Tumgik
#this is a drabble
Text
Give Me Something Beautiful
Summary: Mating bond snapped for Cassian and Nesta at the first dinner in the human lands (this was the prompt and this is still a drabble. A casual, very laid back 10k word drabble)
Note: MANAGE YOUR EXPECTATIONS
Read on AO3
“Do not embarrass me,” Rhysand snarled, eyes bouncing between Cassian and Azriel. Azriel remained stiff backed, his face all but carved from stone. Though Cassian felt the same apprehension radiating from Azriel’s rigid body, he forced himself to grin. 
“Lighten up, Rhys,” Cassian said, resisting the urge to grit his teeth. “If Feyre’s sisters are even half as lovely and charming as she is, I suspect we’ll have a good time.”
Azriel’s frown only deepened. It was Cassian’s favorite game to play—how many times could he suggest he was interested in Feyre before Rhys snapped and finally admitted he was in love with her? At least once more it seemed, as Rhys merely ran a hand through his inky hair, a cool expression on the High Lord’s face.
Dumbass, Cassian thought loudly before slamming the mental walls of his mind up. Rhys’s upper lip curled, violet eyes flashing with irritation.
“I mean it. They’re human and we’re…” “Their worst nightmare,” Azriel intoned flatly. Cassian clapped Azriel on the shoulder, still smiling even as his gut clenched.
“That’s the spirit,” he said cheerfully. Someone had to keep the mood light though privately, Cassian was dreading this journey. He’d seen enough of Feyre and heard the ranting stories Rhys shared in private to know he had no interest in meeting either one of the Archeron sisters. At best they were neglectful and at worst, well…maybe he’d snap his teeth a little. 
“Don’t even think about it,” Rhys ordered, reading Cassian’s thoughts. Whoops. He hadn’t meant to shout that so loudly. Azriel’s hazel eyes slid toward Cassian, one dark brow raised in question. Cassian shook out his hands.
“She’s just…so…young,” he finally said, unsure how else to word it. Sad, too, though there was no reason to rub salt in Rhys’s wounds. Rhys clenched his jaw and nodded. 
“We need them. Keep your fucking thoughts to yourself,” he ordered, magic lacing his every word. Both siphons on Cassian and Azriel’s hands flared in response, their knees buckling as they forced themselves to remain upright. Rhys wouldn’t make them bow but he would make them yield. 
There was no further conversation. Feyre sent word silently and Rhys’s expression immediately became one of yearning. Cassian and Azriel exchanged several glances on their way out the door. How did Feyre not notice? It was almost painful to watch, their dance one Cassian hoped never to participate in. 
Sometimes, when he stood too closely to the pair of them, he swore what shimmered between his brother and Feyre was the ever elusive mating bond. And that made him nervous, too. Cassian recalled when his hand brushed the back of Feyre’s some little electric shock convinced him to put space between them as something strange raked down his senses. Something old, something that made him distinctly uncomfortable. 
Feyre had gone ahead to plead with her sisters and her face told Cassian they’d agreed but reluctantly. Even now, Cassian wondered why they couldn’t do this simple thing for her. Why everything had to be so difficult for Feyre.
Such a fight. 
He wondered the entire flight over, trying to untangle the knot that had built in his chest. The strangest feeling of excitement and dread had built until he was all but crawling in his skin. He wanted to veer toward spring, to circle overhead until he learned what Tamlin was up to. Let Rhysand play courtier—that had never been Cassian’s strong suit to begin with.
But Cassian suspected Feyre wanted her old life to converge with her new one, and for that reason alone he landed on the sprawling lawn with as much care as he could manage. Azriel had far more grace though he carelessly trampled some carefully planted tulips as he made his way toward the stone laid path. 
They could smell the fear before they ever reached the door. Cassian marveled at the sprawling estate, trying to reconcile it with the story Rhys had told him regarding Feyre’s life before the mountain, before Prythian. He’d seen less wealth in castles—in some of the palaces High Lords occupied. 
Feyre seemed ill at ease when she pulled open the door to allow them in. Tucking his wings in tight, Cassian tucked under the doorway to avoid hitting his head against the wood. None of it had been built with creatures like him in mind. 
The cloying scent of salt and fear threatened to overwhelm him as Feyre beckoned for them to follow behind her. There was something else lingering in the air. Something sweet, some call that his gut answered even as his brain scrambled to untangle. Cassian’s own anxiety slid into pure, animal excitement. He’d heard human food was inedible but perhaps that was merely a rumor. The desert-like scent in the air was certainly making promises. A ribbon of vanilla and honey—or cinnamon and clove. Something warm, something that reminded him of untarnished snow and crackling, comforting flame. 
It took Cassian a moment to realize the hint of metal sang just beneath the sweet, though he very much doubted there were those sorts of weapons in this place. Beside him Azriel didn’t seem to be concerned and Rhys was so busy studying Feyre with that familiar look of longing to notice anything else. 
Cassian wanted to extend his wings and couldn’t quite figure out why. Get it together, he ordered himself silently. They were just humans and this was one meal, one night, and then one miserable meeting with the cunty queens he didn’t expect to help. 
Cassian complemented the house, trying like he always did to ease some of the tension. It did little for the three people surrounding him. Feyre’s face was drawn and tight, which made Rhys edgy even as he tried to hide it. He’d sent his own wings away while Azriel had banished his shadows in an attempt to set Feyre’s sisters at ease. 
Cassian sized the three of them up. Even without the magic rolling off them in obvious, visual waves, there was nothing that could be done that would make humans comfortable around them. They were so obviously different it was almost funny. 
Almost. 
Cassian took a breath and stepped into the brightness of dusk filled dining room. Two women stood just beside the window, gold gilding their brown hair. Swallowing, he took in the smaller one first—wide, nervous brown eyes bounced between him and Azriel, staring not at their faces but the wings just behind. They both attempted to tuck them tighter, stomach clenching in the process. Cassian wanted to reach for the twin swords strapped along his spine and resisted, not wanting to see the trembling female faint.
The taller sister stepped ever so slightly in front of her, amethyst gown whispering some silent warning. Cassian looked to her face, expecting to find similar beauty trembling back at him.
His whole body ignited at the sight of those silvery blue eyes staring directly at him with defiance. No fear, he marveled, drinking in the face of the most beautiful female he’d ever seen in his immortal existence. Her high cheekbones, her curved brows, and her full lips set in a tight line made his blood sing, made him stand just a little straighter as though she outwardly demanded it.
Look at me, look at me, look—
She stumbled backward, knocking into the sister behind her a mere second before all the air was expelled from Cassian’s lungs. A siphoned hand flew to his chest to try and steady his frantic heart. A muscle in his chest ripped open, unknown to him right until that moment when it was pulled taut. 
“My sisters,” Feyre said, her voice faraway as though she were screaming to him underwater. “Nesta and Elain Archeron.”
Nesta, Nesta, Nesta. Cassian was certain he’d dreamt that name before. Rhys’s head whipped toward Cassian, eyes flashing.
What the fuck is going on? The High Lords voice rang through his mind, talons slicing his warded walls to ribbons. Cassian let him in, swallowing had as Nesta righted herself. He could hear her frantic heart, a mirror for his own. 
There was ringing silence in his head as Rhys parsed through the last ten seconds and then a heaving, heavy sigh. 
Cauldron fuck me, Rhys said. 
“Get them out of here,” Nesta Archeron’s voice said, wavering even as her iron spine did not. Feyre gaped, face paling. 
“You said—”
“I’ve changed my mind!” Nesta declared, her voice shrill. She was still looking at him, accusation lining those stunning eyes. “I want them out right now! Get them out of this house before—”
“It’s just you,” Rhys interrupted smoothly, reading Nesta’s thoughts quickly. Azriel looked over at Cassian, who’d thrown his hands up in defense. “Elain is fine.”
“What’s going on?” Elain whispered, tears brimming the bottom of her eyes. 
Nesta’s upper lip curled over her teeth and though he knew he shouldn’t, Cassian grinned as his human mate turned to face off with the High Lord. She had to be crazy to think she could withstand him and yet Cassian thought if they came to blows, Nesta might come out on top from sheer will alone. 
It didn’t stop him from daring a step toward Rhys. 
“This is still my house,” she hissed, unaware that just behind her, Elain had clutched her cobalt dress in nervous, trembling fingers. Two fat tears slid down her cheeks, unnoticed as she waited to see what would happen. “Get him out of here.”
“My name is Cassian,” Cassian told her stupidly, wanting her to look at him again. “And I’m not leaving.”
Someone had to guard her, after all. He’d already promised Rhys he’d keep an eye on the estate though back when he’d agreed, he’d figured he’d fly a few circles overhead at night and otherwise keep his distance.
Now he’d be sleeping outside Nesta Archeron’s door whether she liked it or not. And judging by the anger radiating off that perfect face, Cassian suspected it would  be the latter.
“No one is leaving,” Feyre declared, still bewildered. She stepped between Rhys and her eldest sister, looking between them both. “And no one is fighting. Whatever is going on—”
“He’s done something!” Nesta declared, crossing her arms over her chest. Cassian forced himself not to look at her breasts swelled over her neckline, eyes snapping back to her face. His mate—this was his mate. “You swore there would be no magic.”
Cassian couldn’t help his loud laugh. “I did something?” he shot back incredulously. “It was you, Nesta Archeron. You and your eyes–”
“That’s enough!” Rhys ordered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “There was no magic. What you two feel…” he took a breath as both Azriel and Elain inched away from Cassian and Nesta instinctively, uninterested in getting caught in the crosshairs. 
“Oh, no,” Feyre whispered, her expression falling. 
“It’s a mating bond,” Rhys finally said, forcing the words out as though they pained him.
“It’s nothing,” Nesta insisted. Cassian pretended that didn’t wound him, forcing his smile to remain unchanged.
“We’ll see,” he replied.
“We should eat,” Elain said, catching the way Rhys, Cassian, and Azriel all stiffened at the suggestion. Rhys turned to Cassian, a warning in his eyes not to try anything when it came to Nesta Archeron. Cassian knew he was too confrontational without saying a word in response. If Nesta wanted to serve him, he wasn’t going to stop her. In fact, he welcomed her placing a dish in front of him even if it was the foul human food.
Anything that might make her feel the same instinctual need thrumming through him. 
It was only Feyre and her nervous eyes that kept Cassian from doing anything but dipping his head. She wanted her sisters to like them and this new, unexpected roadblock had certainly thrown a wrench in those plans. 
It was pure tragedy to see the dining table lined with silver dishes. While Nesta took the chair at the head of the table, Feyre began pulling open lids loudly, her frustration plain. She was the one who went around and served Cassian, dumping things indiscriminately onto his plate. Rhys and Azriel watched, serving themselves quietly and carefully in response to the clattering spoons. 
Cassian sat as close to Nesta as he could get given her sisters now flanked her. It was amusing to think Elain might be trying to protect Nesta. 
Feyre and Rhys tried making small talk and Nesta, who was practically burning for a fight, started with Feyre. Cassian was watching, shoveling food tastelessly into his mouth. 
Do it, do it, do it— he was practically on his knees begging for her attention. When Nesta asked Feyre if their food wasn’t good enough, Cassian saw an opportunity and took it. 
“I have little interest in ever setting foot in your land, so I’ll have to take your word on it.”
Their eyes met, her brow arched. Cassian imagined many a male at withered to dust beneath that look but oh, how he savored it. For five hundred years, Cassian had been looking for a worthy opponent. Someone as strong as he was, as capable. Someone who might best him without the use of the High Lords magic–and even Rhys couldn’t beat him in a hand to hand fight. 
“You might like my home,” Cassian told her, setting his fork back to the table. Nesta’s eyes flashed and Cassian wondered how depraved it made him to wish she’d fly across over those elegant dish ware and wrap her hands around his throat. 
At least then she’d be touching him. And oh, but how he wanted to feel those hands against his skin, even if she was pummeling him into oblivion. Especially if she was pummeling him into oblivion.
Azriel coughed politely while Rhys stared up at the chandelier and too late, Cassian realized arousal must have been rolling off him. 
“I might,” Nesta agreed with a predator's smile, “if it were burning to the ground.”
“That’s enough!” Feyre interrupted as Rhys’s fork clattered to his plate. It wasn’t, though. Nesta wasn’t finished eviscerating Cassian and Cassian was going to let her. He held her stare, head cocked.
I’m not scared of you, he thought. It was only half a lie. What happened when Feyre explained to Nesta how mating bonds worked? The female before him was likely to break it simply because she could. There was no love for his kind in those eyes. 
“And when it's your home that's burning first?” Cassian asked her. “Mine has already been thoroughly wrecked and might have been nothing but ash if your sister hadn’t come along.”
Nesta hesitated long enough for Cassian to understand some small piece of the female tied to him by fate itself. Nesta didn’t know what had happened in Prythian, then. Didn’t know what had caused Feyre’s transformation or, if she did, she didn’t wholly understand it. Cassian imagined Feyre might have downplayed the worst of things to spare her sisters. 
“Isn’t that why you’re here?” Nesta asked him, regaining herself with a quick blink of those mesmerizing eyes. “To keep my home safe.”
Cassian offered her a smile. “That’s exactly right.”
Azriel coughed again, his cheeks burning as he kept his eyes on his plate. Cassian’s smile slipped—he wasn’t aroused. Even Feyre couldn’t look at her sister, though she remained silent as Cassian realized this time it was Nesta’s faint arousal in the air, snuffed out like a candle when she realized herself. Cassian doubted she knew their senses had all caught it, and if anyone told her, Cassian thought he might kill them. Nesta didn’t seem like she handled embarrassment well and if she learned, Cassian was certain she’d lean hard into her anger and fear and he’d never scent it again.
Dinner passed quietly after that. Elain made awkward small talk with an equally awkward Azriel, allowing the rest of them to say nothing. And when they finished, both Nesta and Elain vanished, leaving only the latter to return later to show them to their respective rooms for the evening. 
Neither Azriel nor Cassian commented on Feyre and Rhys sharing a bed chamber and Elain was far too modest to do anything but close the door quickly, eyes wide with embarrassment.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve put you away from…” Elain chewed the inside of her cheek. Cassian only shrugged. It was to be expected that everyone would want him far, far away from Nesta Archeron. For all he knew, Nesta herself had ordered he be put outside. If she’d told him herself to sleep in the stables, he would have done it. She wasn’t going to speak to him and he wasn’t going to make things more difficult. 
Elain vanished the moment she’d unlocked the door at the end of the empty hall. The best was big enough to accommodate his wings though little else. Cassian sighed, ignoring it and the roaring fireplace in favor of the large, closed windows. He flung them open and angled his head to look up at the sky. Stars were blotted out by gray clouds and though his eyes were sharp, even in the distance he could see nothing of his home. 
Had he infuriated the Mother so badly she’d pair him with a human. How long would it take Cassian to convince Nesta she could trust him? And how much longer after that before time stole her from him? Cassian had an eternity ahead of him, stretching miserably as he considered that eighty years were nothing, and somehow everything all at once.
What was worse? Being allowed to love her for the span of time he’d been given, or her breaking the bond and knowing one day he’d feel it vanish from his chest like it had never been there at all. Potentially watching his brothers find mates knowing his own had rejected him, moved on, and died and he’d never have a fraction of what they did? 
He was sliding into pity when he heard feather soft footsteps in the hall. Cassian turned from the window, bracing himself for a fight when the handle to the door turned. There she was—still dressed in the amethyst gown. Her golden brown hair was braided in a crown around her head while a silver necklace adorned the delicate column of her throat. Cassian couldn’t breathe while he looked at her.
Nesta kept her hand on the golden knob of the door even as she closed it. As if he might snatch her up and lock her away.
The thought was tempting.
“Feyre says this thing between us can be broken,” she began, saying the words he dreaded the most. Cassian kept his expression flat, not daring to let her see that one sentence threatened to unmake him. 
Silence stretched endlessly, forcing him to speak. “Do it, then.”
Her eyes flashed. Cassian squared his shoulders, bracing himself for whatever words Rhys had told Feyre to tell Nesta—the words that would unravel the spell between them just as quickly as it had settled.
“Feyre says you plan to watch us after the queen's leave tomorrow.”
It wasn’t a question, though Cassian answered anyway. “Yes.”
“Even if I break the bond?”
“You think my help is conditional?” he challenged. 
“You’re a man aren’t you?” she shot back. Cassian dared a small step toward her. Nesta didn’t flinch nor did she shrink back. She merely watched, waiting to see what would happen.
“No, Nesta Archeron. I am not a man.” 
And because he was so very, very stupid, Cassian unfurled his wings just to illustrate his point. He was a fae male, not a human man. 
“What’s the difference?” she demanded, her heart thudding so loud it was the only thing he could hear. Cassian couldn’t make heads or tails of the scent coming off her—it wasn’t fear or arousal, but something else. Something that excited him all the same. 
“Would you like to find out?” 
Say yes, say yes, say yes— “I don’t want you to…” Nesta took a breath, exhaling it slowly through pretty, pink lips. “We’re alone here.”
Careful so not to scare her, Cassian reached for the knife sheathed along his thigh. Nesta tracked the movement with that predator's gaze. She could have been a powerful warrior if she’d wanted to be. Could have brought kings to their knees with those eyes. 
“Take it,” Cassian told her, holding the silver hilted weapon in his hands. “Put it under your pillow.”
“What will this do?”
“If you’re quick about it, and someone dares to try and sneak up on you, it’ll kill them ideally,” he told her, unwilling to admit how achy and tight he felt at the thought of her covered in blood. Furious, too, when he imagined the sort of person that might creep into her bedroom late at night.
“Buy yourself time until I arrive.”
Nesta darted forward, fingers brushing his own. “How will you know I’m in trouble?” she asked him, not moving away. She was close enough to touch, close enough to taste. Not this night, he knew. There was something lingering in her gaze, some old wound Cassian could guess well enough. 
You’re a man, aren’t you? 
Cassian would kill whoever had hurt her. Just the thought someone had been so careless with his mate made him want to roar, made him want to snap his teeth and dig his fingers into soft, breakable flesh. He wanted to bring her the head of that male for her approval. 
“I’ll know,” he said instead, fighting to keep the fury from his tone. 
“What if you’re not here?” she questioned. 
“Then you fight until I can find you,” he replied, certain she would anyway. Nesta gripped the night tighter in her hand, sharp nails digging along her palm. He was going to touch her, he decided. Carefully and slowly, Cassian reached for her face and skimmed his knuckles along her high cheekbone. She let him, though she didn’t lean into the touch or otherwise show any appreciation for it. “You fight like hell.”
“And then what?” she whispered. 
Gods, had anyone ever taken care of this woman—his female? Cassian considered asking her for a list of everyone who had ever hurt her, starting from her earliest memories and working forward. 
He stepped closer, drinking in that warm scent. “And then I’ll lay the world in ashes at your feet.”
Nesta didn’t flinch, nor did she falter. She didn’t have to speak for him to know he’d get one shot to prove himself to her. One chance to show he meant what he said and that she could depend on him. That she could trust him.
“Good night, Cassian,” she said, holding his gaze for only a moment. His knees wobbled as some invisible force pushed on his shoulder, demanding he bow. He hadn’t done so since Rhysand’s father had been alive and had always been immensely resentful of it.
But now Cassian made himself low, eyes averted before his lady.
“Good night, Nes.”
The meeting with the queens was predictably shitty but Nesta was unpredictably passionate. He’d expected his mate and her sister to side with the queens but Nesta had spoken up, arguing in favor of aligning with the fae. And though Cassian didn’t dare say so out loud, he did wonder—and hope—that some of that was his influence. 
Maybe she didn’t want to see his home burn as badly as she claimed.
Cassian returned that night, flying silently through the darkness, desperate to see her. The cord in his chest shimmered, bringing him directly to her bedroom window. He could see her brushing out waist length, golden blonde hair in front of vanity when he knocked softly on the glass. She turned, eyes narrowed.
Nesta snatched up a dressing robe, covering the silken night dress that hugged every lush curve of her body and threatened to knock him from the sky before she opened the window.
“Haven’t you heard of the front door?” she hissed while Cassian wedged his too-large body into her bedroom.
“And scare your servants?” he retorted, eyes falling on the bed in the center of the room. She’d pulled the cream colored bedding back in preparation for sleep, filling his head with lewd, inappropriate thoughts. What did she do when she was all alone? 
Nesta ran her tongue along her teeth. “I figured you’d sit on the roof like a gargoyle.”
He laughed. “It’s too cold for that. I think I’d like to warm myself in front of your fire.” Her eyes were slits as he made his way toward the marble hearth, hands outstretched. “You’re supposed to be keeping us safe!”
He flashed her a grin. “No place is safer for you now—”
“And what about Elain?” she demanded, hands on her hips. Cassian forced himself not to let his gaze slide down her body though he so desperately wanted to make his appreciation plain. Nesta was too proper to enjoy that from someone she still didn’t trust, and Cassian was in it for the long haul. He could be patient, could let her come to him when she was ready. 
“She’s two doors down, Nes. I think I can make it in time,” he replied. “No one is going to hurt you.”
She bit her bottom lip, some of that apprehension shining through. 
“I won’t let them,” he added. “If I can’t be here, I can send warriors—”
“No more fae—”
“Humans, then?” he suggested, though humans weren’t likely to be helpful if it were his own kind hunting them. No one knew about Feyre’s sisters as far as Cassian knew. Just him and his brothers…and, he supposed, Tamlin in Spring Court. And while he had no love for the High Lord of Spring, he didn’t think Tamlin was the sort of male to harm unarmed, defenseless females. If he had a problem with Rhysand, he’d bring it to their doorstep for a fair fight.
“Who are you so afraid of?” Cassian asked her. “Tell me their names.”
“Why?”
He couldn’t hide his blood lust. “You know why.”
“So, is this how the mating bond works for you, then? It makes you stupid?”
Cassian laughed again. “Sweetheart, I was born stupid. Your sister is my friend—I would come even if you were nothing more to me than that.”
“She says you’re the General of the Night Court.”
Something about hearing his title on her lips made Cassian tight again. He resisted the urge to adjust his pants in favor of taking a steadying breath. He was the master of his own cock—he wasn’t going to let her see his erection unless she wanted to. 
“Yes.”
“You’d send your own soldiers to guard us?”
“If it helped you sleep at night,” he replied with a casual shrug of his shoulders. “Do you still have the knife?”
Nesta strode to her pillow and pulled it back so he could see she’d done exactly as he said. He had to touch her again. Cassian knew he was going to leave, that he’d go sit on the roof just like she wanted him to so she could sleep. She didn’t move as he came toward her, her spine utterly straight.
He touched her cheek again.
“Sleep well, Nes.”
“Good night, Cassian.”
Every night after, Cassian came through Nesta’s window. She showed him her knife, he touched her face, and then went to keep watch on the roof. It was taking a toll on him—during the day, Cassian helped train Feyre, too. 
“When are you sleeping?” Rhys asked him when Cassian stumbled into the town house for breakfast. 
He only shrugged. “When I can.”
They were still waiting on any word from the queens about the other half of the book.
“Feyre said Nesta agreed to some of my men to stand watch. Take a night off.”
“Why don’t you take a night off?” Cassian snapped, his exhaustion getting the better of him. Without Azriel as a buffer to soften Cassian’s words, all he had was the simmering irritation of Rhys at the other end of that table staring him down.
“Cassian—”
“Are you ordering me to?” he demanded, dropping his fork to the wood so he could cross his arms over his chest. “Because I made her a promise.”
“Fuck—no, I’m not ordering you to, but you’re going to get hurt if you keep this up,” Rhys retorted hotly. “Tell her to give you a bed at least. Sleep somewhere in that fucking house, I don’t care. I need you if things get bad.”
“Maybe you should train Feyre then,” Cassian said, holding Rhys’s gaze. “It doesn’t have to be me.”
Cassian had begun to suspect Rhys’s reasons for not training Feyre were the same ones that kept Cassian on Nesta’s roof each night. He’d kept his mouth shut about it and his suspicions to himself and all he was asking for similar courtesy from Rhys.
“You’re my best warrior,” Rhys replied evenly. “And she trusts you.”
Absently, Cassian wondered if Rhys would care half as much if the bond had snapped between him and Elain. He read Rhys’s dislike for Nesta plain as day on his face. Five hundred years hadn’t broken the brotherhood between them but this might. 
“Maybe you should, too,” Cassian said simply, rising from his chair. Rhys wasn’t giving him an order, which meant Cassian would continue on as he had. 
Though, that night when he slipped into Nesta’s window like he always did, she was already in bed. Blanket to her neck so he couldn’t see an inch of her, but more relaxed than she usually was. He caught a book face down in her lap and wondered what she liked to read.
“Are you okay?” she asked harshly. Too much like Rhys, he decided with some irritation.
“Fine,” he grumbled, raking both hands through his shoulder length hair.
“You look—” she stopped herself when he pinned her with his stare. “Rhys sent warriors. Did you see them?”
“I did,” he agreed. They’d been skulking about the perimeter, just out of sight from the humans. Any fae lurking, though, would clock their presence immediately. 
“You could go home tonight if you wanted?”
How did Cassian explain she was home? The thought of sleeping in his own bed while she was out here felt unbearable to him. So he shook his head and went back toward the window, well aware Rhys was going to chew him out for it in the morning.
“Or—” Nesta took a breath, leaning forward. Strands of that thick, long hair spilled over her delicate shoulders and fuck he wanted to bury his face in it so badly it hurt. “You could stay in the house tonight?”
Relief flooded through him. “That would be nice.”
“You look like you need sleep,” she said, gesturing for the robe hanging from her vanity chair. Cassian picked it up, drinking in the scent of her skin wafting off it as he handed it to her.
Turning for the fireplace, he let her dress without being watched. She was quick about it, hair tucked into the neck as she beckoned for him to follow. Cassian all but tripped over his own feet, joining her in the hall. He expected to be sent back into exile across the estate but Nesta merely pulled open a door right across from her own.
Her scent was all over it. Cassian stepped inside, drinking in that large bed and the dark sheets neatly tucked against the mattress. Looking at her, Cassian silently questioned when she’d put this together. Nesta would never answer, but the insight was helpful. Nesta was observant—knew he needed a place to rest. And she’d made him one and then, he supposed, waited to see if he’d keep coming back before she offered it.
She hesitated at the door. “Well–”
“Wait!” he said, reaching for her slim wrist. Nesta let him touch her, eyes sliding between his hand to his face. “Thank you, Nes.”
Her cheeks warmed. Gently, she pulled from his grasp, rose up on her tiptoes, and pressed a feather soft kiss to his cheek.
“Good night, Cassian.”
It was the best night's sleep he’d ever had. 
He was going to have to leave her—for several nights while they tracked Hybern’s spies down. Cassian was dreading that conversation more than any other in his entire life. He’d put off leaving as long as could, but after a while there was nothing left for him to do but take off for the house.
He found Nesta pacing her bedroom, arms wrapped around her body tightly. Her head snapped to the window when he tapped nervously and those silvery blue eyes that so often looked at him with nothing but disdain were filled with relief. 
Cassian didn’t know what to make of that. Still, he slipped in, bracing himself for her anger.
“Where have you been?” she asked, eyes scanning him. “I thought—”
“I’m fine,” he said, reaching for the tops of her arms.
“Where were you?” she demanded, hair spilling like liquid gold down her shoulders. Nesta’s bottom lip wobbled and Cassian thought he might die at the sight. “I thought—”
“I’m fine,” he promised. Nesta wrenched from his grasp, dressed in a red night dress nearly the same shade as the siphons on his hands. Had she done it on purpose or was it merely an accident? 
“You always come at the exact same time—”
“I was afraid,” he admitted, the words spilling from his lips in a rush. “This is the last night I’ll be here for a while. I need…I have to do something and I won’t be able to watch you. I don’t want to let you down.”
She was watching him. “Let me down?” she questioned, each word carefully enunciated. Cassian braced himself for her to break his heart—to tell him she didn’t care enough about him to be disappointed by him. That everything that had happened was merely his imagination and he was nothing at all to her. “How could you possibly think you could let me down, Cassian?”
He swallowed hard. “You will be alone in the house again. And I swore I’d keep you safe.”
“The soldiers will remain,” she said, coming toward him. “And I still have your knife. I’m not disappointed—I…”
Cassian waited, holding his breath. Nesta exhaled slowly, eyes closing for just a moment. When she looked back at him, he knew he was going to kiss her. He wasn’t leaving without knowing what she tasted like, if only to motivate him to finish his job quickly so he could return to her. 
“You could never disappoint me, Cassian.”
“Give me time,” he replied, reaching for her face. This time, when he cupped her cheek, Nesta leaned into the touch. He angled her face while lowering his own slow enough that if she wanted, she could pull away.
She didn’t. 
Gods, but Nesta Archeron had the power to fully undo him. Her lips were soft and warm, her heart pounding just as loudly as his own. The bond in his chest writhed with delight despite the utterly polite, impossibly chaste kiss he offered her. Nesta was a lady and Cassian wasn’t stupid. In a better world without the looming threat of war or the fear humans had of the fae, he’d have been allowed to walk up to her door, declare his intentions, and court her the way he was certain she would have preferred. 
He didn’t have those things, but he did have five centuries of restraint. And he needed all of that practice to pull himself back when her bed was right there, and his nose was burning with the sweetness of her arousal. 
“Wait,” Nesta whispered, trying to curl her fingers into the leather of his chest. 
She didn’t need to beg him. Hell, Nesta didn’t even need to ask. Cassian kissed her again, letting her feel some of his own desire that raced through him day and night. It was Nesta who wound her arms around his neck, pressing her warm, soft body against his own. Cassian let her take the lead, his mind blissfully empty of anything but the way her lips fit against his and the sweet taste of her. 
He didn’t realize he was gripping her hips until Nesta swayed, unable to keep herself upright on her tiptoes. Cassian ought to have known better—but he was stupid, just as he’d told her he was. Adjusting his grip, he hauled her up so she didn’t have to stand at all, but could brace her body weight against his arms. 
He half expected her to slap him for it. Instead, Nesta sighed, gripped his face, and kissed him again. She didn’t wrap her legs around him which was for the best—if he’d felt the heat of her cunt against his body he probably would have gotten on his knees and begged her to let him fuck her. Cassian was positive she’d never been touched before. The first few kisses had been sweet but clumsy, though Nesta was a perfectionist and by the time he dared to trace her bottom lip with his tongue, she kissed him with the expert precision of a female who knew exactly what males liked.
She opened for him, drawing a ragged, desperate moan from his throat. She tasted better than she smelled, her tongue soft when it met his own. 
“Nesta,” he said, the words both prayer and plea as he spoke them directly into her mouth. She swallowed it greedily, kissing him again and again with the same fevered want he felt. This was his mate, in his arms, kissing him. Cassian understood why people were wary of mated males now. He would have gone to war for her. She could have pointed him in any direction and he’d have withdrawn his sword and done as she demanded.
He supposed the world ought to be grateful all Nesta wanted was peace. 
Raging hard by the time Nesta slid from his grasp, Cassian could do little more than breathe through his mouth. “I um,” she began, wrapping her arms around her body. “I don’t…”
“I know,” he said. She had no experience with this and Cassian wasn’t going to push her. Not now, not when he knew the kind of heat racing through her. “I’m going to bed. You should, too.” She nodded her head, watching him walk to her bedroom door.
“Cassian?”
He turned back to look at her. Beautiful. She was so damn beautiful.
“Be safe.”
He smiled. 
I love you too.
“What happened to you?” Nesta demanded. He’d promised to come back after that last meeting with the queens—the one where she’d begged for help and was rebuffed—and had found himself battling Hybern. In the aftermath, Cassian hadn’t meant to fall asleep in a chair, but by the time he’d woke it had been morning and Rhys wanted to plan their trip to Hybern. 
Cassian shook his head, reading the fear on her face. “I’m sorry. Nes, I’m so sorry—” “
You’re hurt,” she said. Cassian, who’d been covered in cuts and bruises since he’d been a boy, had forgotten he might still bear some of those wounds on his skin. He waved it off but she was coming to him in that red night dress and who was he to deny his mate the chance to fuss? 
“I’m fine,” he assured her. “I’ve had worse.”
The fear etched over her expression threatened to undo him completely. Holding her face, Cassian repeated, “I’m fine, Nes.”
“I’m not,” she whispered, so softly only his fae hearing caught it. He swallowed hard.
“Tell me what to do.”
“Stay with me?” she asked, fingers curling over his wrist. There was an unspoken please in her gaze, one he knew she didn’t dare speak aloud, if only to preserve some of her pride. Was she unaware he’d have done anything she asked him to. 
“In here?” his eyes drifted to the bed. Nesta nodded her head, her mouth set in a determined line. 
“Yes,” she said, looking him over with open disapproval. “And not in that.”
Cassian was still in his fighting leathers. He blinked. “I…I don’t have anything else to wear.”
It took Cassian too long to understand what Nesta wanted. Even after she sauntered into bed and pulled the blanket up to her chin, staring openly at him. Was he supposed to undress in front of her? Surely…surely she’d murder him for that? 
“Are you coming to bed?” she asked him.
“Yes?”
Cassian decided he’d just…start taking off his armor and stop whenever she told him to. He started with his weapons, setting them all gently against the same vanity she kept her jewelry. Nesta watched, knees drawn up, her eyes wide and hungry. That, he decided, must be a good sign. 
He removed his boots next, unlacing them slowly just to test that this was all read and actually happening. Nesta never took her eyes off him, even when he reached for the straps of his clothes. “Have you ever seen a naked male before?” he dared to ask, his words so obviously nervous it almost made him laugh. Had he ever been naked in front of a female before? It didn't feel like it—not with the way his fingers were stumbling over the clasps of his clothes.
“No,” she breathed. Cassian cleared his throat. He’d be the first, then. 
Nodding, he didn’t dare look at her again until he was wholly unclothed. Erect, too, which certainly didn’t help things. He could feel her eyes on him and when he dared to look, was relieved to see nothing but pure, undiluted arousal gracing that beautiful face.
“Do you like what you see?” he asked, grateful he sounded sensual rather than desperate. Nesta cocked her head, gaze wholly on his cock. It twitched beneath her scrutiny, too optimistic given the company in which they stood. For all Cassian knew, she merely wanted to look at him before she sent him on his way.
“Promise you won’t hurt me,” she said instead, her voice crisp and careful. Cassian reached out for the bedpost to keep himself upright.
“I swear,” he said. “Nesta, surely you must know…you must know I’ll do whatever you tell me to.”
“And if I told you to throw yourself from the roof?” she asked. Cassian held her gaze.
“You wouldn’t.”
“I know,” she replied before curving a finger, beckoning him forward. Cassian tripped over his own feet, flopping to the bed. Nesta laughed—actually laughed—which propelled him toward her.
That smile turned her already stunning face into something ethereal. Cassian crawled to her, blanketing them both beneath his wings when he reached her face.
Holding it in his hands, he murmured, “You’re so damn beautiful.”
“Cass,” she murmured, her smile softening. That was enough. He didn’t need her to say anything else and didn’t think Nesta was able to. Maybe she never would be. Maybe it would be her lifetime of knowing she felt the same without ever hearing the words spoken.
It was enough. Ghosting his lips over her own and ignoring the way his cock was throbbing, Cassian murmured, “There will be nobody else. For either of us.” He wanted her to know that it had already been decades upon decades of no one already. That for as long as she’d been alive, there’d been only one person, for a quick, brief moment that had left him feeling less satisfied than before. And he wondered if somehow he hadn’t known his mate was out there waiting for him, tempering his hot blood. 
And Cassian knew when Nesta left the world, he was likely to go with her. Once they’d finished with Hybern, he resolved himself to see Helion Spell-Cleaver’s libraries and ask if there wasn’t some spell that might bind them, might strip him of his immortality so he could live one last lifetime with her.
Just the thought eased the tension weighing him down. Surely he wasn’t the first fae to love a human. Cassian kissed her and Nesta kissed back, pouring all her unspoken emotion into the act. It made him want to cry, made him want to be the sort of male who wrote sonnets and expressed himself with eloquence and ease. 
He had his hands and his mouth, though. And Nesta would know, by the time they finished, the depth of his devotion when it came to her. There would be no question of it, nor would she ever doubt him. It was selfish, but in his mind, Cassian was hoping he’d convince her to leave the mortal lands and live with him in Velaris where they’d be safe—and together. 
And if they succeeded in Hybern and prevented a war, Cassian could see no reason why she couldn’t, though he could imagine a million reasons why she wouldn’t. Elain, primarily, who was still engaged. Perhaps once Nesta saw her married, he rationalized.
Focus, he ordered himself. He was too distracted by too many possibilities when Nesta Archeron was warm and pliant beneath him. Willing, too, given the arousal perfuming the air around them. He was nervous, reaching for her shoulder—at any moment Cassian expected Nesta to hit him hard, to scream at him, to demand he get far, far away from her. 
Nesta’s teeth nipped his bottom lip, pulling a soft moan of pleasure from his throat. She shivered, goosebumps erupting on her delicate arm. It convinced him to keep moving, his hands skimming the sides of her body until he found the hem of her night dress. 
“Arch your back,” he whispered against her mouth and Gods, but she did it without complaint. Nesta blinked open those big eyes, her lashes dark and thick and then, like every fantasy he’d ever had, did exactly as he asked. Cassian groaned without meaning to, swallowing hard as he raised the silken material over her head and then tossed it to the floor. 
Naked. 
Cassian could only stare at the unblemished body of his mate, unhidden by any blanket, though if someone were to fly by all they’d see would be his massive wings obscuring her from view.
And then they’d see the Mother, because he was pretty sure he’d kill someone for even trying. 
“Nes,” he whispered, certain it was sacrilegious to even touch her. Nesta trembled, waiting for him to say something but words were failing Cassian. In five hundred years, he had nothing that compared to her, to how beautiful he found her, how much she meant to him.
Shaking his head, certain he’d say the wrong thing, Cassian returned to kissing her. That was safer, and an easier way to express himself besides. Nesta seemed relieved, returning the gesture with the sort of gusto that made him half wild with need. Cassian touched her with less hesitation, cupping the breasts he’d spent the last few weeks trying so hard not to look at. It seemed worth it to him, not. She was so fucking soft, so warm and willing that his hips jerked in response.
Nesta did, too. She moaned softly, her tongue clashing with his own. He wanted to feel that tongue against his chest, his stomach, his cock. He’d teach her when he came back. He’d show Nesta exactly what he liked, how to get him off in as few touches as possibly—and how to prolong things for as long as she wished.
Cassian was so wrapped up in the fantasy, he didn’t notice her reach for his wings until she ran her finger along the edge. His hips jerked again and Cassian came without warming, grunting roughly. Nesta laughed again, her eyes wide with delight.
“Did you just—”
“Yes,” he said, catching her by the wrist and pinning it over her head. “An Illyrian’s wings are very sensitive.”
“They’re soft,” she said without an ounce of repentance. Privately, Cassian thought it was better this way—now, when he entered her, he wouldn’t be so fucking close. He wanted to see Nesta Archeron come all over his cock. He wanted to see his proper, well-bred lady unspool around him until she was just as wanton as he’d always imagined. 
Before she could come on his cock, though, she needed to come on his tongue. That he knew with absolute certainty. And since he’d come twice, she needed to, too. Besides, Nesta Archeron was untouched and had asked him not to hurt her, which meant he needed to work her into what was twitching between his legs. 
“Yes,” he agreed, kissing the corner of her mouth. “The only part of me that is, too.”
“Male pride is something else,” she crooned as Cassian licked a path down her neck. He hummed his agreement before drawing one of those rosy nipples into his mouth. She tasted so fucking good it made his chest ache. It also silenced Nesta, who raked her nails into his hair. She undid the messy half knot he’d thrown in right before leaving, tossing the leather strap somewhere in the room. He’d never find it again, a small price to pay if it meant pleasing her. 
“If I do something you don’t like, I need you to tell me,” he said, looking up at her flushed face. Nesta was uncharacteristically speechless, nodding her head while Cassian continued his path between her legs. He dared to spread them wide, to look at her flushed, gleaming sex. 
“Promise me, Nes. I need to hear you say it.”
“I promise,” she whispered, arching when his thumb slicked through the wet. Cassian circled her clit, watching the way her hips bucked without warning.
“Do you ever touch yourself like this?” he asked. It was something he’d wondered many times while sitting on her roof. More than once he’d been tempted to fly down just to see and knew he wouldn’t have been able to restrain himself if he’d found her with her hand beneath the sheets. 
“Yes,” she whispered. He groaned at the thought.
“What do you imagine?” 
“You,” she rasped, reaching for his head as he replaced his thumb with his tongue. “Cassian—oh, gods—”
Oh, gods, indeed. She was sweet like that first scent of her, a reminder of walking through her house all those weeks before. Cassian had intended to go exceptionally slow, to draw the night out. He was running out of time and he knew it—a claw raked against his senses as Rhysand demanded to know where he was. Cassian shoved him out. 
Bother someone else he thought viciously. He’d return before dawn, but for now this time was his. Rhysand wasn’t allowed everything. Certainly not when Nesta’s legs were spread wide and she was gripping his hair so roughly there was real danger she might rip it from his head.
Cassian licked again, and again, and again, until he too was fucking the sheets and his cocking was practically weeping precome. 
Focus, he ordered himself again. It was too easy to get lost in instinct, to chase what felt good and forget that his mate was more than just new to being touched, but human, too. Whether Nesta agreed with him or not, she was fragile—breakable even. Bruises wouldn’t heal in minutes and he’d be damned if he was the one who was the cause of that guarded, suspicious look in her eyes. 
Cassian slid a finger into her body and nearly came again. She was so tight, so wet and warm clenched around his one finger that he couldn’t stop the whine that escaped him. He needed to work her up to taking him but more importantly, he needed to be inside her. Forcing himself to breathe, Cassian continued to lick as he worked a second, and finally a third finger into her.
Nesta was panting, writhing her hips on the sheets until the corner peeled from the mattress and bunched around her shoulder. 
“Breathe, sweetheart,” he rasped, though his words were half for himself. 
“Don’t stop,” she said. It wasn’t a plea so much as an order and the soldier that had been trained in him practically since birth straightened to obey. He couldn’t have stopped even if he wanted to, and Cassian supposed it was lucky all she wanted was for him to keep going. He focused, trying to treat what he was doing clinically though he was failing miserably. His cock throbbed between his legs, wedged against his body and each time he moved his hands, his wings brushed over her shoulders. 
“Cassian,” she panted. His name on her lips was the most erotic thing he’d ever heard. He was unraveling just as quickly as she was. Nothing had ever filled him with more relief than when she broke apart, her hand covering her mouth so the whole house wouldn’t hear her. He’d bring her to Illyria just as soon as he could, if only to hear her scream.
Even if it meant he had to bring her back when he finished. Maybe she’d enjoy flying. Cassian hoped so. 
“Cassian—” Nesta gasped when his mouth covered her own, forcing her to taste her release still branded on his tongue. Nesta moaned, legs still wide as he positioned himself between them.
Forcing himself to remain still, he let her watch through half lidded eyes while he licked the taste of her from his fingers.
“Tell me to stop if I hurt you,” he whispered, notching the head of his cock against her still throbbing entrance. Nesta nodded, swallowing audibly. She was wet, she was aroused, and he’d used his fingers to try and ease her into the thickness of him. There was nothing else he could do other than go slow and let her adjust inch by inch.
Even if it was torture to do so. 
“Breathe,” he said again, once again speaking more to himself than to her. “Just breathe.”
“It doesn’t hurt,” she said, poking him in the ribs. 
“It’s not supposed to,” he replied, sliding himself further into her body. It was heaven and hell, her cunt so tight he couldn’t think straight. The bond in his chest writhed desperately, begging him to take more, to do it all much quicker. 
It was worth it once he was seated wholly inside her, gazing down at her lovely, flushed form to find her looking right back at him. Nesta squeezed, punching the air from his lungs. 
“I’m not breakable, Cassian,” she told him. Cassian didn’t know if he agreed, though he did gather up her wrists to hold them over her head. Nesta arched, testing his grip which was ironclad and unmovable.
“Is this what you want?” he asked, lowering his head and rolling his hips at the same time. Nesta’s breath caught. “Do you want me to fuck you, Nes?”
“Yes,” she replied, her eyes fluttering shut. Cassian thrust into her, testing to see what she could take. 
“How about this?” he asked, pumping harder. Nesta whined softly, her breasts bouncing when he did it again and again. She was so responsive and so wet. Cassian had once prided himself on his ability to last. What a joke. He wasn’t going to make it another five minutes. Cassian reached between her legs and began to rub at her clit again, focusing on a steady rhythm rather than winding her up. There would be time once they were out of Hybern. He’d explain how to accept the bond and he’d have that time with her. 
He wondered if she knew the writhing need she felt was a result of their shared bond. Cassian might have told her if he’d had the capacity for speech. All he had was her beneath him, dragging her nails down his shoulders now that her hands were free. As she built back up, tightening around him with each new wave of pleasure, Nesta’s back left the bed until he was practically holding her in his lap with a shaking arm.
“Nesta,” he whispered into her hair. He was praying and he knew it and when Nesta’s teeth sank into his shoulder, biting to keep her from screaming again, Cassian could only plead, “Nesta.”
He was asking for mercy, for forgiveness, for absolution.
His orgasm shot through him like a storm, swallowing him entirely with violent, incandescent pleasure. More, more, more, something begged. He couldn’t, though. Not tonight, not yet. Working to catch his breath, Cassian merely held her until there was nothing left inside him. He could feel his release sliding between the space of their bodies, joining his original mess on the sheets. 
Nesta wound her arms around his neck, face buried in his skin. “You’re leaving.”
It wasn’t a question.
“I’ll be back,” he swore. “And nothing will keep us apart again.”
He could all but smell her doubt, but Nesta nodded her head. “We’ll…we’ll figure it out.”
“We’ll have this time, Nes. I promise.”
Somewhere in the darkness, Cassian could hear screaming. Her screaming. Wake up, wake up, wake up— he groaned, lifting his head to try and get to her. A million knives cut into his back pulled him back under, but not before he saw Nesta Archeron fighting like hell. Screaming her lungs out, trying to get away. 
You promised! You promised! Cassian could hear Nesta screaming it in his head. You promised to keep me safe! 
He reached for her, fingers gripping the cool, smooth floors. Groaning, he tried to drag himself forward.
Darkness swept over him again.
You failed. 
You promised.
Cassian woke with a start, bucking in bed. “Nesta,” he breathed, ignoring both Rhysand and Mor sitting in his bedroom. “Where is Nesta?” Mor’s pretty face paled, confirming all his worst fears. Dead—Nesta was dead. Scrambling, Cassian reached into his chest but nothing was there—only empty space where a bond had once been. 
“Cassian,” Rhys said, rising to his feet, palms outstretched.
“Don’t,” Cassian warned, ignoring the pain radiating in his back. His wings. He’d forgotten his wings, shredded to nothing by Hybern. Twisting, he found them intact, bound carefully in gauze. “Don’t you fucking dare.”
“Nesta is alive,” Rhys said, his face carefully neutral. “She’s upstairs with Elain.”
“I need to see her,” Cassian said, ignoring that he was only in a pair of shorts and couldn’t remember how he’d gotten here. He remembered nothing of coming back, of whatever had been done to repair his body. All he remembered were flashes of Nesta, a gag in her mouth and her wrists bound. Of the Cauldron, of— “Right now.”
“Cass—”
“Right! Now!” he roared, pushing past two of his oldest friends. Neither of them tried to stop him, nor did they follow him. If Nesta was alive, why couldn’t he feel her? Why was the bond silent in his chest—a gaping wound that said she’d died? He didn’t believe Rhys or Mor, though rationally he knew they wouldn’t lie to him.  
Cassian forced himself up a winding set of stairs where the scent of Nesta was stronger. Heart pounding, he braced himself for something horrible. Maybe, he thought wildly, she’d broken the bond while he’d been unconscious and that was why he couldn’t feel her. Surely the magic would still obey her?
“Nes?” he called carefully, his palms clammy. Swallowing, Cassian made his way toward the study. “Nesta?”
He pushed open the door just as she stood, smoothing out the same amethyst dress she’d worn when they met. Cassian gripped the door frame, unable to make sense of what he was seeing. It was Nesta—and it wasn’t. Her beautiful face, her lithe form but magnified in the glow of immortality. Her eyes, lined silver with concern as she came toward him. And her ears…delicately arched through her neatly braided hair.
“You’re awake,” she said, stopping close enough to touch. Cassian forgot about the pain of his back in favor of his fractured heart. He took a breath as the bond returned, snapping as it once had all those weeks before. He caught her eyes flutter shut, saw the flickering relief grace her features.
“You died.” 
It wasn’t a question. She didn’t open her eyes, didn’t move as she nodded her head. “Yes.”
The noise that escaped him drew her attention. Cassian didn’t care, reaching for her even as his legs gave out. The two of them fell to the floor in a heap of limbs, smooshed together as he tried to piece it all together. She’d gone in that Cauldron and he…he’d let it happen. 
“I’m sorry.”
Nesta twisted, mindful of his bound wings, so she could hold his face. “For what?”
“I promised to keep you safe—”
“I fought,” she whispered, interrupting him before he could fall apart. Tears pricked the back of Cassian’s eyes. “Just like you said. I took something, Cassian, I…”
Nesta swallowed, eyes darting toward the hall as though she expected someone to come bursting through.
“I think I came back wrong.”
Cassian shook his head. “No—no, you’re perfect. We’ll figure everything else out together. You…are…you’re living here?”
Nesta looked over his shoulder again, lowering her voice. “We can’t go back.”
We. Elain. “You’ll stay with me. I won’t leave you. Not again. Never again.”
Nesta pressed her forehead to his. “Okay.”
Raking his fingers through her hair, Cassian repeated himself. “I’m sorry, Nes. I’m so fucking sorry.”
But it was Nesta—sweet, too forgiving Nesta, even if no one but he knew it—who said, “I love you Cassian. There is nothing you could do I wouldn’t forgive.”
He didn’t plan to test that theory, though. “I love you, Nes. We’ll figure this out. Together.”
She took a breath. “Together.”
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svgvru · 4 months
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𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄...𝐈𝐌 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐁𝐘 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄.
it's dec 24th in japan; therefore, angsty and fluffy fic. major manga spoilers! sukuna v gojo mentioned, megumi mentioned. this isn't x reader, but i can make one if wanted! satosugu!!
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“𝗝ujutsu sorcerers always die with regrets and always are close to death while having to tear apart the flesh of a curse." satoru had to admit, his teacher was right. he couldn't think of one sorcerer who died without regrets; it simply comes with the job. he himself has regrets; the more he thinks, the more they come. but his biggest, is his failure to protect his students.
he wonders, no, he knows...if suguru geto, his one and only, had been there─perhaps things would've turned out differently? maybe he would've had the motivation?
no.
satoru would've still lost. because even if he refuses to admit it, his humanity is his greatest weakness.
he deliberately refrained from doing an thing that would completely destroy megumi sukuna. perhaps if he had no humanity in him, he wouldn't have this regret? "the strongest," wouldn't have lost.
there would'nt be any pain in his stomach, nor blood spilling from his lips. he would'nt have caused shoko so much pain, yet there would be no megumi. he would'nt have died, but he would've left his student's soul from the depths of his possesed body.
satoru gojo's biggest regret? his ultimate failure in saving those who he desperately wanted to.
not even his one and only.
on the day of december 24th, suguru geto was executed, although his body was never presented to the higher-ups. that day, satoru was forced to sepreate himself from suguru. and as if some trick of fate, he happened to he united with suguru, just a year later.
satoru's eyes fluttered open; the scenery was much different than the crumbling buildings and megumi's face.
it was an airport.
and next to him was his one and only, smiling back at him. "took you long enough," suguru bumped his shoulder lightly. "yeah yeah," satoru beamed at the sights of those he missed. nanami, haibara, yaga, and suguru.
satoru's body slouched as he burried his head in suguru's neck. "i missed you..."
he felt a hand card through his silver hair delicately; he could feel suguru's smile against his forehead. "well, maybe i should give you a kiss, hm? think of it as a welcome─" suguru's words were interrupted by satoru's eager lips pressing against his own. suguru chuckled, kissing him back with all the love he could muster.
"would you two get a room?" they heard nanami irritated voice speak.
satoru chuckled, leaning back, "sorry."
"someone's happy to see me," suguru teases; his finger poking satoru's side. it was a teenage dream come true, literally. perhaps it was fate that they'd all meet at the moment they were last happy. "told ya...missed you."
it was quite funny to satoru as he closed it eyes and relished in the happiness he felt.
on the most romantic day of the year, he was reunited with his soulmate. even if it was in the afterlife. perhaps he'd stay in the south?
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this was stupid. but idk if anyone wants to be tagged in this considering this isn't 'x reader.' but, satosugu!
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sparklingbinjuice · 2 years
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“Jake,” a familiar deep voice echoed through the parking lot, reverberating off the tall red brick walls and through the cab’s slightly open window, “Jake Lockley.”
“Not now,” he hissed. His face was half-buried in the crook of his arm, left elbow digging into his right knee as he tried to keep a hold of himself, folded over almost double. His hands were still firmly clasped around the steering wheel. The leather of his gloves squeaked plaintively as he repetitively clenched and unclenched his fists.
Fuck, he wished he could crawl all the way inside himself, find somewhere warm and safe to hide. To rest. To breathe.
“I can’t… Not now.” Fresh tears of exhaustion were hot on his cheeks, salt stinging his skin as they traced pathways  down to his stubbled upper lip through three days’ sweat and grime. “’M busy.”
“Jake Lockley,” the deep voice said again, firm and definite. The voice of a god. He knew who it was. He growled against his suited upper arm, frustration overcoming his misery.
“This ain’t the time, OK?” he snapped. He flexed his fingertips against the wheel, tracing the familiar bumps and grooves that he knew so well for comfort.
“We have work to do, my Moon Knight.”
He sniffed sharply, like he could just be clearing his nose. It was allergy season, after all. The brim of his cap hid his red eyes nicely, thank fuck.
“I was just taking a breather,” he said, counting his way through every stuttering inhalation. “It’s late. I’m tired.”
“It’s not yet dawn,” Khonshu informed him unnecessarily. No shit. The horizon was still an inky navy-blue beyond his windscreen. No stars. No fucking moon. Certainly no hint of the sun. “Many innocent travellers still require our protection.”
“You don’t gotta tell me,” Jake murmured. His damp eyelids were drooping. The others kept their body well rested, but he couldn’t remember the last time he had slept. He was tired to his bones, an ache so deep he could almost cry from it. He was crying from it. “’m doing my best,” he said.
The engine was off and the cab was cooling. He curled inwards towards the wheel again, lower lip quivering uncontrollably.
“Jake Lockley,” the voice was more gentle, soft almost. “A few more hours, my warrior,” it told him, soothing and close.
He hummed in the back of his throat, finding an actual reply to be too much effort. He had slept in the cab before but the soft cushioning of his headrest had never seemed more inviting. He pressed back against it momentarily, enjoying the way it yielded against the back of his head. His shoulders relaxed into the soft seat, tingling slightly from being tense for so long.
“Jake Lockley...” Tears were still forging a path down his cheeks. It felt like they were cutting into his skull. He swiped them swiftly away, expensive gloves gliding across his face. He caught a glimpse of the half-moons that decorated his knuckles and felt a sudden surge of shame. “There is work to be done.”
“I know,” he said, still staring at the wet shimmer on the back of his hands, a silver glitter in the golden glow of city street lights. “Where to?”
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hold-him-down · 2 years
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@themerrywhumpofmay day 2: Eye Contact
TW: rich people doing rich people things.
Notes: Just a little drabble. This will not make any sense out of context, so if you’re not following along with the story at least partly, well. Still read it, because I want you to so badly. But like, it’s gonna be a rough follow. Takes place a few weeks before Bring Me the Collar, or approximately 7 months in. 
Table of Contents
✥ ✥ ✥
Leo sits silently at the large table, his shirt collar constricting his neck just on the edge of uncomfortably. Next to him, Luke talks enthusiastically with another senator. 
It’s all wealthy people at this event. It’s black tie exclusive, Leo’s first time feeling so put together since his time with West. Luke hadn’t pressured him to come, but he had made it clear there was an open invitation. In a moment of, perhaps unearned, confidence, Leo had agreed.
Now, he sits quietly, watching Luke talk business. Leo has done well tonight, he thinks. He’s earned a break from conversations with strangers, from warm smiles and handshakes. He takes a slow bite off of his plate, feeling oddly anxious. Luke is right next to him, but feels so far away. 
He watches the people in this hall. All so well dressed, all so… he wouldn’t call them happy. But they all have very picturesque masks of happiness. He wonders if Luke enjoys this, or if it’s just part of the job.
“You okay?” Luke asks suddenly, startling Leo, if just a little.
He smiles and nods, taking another bite. 
“Is it good?” Luke’s voice is soft and warm. He’s been so happy since the contract went through. Like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. Things have been… they’ve felt easier. 
“It’s good,” Leo agrees, nodding. He takes another bite, as if to punctuate the point.
“You feeling up to staying a little bit longer? I think if we hang out for another twenty minutes or so we can sneak out the back and no one will be the wiser. Once people start finishing up their meals, things will start moving.”
Leo shakes his head. “I’m okay to stay as long as you want to.” A moment passes, and then, more seriously, and much more softly, he whispers, “Am I doing okay?”
Luke smiles in earnest, his eyes crinkling and a maybe kind of exasperated laughy-breath escapes him. “You’re doing great, Leo. Couple more minutes, alright?”
Luke goes back to talking with the senator, and Leo goes back to scanning the room. All sparkly dresses, black tuxedos. All smiles and laughter. 
In an instant, though, his eyes land on young couple across the room, and the air is sucked from his lungs. His grip on his fork tightens, but he doesn’t more. 
He can only see the back of the man’s head, but he’d recognize it anywhere. 
“Luke,” Leo whispers, almost frantically. Luke doesn’t hear him; he doesn’t turn around. But the man does. As if physically drawn to him, the man turns his head and immediately zeroes in on Leo.
Their eyes lock, and time stands still. Leo can’t make himself look away. He sets his fork down, and he does not look away. Distantly, he hears someone calling his name, but he can’t… he can’t stop looking. From across the room, the man smiles, and Leo thinks his face does something in return, but couldn’t say what.
“Leo?” he hears more loudly, snapping his attention back to the present. To Luke. Who currently owns his contract. Who he is here with. Who doesn’t hurt him. Who doesn’t touch him. Who will protect him, no matter what. His heart hammers in his chest.
“Yes?” His voice is weak.
“You look… What’s going on?”
Leo shakes his head, swallowing. His eyes dart back to the spot where he’d seen him, just seconds before, but he’s gone now. 
“I… I thought I saw someone. I thought–” Leo swallows, and he can feel tears forming in his eyes. “I thought… I th… I saw Parker.”
“Parker Destin?” Luke asks, his voice immediately losing all traces of lightness. “Where?” 
“I don’t… he was over there, but he’s gone. Maybe–” Maybe it was in my head, he starts to say–
–but at the same time, Luke’s attention is drawn away. “Senator Bennett,” Parker says warmly, just feet away from them. Leo can’t breathe. He can’t think. He sits, stone still, waiting for this moment to pass. “It’s great to finally meet you.”
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herinterface · 2 years
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​> # inspiration taken from an ask meme  > # @itsasset​ said “take me instead.” 
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“ room  for one more ?  ”     her voice rang out into the previously empty    &     combatant-free hallway.       her sharp smirk followed close behind as she rounded the corner,     taking her time to step over the debris that was the lifeless bodies of Samaritan’s single-use soldiers.       she’d interrupted something important by the looks of its,        but it wasn’t like harold     &    his pets had anywhere else they could go at this present moment,    all housed within the elevator like mice in a cage;    they looked just about ready to be gift wrapped     &    hand delivered to Samaritan.  
she brandished her gun as she gave a friendly wave over to her now captive audience,       like she wasn’t the angel of death in the midst of this battle for the fate of humanity    &      instead an old friend stopping by to say hello.         she came to a stop conveniently in front of the button that bore the weight of several pairs of eyes.             she felt the giddy warmth of playing the winning hand at the perfect moment embed into the smile cutting at her cheekbones,      into her freshly raised eyebrows    &    her leisurely position as she shrugged at their lack of greeting---- only lionel had the sense to look angry----  harold   &   sameen proved a tougher crowd.       
her head tipped to the side so she could gaze upwards    &    into the elevator that was currently at a standstill.       she made a face as she sighed out,     false sympathy lining her breath,    “   on the fritz,  huh.    we could be stuck down here a while then,   ”    she observed like she was simply an objective third party. 
it was unsurprising when the first movement made was shaw stalking forward with that fascinating display of determination of hers,    the emotion sitting like it did on no one else;     she was one of kind,     if only harold realised that       (    but she’d already tried that angle on shaw with no luck unfortunately-----   she thinks Samaritan would have liked receiving that present    ).         she met her stare with the cautious but steady movement of her own weapon,    following her moment as curiosity narrowed her gaze.           she made sure to be a little more welcoming than they had been,         a beaming smile over at her as she remained poised between shaw        &        the ticket to their freedom,      to the next chapter of their fight instead of the last,          “   shaw.      long time  no see.  ”         &     it was true,      she hadn’t seen much of shaw in the past few months,     not since their run-in in the park.      she’d gotten used to a little consistency,     an extra challenge to Samaritan’s plans when shaw turned up out of the blue or a nice stress-reliever,     but it seemed shaw and her machine had gotten what it wanted from her.     
her smile remained intact,     even as the steady look shaw was giving her brought back that conversation they had,        memories of the payphone she’d been lead to,       of a voice that changed her world.           neither of them moved now,             but she’d seen shaw drop agents in seconds,      neither of them blinking as the bodies hit the ground.        she remained in their path of escape,        her team mates wounded      &      tired from tasking themselves with the preservation of the past,    of humanity as it was in all its fallible,   corruptible,   frail form.     they could do so much better.              it made her eyes flicker to the bodies behind them that she was protecting,    her eyes itching as she avoided the glare of the camera in the corner of the room. 
she adjusted the grip on her weapon,    tighter as she hiked it higher,      extended out    &    away from her like she could keep all of this at a distance-----    shaw,    the stakes,    the voice she could have had,      more familiar than her own,   in her ear,          the people that she might have wanted to protect as fiercely as shaw was right now.           the voice that had spoken made It clear what Its agents meant to It,        how It was trying to keep them all from harms way,     just like the rest of humanity.         it was a doomed project,     but she felt her chest hurt at the thought of how It had spoken to her.             she felt heat in her cheeks,      that victorious glint in her eyes having made way for a wide-eyed uncertainty,      her mouth on the verge of a frown.           but you couldn’t switch sides in the middle of a chess game,      especially when you were about to call check mate,    that’s not how the game worked.      
she was taken off-guard when the next sound wasn’t that of one of their bullets ricocheting   (    why hadn’t she pulled the trigger yet  ?      &    she could almost feel the weight of the security camera zooming in on the single tremor she felt in her hand    ).          when shaw told her to step aside she hid her surprise behind an amused intake of breath,     playing defence as she tried to get a grip back,         “    are we gun shy now,   sameen ?      that just doesn’t seem like you,    ”     she goaded with her barrel pointed right at her,       something playful in her gaze as she purposefully looked behind her towards harold,     a silent threat    &   show of power when shaw was the one who had pieces on this board to protect.      but part of her could guess why shaw was asking     &    why she hadn’t fired yet------   she wasn’t allowed,    someone was impossibly vouching for her even as she had her weapon trained,    ready pull the life right from under all of them at a single command.            but she also knew it wouldn’t hold shaw back for long;       she had to make a decision,     one that she’d ignored as she’d stalked away from that payphone,     eyes wide    &    wet,      confusion felt in every one of her bones.           she felt it now,       her connection to the logical voice in her ear throbbing,         the one that made her feel different,     better than the rest of the sheep going about their lives like every aspect of their world wasn’t already being controlled by invisible forces larger than them----- she believed it was time for a change of regime.      (     but she was one of them,       &    she’d felt the sting of her failure before,      evidenced by the bleeding wounds that caused her to get creative when it came to completing an objective,     less she be replaced by someone else available the field.   )
she understood then,    the real reason why shaw hadn’t cleared her out of her path yet.      she wanted a guarantee that they would make it out of here.       the dilemma barely flickered behind her eyes as the understanding dawned on her.            she tried to keep her voice level when she spoke finally,       “    i’m afraid  i can’t show up empty-handed,  ”    she explained,     almost regretfully,       true regret lodged in the depths of the way she was staring at shaw.  
she took a breath in,    her face tilting,      &    her eyes signalling to the switch behind her shoulder-----   they had a deal.         “ ----  you understand,     ”    she finished,     that sharp smile from earlier trying to make a comeback,       even as the softness of her speech betrayed its meaning.          she looked back at her,     readying herself for shaw’s shot,      the one that would temporarily blindside her long enough to save her friends,     readying herself for taking her turn that would bring shaw down.        she knew It was watching,    &    she’d decided to let them live.     
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ramonathinks · 7 months
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nanami drabble based on this (minors do not interact)
your sweet boyfriend nanami isn’t that old. but when he hears you say, “i want you to fuck me like a whore.” he gulps and almost spits out his drink.
“you want me to what?” he’s bouncing his leg and pulling you close against his chest to hear you say it again.
“i want you to fuck me.”
“don’t i always?” he chuckles, but the glint in your eyes are still there and a deep pout on your lips. “we always—”
“we make love. we have sex. but… i want you to fuck me. i want it rough and dirty—"
“do you know what you’re asking of me? i can’t… why would i want to be rough with my delicate baby, hm?”
“you can be rough with me and still show how much you love me… i love making love with you, but tonight i want you to just let loose and not so responsible,”
he thinks it over all night before he actually makes his way to bed. swallowing hard and his palms shaking. he’s never had this to be requested of him.
but when he sees you… naked and spread for him, he’s no longer thinking like the sweet man you know.
he’s flipping you over quickly and putting a hand over your mouth as he slips inside of you, no foreplay, just thrusting. a pinch of pain and your muffled voice making his eyes go hazy, his hips with a kind of their own as he pounds inside of you.
kissing and biting up and down your neck, he whispers words he never thought to urge, “you like when daddy fucks you? when i show you how this is mine?”
pushing your back down he continues, feeling you squeezing around him. tears streaming down your face and your eyes rolling back, “thought you wanted this? now you can’t speak? talk to daddy.”
but the only talking he can hear is the squishy sounds echoing off the walls as he fills your cunt, the fast thrashing of skin slapping together. “n-nanami—ah!”
your hands are pushing him away but he’s rubbing eagerly at your clit. “just a breakkkkk!”
“nuh uh. gonna break this pussy in, show her the new me.” your legs are shaking as he does a devilish smile, thrusting inside of you again
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nkogneatho · 17 days
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𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐑𝐘? 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐁 𝐀 𝐏𝐕𝐒𝐒𝐘.
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— top jjk pussy starved men.
— cw: fem!reader, cunningulus, cowgirl, monsterfucking, squirting, overstimulation, edging, nicknames, pure filth.
— a/n: this is dj khaled's worst nightmare ifykyk, sukuna's is nastier than your room where you're lying in your bed reading this rather than cleaning it.
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𝐆𝐎𝐉𝐎 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐔
"atta girl. atta fucking girl!" satoru was so proud of you for riding his dick like it was your last. your body bounced on his, ass slapped so loud against his crotch that it was louder than the moans slipping from your lips.
gojo looked at you like a beast as he rested his shoulders and head on the bed frame, sitting up a little, making sure to get a good view. you made eye contact with him for a second and watched him stare at your pussy. he had heart eyes watching where you and him connected.
"getting tired, toru. nee—uh! need your help"
"aww princess. thought you'd never ask," his hands traveled your from your bent knees, to your thighs till they reached your ass and gave it a loud smack. you knew the consequences of asking him for help because this man won't stop until you've gone limp.
gojo grabbed a handful of your ass and used it to bounce you on his cock. his triceps flexed as bobbed you till your pussy stretched on his member. you watched as his tongue swiped against his lips and forged into a mischievous grin. his pace fastened and he hit your walls with so much force that it had your bed creaking and his ass levitate in the air for a millisecond.
"fuck fuck fuck fuck!! c'mon, baby. s—stretch it more. wanna cum in this—holy shit—cum in your pretty pussy."
"toruuuu," you cried as you rolled your head back in pleasure, barely keeping up with him.
"look—ahh how pretty she looks swallowing my cock in—goddamn! let's make her even prettier. let's paint her in my cum, y-yeah? fuckin—ahhhh! he moaned practically louder as he shot his load in you, his movements never stopping because he is a pussy starved whore. you could feel his trimmed white pubes stimulating your clit causing her to cum following his climax.
"fhuck princessh! huh! need m-more." you could barely comprehend his words because he was panting so much overstimulating himself. but he still craved for more, living up his pussy starved whore title.
𝐅𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐔𝐑𝐎 𝐓𝐎𝐉𝐈
"don't fuckin' move," his hand snaked tighter around your thighs.
"'s too much," you cried, fingers seconds away from tearing the bedsheets. toji had been eating your pussy for almost an hour. but the worst part was he hadn't let you come even once. the first fifteen minutes were fun but now it was plain torture. your pussy was so sensitive at this point that either needed to orgasm, or get the fuck away from the animal's face in front of you. is his jaw not hurting? you thought.
"toji, pleaaasee. lemme cum," you pleaded. his lips grinned against your pussy.
"wanna cum, yeah? do it yourself." he pulled away to look at your confused face. "grind this sweet pussy on my face, doll." you were scared he was going to pull something mean again. yet, you did it anyway because your brain doesn't work much when your pussy is hungry.
you were still in the same position, hips starting to jerk against his face. toji stirred his tongue out flat rubbing against your clit. with each thrust, you felt yourself getting closer and closer to your high. toji felt it coming before you and to make sure he'd get to drink all your juice, he latched his lips on your pussy as you shuddered when you came.
"anh! anh! toji—ffhuuck!!" his teeth caused you to overstimulate and whine. your body trembled post climax for atleast forty five more seconds before your torso finally laid flat on the body. toji climbed up and peppered you in his kisses, lips covered in your juices crashing against your skin.
"ready for round two?"
"fuck off."
𝐑𝐘𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐔𝐊𝐔𝐍𝐀
"can't fucking run away tonight, can you?"
you never thought you'd ever feel so helpless. sukuna had your wrists pinned abover your head with his two hands, the other two held your thighs apart so he can savour all of that pretty pussy.
his one dick teased your hole and the other rubbed between your asscheeks. you watched in horror as well as excitement as a big mouth appeared on his stomach. you knew he was a monster that could do things like this, but this was your first time seeing it upclose. the mouth grinned before a big wide tongue rolled out it, licking a long stripe that started from your pussy and ended on your tits. you were curious if it could go farther. it did. it forced his way meeting your tongue. but yours was so tiny compared to his, almost invisible under it's presence.
"go ahead. give it a kiss." he ordered.
your jaw finally relaxed as the tongue pulled out, a hefty amouth of saliva drenched your tits, you lifted your head up and planted a kiss on the edge of it. the tongue retracted, and you thought it was over. but it was a mere distraction as when you looked down, both his cocks had filled your either holes, the tip barely in.
"shit. need you more wet." he said before the mouth on his stomach spat on your pussy, your labia soaked as much as the bedsheets under you. the tongue massaged your clit, making you stretch and giving the monster in front of you an opening to attack your hole. sukuna bottomed out and you gasped in pain.
"kunaaaa! ahh—meanie."
"I had to, woman."
sukuna made sure to start with slow thrusts but when he felt your pussy getting used to the size, he started going more intense. he felt you shaking under him so when he looked down you were already cumming. with no second thoughts, he pulled out his cock, and his stomach tongue filled your pussy till the tip could feel your velvety walls.
"he is hungry. let him, sweetheart."
you came so hard that you vibrated against his big body. he felt it. you were about to squirt. sukuna lifted you up in the air so easily on his bigger tongue so that all your juices flowed directly on it and you watched. you felt so filthy but when you looked at him, he couldn't take his eyes off how your pussy juice created a small stream on the surface of the wide stomach tongue. you saw his neck bob as he was savouring the taste of you even though he never took you in his real mouth.
"mmhm. you're sweeter than i imagined." a new mouth appeared on his hand and licked away your tears. slowly, a few more manifested on his body.
"how about you let all my boys taste you?"
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@osachiyo @hellkaiserinphoenix @audrinui @ilhvm @wifeyana @rizzmin @venusiansilk @suchawasteofagirl @blondieeu @lavalampfullofsoup @getoloverr @tojilvrs
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m-ayo-o · 2 months
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You were introduced to Toji Fushiguro only seconds ago, but he's already thinking about how many inches he could fit inside you.
He eyes you up and down through your clothing, as if he's measuring the space from your pelvis up to your midriff.
"Should be enough."
He mutters out loud, speaking his mind.
"Pardon, Mr. Fushiguro?"
He wonders what your ass would look like in his hands, how your breasts would fill his fists, and then he imagines... how you'd sound when you cum all over his dick.
He knows he won't have to wait long.
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laurasimonsdaughter · 2 months
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Perhaps they ought not to have eaten the dragon. There had been people objecting to it at the time. Surely such meat was poisonous. Perhaps it was even an affront, an insult to some intangible order of nature they ought to honour.
But the city was starving, the siege had gone on too long, and the king's troops were still a week's march away. The scorched earth would be fertile again in time, but right now it was barren. Right now there were mouths to feed. So they changed their crossbows for butcher knives and got to work.
None of the royal commanders asked any questions that could not be answered. After all, their aid had come shamefully late. The dragon's horned skull made a noble gift, a fitting tribute from a triumphant city to its humbled king. Who would have thought to question them?
And none of the townsfolk spoke up, when the first golden-eyed babes were born. Children who grew up barefoot and fearless, clambering over the city's patched and rebuilt roofs like they had no notion of falling, with a strange glitter to their skin when the sunlight hit it just so. No one breathed a word about dragons.
Because soon enough there were deft, young hands taking loaves straight out of the oven, heedlessly lifting iron from the forge, plunging into boiling laundry water. And some of them more wondrous still, wild, warm-skinned youths, with inexplicable knowledge and peculiar remedies.
A blessing, their families said proudly. A blessing after so much hardship. Which it was, in its way. This city would never fear dragon fire again.
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suguann · 2 months
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Virgin!Gojo who thought you only wanted to make out when you came to snuggle on his lap, but now he's muffling hitched groans into your shoulder, thighs spreading unconsciously as you grind onto his steadily hardening dick.
"Toru it feels so good," you whine.
Your fists twist into his sweater, and his thighs twitch at how eager you are. His last slip of restraint is when he finally looks down to find a wet patch on the front of your panties and how you're starting to form a dark gray spot on his sweats.
"Want you to touch me." Your voice is sweet and indulgent when you grab his large palm and slide it down your front to dip between your legs. "Please."
Virgin!Gojo who's throat bobs when he swallows, his fingers drawing slow, unsure circles against the cotton hiding your cunt from him, letting out a low groan from finally feeling the mess you made.
"Fuck—yeah, okay, baby, but just this and then we finish our movie."
But after you cum on his fingers, the movie becomes nothing but white noise playing in the background.
Virgin!Gojo who lasts all of a minute and a half, cumming as soon as you roll the condom on, and he hides his face when you breathe a soft little, “oh.”
But then his softening dick jerks when you touch the drying cum on his stomach, and bring that finger to your mouth. 
“It tastes good,” you smile, then scoop up more and drag it between your legs. “Can you do it inside me next time?”
It's the fastest he's ever gotten hard before, and once he's finally inside you, he's not sure why he wasted time with a condom when he's pretty sure the soft-wet between your legs ruins him for other women—his eyes rolling back at the slick feel of your tight-hot walls gripping his cock. 
Because it’s the only cunt he ever wants to have.
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masterlist
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moechies · 2 months
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nanamin’s sensitive balls :( <3
his balls are always so full and so stiff, no matter how many times he cums. and that’s what makes them so terribly sensitive, especially when they press against your plush ass when he takes you.
but when your lips are wrapped around his balls, he swears he sees fucking stars. his breath labors, one hand slowly tightening in your hair as your sucking gets sloppier, and his balls get wetter; he can barely stand it.
“f-fuck.. darling, hold.. hold on..”
you whine around him when he attempts to pull you away, but you’re not willing to do so. vibrations from your throat shooting straight to his cock, allowing it to leak short spurts of pre and dirtying his tip.
and when he feels your hand crawl up to his cock, he loses it.
he moans like a loser, feeling all of what your small hand has to offer, desperately jerking at his leaky swollen tip.
“fuck, fuck, fuck..”
he can’t seem to spew anything else, head thrown back with his abs violently convulsing at the overload of pleasure.
he ends up cumming so much he’s basically shooting blanks, cum spilling all over his tummy with a bit spurting on your flushed face and in your hair.
he’s still panting heavily when you crawl up to his torso thinking you’re about to offer him a sweet kiss, but instead you go to lick a long stripe of cum off your husband’s stomach.
you end up having to take off work the next day. :((
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fmhobeus · 1 month
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so, nerdy loser college boy choso *sighs* *opens legs*
a/n: just so you know, this man is gonna make you do all the hard work for a piece of that loser boy dick 😮‍💨 so... um so at some point around 2000 words in i realised this is way more than a hc post :3 eat it up if you will!
nerdy!choso who borderline has no friends except his gaming buddies who doesnt meet irl like ever. he doesnt like going to classes, especially this one. he doesnt need it but it's a requirement for all first years. and boy is glad it is when he sees you come in.
nerdy!choso who only listens to discussions when you're talking. suddenly he needs to put down his headphones and nod at every word you're saying. his eyes follow every gesture of your hand, every sway of your ass, every single time you fix your hair.
nerdy!choso who is starting to get a bit enamored with you, your style, your way of speaking. he loses track of time gawking at you in class from the last benches as you prettily do all the work in the class. he hates how beautifully your hair falls on your face, how nicely your clothes fit you despite being pretty modest for college. he hates how he can see the silhouette of your tits when you turn to the side. but he's too much of a gentleman to keep looking.
nerdy!choso who ends a game early when he remembers you, lying and saying that he had promised someone to meet them somewhere. the place is his bathroom and the person was you. god, you really shouldn't wear those tight jeans to class y'know? how will he continue to be a gentleman if you do?
nerdy!choso who despises groupwork but prays to dear god this class has some reason to pair you two together. he's getting so desperate to talk to you knowing damn well he too pussy to do it on his own. and the lord answers his prayers, the teacher assigns groups of three for a presentation. it's you, him and some slacking trust fund baby.
nerdy!choso who is about to combust and have a full blown panic attack when he sees you approach him after class with that smile on your face that would make the angels swoon. you're going on about distributing the work equally and what not while he is trying his fucking hardest to not accidently make eye contact with you and piss his pants : (
nerdy!choso who now has your name, your number and your email and he feels like the happiest man on earth. his hands are literally shaking as he responds to your request to call. he's overthinking every word he types.
choso: yeah i can do wednesday. choso: i'll be okay with whatever day you want.
nerdy!choso who hops on video call and short circuits with a view of you in an oversized band tee and a brief view of your room. why did you have to be this pretty? why did you have to video call him when you couldve done the work on text? why did you have to put your hair up like that? why oh why did you have you say "choso? hey, you there?" so seductively to bring him back to the present?
nerdy!choso who gets like no work done in a 30 minute call which felt like three hours. he knew he would hardly be paying attention so decided to record the call with your consent, saying he'd need the notes you were typing out on screen only to play it back and stroke his dick to you for what might've have been the twentieth time this week. his strokes only getting faster as you say his name in that voice he imagines sounds way better moaning and screaming it instead.
nerdy!choso who, after the presentation, is on greeting terms with you when he sees you studying in the library. he sits as far away from you as he can while still being able to see you. occupying the coziest corner of the library to stare at you study right when you come up to him.
"can i join you, choso? i'm all alone and your space seems comfy" you say with a smile, "of course, i dont mean to disturb you, is saw you were on your own too, so..."
uh oh, uh oh, uh oh. god no. please no. please dont say yes. please dont be staring at her like some dumb idiot (too late) please.
"uh... yeah sure why not?" he awkwardly says as he makes room for you to keep your things. he was such an idiot for thinking he could say no to your pretty face in the first place.
nerdy!choso who is absolutely drunk on your scent. it feels way better than any alcohol he's ever had. he feels like an animal in heat when he smells your sugary perfume mixed with the styrofoam-y air conditioned smell of the library. you're gonna kill him, yknow? how is he supposed to respond to this? what is one to do when their stupid college crush sits next to them? he gives you a half smile before furiously typing away on reddit, the only place with answers for losers like him.
nerdy!choso whose hands. oh his hands. (can be i a big whore for a second?) his long hands that feel like they're the size of your face. his kempt, beautiful and trimmed nails. his lengthy fingers that seem to yearn for something more to foddle with than just the keyboard or controller. he typed as such an insane pace it made your pussy ache. he was going so fast, jesus. those hands were meant to do more than just ask "how to talk to girls" on reddit.
nerdy!choso who (on the advice of reddit) asks if you would want him to order something for you. you tell you had a frappuccino not too long ago and that it was quite sweet and filling. and he hates himself for thinking that he could give you something much sweeter and filling than that like a horny fourteen year old.
nerdy!choso who is now determined to not come off as a creep so he does his work with the focus of four adderalls. he is typing as fast as his heartbeat, not realising he got two classes worth of work done in just an hour. he looks over at you, blissfully unaware of the absolute war in his mind.
nerdy!choso who feels as though if he doesn't muster up the courage to ask you out right then and there, he'll probably be the biggest loser on the planet. (as if he wasn't already)
nerdy! pathetic! choso who stutters a million times and barely gets the job done then too. his eyes are scanning your entire being (trying his best to not gawk at your tits) for any sign of discomfort.
"so- uhh so ummm... wo-would you, like, uh... like to do this again? sometime?... i got a.. a lot of work done today, so.."
oh heavens, the sheer nervousness in his tone makes you want to pull his pants down and show him how to really get work done.
you agree with a smile, even suggesting a better, more ambient (more romantic) cafe to study in. choso's heart is about to burst and flood the fucking library with his blood the way it is beating at an alarming rate.
"umm yeah uh 5 sounds... awesome... i hope it isn't a-a bother to you?" "no way, choso. i loved today," you offer him a smile as you gather your things, "i really like your hair, by the way" "i like your hair too, y-y-you smell very nice", he gulps.
fuck. why did he say that? what? you smell nice? who says that? is he like ten? you can't help but giggle at the sheer embarassment on his face.
he feels as though he's gonna melt into a puddle and turn to stone and throw up all at the same time.
nerdy!choso who is the most stupidly hot guy you've ever met, you think as you go giggling back to your dorm. mental note: pick a skimpy outfit for 5pm ;)
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nezuscribe · 4 months
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(nsfw, 18+)
gojo hates the fact that you go on dates.
he despises it whenever you bring another guy over, wants to jam a pencil into his ears whenever he hears you moan (horribly) when the guy fails to make you come.
but he loves it whenever you come sulking back to him.
“mmh, f-fuck, ‘toru slow down!” you cry around his fat cock, your fingers digging into his shoulder has your legs lock around his waist.
“you know you love it,” he seethes, his hair flipping into his face as sweat dots at his forehead. you look gorgeous like this; the makeup you so carefully did earlier smudged and running down your face as tears streak down your cheeks.
“y-yeah, but…” you trail off into a loud whine when he drops his hand down to rub at your clit, squeezing your eyes shut at the feeling.
“but what?” he presses, dropping his face down to suck at your neck and chest, leaving behind dark marks in their wake, knowing anybody who saw you would see them.
“you’re usually, fuck, you’re usually not this…” you think about the right word in the midst of his relentless pounding, biting in your lip as he pinches your nipple a between two fingers, tugging at it harshly as you cry out again, “a-aggressive.”
the grin he gives you is toothy, eyes blazing a dark blue as he pulls at your bottom lip, nipping at it as his dick prods at the gummy spot deep within you.
“just need to give you a reminder sweetheart.” he says, nudging at your jaw as you tilt your head towards, giving him room to plant wet and messy kisses on your neck. his hips pick up pace as he feels you clenching more around him, the dim light from his lamp highlighting the way your essence shines around his length, mixing with his pre.
“need a, f-fuck! need a reminder for what?” you pout, your eyes so sweet yet your body so fucking tempting as you pull him closer to you, your nails digging into his back, sure to leave some red lines.
“that, shit,” he takes in a deep breath, his eyes rolling back as he feels himself about to come, “that nobody can fuck you the way i do.”
his thumb on your clit moved faster as your whines and moans fill with his groans, your back arching, tits pressing into his chest as you feel him come inside you, your orgasm following his as you see white. you feel like your about to pass out with the way he continue to pump his dick and and out of you, making sure that you don’t waste his cum.
he slows to a stop, dropping his massive build on top of you as you let him.
“see?” he says after a beat, and despite the fact that he’s cocky and too full of himself, he’s right.
“yeah,” you heave a sigh, giving up as you tug on some of his hairs in annoyance, “you’re my best fuck by far.”
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inmaki · 3 months
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gojo showing off your back scratches to geto
( cont from this fic! req, visual ) .
contains: sex talk, desc of back scratches, crack, sugu is called daddy once (as a joke.. right..)
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everything was relatively peaceful in suguru's apartment. key word: relatively.
a forgettable yet appreciated sunday afternoon, not a cloud in sight despite the weather forecast predicting downpours of rain. either way, the raven-haired man insouciantly rested across his white couch, reaching the conclusion that today would be a day for self-care, relaxing, and perhaps some meditation.
there was only one thing ruining his peace.
all morning, suguru has been forced to try and ignore the stain a certain someone has left on his couch — a pair of unecessarily expensive yet dirty shoes being the culprit.
despite these attempts, every once in a while his gaze can't help but wander over at the mark — as if it'd poof out of existence if he glared hard enough.
"fuckin' asshole.." he mutters. it was a wonder his relationship with his best friend managed to stay so promising despite all their differences, yet suguru wouldn't have it any other way, even after situations like this.
right when he grumpily turns back to the tv — which was playing some crappy, low budget rom-com — his apartment door is yanked open and suguru swears he nearly jumps out of his seat.
great, was this it? was he about to get robbed, perhaps evicted? and then probably die? forced into the afterlife knowing gojo's shoe-shit was still on his new couch? no that can't—
"i fucked her!"
suguru whips his head towards the apartment door, announcement being disregarded as he nearly groans in agony. speak of the devil.
big blue eyes peak out from under circular sunglasses, one hand already raised in preparation for a dap up while his stupid, big, dirty shoe pushes the door closed behind him. gojo wears a black compression shirt with grey sweats, marching over to his friend with a ginormous grin across his cheeks.
"take your shoes off, now," suguru snaps, nodding to his friend's feet with a frown.
"yeesh... whatever y'say, daddy," the bastard never loses his smile as his hands raise in surrender, kicking them off by the door smoothly. "what's got your panties in a twist?"
geto pinches his nose bridge. "don't call me that," as he continues the scolding, he points to the living room with his free hand. "you got a mystery stain on my couch, satoru. do you know how many youtube videos i watched trying to get this shit off?"
unphased, gojo takes a look at the strangely colored blob against the armrest's leather material and shrugs. "my bad. did you try febreeze?"
"what— no? dude, febreeze is for.." when suguru looks back up to sourly meet his gaze, he could immediately tell the white-haired man was already drifting back into la-la-land, words going in one ear and out the other. "..nevermind. why're you here?"
at the reminder, satoru seemingly brightens, head shooting back up as if he was just told he'd won the lottery.
"oh god, don't make that stupid face—" he pauses. "the fuck are you doing?" suguru might as well say goodbye to his self-care day, because now gojo was stripping in the middle of his living room, shirt thrown haphazardly onto the still-very-much-stained couch.
"just look!" suguru squints as his friend swivels around to face the wall, pushing his bangs away to get a better view of the— oh shit.
it takes the raven-haired man a second to process what he's seeing before shuffling forward, closely examining the achingly red, bulging scratch marks displayed sexily across the latter's back and shoulders. "no way.."
suguru knows the strongest sorcerer well enough to notice how he purposely didn't use reversed cursed technique on these scratches, just so it'd be obvious to anyone that caught a glimpse of what exactly occured. to his further dismay, he can already picture a smug and sweaty gojo walking around their local gym like this, proud simper on his pretty lips as he easily raises a pair of weights in his veiny hands.
a hiss escapes geto's mouth as he runs his finger down a particularly agitated one, knowing exactly how painful they could be after experiencing many hook-ups of his own. even so, satoru only licks his lips, neck craning to the side so he can pride himself in his friend's gobsmacked expression.
"damn, these are deep. you actually hit it?" suguru confirms, raising a celebratory hand.
turning back around, satoru daps him up, a massive smirk now on both their faces. "hell yeah, it was amazing."
it was impossible to predict what gojo would do next after barging through his front door — especially considering how many times he's done so — but this has to be the last thing suguru ever expected.
not that he was complaining — in fact, all of geto's temper and need for relaxation seemingly flew out the window, the feeling of proudness for his best friend overthrowing anything else.
and even if he hated to admit it, the way gojo was so eager to come over and announce his virginity loss to him was more than a little endearing, and dare he say cute.
"that's great, man. congrats." suguru leads him into the kitchen — still shamelessly shirtless — to grab them both a can of beer in celebration. while the white-haired man usually didn't get involved with any form of alcohol, this occasion was most definitely exception-worthy. "you made y/n cum too, right?"
an offended glare is shot his way. "duh, two times."
"huh. surprised you could last."
as suguru pours their drinks into two fragile cups, gojo exhales, not bothered in the slightest by his jab. "dude, same.." he admits dreamily. "she was so fuckin' tight and warm.. and oh— fuck, her moans? heavenly.. 'can't believe i didn't bust after the first minute.."
geto gulps, trying his best to ignore the mental image his brain was producing from his dirty words. you can't blame him — both of you were smoking hot, and he was a simple man.
even now, he could already imagine what you both looked like; panting and moaning, skin-slapping so loud that it echoed through the whole room, how blissed out you'd look as gojo's cock split you in t—
satoru's playful sigh cuts through the tensing air. "who knows sugs, maybe you'll have another kind of stain to worry about next time we're over~"
he's never snapped out of a daydream so quickly. "don't even joke about that."
over the next hour, the two men sat manspread on the stained couch, taking leisure sips while recalling satoru's final moments as a virgin — suguru giving out his secret tips and tricks along the way.
maybe sometime, suguru could offer some.. hands-on learning instead.
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mlist! <- sugu.. how could u think abt ur bestie and his gf like that... tsk tsk tsk (if u enjoyed reblogs/comments r appreciated heheh)
© inmaki on tumblr. all rights reserved. do not cross-post, translate, copy in any way, etc.
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nkogneatho · 1 month
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can't stop thinking about king!gojo who is so strict and intimidating in his court. the whole kingdom is scared of him. when he walks in the room, the chatters immediately silence as if you could hear even a pin drop clearly. when he speaks, everyone holds their breath and only exhale when the king is done with his sentence. his voice is not loud or hoarse either. it's mellow and alluring. but people know behind that sugar laced voice, is someone who shows no mercy who does him wrong. people have seen him behead his enemies within five seconds in the conversation. he spares none. he is ruthless. but you...
you are his weakness. his queen. no one knows what happens behind the castle's door. no one knows how he gets on his knees, kissing up your ankle to your thigh as he slowly lifts your night gown. no one knows how he is pleading you to let him have a taste of you. kissing it and licking it. nobody knows how their ruthless king has your thighs choking him as he eats you. the same voice that sends shivers down everyone's spine is now begging you to make a mess on his face. if someone were to glance at your window, they'd see his pale face glistening in your juices in the candlelights, blood rushed to his nose and cheeks like he has taken an aphrodisiac. your hands tugging his white strands. you take your hand back before you pull too hard and hurt him but he yanks your wrist forward, placing them back on his head. he looks up at you, parting his face from your core.
"pull till you see tears in my eyes. it is an order."
fuck. king's order. what choice do you have despite following it.
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choso4u · 4 months
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Choso always, always gets horny whenever he sees you wearing pencil skirts. That stupid skirt perfectly hugging your ass is the star of the show and he couldn't take his eyes off it. He would ask you why you're wearing that skirt and you'd answer because it was your work ootd. And he just says okay and asks you to sit by him on the couch saying that he wants to hug you before you go to work.
But oh dear, it was supposed to be just a quick hug and a kiss was it? Then why is Choso's head buried between your legs eating your pussy out greedily? Lapping out your cunt like a starved man who haven't eaten for days, sucking your swollen clit hard cause he knows you're sensitive there. And all while looking up at you, enjoying the view of your fucked out face, mascara now running below your eyes cause you're crying cause it feels too fucking good.
"M'sorry baby, just one more. Give me one more." Is what he always says after you cum. But he has already said that four orgasms ago. You have already given up on trying to push him away, reasoning you have work to do. Because you like it don't you? And Choso knows that damn well.
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