 

“Mhm,” you hummed, stuffing your hands into the pockets of your sweater. Usually you would hold on Mark’s hands as they were always mysteriously warm but it was too awkward now. 

Everything was uncomfortably awkward with him now. 

Two weeks passed and you were retreating more and more into your shell, shying away from any sort of contact with the NCT gang. You couldn’t help the humiliation you felt, knowing how you were the unwelcome third wheel standing in the way of the best-friends-to-lovers relationship. They were probably all waiting for you to just be left behind and for the actual love to start blossoming between Mark and Yeri. 

But although it was quite easy for you to stay away from them and have all these bitter thoughts you just didn’t have it in you to break up with Mark. Your love for him was achingly real and it hadn’t wavered a single bit, despite the situation.

You still smiled when he did, you still laughed when he did, you still gave him a kiss on the cheek whenever you woke up first and you still longed for his touch, even if it was just a simple intertwining of your hands at night whilst he was fast asleep.

You never went as far as that anymore. Never initiated anything when he was fully conscious, not wanting to make him feel awkward. You had to cringe whenever you thought back on all the skinship you had done and how discomforting it must have been for him. 

‘When has he stopped finding comfort with me?’ you wondered sadly, trying to distract yourself with some studying. Keyword, “trying”. All you did was stare blankly at the screen of your laptop, rereading a line without taking in its contents as your eyes grew more and more tired with each passing second. 

A door opened and fell shut, shaking you awake from your mindless state. “I’m home,” Mark announced and you heard him stop his shuffling as if he was expecting an answer. 

You opened your mouth to shout back the usual “Welcome back, love” but the words died on the tip of your tongue and you just pressed your lips together, swallowing tightly. 

“Y/N, are you home?” Mark called out, walking further inside.

“I’m here,” you said quietly just as he passed by the kitchen, causing him to jerk in surprise. 

“Oh my Jesus, you scared me,” he breathed out, laughing as he held his hand to his heart. Your own thudded out of rhythm upon seeing his dimples. 

“Sorry,” you said with a wry smile before you looked back at your screen, pretending to read whatever you had put up. You actually didn’t have to study anymore since graduation came up in a month but it wasn’t like Mark knew about that.

“What are you up to?” he asked, ruffling his black hair as he took out a water bottle from the fridge, handing you one as well. 

“Just some post-studying,” you replied vaguely but he smiled anyways, patting your shoulder, “Yo, keep it up. You are going to slay,” he encouraged and you chuckled at his choice of wording. 

He had always been a promoter for hard work, cheering you on to keep going when you were close to giving up. You admired and simultaneously felt grateful for that trait as it helped you through the toughest exam periods. 

“Thank you, Mark,” you said softly, glancing at him lovingly but quickly averting your eyes, wondering if that had already been too much. Your shoulders slumped slightly. Were you really supposed to tiptoe around your boyfriend like that, thinking over which move was the least loving in order not to make him uncomfortable? 

No, you were not. And yet, you couldn’t let him go. Even if it wasn’t fair for the both of you. 

You failed to notice his face fall slightly. “Hey, is everything alright?” he asked, placing a hand on your shoulder. You flinched slightly in surprise, causing him to raise his eyebrows. Was that probably the first touch he had initiated in a long time? 

“..Um, yeah I’m good,” you said, quickly changing the subject, “And you? How was your day?”

“Oh, it was great. Donghyuck did such a funny move today at practice...,” Mark started off, sitting down on the seat next to you as he rambled about his day as usual. You smiled slightly at his excitement, closing your laptop and resting your head on your hand as you turned to listen to him, using times like these to stare unabashedly at him and engrave his every feature in your mind for the future. 

“...and yeah, it was just dope. You should have seen it, Y/N,” he ended, wiping his eye after another laughing fit he had.

“I wish I had,” you commented lightly, not really meaning it. You were perfectly fine with not seeing them again as bad as it sounded. 

Mark’s smile faded slightly and he cleared his throat, “Actually, the guys have been wondering where you are. They haven’t seen you in a while...,” he trailed off and your heart skipped a beat. They asked about you? Why? Or was he just using it as an excuse because he was wondering himself? “I never noticed before but you have not been around for movie nights and practices in weeks...” Your heart deflated into a pout at his words and you broke the eye contact, looking down at the counter instead. 

“Yeah, I’ve just been busy with...studying and stuff.”

“But...aren’t you graduating in a month?” he asked with furrowed eyebrows. 

“You...know about that?”

“Yeah, Donghyuckie told me.” It just seemed that he was going to keep lifting and dropping your heart tonight. How did Donghyuck remember anyways? You had only briefly mentioned it to the whole group. 

“Yeah, but I might be called into an oral exam if they can’t decide on my grade,” you lied lamely, sighing inwardly when he nodded in acceptance.

The frown didn’t leave his face though and he scratched the back of his head. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to finish college soon anyways?” 

You shrugged, “It’s not a big deal.” 

“Not a big- Y/N, you are graduating!” he exclaimed, “How is that not a big deal?!” You stayed quiet. “Were you just going to accept your scroll without me cheering you on from the crowd?” A smile crept up on your lips, your heart warming at his sweet gesture. Mark was just the nicest guy you had and would ever meet. You could tell he still cared for you even if he didn’t love you anymore. And maybe that was why you held onto him. 

Your ‘boyfriend’ grinned back and you couldn’t resist reaching out to him. He stood up, letting you wrap your arms around him and rest your head against his chest. “Just tell me the date and time and I’ll be there,” he muttered into your hair and you nodded wordlessly, listening to the steady beat of his heart. 

A month passed and you felt like time had almost reverted back to when you both were deeply in love with each other. Mark had seemed to realise how you were drifting away and even though he didn’t understand why, he never forced you to tell him. Instead he was determined to coax you out of your shell, asking you to go out with him to a new restaurant, playing video games until late at night and refusing to let go of you in the morning. 

You tried to guard your heart but couldn’t help but enjoy his attention again and soon you were falling back into his arms, giving in to the urge to clutch onto him like a koala. Especially at the point where you started kissing again. It was the fifth consecutive night you had spent playing Mario Kart together and you were as usual failing to beat him in any round, causing him to whoop after every win. 

“Ahh, I guess it should get boring to win against you all the time,” Mark teased as he wrapped his arms around  you when you eventually refused to play another round, “...but nah! It’s always fun!” he cackled at your sour expression and you had a hard time fighting the smile from your face. 

“Yeah, yeah I got it. You’re the best,” you uttered, playfully rolling your eyes and he squeezed you closer, suddenly causing his face to be inches from yours. Your expression turned somber as you traced all his features with your eyes, poking his dimple. It deepened when he smiled wider, his own dark brown eyes flickering between yours and - your heart fluttered - your lips. 

You stilled when he drew closer, his breath hitting your face, watching his eyes flutter close as he brushed his lips against yours before fully placing them on. You stopped breathing, your eyes closing on their own, relishing in the familiar yet foreign feeling of his mouth on yours, his hand on your jaw, his fingers tracing your skin and you couldn’t stop yourself from drawing him closer by his shirt, deepening the first kiss you had shared in a long time. He let out a low groan, his chest vibrating against your fingers and to your delight you could feel his heart race as you ran your tongue over his lip a-

A phone ringing interrupted your sudden makeout session. You broke your kiss, breathing heavily as you looked up into Mark’s eyes. He looked dazed with his cheeks flushed and hair messed up and you had never found him more beautiful than now. “I think it’s yours,” you huffed and it took him a second to focus before nodded absently, grumbling under his breath. He took his phone out of his pocket, squinting at the screen light. 

“It’s Donghyuck inviting us over to Johnny’s flat,” he said chuckling, “He’s mad that we’ve been neglecting the movie nights.” You smiled, slowly regaining a normal breathing pattern as you straightened yourself up. “Shall we go tonight? They haven’t started, yet.” Freezing, you thought back on Donghyuck’s comments about your relationship and how the embarrassment you felt the last time you were there. 

“Uhh, I’m not really in the mood for a movie,” you excused yourself quickly, faking a yawn, “I’m pretty tired actually. But you go ahead and have fun!” Mark frowned slightly, glancing down at his phone before putting it away, “No, it’s okay. I will go to bed with you.”

You raised your eyebrows in surprise but decided not to comment on it. He trotted after you towards your bedroom and you wondered whether you would continue where you had stopped when you got interrupted, your cheeks flushing slightly. No one could blame you, it had been a while since he had kissed you. 

“You know, you haven’t been hanging out with me and the guys for a while now...,” Mark approached the subject again as you both slipped into bed. 

“Oh really?” you squeaked, cursing yourself for your high pitched voice, “I didn’t notice.”

“Yeah, it’s just they have been wondering what’s up. I told them it’s nothing because...there’s nothing, right?” he asked uncertainly, facing you as you laid on your back. You swallowed down a cough when you found your throat had turned dry.

“No, of course not. I’ve just been busy with graduation coming up and stuff.” Mark nodded in agreement, seeming pleased with the excuse and you bid him goodnight before automatically turning to your side, used to facing away from him now. 

But tonight he shuffled over, wrapping his arm around you as he snuggled into your back. He planted a kiss on your head and your heart melted when he intertwined your fingers together in front of you. 

“I’ll make sure the guys and I attend your big day!” he said, his voice already sleepy and yet he managed to make your heart burst with affection. It meant a lot to you since everyone else had rejected coming - mainly your parents and close friends - due to busy schedules and such. 

You sighed, feeling happy to know you had someone to look at after you accepted your scroll.

-

But you wouldn’t have someone to look at. As you stood waiting in line in front of the stage, waiting for your turn, you wouldn’t have someone to look at. You would constantly glance down at your phone, waiting for a message to explain why he and his friends weren’t there yet.

You would disheartingly go up the stage, shake the principal’s hand with a tight smile, take a picture whilst your eyes would flicker over the crowd in vain until you had to leave the stage with a hanging head. 

‘Something important must have come up,’ you thought, worry clenching your chest, ‘What if he got into an accident?’ You immediately reached for your phone and dialled Mark’s number, growing nervous with each dial tone when he picked up. 

“Hey Y/N, I’m so sorry!” Mark picked up, frantically apologising and you sighed in relief at hearing his voice. 

“It’s okay, Mark,” you said, “Are you alright? You didn’t get into an accident, did you?”

“No no, it’s all good, I’ve just held up at practice.” You nodded. That would have been your second guess. 

“Did you lose track of time again?” you asked good-naturedly, simultaneously hating and feeling fond of this trait.

“Yeah, kind of. It was an emergency,” You nodded again even though he couldn’t see you, “Yeri was crying because she couldn’t keep up with the others. Seriously, I’ve never seen her break down like this before...,” his voice faded into the background for a second as you took in his words, “It took me and the others a full hour to calm her down. Man, she must have been holding it all in for so long...”

“I see,” you whispered, closing your eyes tightly and clenching your hand into a fist. 

“I’m really, really sorry, love, for missing your graduation. I know it’s really important!” Mark apologised again and you distantly heard a chorus of ‘sorry’s from the guys, including Yeri, “I can make it to the after party-”

“No, don’t bother, really,” you said, not able to hide the bitterness in your voice. Someone called your name, asking if you needed a ride. You turned over to one of your fellow students, who had been your roommates before you moved in with Mark, and gave her thumbs up.

“Y/N?” Mark asked, a little apprehension colouring his tone. 

“I’m not going to stay for long anyway. And you should you stay with Yeri-ah,” you muttered, dying to hang up. 

“But-”

“See you,” you ended the call, taking in a few deep breathes to calm yourself. ‘This is your day, Y/N. Don’t let anyone ruin your day,’ you thought sadly. 

-

The party was in full swing, people lingering around in circles with their respective families and friends, chatting up storms with glasses of champagne or wine or whatever they wanted. 

To say you felt like the odd one out was an understatement, being the only one without a single acquaintance around, you were forced to stand with your former roommate’s people, akwardly making conversation with them. 

“Are you alright?” your colleague would whisper-ask you every minute and you would always nod until you couldn’t even lie anymore with the tears brimming in your eyes. 

After an hour you decided to call it a day, realising that you wouldn’t be able to save any joy you had with graduating. Sighing deeply, you watched the puff of air as you walked your way home, finding peace in the silent night with the occasional refreshing breeze. You suddenly felt so tired, tired of pretending, tired of holding on when it was so pointless. 

You knew you had to eventually set Mark free and the time had come now. ‘I will ask him to come over tomorrow,’ you decided, figuring he would stay at Yeri’s or wherever she was to keep her company. To your surprise, you saw him standing in front of your apartment door, an adorably confused expression on his face as he searched his pockets. Knowing him, he had forgotten to take them in the first place. 

His features brightened up when he noticed you walk over, “Y/N, thank Jesus you are here! I probably lost my keys again.” 

“Hey Mark,” you greeted him quietly, slipping your keys into the lock and opening the door without stepping in. 

“Hey jagi...,” he called you gently, noticing your distress and holding onto your arm, “I’m really sorry I missed your day. You know, I wanted to be there so bad..”

“And I actually believe you, Mark,” you said, turning to see him smile his beautiful dimpled smile, “But I don’t think it’s enough...anymore.” You watched his face slowly drop as he registered the words. 

“Wait- what do you mean?” he asked, stepping closer but stopping when you moved back, crossing the threshold to what was once the home for both of you.

“I mean, we should end it here.”

Mark’s eyes widened, shock crossing his features. “W-what? Why??” 

You held up a hand so he wouldn’t get in, closing the door. “Please, just stay over at someone’s else for tonight. I will have my things moved out by tomorrow.”

“Moved out where- Y/N!” he pressed his hand against the wood, preventing any form of barrier between you. By now, you had a hard time keeping your tears in and you just wanted to be out of his sight before he could see them, “ Where the hell are you going? Why are you talking like this?”

“Because you don’t love me anymore, Mark!” you finally shouted out the words that you had kept in your heart, breaking it in the process of finally stepping out of the constant denial. “You don’t love me anymore,” you sighed, this time quieter and more defeated, “I can tell, everyone can tell...and I know you are too nice to break up with me so I’m doing it for you.”

“But I do love you...,” he uttered, his mind racing to find out what made you think that he didn’t in the first place, but the hesitation was clear in his voice. 

You shook your head with a sad smile, “You don’t. So please...just go.” Your voice cracked at the end, freezing him into place and you took the moment to close the door on him, and you relationship. 

A few months later you would see a heavily disguised boy holding onto a hand of a petite, equally disguised girl walking down the streets, into the cafe you would usually find yourself in and you would immediately realise just who they were, causing you to turn your back on your’s and Mark’s favourite place to go on dates.

End...I guess.

Help me Get Coffee Support?

#nct angst #mark angst #marklee angst #nct mark angst #mark #mark lee #nct imagine #nct oneshot #mark oneshot #mark imagine #nct127 #superm #nctu #nct

[dvp95]

quiet on widow’s peak (9)

pairing: dan howell/phil lester, pj liguori/sophie newton/chris kendall rating: teen & up tags: paranormal investigator, mystery, online friendship, slow burn, strangers to lovers, nonbinary character, trans character, background poly, phil does some buzzfeed unsolved shit and dan is a fan word count: 3.1k (this chapter), 29.6k (total) summary: Phil’s got a list of paranormal experiences a mile long that he likes to share with the world. Abandoned buildings, cemeteries, and ghost stories have always called his name, and a particular fan of his has a really, really good ghost story.

read this chapter on ao3 or here!

The sleep Phil has is restless and patchy. He wakes up so many times, spikes of panic cutting through the calm as he tries to remember where he is and who's breathing next to him. Dan is either a very heavy sleeper or very good at pretending to sleep, because Phil jerking awake never makes them stir.

It's a comfort, to look at Dan and see their blurry face slack with a peacefulness that wasn't there all night, but Phil doesn't do it for too long. Watching someone sleep is the pinnacle of creepiness. He just looks for a couple of seconds until his heart rate slows back down and he can roll onto his side. He faces away from Dan so he isn't tempted to keep looking at them, staring at the boring wall instead and waiting for sleep to momentarily take him again.

He's still tired when he wakes up properly to Dan tossing and turning, but he decides that's his cue to be awake.

"Hey," he murmurs, reaching for Dan's hand. He squints, but he can't tell if Dan is having a nightmare or if they're awake without getting even closer to their face. "It's okay. You're okay."

Dan takes a deep, shuddering sort of breath and cradles Phil's hand in both of their own. It's like they're afraid he's going to let go. "Sorry, fuck."

"You've got nothing to be sorry for," says Phil. His stomach is doing a weird twisty thing at the sound of Dan's voice all husky with sleep. As long as he acts normal, it's fine, right? It's hard to convince himself of that when Dan's hands are pressed to his own and making him feel impossibly small. "How did you sleep?"

"I mostly slept fine," Dan says, and Phil nods like he didn't already know that.

"Good. You needed it."

For a moment, Dan is quiet. Then, they shuffle onto their side so they can properly face Phil, who has to fight the urge to hide away from their gaze. It's a good thing that he can't see the depth and warmth and sparkle of Dan's eyes without his glasses on.

"You didn't sleep very well," they say like it's a fact. Phil doesn't bother trying to deny it, he just shrugs. "You could have woken me up."

"Why would I do that?" Phil asks, puzzled by the offer.

Dan smiles, and Phil reaches for his glasses. He feels so vulnerable without them, and the sensation of not being able to see the way Dan is smiling while Dan can probably read every tiny emotion on his face is anxiety-inducing.

He leaves his other hand in Dan's. Maybe it would be easier if he just let go, but he finds that he doesn't want to.

The world comes into focus, and Phil blinks over at Dan like it's his first time seeing them. They look so different with their lashes clumped together and lines creased into their soft cheeks by the pillow. Curls are in complete disarray, and Phil presses his fingers into his palm so he doesn't try to brush the frizzy, unruly mess off Dan's forehead. Their smile doesn't fade when Phil just kind of stares - if anything, it gets even wider.

"You stayed with me all night," says Dan. Their tone is dry, but Phil imagines there's not a small amount of sincerity behind it. "You didn't have to, like, be alone."

Alone isn't something Phil had felt at all. Dan's steady breathing and the warmth of them emanating from their core even when they weren't touching were the only things keeping Phil grounded every time he woke with a start. He doesn't know how to say that to this person he barely knows, though, wouldn't know how to say something so open to most of the people in his life, so he just chuckles.

"No use in neither of us getting any sleep," he points out.

Dan is very warm, and Phil can feel his palm starting to get sweaty where it's trapped between both of theirs. He makes an apologetic face and pulls his hand back, patting it on his flannel pyjamas. Dan doesn't seem bothered by the lack of contact, but they also don't seem relieved - Phil can't tell what they're thinking at all, if he's honest.

"So," says Dan. "Where do we go from here?"

Before Phil can even think about it, he echoes the question in falsetto. It's louder and more obnoxious than he intends it to be. He swings his legs out of bed and reaches for his phone on the nightstand to try and hide a blush. "Uh, we go eat breakfast. Lunch, I guess."

"You lied," Dan says to his back. "You are always thinking about Buffy."

"Not always," Phil says weakly.

"Often enough."

"Once More With Feeling bypasses my brain entirely. It's just a primal call and response to anyone as obsessed with the show as teenage me was."

"I've never seen the show the whole way through," says Dan. "But Buffy is a style icon of mine."

Phil's tired brain offers him a half dozen mental images of Dan in various Buffy outfits before he shakes his head to try and clear it. He's never been particularly interested in boys wearing girls' clothes, but the concepts of gender identity and presentation are so blurry when it comes to Dan that he's going to have to rethink that position. They're not 'girls' clothes' on Dan. Maybe there's no such thing as 'girls' clothes' at all.

It's too early in the day for a deep dive on his own perceptions of gender, though. He thinks that sort of existentialism can wait until after his second or third coffee.

--

Phil's parents eat lunch with them and do their best to make small talk, but only Chris is On enough to properly converse with them. At Phil's umpteenth 'huh' of the early afternoon, they give up entirely and migrate to the lounge to watch tv.

For a long few seconds, the kitchen table is quiet. Then, Dan stands and starts to clear everyone's plates.

"You don't have to do that," Phil says, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"I need to do something with my hands or I'll lose the plot," says Dan. They dump the dishes carefully in the sink and start running water. Having their back to the group seems to give them the courage to add, "I don't have all my meds with me. I didn't exactly expect to be out all night."

"What d'you take?" Chris asks.

"Little fucking nosy of you," says PJ.

"Well, one of us might have what he needs, love. I'm not just asking for the hell of it."

Phil feels a bit like his mum has possessed him when he clicks his tongue disapprovingly. "You really shouldn't share medication," he says when Chris gives him a look.

It makes Dan laugh, anyway, so Phil feels like he's done something right. They still don't turn around, just washing everybody's dishes and looking so weirdly at home in Phil's clothes, Phil's old kitchen. Phil doesn't realise he's staring at their back until someone kicks him under the table.

"Earth to Phil," Chris murmurs. He's resting his chin on a hand and smirking, but his eyes are too sharp for how little sleep he must have gotten. Phil feels heat rise to his cheeks and pulls his coffee closer to use the steam as an excuse.

"I don't need anything, really," Dan hums. "Thanks for asking. My brain just struggles a bit."

"A big mood, as the kids say," Chris says sagely.

Dan laughs again. It isn't as loud as Phil knows it can get, but it still fills the room and makes everything seem a bit brighter. "Do the kids say that?" they ask. "Is that what they say?"

"I believe it is," says Chris.

There is another stretch of silence. Phil watches his friends' faces as the elephant in the room weighs on them all. He's making a bet in his own mind about who will be the first to break when Dan turns around and bluntly says, "I still don't think that was a ghost, but I really fucking hated it."

"Sorry," says PJ, "but what else could it have possibly been?"

"I dunno," says Dan. They cross their arms over their waist, holding onto their own elbows. Phil is beginning to recognise the position as a protective one for them. "But I'm sure there's an explanation. Sleep paralysis is normal."

"The way it happened was not normal."

"What do you think it was, Dan?" Sophie asks. Her tone is much kinder than PJ's, but she seems just as skeptical.

Dan's dimple is pulling downwards in unhappiness or discomfort, so Phil waves a hand to get everyone's attention on himself instead.

"Why don't you guys tell us what exactly happened to you," he suggests, meeting Dan's eyes almost apologetically. He knows that none of them want to relive it, but it's easier if they're all on the same page here. "And we can toss around theories later."

--

PJ says, "It was a demon. I could see it. It was tall and humanoid-ish and had a Cheshire Cat smile and it kept going closer to Chris and Soph just to watch me panic. Then it would laugh and sharpen its claws on the wall. It felt like hatred and fear in a physical being. I really don't think our protection sigils did fuck all, but it didn't actually touch any of us, so maybe they helped a bit?"

Dan says, "It was nothing of the sort. I saw the same shit you did, Peej, but that doesn't mean anything. Haven't you ever heard of mass hysteria? Folie à deux - not the album - isn't unheard of. Maybe there's a high level of carbon monoxide. Maybe the asbestos got to us. I don't fucking know, but there's a hundred explanations before you hit demon. But, yeah. It looked like what PJ says. It felt like I was frozen for a fucking week, not just a few hours, it was awful. Zero out of ten, would not do again."

Sophie says, "It smiled at me and I felt cold."

--

They pile into the basement to recuperate so they aren't bothering Phil's parents. Or, more accurately, so Phil's parents aren't bothering them. Most of the games are packed up, but Phil finds the Wii and its small collection of disks in a box under the stairs. He sets it up, hands his friends the controllers, and sits back to zone out while they tear each other apart at Mario Kart.

Phil doesn't consider himself a skeptic. He knows that his threshold of belief is a lot lower than he makes it appear to be in his videos, but he'd never call himself a Scully. He always thinks about the supernatural aspects of any case he's looking into, even if he doesn't commit a hundred percent to the mentality that it must be something weird. He usually just prefers the weird option to the more common and boring reality of things.

So this thing with the Wilkins place is downright terrifying. Not only is it in Phil's proverbial backyard, too close for comfort in a lot of ways, but he hasn't had an experience quite so chilling since he was sixteen and dipping his toe into this hobby at Martyn's side.

He and Martyn still aren't sure what exactly left those finger-shaped bruises on Phil's ankles, but it's become a funny story in the years since.

Maybe this will be something to laugh at in a few years, too. Phil hopes so.

"You sure you don't want to play?" Dan asks, breaking into Phil's reverie. They're in first place and not even looking at the screen, their concerned brown eyes focused on Phil. Phil gives them a small smile and shakes his head.

"No, I'm alright."

"Phil, please take the controller from him," says Chris. He seems annoyed, but Phil can never tell how much of that is a show. It's possible that Chris isn't actually competitive at all and just likes to work Phil and PJ up by acting like he, too, would rather eat a whole head of lettuce than lose. It's also possible that Chris genuinely feels that way. "He's not even fucking trying and he's kicking our asses."

"Maybe you deserve to have your ass kicked a bit," Phil says, watching the screen to see how easily Dan ducks around various obstacles.

It still jolts a bit, hearing the people around him make an assumption - however logical it is - about how Dan wants to be addressed. Phil knows it isn't his place to correct them, especially since it seems like they're not using any less correct terms than he is, but it still rankles a bit.

"Fuck's sake!" PJ exclaims, looking like he's a hair away from throwing the Wiimote at something. He's never actually hit that level of gamer rage, but getting lapped by someone who keeps checking their phone during a race seems to be getting on his nerves. Phil reaches out and pats at PJ's mess of curls.

"You'll be okay," he says, dry. "They're just better than you, you'll live."

Maybe the pronoun use is a little more pointed than it needs to be, but Dan gives him such an exasperatedly fond grin that Phil can't bring himself to regret it. There is a brief beat of quiet, and then PJ groans again.

"It's not fair," says PJ, gesturing dramatically with the Wiimote. Sophie leans out of the line of fire. "This is unacceptable. We have to play a game they're bad at, now."

"I don't care what you call me," says Dan. They sound more amused than anything else. "As long as you know I'm winning anything we play."

"That's why they call him Winnie," Chris says in that very mild voice he uses for absolute nonsense. He puts his own controller aside and flops onto his back on the basement floor, stretching. "I can't do it, I can't play another round of this farce. I'm going upstairs to let my future mum-in-law dote on me."

Phil sighs. He can feel Dan's eyes on him again, and he shrugs helplessly in their general direction. He does not control the Chris. "Please stop saying things like that. Dan is going to think I'm mixed up in… this."

He gestures vaguely at the three of them, and Chris' eyes sharpen like he's spotted prey.

"Oh, so you want Dan to know you're horrendously single, then?" Chris gives Dan a wide, conspiratorial sort of grin. "He's useless at this, you know."

"Me rejecting you doesn't make me useless," Phil huffs. He can feel a flush creeping up his neck, because Chris is more right than he wants to admit, and Dan is smiling back at Chris like they're in on the joke.

"I think it demonstrates a lack of taste," Chris sniffs.

"You know what I think?" Sophie asks, stretching her arms above her head. "I think I need a shower."

"Me too," Dan says with an unnecessary little sigh. Phil pinches his own thigh to circumvent the mental images before they start. It's annoying to have such a good imagination, sometimes. "And I need to take my meds. Is there a bus that runs around here or something?"

"Don't worry about taking the bus," says PJ. "I'll drive you."

"I don't mind," says Dan.

"I mind," says PJ, more firmly. He stands like he's planning on dragging Dan to the car himself if Dan tries to say no again.

Dan's shoulders relax forward. Phil knows the anxiety of riding unfamiliar public transit all too well, and he definitely wouldn't make Dan do something so harrowing after they got roped into ghosthunting. He's glad that PJ is on the same page again, keeping Dan in that sense of protection that being a team gives them.

It's only been a weekend, but Phil is already reluctant to let Dan go home and leave the team bubble. He wants to insist on coming along, but he knows PJ probably wants solitude on the drive back.

Still. Phil chews his lip and looks down at his phone so he doesn't have to see the looks on his friends' faces when he says, "You can keep the pyjamas. If you want them."

"Okay," Dan says softly. "I will, thanks."

He knows that he should look up, should smile at Dan or stand and hug them before they leave his life, but that all feels so big at this moment. Phil's anxiety lets him wave and murmur a goodbye before he's left alone in the basement. At least, he thinks he's alone, until he sighs heavily and Chris responds from the floor. "Oh, you're fucking mooning over him, aren't you? This is awful. I preferred the ghost."

--

Phil takes a shower after his friends have, to be polite, and it feels incredible to wash off the dirt and dust from the attic. It feels less incredible when the door opens.

He hadn't bothered locking it, because his parents' shower is loud and it should be obvious that he's in there. At least the curtain isn't see-through. He takes a moment to just stand under the spray, bewildered, before it occurs to him that he can ask what's going on. It probably isn't a serial killer. "Er, hello?"

"Hi," Chris' voice comes, tense. "We've got a problem."

"I'm a little busy," Phil says pointedly.

"Well, get your hand off your knob and get out here," says Chris. "We need to figure this out before Peej gets back."

Phil rolls his eyes, but doesn't bother arguing about why exactly he's busy. He rinses the last of his mum's conditioner out of his hair and squints at the unfocused, opaque shower curtain like he'll be able to see Chris if he just tries hard enough. "Figure what out, mate?"

"All of the footage is fucked," Chris says, blunt. "It's corrupted to high hell. Every single second. There's no evidence we were even there at all."

#quiet on widow's peak #words words words

[creativity-is-rebellion]

More Top 20 Must-See Horror Movies

 Especially now we are in isolation, who doesn’t crave a good horror movie to watch? To that purpose, I have created yet another top 20 must-see horror movies, along with why you should be watching them. So get into your comfy clothes and blanket, grab some popcorn, and settle in to watch these horror gems (WARNING: May contain spoilers).

1) Ginger Snaps (2000)

I first saw this movie when I was fifteen years old, and, watching it recently, I was still impressed how it handles the perils of transitioning from teenhood to womanhood. Ginger Snaps follows the story of two outcast sisters, Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) and Brigitte (Emily Perkins), in the mindless suburban town of Bailey Downs. On the night of Ginger's first period, she is savagely attacked by a wild creature. Ginger Snaps is a terrifying movie with good character development, acting is convincing and it has a fast-paced story line. If you're into well-done horror movies Ginger Snaps is the movie for you. It is one of the best modern werewolf movies I have seen.

2) Annihilation (2018)

Drawing on mythology and body horror, Annihilation is an intelligent film that asks big questions and refuses to provide easy answers. It is Sci-fi horror at its best, boasting a very intriguing and unique idea whilst entertaining the viewer throughout the film. Definitely a must-watch.

3) Green Room (2015)

A punk rock band becomes trapped in a secluded venue after finding a scene of violence. For what they saw, the band themselves become targets of violence from a gang of white power skinheads who want to eliminate all evidence of the crime. Influenced by exploitation movies of the 1970s (and punk music of the 1980s), this horror-thriller is rooted in a gripping, grisly kind of realism without resorting to lazy coincidence or stupidity. This is again a fresh take on horror and worth a view.

4) 1922 (2017)

I learned from a great film critic many years back that your own best judgement of a movie is best discovered when you realise that you are still thinking of it many days later. This Stephen King film stays true to the iconic master with all the tell-tale signs of a Kings classic: A haunting grimness that lingers throughout the movie, a tragedy and of course, outstanding performances. The mother that returns from the dead leaves you in a crazy suspense of whether it is simply a dream, a man’s demented insanity, or an actual reality. Thomas Jane’s performance was stellar and totally believable as a farmer in rural America in 1922. He actually takes you through the movie as if you were part of him and what is going on. The message that Stephen King leaves you with is dreadfully powerful of how greed can destroy all. Definitely worth the watch, especially for Stephen King fans.

5) Evil Dead (1981; remake 2013)

Both versions of this movie are great, but I have a special fondness for the original, which was Sam Raimi’s directorial debut. The camerawork is amazing for a low-budget film, and the creepy atmosphere is eerily accurate. We feel Ash’s pain when his friend, sister and girlfriend are one-by-one changed into Deadites, and the ending keeps you guessing, and wanting, a sequel. I am quite a fan of the Evil Dead franchise actually, and have just finished watching the TV adaptation Ash vs. Evil Dead. I’m savouring the last episodes, and am sad that it got cancelled. I look forward to more from this franchise, hopefully in the not-to-distant future.

6) Get Out (2017)

This film is unique, telling the tale of young black man who meets his white girlfriend’s parents for the first time. Jordan Peele’s film delivers a chilling satire of liberal racism in the US. More than just a standard-issue thriller, this brutal, smart movie is impeccably made, as well as surprising, shocking, and funny, while also offering a compassionate, thoughtful look at race. Expect only the very best a film has to offer, with a nasty twist at the end that you won’t see coming. 

7) Hell Night (1981)

One of the best things about this movie which follows fraternity and sorority pledges who spend the night in a mansion haunted by victims of a family massacre is that it stars legendary Scream Queen of The Exorcist fame, Linda Blair. Other than that, prepare for a fun, wild ride, the way every good slasher movie should be.

8) Insidious Part 2 (2013)

I actually enjoyed this sequel more than the first movie, as it was less plodding and more action-packed, with an intriguing antagonist in the form of the mysterious “Bride in Black,” who turns out to be the evil spirit of serial killer Parker Crane, who, as we know from the previous movie (SPOILER ALERT) has taken over the body of Josh Lambert, and is fighting for control of his soul. I enjoyed seeing the return of Elise Rainier, who was (SPOILER ALERT AGAIN) killed off in the previous movie. James Wan directed this second helping even more masterfully than the first. A must-watch.

9) Sleepaway Camp (1983)

This is a campy slasher gem, where they cast real teenagers, which elevated the drama of the plot somewhat. Sleepaway Camp tells the story of a young girl named Angela who goes to Camp Arawak with her cousin Ricky. Once the two arrive at camp, a series of events/killings leads the campers to discover that there is a killer on the loose. Sleepaway Camp is not in any way intense or fast paced. However, even though many initially might look at as a “rip off” slasher film, the movie does get creative when it comes to the brutal killings and certain aspects to the film that no one saw coming. Including the jaw-dropping twist at the end. I’m not giving it away. You just have to watch it.

10) Cold Prey (Fritt Vilt) (2006)

This movie takes full advantage of its snowy, secluded set-pieces, using Norway’s harsh winter landscape to masterfully build tension and heighten the sense of isolation. As horror movies go, Cold Prey is a slow-starter, committing the first third of its running time to investigating the signs of violence scattered throughout the hotel, allowing the characters to theorise about what pernicious acts may have taken place before the hotel’s abandonment. It begins at the intriguing yet deliberate pace of a psychological horror film as the sequestered friends, initially inebriated and giggly, explore the hotel and sharing secrets, but the movie’s party-hard atmosphere bursts open at the 40-minute mark to reveal a black horror centre. Slick and stylish, Cold Prey is a genuine pleasure to watch.

11) The Hills Have Eyes (1977; remake 2006)

Even if it echoes a better film (namely, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), the original movie is still an important one to view for lovers of the horror genre.  This is a sometimes ghastly  - and occasionally absurd - shocker that really gets under one's skin. Though many critics initially despised the original outing, it has since been called one of the best horror movies of the 1970s. Scary-movie specialist Wes Craven made this viscerally-violent feature on a low budget, and some horror connoisseurs call it his best. Ultimately the "normal" people strike back with a ferocious blood-lust they didn't know they had, and the question is how much a "civilised" person can be pushed before one becomes a savage. Are the Carters really all that much "better" than Jupiter and his spawn? That is a question that you, as the audience member, are required to ponder.

12) The Dawn of the Dead (2004)

This remake of George A. Romero's 1978 sequel to Night of the Living Dead soups up the zombies, cranks up the gross factor to 11, and has a lot of cheeky in-jokes about its predecessor. In comparison with the original, out are the shrieking blondes and rampaging looters, in are smart, controlled Ana (Sarah Polley as a believable nurse not afraid to wield a fire poker) and Kenneth (Ving Rhames), who is exactly the kind of cop you want walking beside you if you are facing scores of the undead.

The zombies are a bit spryer in this film, and the pregnancy of one of the main characters is not the life-giving promise it was in the first movie. But the ending is what differs most from the original. If you're a fan of the horror genre, then this flick is a welcome, if derivative, fright-fest in the school of Romero's classics.

13) The Cabin in The Woods (2011)

What starts out as another five-band teen getaway to a cabin in the woods ends up becoming a fresh take on the trope, with puppeteers behind what is taking place, in a twisted game of Choose Your Adventure. The ending is fittingly grim, but you won’t be disappointed. Definitely worth one hour and thirty-five minutes of your time.

14) The Babadook (2014)

The feature debut of writer-director Jennifer Kent is not just genuinely, deeply scary, but also a beautifully told tale of a mother and son, enriched with layers of contradiction and ambiguity. It presents grief as a demon, questions reality, and creeps out the viewer by making psychopathology seem like something that could happen to anybody. The style of the film is not teasing exactly - it's too sad and lonely - but there is certainly a hair-pulling mixture of glum laughter and vast apprehension. Is the demon real? Does it matter? That’s for you to judge. Either way, if it’s in a word, or if it’s with a look, you can’t get rid of the Babadook.

15) Suspiria (Original and the Remake - 1977 and 2019 respectively)

Suspiria is a baroque piece of esoteric expressionism that you enter - and exit - without understanding so much as feeling. It's always fascinating to watch; the thrills and spills are so classy and fast that the movie becomes in effect what horror movies seemed like when you were too young to get in to see them. Director Dario Agento works so hard for his effects -- throwing around shock cuts, coloured lights, and peculiar camera angles -that it would be impolite not to be a little frightened. This entry stands out as it is a visually beautiful horror movie, a bright fantasy that lives off its aesthetic. If you are a horror fan and haven’t seen this movie yet, then you’re not living right. The remake is also worth a watch, something that is oftentimes unique in the horror genre.

16) A Quiet Place (2018)

This gripping, clever monster movie is one of those rare genre treats that seizes on a simple, unique idea and executes it so perfectly and concisely that it elicits satisfying squeals of delight. It's directed and co-written by Krasinski, who's best known for his work in comedy but translates his experience in that genre to the expert building and releasing of tension here. A Quiet Place is, in many ways, like an extended classic horror movie sequence, such as famous ones in The Birds or Aliens, wherein the heroes must try not to disturb packs of resting monsters.

At the same time, Krasinski uses his quiet moments like music, ranging from moments of restful beauty -- including a father-son trip to a waterfall, where it's noisy enough that they can talk and even shout -- to moments of pause. A loud noise can cause a jump, but it's immediately followed by tension and dread: Will the creatures come this time? The real beauty is the movie's primal quality, based on the most basic elements of life, such as survival and protection of the species. No explanation is given for the monsters' existence; they, like us, are just here. Images of water, sand, bare feet, crops, and plant life serve to underline the theme of life itself. A few overly familiar horror movie clichés keep it from being perfect, but otherwise A Quiet Place is so good that it will leave viewers speechless.

17) The Exorcist (1973)

Once famously dubbed ‘the most terrifying movie ever made,” this movie is steeped in urban legend, especially concerning the unfortunate happenings that occurred when it was being made. 

If you think your teen is ready for this shocking film, keep in mind that some audience members in the '70s reportedly fainted after seeing Dick Smith's grisly makeup effects on Blair. In some extreme cases, viewers even required psychiatric care. Also, the moans, snarls, and profane utterances from Regan (most are actually the dubbed-in voice of a well-known older actress, Mercedes McCambridge) amount to some of the most chilling audio ever done for film.

Thanks in part to Linda Blair's wrenching, Oscar-nominated performance, The Exorcist was a huge hit, earning back 10 times its $10 million budget (a then-lavish sum, outrageous for a "mere" horror flick). Movie historians cite it (along with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) as the conclusive end of old-school spook shows featuring Dracula and Frankenstein and bobbing rubber bats. If you haven’t watched it yet, you may have your horror movie fan card revoked.

18) The Final Destination Franchise (2000 - 2011)

If I had to list all of the movies in the Final Destination franchise in order of quality, I would say 5, 1, 2, 3, and 4. Fourth instalment withstanding, the series is a formidable addition to the horror genre, as the invisible killer, Death Itself, stalks its victims and kills them off in creatively gruesome ways after they initially cheat death. The fifth addition contains an awesome twist at the end which in hindsight you should have seen coming throughout the entire movie. Pay close attention. The only downside is (SPOILER ALERT) that none of the characters throughout the series really survive.

19) Let the Right One In (Lat den Ratte Komma In) (2008)

Please watch the Swedish version, and power through the subtitles. This is a horror movie that is tragic on multiple levels, as it deals with a lonely and bullied boy who so happens to live next door to a pubescent vampire. When her benefactor dies, we see how the main character’s life will also unfold, and what lies in his future. A must-see film that is more than just your average horror movie.

20) Terrifier (2017)

This movie definitely gets back to basics by paying homage to the original slasher classics. Art the Clown, who we are originally introduced to in the 2013 movie All Hallow’s Eve (also worth a watch), is a vicious horror movie villain who kills just for kicks. He also subverts the horror movie trope by using a weapon which was previously considered off-limits to horror movie villains, especially those with supernatural abilites (mostly, anyway). This movie also contains one of the bloodiest deaths in recent horror movie history. I like the use of practical effects over the often-overdone CGI. What is Art the Clown? Deranged killer? Demonic entity? Who cares? Its all good fun. Watch it now on Netflix.

I’ll probably be back again some time in the future with a further 20 horror movies that are worth a watch, because there are so many of them. To everyone, take care during these uncertain times.

#good horror movies #Horror Movies #horror movie buff #i love horror #terrifier #art the clown #annihilation #ginger snaps #the exorcist #final destination #let the right one in #fritt vilt #cold prey #a quiet place #suspiria #the babadook #the cabin in the woods #the hills have eyes #the dawn of the dead #sleepaway camp #insidious part 2 #the further #get out #hell night #green room #evil dead #deadites #zombies #watch movies #chill nights in

[calamitynight]

Yosano x Dazai | smut

A/N: I for some reason felt like writing something with this pairing. Ik it's not one of the big talked about ships, it's a rare pair actually, but I think if they actually spoke with one another, they would get along well...anyway this ended up becoming a smut and my first smut at that. I think it came out really well. So I'm nervous, but quite proud of myself, I guess. I can't come up with a title for it. No matter how hard I try and I really want to upload it onto my AO3 and FF...so if anyone has any recommendations for a title please totally comment. If not, I'll eventually figure it out. ANYWAY!...I hope you guys like this...

Words: 4k

Dazai walked into a dim lighted office. He was surprised to see that the building was not empty at such a late hour. He walked over to his coworker that was slouched down onto her desk. Mountains of paperwork resided on each sides of her. He watched quietly as she rapidly wrote on the pages. He could barely make out what the words were saying. She had the script capability that assured you, she is indeed a doctor. He soon leaned in close to her ear and whispered.

"Yosano san"

She moved with great speed, making him lose his balance. Yosano had him pinned down onto the desk behind her. Her fingers wrapped around his throat and the others held a scalpel against his skin. Dazai let out a smug smirk as he watched her eyes open with realization. She let go of him and slammed her scalpel down on the table. She brushed herself off and regained her composure.

"You're completely insane to creep up on someone like this. Still, I apologize"

"You really have it in you. I never get to team up with you, that sure was thrilling" he responded in his giddy tone. He could have moved whenever he wanted to, but he didn't see the fun in that.

"What are you doing here so late at night?" She asked as she sat back down.

"I came to retrieve a book I left behind today" Yosano had rolled herself back toward her desk. She responded with a short hum and processed with her work. "Do you work this late often?"

"Occasionally, I am not a fan of Kunikida's scoldings in the morning. So I get as much as I can done" she looked down to peak at the tittle of the book Dazai was holding. "Poisonous plants, huh-"

"I was thinking about mixing some of these into my tea tonight" he sounded so happy, she just couldn't understand.

"Death by poison, congratulations"

"This might be it. Guess you will know if I don't come in tomorrow"

"You rarely come in as it is" Yosano shot back and he chuckled.

"That is true. See you around, Doctor"

He made it towards the door, his palm grazing the knob before being stopped.

"Wait" she called out. He turned slightly to look at her from the corner of his eyes. She had rolled herself around. He could see her fully underneath the one dim light. "How about we have a drink, before you finally off yourself" she leaned into her desk to take out an unopened bottle of wine with two glasses.

"I suppose, one last drink wouldn't hurt"

He sat on the chair beside her and rolled himself around to face her completely. Handing him a glass she opened the bottle and filled it with ease. "What was the occasion for this bottle suppose to have been?" He asked, never taking his eyes off of her.

"There was none. Sometimes we run out of drinks when we host parties, that's all"

"I always tend to forget how much you adore drinking"

"It's greatly needed sometimes"

He took a sip out of his drink, but still kept his eyes on her. He watched as she softly twirled the glass in her fingers. She stared deeply into the red colored wine. He had clearly guessed that something was weighing on her mind. He just couldn't understand why it was him she had chosen to be around.

"What are you thinking?" He finally asked. It bothered him how he couldn't figure it out.

She looked up at him, she acknowledge his question, it took her some time to answer. She turned up the glass and drank all her wine. Setting the cup down on the desk beside her, away from her work, she sighed.

"Ironically..." she took a pause. "- Suicide"

"Yosano san!" She was taken aback suddenly by Dazai's actions. He had lounged towards her from his seat. His hands gripped on both her arm rest. Their faces were inches apart. "If you're thinking about that, don't do it alone. We could have the most beautiful double suicide together. Of course! this is why you wanted to be alone with me. This drink truly is a celebration" she let out a scuff before busting out into laughter.

The historia has completely taken over her. He dropped his body back down onto his seat as he watched her. She appeared happy, if she were thinking about that, he wondered why? She gleamed as she laughed, tears ran down her face and she whipped them away. She started catching her breath, soon she opened her eyes.

"You are an idiot, honestly" she laughed a little more. "That is not what I meant at all. Still, I'm not surprised in the least with your thought process"

"Then what exactly do you mean by thinking of suicide?" She picked up the wine bottle and tipped it over. She took a big gulp out of it. "No point of the glass, I see"

"There was this job, before the agency..." she drunk again. "I'm sorry, there was this man. I was suppose to save him. I promised him that I would save him, but I didn't make it" Dazai took the bottle as she tried to tip it one more time. "It's hard to sleep at night, sometimes he haunts me. So I come here and I drown myself in work"

"That explains it. You have months of work finished already" he took a sip of the bottle himself. "What happened to him?"

"Turns out I can't save people who want to die-he committed suicide, hanging- he died before I could get to him. I was too late"

"This man, was he a lover? Was he someone precious?"

"He was-my dear friend"

He could see the pain in her eyes. Those words pulled a cord inside of him. Before he knew it he was thinking of his old dear friend too. It may be different lives, but they shared the same sorrow. He never believed something like this could be possible.

"We're the same, you and I" Dazai commented.

"No one knows anything about your life. It's hard to believe that we are in any form equals"

"We all have our dark pass we wish not to speak of. I have lost a dear friend too. I too was too late to save him. I think of him often, but I don't associate him with any form of hauntings"

"Is that why you want to die so badly?"

"Is that why you're always drinking?"

"Ha!- got me there"

Dazai trace his eyes along her body as she threw herself back onto the desk. Her shirt was unbuttoned and he could see the beginning lace of her black bra. Her tie laid on top of her chest, as she unfastened it earlier. Her skin glowed from its pale color, it possessed porcelain smoothness. She breathed softly and he watched as her chest calmly arose up and down. He had never had the pleasure to see her in the act of healing someone. He recalled all the stories he has been told about her. The way she seductively took off her shirt. The way her lips curled into a smile and she chuckled as she cut everyone open. The image of that seemed to truly get him excited. He moved his sight down towards her legs as they crossed on top one another. She always wore a long knee length skirt, but he could only invision the legs she hid underneath. Her black tights wrapped around her legs perfectly. Leaving only a small stretch to show off her skin. The red heels she wore with such a plain elegant outfit showcased a side of her he for some reason wanted to discover. He never bothered to learn much about the agencies Doctor. She was a friend to him and the others, but she couldn't heal him, so there were never any motives to get close to her. She was a beautiful and dangerous woman; Yet she was vulnerable and weak in her own way. He wondered how this night ended up like this. It began with an exciting encountered and twisted into a pit of sorrowful recollections. He looked back up towards her face. Her cheeks had turned red from the warm alcohol. Her neck was long as she stretched it out. Hair softly falling off her shoulders. The lashes of her eyes held a glisten to them, she must have let out a small tear. Her lips were a tint of pink. The sight of her was graceful and he wondered why he never noticed before.

"Forgive me, I've kept you from your plans"

"I appear to be having fun right here and now" Dazai questioned, but it was a true statement. "I talk about how much I wish to die every day, does that bother you?"

"I've grown accustomed to the weirdness of the people who walk past that door. In times like these your words aren't the most comforting, truth be told" she unbutton her shirt a little more and began to fan herself. The alcohol was finally setting within her. "If there was a way to make you want to live for at least one more day, would you consider it?"

"Depends, what are you offering?"

"I wish to know more about you, before you're gone from this world. I want to unlock the mysteries that are Osamu Dazai"

"Why the sudden interest?"

"You said that you and I are alike. I would like to know in which way" she stood up from her seat and walked towards him. She soon caught him off guard as she straddled him. "I'll give you the one pleasure there is in this world, one that can only be attained between two people. Perhaps that'll make you stay just a little while longer"

He gave her a smirk. The smirk of amusement and his eyes stared at her in agreement. She leaned down closing the space between them. She waited for any sign of rejection, but he didn't give her one. Their lips soon pressed against each others. It was a full open mouth kiss. Passionate and seductive, he could taste the mixture of sweet and bitter cherry wine on her tongue. The way she clinged onto him reflected how starved she was for this. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and she grind herself softly against him. She tasted delicious and he couldn't resist the temptation that was above him. The friction was beginning to get a reaction from him. It turned her on, he felt the vibrations go down his throat as she let out a moan. She was a beautiful woman, an older and more experienced woman. These thoughts alone made him want to hear her even more. What kind of sounds would she make for him. What kind of screams could he make her release. She moved her hands underneath his jacket and took it off. They soon grabbed a hold of his bolo tie. The sound of it echoed as it hit the floor and she began to unbutton his shirt. He pulled her tie off from around her neck. Holding it in one hand, he grabbed a hold of her wrist with the other. She pulled away and looked at him. Her eyes were blurred from the excitement. He smirked once again and tied her wrist up with her tie.

"I dont want you getting too ahead of yourself" he commented as he looked at her full revealed cleavage.

She let out a chuckle. "Then please, lead the way" she shoved him fully back against the chair for him to get a better view.

He let go of his grab on her wrist and softly planted his hands on her waist. Her shirt unraveled from behind as he gripped and untucked it from her skirt. His imagination has been driving him crazy since the beginning. As his cold hands landed onto her warm soft bare back, he knew he wouldn't be able to control himself much longer. Dazai slid his hand straight up her back and she trembled underneath his touch. He felt the goosebumps form on her skin and the shiver vibrations on his crotch. He slid them to the front and began to unbutton her shirt one by one. He began with the bottom button and worked himself up. As he watched the last button come out of its hole he noticed this view was not enough. He wanted, no he needed her spread out, he needed a more open view. Landing his palms on her thighs he gripped them and carried her up. She threw her arms around his shoulders in surprise. She felt light as he carried her. She wrapped her legs around him, which made him twitch. He was considerate enough of her work and moved her towards another table. Surely only one table was unoccupied from any type of work and that would be his. He dropped her off on top of it and watched her lay down. This was it, as she threw her hands over her head everything was now in hindsight. Her shirt opened and revealed her black laced bra. The choosing of her under clothing made him think she was waiting on something like this to happen. Grabbing a hold of her knees he spread her legs open. Even underneath her tights he could see her matching panties. Pushing himself in between her legs he leaned down to kiss her. She sucked him in immediately, she was hungry and couldn't wait any longer. He began to trail himself down from her chin to her neck. She ran her fingers through her hair and her heavy breathing began. That wasn't enough, not for him. Grabbing the middle of her bra he pulled it up. Her breast softly fell out of the cups. He moved his lips down towards her pink colored nipples. He bit gently and listened to every reaction he received. He sucked and licked until he felt them rise. Moving his hand down towards the inside of her skirt he grabbed a hold of her inner tigh. Yosano let out a moan when he unexpectedly pinched her. Soon leading to him ripping the fabric of her tights. Dazai began to rub his finger on her labia from the thinnest of her panties. It amazes him how wet she's gotten from such little contact. Thrusting herself upward Yosano proclaimed she couldn't wait any longer.

"Someone is quite inpatient"

"Come now, being teased by a man younger than me" he pinched and rubbed at her clit. She shivered and moan. "Sleeping with me must be a dream-You're surely taking advantage of"

"I'm a man that enjoys the pleasures in life. I want to view every part of you"

Yosano covered her red shaded face from embarrassment. He snickered as he began to plant kisses down her body. He rubbed and teased at her clit as she shivered from his touch. He inserted the first finger. She jolted up and her moans let out louder. That's it, indulge him inside of this room with your sounds. That was what Dazai wanted. Her walls clench on his finger as he thrusts in and out of her. Licking and biting on her inner thigh, the once hidden legs now belonged to him. As he inserted the second finger he slipped his tongue on her clitoris. With no hesitation she grabbed at his hair. She melted from the movements of his tongue. He could feel her toes curling as her legs rested over his shoulders. She was getting louder and louder, so his fingers penetrated her faster. That was until she covered her mouth. He stopped once he heard the muffled sounds of her moans. Causing her to whimper and look down at him.

"D-Dazai" she called out with a pant. Her chest elevating up and down with rapid speed. His brown eyes had a darker tint shes never seen before. A switch of dominance had turned active on the man before her.

"Don't cover your mouth. I want to hear every sound"

"What if someone hears us"

"We're all alone here" he slowly pushed his fingers in. "I want to hear the sounds as I take over your body" he went in further. With a whimper she nodded her head in agreement. His lips curled up in a smile. "That's it, wouldn't want to keep our good doctor unsatisfied"

Yosano tightly wrapped her legs around him as he went back down on her. Her body arched itself as it prepared for its release. She let out a sound of total satisfaction. Dazai took all of it in, every last bit of her. He pulled himself up, bridging on top of her body. The red color of her cheeks and chest, he could feel the heat emitting from her. He couldn't help but grin at her. In a slow motion he decided to untie her. Her hands quickly grabbed a hold of his pants. The sound of his zipper being pulled down was all he needed. As his pants fell down she took in the size of his bulge into her hands. Her eyes came back at him as she began to play with him. The sensation made him whimper, he had held back for too long. She pulled him out, showcasing her joy with his size. She began to stroke him, but she was holding back as she began with the thumb and index finger. It wasn't enough so he pushed himself forward. Yosano smirked, was it her time to tease him? That wouldn't do, but he let her continue. Slowly adding more pressure with the addition of her other fingers she stroke with a faster pace. She hit every nerve of his soft spots. She toyed with him with the knowledge she controlled. He felt himself about to give out. He felt himself becoming weak to her touch. Dazai grabbed her hand and pinned her down. He breathed heavily as he stared at her. The satisfaction was radiant on her face.

"Heh- you damn doctor"

Now standing straight before her, she licked her lips of the thought of him inside her. He pulled off her ripped tights and her panties came off with them. His eyes lingered on her for a couple seconds. He was falling victim to a witch doctors body. Taking himself into his hand he put himself in position. His tip barely touched her vulva before she let out her begging moans. He pushed through and entered her, she arched up once more. Letting go of her hands he slammed his down above her shoulders and beside her head. He began to move slowly, pleasure filling both of their expressions. Wrapping her arms around him, she clinged on to him. As she moaned into his ear he thrust faster into her. She pulled at the back of his shirt, tugged at it as he penetrated her. It began to slip down his shoulders and the cool breeze caused him to shiver. Her fingers found their way underneath his bandages, she felt him grow inside her as her nails dug into his skin. He accelerated from the sensation of brief pain. Yosano smirked and chuckled at the knowledge, it was nothing to be amazed about. Shoving her face into his neck she used her teeth to losen his bandage. He slowed down a bit, but processed as she began to leave bites on him. The harder she bite, the harder he thrusted. The room filled with moans from the both of them. Sweat dripped from their faces as they stared into each others eyes. This was a paring that no one could ever see happen, but it was a paring made for each other. Dazai was too zoned in with the feeling of pleasure. He felt himself on the brink, but was brought back as his bandages slid from his shoulders. He pushed the both of them down towards the desk. Pulling out of her, she whimpered once more. Without warning he flipped her around, she let out a moaning scream as he slipped back into her from behind. Her hands gripped at the edges of his desk. The creaking of the desk left behind scratch marks on the wooden floor. She pushed herself back up against his chest. She panted as her lips pressed against his. One arm wrapped around his neck, holding him towards her. She moaned into him, he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Yo-sano-san" he tightened against her as her walls clenched one last time. He dug his face into her neck as she released one last screaming moan.

Her body dropped onto the desk, moans were exchanged by her deep breathing. He pulled out of her slowly, his warm semen following suit. He watched her privates pulse and a satisfied smirk stained his lips. Pushing her body up and away from the desk, her skirt fell, covering her legs. He watched as she pulled her bra back down in place and her shirt laid perfectly on her shoulders. Her tie went into her pocket, and she bent down to retrieve her underwear and torn off tights. Dazai followed behind her as he pulled his pants up and fixed his shirt. Some of his bandages fell lose from his skin. He cleared his throat as Yosano began to walk towards her desk. Grabbing her wine bottle and cups, she put them back into their hiding spot.

"So, do you accept my offer?" Her voice was now calm and collected, but he could no longer imagine anything else than her broken underneath him. She pressed his hard covered book against his chest. "It's your choice"

He couldn't believe such a trivial thing could make him stray away from what he wanted most. At this moment he was feeling more alive than usual. He had learned much from the doctor out of this act of intimacy. She smiled at him as she began to walk to the door. That smile was sly and brilliant.

"Lock up behind me, will you?" Opening the door wide, she slipped right out.

Without hesitation Dazai dumped his book in her bin, soon following Yosano out the door.

Extended ending:

"Looks like you didn't manage to kill yourself this time, Dazai" Kunikida spoke as he took off Dazai's headphones. "You're even here early, must be the end of the world"

"I guess so, I slept pretty well last night" he smiled widely.

"Dazai san, I found your book in Yosano's trash bin" Atsushi put the book down before him.

"Thank you, Atsushi. Speaking of our dear doctor, is she here yet?"

"She's in the infirmary"

"Great!" Jumping up with glee he headed to the infirmary. He watched her as she organized everything in complete silence. She didn't feel his presence and a part of him wanted her to feel more than just that. As she finished wrapping up, she jumped once she saw him. "Good morning, Yosano san"

"Ha, looks like you didn't go along with it"

"Did you expect me to?" He pouted.

"There's no telling with you, but this is still just as good"

"I'm here quite early, how about a little pick me up?" He slowly began to close the door, but was stopped as she grabbed a hold of it. Smiling up at him, with a pity stare, he knew the meaning of her expression.

"I'm sorry, but I have a lot of work to get done"

"It's early in the morning, how much work could you possibly have?"

"I would like to inform you that most of us do work when we're here" she chuckled at his defeated behavior. "Besides today is-"

"AKIKOOO-" Ranpo could be heard calling out for her. "Akiko where are you!? I'm already out of snacks!"

"It's grocery day, so I can't be slacking off or else our dear Ranpo will die" she walked out, leaving Dazai alone in her infirmary. After a couple seconds he heard the sound of her heals walk back to the door way. "I wouldn't mind some help. Care for a little adventure?" She smirked connivingly as she walked out once again, with Dazai joyfully behind her.

A/N: I added an extended ending cause I feel like I could do more stuff with them :p

#dazai osamu #yosano akiko #bsd #bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #yosano x dazai #rarepair #dasano #idk what their ship name is #do they even have one? #anyway i tried #bsd dazai #bsd yosano

[joonsgalaxy]

a turning point

Pairing: Seokjin x Reader

Genre: fluff?

Words: 1,7k

Warnings: swearing

Prompt: 21 "You're stuck with me, like it or not."  requests

a/n: this is kind of enemies to lovers, but i guess more like friends that hide their feelings behind sarcasm to possibly future lovers

You watched the last balloon inflate until it was big enough and matched the others, and then you secured it. It flew up and clung to the ceiling amongst the others of its kind.

The uplifting tune of soft music was floating in the air, filling the whole apartment as you stared up, evaluating your completed task.

Beyond any doubt, it looked perfect. Silver, sky blue and snow white balloons hung from the ceiling like a bunch of ripe grapes. Beautiful words—congratulating and complimenting—were scribbled onto them, helping to create the mood for the upcoming party.

Satisfied, you spun around, and swung to the music.

You couldn't possibly miss the distasteful sound that bubbled up from Seokjin’s throat. He was snickering as if seeing the most ridiculous thing in the world.

‘What? Never done a good job and did a little happy dance in celebration?’ You shot a glance down at the silver ribbons next to his crossed legs on the floor, and from the mess he’d created you deduced that, ‘Probably not.’

He waved you off, choosing to ignore your sardonic remark. He jerked his head upwards with a bored expression, trying to draw your attention to the ceiling. ‘Take a closer look.’

Confused, you strained your neck and narrowed your eyes to glide your gaze over the balloons. ‘What do you mean? Everything's perf—Oh no.’ That couldn't be real. ‘Oh no.’ How could it happen? ‘Oh no.’

Amongst the sweetest of words on the balloons, there was a certain phrase on one of them that was ridiculously horrendous and definitely shouldn’t have existed at all. How could you be so distrait and miss it?

‘I mean, I'm not judging,’ Seokjin spoke behind you over the music, ‘If that's what this party is all about, I‘m sure he'll be more than happy to oblige.’

‘You’re disgusting,’ you snapped. ‘Shut the hell up.’

As Seokjin's chuckle softly danced behind you, your fingers rummaged through the mess on the floor near the helium tank. You came up with the packaging for 50 balloons that were now all above your head.

“Balloons for a fun birthday party”

What kind of a birthday would that be, with such an obscene writing one of the balloons?

‘It must be a mistake. It's the only one like that, right?’ You inquired, letting your gaze quickly jump from one balloon to another to ascertain.

‘As far as I can see, yes.’

‘Okay.’ You strode across the room to grab a chair and set it down right under that hideous balloon. ‘It‘s going to be fine,’ you chanted in a murmur. It was a habitual exercise of yours used at times like this to alleviate your uneasiness. ‘There‘s enough time to make sure everything's perfect.’

The thing was you quite underestimated the distance between you and the ceiling. You reached upwards as far as you could, the muscles in your arm straining nearly painfully, but no matter what, your fingers couldn't manage to grasp the balloon. Climbing on the chair might have helped you if only you had been just a tad bit taller. The ceiling appeared to be exceptionally high. ‘Shit,’ you mumbled.

‘Need a little help?’ A mocking voice behind you spoke.

‘Go to hell.’ Accepting help from Seokjin? You'd die before letting yourself do that. He was too cocky to not use it against you whenever the opportunity would come.

However, you still had to get the balloon down before the birthday boy showed up. And so you tried out something else that seemed clever at that moment. You bent your legs slightly, focused your eyes on the target and leapt toward it.

Not only you weren't able to grasp the balloon, but you also nearly sprawled onto the hard floor, because your landing on the chair was dangerously shaky and extremely risky.

‘Hey now, wouldn't want to spend Jeongguk's birthday at the hospital, would we?’

You rolled your eyes at Seokjin's comment and climbed down from the chair with your unsteady legs and weak arms that felt a little numb now.

Not the greatest of my decisions, you admitted with pursed lips.

Still, one of your most admirable innate traits was that you never gave up. This party would be the greatest yet. Jeongguk turns 21 only once! Your gaze stopped on a particular object in the room, and soon your legs started purposefully moving toward it.

However, as you marched toward the table that sat by one of the white walls you were interrupted by Seokjin's gruff warning. ‘Don‘t even think about it. You'll ruin the flooring.’

‘You suddenly care about Jeongguk's flooring. Well, that's quite unexpected.’

He gave a careless shrug. ‘It‘s a new apartment. A pretty decent one.’ He made a show of looking around, stood up. ‘As much as I'd love to see Jeongguk scream at you, it would be a shame to see scratches here on the new floor.’

‘How nice of you.’

Seokjin tilted his head toward the ceiling. ‘I‘ll take care of it.’

I don’t think so. You protectively stretched out your arms, blocking his way toward the chair. ‘Don‘t you dare to touch my balloons.’

Exasperated, he sighed at your relentless tone. ‘No one else is here. How are you planning to get it down on your own?’

‘I could... throw knives at it.’

‘Yeah. Yeah, that's a great idea. Just wait a little until I get a hundred miles away from the building, ‘kay?’

You huffed in annoyance and glanced around for something else. Unfortunately, you came up with nothing, for the apartment was pretty much completely empty. How long could it possibly take to fully furnish a room? Three weeks and there’s only a table, a chair and a bed? Well, considering the fact that it’s Jeongguk’s apartment, it somehow makes sense.

‘Jeongguk—the hero—isn‘t here to help you out, not to mention he's the one those balloons are for.’ If you didn't know better you'd assume the rather bitter tone is his voice was a sign of jealousy. Then again, Seokjin was such a mystery; it was always so difficult for you to gauge his true mood. ‘You‘re stuck with me, like it or not.’

‘Oh surely, somebody will show up to help me sooner or later.’

‘Of course, you could risk waiting, but what if Jeongguk shows up the first one?’

You considered all the other options, briefly looking around again… and there were none.

‘Don‘t want me touching your balloons?’ Impatient, Seokjin spoke again. ‘Sit on my shoulders and reach them yourself.’

‘Only if you're okay with me crushing your head with my thighs like a fucking watermelon. You pervert.’

Seokjin scoffed. ‘Believe me when I say that my head between your thighs is the last thing on my mind.’

You grimaced at him, a childish yet wholly reasonable reaction.

His words prompted an odd feeling akin to hurt within you. Strange.

Offended and annoyed, you capitulated and stepped aside. ‘Go get it then. Just don't deflate them with that sharp tongue of yours.’

Seokjin's lips curved in a victorious smirk, and he headed toward the chair.

You watched him climb atop it, push onto his toes and reach for the balloon.

‘Give me that.’ You strolled over to him.

‘Here you go,’ he said proudly and crouched down, pushing the balloon right in your face.

It blocked your vision and infuriated you immensely, forcing you to step back. The writing on the balloon was announcing “suck my ass”. Seriously, who would buy those on purpose?

You snatched the balloon away, and struggled with it like an angry kitten until the pressure of your knee against it made it burst.

Seokjin’s laugh echoed in the spacious apartment, and painted the walls in all the most spectacular colours. His twinkling eyes sprinkled some delightful glitters all around you two.

You absolutely hated it.

‘I was about to say you should keep it just in case,’ he said when his laugh eventually dispersed.

With only the music playing, the walls seemed too gloomily bare now as Seokjin stared at the scattered shreds of the balloon on the floor.

‘For what?’ You asked.

He lifted his gaze to your eyes and shrugged nonchalantly. ‘You could’ve sent it to the guy that stood you up.’

That surprised you. He remembered.

You offered a sheepish chuckle. ‘Yeah, I guess, he deserved that kind of thing.’

‘He sure did,’ Seokjin was agreeing in a heartbeat.

His gaze seemed uncommonly sympathetic now as he peered into your suddenly shy eyes. This kind of moments used to occur rarely and mostly unexpectedly. Nonetheless, they were a thing. You could never know with Seokjin. One minute he would be quarrelling with you, testing your patience, and the other he'd be the sweetest most caring person on the Planet Earth, leaving you completely confused and yet unmistakably warm and dreamy.

Footsteps could be heard from behind the door of the apartment. The sound of keys clanking to one another made your eyes widen in surprise.

‘It‘s Jeongguk!’ You exclaimed in a whisper. He was too damn early. The food wasn't prepared yet, and neither was the booze. There were no other friends except you and Seokjin, too. A precise recipe for a disaster of a birthday party.

Noticing your terrified expression, Seokjin darted across the room toward the door.

You could hear Jeongguk drop his keys onto the floor. He cursed in a couple of languages, and then dropped something else.

‘I‘ll keep him busy,’ Seokjin let you know, his fingers grasping the door handle. ‘You call someone and finish all this.’ His gaze skimmed around the room; his hand tilting the handle.

You stood there baffled for you didn't expect Seokjin to be so helpful and understanding. After all, he hated hanging out with Jeongguk alone. ‘Really?’ You asked, but he was already out the door, pushing Jeongguk away from the apartment.

‘What the fuck?’ The younger one protested, but just half a second later seemed to realize what all of this was about. ‘Oohhh, are you guys throwing a secret party for me?’

(( Something about the lingering gazes and warm smiles from Seokjin during the whole party made you think that it was about time you take another step—a big or a small one—regarding your relationship.

Finally, the lovely moments that used to happen so rarely would now progressively become much more frequent. ))

💖🌸 send me feedback :: masterlist

#kwriterskollection #armiesnet #hyunglinenetwork #kim seokjin #jin drabble #jin fluff #bts fanfiction #bangtan fic #jin x you #jin x reader #jin scenarios #seokjin fanfic #jin imagine

[the-desolated-quill]

Hide - Doctor Who blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

I’m going to be honest with you. I had completely forgotten this episode had even existed. I remember all the other episodes of Doctor Who, but Hide somehow slipped from my memory, and I don’t know why. I must have watched it when it was broadcast because at the time I used to watch Doctor Who religiously every Saturday until Moffat’s bullshit became too much for me, so I don’t know how I could have forgotten it.

Watching Hide again for the purposes of this was very much a journey of rediscovery for me. It was like watching for the first time all over again, and yeah, I liked it a lot. It’s got some problems, but I’d say it’s definitely a winner.

Hide takes place in a haunted house in the 1970s. Professor Alec Palmer and his assistant Emma Grayling are trying to make contact with a spirit inside the house, but when the Doctor and Clara show up, it turns out there may be a more scientific explanation for what’s going on.

Written by Neil Cross, who previously wrote The Rings Of Akhaten, Hide takes a lot of inspiration from the works of Nigel Kneale, most notably The Quatermass Experiment and The Stone Tapes (which is ironic considering how much Nigel Kneale reportedly hated Doctor Who at the time). When you watch the episode, it does have a very Kneale-esque feel to it. The plot itself feels like it could have been ripped straight out of one of the original Quatermass serials, but Cross manages to do just enough with it to make it his own and not have the episode just be a homage.

I think the two things that make Hide so effective is its simplicity and its scale. There’s no alien invasion or world ending disaster to worry about. It’s kept mostly to one location with only a couple of characters, which means there’s more time for Cross to really develop them as well as to play around with the idea and the setting.  In some ways Hide is a traditional ghost story, and it’s done very effectively. The atmosphere is really creepy and the episode does a really good job of keeping you in suspense, making you question just what is going on. What’s even more refreshing is the episode’s use of subtlety. There’s no giant info dumps or overly sentimental bombast like we usually get in New Who. It’s all pitched perfectly for the most part.

What’s even more impressive is how Cross transitions from supernatural horror to science fiction really subtly over the course of the story. Turns out the ghost isn’t a ghost, but a survivor that crash landed into a pocket universe, and what we’ve been seeing all this time are snapshots of her running away from a monster as well as the effects of time dilation. One second in the pocket universe represents hundreds of years in our universe. That’s a really clever idea and a very novel way of exploring the time travel aspect of Doctor Who. And the reveal at the end that the ‘ghost’ is actually Alec and Emma’s great great great great great great granddaughter is just the cherry on top of the cake. It explains why the psychic connection between Emma and the ‘ghost’ was so strong and you can tell Neil Cross was really thinking how all of this fits together.

Let’s talk about Alec and Emma for a moment. With such a small scale episode and more emphasis on characters, it’s important that the performances are at their best, and Dougray Scott and Jessica Raine don’t put a foot wrong. Alec is a very sympathetic character. An intelligent and well meaning man who fought in the war and sent many people to their deaths, leaving him with years of guilt and turmoil that made him decide to take up ghost hunting in the hopes that he can get in touch with his deceased comrades and thank them for their service. Emma too is very likeable and sympathetic. A psychic (empath to be precise) who can sense the feelings of others, and thus makes it hard for her to form close bonds with people because of the pain she would feel from sensing such intense emotions from them. It also ties into why she’s a ghost hunter because she says at one point that the ghost is lonely, and clearly she can relate to that due to her own situation. They’re both good characters and I like their relationship, which, again, is handled very subtly and effectively. If this was a Russel T Davies script or even a Steven Moffat script, there would probably be a lot of swelling music and OTT monologues as the characters confess their love for each other, but Hide thankfully doesn’t go that route, instead plumping for a less is more approach, which is more effective. Yes there are a few declarations of love here and there, but it’s handled really well and Alec and Emma’s feelings for each other are conveyed more through their actions and body language rather than dialogue. It’s a combination of great writing and great acting.

While I did really enjoy Hide for the most part, I do have some issues with it. First I’m slightly annoyed by how the episode treats the male and female characters. Hide very quickly has the Doctor pair up with Alec and Clara with Emma, and you think fair enough. Makes sense I guess. But while the Doctor and Alec get to have all these interesting discussions about their past and angst, Clara and Emma are reduced to talking about the men in their life, which profoundly irritated me. Hello! Emma is an empath who has trouble with social interactions! Do you reckon she might have an interesting backstory to tell?! I feel it undermines the whole romance angle because it puts more emphasis on Alec and his feelings and worries, whilst any that Emma has is merely an afterthought.

Something else that undermines the episode are the monsters. Apart from the fact that the animatronic puppets they use for them are utter crap, I don’t understand why this episode needed to have monsters in it in the first place. Doctor Who is such a flexible format and there are loads of different kinds of stories you could tell, which is why it always puzzles me why we always seem to revert back to the monster of the week format, to the point where a monster gets shoehorned in for no reason other than the BBC feel they have to. The reason Hide works so well is because of the uncertainty of it all. The fear factor comes from us and the characters not knowing what’s going on. Why cheapen that with some shitty monster? (yes I know it looks like John Carpenter’s The Thing and it’s meant to reference just how much influence Nigel Kneale had on the sci-fi genre and how under appreciated he is today, but it’s still pointless). And then it just got worse when it turned out the monsters aren’t monsters at all, but long lost lovers trapped in different universes wanting to reunite. Dear God, give me strength! Any subtlety the episode had at that point just sailed clean out of the window. Why couldn’t they have just kept it as a ghost in a pocket universe? That was fine. I was enjoying that.

But the worst thing of all is the Doctor and Clara. People wonder why I don’t like the Eleventh Doctor very much, and for me it’s because of episodes like this. Hide does a really good job of setting up a creepy atmosphere, it’s all very tense and chilling, and then along comes Matt Smith with his goofy antics and hands waving around like windmills to spoil it all. I mean for fuck sake, where’s his off switch?! I recognise this is more of a personal taste issue, and if you think Matt Smith is funny then good for you, but I just can’t stand him. And it’s even more infuriating this time around because he’s effectively trampling all over the creepy atmosphere and destroying the tension. Plus there are some scenes that are just inexcusable. There’s a bit where the Doctor is about to use Emma’s psychic powers to open a wormhole to the pocket universe, and she asks whether or not it’s going to hurt. Now obviously the Doctor would be straightforward with her and say yes, it will hurt. How he conveys that depends on the incarnation. If it was Tom Baker or David Tennant, it would probably be in a sympathetic tone and maybe they’d attempt to reassure her. If it was William Hartnell or Peter Capaldi, they would probably be more blunt and to the point. What does Matt Smith’s Doctor say to her?

“No... Yes... Maybe. I don’t know. I’d be interested to find out.”

Yep, they actually try to play it for comedy. Okay, three things. One, fuck you, two, that feels really out of character, and three, how can you be so callous and insensitive?! What makes you think the prospect of a character we happen to like feeling incredible pain and agony is somehow amusing? At this stage I’m practically counting the seconds until he regenerates.

But as bad as the Doctor is, Clara is even worse. Jenna Coleman seems to have reverted back to Asylum of The Daleks mode, where she’s this smug, obnoxious, lecherous cow. She never takes the threat seriously and, like Matt Smith, keeps undermining the tension. One really horrid scene is when Emma closes the wormhole due to the excruciating pain and the Doctor becomes trapped on the other side of the wormhole. Now if it was any other companion like Sarah Jane or Martha or, hell, even Amy, they would probably try to reassure Emma and either convince her to try again or find some other way to save the Doctor. What does Clara do? Berate Emma for leaving the Doctor behind before proceeding to have a full blown argument with the TARDIS. I should also note that it isn’t Clara who ends up saving the Doctor in the end, but the TARDIS itself. Clara was too busy bitching and whining like a tiny child who hasn’t got her way to do much good. Remind me, why am I supposed to like her again? What is it about her that makes her companion material? Oh yeah! The bullshit Moffat mystery! Like I give a fuck about that!

And speaking of bullshit Moffat mysteries, apparently the TARDIS doesn’t like Clara very much. I can understand why, quite frankly. The problem is it feels more like delusional anthropomorphic personification rather than an actual thing that’s happening. In both The Rings Of Akhaten and Hide, Clara can’t open the TARDIS doors. Yes it could be because the TARDIS doesn’t like her, but a more likely explanation is that she doesn’t have a key. In Hide, the TARDIS initially refuses to help Clara. Yes it could be because it doesn’t like her, but a more likely explanation is because the TARDIS could die if it went into the pocket universe, like the Doctor said it would. It’s all just utter bollocks that never goes anywhere. What’s worse is that it’s completely reversed. The TARDIS magically changes its mind for no reason and let’s Clara in to save the Doctor, and then this whole plot point is never brought up again. Same goes for the conversation Clara has with the Doctor when they witness the entire life cycle of the Earth from birth to death and Clara is bothered by the fact that the Doctor doesn’t seem emotionally affected by it. You could have done something with it, but it’s just really clunky and it’s never addressed or brought up again afterward. So what’s the point of bringing it up?

Despite a few flaws and the most obnoxious Doctor/companion pairing in Who history, I still really enjoyed Hide. It has a great central premise, likeable and well developed characters for the most part and decent execution. Two episodes, two wins for Neil Cross. Any chance of a third?

#hide #neil cross #doctor who #eleventh doctor #matt smith #clara oswald #jenna coleman #steven moffat #bbc #review #spoilers

[sarahw-world]

My first fanfic: “A Dark Heart“

Chapter 24: A Hot Excursion                

Summary: On the morning after their night together, Vegeta decides to take Bulma on a little excursion...

Notes:          

Hi guys! I'm back!

I'd like to apologize for taking so long to publish this update, but I must admit, things got kind of rough for me during these past couple of months.

So, here's the new chapter. I hope you like it, and I'd like to thank you all for your patience. I got my motivation back, so I'm fully committed to this story and I still have a few things in store for you guys.

Enjoy!

Author’s note: This is a NSFW chapter! I posted a censored version here:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12294658/24/A-Dark-Heart

A low raspy voice, five warm fingers caressing her bare shoulder and the smell of a fresh cup of coffee awoke Bulma from her deep sleep. She blinked a few times and smiled languidly when her groggy mind realized the voice attempting to wake her up was none other than her lover’s.

“Bulma, wake up,” he whispered once more, sitting by her side on the bed and quietly offering her the hot beverage.

Bulma yawned loudly as she slowly sat on the bed, leaning her back on the fluffy pillows and lazily stretching her limbs before finally reaching for the blue cup Vegeta kept patiently holding in his hand.

“Thank you,” she mumbled gratefully, stirring her drink with its little spoon and taking a sip.

It was perfect, with the right amount of milk and sugar, just the way she liked it, and she secretly wondered how that was even possible when the Saiyan had never even made coffee for her before. Bulma smiled inwardly, glad to learn her mate had paid more attention to her daily habits in the past than he’d probably like to admit.

“It’s very good. Thank you, Vegeta,” she said again, gently stroking his shoulder, making him simply nod in silent reply; was it her imagination, or was he blushing a bit at her words of appreciation?

Bulma finally took a good look at him, taking in his relaxed stance. He looked well-rested, just like her, which was surprising considering she’d disrupted his sleep in the middle of the night, initiating what had turned out to be another round of tender but mind-blowing sex. Even though she’d been the one climbing on top of him, he’d soon rolled them over, taking full control of their coupling and leisurely making love to her. It wasn’t unusual for her Prince to be domineering in bed, and yet, the woman flushed now when she recalled the extremely possessive way in which he’d taken her the night before.

As she savored her comforting drink, Bulma couldn’t help but experience a tinge of embarrassment too at her excessively emotional behavior. She’d never cried in bed with Vegeta before, in fact, she’d barely ever shed tears in front of him, being the proud woman that she was and knowing how much the warrior despised her so-called ‘stupid human sensibility’, and yet, she’d ended up crying more times than she cared to confess during their entire trip together. Still, Vegeta had never mocked or reprimanded her for her hypersensitive displays, choosing to comfort and soothe her instead. Everything about his conduct seemed to be different, from his patience when it came to her, to the incredibly affectionate way in which he’d been treating her.

It felt almost surreal, but here they were, sitting side by side in bed, quietly drinking a cup of coffee, almost as if they were a regular couple sharing an intimate, everyday moment together when, in fact, their relationship had always been anything but ordinary. She could count with the fingers of one hand the amount of times he’d actually been present when she’d wake up in the morning, due to his brutally gruesome daily training sessions, which he usually started before dawn. Whenever she’d found him still by her side in the break of day, it’d been only when his body hadn’t reached fulfillment from their previous night activities and he still wanted to assuage his gluttonous Saiyan appetites. After a passionate morning session of marathon sex, he’d leave to train to the Gravity Room for a couple of hours before her mother would call him for breakfast. In those occasions, he’d certainly given her her fair share of pleasure, but his almost pathological fear of intimacy had always been there, standing between them like a hard-hearted, opaque wall, and she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t felt a tad hurt at times by that distant attitude.

The man she’d managed to seduce on Earth was very different from the one sitting by her side, clad only in a pair of comfortable grey sweatpants, eyeing her circumspectly from the corner of the eye as she finished her drink.    

“Do you want more?” He asked, turning around slightly and grabbing her now empty cup.

By now, Bulma was absolutely dumbfounded by his attentive behavior.

“Uh? Um, no, it’s fine…”

She stretched indolently one final time, allowing Vegeta to admire her lovely body, dimly illuminated by the warm colors of sunrise. It pleased him to notice her foolish insecurities and apprehensions from the previous night were long gone; if anything, it was he who felt a lack of confidence on how to act around her under their current circumstances. Even though he’d promised her a week together, he had no idea on what to do with her beyond the small surprise he had in store for her that morning. He could only hope Bulma would eventually take the initiative about everything else regarding this whole ‘relationship’ business.

“I guess I could make us some breakfast. Are you hungry?” Bulma continued, starting to get off the bed.

“No,” he cut her off, standing beside her as he held both empty cups in one hand.

“No?” She asked, unable to hide the surprise in her voice.

He wasn’t hungry?

That was new…

“I thought…” He replied, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Yes?” Bulma prodded gently, encouraging him to finish his thoughts.

He looked at her with an almost neutral expression on his face, secretly hoping he wouldn’t make an utter fool of himself, before finally gathering the courage to make his proposal. “I thought I’d take you somewhere first. There’s something I’d like to show you…”

His words rapidly caught her attention, and Bulma couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows a little in wonderment. “Really?” She smiled. “What is it?”

Vegeta smirked, the evident curiosity present on her pretty face suddenly bringing some of his poise back regarding his little plan.

“You’ll see…” He replied mysteriously, swiftly turning around and walking out of the small bedroom. “Get dressed,” he instructed. “And put on something warm.”

Bulma stood completely naked in the middle of the room, both astonished and excited by the prospect of going somewhere special with Vegeta. She looked around and, seeing her mate had placed the suitcases containing their clothing on the floor, she knelt down, looking for something warm and comfortable to wear. She promptly felt giddy with anticipation, knowing this was the very first time Vegeta had taken the initiative when it came to making plans to do something together, and she couldn’t wait to see what he had in store for her. Whatever it was, the fact that he’d made the effort to come up with something was more than enough to make her happy. Bulma chose a pair of old jeans and a cozy white sweater and, just as she placed them on the bed and was about to get dressed, a soft sound behind her startled her, making her turn around immediately.

She found Vegeta standing there, leaning on the bedroom’s door with his arms crossed, fully dressed in human clothes and a pair of sneakers, and it was pretty obvious he’d been shamelessly staring at her naked form while she’d been distractedly looking for something to wear. For some reason, probably because of the incredible night they’d just spent together, Bulma felt oddly confident in her own body, and the unequivocal thirst present in her mate’s eyes did absolutely nothing to make that new-found self-assurance go away.

“See something you like?” She asked coquettishly, placing her hands on her hips and winking at him in a playful, flirtatious manner, making a rush of heat spread across the warrior’s face.

“Tch!” He quickly replied, simulating indifference as he privately struggled with the strong urge to grab those delicious ivory hips and pin them right into the mattress. “I was just wondering what the Hell was taking you so long…”

A proud smirk drew itself on Bulma’s lips. “Is that so?” She inquired again. “Because I could have sworn you were ogling me like some pervy old man…” She carried on, grabbing the cozy-looking sweater and putting it on.

“Don’t be ridiculous, woman!” He responded, his cock now twitching at the sight of the gorgeous woman slipping into a pair of old blue jeans and wearing absolutely nothing underneath. Whether his mischievous little mate knew what she was doing, he didn’t know, but she appeared to be completely oblivious to his presence as she knelt on the soft carpet once again, looking for some suitable shoes to wear.

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch…” She mumbled vaguely, picking up a pair of thick socks. “I’m almost done here. Besides, I thought we were on vacation, so what’s the rush?”

The Saiyan remained silent for a minute, salivating at the creamy expanse of flesh impishly exposed every time her sweater rose as she bent over while she maneuvered to put her socks on, still sited on the floor. His fingers dug on his forearms on their own volition, and he briefly wondered if it would be such a bad thing to give up his pride, send his previous plans for an excursion to Hell and fuck her brains out right then and there. Then again, the woman seemed to have gone back to being the little spitfire he’d fallen for more than a year ago. Proving himself incapable of controlling his urges around her would only serve to swell her newly inflated ego even more.

“You truly are a vulgar woman…” He mumbled unintelligibly, feeling the tips of his ears burn disgracefully.

“Uh?”

“Nothing. I’ll wait outside. If you’re not ready in five minutes, I’m leaving without you,” he concluded, leaving the house without so much as waiting for a reply.

Bulma smiled widely as she leisurely put on a pair of walking boots, knowing without a doubt that her grumpy Saiyan was going nowhere without her.

She felt good.

Really good...

It was as if things were slowly going back to the way they used to be when they’d first started to feel that unmistakable attraction towards each other and their volatile dance of seduction had begun. All those arguments, sometimes about the most insignificant issues, sometimes about vital ones, when they’d yell, bicker and even insult each other, only to end up making up fervidly in the most unusual, unsafe places. Always thriving on the danger of getting caught, and on that heavy, unescapable fear both lovers felt in the back of their minds, knowing what they were doing was wrong, a forbidden adventure that wasn’t meant to be, and yet secretly enjoying just how damn easy it was for the two of them to get lost, to detach themselves from the rest of the world, cursing anything and anyone who might dare to get in the way of the feverish desire that kept bringing them back together.

Perhaps that was the reason why it’d hurt so much to see him disappear, walking away from her and their child’s life without so much as a goodbye or, at the very least, one that hadn’t taken place while they were both asleep. The memory of Vegeta holding and kissing her and their son in their sleep before abandoning them suddenly flashed through her mind but, as she tied her hair in a messy bun, she did her best to ignore those sappy, sentimental emotions.

Bulma sighed, taking one final look in the full-length mirror before leaving her room and joining her mate outside. Today was a good day, and hopefully the beginning of an even better week which, if she was lucky, would end up with Vegeta finally making the choice she knew in her heart was the right one for him: going back to Earth with her and Trunks, right where he belonged.

She left the house, noticing Vegeta hadn’t even bothered to close the entrance door, and she found him sitting on a large rock nearby, in that unmistakable stance that was both casual and oddly solemn. In moments like this, it was impossible to forget he was a Prince, after all.

“Should I encapsulate the house?”

Vegeta stood on his feet, deep in thought, newly scanning their surroundings in search of any foreign ki signal but, just as he’d previously thought, there was none, and the entire population had disappeared from the planet, except for the ones living and working in the metropolitan area they’d visited the previous night.

“Bring it with us, just in case,” he finally determined, watching her through pensive eyes as she pressed the button by the door and held the resulting tiny capsule in her hand, safely putting it inside one of her pockets.

“Alright,” she exclaimed impatiently, literally throwing herself in his arms and holding him tightly, much to his surprise. “I’m ready! We’re flying, right?”

“We are,” he replied, slowly taking off into the air.

The place he was taking her to wasn’t too far away from where they’d settled, and he hoped it hadn’t changed all that much after all this time. Just how long had it been since he’d last visited Virggo? Ten? Fifteen years? He wasn’t even sure anymore, all he could recall was having to endure Raditz and Nappa’s drunken appalling stories about all the cheap whores they’d fucked while he’d been away from the city, taking solace in the wilderness and isolating himself from everything and everyone.

Vegeta felt Bulma laying her head upon his shoulder, tickling his skin with her warm breath. He glanced at his woman from the corner of the eye, and he gladly noticed the excitement now present on her lovely face. He subtly pressed her lithe body a little closer against his, the absence of his Saiyan armor allowing him to perfectly feel every soft curve melting against his vigorous body, making a shiver run through his spine. It was impossible to ignore the fact that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath her white sweater, just like he couldn’t ignore the naughty look she was now giving him.

“What is it?” He finally asked.

“Nothing…” Bulma replied with fake naivete. “I was just thinking how you haven’t even kissed me yet this morning…”

The warrior’s throat bobbed uncomfortably.

Oh yeah, it looked like the old, brazen Bulma Briefs was back in full force…

“And why the blazes would I do that?” He replied, frowning in a vain attempt to conceal his embarrassment that his woman recognized immediately. For a man that adored taking control when they were in bed together, he could be such a prig sometimes, and she couldn’t help but find his prudish behavior irresistibly cute; there was nothing she enjoyed more in this world than teasing him endlessly for it.

“No reason,” she shrugged indifferently, before boldly licking his earlobe. She did it just once, but it was enough to make Vegeta groan in response, unconsciously digging his fingers deeper into her flesh.

“Bulma…” He threatened in a low, intimidating voice.

“Hn?” She asked innocently, licking it again and nipping it slightly.

“I suggest you stop that unless you wish to…”

He ceased his words at the unexpected sensation of her teeth sinking into his hot cheek, biting hard enough to make him halt his flight at once. They remained still for a few moments, quietly floating in the cold morning air while the Prince tried to keep his emotions in check. Vegeta looked into her eyes, the devilish smirk adorning her juicy lips warning him that her mischievous little mind was now plotting her next mischief.  

That damn woman really had no shame…

Just as she was about to approach him again with the undeniable intention of teasing him once more, he gently but firmly held her jaw, looking her fiercely in the eye.

“Enough!” He whispered ferociously against her mouth before crushing it against hers, moaning at her immediate response to his desperate, almost angry kiss.

Bulma smirked triumphantly against his lips at both her victory and Vegeta’s eagerness, knowing that deep down he was loving every second of that passionate kiss. All it’d taken was a little push for him to give in to her, that’s the way things had always been between them. They kissed for a few more minutes, his arm possessively encircling her waist while hers were laced around his neck with the same ardor as their tongues hungrily explored each other’s mouth. The couple was still floating in the air, and Bulma cherished the sensation of knowing she was in such a vulnerable position and yet, having the absolute certainty that Vegeta would always catch her in her fall.

Bulma finally broke the kiss, panting mildly and pressing her brow against his, nuzzling his nose cheekily.

“There,” she smiled proudly. “Was it really so hard to give in to me?”

“Hn. Don’t flatter yourself,” he replied arrogantly in a hoarse voice, the fierce blush invading his tanned skin betraying is false aloofness. “I’ve only done it so you’d shut your loud, annoying mouth for five minutes.”

Her cocky smile grew even wider. “Is that so? Mmm… It seems to me that you enjoy kissing my loud, annoying mouth far too much, my darling…”

“Well…” He continued, running his thumb across her lower lip one final time before finally letting go of her face, holding her tight against him with both arms. “Perhaps I am a glutton for punishment, after all…”

“Mmm…” She moaned in agreement, delicately kissing his cheek one final time before going back to hiding her face in the crook of his neck, silently letting him know she was ready for him to resume his flight. “You’re right. You do have a very, very healthy appetite, Vegeta…”

“Must you always have the last word?”

“Yup!”

Vegeta shook his head and quietly restarted their journey, pretending to be irritated but secretly pleased to see his mate finally getting some of her old spunk back. He hoped Bulma would be satisfied with their small intimate moment together, and so it seemed, because he didn’t hear a peep out of her until they eventually reached their destination. As soon as Vegeta’s feet touched the ground, his heart was put at ease when he discovered that his old favorite spot on the planet had remained virtually untouched.

He kindly rubbed his mate’s back with one hand as he kept holding her still with the other, communicating without words that they’d finally arrived. Bulma stood on wobbly legs for a second, looking at him through sleepy eyes and blinking lazily, making Vegeta unable to hold back an amused chuckle. It looked like the silly woman had fallen asleep during their journey.    

“We’ve arrived?” She asked, rubbing her eyes drowsily and stifling back a little yawn.

Vegeta assented, releasing her when he saw she was finally able to stand on her own.

“What was it you wanted to show me, then?”

“See it for yourself…” He replied, encouraging Bulma to turn around with a nod of his head so she could discover his surprise. She let go of him, following his instructions without arguing, her curiosity clearly evident in her big blue eyes.

“What is it? Why…?”

She couldn’t even finish her last question, immediately rendered speechless by her new discovery.

“Wow…” Bulma gasped in wonder, taking a few steps forward and inspecting her surroundings.

In front of her, she saw what appeared to be some kind of natural lake, but the polished dark green stone surrounding it, and a couple of old wooden benches nearby, told her it had been, at least partially, built by the hand of man. The warm crystalline waters released a faint steam, and there was a quiet, calm solemnity about the place. Bulma had to admit that it truly was a magnificent view.

She heard Vegeta’s footsteps approaching her, and she instantly felt his comforting presence envelop her as he stood by her side.

“This is so beautiful, Vegeta…” She whispered in awe.

Vegeta nodded in silent agreement, crossing his arms regally and inspecting the place.

“These are Virggo’s Thermal Baths,” he explained coolly. “It was said that these waters have healing properties for both the body and the mind.”

“Really? And how did you know about this place?”

Vegeta hesitated for a second before offering his mate an answer, fearing she’d get the wrong idea if he told her the truth. Eventually, he concluded that it shouldn’t matter, after all, weren’t they giving this ‘honest relationship’ thing a chance?

“I visited this planet on a few occasions, years ago.”

Bulma squinted, her mouth immediately turning into a distinctive shape of disgust.

“Really?”

“My, my… We are jealous, aren’t we, woman?” Vegeta smirked maliciously, masking his internal embarrassment about his revelation. Even though a part of him enjoyed Bulma’s obvious jealousy, he didn’t want to hurt her feelings either, and he certainly didn’t want to give her the impression that he was the kind of man who’d indulge in certain sexual activities in places such as the ones those two third-class assholes used to frequent.

Bulma scowled, huffing proudly and looking away from him almost offended.

“Jealous? Me? Ha!” She retorted. “Keep dreaming, Veggie-boy…” She crossed her arms, imitating his actions, and she proceeded to walk closer to the hot lake, noticing a few large steps carved inside in the same dark green stone, clearly designed to access the semi-artificial pool with greater ease.

“I guess I didn’t take you for the kind of man who enjoyed visiting places like this. That’s all…” Bulma continued, examining the warm, crystal-like waters, wondering how safe bathing in here would truly be.

She felt a fast rush of air on her back, and before she knew it, Vegeta was standing right behind her, his strong arms wrapped greedily around her waist as he whispered passionately in her ear.

“I am not,” he confessed, finally putting her doubts to rest.

Bulma turned her head to the side, smiling in satisfaction, her sweet, warm breath ghosting over his lips.

“I know…” She replied, resting her hands on top of his and kissing him softly once more, allowing the warrior to taste the honesty pouring from her kiss. She knew with absolute certainty that her man would never sleep with the kind of women that worked on Planet Virggo, but she found it enormously humorous that he was trying to rile her up and make her jealous considering the possessive way in which he’d treated her the previous night.

She turned around in his embrace, her mouth never abandoning his, pressing her breasts against his chest and caressing his cheeks as she deepened their kiss, relishing how relaxed and eager Vegeta was acting towards her that morning.

Yes…

Maybe there was still hope for them, after all…

“So…” Bulma muttered seductively against his lips, her fingers stroking his cheeks affectionately. He raised an eyebrow, completely entranced by those shimmery turquoise eyes of hers.

“So?”

“I assume you brought me here to go for a swim?”

Vegeta nodded. The smile on her flawless face told him she was pleased with his offer, and yet, he couldn’t help but feel a tad nervous about spending time with her like this. He now understood what she’d meant when she’d said that all she wanted was some time alone with him. He’d thought the idea ridiculous at first, after all, hadn’t they already spent time together in the past? They’d had sex, bathed and eaten in each other’s company more times than he could count but, if he was honest with himself, he knew things had never been like this between them.

The impending doom of the mysterious androids, his neurotic obsession with the defeat of his now-deceased nemesis, with the added stress that his abandonment of her and their unborn child had put on their already fragile relationship, hadn’t been the most favorable circumstances for a meaningful bond to develop between them. In fact, one of the main reasons why he’d left the Earth after the Cell Games had been due to the panic his heart experienced at the thought of being bonded to Bulma. Not only because of his natural fear of intimacy with another being, but because, deep down, he truly believed his woman deserved better.

And now she was standing here, in his arms, her soothing touch making all his demons and qualms go away into the dark unexplored corners of his tortured mind, tempting him, luring him to just relax, to embrace everything this unique woman had to offer and let go…  

“I… I know how much you enjoy bathing, and I thought that you…”

Bulma cut him off again, the enticing sensation of her hungry lips silencing his awkward explanation with another kiss. She knew how hard expressing himself verbally had always been for him, and she had no words to explain what it meant seeing how much thought he’d put into coming up with a plan to make her happy.

“It’s perfect, Vegeta,” she replied with the most dazzling of smiles. “Absolutely perfect…”

The Saiyan held her gaze for an instant, allowing himself a subtle, treacherous smile of satisfaction. He removed her fragile hands away from his face, kissing her fingertips delicately before finally letting go of her and turning around, walking towards one of the old wooden benches nearby, where he placed his clothing and sneakers, which he swiftly removed. He stood completely naked in front of her, giving her his back and, abruptly, he jumped into the lake.

Bulma remained still by the stairs of the artificial pool, her pearly white teeth instinctively biting her lip at the sight of her mate swimming naked and with absolutely no inhibitions in her presence. His perfect muscles moved with the grace of an Olympic swimmer, the hot, transparent waters bathing his bronzed skin as he swam at a pace she knew was actually slow for him, but which would be almost superhuman for any Earthling. At times he submerged his body, completely disappearing from her view for a few seconds, only to reappear on the other side of the lake. There was something almost animalistic in his smooth movements, and it occurred to her that it was as if he possessed an endless field of explosive pent-up energy that had to be released or else he’d die.

After swimming from one side to the other of the lake several times, he finally swam casually in her direction, keeping his dark, smoldering eyes fixated on her as she waited in anticipation for his next move. Once he finally reached the stone-carved stairs, he walked up a few of them, exposing his torso to her as the water keep covering his body from the waist down from her starving eyes. Playful rivulets of water run through his perfectly sculpted chest and abdomen, and some of the many scars that marred his skin had turned a faint pink from the heat. He wiped the excess water from his face, offering her another arrogant, playful smirk.    

“What’s the matter, little human? Are you afraid to join me?” He challenged.

Bulma looked at him in mocking disbelief, shaking her head slowly, her hands firmly placed on her hips in an act of pure defiance. She chuckled, walking to the bench Vegeta had placed his clothes on and sitting down, completely ignoring him as she removed her boots and socks. When she was done she stood up slowly, giving him her back, just as he’d done before her. A slight, discrete peek told her she had his full undivided attention, and with the knowledge that two could play this game, she decided to deliberately put on a little show for him.

Her small hands took off her oversized white sweater, revealing her inviting hourglass figure and the glowing alabaster skin of her back bit by bit. The warrior’s unshakeable eyes couldn’t miss the enticing way in which her generous breasts bounced when she bent over, those same hands now travelling to the waist of her stone washed jeans, unbuttoning them unhurriedly, swaying her hips a little, side to side, as the last item of clothing bared, not only a pair of perfect long legs, but the achingly smooth rosy labia between her thighs.

Vegeta’s fists kept clenching and unclenching excitedly underneath the water, hating to admit he hadn’t anticipated just how hard it would be for him to keep his darkest impulses at bay with a naked Bulma by his side. After having had his fill of the woman just the previous night, he’d hoped his hunger would have been sated, at least temporarily. But one look at his woman seemed to be enough to drive him over the edge, and desire burned brightly in his gaze when she quietly extended her hand to him, silently asking for help. He immediately took it, watching carefully as she charmingly submerged her little toes in the water to test its temperature, and he smirked in satisfaction when he saw the approval on her beautiful face.

Bulma smiled gratefully at Vegeta when she reached the spot he was standing at.

“Thank you,” she whispered, letting go of his hand and moving past him, reaching the end of the stairs and swimming away from him.

At first, the Saiyan didn’t quite know what to do.

Should he follow her and swim by her side?

The woman appeared to be doing just fine on her own, so he simply sat on the jade green stone, right where he was, enjoying the sensation of the soothing waters covering his entire form up to his shoulders. He closed his eyes, sighing in relief, and a strange sense of déjà vu engulfed him: the memories of the teenager he used to be, resorting to loneliness as a coping mechanism to deal with events he’d been far too young to be exposed to. If anyone had told him back then that someday he’d come back to Virggo already mated and with a child of his own, he would have found it an impossible idea, and yet, there he was, unable to take his eyes of the extraordinary woman that had erupted into his world like a hurricane, turning his life upside down.

Bulma was having the time of her life, sometimes swimming leisurely and, at other times, splashing lightheartedly or simply floating in the warm relaxing waters with her eyes closed and a blissful smile on her face. Vegeta looked her over in complete silence with dark, predatory eyes, taking in every detail of that luscious body. He’d certainly had the opportunity to appreciate it the night before, but now he loved being able to enjoy it in broad daylight, and the best part of it was seeing how happy and uninhibited his little mate had become.

It reminded him once again of the early stages of their relationship, and the first time he’d experienced a pang of jealousy before she was even his, on a dark summer night when, just as he’d left his beloved Gravity Room after one of his daily masochistic training sessions, he’d caught Bulma and her then human lover skinny dipping inside Capsule Corp’s massive swimming pool. The sighting had been brief, and certainly unintentional, but the astonishing image of the woman’s nude body temptingly bathed by the pale moonlight had forever remained imprinted on his mind, prompting some very dark tantalizing fantasies during his lonely, and very often sleepless, nights.

Looking back, perhaps that was the moment he’d decided, at least subconsciously, to one day conquer her and make her his…  

Vegeta had been so engrossed, he didn’t even notice Bulma swimming in his direction until she was almost by his side. Once she reached him, she joined him by the stairs, sitting on top of one of his strong thighs and freely wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Hey…” She whispered happily, nuzzling his cheek with her cute wet nose. “Are you okay?”

The Saiyan’s hands instinctively found her narrow waist, his fingers tingling at the touch of her skin as he observed her quietly. Part of her turquoise hair was still safely dry, pulled into a cute little bun, but a few damp unruly hair locks were now loose, framing her pretty face. Her bangs were getting longer, just like the rest of her hair, and he gently pulled them aside so he could better appreciate those bottomless blue eyes. She looked happy as a lark, and her usually porcelain-like skin had now turned a delectable rosy pink from the natural heat of the healing waters.

“Mmm…” Bulma moaned softly, kissing his jaw lovingly and burrowing her face in the curve of his neck, pressing her nude, enticing body even closer to him. “This is Heaven…” She susurrated, running her long fingers lazily across the nape of his neck.

Vegeta closed his eyes and remained silent, enthralled by her touch and the incredibly comforting sensation of her inviting figure melding perfectly against his. His hands kept caressing the alluring curve between her hips and waist, delighting in the minuscule reactions she so desperately tried to hide. He knew just how ticklish his woman could be and he enjoyed tormenting her mercilessly with his playful petting.

After a while, Bulma’s breath gradually slowed down, unable to recall when was the last time she’d felt as blissfully relaxed as in that very moment.

“This is so beautiful, Vegeta…” She said again, laying tiny kisses all over the skin of his neck, which felt even hotter than the water itself, before finally raising her head and holding his gaze once more. “How did you even know this place?” She asked curiously.

Her clever fingers never ceased her soothing ministrations and, by now, Vegeta was having a hard time thinking straight. It was a rare mixture of feeling both incredibly tranquil and excited at once and, as always, he couldn’t help but wonder if his mate truly knew the extent of the power of her touch or whether she was just acting naturally, driven by instinct and relying on her natural charms alone.

“I used to come here whenever we visited the planet,” he finally replied, losing himself in her bright eyes as his arms encircled her waist and pulled her even closer.

“Who’s ‘we’?”

“Nappa, Raditz and myself.”  

His answer was immediate and honest, free now from any of the usual discomfort and restraint he used to experience whenever Bulma asked him any questions. In their early days, he’d always felt uncomfortable, almost the victim of some kind of interrogation, by her snoopy questions, but now things were different.

Now, he’d come to trust this woman.

He trusted her with his life…

It was an emotion that should have been making him run for the hills, and yet, he simply kept holding her against him, freely offering her a glimpse of his past.

“I see…” Bulma muttered thoughtfully. “So, they slept with those…? With those girls when they came here?”

“Yes.”

“But you didn’t.”

“No.”

“So, you just…? You just came here? All by yourself?”

“I did.”

Her fingers dug a little deeper into his flesh, and Vegeta immediately recognized that look of pity in her eyes he knew too well by now. One of his hands reached her face, delicately caressing her skin in an effort to distract her from her thoughts of commiseration. She gratefully welcomed his gentle touch, rubbing her cheek against his rugged palm as she held his gaze.

“How old were you?” She asked in a hushed whisper.

Vegeta shrugged with indifference, wondering why she even cared about such trivial matters at this point, but indulging her once again anyway.

“I’m not sure… Fifteen? Sixteen? It’s hard to tell in human years anyway…”

Bulma remained silent, pondering the new facts her mate had just revealed to her.

A teenager.

Vegeta had merely been a teenager back then, just around the same age she’d been back when she’d met Goku during her quest to find the mythical Dragon Balls.

Gods!

The more she thought about her young teenage self and reminisced on all the adventures and dangers she’d put herself in during her reckless exploits, the more she realized her troubles looked like child’s play compared to the horrors her mate had witnessed and been exposed to in his youth. Despite the fact that they’d lived together in Capsule Corp. for three years, it was only during these past few weeks that she’d finally gotten to see a side of Vegeta she’d never thought possible before. A past filled with experiences, so extreme in every way, that had forced his innocence to be cut short way too soon.

His confession back in the ship about Nappa and the horrible things he’d done to that poor young slave, so terrible he hadn’t even dared to openly discuss them with her, made her suspect that if the older brute had been shameless enough to brag about raping a young woman in front of his Prince, then he and Raditz would surely have had no trouble relating their grotesque sexual experiences with a much too young Vegeta.

Bulma shivered in horror at the ghastly images running uncontrollably through her mind, and her involuntary physical reaction wasn’t lost on her lover, his slightly trembling calloused fingers still lingering over her cheek.  

“Bulma…” He finally mumbled, trying to come up with a way to change the topic of discussion. It’d been such a perfect day so far and he didn’t want to ruin things by discussing his tortured past anymore.  

As if she’d read his thoughts, and before he could say another word, Bulma’s lips found his, saving him the effort of finding an excuse and swallowing his nervousness, meshing her body with his, instantly feeling as if they’d become one. Vegeta reciprocated immediately, moaning into her mouth as his fingers clutched her waist, their tongues dancing together, sharing just the sheer joy of simply being together, enjoying this rare moment of peace.

When they eventually separated, almost out of breath, the Prince kept his eyes locked on hers, letting go of her small body momentarily to reach her hair, undoing her bun and letting her hair down, appreciating the chaotic waterfall of blue waves as he took in every single detail of her gorgeous features, from those endless turquoise eyes to her succulent, inflamed lips. His hands traced a languid path across her face, from her temples to the blushing sides of her cheeks, caressing its flawless contours until he reached her jaw, and then her long, swan-like neck, where Vegeta’s rough fingertips encountered the thin, silvery chain of the blue pendant he’d left for her on their last night together on Earth.

Vegeta’s face contorted in a subtle but distinctive pained frown as he set his eyes on the valuable jewel.

“I found it in my nightstand,” Bulma said, feeling that his strange reaction most likely meant the ornament held some special meaning to him. “I assumed it was for me…” She continued in a voice which was half a question and half a whisper.

The Saiyan raised his gaze, squinting his eyes imperceptibly and nodding in confirmation, he then turned his sights on the prized gem once more, looking mysteriously deep in thought.

“It was my Mother’s…” He confessed absently in a hushed whisper.

Bulma swallowed heavily, holding her breath in shock at his revelation, her hands clutched his shoulders tighter while her mind tried to elaborate a reply.

Vegeta’s mother…

Now that was the one person her mate had never ever talked about. She recalled having been able to worm a story or two about his father, King Vegeta, out of him, but she’d never dared to enquire about his mother. She knew Vegeta had been very adamant about her having Trunks removed before her due date, alleging to how dangerous birthing a Saiyan child could be, and he’d briefly mentioned his mother had survived his birth, but beyond that information, she knew absolutely nothing about his relationship with his mother, assuming he even had memories of her given how young he was when he was handed over to Frieza.

“The Queen?” She finally asked shyly.

The Prince nodded in assent once again, his eyes never leaving the pendant as he soothingly traced small circles in Bulma’s silky shoulders with his large hands.

“It passed down from generation to generation of Saiyan Queens for more than three hundred years…” He replied, the sadness in his voice becoming increasingly evident now.

One of her hands reached down to the jewel, holding it between her thumb and index fingers as she looked at it with a concerned, almost guilt-ridden frown of her own.

“I’m sorry, Vegeta… I…. I didn’t know… If I’d known how… How valuable it was, I wouldn’t have worn it. I guess I should…”

Vegeta immediately shook his head, circling her delicate face between his hands and staring right into her surprised eyes.

“You should wear it, woman,” he suggested with firm conviction. “It suits you…”

Bulma’s throat tightened, and she nodded numbly in assent, already feeling her body react to her mate’s kind touch. A big part of her wanted nothing more than to ask more about his mother and his heritage, but his very evident discomfort made her try to lighten up the mood a little.

“So…” She said, her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him even closer as she lifted her chin proudly. “Does that mean I could have been Queen?” She asked with a playful smile on her lips.

Vegeta raised an eyebrow at that, tilting his head slightly to the side as he gave her an answer with an enigmatic expression on his face.

“I believe you would have been the most powerful Queen my people would have ever seen…” He responded in a serious tone, his dark eyes fixated on hers.

Bulma’s eyes and smile widened at his rare reply. It was uncommon for the Prince to praise or compliment her too often, almost always choosing to mock her instead in order to bring her ego down a notch.

“Aw, Vegeta… Really?” She giggled enthusiastically. “You really think…?”

“Of course, I do,” he interjected before she could finish her sentence. “Your annoying banter and incessant screeching would undoubtedly have brought entire nations down on their knees,” he concluded, his mouth now adorned with one of his trademarked malicious smirks.

Ah, yes…

There was that Saiyan asshole again. The one she’d fallen for, much to her shame…

She stared at him in shock for a few moments. Her wild eyes and furious pout, seething in anger, told Vegeta he’d really crossed the line this time. His far too sensitive ears got ready for the loud, angry tirade he knew was coming.

And yet, it never did.

Quite on the contrary, the minute Bulma’s lips formed a smirk that matched his own, the warrior knew he was in trouble.

“Is that so?” She asked in a husky, seductive voice, resting her forehead against his and softly nipping the tip of his sharp, regal nose, leaving him utterly shocked and confused.

What was happening?

Why wasn’t his woman fighting back?

He swallowed heavily, nodding again, completely incapable of forming a cohesive sentence. And things got even worse when Bulma’s body shifted her position, going from being innocently sited on one of his thighs to turning on his embrace, lifting one of her legs and placing its knee on the rock stair he was sitting on, and the other knee on the other side, effectively trapping his body beneath hers.  

Oh…

The woman was fighting back, just not in the way he’d first anticipated…

“Because…” She whispered again, the tip of her rosy tongue licking his lower lip. “If memory serves me right, you seemed to have no problem with my incessant screeching last night…”

Vegeta snickered with difficulty, trying to gather whatever remains of self-control he had left in him, realizing his battle for dominance may very well have been lost already.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, little human,” he mustered, settling his greedy hands on her milky hips. “The only noise I recall is the desperate begging I forced out of your mouth last night…”

Bulma’s dirty smile never left her lips as she carefully removed a lock of damp hair from Vegeta’s forehead. Her hands then travelled to her mate’s muscly chest, her nails tracing idle circles across the warm, wet skin, making him shiver when her naughty little fingers grazed his nipples, hardening them immediately.  

“Mhmm…” She moaned impishly, her blue eyes feasting on the perfection of the manly body sitting underneath her. “Can you blame me? I mean…” She continued, pinching one of those hardened nipples and eliciting a gasp from him in return. “How could a woman be teased by a man like you without begging for more? Mhmm?”

Vegeta kept quiet. His head felt hot and dizzy, and he had to fight his increasingly heavy eye lids from closing and giving in completely to her touch. He knew this was payback for the incredibly submissive way in which she’d allowed herself to be taken the prior night. His woman was just as proud and stubborn as he was, and yet, she never seemed to have a problem with him taking control of their coupling, if anything, she actually appeared to enjoy it far too much. He’d never asked exactly why that was, but he’d always assumed it had something to do with how exceptionally powerful Bulma was in her home planet. Vegeta was no fool, and he knew that, despite the fact that his touch had an extremely arousing effect on his woman, there had to be something more to her surrender. He suspected that she also relished being able to give herself to him and let him take charge because in her daily life, she was the one who was forced to be in control, both in her home and her family business, at all times.

Of course, that wasn’t always the case, and occasionally she’d be the one forcing him to submit to her, and with astounding ease he might add. In fact, one of the main reasons why it had taken him so long to give in and allow himself to establish some kind of a relationship with this woman was that he’d always found it downright scary how easy it was for her to bend him to her will when it really suited her. During those rare but powerful times, his Saiyan pride had always laid forgotten in the end as his little female had her way with him.    

Bulma’s hands kept moving downwards, caressing the indentations of his perfectly chiseled abs and savoring victoriously both his very evident struggle to control his ragged breathing and the way his sculpted body trembled in desire against her soft form. Her journey reached its end when her long fingers rested innocently on his groin, and she couldn’t help but bite her moist lip in anticipation as she noticed his already half-hardened member getting ready just for her.

“Perhaps…” She muttered against his lips, her fingertips laying maddeningly still on his impatient skin. “Perhaps you should be the one begging for me now, Prince Vegeta…”

An innocent peck on the lips made him grunt in exasperation, and his Adam’s apple bobbed nervously once more, his hands clutching her flesh even harder as he let his pride ultimately speak for him.  

“A Prince never begs, woman…”

“Oh?” Bulma asked in mocked surprise. “Really? Ummm…”

Her hands wrapped themselves around his now fully erect manhood, working his length up and down with one hand as she stimulated his bulbous tip with the index finger of the other, drawing tiny circles on it. It wasn’t long before she was rewarded with a deep groan from her mate, losing himself in her tantalizing touch. His head found the curve of her neck as he closed his eyes, biting the inside of his cheek so hard he could taste blood and panting loudly through his nose.

The hard evidence of this titillating woman knowing his body like the palm of her hand felt both like a blessing and a curse...

“I’d say you’re enjoying this, my love…” She whispered suggestively in his ear, her sweet, teasing voice feeling like an echo in the distance in sharp contrast with the bold, almost rough way in which she was milking his hardness with both hands now. “I bet I can make you beg for more…”

Vegeta still refused to give in to her wishes, and his hands left her body in a pitiful act of rebellion, holding onto the jade green rock of the stairs, getting lost in the pleasure only his mate could provide.

He was getting close, so dangerously close to the edge…

“Mhmm… I see you’re still stubborn as always…” She sighed in amusing disappointment. “That’s too bad…” Before the warrior’s dazed mind could grasp what devious plan she had in store for him, Bulma simply ceased her ministrations, abruptly taking her hands off him.

His heavy eyes opened instantly, his entire being feeling as if a jug of cold water had just been poured all over him. He raised his head, and the devilish sparkle in his mate’s gaze made him feel both infuriated and strangely proud of her clever, mischievous ways. It was control that she wanted, the very thing he hated to relinquish the most, and yet, his shuddering body now seemed to have very different plans, and one only aim in mind: release.

Vegeta’s hands travelled back to her body on their own volition, one of them digging his fingers into her waist as the other desperately grabbed her fragile wrist, pleading for her to finish what she’d started.

“Bulma…” He murmured miserably into her skin with his brow pressed against her shoulder, making her smile victoriously.

Yes…

Now she had him literally in the palm of her hand…

She knew this was the closest to begging her proud mate would get, and seeing him in this state had turned her on far more than she was willing to admit, so she stroked his length lightly a few times before raising her hips, positioning herself on top of him and taking him in slowly, engulfing him within her tight warmth.

Her back arched, pressing her chest against his as Vegeta hissed at the unbelievable sensation, feeling her pelvis rock leisurely, his own pleasure completely at her mercy as she set up her pace. His rough hands soon found her breasts, fondling them gently as his tongue worked his magic on her erect nipples.

“Oh, yes…” Bulma moaned, arching her back even further and offering herself to him. Her nails raked across his hot shoulders and neck, sinking on the back of his head. She mewled as he kept sucking on her tits, increasing the speed of her movements as she rode his thick, hard cock, savoring the thrill of knowing she was the one doing this to him, getting him in this state of pure, desperate need.

Only she possessed such power…

Her hands clutched a handful of his wild hair and she pulled hard on it, almost aggressively, forcing his head back as she made love to him, her hips working him over repeatedly. She knew how close he was to his climax and, wanting nothing more than to join him, she brazenly grabbed one of his hands, guiding him to her center.

“Touch me…” She commanded, panting heavily against his lips in a breathless whisper that was both a demand and a plea.

Her lover didn’t resist, and Vegeta’s fingertips caressed her as only he knew how, feeling her tight little pussy already beginning to squeeze him, sending him into a frenzy. His free hand grabbed her hip, ready to take control once again, but Bulma wouldn’t let him, quickly forcing him to let go of it and intertwining her fingers with his as she increased her speed, the soft flesh of her bottom slapping the top of his thick thighs violently as she fucked him relentlessly.

“Fuck! Yes!” She shrieked, ardently crushing her lips against his. Vegeta’s eager tongue slid inside of her, muffling her excited sounds, feeling completely powerless underneath his sensuous blue siren. He kept teasing her clit with increased fervor until he finally felt her orgasm wash over her, violently wracking her small body with tremors as her breath shook against his parted mouth, tempting his body to join hers, his own release following soon…

Bulma’s trembling hand found the nape of his neck and her head fell tiredly, resting her burning cheek against his. Vegeta closed his eyes and held her tight, focusing on the unusual sensation of her drained yet content ki flowing, not only through her body but, somehow, across his own too. He couldn’t explain why this was, all he knew was that he’d never felt as close to her as in that instant, and even though such vulnerability should frighten him, he simply chose to embrace it, relishing the comfort the woman in his arms brought him.

“Now we’re even,” Bulma whispered cheekily in his ear.

‘Not for long…’ He thought evilly, already anticipating how he’d seek revenge later, but allowing her to enjoy her well-deserved victory as he pulled her even closer and silently basked in the warmth of her presence.

They remained this way for a few more minutes, until their heated, agitated bodies finally cooled down and Vegeta carried her out of the thermal waters, drying her off with a touch of his ki before placing her gently on one of the wooden benches and helping her get dressed. Once they were fully clothed and ready to go, Bulma looked around with a questioning look in her eye.

“Which way?”

“To where we came from?” Vegeta asked, pointing to their left. “This way.”

He extended one of his arms out to her, ready to hold her and fly her to the spot where they’d previously installed their house, but Bulma merely clasped his hand, intertwining her fingers with his, just as she’d previously done during their physical moment of intimacy.

“Good, let’s go…” She simply replied, already walking in the direction her mate had just pointed at.

Vegeta walked a few steps behind her, following her close in slight bewilderment, until he finally dared to ask.

“What are you doing?”

“Walking,” Bulma answered casually, not even bothering to look at him.

“Why?”

“Why not?”

“Flying is faster.”

“Yes, I know.”

He blinked in confusion a few times, his analytical mind, always focused on efficiency and utility, not having a clue as to why his woman was choosing the most ineffective way to return to their place.

“So?”

“So, what?”

“Flying is faster,” he repeated, staring at their interweaved hands absolutely dumbfounded.

Bulma turned around, slowing down her pace a little and offering him a dazzling smile.

“But this is nice, isn’t it?”

Vegeta looked at her beaming expression, luxuriating in those radiant pink cheeks, heavenly blue eyes and the way the cold morning air played games with her long, feathery hair. He couldn’t, for the life of him, see what was so ‘nice’ about making the choice of walking instead of flying, especially holding hands this way.

Was it perhaps some human custom he’d never partaken in?

He didn’t know, all he knew was that he couldn’t recall having seen Bulma so damn happy in a very, very long time, so he decided to spoil her once again, walking wordlessly by her side.

Gradually, he found himself taking pleasure in their quiet stroll, in the serene sounds of nature surrounding them and, above all, in the calm balminess of Bulma’s touch and the tender way in which she kept holding his hand, never letting go of him.

“Today was fun,” she declared gleefully, finally breaking the silence. “Can we do this again tomorrow?”

Vegeta nodded in assent without hesitation, giving her small hand a gentle squeeze and secretly loving the way her hopeful gaze lightened up by his response. It suddenly astounded him to learn how little was required to make his woman happy.  

If this was all it took to put that look on that exquisite face, he’d take her for a swim every single day…      

I know, I know...

It was a very fluffy chapter, but I wanted to give you some sweetness before things get very intense again in the next chapter.

I hope you liked it!

Thanks a lot for reading!

In case someone is interested in my other works, you can find them here:

http://archiveofourown.org/users/SarahW/pseuds/SarahW

https://www.fanfiction.net/u/8599955/SarahWDBZ

#vegebul #vegeta #bulma #dbz #dragon ball z #fanfiction #fanfic #writing #apocalypse now #love #angst

[theaceofgays]

Misconceptions Chapter 3- Misdemeanors

Fandom: Little Witch Academia | Pairing: DianAkko / DiAkko

Word Count: 2,090 | Read Time: ~ 9 Minutes

Chapter 1: Misconceptions | Chapter 2: Misdirections

A.N: Takes place right after episode 12 and before Episode 13

Bonus art by @azurathemagician

Unwinding after classes or school activities usually meant that the green and red teams would hang out somewhere, either in red team’s room or out in the courtyard. Most of the following shenanigans were practical jokes played on each other and occasional daring missions that stemmed from gossip. The current one was that somewhere in the library existed a secret room, and all one needed to do was pull the proper book from the shelf to access it.

Amanda and Akko were chasing each other around the library, competing to see who could pull books out the fastest. Lotte had been clumsily following and replacing the books whenever possible. Meanwhile Constanze had pulled out blueprints of the library’s layouts and began marking down possible places where a room could, in fact, be hidden, whilst Sucy looked over her shoulder and tapped out suggestions every time Constanze got stuck. Jasmika was the only one not helping at all, but only because she was too busy munching quietly on a bag of chips. Eventually Constanze and Sucy would have a breakthrough or Akko and Amanda would give up, and from the looks of it, Akko and Amanda were giving up far too early.

Akko was the first to plop down, sitting in one of the many cushioned lounging chairs by the fireplace, sinking herself slowly as if she might melt away into the ground. Amanda only leaned against the chair, glancing over to Sucy and Constanze. “You two find anything yet?” She received only a head shake and now Amanda was the one slumping away into nothing.

“All that running around must have you thirsty,” Lotte said, trying to be helpful as she sat down across from Akko and Amanda. “Would you two like some tea?”

Amanda’s face lit up, instantly enthused by the thought of something other than sitting and waiting. “Jasna makes the best tea!”  She hopped up off the chair and moved over to Jasminka. “Hey, Jasna, can you make us some tea?”

Jasminka nodded and pushed in her chair, and Lotte tagged along with her. “I have a set big enough for all six of us,” she assured, and the two of them walked away.

With Constanze and Sucy off on a hunt for the mysterious hidden room, and Jasminka and Lotte gone, Amanda had no other option but to bug Akko. “Whatcha thinking about?” she asked, as she approached, hands behind her head. “You’ve got the million mile stare going for ya.”

Akko hadn’t really realized she’d slipped out of the moment until Amanda brought her back into it. Things were moving so quickly before when they were tearing apart the library, but now everything was still, slow motion even, and Akko had tossed her head back to stare at the ceiling without much thought on the matter. “Nothing, I’m just relaxing I guess.”

“Relaxing?” Amanda smiled, leaning over Akko a little. “Akko, you’ve been doing a lot of relaxing these days. What’s on your mind? It’s like- ever since you snuck into Hanbridge Manor for that dumb party you haven’t had your head on straight.”

‘Maybe that’s because I’m not straight,’ Akko thought, but didn’t want that to be her big coming out moment. No, it needed to be far more grand than a comeback. It’s funny that Amanda would even mention the event at all seeing as how she had little to no interest when it came to school social functions, let alone ones outside school, at least not outside of club settings. “I dunno. A lot’s happened over the course of the semester,” Akko wasn’t technically lying, but she was omitting one important detail...

“Is this about Diana?”

Yeah... That...

“N-no! What?” Akko sat up almost immediately, whipping around to face Amanda. “Why would it be about Diana?”

“’Cuz you’ve been doing nothing but gawking at her for the past few days and it’s kinda weirding me out,” Amanda shrugged. “I mean- I guess she’s got her charms but you said she’s a pain in the ass.” ‘No, you did,’ Akko wanted to correct Amanda but refrained. “She’s gorgeous, and obnoxiously perfect, and such a stickler for rules. There’s no way I’d like someone as stuck up and feign as her.” Akko waved her hand dismissively.

Amanda chuckled at Akko’s insistence, though she wasn’t buying it for a minute. “Alright, alright, quit your yapping. I get it. Diana’s a stubborn princess.”

“Thank you,” Akko said, although it stung a little to agree. “I’m glad we’re seeing eye to eye.”

“So it would seem,” Amanda mused, and slipped away from Akko to clear space on the small coffee table in front of her as Jasminka and Lotte came back with tea and snacks. Leave it to Jasminka to bring food when it wasn’t required of her. “Constanze, Sucy. Tea’s served,” Amanda called over to the two who were sitting at a desk, far from the fireplace. 

Sucy moved to push in her chair, turning to look at Constanze who motioned for the other girl to continue on without her. She didn’t have to say anything for Sucy to understand the simple gesture of “I’ll be done in a minute.” Constanze really could be a workaholic when she wanted something. Sucy merely shrugged and moved to sit down next to Lotte and across from Akko. Jasminka took the fourth chair and Amanda sat on the arm rest of Akko’s since Akko wasn’t taking up much room to begin with.

As everyone settled into their tea, and cozy chairs, Akko decided it was now or never. And as nervous as she was, she should at least trust them enough to tell her friends what she still was having trouble being honest with herself about. “Girls,” Akko started, clearing her throat. “I need to come clean about something.”

Akko glanced over at Constanze who looked up to the crowd the moment Akko had broken the silence and raised a brow, as if to ask if she was supposed to be included in this conversation as well. It only took a nod from Sucy and a gesture from Akko and Amanda for Constanze to roll up her schematics and tuck them away before moving to the space behind Akko’s chair, listening intently.

“So what did you do this time?” Sucy asked, a small smirk on her face. “Did you drink another one of my potions by accident?” “Are you running from the law because you killed the president of the Anti-Chariot club?” Amanda chimed in, sipping her tea.

“Did you find your long lost lover who travelled across the world in search of you, and now the two of you are going to elope?” Lotte threw in, eyes sparkling in the fire’s radiant glow.

“No, no, no, none of those things,” Akko shook her head. “I didn’t do anything. At least, I don’t think I have.”

This would honestly be easier if everyone could read minds, but Akko felt grateful that they couldn’t see all the embarrassing thoughts she’d been having about Diana over the course of the past few weeks. “I just need to clear the air about something...”

“Akko, you can tell us anything,” Lotte said, a concerned frown finding its way to her lips. “There’s no need to beat around the bush.”

“Yeah, Akko, we’re your friends.” Amanda ruffled Akko’s head. “We’re here for you no matter what, man.” Constanze threw in a thumbs up from her end and Sucy smiled along side Lotte. Jasminka offered a chip and Akko took it gratefully.

All eyes were on her as she took in a sharp breathe, this time filled with determination. “I’m bisexual,” she said, in quick exhale. “I like boys. But I like girls too. In fact, I like girls a heck of a lot more than boys some times...”

The silence that grew between them was almost unsettling til Amanda broke it with a laughter she simply couldn’t contain anymore. “Akko, we know.”

“You know?” Akko looked surprised. “You all knew I liked girls and no one said anything?”

“What’s there to say? There’s nothing wrong with it,” Sucy shrugged. “Some of us might even agree with you on that stance...” She glanced to Constanze who, in turn looked to Amanda.

“Yeah,” Amanda said, grinning proudly, as if she’d been given a badge of honor. “Girls are a work of art.” 

“Either way,” Lotte interrupted Amanda’s gloating mood to bring the topic back to Akko. “We still love and support you.”

Akko smiled, the kind of relieved smile you see in hospital rooms in coma wards and church halls on wedding nights, the kind that comes when the weight of the world rolls off your shoulders as if it never existed in the first place. Akko felt tears swelling up in her eyes and she wiped them away without a second thought. “You guys are the best.”

Diana had fled the room after Hannah and Barbara had started their usual nightly chatters. She’d tuned out after hearing their back and forth on Amanda, and practically stormed out of the room when they brought up Akko. “I’ll be in the library,” Diana cut into the conversation without giving either of them much room to respond.  Although she usually could handle herself in her own section of the room, it was just far too much to ignore, especially while she was working on preparations for the festival and trying to stay on top of her emotions. She’d had a bit of time between where she was and where she wanted to be to collect her thoughts. Everything had been happening so quickly. The mirror that showed her inner desires, she was glad she could play it off. But Akko... becoming her doppelgänger? What was that about? She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to know.

The festival just around the corner, and that being said most everyone was working hard on keeping the place in top condition for the new arrivals. The library was practically empty because of this as well, and that was something Diana was enjoying. She didn’t want to have to answer to anyone else while dealing with her own problems.

She was on the second floor, skimming idly through books when she heard a fit of laughter downstairs. She had been partially startled by the outburst of noise in such a normally quiet place and decided to investigate. There was really no need for anyone to be in the library at this point, so she prepared herself in case the group needed a proper scolding.

From the top of the stairs she could see Akko and company, goofing off in their usual manner. Diana was halfway down the staircase when she made eye contact with Amanda who had slipped into Akko’s lap in that precise moment. The action was like striking down a rod of flint because Diana felt something burning inside of her as she watched Akko become absolutely flustered by Amanda’s presence, but she couldn’t quite place her finger on the word for the feeling. She’d stopped halfway down the stairs without meaning to, unable to take her eyes off of the scene unfolding.

Skin on skin contact was not something Akko was used to, especially not bare legs brushing against her own. Amanda had slid into her lap so effortlessly there was no way to mistake the action as anything but purposeful. “In honor of you coming out, you get the honor of having the hottest girl in all of Luna Nova in your lap,” Amanda teased. Yep. Definitely on purpose.

Akko felt her face turn bright red as Amanda put an arm around her. “Amanda! What are you--” her eyes met Diana’s and everything seemed to freeze up. It was as if the world stopped on the two of them and there was nothing else in existence... and then Diana began to descend the staircase without a word, quick to turn on her heel and rush out. Akko slid Amanda out of her lap quickly. “I-I’ll be right back,” she said not really giving anyone else much of a say in the matter before she was chasing Diana down an endless rabbit hole.

Amanda stood up and slid into Akko’s chair, a soft smirk on her face. “Love is in the air, Girls~” she sang. She knew exactly what she was doing when she slid into Akko’s lap, and as she’d anticipated, Diana was in fact jealous. Akko would just have to thank her later. Or curse her. Amanda would probably accept either.

(Next Chapter)

#Dianakko #Diakko #Diana Cavendish #Akko Kagari #Little Witch Academia #LWA fanfic #LWA #Misconceptions

[sarahw-world]

My first fanfic: A Dark Heart

Chapter 10: An Old Flame                         

Summary: Bulma has a very heated conversation with an old "friend"...

WARNING: There will be some colorful language in this chapter. Nothing major but, you have been warned...

      Bulma quickly walked into the kitchen, where her mother was busy as usual, and she asked her if she could take care of Trunks for a while until she found out exactly what was going on. Bunny Briefs gladly accepted the task and the blue haired scientist hurried into her lab. Before she’d even entered the place, she could already hear the voice of a very angry man that seemed to be yelling at her father.

 “What the hell Mr. Briefs? How can you let her do this??!!”

She cringed, instantly recognizing the voice, even before she joined the two men in the laboratory. Oh yeah, she knew that voice alright…

“Yamcha?” she asked in bewilderment as she finally entered the room.

Her old lover quickly turned towards her, shocked to see her in there. He’d been so consumed by his current feelings of rage that he hadn’t even noticed her ki approaching both men.

“Bulma!” he yelled. “How could you? Why are you doing this? I... I can’t even…!” He sounded nervous and tremendously upset.

Bulma turned towards her father, who seemed to have been able to remain calm in spite of the young man’s harsh words. It was certainly one of the many qualities about her father that the woman admired, his ability to never lose his cool under any circumstances. She figured that such quality was a very important feature in a scientist that dealt with pressure and failure on a daily basis. The heiress, on the other side, had just entered the room and she was already starting to feel irritation show its ears… She turned towards her father, silently asking him to leave them alone. Dr. Briefs nodded.

“I’ll leave you two kids alone” He said calmly, and he cleared his throat. “I’m sure you have many things to discuss privately”.

“Thanks dad. I’ll see you later…”

The doctor nodded and he slowly walked towards the exit, softly closing the door as he left the lab.

“Seriously, Bulma! What the fuck? You’re leaving and going into space? And you didn’t even tell me!” He carried on furiously, completely oblivious to the frustration that was apparent on her face.

Bulma took a deep breath, one hand on her waist and another one pinching the bridge of her nose, and she mentally counted to ten before she said something she’d end up regretting later. She had been here before, of course. Especially towards the end of her relationship with the scarred faced human, when all they did was fight and make-up, until things got to a point where the fights happened way too often, and the make-up sex just wasn’t cutting it. And now here she was, having a dreadful sense of déjà vu. No, she couldn’t deal with this crap. Not today. She opened her eyes slowly, both hands firmly on her waist now, fearlessly looking into her ex-lover’s eyes and she said in a low but menacing voice.

“Yamcha, I love you dearly, but I’m not in the mood for this shit right now. You wanna talk? Let’s talk. But sit down and show me some fucking respect or, Dende help me, I’ll kick your ass out of my house. Right. Now.”

The tone of her voice certainly got his attention and the man stared silently at the blue haired woman, shocked by her reaction. This heated moment had also brought him some memories, of course, but her response had only served to remind him that the woman standing in front of him wasn’t his woman any longer. In the past, she would have been quick to engage and she’d always be the one that would end up yelling the most, but the Bulma that was stoically standing in front of him, wasn’t his Bulma anymore. He sat down on one of the lab chairs, crossing his hands in front of him, suddenly feeling a sense of shame at his irate behavior. The woman quickly followed him and imitated his actions. They both just sat there, next to each other, in silence, trying to cool down. Of course, she was the one who finally broke the awkward silence.

“Alright,” she sighed tiredly, “what’s all this mess about?”

“Krillin called me, Bulma. He asked me something about my preparations for the trip. I guess he assumed I was going too or something…”

Bulma nodded quietly, silently wanting to murder Krillin and his big mouth. In a way, she couldn’t blame him, since it had been her fault for not warning him not to say anything to her ex-boyfriend about her plans. She’d been afraid exactly of this situation, and it was something she really didn’t feel like dealing with at the moment.

“So, that’s what this is all about? You’re angry because I told Krillin and I didn’t tell you?” she asked cautiously.

He looked at her, his anger reappearing quickly, together with a hint of something else that Bulma instantly recognized as jealousy.

“So, it’s true? It’s fucking true, isn’t it?! You’re really going to try to find the bastard!”

“Watch it, Yamcha!!!” she furiously cut him. “You better watch your goddamn mouth when you’re talking about Vegeta in front of me!”

He snorted incredulously.

“So, you’re still defending him? After what he’s done to you? He left you, Bulma! He fucking left you and Trunks!!! And this isn’t even the first time! He also abandoned you when you got pregnant!” he yelled, his fingers aggressively squeezing the border of the lab table, his knuckles turning white by the pressure.

“You don’t know shit, Yamcha! And never fucking forget that, you hear me?”

He laughed in disbelief.

“I know enough! I mean, look at you, Bulma! This shit is ridiculous! You’re just going to drop your child and go into space, so that you can try to find the Prince of all Assholes!”

Oh no, he didn’t…

“I’m not dropping my child, you idiot! He’ll stay safe here on Earth with my parents. Also, Piccolo is gonna be around if you must know…”

“So, Piccolo knows too??!! What the hell, Bulma? I know we both have a history but I also thought we were friends!”

Bulma exhaled in an attempt to calm down again…

“Yamcha”, she said calmly, “That’s precisely the reason why I didn’t tell you. I knew this was going to happen. I know you really well, remember?”

The man looked at her, also trying to leave his latest outburst of rage behind…

“Gods, Bulma! I just…” he shook his head in confusion, trying to gather his thoughts. He sighed and he continued.

“I’m sorry, alright? You’re probably right… I mean, I know we said that we could be friends but… I just… This shit is hard for me, you know?”

The woman nodded, deep down feeling sorry for him. He looked like a kid, staring at her with those puppy eyes that used to work oh so well in his favor in the past, but that only made her feel pity for him now. She’d always known the break-up had been hard on Yamcha, despite the flirting with other girls and the occasional infidelity, she’d always known, even then, that she meant more to him than all of those other skanks combined. Still, it wasn’t enough. It just wasn’t meant to be. She still remembered the look in his eyes when she told him about her pregnancy, a look of sadness and pure betrayal. The look of someone that would always be wondering about how things might have been…

She held his hand, reminding herself that this man was someone that had meant the world to her for years, since she was a sixteen-year-old kid…

“Look Yamcha, I’m not… I’m not expecting you to understand all of this, OK? But you know me goddamn it! You know I’m not some stupid fool, right?” she asked expectantly.

“Yeah, I know… I mean… I know you’re smart Bulma, but… You can… You can also be so damn impulsive sometimes. Come on! You know that!”

He was right, of course. She’d always had an adventurous spirit. After all, what teenage girl, from a wealthy and renowned family, would leave all luxury and safety behind in order to try to find some legendary magic Dragon Balls, when all of her friends that shared her age and social class were busy shopping and throwing parties in the comfort of their own lavish homes? Bulma Briefs, that’s who, but somehow, things were not the same now.

“I hear you, Yamcha. I know I’ve done some crazy shit in the past, but this is different. It really is. I’m not… There are certain things I can’t talk about, alright?”

“Like what, Bulma? What the hell! I can’t fucking believe you don’t trust me anymore!”

“Gods, Yamcha! Do you even realize that not every single goddamn thing in this world revolves around you? What? Are you expecting me to tell you every fucking detail about my relationship with Vegeta? Be honest, would you even want to know?”

He stared at her.

He didn’t, of course.

Her relationship with the Saiyan warrior had always been a mystery to him. Sure, he’d seen her flirt with him a bit from the start, even before their break-up. There was also that GR explosion, which had been the first time he’d witnessed the true concern the woman held towards the Prince. When he’d left Capsule Corp. in order to move into his tiny bachelor’s apartment, the little monster of jealousy had planted some suspicious ideas on his mind. He’d visited Capsule Corporation on two occasions, invited by the Briefs family to some business parties, and he vividly recalled the night he’d first seen those two together…

He’d gone outside in search of some fresh air, his head heavy thanks to the sweet alcohol he’d been drinking all night at the open bar, when he’d suddenly felt Bulma’s unmistakable ki change erratically. He’d focused his inebriated mind, trying to find out where the energy source was coming from, and he discovered she was at one of the gardens on the other side of the building. He’d curiously flown there, and then he saw them. The Saiyan was backing the heiress against one of the ancient trees, his hand between her thighs. His first impression was that he must have been trying to rape her, but then he realized that she was willingly giving herself to him. Both her hands were buried into Vegeta’s wild hair, and she was passionately kissing him. She was wearing a really sexy red party dress, with an indecently high slit on one of the sides, and she was wrapping one of her legs on the naked waist of the alien warrior, who seemed to be kissing her back with equal fervor. He was half naked, as usual, wearing only his training shorts and a pair of sneakers, and he realized he’d probably come to her directly from the GR and she didn’t even care. Yamcha knew how mad she used to get at him whenever he’d try to even kiss her after he’d been training, always complaining about her hair, her makeup or about how stinky he was when he was sweaty. And yet there she was, completely dolled up for her party, and about to fuck that filthy man…

Yamcha closed his eyes, trying to erase the memory from his mind. Even though they’d already broken up at the time, seeing her with another male had hurt him deeply, and Vegeta wasn’t just a simple man, he was the bastard that had indirectly killed him in battle just a few years prior to that moment. And then, just as he was coming to terms with the fact that those two were fucking each other, she called and invited him into her home at the promise of some big announcement. It had been a big announcement, that’s for sure. She was pregnant with that asshole’s child, and even though he’d noticed a hint of loneliness and insecurity on her face, he could also see that she was happy and, dare he say it, proud about it. The scarred faced man had been livid when she’d told him that Vegeta didn’t even know about the pregnancy and that he wasn’t even on Earth anymore, and Bulma’d even said that it was alright, because she knew that he’d be coming back at some point in time to fight those androids the boy from the future had warned them about.    

He’d felt a mixture of anger and pity towards her at the time, and he’d even stupidly offered to marry her and raise the child as his. She’d rejected him, of course, and he’d left that home seriously believing that the blue haired beauty would end up a single mother.

And he had been right of course. As soon as the Cell Games were over, the Saiyan had abandoned her once more, and now the crazy woman was going to go only the Gods knew were in order to try to find the monster.

“Bulma, I… I’ve never asked much about your relationship with… with him”, he stopped, feeling pathetic for sometimes not being able to even say the Prince’s name. “But, I just… I get the feeling that what you two had wasn’t probably something serious… At least, not to him…”

“What the fuck, Yamcha?! How can you…?”

“Let me finish goddamn it!!” he interrupted her before she could retaliate. “Look… I know how hard it is to let go sometimes and… and sometimes you don’t even like that person, you like the idea of that person... so…”

“How dare you, you asshole??!! How dare you fucking imply that you know shit about my relationship with my man!”

He cringed at the expression.

“Your man? He’s not even here anymore!!!”

“You heard me, you idiot! He’s my man! I love him!”

Yamcha gawked at Bulma, open mouthed. Love? She couldn’t be serious… And yet he knew that his ex had never trivialized with the four-letter word, well, except when they were both silly teenagers, of course. But as they’d both reached adulthood, he’d slowly come to realize that Bulma was a free spirit, and she didn’t like the idea of getting too attached to someone else. Every now and then, usually in the heat of passion as they were having sex, she’d tell him she loved him, but it had never been a word she’d carelessly thrown around.

“What… what did you say?” he whispered.

“You heard me, you fool!” she replied, and as he looked at her, he realized that she was fuming and her eyes were full of angry tears.

“You… you love him, Bulma?”

“Gods, Yamcha! Just what the hell do you think this is all about?” she said, her voice full of frustration.

“I… I don’t know… I thought you were just being stubborn… Maybe that you… that you were doing this for Trunks’ sake, you know… Bulma, if this is about your child having a father I could still…”

“Don’t!” she cut him off firmly. “Don’t even go there, Yamcha. I’m not going through this again with you… I…” she sighed, trying to calm down and knowing, deep down, that Yamcha’s heart was in the right place. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Yamcha, but this is not just about trying to find a father for my baby… Yes, of course I want him to have his father in his life; we all saw what not having Vegeta around did to Mirai Trunks…”

“And yet he survived, Bulma. And he grew up into a much better man than Vegeta will ever be…” he replied, still trying to convince her to forget this madness.

That did it. Those were the words that made Bulma lose control and finally shed those unruly tears…

“How can you even say something like that, Yamcha?” she furiously whispered, feeling incredibly sad now. “How do you even know what kind of man Vegeta is, or the kind of person he could become in the future?”

He remained silent.

He had no answer to that question.

“Haven’t you ever thought that perhaps he’s never had the opportunity to be something else? That maybe life has never actually given him a fucking chance?”

Her voice was sad, but firm and he secretly admired that fact that, despite how much she was probably suffering at the moment, she remained strong.

“Do you even realize that he hadn’t known what true friendship was until he found us? Come on, Yamcha! He protected our friends on Namek when they fought Frieza! And he was on our side during the battle against the androids and Cell!” she paused, stubbornly wiping her tears with her pale hands.

“Yes, he was still an asshole sometimes, but… but this life is new to him, Yamcha… I just know… I know there’s a different side of him, and I know not because of some stupid delusions of love, but because I’ve seen it! I’ve actually seen him! Just him… No Prince of the Saiyans bullshit, Yamcha, just him!”

“Bulma…” he whispered shyly.

“Stop it, Yamcha! Stop trying to make me go against my fucking heart! You can sit here and talk shit about the man I fucking love all day long, but I’m still leaving! You hear me, you idiot? So be my friend and support me in this or just get the hell out! You have no idea what I’m going through right now. I don’t need this crap!”

The man looked at her, examining her with new eyes. And it hit him that it was very possible that the heiress knew what she was doing on some level, given that her instincts about people had always been right, him being living proof of it.

He had no idea what kind of relationship Bulma had with Vegeta, but right then and there, sitting on that chair by her side, he finally had to admit defeat. The blue haired beauty wasn’t his woman anymore, and the insanely strong purple haired baby boy playing with his grandparents in the kitchen wasn’t his son. They both belonged to someone else: a man that probably had no idea how fucking lucky he was, or maybe he knew, and he hadn’t quite known what to do with his newfound luck when it hit him in the face.

He looked at her beautiful face, the glowing creamy skin and those huge blue eyes that he used to get lost into while he was making love to her, it felt like centuries ago now… Motherhood had certainly changed her, but it had been for the better. The silly little girl was still in there somewhere, but a more mature woman, a real woman, had also developed. He thought about Vegeta, wherever the fuck he was right now and he knew that if she found him, she’d bring him back, for no man could resist a woman like Bulma Briefs.

He held her hands into his and he squeezed them gently, not even fully believing himself what he was about to do…

“Bulma, I can’t let you do this...”

“I’m sorry, Yamcha, but you don’t have the right to…”

“Not without me”, he cut her.

Silence.

More silence.

Until Bulma finally whispered…

“Y-Yamcha… No, babe… You can’t… I’m not sure this is a good…”

“It wasn’t a question, Bulma. If you want to leave the planet, then you’ll take me with you as well,” he said with firm conviction in his voice.

“This isn’t your battle to fight Yamcha…” she replied, deeply moved by what her ex-lover was trying to do for her.

“Bulma”, he said, strongly gripping her shoulders now. “You are my friend… You are my best friend, so all your battles are mine too, you hear me?”

“But…”

“I’m afraid you have no choice in the matter”

The heiress stared at him, her eyes full of unshed tears once again, and she smiled. A big smile, just for him, that brought him memories once again, making his heart ache…

“Alright” she nodded.

“Alright”, he bravely replied.

She gave him a hug and he held her back, and for a long time the two of them just stood there, basking in each other’s warmth, and for the first time, Yamcha felt like this instant had finally brought him some kind of closure. Yes, Bulma Briefs belonged to another man, and he was going to be crazy enough to try to help the woman bring him back to her. But she was also the person he’d loved the most in his entire miserable life, and if there was a chance for her to be happy and to live a fulfilled life with the father of her child, he wanted to somehow contribute to that happiness as much as he could.

The blue haired woman gave him one last squeeze and she let go of him. She wiped her tears with her hands, she nodded her head resolutely and she said…

“Get ready. We’ll leave in a week”.

                     Notes:        

Well, well... It looks like a new passenger has joined the Briefs ship...

Our next chapter will already take place in space! Are you ready?

You can also find it at Archive of Our Own:

http://archiveofourown.org/works/9066958/chapters/21071138

#vegebul #fanfic #fanfiction #vegeta #bulma #bulma briefs #dbz #dragon ball z #apocalypse now #writing #love #angst #yamcha