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gothlcsan · 4 months

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ESEX ; JEONG YUNHO

PAIRING non!idol yunho + afab!reader

GENRE 18+ SMUT

SYNOPSIS when you convince your boyfriend, yunho to take time away from his game to please you, both of you forgetting to turn off his headset..

WORD COUNT 2790

WARNINGS implied shower sex, dubcon (reader crawls under yunho’s desk without him knowing), chokehold (reader receiving), biting, kissing, mentions of breeding, non detailed aftercare, no protection (use protection yall), let me know if there’s more to tag!

a/n my first fic of the new year! thank you to everyone who has stuck with me throughout the year and engaged with my writing and this account overall. 🥺 id love to start 2024 with the goal of making friendships on here and writing for others so if you could share this and send any requests my way, id absolutely love it so much. happy new year everyone! much love. 🩶

Ever since you had gotten your boyfriend, Yunho, the new Spider-man two game for his playstation, he’s been a bit too occupied. You never minded when Yunho would set away time to play his games, always having an unofficial schedule of doing your own work or hobbies while he games. However, it’s been two days and the game was slowly (but quickly) getting in the way of both your relationship and life itself. He’s barely eaten, slept, and you were more than positive that the only thing he did in the bathroom was to use the toilet meaning; he was in desperate need of a shower.

Knocking on his door, you popped just your head in, having to step inside fully with a sigh seeing his gaming headset on. He was most likely playing with his friends (mentally apologizing to their partners knowing exactly what they’re going through) tapping onto his shoulder to grab his attention. Yunho blatantly ignores you, rolling your eyes as you shook his shoulder saying his name again to rob his attention from the game. This ends up with him pausing the game finally, muttering to his friends that he had to deal with something, the group groaning saying to make it quick. Turning his head he gives an annoyed, “yes?”

“Don’t be mean, Yunho. I was trying to not interrupt and ask if you wanted anything to eat but you couldn’t hear me.”

“I’m not hungry.” He goes to put the headset back on, stopping him by placing it back down onto the desk.

“Yeah see I don’t believe that because you haven’t eaten in a few days and I’m starting to get annoyed.”

Lifting up a handful of empty candy wrappers, you glare at Yunho stating candy wasn’t a nutritional meal, a pout forming on his face as he turns his hand to let the wrappers fall back onto his desk. Luckily, he was smart enough not to argue with logic.

“I’m just asking, come eat, shower, and then if you’d like to go back to gaming, cool. I hate sounding like your mum.”

Yunho blushes, apologizing as he tells everyone he’ll be back later on, saving the game before closing out of it. Standing up he feels the ache of sitting for too long, his empty stomach growling loudly as he sheepishly grabs for your hand to walk to the kitchen with you.

“You smell,” you said with a laugh, all but being dragged into the kitchen where Yunho finished multiple bowls of rice and plates of meat. You were happy to see him finally eat properly, enjoying your warm stew as he grilled more meat for the two of you to share on the portable grill.

Finishing your meal, the two of you slouch into your seats, Yunho thanking you for the meal. You laugh at him, telling him it wasn’t a problem and you were happy that he ate. Yunho excuses himself to go shower, giving you a kiss against your forehead before lightly jogging towards the direction of the bathroom. Usually you’d be bothered by having to make dinner and then clean up solo but hearing the shower finally running after a few days, you’ll happily do the majority of the work.

Placing the last of the dried dishes into the cupboards, you turn around hearing the bathroom door opening, anticipating for Yunho to come back into the kitchen (most likely to show you he showered like a puppy.) As if on cue, Yunho comes out of the bathroom and back into the kitchen in a pair of black shorts and a lavender gray sweater, towel wrapped around his neck to protect his hair from dripping onto it. Giving him a tight hug around his waist, you bury your face into his chest, inhaling his clean scent before looking up at him with a huge grin.

“You smell so good. Thank you.”

“Thank you for taking care of me.” Yunho says as he leans down and plants a kiss against your lips, walking back towards his gaming room.

“I love you!”

“I love you too, dork.” You yell back, going to your shared room to grab clothes to take your own shower.

Several hours later, you hit the realization that Yunho was still gaming.

Swiping your phone screen down, you purse your lips, seeing it was already one in the morning and Yunho was yet in bed with you. Placing your phone down next to you, you grab the collar of the baggy shirt you stole from Yunho, taking an annoyed look down at your lingerie hiding underneath the baggy fabric. It felt like a bit of a waste, becoming slightly upset by it. Deciding you weren’t going to get upset or put beneath a game, you climb out of bed making your way down the small hallway into his gaming room. Of course when you twist the doorknob and push the door open, he was sitting at his desk, headset on as he yelled at his friends who were surely doing the same to him. Letting yourself in, you stand behind him for a while knowing that he was engrossed into the game, oblivious of the fact you were positioned right behind him.

“Yunho.”

Nothing.

You nudge him a bit, “Yunho?”

Nothing. If you were a snake, he’d be bitten eons ago.

Huffing you roll your eyes, gently bending onto the floor until your hands and knees touch the carpet. Quietly, you slowly and carefully crawl against the soft carpet to make your way under the desk from the side, thanking Yunho in your head for having pristine cable management. Not wanting to ponder on the level of embarrassment you would’ve had to face if you got stuck or unplugged a cord. He still hadn’t acknowledged your existence, shrugging as you situated yourself to be directly in front of his lap, taking a deep breath before reaching for his shorts. His knee jerks, knocking his knee against the underside of the desk as he feels a tug on the band of the shorts, surprised. Yunho leans back and looks down, flinching clearly spooked when he sees you tucked under him.

“When did you get there?” He asked, confused.

“No, not you, my girlfriend. Shut up.” Yunho hollers into the headset, covering his microphone with his hand.

“You once again didn’t answer me and haven’t even got to see me in my pretty new lingerie.” You feigned a pout, yanking his shorts down.

“Babe-,” He’s cut off by you wrapping your hand around the base of his cock, glaring at him.

“It’s the least you can do, Yunho. If you want to play your game so badly, do so, but I'm using you.” You spat, watching his eyes widen and roll back as you moved your fingers up the shaft, to compare size, the tips of your fingers nowhere near close to passing the tip. He lets out a breathy sigh flinching as he mumbles a suspiciously quick “nothing” into his headset, his head falling back as you leave multiple wet opened mouth kisses up the shaft stopping around the tip.

“Is that my shirt?”

You grin widely giggling as you give him a nod.

“Mhm, I know how hard you get from seeing me in your clothes.”

Yunho must’ve forgotten his headset audio was on, groaning out a low, “fuck,” as he moved to kick off his shorts. His dick laid heavy against his abdomen and stomach, smirking pleased at his expression. Someone was desperate. Placing your hand back around him, you shift your weight so you can easily lean forward, wrapping your lips around one of his balls. Taking it into your mouth and giving it a few suctions at different pressures, Yunho groans loudly, this time a hand reaching down to lock your head into place. The twinge of pain on your scalp makes you wet in between your legs, clenching around nothing as you hum contentedly. Dropping him from your mouth with a wet pop, you fight his grip on you long enough to look at him and smile, hoping to get exactly what you want.

“Take it off.”

Removing his grip from you, he pushes back just far enough from the desk to give you space to maneuver the shirt off yourself, exposing the revealing lingerie hidden underneath. Yunho breathes deeply through his nose, feeling suddenly embarrassed by his deep fixation on you, Yunho clearly content with your choice. The black sheer lace complimented your skin, his long slender fingers reaching down to hook underneath the shoulder strap, moving alongside it until he reached the back of it - - unhooking the bra to fall onto your lap in one smooth movement. Your boobs fall from the bra, blushing as he helps you to move onto his lap, not allowing you a second to process before his large mouth is wrapped around one of your nipples.

“Yunho.” You enthusiastically moan into his ear, wrapping your arms around the back of his neck allowing your fingers to intertwine with his hair. His tongue swipes across the erected bud as he uses his hand to squeeze your boob, pushing more than just the nipple into his ravenous mouth. Your mind becomes clouded as the hand around your boob slips down your stomach until it passes the band of your thong. Long, slender fingers moving suggestively up and then back down your slit before suddenly delving two into your pussy. Clenching around the digits, you whine into Yunho’s neck who hushes you down by praising you, moving just the tips of his fingers not yet thrusting.

“Want, more,” You slur looking down at his hand, giving him an inviting kiss against his jaw that immediately turned into a soft gasp from the sudden thrust of his fingers. They felt incredibly deep already, your head leaning back to rest on his armchair, moans flooding the room. Erotically wet squelching from his fingers pushing into you makes you blush profusely, begging him to quench the fiery desire for him. Fortunately due to the fact you two haven’t had sex in the days he’s spent gaming, Yunho was more than eager to do as you wished.

“Let’s take these off, ok?”

Yanking the thong off your body and throwing thoughtlessly somewhere on to the floor, Yunho helps you up so you're comfortably positioned bent over his desk. He fixes your legs open for easier access, kissing up from the shoulder blades to the crook of your neck, giving a playful bite before refocusing his attention. Wrapping a hand around the backside of your knee, Yunho lifts your leg up, his dick sinking into you with little to no resistance. Your eyes roll up in satisfaction, wrapping your fingers around the edge of his desk to hold yourself somewhat into place, sweet moans already starting to flow past your lips. With each thrust another round of erotic noises are ripped out of you, your thoughts cloudy as you begged Yunho to never stop. He wraps his free arm around your throat, bringing you up to his chest in a chokehold. The grip was tight but gentle enough not to bring you any harm, the additional pain making you clench around him hard.

“Please, please, please,” you begged.

“Please what, hm?”

Your face burns up suddenly embarrassed giving him nothing but breathy whines that held no context.

“I asked you a question, please what?” Yunho reiterated, his grip tightening around both the backside of your knee and around your throat.

“Please breed me, I miss you.”

The entirety of your body inflamed in an instant blush, Yunho smirking as he drops his chokehold on you. You gasped for air, groaning between pursed lips as you felt Yunho’s large hands wrapped around your hips. His thrusts became sloppy but enough to hit all the right places, picking up in pace making the skin around your ass and thighs brighten to a pink. Feeling him twitched whilst inside you made your head spin in circles, it was more than evident both of you were close to your orgasms, taking in large breaths continuously begging Yunho to cum in you. Yunho’s breath warmly fanning your ear as he spoke and the weight of him being pressed against you to do so as he didn’t once slow down his thrusts into you, he bites and tugs at your earlobe before letting go.

“Should I fill you up?”

“Please, Yunho, please-“

“You’d look so cute filled by me.” Yunho cut you off, not having to see him to hear the smirk in his voice.

“Want you, please, please?”

Your eyes hooded over as he laughed over your desperation, fucking into you at a vigorous pace until his legs began to convulse and tremble.

“Fuck,” is the last word you pick up before your head fuzzes completely over, spilling around Yunho’s dick. Quiet moans are pushed out of you as Yunho reaches his climax, warmth filling you up. He slowly begins to lessen his pace, pulling back until he is almost completely out of you before pushing himself back into you balls deep. He mumbles about feeling warm but you’re unable to coherently grasp what he was saying, whining as he pulls out, clenching around nothing already missing him. You can feel your shared arousal drip down your thighs, whining for a kiss, smiling as Yunho felt your head into place to give you a loving kiss. Not caring about the sweat or anything else for that matter, you climb on top of his desk, wrapping your arms around the back of his neck.

The two of you spend a few minutes kissing as a way to “catch your breath,” giggling as Yunho pulls away asking how you felt. Pondering on the question with a hum, you watch his face slowly begin to switch to worry.

“I’m teasing! It felt so good, I missed you badly.” You reassured him, giving him another reassuring kiss on the lips.

Yunho begins to say something but freezes, his eyes wide in panic as he rips off his headset, leaning over you as he exited out of his game and clicked on something else you didn’t recognize. Asking him what was wrong his body simoustanly flushes a deep red, his gaze bouncing between you and the monitor.

“The game wasn’t off,” he pauses, “or the chat.”

You raise an eyebrow. “The chat?”

Yunho groans, begging you to not get mad at him, so red you were scared he’d combust into flames. Asking him again what he was talking about, his sudden concern starting to freak you out.

“The chat, as in my friends in discord, who was on call with me when you came in, heard us.. you know.”

It was your turn to turn red. You hadn’t thought about checking on that before continuing on since the two of you both were equally in the moment, hiding behind your hands in embarrassment.

“Oh my god, Yu, hopefully they didn’t listen.”

“What if they did?”

You weren’t sure why that question made your cheeks flare up the way it had, in between your legs warming and growing wet with curiosity. What if they had? Would they have stayed on and listened? Did they take their headphones off and acted as if they heard nothing? Lastly, why did the idea of someone catching you two suddenly turning you on?

Those “what ifs” ran through your mind at such a speed that made you nauseous, Yunho reassuring you it was nothing, pressing gentle kisses across your jaw and up to your lips. You decided to let it fade from your mind not wanting to overthink something so silly, allowing Yunho to pick you up off his desk bridal style heading out of the bedroom and making his way down the hallway towards the bathroom to shower together.

Now, you and Yunho had forgotten all about the mishap by the time the two of you had round two and cleaned up in the shower. However, for poor Mingi who was slumped back in his gaming chair with his arm covering his face, he was living through the shame of listening to his best friend and his girlfriend have sex. Which isn’t even the worst part of the entire situation, the brute of his embarrassment lied in the fact he had shamelessly masturbated to them. This quickly became a secret he’d have to carry to his grave with him. Groaning as he cleaned himself up, turning off his pc, and never bringing the situation up to anyone, thankful as you two never brought it up either, deciding it was best for everyone if no one acted like it happened.

#gothlcsan #smut #kpop smut #fiction #ateez smut #ateez x reader #ateez yunho #yunho smut #jeong yunho #yunho x reader #dom yunho #dom ateez

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tlou-reid · 2 months

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Wine-Tainted Water ❤︎ Spencer Reid

from the river to the sea, palestine will be free 🇵🇸 READ: this account stands with palestine, and so— i require everyone who interacts to educate themselves, and support/donate. READ THESE; 1 and 2, HELP HERE, BOYCOTT. silence is complicity, do not scroll past this.

♡ SUMMARY: after a night out with their team, spencer and his lover take a bath together. based on one line of dress by taylor swift.

♡ WARNINGS: alcohol, reader and spencer are drunk, grossly cute fluff, not edited and in all lowercase

♡ NOTE: this is probably my favorite thing i've ever written

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

“i’m spilling wine in the bathtub. you kiss my face and we’re both drunk. everyone thinks that they know us. but they know nothing…”

you were too drunk to understand how the rest of the team didn’t see you and spencer sneak into the same uber. you were sure spencer would also question how you two got away with it, if it were something he was bothered to consider. but, right here with you, the rest of the team was the last thing on his mind.

despite his knees being pressed almost all the way to his chest and his arms being haphazardly thrown over the side of the tub, there was no other position he’d want to be in right now.

you were laughing at something he said—that much he knew. your face was scrunched up and your smile was probably the biggest he’d ever seen it. the alcohol cursing through your blood was definitely aiding in your laughter. you were always a giggly drunk, spencer realized.

not that he was any better. he wasn’t sure if he was more love drunk or alcohol drunk. the bar the team had visited was running a special on vodka cranberries, and he had definitely had a few too many. he wasn’t sloppy drunk or not in control of himself drunk, but he was the kind of drunk that made the tips of your fingers go numb.

he was trying to gauge where you are on that spectrum. you had stuck to wine, so you aren’t feeling as dizzy as he currently is, but you had a few more than him.

spencer quickly gave up on trying to pinpoint your location on this imaginary drunk scale he’d made up. he was too entranced by the words you were attempting to form. “spence!” you cheered, holding out the wine class he’d teased you for grabbing.

“what are you doing?” spencer said with a teasing smile as you made your way to his kitchen cabinet. “you still have that bottle of sangria?” you asked, with a much more stable tone than you had now. “yes?” spencer was clearly confused, “i thought you wanted to take a bath?” you laughed in reply, “there’s no law against having wine in the bathtub.” he couldn’t argue with that.

that was probably over an hour now. the water had run cold and the vanilla scented bubble bath you’d dumped in was starting to fade.

“another glass?” he questioned, taking your glass and reaching for the bottle you’d propped up against the side of the bathtub. “mhm!” you nodded, stretching out your legs a little bit. neither of you were comfortable per say, but the alcohol and love in the air was easily masking the joint pain you were starting to experience. squeezing into a tub with a man as tall as spencer was not an easy feat, but you were desperate to make it work.

“do you think anyone noticed?” spencer asked, referring to your hasty exit from the bar. “i dunno,” you mumbled as he handed the glass back to you, “i don’t really care either.” for some reason, your simple reply made spencer smile. he also didn’t care, he decided as soon as the words left your mouth.

“plus,” you started after taking a sip of your wine. spencer could tell you were about to ramble. it was a thing in your relationship. if one of you wasn’t rambling, the other definitely was. and you both listened to each other carefully, never invalidating or rushing them. it was nice to be with someone who talked like he did, spencer thought.

“even if they did, they don’t really know.” you emphasized. “like, they only really know work us, y’know?” spencer didn’t know. the team was his family and definitely knew more about him than simply who he was at work. with one quirk of an eyebrow, however, he was able to get you to explain your train of thought.

“see!” you gestured to his facial expression. as your body excitedly moved to show that your point had been proven, even if spencer was still confused, your almost full wine glass shook, sending red sangria into the bath water. spencer held back his laugh as you gently splashed it towards him. you took another sip, before continuing your explanation.

“i was very easily able to tell you didnt understand what i was saying. because we know each other. really know each other. so who cares if they think we’re dating? i mean i’ve seen parts of you no one else has, like i’ve seen your butthole, spencer. has anyone else on the team seen your butthole? exactly.”

spencer couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled over from his throat. you were speaking so passionately and so clearly about this, it was the most adorable thing he’d ever seen. he couldn’t tell if the warmth radiating through his chest was from the alcohol or from the way you existed in this space. he never wanted to leave this bathtub.

spencer couldn't help himself as he launched forward. the wine-tainted water that went flying over the side of the tub would be a problem for tomorrow. right now, all he was worried about was pressing a million and one kisses to the part of cheek that bubbled up when you smiled. he gently caressed your face as he moved closer to you. not even the pain in his back from his sudden jolt forward could slow him down.

you grip tighten on your wine glass, making sure it was secure in your hand as spencer moved. the bathroom acoustics made your fit of laughter sound as perfect as beethoven's third sympony to spencer. your giggles bounced off the wall, right into his heart as he kisses moved from your cheeks to being peppered around your entire face. his hands moved down to your sides, pulling you closer to him.

"spencer!" you squealed as his fingers wiggled against your sides. you could feel your grip on your glass loosening as he tickled you. "spencer! stop!" you laughed, using your feet to push against his thighs, effectively pushing him away. the bathroom was silent as you both came down from the giggle high you'd been on.

after another sip of wine, you spoke, "what was that for?" there was no malice behind your words. no accusatory tone or anger from his actions. you were smiling, basking in spencer's rare show of affection. he simply shrugged, "i just love you," he declared. you, once again, giggled at his words, "i love you too."

spencer sighed, holding up his hand to show you his pruning fingers. he was starting to sober up, so the cold of the bath water was beginning to effect him. "it might be time to get out, love." your bottom lip jutted out, expressing a disappointment that was far too dramatic for his simple sentiment. "don't wanna," you mumbled, pulling your glass to chug the rest of the wine before spencer made you get up.

spencer let out a laugh as you chugged, encouraging you to keep going. you finished the glass incredibly quickly. "i'm getting cold," he cooed, grabbing the empty glass and placing it on the floor, out of the way of where either of you would step out of the tub. "m'kay," you mumbled, not wanting spencer to suffer at your expense. spencer slow stood, not wanting to get any more water on the floor. he reached for the towel on the rack, dropping in on the floor, protecting your feet from where he overflowed the water earlier.

"stay here," he instructed before stepping out. he went to grab another towel. he quickly threw one around his waist, before reaching for the fluffiest one he could find. he returned to the side of the tub, leaving the towel to rest on the sink.

"ready?" he questioned, holding out his hand for you to take. in your drunken state, you were extremely grateful for his help to get you on your feet. he held onto you as you stepped over the wall of the bathtub, and didn't let go until you were standing stable. then, he reached for the towel, wrapping you up in it's warmth.

he rubbed his hands along the sides of your body, drying it to the best of his ability. the smudged makeup and goofy smile that painted your face had his heart racing.

"you ready?" he gestured to the door as he spoke. you nodded in response, pulling the towel tighter around your body. "i don't want to go to work on monday," you informed him as you walked the hallway to your room. "me neither," he agreed, reaching in his drawer for two oversized shirts. he slipped on a pair of boxers before moving to grab your comfiest pair of underwear.

you had made yourself comfortable on the edge of the bed, not wanting to wet where you or spencer would lay down. "legs up," he mumbled as he bent down. he slid the underwear up your legs, and helped you lift your butt up when he got to the top. once you were comfortable in them, he slipped on his shirt.

"arms up," you nodded at his words, instantly shooting them straight up in the air. as he slid the shirt over your arms, you spoke. "can we watch love is blind?" your voice sounded tired, despite the facade you were keeping of being wide awake. "yeah," he promised as he helped you lay down. once you were dressed and covered, he moved to the other side of the bed. he climbed in next to you, and you tried to ignore the way your head spun as he shifted to get comfortable.

"do you wanna watch the new one?" he asked. "mhm," you hummed. he pressed play on it, knowing you'd be asleep by the time the intro scene ended.

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toppersjeep · 7 months

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Part 1 Where Do We Go Now- Lando Norris X Reader

Masterlist

y/ngasly☑️:Another year around the sun with you. Max I love you more than anything in this world. This year you became a two time world champion I am so beyond proud of you. Thank you for loving me for who I am. And supporting me even though I don’t work for Red Bull. Max you are my friend I love you endlessly and can’t wait for our future together. Here’s to the new year - tagged maxverstappen1

Liked by 2 million

maxverstappen1☑️: The love of my life. I love you so much beautiful. So blessed to have you by my side these last four years. You are my lucky charm I don’t know what I’d do with you Y/N. Here’s to us and a new year!!

redbullracing ☑️: come be our reserve driver miss gasly 😉

landonorris☑️: reply to redbullracing: nope!! she’s ours and she’s the best you can’t take her ever.

landonorris☑️: I’m so single but thanks for taking care of my best friend max! Happy new year

pierregasly☑️: happy new year to you both

alexalbon☑️: second best couple

mclaren☑️: we love you not max just you 😁

y/ngasly☑️: reply to mclaren: love you guys more than max 🥰

maxverstappen1☑️: reply to y/ngasly: umm?? hello I’m right here as you replied

f1fan: I just know Lando is logged in to the mclaren account

landonorris☑️: reply to f1fan: 😁

y/nxmax4ever: FOUR YEARS??

maxfan33: max put a ring on her already

_______

Your POV

“So you excited for the first race” I said. “You know you could still join me at Red Bull” Max said. “Max I love you but I’m happy” I said. “I know you are just blue suits you better” Max said. “Hmmm okay let’s the going to the track” I said.

We drove to the track for the first race of the new season. I walked in with Max. As always the Netflix cameras were filming us.

“How was the break for the lovely power couple” the producers asked. “It was wonderful” I said. “Would be even better if she took the Red Bull deal” Max said I laughed. “Never” I said. “Alright this is me love you” Max said kissing me.

“Love you” I said giving him a kiss as he walked into the Red Bull paddock. “So you didn’t take the deal” the producers asked. “Personally I’m a McLaren girl so” I said with a smile. “Y/N” Lando yelled from the McLaren paddock.

“Lan” I said running over and hugging him. “I missed my best friend so much” Lando said. “I missed you too Lan” I said. “Got some good strategies for me” Lando said sitting beside me. I opened up my laptop. “Yes I do so please pay attention” I said.

“Alright I’m listening I promise” Lando said with a smile. “Okay good let me pull up the last stats” I said. “You organize everything huh” Lando asked. “It’s better to be organized Lan” I said.

Later…

Lando was in P2 of this race. Max was in P1. I was trying to figure out a good strategy for him. People always thought I’d favor Max over Lando. But when it came to racing. Lando was top priority to me.

I love Max I do. But I’m not working for Red Bull. And I’m here to make sure Lando comes out on top.

“Lando the gap to Max is 1.8 seconds now” I said. “There’s one lap left do you think I have time to pass” Lando said over the radio. “The team doesn’t wanna risk the position Lando” I said. Zak nodded. “What do you think though Y/N” Lando asked.

“Lan P2 is great and Oscar is P4 we will have good points” I said he sighed. “…okay Y/N that’s fine then love” Lando said. “Love Lando” I said he laughed. “I’m sorry.. okay so how was that” Lando said.

He crossed the finish line in P2.

“P2 Lando congratulations that’s major points and a podium” I said smiling. “Thank you so much Y/N great strategy today” Lando said. “Great race Lan we are proud of you” I said. “Next time we get that P1 Y/N” Lando said.

“Definitely Lando your day is coming I know that” I said. “I couldn’t do it without you thank you for being here” Lando said.

We then went over to Lando. I hugged him.

“Good job” I said. “You had the best idea” Lando said. “I am pretty great aren’t I” I said. “You are indeed” Lando said. “Oscar great race” I said hugging him. “I might need your help too” Oscar said. “Nope she’s all mine” Lando said.

I then saw Max looking over at me.

“Go get him” Lando said. “Yeah go be all cute together” Oscar said. I ran over and hugged Max. He picked me up and spun me around. “My lucky charm” Max said I kissed him. “Am I” I said.

“You are always my lucky charm” Max said. “I love you” I said kissing his cheek. “I love you more” Max said. “I gotta go with my team but I’m proud of you” I said. “I’ll see you after” Max said.

After all the celebrating. Max and I went back to our apartment to enjoy the rest of the evening.

“Would you stop cleaning” Max said picking me up. “Max I gotta before we leave again” I said he set me down on the couch. “No no not tonight” Max said. “Your so mean” I said he bent down and kissed me.

“You look good in a Red Bull shirt” Max said. “Tell anyone and I’ll steal your tires” I said. “Who’s gonna help you do that” Max said. “Roscoe I’ll have you know I’m his favorite” I said. “So if anything goes missing it was you and Ros” Max said.

“Mmmh” I said. “So what do you want to do and don’t say cleaning” Max said. “I actually wanna talk to you about something” I said. “What’s up” Max said. “Do you think we’d ever get married” I said he sat up. “I don’t know” Max said.

“We’ve just been together for four years I mean I want a future with you” I said. “I just don’t know” Max said. “Max.. you’ve known that I want to get married and have kids” I said. “But we are so young” Max said. “Can you just answer the question would you marry me” I said.

“Y/N… I

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vaguely-concerned · 17 days

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I wanted to write out a more condensed version of the Garashir thoughts I accumulated through my read of a stitch in time, because it really is driving me slightly nuts. so here we go!

I think my basic takeaway is something like: if you look at what's actually on the page as dialogue and not just the story garak tells himself internally of what has happened between them (which is basically 'I've fucked up somehow and I don't know how or why but something's broken here and I messed it up; I have nothing left of interest to offer him', pretty clearly going over it in his head like he would trying to figure out what he did wrong when tain locked him in a closet as a child), you kind of get the feeling that julian doesn't know what to do with the way garak flinches away from him whenever he tries to get closer or offer help. (which like. not for nothing but that's actually the dynamic between garak and mila too, but with garak's role switched to the mostly-resigned seeker of contact rather than the flincher-away. we all know garak’s daddy issues but I think the mommy issues at work are doing some gulf stream shit under the surface as well lol.) so julian starts hesitating in seeking out contact in the first place, nevermind asking him for anything more when garak's also clearly falling apart mentally and seems unreachable in the first place. and Julian also doesn't want to mess this up and make something already fraught and painful even worse; he still wants to help! he always wants to help, that’s just who he is, he keeps trying through the whole book. and when garak mostly-gently but reflexively and firmly rebuffs him each time he tries… after a while it seems like he doesn't think he's welcome, or that he's imposing and garak doesn't really want him there — that he's just humoring him or something when he does let him in, just like garak was so afraid palandine was doing with him in the beginning. it’s only in the final scene between them that garak invites him in and asks for help on his own initiative.

“I’m pleased you stopped by”/”No, you’re not,” he said quietly. ‘I really won’t take up any more of your time’. “You see, this is so difficult, Garak. I know what a private person you are, and how you detest people meddling in your affairs….”. “Your holosuite program. The one that allows me to visit the traumas of my childhood.”/“I hesitate to suggest this, remembering how you reacted the last time … but, yes, I feel it could make a difference,” the Doctor gamely admitted. (Julian I love you so much. Eternal optimist hours. Keep it up it’s going to get you spectacularly laid if you just get on that shuttle to Cardassia.) All these moments do not read to me as someone who has no interest in continuing or deepening this relationship (maybe the opposite, in fact), it gives me more the sense of someone who feels he keeps putting his foot in his mouth and making the damage worse no matter what he tries, and not knowing what else to do but to back off to save them both more pain. (he also needs help and support, but he’s not going to go ask it of someone who’s clearly in no position to give it (on account of visibly falling apart even more than usual). And also because the good doctor is such a hypocrite lol ‘of course you’re worth asking for and receiving help!! I’m just fine tho don’t worry about me *light is slowly dying in his eyes behind the smile as the seasons go on*’. Stiff upper lip to the point of psychological breakdown-off (cross-cultural, competitive))

and the most painful thing to me is that after their disastrous tea party in garak’s shop, at the very least, garak clearly realizes he's hurting julian by keeping him out (But as to the question of which group suffers the most…), and he desperately wants to stop hurting him but he just doesn't know how!!! he's never learned how to close the distance! he's been locked completely into himself by the way tain shaped him and doesn't know how to get out of the closet so to speak yet! ('...am I not. *supposed* to pretend to be functional and have no needs. is that not like. my entire job interpersonally. I am confused.') it’s something Tolan already observes in him and grieves over when he comes home from Bamarren, and the years since have uh not helped with that particular problem lol. for all he longs for it, intimacy is like a hot stove to him; he can’t help but reach out, and he can’t help but flinch away when he actually comes into contact with it. almost the worst part is that I think Julian can tell some of that too and sort of understands it/doesn't hold it against him, and it just makes it even sadder, somehow. they both move so carefully around each other through this, because even in the middle of all that they really do try to be kind to each other the best they know how and it fucks me up so bad. which makes it even crazier and more touching that all of asit is basically garak processing his shit until he can get to the last line honestly — 'You're always welcome, Doctor'. he pulled a full lizardly mr darcy in the post-apocalypse here, he got around to starting to fix himself at least partly to be in a place where he could be able to meet Julian in the ways he needs if he wants that from him. And that drives me utterly insane thanks for asking!!! WILD BOOK COMPLETELY UNHINGED 300+ PAGE DECLARATION OF LOVE AND INTIMACY WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL

(this post started life as a tag ramble under @spocks-kaathyra‘s wonderful post about Julian’s side of it over here, but — as I’m sure you'll be astonished to learn at this point — I found I somehow had even more things to say, my neurons boileth over perpetually and it seems I just have to live with that)

#garashir #star trek #star trek ds9 #a stitch in time #asit #ds9 #julian bashir #elim garak #ds9 meta #I suspect I will have to write fiction about it to completely exorcise this particular hell from my mind (that is often the way for me)#but at least I can let out some steam to lower the pressure within my skull in the meantime lol

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viridianevergarden · 2 months

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This again. I just want to break down my thoughts here so bear with me.

(I did the math and calculated ~ 7.9k people voted that 55%) 💀

First of all,

Elain doesn’t just enjoy gardening for the aesthetic, but rather for the fruits of her labor through hard work. Spring Court’s flowers and nature are only in bloom by magic (The High Lord’s). Not work. Not labor. But rather for convenience and aesthetics (to embody the very domain that one, being Tamlin, High Lord of the SC, resides in). That, to me, goes against Elain’s very enjoyment of the craft of her gardening.

Couple that with the fact that she has completely neglected using those gloves that Lucien gave her. She put them down after they were gifted to her, not even bothering to look at them as if she didn’t care for them. She doesn’t seek protection from the labor of her craft. She doesn’t want to make it easier. She enjoys the challenge. I think Feyre’s perspective on that made it clear.

And again, why would Elain in her right mind willingly go to be with her younger sister’s abusive ex? Why would she? I’m pretty sure she is well aware of what transpired between the two. That she is aware of Tamlin’s actions. Especially when he is partially, if not entirely, responsible for her life quite literally being turned upside down. Having her mortality stripped from her and her love and happiness (or simply content) gone along with it. If she is so visibly uncomfortable with Lucien, who was an accomplice, I’d imagine she would also hold animosity or discomfort for Tamlin tenfold.

Secondly,

Regarding mating bonds being rare: This is a story that encompasses a main group of protagonists. 3’s are SJM’s specialty. Just because 3 brothers may get with 3 sisters does not automatically mean that mating bonds aren’t rare. As a fae romance series with mating bonds clearly being a significant staple throughout, we will encounter mating bonds. Especially with our protagonists. That just seems like logic to me. Even then, it’s been stated and shown time and again that not every mating bond works or is positive. That just because two individuals have a bond doesn’t mean they’ll have good chemistry.

Also take into account that our dear Inner Circle is not the entire continent of Prythian. The Inner Circle does not equal the entire population. So therefore, a small group of mated individuals ≠ a common occurrence.

What’s wrong with the storyline matching up to have a 3:3? Is the perfectionism so wrong? I think that the phrase “too perfect” should be replaced with “complete/completion”. One last brother to one last sister is the remaining piece of the puzzle. Yes, you can argue that the cliche of 3:3 is boring or too simple but this is SJM’s world. She is a cliche author. She always has been.

Lastly,

I believe that Tamlin has had his redemption arc. If you want to call it that at least. In my opinion, he doesn’t need one. His prime arc is over. The series is way bigger than just Tamlin now. I simply see no reason as to why SJM should take more time for Tamlin , who arguably has done more than enough, rather than anything else. I feel like it’d be a backward progression.

Not every character has to be redeemed.

Not every character should be able to find peace or become good after selfish or morally questionable acts.

Not every character calls for major development.

To me, it’s just bad writing to redeem and develop every single character.

Even then, Tamlin is a well written character. He doesn’t need more depth. (I think this post alone proves that people don’t understand him already). He doesn’t need Elain to come in and “fix him”. No one can. No one but Tamlin himself. And we see that if anything, he’s wasting away rather than trying to help himself. He’s wallowing in his grief, anger, and hatred. Be it for others -like Rhys- or himself. It’s on him. Hell, even Rhys tried to help him. Yet he remains unmoving. That is Tamlin’s choice. Elain shouldn’t need to be his catalyst for change. He should.

To Conclude,

I see no logical reason again as to why people think this is a possibility. It just seems like a terrible writing choice for the story of ACOTAR. Of course, SJM can indeed surprise us. She wields the mighty pen after all. But then again, why would she turn around and completely dismiss 4 books of chemistry with a certain shadowsinger just to pitch our third sister with someone like Tamlin or Lucien? If she had planned to do so before, why would there be 4 books worth of obvious chemistry? It’d be a waste. If she has planned or plans to have Elain go with Lucien or Tamlin, why hasn’t she written any semblance of true chemistry between them? If Elain should allegedly have a balance with Tamlin or Lucien, why isn’t there any chemistry? All I’ve seen from Elain is obvious discomfort.

“I thought it was obvious…” - SJM

I could write more about Lucien and Elain’s dynamic but I think that is a whole different matter that doesn’t pertain to the current topic so I’ll leave this here. Thanks for coming to my ted talk.

#acotar #elain archeron #pro elain #tamlin #elriel #pro elriel #The math ain’t mathing here man #Let Elain stay in the NC where she WANTS to be #She owes Tamlin nothing #no one does #Let Elain garden in peace with Azriel by her side #a court of thorns and roses

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thewalkingwillowtree · 9 months

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Safe Haven

Series Part Listing Found Here

Neteyam x Original Na'vi Female Character

Summery: Seeking refuge, Xilä and her father venture to the lands of the Omatikaya clan, in the hopes that the Toruk Makto would be generous in allowing them to stay. This is her story about not only finding her strength, but finding love.

Warning: This story contains smut, violence & abuse (please don't read if these topics will affect you)

Some characters have been aged up. Neteyam in particular is 23.

Xilä is my own creation.

Part 10 - Red

A brush of hair tickled the tip of Xilä's nose. Unconsciously, she sniffed and shifted away from it, snuggling closer to the wall of warmth in front of her. Bleary eyes blinking open to the span of a chiselled blue chest, she felt the uncomfortable sensation of having a full bladder.

“Mmm-Tey,” she groggily mumbled, stretching out her legs with a sleepy yawn. “Teyam,” she tried again, when she failed to squirm out of his arms.

Lifting her head to take account of their position, she slumped back with a sleepy smile.

She was completely locked in her lover’s embrace. Both laid on their sides, fronts so flushed with each other, she could feel the outline of him poking her through his loincloth.

Her head was cocooned on his right bicep, face a mere inches from a pectoral, while his other arm draped across her waist, hand tucked inside her top, fingers spanning the width of her back.

“Teeeeyam. Wake up, handsome,” she sang, tilting her head to run her nose under his jaw.

He shifted with a little groan. “It’s still early, baby. Go back to sleep,” he grumbled over the top of her head- voice rough with sleep as he slipped a knee between her thighs.

She hissed when he pressed against her bladder. “I have to pee,” she whined, trying to break free again. “Neteyam!” she berated, nipping the skin of his neck.

After a few more failed attempts, she finally made her break for it, scrambling to climb over his massive frame and out of the room.

Neteyam was much more awake when she returned. He had turned on her little lamp- its light bathing the room in a soft glow as he sat cross legged on her bed. In front of him was a spread of mismatched breakfast items.

“What are you eating?” she giggled, slumping her way over to nestle in the well of his legs with her knees tucked to her chest.

“I raided Salveen’s stock for some breakfast. Did you have dinner last night?” he asked. “I think I forgot to have,” he mumbled over a mouthful as he offered her a bite of his.

She shook her head in response to his question and took a big bite of the loaf slice in his hand, cheeks puffy as she chewed.

They ate in silence, feasting on sweetened seed cakes, leftover hexapede stew, slices of Xi's famous loaf and a couple of almost ripe berries.

Feeling full, she fed him her last half of a seed cake, giggling when he playfully nipped her fingertips in the process.

“I’m sorry about last night,” Xi eventually said, breaking the long comfortable silence.

“Don’t you dare,” he said, cutting her off. He twisted her sideways and tilted her chin up. “You have no reason to apologize, alright? None.”

She nodded mutely with a saddened frown, so he kissed it, smoothing away the creases on her forehead with a thumb before kissing the pout off her lips.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he murmured gently. “Was it- was it the one with your mother again?”

“Yes,” she admitted, laying her temple on his shoulder, accepting the hand he gave her to fiddle with. “It was the one about the night she left.”

“Sal and Jxo said you had one the night before as well….do you know if something triggered them?”

A fleeting flash of her father’s face popped in her mind- his ominous threat to take them back to Li’ona causing the meal she just ate to swirl uncomfortably.

It was on the tip of her tongue to spill everything to Neteyam but she knew how he’d react, so she had to ease the truth out carefully.

“Um…I ah…” she mumbled, switching her gaze from his face to his fingers she’d been fidgeting with.

However as she prepared herself to admit the truth, a gruff clearing of a throat interrupted what she was about to say.

“You two better be fucking clothed,” Jxo’s voice echoed from the other side of the curtain. “I’m coming in!” he yelled, giving them no time to have even made themselves decent even if they already were.

When Jxo pulled aside the privacy curtain, he paused at the sight of their cuddled position, sending a squinted glare over the top of her head. “Alright, get out,” he said simply.

“Jxo!” she chidded, but Neteyam was already nodding like he expected Jxo’s reaction as he shifted her off his lap.

He kissed her jaw and whispered a quick, “I love you” and “see you later” into her skin, before he was standing tall again to walk right out.

Jxo regarded Xilä for a few seconds. “Why don’t you get cleaned up and we go for a walk?” he suggested in what she considered his gentle tone of voice.

Walking through Home Camp while barely anyone else was up, felt surreal. There was a peaceful feeling to the village. Tents were lighting up slowly, one by one as their inhibitors awoke to prepare for the day ahead.

“How are you, kid?” Jxo asked when they strolled past a tent where a fussing baby was heard.

“I’m good, Jxo. Really good,” she smiled.

“Even after last night?” he asked, referring to her nightmare.

“Yes. I’m getting better at not letting them get to me,” she said proudly.

“Good……..” After a long beat, he said, “Your skxawng boyfriend asked for Sal and my’s blessing last night.”

Xi’s head flicked over to him in surprise, a massive, grin growing on her face. “He did?” she asked, practically swooning.

“Mhm….You really like him, huh?” he asked.

“No,” she said truthfully. “I love him.”

Jxo stopped their pace. He stared out at the herd of grazing direhorses they had just approached and leaned on the enclosure’s fence- arms folded as he gave her his full attention.

“Are you sure this is something you want Xi? I get that you love him, but I want to make sure this is your decision and that you’re not being persuaded or pressured. Being the Chief’s eldest, there are a lot of expectations of him- has he even told you the whole truth on the topic?”

Xilä’s grin didn’t drop for a second. “So Norm taught me something pretty cool the other day- It’s a lot and I’m still learning the names of everything but… Apparently there's an entire universe out there, beyond Pandora. Stars, planets, galaxies. Some that haven’t even been discovered yet. It’s absolutely incredible.”

Jxo listened intently.

“My point is…out of everyone, out of everything in existence….Neteyam Sully makes me feel like I’m the most important one of them all…and I have never felt that way before. Not once.”

Xilä walked over and leaned her back on the fence as well. “Jxo. Please know, he’s never pressured me or persuaded me into this…and yes, he has told me everything- about the council and their stupid ultimatum,” she huffed. “I’m not doing this because of that, just so you know.”

Tugging on Jxo’s arm, she continued, “I never knew much about love, Jxo. But I’ve seen the way you and Sal are together.…..I've always wanted that...I never thought I’d ever have a chance at it. I love Neteyam, and he makes me feel so stupidly happy, so safe, and so loved….. I’m sure about this decision Jxo, more than anything.”

Jxo frowned at the change in her voice, the emotions poking through. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, tucking her in for a hug she eagerly returned. “Looks like I’m getting another idiot son in law,” he grumbled jokingly.

She giggled. “You know you like him, Jxo,” she teased. “You’re just pretending you don’t like him because you are being protective- over me.” She looked up at him with glistening eyes. “Thank you, for caring,” she said earnestly. “You are the best father I know.”

He gave her a wobbly smile. “Yeah well, you’re my kid. Of course I care.” He cleared his throat. “I’m not looking forward to when you have to move out,” he admitted. “But, I’ll make sure you have the nicest shit for when you do. I’ll have my guys start working on the beams for the tent and….and I’ll- I’ll craft you the grandest-” He couldn’t finish his sentence.

“Aw Jxo,” Xi cooed, hugging him tighter.

They stayed wrapped up in their embrace for a few more minutes before they were suddenly interrupted.

“Well ain’t this sweet,” a voice drawled out, barging in on their sweet moment.

Xilä's blood ran cold, body turned tense. Jxo released her and stood to his full height as he regarded T'shteyo. “Can I help you with something?” he asked, hands on his hips under the guise of checking his dagger.

“Came to have a word with my daughter, but I see she’s gone and got herself a new dad-dy. That's what the blood demons call it, right?”

Xi gripped Jxo’s forearm. “Jxo, let’s go,” she pleaded, eyes darting around for anyone nearby.

“We need to talk, Xilä.” T'shteyo’s stern tone and icy glare had her rooted to the spot.

The elder stepped in front of her blocking his view. “You’ve got nothing to fucking say to her. Get gone.”

“Looks like you need to learn your place, old man,” T'shteyo threatened as he took a step forward.

However a group of chatting Na’vi’s who had just rounded the bend, stumbled upon them, interrupting the tense moment- fishermen who were heading out for the day.

“Everything okay here, Jxo? Xi?” It was Yalnïk- D’avi’s husband and Jxo’s son in law. His grip tightened on his bow as he took in the stand off.

“Everything is fine, son,” Jxo said, not taking his glare off of the Li’ona male. “T'shteyo here, was just leaving. Right?”

Xilä’s father smiled easily, his eyes jumped from Jxo who’s hand lingered on his knife, to the group of intimidating fishermen, sharpening their suspicious glares.

“Right,” he spat in faux agreement before turning to stalk away, leaving Xi to release a breath of relief.

All warriors were gathered in a clearing on the east side of the village. They all listened with rapt attention as Neteyam and the clan’s second in command addressed them.

“Alright that’s it for now. Let’s just recap real quick…For the next moon cycle, teams four and ten are switching with three and six for the night shifts… New trainees will be integrating soon after the upcoming Iknimaya ceremony. That being said, teams! This is a reminder we do not condone hazing.” Neteyam sent a pointed glare to his brother amidst the crowd.

Lo’ak gave him a “who, me?” look and a mischievous smirk.

“We’ve had two breaches of Palulukans this week alone because of slacking off. It’s mating season, so they are even more vicious and unpredictable. If you are not taking your patrols seriously you will be stripped of your position, that is not a warning it is a fact.

And lastly all communication devices are due for an upgrade. Please visit the labs as soon as you can and one of the technicians there will assist you. This is a requirement and not a suggestion. Any questions?”

A few members raised their hands. In quick succession, between Neteyam and Gwuyle they were able to respond to all concerns before dismissing the warriors.

“Leati,” Neteyam called to the woman who was standing nearby. “A moment, please?”

Leati glanced at the two women beside her with a smirk before flirtatiously prowling towards him. “Of course Nete,” she practically purred loud enough for her friends to hear. “I’ll see you guys later,” she told them.

Neteyam suppressed an eye roll and walked them a few feet away from the dispersing crowd.

“Before you say anything, I want to apologize for yesterday. You had an emergency with your student and I was not being very considerate. And you were right, Gwuyle was just as good as you are.”

“Leati-”

“We passed by the way. My team. We got a perfect score,” she said, smiling so wide and batting her lashes so fast that Neteyam felt slightly dizzy. “I wish you were there though. It would have been even better,” she purred, sauntering closer to him.

“Leati,” he said again, a bit sterner this time.

She stepped back and looked down slightly annoyed before fixing him with a hurt glare. “I know what you’re here to say. You choose her, don't you? Xilä.”

“You had no right telling her we were together. None. When did we ever discuss that?”

She folded her arms in defence. “We didn’t, no. But I just thought, since-”

“But nothing, Leati! We. You and me? We are colleagues. Teammates. That’s it. I’m sorry if you were told otherwise, but it’s on you for believing them. I have no intention of playing games with the council anymore. I suggest you do the same.”

“That’s not fair. We-”

“Tough!” he said, cutting her off again. “What’s not fair is how you went about it, Leati….You should have come to me, not her…..You were cruel, Leati. Unnecessarily cruel,” he hissed.

Her eyes widened in shock at his fury towards her. “I’m sorry, Neteyam.” She reached out to rub his bicep. “Please don’t hate me.”

He stepped back, avoiding her touch. “I don’t, but you hurt the woman I love and I won’t stand for it.”

She flinched when he said the word love.

“I thought we’d be good together…I thought-”

“Do you even like me?” he questioned. “Do you even know me?”

She breathed out a laugh as if he were being absurd. “Of course I like you. And I’ve known you all my life, Neteyam. Why can’t you just see me?” she snapped. “I’m the one who’s always been there!”

“What do you like about me,” he asked frankly.

“W-what?”

“What. Do you like, about me?” he enunciated again, his frustration peaking through.

“You- well you’re a good leader and you’re quite fit- better looking than most males.”

He shook his head as if feeling sorry for her.

“And you think that warrants a future with me? You don’t want me, Leati. You want the title. The status, right? The attention? You’re an ambitious woman, which is great. But think about it, you know you only see me as a stepping stone to your next goal- another challenge to achieve….and then what?”

She swallowed, looking torn as she clearly absorbed his words. “But, we’d be the perfect couple, Nete. Everyone sees it. Even the council agrees! You’re the only one fighting this!”

“Sure, from the outside it would sure seem like we’d be perfect for each other,” he agreed. “But there is no connection between us Leati, we both know that. Can you honestly say, at the end of the day that you see a forever with me? One where you don’t wake up a year later and instantly regret everything. Because if you do, then you need to stop lying to yourself.”

“Oh Eywa,” she hushed out, face crumpling in realization. “I’m sorry Neteyam,” she whispered automatically.

“No you’re not,” he said, reading her all too well. “Not yet at least…but maybe one day.” He gave her one last disappointed look before walking off. “Take care, Leati.”

Lo’ak was waiting for him a couple feet away. When Neteyam caught up to him, their steps matched as they made their way out of the forest.

“So I hear congratulations are in order,” Lo’ak teased. “I came to tell you myself last night, but you weren’t home,” he said, glancing at his brother with a knowing smirk.

Neteyam shook his head. “I swear our family can’t keep a secret for shit. Who was it, Kiri or Spider?”

“Both,” he laughed. “And don’t worry, I know we’re keeping it on the down low for now… So? How’s it feel?” he asked out of curiosity.

At the thought of his gorgeous wife to be, an uncontrollable grin broke out on Neteyam’s face- he and his brother’s spat from yesterday instantly being forgotten.

“Shit. That good, huh?” Lo’ak teased, grinning along as well. “How’d Leati take it? I assume that’s what you two were talking about?”

Neteyam side-eyed his brother. “How do you know about that?”

Lo’ak shrugged easily and swung an arm around him. “I know everything, big brother,” he said, shaking him a little.

It was a week later and Xilä's nerves began to get the best of her.

“Why are you so fidgety dear? Did you not sleep well? Do you want some tea? Should I send for the healer? You know the talk now is that the Purple Fever season is already here. My friend said her granddaughter’s classmate had it two weeks ago! Can you believe it? Bah! Here let me see your tail, Xi. Goodness, you look like you’re about to be sick!”

Xi shared a slightly nauseous but amused smile with Jxo over the table as his wife fretted over her.

“She’s fine darling, let the dear finish her breakfast,” the elder said as he chewed on the soft sari cakes and tender meat she and Salveen had slaved over- the man, while an incredible woodworker, could not cook to save his life.

“I am fine, Salveen. Honest. It’s just, Neteyam is taking me on my final ikran flying lesson this morning and I am a bit anxious is all.”

“Ah…Yes, ikrans can be a bit tricky. But they are majestic beasts. What is it that has you nervous though? He said you have been excelling in your lessons.”

“My fear of flying, mostly...I mean I’m over it- almost… Neteyam's great at helping me face my fears. My first two weeks of lessons alone he had me jumping off cliffs,” she said, making a face of disapproval. “It's just the rites I'm a bit worried about.”

Salveen patted her hand sympathetically. “It’s normal to be nervous darling. The good thing is, you're going to be in very capable hands. That boy won’t let anything happen to you,” she assured with the flick of a hand as she got to her feet to dish out a second helping of food. “Right, Jxo?”

Jxo nodded in agreement, accepting his seconds without a fuss.

“Now eat up and get going before he sends a search party.”

Both Neteyam and Xi agreed it would be easier to meet at the ikran enclosures that morning since Neteyam would be coming in straight from a mid morning patrol shift.

Walking through the bustling encampment with a lot more confidence than her first time, Xi waved to a few familiar faces. She could already hear the loud cries and screeches of the mountain beasts as she neared the enclosures.

Before she could make it there however, a figure had her faltering in her tracks. Looking cruel and terrifying as ever, her father beckoned her over to his spot where he sat, shaded by a large sprouted plant.

Glancing around to make sure there were a few people within eye shot, Xi unwillingly walked over, making sure to keep him at a wide berth.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said, displeased.

“I haven’t,” she lied in a steady voice.

The truth was she had. He had been popping up more and more lately, trying to have a word with her, but thankfully someone had always been with her at the time.

She’d managed to dodge him a total of over six times in a week without anyone noticing. And after her last encounter with him, she had begged Jxo not to say anything to Neteyam.

Xi was truly going to tell him everything- there just never seemed to be the right moment.

“I’ve been busy with my lessons.”

“Oh yeah? With that boy? JakeSully’s bastard?”

“His name is Neteyam,” she snapped, unable to contain her upsetness.

A cold smile curled on the Li’ona male’s face. “You’re sweet on him,” he taunted.

Xi didn’t answer.

“Listen. You remember our conversation? That means I don’t want you getting too comfortable here anymore. This is not our home. These are not our people-”

“But we’ve been here for so long now, how-!”

“The moment Su’ko slips up, we are going back to Li’ona!” he hissed, cutting her off. “I told you already we are not staying here. I let you have your fun…but it’s time we get back.”

“Father, there is nothing there for us. You said-”

“I know what I said!” he seethed. “But I am Olo'eyktan! Not some trainee youngling as they so like to treat me here! I will not settle for less. I have had enough of this forest and its fucking inhibitors!”

He began to wrap an armoured band tightly around his forearm. “I didn’t have too, but I’m being kind enough to keep you informed. I lost contact with my insider, so I need you to be ready at a moment’s notice now, since there's another plan in the works. If Su’ko takes the bait, there won't be bloodshed. We’ll be back before you know it. I want none of your whining and back talk either. Understood?”

Her father was a madman she thought- insane. She was not leaving this clan. She had already accepted it as her home. There were people who cared for her here, who she cared for in turn too- the man she loved was here. She refused to return to living in the shadows of a grave.

“I am not going,” she declared. “I have a life here now. I will not be leaving with you.”

“You say that as if you have a choice,” he said amused. “I need you in order to get back. It’s non negotiable.”

“I don’t care!” she snapped hysterically. “I am not going with you!”

His cold eyes flickered to hers, sending a fearful chill down her spine.

“I am trying to be kind here Xilä, but you are making it very difficult. You think JakeSully wants us here? You think people like us belong here?! You think because you found yourself a new mommy and daddy to play happy little family with, that they’ll want you forever? You’re new. A shiny toy they’ll soon forget. Because you are nothing! Worthless! You still belong to me brat- ties still as intact as the day you were born and I say you are going! So help me I will drag you back kicking and screaming if I have to!” he was on his feet now, chest heaving as he spat hurtful words.

Fury boiled in her veins like never before and Xilä shook as uncontrollable tears pooled in her eyes. “I. Said. NO!” she hissed out, palms balled into fists. “Do you understand me?! I am not going! And you’re wrong. I am not worthless. I am not nothing! And you don’t. Own. Me. Anymore.”

Xilä turned to walk away but her father was faster.

His hand shot out and clamped her wrist in a vice-like hold, bodily moving her so that his towering frame blocked her from prying eyes.

“You little bitch,” he seethed. “Did I say you could walk away?”

“N-no,” she stuttered, nervous by his proximity, frantic eyes trying to see around him. “I’m late for my lesson, father. May I please leave?” she pleaded, desperately trying to do damage control- she knew what he was capable of.

His grip tightened causing her to wince in pain. “We haven’t finished our conversion. What the fuck kind of lessons are they teaching you?”

“Please, let me go,” she begged, trying to get him to loosen his hold.

“You think just because they teach you to wield a bow or jump off a cliff and breathe the spirit of Eywa or what ever fuck they call it, you what? You think you’re tough shit now? I am your fucking father, I will not be disrespected.”

Mustering her strength, she shot him a loathsome glare. “You are hurting me. Let. Go.” she hissed through clenched teeth.

“Little girl, you are testing my patience. I see I’m going to have to break you all over again.” She cried out when her wrist was twisted.

Laughter from nearby seemed to have reminded T'shteyo that they were out in the open. With a cynical grin and one last bruising squeeze, he roughly shoved her away from him, dropping his hold in the process.

She stumbled and scrambled to back away, trying to create much needed distance.

“I shouldn’t have let you have your fun it seems. You’re changing Xilä. I don’t like it. It doesn’t suit you.”

“I think it suits me fine,” she said through quivering lips. Her head spun as she felt her body begin to shut down.

Xi turned and sprinted when she saw his nose flare at her snide comment. Disorientated, she cradled her burning wrist and headed in the opposite direction of the ikran enclosures- blindly returning right back to her home tent.

Anxiety was crippling her in the moment. She was completely shaken by her encounter with her father. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but they did not fall.

Damn him. Damn her father. She couldn’t even cry like a normal person half the time.

When she finally reached the safety of the tent, she flew inside, accidentally giving Salveen a bit of a scare with her abrupt arrival.

“Oh Great Mother!” the elder chuckled, holding her stitching to her chest, “You gave me a right fright! I thought- Oh…” Salveen’s ramble paused when she finally saw the state Xi was in.

“Xi. What- what has happened?” she asked, standing wide eyed at the petrified looking girl.

Xi shook her head, head tilting downward to hide her eyes. “It’s nothing Salveen,” she lied, still cradling her wrist, trying to hide the quickly forming bruise. “I don’t- I don’t feel so well. I think I'll just lay down for a bit,” she choked out, backing away from the approaching elder.

Face marred in extreme concern, Salveen stopped her advancing and nodded, nervously wringing her hands together. “Of course dear, of course....Is there anything I can do? Jxo has already left for the day, so if you’d like to talk about it or I can go get him-”

Xi shook her head again, looking up with a forced smile. “No thank you. I think resting should be enough.”

Backing away, she retreated behind the curtain divider, and instantly slumped onto her pile of bedding, hiding under a soft pelt.

A sob finally escaped her as she curled up into a ball.

Neteyam unharnessed his ikran and patted his beak affectionately. “It looks like our girl’s not going to show up today,” he told the beast. “Sorry Bud.”

He had been waiting for Xi, like they agreed, for a little over a half hour now and there had been no sign of her. Albeit a bit disappointed, he decided to go find her instead of leaving it be.

“Salveen-,” he said when he entered the tent, stopping short at her uncharacteristic glare. “Uh, is Xi here? She never showed up for our lesson.”

“She didn’t?” the elder questioned, her glare softening.

Turning to frown at the hanging Xilä was hidden behind, she said, “I think something is wrong then. I thought it was your fault. She wouldn’t talk to me, she just came back looking quite ill. I know she’s been nervous about tomorrow- but, but the same thing happened last week….”

Neteyam frowned as he too turned to stare at the hanging blocking his view.

“You should go talk to her. I will make myself scarce,” she suggested, fumbling to untangle herself from the mess of her latest project as she stood.

He made no objections, he hated putting her out of her way but he honestly preferred if they had the privacy.

She patted his shoulder gently. “I’ll stay nearby if you need me,” she soothed, before walking out of the tent.

Making his way over to Xi, he crouched before her sleeping, curled up position, frowning when he instantly spotted her tear stained cheeks.

“Xi,” he called softly, tucking her hair behind her ear, tracing down the line of her jaw with his knuckles.

She stirred and blinked up at him with a slightly puzzled smile, but yet obviously pleased to see him. “Hi, what are you doing here?” she asked in a slightly scratchy voice.

His lip quirked. “I should be asking you that. You never showed up for our lesson. Are you okay, sweetheart?” he asked, caressing her cheek. “Were you crying?”

Blanket falling to her waist as she quickly sat up, a horror struck expression crossed her face. “Neteyam, I am so, so sorry. I don’t- I can’t believe I forgot just like tha-”

“Hey, hey stop Xi. It’s fine. Salveen said you were ill?” His warm palm lifted to her cheek again and down her neck, checking for signs of a fever before his eyes began to scan her body. “Did something ha-”

Xi followed his gaze and saw that he was staring at her wrist. Yanking her hand back, she tucked it under the soft leather in her lap.

Neteyam tilted his head dangerously and Xi held her breath as she watched shifting emotions cross his face.

“What was that?” he asked in eerie calm.

“Nothing,” she lied foolishly.

“Then show me that it is nothing.”

Xi swallowed nervously. “It was an accident,” she whispered, avoiding his stare.

“Eyes, Xilä,” he demanded.

Meeting his narrowed gaze she bit her lip to hold herself from spewing the truth.

“You’re lying to me,” he said, sounding disappointed.

Pulling the cloth on her lap backwards, he exposed her hidden hand. He pursed his lips and gently thumbed at the ugly, angry bruise circling her small wrist- it looked painful.

“These are fucking finger marks, Xilä. A hand made this.”

Xilä could tell by the strain in his voice he was trying to control his fury.

“What I want to know is, who’s hand did this?” Neteyam knew- he knew it was her father but he still decided to ask.

“Neteyam….” she pleaded. “It’s just,” she blew out a frustrated breath. “It’s my fault. I made him angry. My father has this insane idea that we- he first said it the other day when-”

“The other day? When was that?” he frowned, cutting her off. “He spoke to you other times? Besides today?”

Xi nodded reluctantly. “….The first time was the day with all the Leati drama- nothing happened though!” she assured quickly. “He- he just wanted to talk…..and I was going to tell you, I promise I was!”

“Tell me what happened. Tell me everything.”

“Neteyam-”

“Xilä, please do not try and downplay this right now. I want to know everything that happened between the very first interaction to today when you came home with a fucking mangled looking wrist!” he seethed. “Every look he gave, every word he spoke, every hair on your head he touched!”

She hesitated, swallowing hard as the words evaded her.

His face softened at her expression. He drew her in for a soft kiss and quiet apology for his sudden temper. Leaning back he gave her an encouraging nudge by linking his pinkie with her index. “Xi, I need to know. Please.”

So she told him.

Everything.

From the uneasy feeling she had felt before her father had first approached her right after her conversation with Leati, to the early morning she was with Jxo- along with all the in between attempts, to that very morning when he had again threatened to take her back to Li’ona, thus ensuing her injured wrist when she stood up to him.

Neteyam was quiet the entire time she spoke. Not once did he interrupt, he was engaged as he took in every word, every emotion that flashed across her beautiful face.

“....and it doesn’t matter, because I won’t be going anywhere. I’m staying here- with you. So we can forget the whole thing, alright?” she finished, staring at his blank expression in worry.

“No baby, the whole thing can’t be forgotten,” he said forebodingly. His mind was distracted now, whirling as he digested everything she had just told him.

“Why not? Can we just drop it, please?”

“Fuck no!” he shouted, standing at full height. “He hurt you Xilä! He hurt what's mine! I won’t drop it! I fucking warned him! I told him! I- ”

It seemed he couldn’t hold it in any longer- anger blinding him, all he saw was RED.

He was going to kill T'shteyo.

“No! Wait! Wait ‘Teyam!” She scrambled to stand in his way, blocking him from stalking out of her room. “Please don’t. It’s fine. I’m fine.”

“But you’re not fucking fine Xi! Look at your wrist! It looks broken! What kind of father does that to his kid? What kind of monster decides to do that to you? You’re- you’re mine.” His voice shook with emotion. This was tearing him up, she realized. “You’re mine, Xi.”

Shaking his head, he tried to push past her but she pressed against his chest, preventing him again.

“Xilä, move.” His patience was waning.

“No,” she whispered.

“Xi-”

Surging upward, she cut him off with a kiss which he eagerly returned. He broke them apart after a few seconds and levelled her with a frown.

“I know what you’re trying to do Xilä. This doesn’t change anything,” he warned.

“Okay then,” she said simply, staring up at him with those brilliant eyes of hers.

“Fuck,” he muttered, looking up to the ceiling with his hands on his waist as if praying for resilience.

He blew out a breath and squinted down at her. “I mean it Xilä, you’re not going to change my mind about this. I’m still going after him.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Fine.”

“Fine,” she echoed.

“Shit.”

With one last curse he was gripping her neck and bending at the waist to give her a bruising kiss. Using surprising strength, she pushed him backwards, trapping him against one of the tent’s support beams.

Their kisses turned from frenzied smacks into deep open mouthed needy clashes of tongues and teeth.

Neteyam tethered his fingers into her hair as he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth.

Xi moaned and raked her fingertips down his smooth chest, pawing at his hard lower abs. Creeping them upwards, she tucked her digits beneath his warrior belt, palms resting flat against his skin.

She whimpered when a twinge of pain shocked her as her wrist bent at a bad angle, but she ignored it.

He gently pried her hands out from their hiding spot when she winced in pain again, thumbs gently caressing her wrists as he lifted them to rest on his shoulders instead.

In an instant he flipped them, crowding her against the beam now. His hand fastened onto her skirt, dragging it far up her thigh.

Xi whined, breaking their heated kiss. “Why are you so freaking tall? You’re killing my neck, handsome.”

He chuckled against her lips and then before she could blink he all but hauled her up- his large hands gripping her thighs with ease as she automatically wrapped her legs around him.

“Better?” he teased, nipping her top lip, as he tugged on her top, baring one perky breast.

“Sooo much better,” she hummed, opening up for him to taste her again, toes curling when he pinched and rolled her nipple, hiking her higher to taste the bud too. “Why does it feel so good?” she sighed.

He grinned wickedly against her skin, giving her one last suck before he claimed her lips again- tongues fighting for dominance.

She gave a little needy whine when his roaming hand got close to where she wanted him- the pulsing heat right between her legs.

“Oh Eywa,” she purred, desperately jutting her hips forward.

“We’re going to have to stop,” he rasped, sounding remorseful as he pulled away.

“What?! No we don’t,” she disagreed, straining to tug his retreeting face back to hers.

“Sweetheart, I’m not thinking clearly right now and I am telling you if we don’t stop now, I am going to end up fucking you right against this beam,” he said seriously.

She made a little O with her mouth, shocked by his words. Her eyes glazed over momentarily because that- that didn’t sound like a bad thing to her at all.

Neteyam huffed a laugh at her expression and gently set her down, keeping her steady when her knees buckled a little. He pressed up against her- twitching, hard and needy as he sank his arousal into her upper stomach.

Xi’s head tilted upward along the beam behind her head. She gave him a few moments to catch himself, watching as he tried to keep some semblance of control.

Eyes closed, he took deep calming breaths until he felt steady again. Gold clashing with silver, he gave her a sweet smile.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you too.”

“I meant what I said you know,” he reminded softly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“I know,” she resigned. “But I don’t want you to get hurt. My father is not a good man, Neteyam. I would hate it if anything happened to you because of me.”

“You would right? You wouldn’t like it if anyone hurt me?” he asked, rubbing her hip.

“Of course not!”

“Then you would understand why I feel the way I do, when I see this…right?” He lifted her wrist between them and pressed a feather light kiss to it. The harsh colours of the bruise clashing against her dusty blue skin.

“You would know how angry I feel…how much it makes me want to hurt the person that did it. Right?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Is there anything else I need to know?” he asked, tracing her kiss swollen bottom lip.

“No, I told you everything.”

He nodded, and leaned down to press their foreheads together. “Xilä. You did nothing wrong, okay? Nothing was your fault. You said you made him angry? So the fuck what? He had no right to hurt you either way. It was wrong. He is wrong. And I hope you know everything he said is bullshit. I hope you know how much you are very much wanted here.” His eyes bore into hers. Words pleading with her to understand him. “You are everything Xilä. Everything. Okay?”

“Okay,” she whispered, she didn’t know what else to say. She feared she might have just started bawling her eyes out.

“It’s not broken is it?” he asked worriedly as he checked her wrist over properly. Shame filling him because he should’ve made sure she was okay, first and foremost.

She sniffled then shook her head. “Most likely just a sprain. I would’ve been in agony if it were broken.”

“Alright,” he whispered in relief, kissing her wrist once more.

He lovingly caressed her popped out breast, before pulling up her top to cover it again, then straightened out her screwed up skirt and tried his best to tame her mused hair.

A hurt look flashed across his face while he did this. “Xi, you lied to me today. I don’t want that for us. I don’t want us to hide things from each other anymore. You and I, we’re…we’re a team, okay? And we’re going to become a permanent team soon.”

She nodded with a sad frown and tugged him downward to give an apologetic kiss. “I’m sorry,” she breathed against his lips.

He kissed her mouth one last time, adjusted himself in his loincloth, then stepped back with a pained and annoyed shake of his head. “You can come in, Salveen. I know you’re there.”

Xi, slapped her palm over her mouth, in mortification. How long had the woman been there?

Neteyam rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, sending a prayer for patience. It’s Salveen! Of course he should have known the elder would have eavesdropped.

“Well you two sure took your time,” the elder sassed as she walked in. “I had to leave and come back so many times. I swear you two have no self control- tuh! Ohh my poor darling, come here, let me see you,” she said, fretting over Xi, pulling her in for a motherly hug then examining her injury.

She tutted. “Oh no no no. Straight to the healers with you. We need to make sure it’s not broken for sure. It is a serious matter and we can not be so careless about these things.”

“It’s not broken,” Xi tried to assure the elder, but she was having none of it.

SMACK!

“Ow! Salveen?!”

She had slapped Neteyam’s arm with a scowl on her face. “You should have taken her to the healers first thing, boy! But no, you’re too busy sucking off her face. Bah! Come along dear, let’s get you to Tsahìk.”

“Wait!” Xi closed the distance between her and Neteyam once more, hugging him close with her good arm. “You better come back in one piece,” she demanded seriously. She knew for a fact he was not going to simply speak with her father- she was not stupid.

Her brows furrowed when she saw his smile. “I mean it Neteyam Sully. Promise me!” she snapped.

“I promise,” he said earnestly. He cupped her cheek, “I will come back to you in one piece, okay?”

“And……please don’t kill him,” she whispered.

“Xi-”

“Please.”

Tracking down T'shteyo was quite easy. All he had to do was send out one simple call to his unit.

“Who’s got eyes on T'shteyo?”

It was almost too perfect where Xi’s father was located. Neteyam found him in the training ring in the middle of a brutal one and one fight.

Many onlookers lined the fence of the ring, hooting and urging on the fighters. Amongst them were Lo’ak and Spider, who were comfortably lounged on the wooden rails.

Neteyam observed the fight in interest, noting the way T'shteyo was clearly playing dirty. There was no skill or decorum in his movement. He was all snarls and frantic, tempered punches. The man seemed to have not learned anything during his time here- Jake had said as much.

One last brutal punch from the Li’ona male sent the warrior to the ground, ending the fight. Giggles and cheers from T'shteyo’s small fangirl club were the only positive calls toward the man, the rest of the crowd was a mix of jeers, boos, hisses and fearful stares of shock.

Meeting his breaking point by just looking at the man, Neteyam leaped over the fence with ease- rage filling him when thoughts of Xilä’s bruised wrist and petrified face filled his head.

Fiercely striding the length of the ring, braids whipping with purpose, Neteyam called out, “How about a round, T'shteyo?!”

T'shteyo turned with a sardonic smile. “With you? Gladly!”

Lo’ak and Spider perked up in alarm, both glancing at each other in concern. Lo’ak frowned when spotted the determined glint in Neteyam’s eyes. Something was up.

The two men circled each other, each bearing matching, murderous glares and snarling fanged teeth.

T'shteyo attacked first but Neteyam dodge his punch, tail whipping to land a stinging slice across the older man’s stomach.

Over and over T'shteyo tried to lay one on him, he was turning angrier by the second as Neteyam continued to block and dodge his attacks.

This was good. He was tiring himself out.

“Enough with the dancing!” he roared. “Is this a fight or not?”

“I warned you,” Neteyam hissed as they circled each other. “I told you if you went anywhere near her, if you touched her- I told you, I’d hurt you. So I’m cashing in on my promise.”

The man gave him a sadistic grin. “So the bitch went crying to you, huh?”

WHAM!

Neteyam slammed his fist into T'shteyo’s face who’s head twisted with an audible CRUNCH when his knuckles made contact with the Na’vi’s cheek.

Cheers and hoots from the crowd echoed around them, but Neteyam tuned them out.

WHAM!

With another bruising punch, T'shteyo stumbled before charging with an angry roar.

WHACK!

T'shteyo wheezed and hunched over from the blow to his gut but he recovered quickly and managed to surprise the younger Na’vi with a slam of his own.

Neteyam spat the blood from his mouth, barely recognizing the aching throb of his bottom lip.

Playing dirty again, the man gave a bloody grin as he pulled out his knife.

The crowd turn frantic and worried at the sight but Neteyam kept his cool.

Using his tail as a whip, he sliced it against T'shteyo’s incoming hand, causing him to drop the weapon as he sent a rib cracking kick to the man’s chest.

With blinding rage, Neteyam turned ruthless. He flipped T'shteyo to the ground, sending punch after punch. The Li’ona male was at his mercy as he continuously pummelled his fists to his face.

“Neteyam! Neteyam stop!”

Two, maybe three sets of arms wrapped around him, trying to yank his feral form off the near unconscious body beneath him.

“Bro stop!”

“Neteyam! Son, you need to stop!”

Their voices of reason and pleading fell on deaf ears however. He fought against their hold when they held him up- eyes still locked on T'shteyo who was now trying to flee. The man fumbled to stand and scrambled his way over the fence as the crowd parted for him in revulsion.

With a roar of anger Neteyam fought free from his captors’ clutches. He leaped over the fence to chase after the beast of a man.

Neteyam tackled him and they wrestled before he quickly gained the upper hand once more. Pressing the tip of his knife against the man’s throat made him freeze up.

He could almost distantly hear voices of concern and distress- his name falling from muffled lips. But again, he tuned them out.

Bloodshot silver eyes glared up at him. “You must really like her, huh?” he taunted. “All of this because of some brat?”

The tip of the blade dug deeper. “Don’t you dare fucking call her that!” he hissed. “The only reason you’re still alive right now is because she begged me not to kill you. You don’t deserve her. You treat her like nothing. Why? She is all you have left in the world.”

“She is nothing!” T'shteyo seethed. “Just like her cowardly bitch of a mother.”

Neteyam shook his head and released the man from his hold. Standing, he sent a final kick to the man’s ribs causing him to roll over with an agonizing groan, face first into a pile of ikran scat.

“I’m giving you one week,” Neteyam said. “You pack your shit and leave. Xilä stays.”

Panting, the hulking man struggled to sit up, wincing in pain. He spat and what looked like a tooth went flying out. Wiping the filth from his face he glared up at Neteyam. “I want two cycles,” he countered.

“No. You don’t get two months.”

“Two months and I’ll leave quietly. I’m pretty sure you broke a few of my ribs,” he wheezed pathetically. “I’ll need to recover. Might as well kill me now if you’d send me out like this.”

Neteyam ignored the growing crowd around them as he considered the request. He could feel his brother and father’s eyes boring into his back.

“Two months,” he agreed coldly. “But you’ll be heavily guarded the entire time. You’re not allowed to roam free. And make no mistake- You remember my three rules about Xilä?”

The man nodded.

Neteyam walked closer and stooped to his level. He hissed under his breath so no one else could hear his words.

“Same thing goes. Only this time, I won’t just hurt you. This little round we had is nothing in comparison. You so much as step an inch out of line, and I’ll kill you with my bare hands. I’ll rip you limb from limb and enjoy every moment of it. Do you understand me?”

T'shteyo swayed slightly. He looked pathetic and every bit like his disgusting personality with blood and shit covering his face and chest.

“Yes,” he reluctantly hissed through a few missing teeth, breathing heavily as he seemed to be in excruciating pain.

When Neteyam stood he gestured to two warriors. “Take him to the southern tents, get someone to call for a healer. He’s not to be left unattended.”

“Yes Sir.”

Jake and Lo’ak flanked him as they watched the warriors drag the near unconscious man away.

“Get the area cleared,” Jake ordered to a nearby high ranker, who quickly turned to scatter the crowd of onlookers. “What did he do?” his father then asked him.

“He hurt my wife. So I hurt him,” Neteyam said, turning to face them- noting both Spider and Jxo were there also.

The two men glanced at each other. Jxo turned instantly concerned while Jake continued to stare at his son as if seeing him for the first time.

“Xilä-” Jxo started, but Neteyam cut him off.

“She’s alright, Jxo,” he assured. “Sal took her to the healers. Xi thinks it's a sprained wrist.”

The elder nodded. “I- I’m going to- to,” he stuttered for a moment before turning and walking off quickly without finishing his sentence.

“If you’re upset about why I didn’t send T'shteyo straight to the healers, it’s because Xi is already there. I didn’t want them bumping into each other,” Neteyam said, misreading his fathers continuous unnerving stare. “I’m going to go myself-”

“No,” his father said, halting his steps. “Lo’ak, Spider, get out of here.”

Both boys sent Neteyam sympathetic and apologetic looks before walking off. He knew they were most likely the reason his father had shown up to stop him from killing the man. He didn’t blame them one bit. Neteyam knew he’d gone overboard.

“Dad, I need to go see her.”

“Not like this!” he hissed. “You’re still pent up. Sure you’re a bit bruised, but you’ve got her father’s blood on you. Do you really want her to see you like this?”

“No,” he said dejectedly when he glanced down at himself- his head was finally clearing, sane thoughts returning after his blinding haze of anger and rage.

Jake however, was fuming. He was completely baffled by his son’s uncharacteristic behavior. “Neteyam what the hell? You can’t-”

“Dad don’t, alright? That man has been hurting Xilä her entire life. You saw what she was like when she first came here! You know how bad it was!” he yelled. “She is not just Xilä to me anymore. She’s going to be my wife. I love that woman, Sir. I finally understand how you feel about mom- that madding, crippling love, that would make you do anything to keep them from harm's way.”

Jake stayed silent as he watched his son tear up.

“He hurt her, dad...I couldn’t leave it alone,” he whispered in honest frustration.

Jake softened at his son's pain. Tugging on his head he pulled him in for a crushing, hug.

“Alright son, it’s alright,” he comforted. “Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up.”

Holy ikran scat! Lol...too soon?

Well I mean we had a nice fluffy start and then it sort of spiralled and we finally got to see T'shteyo's ass handed to him by none other than our protective beanstalk Neteyam. *giggles*

Also how about the Leati talk? Too harsh?

As always, lemme know what you think. I love hearing from you all :)

Tags: @jakesullyfatjuicypeen @granddearduck @riatesullironalite @strawberri-blonde @earthling55 @innercreationflower @duckworthbean @gyuventure @btsiguess-kpop @blkmystery @neteswife

If you'd like to be tagged or I forgot you by accident, please let me know.

#neteyam #neteyam x oc #neteyam avatar #neteyam fic #neteyam x reader #neteyam fanfiction #neteyam sully

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joeshiestyslover · 1 year

Text

i hate u

pairing: lsu!fratboy!joe burrow x volleyballplayer!reader

summary: you and joe were together before he transferred to lsu, when he broke your heart, but what happens when you end up transferring to the same college?

warnings: language, angst, joe’s an asshole

a/n: i got some inspo from a request and tied in a sza song bc i love her. also there will be a part 2

lowercase intended

masterlist

today’s the day your entire life changes, but little do you know, in more ways than one. a couple months ago just before your junior year ended, you were offered an athletic scholarship to play volleyball for lsu instead of ohio state. you immediately accepted because as much as you love your home state, you were tired of sitting on the bench waiting to finally play on the court. lsu offered you a starting position, so you would’ve been crazy to not say yes.

you’re ready to leave ohio behind and forget the bad memories, well one bad memory in particular. you began dating your childhood best friend in college, after waiting for him to love you back your entire childhood. ever since you met, you both were inseparable, doing absolutely everything together, including college when you both were accepted to ohio state. the moment you started dating, you were the happiest you had been in a long time, and that happiness you thought would last forever, it only lasted three years.

he decided to transfer from ohio state to lsu to play football because he was never given the chance to be starting quarterback, and lsu just happened to give him that chance. you were worried at first because he was going to be the furthest away that he had ever been, but he was quick to reassure you everything was going to be fine and that he was never going to forget about you or neglect you.

oh, how you wish you never believed his bullshit lies.

after a couple weeks of him being in louisiana, he started to call less, basically ignoring your entire existence. you had planned to talk to him about it one night over facetime, but that morning you received a text from him that simply read, i think we need to take a break. you texted and called himnumerous times, trying to get him to explain, but he never responded or picked up your calls. after hundreds of unread texts and voicemails, you gave up. you still tried to keep up with him, looking at his social media accounts, until one day, when you checked a post he was tagged in, you saw him at a party making out with a girl that was perched on his lap. your heart broke, and you decided to block him on everything so you could move on; something that he had clearly already done.

you are currently carrying the last of your boxes into your dorm room, chatting with your new roommate, eve. “so, why’d you transfer here again?” she asks you. “volleyball. i was tired of sitting on the bench all season.” you respond. “all season? damn.” “yeah i know. it fucking sucked, but that’s why i’m here now.” you tell eve. you finally finish carrying your boxes, and you decide to unpack tomorrow. you lie down onto your bed with a huff, “i forgot how much i hate moving.” you joke. suddenly, you hear a knock at your door, and eve jumps up to answer it. as she opens the door, she exclaims, “joe!”

no. it can’t be.

“oh my god, you have to meet my new roommate. y/n! come over here and meet joe!” you stand up, and slowly start to make your way towards the door. you look at the man in front of you, and make eye contact with him. “y/n!” joe exclaims. “it’s good to see you!” you only offer a small smile in return. “wait, do you two know each other?” eve questions, looking between you and joe. “umm just in passing.” you say, and joe gives you a confused look. “okay? me and joe are going to a party, so i probably won’t be back until after you fall asleep; so i’ll see you later, alright?” eve says. “yeah okay.” you reply as she walks out with joe. as you shut the door, you lean your back against it. “oh my fucking god this can’t be happening to me.” you say quietly to yourself.

the next few days go by relatively smooth, with you finding your way around, getting your jersey along with your practice schedule, and adjusting to your new classes. you even were able to make a friend in your econ class, ja’marr. ja’marr told you that he’s a wide receiver for the football team, so you knew that he knows joe as well. about a week later, your roommate asks you the question you’ve been dreading. “how do you really know joe because the way he looked at you made it seem there’s more to the two of you than you let on.” you didn’t know how to answer her. you want to tell the truth, but do you want to trust someone you barely know with one of your worst memories?

“if i tell you this, you cannot tell anyone, okay?” you tell her seriously. she nods, waiting for you to continue. “so, joe and i sorta dated back when we both went to ohio state.” “oh my god really?” she asks, shocked. “wait, there’s more. not only did we date, we were best friends since like childhood. he was literally my next-door neighbor.” eve’s jaw drops. “what happened between you two?” she inquires. “he broke up with me a couple weeks after he transferred here, over text.” “no! over text?! what a douche!” she exclaims. “i know, but after a while, i got over it, and now i’m here.” you say to her. “holy shit. that’s so fucked up, and i promise i won’t tell anyone.” “thank you eve.” you tell her. “but i am going to give you my honest opinion. i think you should talk to joe.” “no.” you have no interest in talking to that sleazeball. “why not? you two can finally clear the air and move on! don’t you want that?” eve tries to reason. “if he wanted to clear the air, he would have done that when he first broke up with me instead of being a coward and not responding to my texts or calls.” you state.

almost on cue, you hear a knock at the door, maybe it’s one of eve’s friends. you really hope so. “oh hi joe. can you give me and y/n a sec? thanks.” she shuts the door, and you stand up from your bed. “do not tell me you brought him here eve!” you raise your voice slightly. “listen i had no idea about your history with him, so i invited him over here yesterday to watch a movie. i’m so sorry!” eve apologizes. “it’s fine. i’ll just go. text me when he leaves.” “come on, y/n! i think he actually wants to see you!” she says. “well, tough because i don’t want to see him.” you begin to walk towards the door. “please! just stay for a little while! if it gets too much for you, i’ll ask him to leave. please stay.” eve begs. “fine, but you owe me big time.”

eve opens the door, and there stands the boy you fell in love with almost twenty years ago. you briefly make eye contact before looking back at your roommate. “okay joe, come on in. i’ll put on the movie.” you try your best not to look at his face as you both sit down on the beanbags on your floor. the awkward silence deafening until joe speaks up, “so y/n, how have you been?” “umm since you broke my heart, then ran off like a coward? oh i’m just peachy keen!” you say back to him sarcastically, not bothering to make eye contact with him. your remark seems to shut him up until eve comes back over to the both of you after starting the movie.

all throughout the movie, you notice joe stealing glances at you every so often, but you would be lying if you said you weren’t doing the same. once the movie’s over, you’re waiting for eve to kick his sorry ass out of your dorm. for some reason, he isn’t leaving, and you try to get eve’s attention, but she’s too caught up in some conversation with joe. finally, eve walks over to you, and joe is still not leaving. “so umm, i know i said i would tell him to leave, but he wants to talk to you.” she says sheepishly. you sigh, knowing how stubborn joe can be. “five minutes. that’s it.” you tell her. she nods and walks back over to joe, and he looks back at you with a look in his eyes that you can’t quite pinpoint. “i’ll be back guys. y/n, please try not to murder him.” eve calls out to the both of you.

“so what do you want to talk about?” you ask, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “i just wanted to tell you that i’m so sorry for what i did to you. i was an asshole and you didn’t deserve it. i just want you to know i never fell out of love with you. hell, i still love you, but-” “joe, stop.” you cut him off. “you don’t get to say you’re sorry because you sure as hell weren’t sorry when you broke my heart a year ago.” you say, coldly. “i know that i can never change what i did to you, but i just want you to know that i really am sorry, even if you don’t believe me.” you can’t believe what you’re hearing. “i thought you loved me joe.” you say, feeling the tears welling up in your eyes. “i did love you! i still do!” he starts to raise his voice. “bullshit joe! you’re so fucking selfish! i don’t know why you give a shit all of a sudden! is it because you feel guilty? or do you just feel sorry for me?” you yell. “y/n-” “i don’t care anymore joe! you know why? it’s because you are not the person i fell in love with years ago!” you seethe. “i know, y/n. i know. it wasn’t fair for me to do that to you.” he tells you, looking at his shoes. “you can’t even look at me joe! i mean, did you ever realize you were hurting me? or did you just not care?” “y/n please-” “shut up joe! i hate you! it was so shitty of you to make me feel like that! god, what i would do to make you feel the way i did when you ripped out my heart and stomped on it!” your tears are falling down your face, stalling at your chin, and you don’t even bother to wipe them off. “y/n, just let me explain.” he begs you. “no! you had your chance to explain while you were off fucking random girls last year! you know what joe? fuck you!” a silence takes over the room, and you decide that you’re done with this conversation and joe. “get out.” you say calmly, looking him straight in the eye. “what?” joe’s voice wavers slightly. “you heard me. i said five minutes and it’s been five minutes. it’s time for you to leave.” “okay i understand.” he begins to walk towards you door, but stops to tell you, “just so you know, it has always been you, y/n. i never stopped loving you.”, his voice breaking on the last word, but you just give him a slight nod before he walks out of your dorm.

you walk over to your bed and sit down, staring at the ground. a wave of emotion washes over you, and you start to sob uncontrollably, your chest heaving, feeling as if you can’t breathe. you don’t notice eve being in the room until you feel you bed dip next to you, and her arms wrap around you. you lean into her as she comforts you and tries to calm you down. you don’t know when you could ever forgive joe for what he did to you, but it certainly isn’t now.

a/n: i kinda hate this but oh well

#joe burrow #joe burrow imagine #joe burrow x reader #joe burrow oneshot #joe burrow angst #joe burrow fluff #joe burrow fic #joe burrow fan fic #lsu #lsu!joe burrow #lsu football #lsu tigers #Spotify

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heart4gyu · 1 year

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movie night || sunghoon x reader

note: minors pls do not interact !! this is one of my older pieces from a past account but i thought i could post it on here instead… hope y’all enjoy it ;) also if have any requests or suggestions i’ll gladly take them !!

it was really just a tickle fight… maybe you and sunghoon had taken it a bit too far but, in all honesty, it started off innocently. both completely focused on the screen, your legs draped over his lap and a bowl of popcorn on your own, the position you usually take on movie nights with your best friend.

he had meant for his hand to go into the bowl but instead it had grazed right above your hip. and he would’ve just apologized and went on with watching the movie if it weren’t for the gasp that escaped your lips.

then you couldn’t even pretend like it didn’t happen because your face was flushed and he had that stupid smirk on his lips. then he was moving his fingers over to that same spot and you were quick to move away but he was quicker.

you tried to push him away, tried your best to hold in your laughter, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. but, oh, there goes the popcorn, and now he’s above you, hands trying to find a sensitive spot anywhere they could.

you tried to stand or squirm out underneath him but he’s undeniably strong, you had gotten a feel of his biceps as you tried to get away. you convinced yourself that you were flushed and out of breath solely because he was tickling you… nothing else, right?

“okay! alright! please i’m out! i tap! i tap,” you say, in between pants, tapping on his shoulders to demonstrate your surrender. he’s out of breath, but was it really that strenuous of an act, for him?

and why are his ears so red? without even thinking of it, your hand moved up from its place on his shoulder, caressing his ear and then his nape. yes, just as you suspected… hot.

he straightened up quickly, and you finally realized the position you’re in, with his thighs underneath your own spread ones. oh now this was bad, so you sat up abruptly but maybe that was also a bad idea because now your faces are way closer than they should be. why were both of your chests still heaving?

you thought it couldn’t get worse but then all of a sudden your noses were brushing past each other. when did you start leaning in?

you were confused because his ears and neck were so hot just a second ago but now his hand was freezing cold as it slid along your thigh. he grabbed onto your shorts and used them to pull you further into him and it was an awkward position with your elbows propping you up.

you shared butterfly kisses as you got closer and you could feel his breath on your lips as you both panted. you wanted more but you couldn’t move and even if you did move it would be too much cause he was pressed up right against you.

in this position, as you were almost straddling him, you could feel his heartbeat through his chest. and you weren’t one to beg but god, could he please just do something? and as if you were speaking telepathically, you slowly wrapped your arms around his neck as he grabbed hold of you from under your thighs to carry you to a better position.

now he was sitting upright on the couch and you were on top of him, straddling him properly. as you sat yourself down further, you could feel him, and you began to rock your hips back and forth. savoring each and every whine that slipped past his lips, god how you wanted to taste those sweet sounds.

and that’s when you started to realize what was happening, when you started to snap back into reality. he’s your best friend, how could you even- “what?” you said, not quite catching what he said amidst the thoughts swarming your head.

“… i uh- can i kiss you?” he said in that sweet, shy tone that you loved. and i mean there’s no going back anyway right? you leaned in, placing your lips onto his and he was quick to reciprocate, one hand cupping your face and the other resting on your waist.

he didn’t even bother trying to guide you, he knew from the stories you’ve told him of your other endeavors that you liked to take control. all he could do was bucks his hips up into you desperately, not even realizing he was already moaning and begging for more. you parted from his red, swollen lips and kissed down his neck.

you don’t know how long you’d wanted this, didn’t even realize this was something you wanted. but now that you were marking his neck, marking him yours, you were sure that you didn’t want to see him with anyone else.

you kissed him again, and he parted his lips giving your tongue access. after a second you looked back down at him, and he looked so cute as his eyes started to water. he had told you before that he didn't have much experience but it wasn't until now, that he was whimpering under you that you truly realized.

you smiled endearingly and kissed his cheek before sliding a hand between the two of you, and he was already a whining mess. you didn't want to give him too much just yet so you stuck to stroking him over the fabric of his sweats. you could see the material begin to darken as he was getting close, he started panting harder and his moans got louder.

you grabbed at his hair with your other hand and forced him to look back up at you, his cheeks were pink and you never could of imagined how cute he would look like this. you kissed him again as you stroked him faster, and he jerked his hips up a few times before he finally came in his sweats. spilling his sweet moans into your mouth even as he came down from his high.

you sat up straight and he dropped his head down onto your shoulder, catching his breath. you felt him wrap his arms around your waist and pull you into a tight hug, you didn't really expect him to be the clingy type but for him you'd let it slide..

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strip4kaneshiro · 2 years

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Dating Headcanons w Shoto

This man is chaotic af and I love his dynamic so I’ll be separating this into male vs female since he’s stated that he’s bisexual, happy pride month. I’m basing this on how he interracts with his male and female friends :)) (mostly Bao and Vox cause those r the clips I see the most and who he’s most comfy with)

As his girlfriend..

- he tries to be as helpful as possible around the house

-you two are constantly competing for the housewife position??

- one of you starting a lewd joke and it just snowballs out of control💀💀

- “ (name), honey, darling, my love, love of my life, get your sexy ass over here like right now” “oh my gosh ew Shoto u wanna eat my ass? Not on stream babe <33 ;)” “THIS GIR- THATS NOT WHAT I SAIDDD!!”

-oh yeah! Shoto sometimes does streams with you sitting in the same room as you or in his lap

- “todays stream is gonna be co-oped with my darling (name)-sama uwu” “Shoto I stg”

- he’s not afraid to announce the weird stuff you do, just cause ur off camera does NOT mean your off the hook

- “CAN YOU STOP FUCKING SHAKING YOUR ASS IN THE DOORWAY WHAT THE FUCK??-!”

- he commissions a custom asset for you, it’s of you slumping ur chin over his shoulder aw

- Shoto also commissions assets with ur regular model like holding hands, parading each other’s heads ect.

- using popular romance anime couples as pfps on your private social media accounts ( hori and miyamura, usui and misaki, etc)

- when your on your period, he grabs your heat source of choice (if it isn’t him ofc) and water. Along with anything else you ask for

- he also loves watching you style your hair in the morning. Like he’ll literally sit on the counter in the bathroom and watch you get ready

- you make him help but he just takes it as an excuse to have his hands all up in ur head???

- if your hair is on the straighter side, he styles it sometimes with random clips and intricate styles, but if it’s thicker and/or curlier, he stays out that territory entirely.

- poor babes doesn’t want to accidentally make your hair matted

- self care with (ship name) every Saturday and Tuesday!!

As his boyfriend

- if you thought he was bad with Uki or Vox, he’s even worse with you

- not one bone in his body can be stopped from being down abysmal for you (believe me, the people have tried)

- your assets are just as cute as the female counterpart, if not more. He also commissions pride month pfps and assets

- minecraft is just so domestic, he gives u flowers and shit.

- inexplicably horny tho, he bends over all the time while wearing short-shorts and is like

“I mean, well it’s hot, what else am I supposed to do huh? Go nude instead?”

Yes…please..

- this smug little shit, try flirting with him during a game though. It works, I’ve tried I swear

- “babe, if you get this next kill, on god I’ll suck you off after stream”

Player🔫sho

- he tells chat stories about what you guys do everyday and it’s so cute, like story time w Shoto.

- “so, uhhh, this morning! When (name) woke up this morning, he looked up at me from bed this morning and was like ‘mmm…g’morning baby…~’ in his seductive ass morning voice and *flustered noises*!!”

- he’s your biggest simp fan

- for some reason when he’s sick he just??? Starts streaming like every wasn’t coughing his lungs out?

- do you have to pick him up and carry him to bed, promptly ending Stream? Maybe

- his sick voice is so adorable though oh my gosh, so being around him is worth it

- “baaaaaabe, can you give me more medicineee?~ and another driiink?~” he calls from the bedroom

- teasing him >>>

- just do it, trust me you’ll enjoy it. He gets all shy and tsundere

- giving him compliments and praise back to back makes him go full tsundere though. Do with that information as you please

Either way, Shoto is a great boyfriend for men and women alike. Nobody gets left behind in this train! So treasure the time with him that you have. And remember, bribe him with sushi and maybe….juuust maybe, he’ll put on the dog ears (yes he has a pair irl)

#vtuber #shxtou #shxtou x reader #vtuber x reader

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chickinscratch · 2 years

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The second hermit affected was, shockingly, not Jevin.

The small group arrived below the large slimy pig, at the home of the not-as-large slimy slime, and cautiously knocked. Within a few moments, Jevin arrived at the door, eyeing the four that stood before him.

“Hey guys,” he greeted. “What’s up?”

“Oh good, you’re not more of a pile of goo than usual.” Cleo noted.

“...Was that a concern that we were having?”

“Surprisingly, yes.”

Zedaph recounted the situation thus-far, pausing for Jevin to react appropriately with a variety of “hmms,” “mhms,” and “That explains the death messages”s. “-So that leaves the question, why aren’t you more, erm, slimy than usual?”

Jevin shrugged. “Mimicking other mobs is pretty standard slime behavior. I guess if I am affected by whatever this is, I already act enough like any other slime that it doesn’t matter? Though if any of you get too close I will probably absorb you for nutrients, and that won’t be too pleasant.”

“Noted. Keep us posted if you notice yourself becoming concerningly more viscous or anything of the like. We should probably go check on some more of the others to make sure no one else is exploding or absorbing other Hermits for nutrients.”

“Good luck with that - who were you going to check on next?”

“We were thinking Grian,” Cleo produced the list they had compiled from her inventory. “Then probably Gem, since we already have Doc and Zed accounted for. Have you seen either of them?”

Jevin tapped his chin thoughtfully, which was only moderately successful given his consistency. “I haven’t seen Gem - She’d probably be working on her megabase with Impulse and Pearl. I did see Grian flying around here earlier - I think he was pecking at Scar and pushed him into a hole? But that’s pretty average for them so I dunno if it was related to whatever’s going on. Pretty sure he flew off back towards his rift thing though.”

“We should definitely check there first, then, I think.” Cleo returned the list to their inventory. “In the nicest way possible, I don’t trust Grian messing with weird eldritch whatever on a good day, let alone potentially in some kind of full bird-brain mode.”

“I do believe eldritch interference under the influence of avian is illegal in several states.” Joe added.

“Then you should probably all get to dealing with that.” Jevin waved. “Good luck!”

The band of Hermits arrived at the tor that Grian had claimed for his megabase, scouting for any signs of him. Instead, they found Mumbo. “Hello,” Mumbo greeted as the group landed atop one of the giant rocks that formed the landscape.

“Mumbo,” Cleo greeted in return. “Why are you laying on top of a boulder?”

“Grian has decided I’m actually a stick, and also part of his nest.”

“What?”

“I guess I look kind of twiggish?” Mumbo sighed, awkwardly shuffling from the large pile of miscellaneous sticks and branches he was stuck within. “I knew I was spindly and all, but I didn’t think Grian would literally use me as a stick. He was very insistent on it, too.”

“Why is Grian building a nest?” Zedaph eyed the construction eagerly.

“I think he’s trying to hatch his base.”

“What?!” Cleo repeated.

“And also those easter egg things.” Mumbo added. “Those are definitely in this pile somewhere.”

“Why is he trying to hatch his base?” Cleo’s voice pitched. “Isn’t he messing with interdimensional junk this season? Should we be concerned?”

“I think he just thinks the boulder is an egg, honestly.” Mumbo shrugged, which was quite awkward to accomplish from his position betwixt the twigs. “It is kind of egg-shaped. Also he keeps giving boulders heartbeats, which probably doesn’t help. Not that I’m opposed to bases with heartbeats; I’m quite familiar with those.”

“Y’know,” Zedaph mused, “That does explain how he talked about The Entity like it was alive. Maybe he thought that was an egg too.” “It is another decently egg-shaped boulder.” Mumbo agreed.

Joe peered at the pile of sticks composing Grian’s ‘nest’. As Mumbo had described, the easter eggs were indeed nestled inside the Grian-sized entrance. “I would have expected Grian to nest in a tree, given parrots are arboreal. In fact, especially because they usually nest in pre-existing spaces. I wonder why he didn’t just move into Scar’s base or something?”

“I guess he just decided it was easier to build a nest here rather than try to move a boulder.” Mumbo craned his neck to face Joe with limited success.

“That is perfectly logical.”

“So we can safely say Grian also caught whatever bug Doc has, right?” Cleo said.

Ren shrugged. “Honestly, I could see Grian doing this normally.”

“There’s a bug going around?” Mumbo strained to look above shoe-level.

“Cleo, snakes eat eggs, right?” Joe asked.

“There are very much no eggs here, but yes.” Cleo huffed.

“Are you noticing any of those instinct things Zedaph had mentioned?”

“Again, there are no eggs, so no, I am not. In fact, I’m pretty sure those easter eggs are just more rocks painted to look like Grian. I like to consider myself a pretty reliable expert on rocks.”

“Can your expertise determine how egg-like a rock is?” Mumbo asked from the ground.

A few of Cleo’s hair-snakes hissed exasperatedly. “Shape-wise, that’s more of an opinion, though yes, these rocks are approximately egg-shaped. Physically, the most egg-like rock would probably be limestone or something, since it’s calcium carbonate.”

“Is this limestone?”

“No, it’s not.”

“Not a very eggy egg-shaped boulder then.” Mumbo huffed.

“Has Grian been here recently?” Zedaph interjected again.

“He comes and goes from here every few minutes. He’s mostly just been collecting sticks.”

“Out of curiosity, would you say he’s been acting at all any more, perhaps, parrotish?”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he’s built me into a nest.”

“Honestly, that could also just as easily be perfectly normal Grian behavior.” Joe noted.

“I am actively being used as building material!”

“Again, not necessarily out of the ordinary. Maybe he mistook you for a redstone block or torch, given how much redstone you usually consume?”

“Honestly, fair enough. I wouldn’t be surprised if I actually emitted a signal at this point-”

Zedaphs ears perked up. “Can we test that?”

“-But I think there are bigger concerns to focus on right now.”

A shrill squawk interrupted their slightly derailed conversation as a very puffed-up Grian landed on top of his nest. And by extension, Mumbo. “Ow.” Mumbo mumbled. Grian ignored him, flaring his wings and tail feathers at the collected group and hissing. Cleo’s snakes helpfully hissed back.

“Huh, I forgot that parrots hiss.” Zedaph said.

“Leave.”

“Oh, fantastic! You’re still verbal. We were having issues communicating with Doc-”

“LEAVE.” Grian fluttered to atop Mumbo’s head, which prompted a new bout of complaints from the designated-stick-and-now-perch. Grian pecked at him a few times until he quieted.

“Mumbo,” Joe sidestepped to stand between the nest and other Hermits. “Since Grian has apparently accepted you as part of his nest, perhaps you could help explain the situation to him?”

“I can try my best,” Mumbo grumbled, Grian’s talons tapping at his head each time he made a noise. “But I make no promises.”

“We appreciate any effort you can provide.”

“Grian-” Mumbo winced at another round of pecks. “Grian. Hey, buddy-” he whistled, which Grian rightened and quirked his head at, giving some reprieve to the pecking. “It’s okay. They’re not here to mess with your definitely, totally real eggs that are not rocks. They’re just here to talk to you.”

Grian squinted suspiciously at the collected group, but seemed to at least calm down enough to listen. He ducked inside the nest, settling delicately atop the easter eggs of himself as if it were a throne, and glared out at the group. “Fine. Continue.”

“They mentioned some kind of bug, or something…? What was the bug thing?”

“Ah, yes,” Zedaph clapped. “You see, earlier Ren found Doc behaving strangely, which resulted in both of them exploding a few times. I had also been feeling a bit strangely this morning, and Jevin and Cleo mentioned potential behavioral changes as well, so I propose a theory that whatever cause Doc’s current condition may be impacting some of the other less humanoid members of the server.”

“Well I feel perfectly fine.”

Cleo’s hair-snakes bristled. “Grian. You are using Mumbo as a stick.”

“He is a stick.”

“You’re nesting on top of painted rocks.”

“Eggs.”

“Those are very much rocks.”

“Your snake tricks won’t work on me. I won’t let you eat them.”

“I am literally a geologist, Grian.”

“And these are eggs.”

“Can we go back to Doc?” Cleo sighed. “He was much easier to reason with.”

“I kind of prefer not blowing up. Again.” Ren added.

“I can still blow you up if you want.” Grian offered.

“No thank you.”

“Probably for the best.” Grian preened at his feathers. “Wouldn’t want the nest to get damaged.”

“As the nest, I appreciate that.” Mumbo said.

“Quiet, stick.”

“Grian,” Cleo took a deep breath, “Maybe you could let Mumbo stop being a stick for a little bit?”

Grian gasped. “Mumbo is an integral stick to the nest! The entire thing would be destroyed if he left! I smell your snakey tricks! You can’t fool me!”

“I am not trying to eat your dumb- rrrgh!”

“This is rather uncomfortable, Grian.” Mumbo whined. “I have splinters.”

“Well of course you do. That’s how sticks work.”

“Griaaan-”

“Don’t tell me you’ve sided with them!”

“Listen, Grian, I will accept being classified as a redstone component, but I think I’ve decided being a stick is a bit much for me! It’s a lot of commitment!”

“Well you’ve got to at least wait until they’ve hatched.”

Cleo made a strangled noise. “They’re ROCKS-!”

“Hey!” Grian squawked. “I’m the egg expert here.”

“SNAKES LAY EGGS TOO!”

“Yeah, but snake eggs are all squishy and gross. My eggs are strong and beautiful. It’s no wonder you think they’re stone. I forgive you for your confusion; it’s a very easy mistake to make.”

Cleo shouted indistinctly, though not indecipherably. Joe found it very decipherable. After all, he was very familiar with Cleo’s miscellaneous grumbles of exasperation and frustration. Many of them were often directed towards him. “What if we came to a compromise?’ Joe offered. “I notice the top of this here boulder-”

“Egg.”

“-Egg, yes, is quite barren and cold.”

Grian nodded. “That’s why Mumbo is such an important stick. He helps keep the nest warm.”

“I’m cold.” Mumbo grumbled.

“What if we helped you relocate your eggs somewhere nice and warm, and perhaps more enclosed? They’d be much safer than up here, and Mumbo could take a break for a little bit.”

Grian shuffled thoughtfully. “...And Cleo wouldn’t eat them?”

“I know just the place where Cleo will absolutely never go.”

"I’m gonna need more convincing.”

“Joe, Mumbo, and I can help carry your eggs, so you don’t have to worry about Cleo or Ren eating them.” Zedaph added. “And I’ll even throw in some of my wool.”

“What about the big egg? I can’t move that one.”

“We could shrink it.”

“You can shrink it?” Grian tilted his head curiously.

“You can shrink it?” Cleo repeated.

“I am a scientist and procurer of extravagant devices; Of course I can shrink it- though we will need to remove your nest and the other eggs from it first.”

“Deal. But if you’re tricking me I’ll kill you.”

“No tricks, my feathered friend.” Zedaph placed a solemn hoof-hand to his heart. “I am entirely invested in the safety of your eggs. Now, you, Mumbo, and Joe take your eggs to ground-level while I prepare for The Shrinkening.”

“And Ren and I will just… stand a reasonable distance away, I suppose.” Cleo muttered, already launching off. Ren and Zedaph took off following her, leaving Joe to help untangle Mumbo from his stick prison.

Grian watched the process like a hawk (or, like a parrot?), cradling his eggs and intensely micromanaging the careful dissection of his nest around Mumbo as to preserve as much as possible (rather than allow Mumbo to simply sit upright). Once Mumbo was free, Grian gingerly distributed the “eggs” as though they were the most precious cargo in the world. Upon close inspection, Joe could confirm they were in fact just some painted rocks Jevin had used in the egg hunt. One at least seemed to be potentially made of limestone, so it probably scored closer to being a real egg than any of the rest.

The trio landed in the forest a little ways from the foot of the main tor. Mumbo stretched liberally, making an assortment of cracking noises that made Joe consider some truth to Grian’s observations of Mumbo being a stick. “I was laying there for hours.” Mumbo sighed. “This is so much better.”

“How would you rate your experience on a scale of ‘minorly’ to ‘quite pants?’” Joe asked.

“I can kill this season, you know.”

“Okay, but how would you rate it?” Ren asked, trotting up to join them. Cleo followed closely behind.

“... It was at least decently pants.”

“Hah, you said the thing.” Cleo smirked.

“This is just not my day, is it?”

Zedaph emerged from the trees, hurrying to join the gaggle of Hermits. “Alright, everyone! Who’s ready for The Shrinkening?”

“You’re certain this is entirely safe, right?” Grian drew his eggs closer to his chest.

“Of course. I would never put your absolutely gargantuan egg in any danger. Now, the process will be a bit strange, but you must trust me, alright?”

“Alright…” Grian cradled his eggs with blatant uncertainty.

“Now, you’ll all have to face away, because witnessing The Shrinkening would be very bad for your retinas, but when I count to three the egg will be shrunk! And also, conveniently replaced with an identical boulder of equivalent size and mass, so as to not disrupt the environment.” Cleo stifled a snicker.

“...This sounds like a trick.” Grian squinted at Zedaph.

“No, no, no! You must trust The Shrinkening. Now, everybody turn around.” The collected Hermits obliged.

“One,” Zedaph counted. “Two… THREE!”

They collectively turned back, Grian practically whipping around to face whatever Zedaph had done. Nothing looked different, save for Zedaph holding aloft… a small, ovoid rock, the same colors as the boulder behind him. Cleo doubled over, wheezing quietly in an effort not to cackle aloud. Grian simply inched cautiously towards Zed, reaching out for the “egg.” Zedaph ceremoniously placed it into his awaiting palm. “One shrunken egg, perfectly transportable and safe.”

Grian stared at the “egg.” Joe could practically see avian and player halves of his brain at war, trying to decide if they had been fooled or not. Finally, Grian gave the rock a gentle kiss and nestled it with the rest of the clutch. Cleo wheezed loudly off to the side.

“Alright,” Grian huffed, turning to Joe. “You promised me a better nest spot. Where is it.”

“Of course, right this way.”

#hermitcraft #grian #mumbo jumbo #mumbojumbo #zombiecleo #zedaph #hermitcraft ensemble #would tag Joe since he's the POV but he doesnt talk much in this one #i didnt expect to default to Joe POV so often but here i am i guess #fanfic #chicken scratch #long post //#Mob Mentality #THE SERIES HAS A NAME NOW YAY #VERY dialogue-heavy this one. i tend to do that a lot.#this is already a very self-indulgent fic cause i like worldbuilding exploration #particularly with player-mob/hybrid behaviors cause like. if theyre gonna be hybrids why *not*#but this chapter in particular is probably my favorite so far just out of Excuse To Write Silly Bird People. aka my favorite.#also this group's dialogue habits are very fun for me to write

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caspercryptid · 2 months

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OMG! The cooking prompt was so cute! I loved the way they were both so insistently tugging on the pot but are also like "You work so hard!" "No, you." ROFL It was great.

Also, sorry about overwhelming you with prompts! I got excited!

Drunk Gale and drunk Wyll at the tiefling party being silly (maybe a little sad at some points), maybe sharing a kiss, and then passing out next to each other (maybe in their arms?)

This one next?

Don't worry about overwhelming me!! I don't mind getting multiple prompts at a time, I just prefer to get them in separate asks so I can put the request fill in the reply individually, so feel free to ping me another couple, I'll reply to whichever ones i've got the brain for. —

“I have decided,” Gale says, tone serious, “that I hate you.” Wyll looks up. Gale is beautiful in the firelight, shadows dancing across his features, his robes swaying in the faint shifting air of people passing by and the waves of warmth from the fire, sound cushioning them both— distant laughter, revelry, the general hum of joy and people. The party was, however, starting to wind down, so it wasn’t quite so loud that Wyll could miss what Gale just said.

“I beg your pardon?” he says, anyway, because surely. Surely Gale of waterdeep did not just say that.

“I am here to tell you that I hate you,” Gale says, “You are distracting. A distraction. I missed a fire bolt today, and it’s on account of you.”

Wyll. squints. A little. His mind is moving a mite slow- he’s had a few drinks, passed enthusiastically into his hand by his friends and the tieflings, but holding this conversation up against similar conversations with gale to see if it makes sense is coming up with nothing. There doesn’t seem to be a context he could place this in. “Did I.... do something wrong?” He asks.

“Yes,” Gale says, and then fails to elaborate, which is frankly very unlike him. Wyll waits. Gale continues to fail to elaborate.

“—come and sit down,” Wyll decides.

“No,” Gale says, petulant, “I wouldn’t want to— keep you from your. Evening’s diversions. Although frankly it’s unprofessional.” “Unprofessional,” Wyll echoes.

“Yes, unprofessional. Lots of people make careers out of adventuring, and even if we were thrust into it, we could— follow professional standards. Of conduct.” “We could,” Wyll agrees, slowly, trying to see a way out of this conversation, but that seems to be the wrong answer, because Gale puffs up like a pigeon. Actually, it’s rather cute, the way he sticks his chest forward. Wyll always thought it was funny when people did that in fights. Trying to make themselves look bigger, as though size was ever an indicator of how well they were going to hold up in a fight. Wyll had fought some halflings, it really really wasn’t.

“You,” Gale says, and then fails to elaborate.

“Me,” Wyll agrees.

Gale open and closes his mouth, and then he says— “Lae’zel.” “—Yes?” Wyll tries.

“You’re— fornicating. With her.”

“...fornicating,” Wyll echoes, and then, hastily, “I know what it means, I just— um. No.” That seems to throw Gale off.

“...No?” He repeats.

“No,” Wyll repeats. “Uh, or, I did. A little while ago. We’re done. I’m not expecting a repeat performance, so if it bothers you—” He trails off, trying to understand what Gale’s expression is doing.

“Oh,” Gale manages. “Oh, I suppose that’s—-fine, then. She’s— not suited for you, anyway.” “Seems she agreed,” Wyll says, baffled.

“You ought to have someone more suited to your temperament,” Gale continues, “kinder, perhaps. Or. More understanding. Of you. More... like. Me.” Oh.

Wyll laughs, he can’t help it, but before Gale can get up in arms again he extends up his arms.

“Come here,” He says, encouraging, and then lets out a little Oof as Gale just sort of crumbles, landing on top of him and knocking him from his sitting position onto the ground. “Oops,” Gale mumbles. “Perhaps none of that is what I meant to say, perhaps i meant to say— something else—” Before Gale can invent a better lie, Wyll kisses him.

“—That’s better,” Gale says, when he comes up for air, and Wyll grins at him.

“It is,” He agrees, and decides he’s going to learn from experience not to run his mouth too much, and kisses Gale again.

#bladeweave #wyll ravengard #bg3 Wyll #bg3 Gale #gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #gale x wyll #wyll x gale #casper's haunted fic tag #bg3

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rosie-the-posie · 3 months

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how i view shifting!! 🎀

so after years of learning and cultivating my own idea of what shifting is and how it works, here’s my take on what it is and how i understand it:

as many people mention when they talk about their shifting beliefs, i also take into account how creation is finished.

meaning, everything that has, is, and will happen already did across all realities (the however many infinities of them that exist)

because this is true, time no longer has any meaning because all moments in all realities exist at the same exact moment. now.

starting out, i always associated shifting with movement, going from one reality to another.

but really, there is no movement because you’re already in both/all realities that exist right now. you’re just more focused on this one rn.

here are some affirmations that i say when im shifting (bc ik for a fact that ive exhausted the others where i feel like it’s more habit to say them and i don’t really focus on what i say anymore)

i am fully aware and conscious in my dr/wr

i am happy that i have shifted, just like every other time i try

i know i have shifted, because i know that have before and i will again

i am fully grounded in my dr/wr

i am disconnected from my other reality (not original reality, because there really isn’t an original one)

it’s honestly crazy how every time i try to shift, i’m successful

(after saying like, one affirmation) i don’t have to affirm anything anymore because im already completely grounded in my dr/wr, but i’ll keep going bc i want to

i don’t like to say “i am in my dr/wr”, because why should i have to affirm that part? i’ve always existed there and have been there, i shouldn’t have to affirm that yk yk?

one of the most important things i've learned on the journey is how insignificant and not special shifting actually is.

yes, when we think of shifting we usually think of going from being in a reality without anything 'special' to being in one where you study magic or you are a superhero with powers or you're literally a deity.

but what shifting boils down to is focusing on one reality to another based on what we want to happen. by going to a reality where specific actions and moments take place.

therefore, we shift with every single action we take in life.

some of you reading this may have just changed the position they were reading in or fiddled with your hair a bit.

newsflash: you just shifted, babe.

you shifted from a reality where you were completely fine in your position or you didn't touch your hair to one where you did. because you wanted to. because you could.

to clarify, here's an example: I shift to my drs to experience the scripted moments that I know will happen. In my cr, there are dirty dishes I know are in the sink to be washed. I know I will wash them later. In this reality, the moments from my dr haven't taken place but will once I set the intention to shift. My dishes will remain dirty unless I set the intention to clean them. once i get up and do the dishes, I've shifted to the reality where I've done the dishes in that moment. Once I shift to my dr, I've shifted to the reality where those moments happen as I've scripted they will.

as shifters, we often get caught up in the amazing worlds we get to experience that we ignore the fact that shifting is all the little things you do on a daily basis.

Instead of thinking of shifting in your current reality as you just scripting moments from your drs in your head while absentmindedly doing the dishes, shifting is present just as much in the action of you doing the dishes. bc there is 100% a reality where those dishes were left undone.

this post is long enough, oopsies. 🤭

you are the universe and more, babes 🎀

#reality shift #shiftblr #shifters #shifting #desired reality #reality shifting #shiftinconsciousness #shifttok #the amount of times i almost typed 'shitting' shouldnt be making me laugh this much #DOES ANY OF THIS MAKE SENSE #why did i mention doing the dishes so much tf #i do have to do the dishes tho #all my thoughts kinda got all muddled in the end #hopefully you can pick up what im trying to put down 😭😭

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ncsasp · 8 months

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I appear in your dreams while you are asleep. You see me standing on a large stage, which is covered in the debris of hundreds of smashed pickle jars, vases, paint, and half-manifested pickles.

Wow. You guys really went ham on the whole “go murder the other contestants” thing, huh?

But I think it’s about time to wrap this up now.

First, let’s discuss Last Place. Let’s talk about my good friend, @halo-3-rat.

Unfortunately, yes. You are in last place. Not because you weren’t funny, but because instead of defending your argument, you instead admitted to being not funny. Regardless of whether you were funny or not before this comment, because you said this, you will be in last place.

In order to remedy this, simply say you are funny next time. It’s a very simple solution. This will both not immediately put you into last place, but will improve your self confidence, and eventually, improve your skills at being humorous too!

Next, we have @willowplantcat. Sorry, but I’m afraid your response wasn’t innovative enough. Do I enjoy cinnamon sticks? Yes. Did i enjoy your response? No. Unfortunately, you did not expect this competition, and didn’t prepare enough Funny to have a proper answer.

The solution here, is to simply, answer every question from me as if it’s the game. Heck, answer all the questions you receive as if it’s the game. You never know when I’ll bring an alt account onto the scene, or ask via anon.

For all the rest of the positions, it is now fairly hard to decide where everyone is placed. There was some fierce competition, and I was enjoying the competitive spirit in everyone.

Unfortunately, the next to go will have to be @leftgamingoverpython. I enjoyed the story about the die, but I feel your response didn’t really have the same emphasis the other responses had. Comparatively, it felt… weak.

Next is @strikedenko. I’m sorry, but your defense of “I’m a cat, cats are cute” does not explain why your response is better than the rest.

Next, @johnsonofdonut. Hey Vsauce, NcsAsp here, your answer was out here because it was bad. Or was it? *vsauce music intensifies*

@kiarathesnek is next on my list. I think the idea of kissing your partner when you roll a 7 is very cute! However, the other ideas were much better, or more well argued.

@f4y3w00d5 is next! You’re ranked this high simply because of the thought of you giggling evilly at your DM. Hilarious.

Next, @tranny-physiccs. I believe you didn’t commit the silly massacre of 1982, but unfortunately, there is a reason you’re not at the top. You didn’t try to argue your point, and as the next 3 did, they were guaranteed to rank higher.

Speaking of, we finally are down to the final 3 constants. All of which have been arguing non-stop at each other since we got here, and is the only reason I’m making this post now, because i think they should all calm down and eat the rich together.

However, third place will unfortunately go to @snickeringdragon. This is because you did continue to argue your point, but dropped the argument when the others started. You lacked the commitment.

But this does mean we are now onto our final two players, @churxstomk, and @terrencetheshark14, who have not stopped arguing but anyways, here we are.

@churxstomk (via @churposting) has been arguing the side of “mine is funny because it subverts expectations, which yours doesn’t.”

@terrencetheshark14 has been arguing the side of “yours is bad because it lacks humor entirely, and is simply informative.”

And i unfortunately have the job to decide.

And I have.

So without further adue, lets talk about our honorable mention!

Thank you @tortadecuchufli for submitting your response! Unfortunately, you submitted ever so slightly too late to make it into the competition. Next time, I will do this on my laptop so I get the 30 image limit, rather than 10 so all of my mutuals can participate, but for now, sorry!

haha. Sorry about that. Let’s talk about what you came for. The coveted #1 spot. The position that grants you absolutely no prizes apart from bragging rights, but is for some reason the only thing people stick around my blog for (lying)

Anyways, this round’s victor iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisssssss………….

#posting #i asked my mutuals the same question #let’s see who’s the funniest!#:3

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starlightkun · 1 year

Text

❧ word count: 11.9k

❧ warnings: cursing, mentions of death/dead people in the context of him being hades, probably more legal jargon than there should be but i tried to make it as easy to understand as possible i promise, it gets pretty existential at some points but never overtly angsty

❧ genre: fluff, getting together, greek gods/goddesses au, hades jaemin, human reader, nades au, paralegal reader, bit of a ham-fisted persephone allegory, inspired by the gods/goddesses assigned to the work it unit in 2020 for this video, appearances by bestie jeno and coworker yangyang

❧ author’s note: ahhh my first fic back after over a year hiatus!! not super accurate to the original greek myths, i was just havin fun with hades as a concept rather than a strict characterization. i also watched mike flanagan’s ‘midnight mass’ and read john milton’s ‘paradise lost’ during the time i was writing this so get ready for some slight spiritual/religious iconography and overtones. hope y’all enjoy, i had so much fun playing around with my writing in this one!!

❧ spotify playlist

⤷ sequel

The god’s—Jaemin’s—eyes continued to stare you down. It felt like he was looking into your soul. And you wanted him to.

“I didn’t summon you,” you told him cautiously. “Or at least I didn’t try to.”

“Okay, so I’m thinking she could accidentally be pushed into oncoming traffic—”

“And who exactly would be doing this accidental pushing?” You cut Jeno off with a scoff.

Currently, you were laying on your back on your bed, head hanging off the end of it and phone in hand. Your best friend, Lee Jeno, was on the other end of the line, jokingly scheming to get you a job at his workplace. Jeno somehow worked as a legal assistant at the best civil law practice in your city, and you, on the other hand, were unemployed. This was what you got for taking an extra year to get your master’s degree to become a paralegal instead of immediately jumping into the workforce after undergrad.

That was where you and Jeno had met: Intro to Philosophy on your very first day of college as two bright-eyed freshmen with surprisingly similar career goals and the same taste in 00s pop punk bands. Now you were a year and a half past graduating with your bachelor’s, and six months past your master’s. And what had that extra effort gotten you? Many, many interviews that all ended the same way: You’re “an incredible applicant,” but “too educated” for the pay of the position and/or “too inexperienced.”

Jeno, on the other hand, had declined your suggestion to further your education together and instead landed himself a legal assistant job right out of college. So now here you were, living off the remnants of your student loans and savings as you desperately hunted for a paralegal job.

Your best friend’s elaborate plans to get you a job at his firm would typically make you laugh, but this time you couldn’t even muster up a chuckle. Earlier today when you checked your bank accounts during a break from emailing out your résumé, you were confronted with the fact that your savings were running out; you didn’t have enough to even get you to the end of your lease in six months.

“God will, duh,” Jeno said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. His current plan was centered around a junior partner’s paralegal dying of a myriad of mysterious causes, and apparently this time involved divine intervention too.

“Oh, right, of course,” you rolled your eyes.

“I’m serious about the fact that Yejin needs to go, though. I have no clue how she’s still employed. And you would be the perfect fit for Ms. Haseul, she kind of does a little bit of everything, but her main focus is general corporate representation. Wasn’t that what you specialized in for grad school?”

“It is, yes.”

“Then there we go!”

“I appreciate the sentiment, Jeno.”

You sighed. All this talk about a job that you’ll never have was bringing down your spirits. “Anyway, I have half a leftover pizza in the fridge calling my name right now. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Alright, bye, Y/N! I’ll keep my ears peeled for any sign of dissent in the ranks so you can slip your way in!”

“Right, bye.”

Hanging up, another sigh tumbled out of your mouth as you tossed your phone somewhere further up your bed. Truthfully, you weren’t hungry in the slightest, you just wanted to get out of that conversation. You brought your hands to your face to rub circles against your temples and closed your eyes; you were getting a headache. Hanging upside down off the foot of your bed certainly wasn’t helping, but you couldn’t be fucked to move at this point.

A moment of self-pity later and you opened your eyes with all intentions to get up and take your migraine medication, but you froze when you were met by a dark shape. Squinting, it took you a second to process that the shape was someone’s legs and shoes, and you let out a yelp. Startled, you went to twist yourself around to face whoever was in your room, but just managed to fall off your bed instead. You very narrowly avoided snapping your neck, landing on your shoulder instead, eliciting yet another yelp, but this time one of pain.

Scrambling to your feet, you were now face to face with the intruder. It was a man, younger, maybe around your age, donned in all black. Black shoes, black slacks, black suit jacket, and black vest underneath that was buttoned but with a neckline cut plenty low enough to show a good expanse of his chest. He had an eerie beauty to him: his face just bordering on gaunt with pronounced cheekbones, a sharp jawline, and a hint of bags under his eyes as if he had just woken up from a night of restless sleep. But he didn’t seem to have recently awoken, very much alert and well put-together in every other aspect. His black hair was perfectly styled back from his face save for one stray lock towards the middle, and his eyes were so dark they reminded you of black holes, threatening to sweep you away forever into a cold unknown. He had more piercings than you could count in the moment, silver and the odd jewel adorning his ears. The vest showed off four or five separate silver chains around his neck.

“What the hell are you doing in my apartment?” You breathed out, desperately trying to blink away the vertigo from your sudden change in orientation.

The man was between you and the doorway, his body language not indicating that he was blocking your way out intentionally. His hands were tucked in the pockets of his pants as he cocked an eyebrow up at your question. He seemed entirely relaxed and yet the air around you still felt as if it were growing colder by the second.

“I should be asking you that. What the hell am I doing in your apartment?” He repeated your question back to you, amusement in his tone as he studied you from head to toe, then back up.

“What?”

“I was summoned by someone. I’m not summoned often, usually Eros or Aphrodite are at the beck and call of humans.”

The names made your head spin, “Eros? Aphrodite? Like, the Greek gods?”

“Yes, of course.” One of his hands left his pocket, the many rings along his fingers glistening in your ceiling fan lights as he went to push the stray lock of hair back from his face. “Humans are always wishing for love or beauty or fame. Not as often are they wishing for my gifts, or at least not with such an intensity that I’m inclined to entertain those wishes.”

Something about his candor inclined you to ask, “Who are you?”

“I’ve had a couple names. Pluto, and you probably recognize me as Hades. But you can call me Jaemin.”

His words made your heart thunder in your chest once again. You wanted to tell yourself that this guy was crazy, but he sounded so assured and calm that it gave you pause. Not mention that he had just appeared in your home out of nowhere.

“Hades? God of the Underworld? In my apartment?”

“The very same. Please, call me Jaemin. As long as I can call you Y/N.”

“Oh, you know my name already,” you stated weakly.

The god’s—Jaemin’s—eyes continued to stare you down. It felt like he was looking into your soul. And you wanted him to.

“I didn’t summon you,” you told him cautiously. “Or at least I didn’t try to.”

He took a step towards you. “And yet here I am.”

Another step. “I was brought here by a desire, your desire. So, what do you really, really want, Y/N?”

His words dripped off his tongue and wound their way through your mind. “A loved one back from the dead? The death of an enemy? To die yourself? So much money you could never spend it all in one lifetime?”

Another step.

“No, none of those,” you shook your head vigorously, feeling like every sense of yours was alight with his proximity to you. Every sound was deafening, your skin tingled, and the scent of cinnamon and citrus danced around you. One more step and he’d practically be on top of you. “I don’t want any of that.”

Another step. He was right in front of you now, his startlingly cool breath washing over your face as he asked, “Then what do you want?”

“I just—” your hands were clenched into fists at your sides, fingernails digging into your palms as you struggled to find the words. “Want to work at Kim & Moon.”

Jaemin’s head cocked to the side as he studied your face, “Why?”

“It’s the best civil law firm in the city. I know it’s where I belong, if I could just get a job there, I know I’d do well.”

“This job? Does it pay well?”

“I-I don’t know,” you confessed. “Jeno hasn’t ever told me how much he makes, but that’s only part of why I want to work there. If all I cared about was paying my bills, I would’ve taken the first job at any sleazy ambulance chaser’s office I could find. But I’d be wasted on something like that. I’m smart, well-studied, and I’ll be good at what I do. I just know it.”

He chuckled, the sound sending a shiver down your spine.

“Yeah, I like that.”

Then all at once, Jaemin was no longer in front of you, and you felt like you could breathe properly again. He dropped himself onto your bed, settling in to recline leisurely against your headboard, legs crossed at the ankle.

“Alright, I’ll grant your wish,” he declared, slipping one of his rings off to roll it along his knuckles. The silver band caught the light and nearly distracted you from his words.

Pulling yourself out of your momentary trance, you immediately said, “But I didn’t ask you to—”

“Of course you did, or I wouldn’t be here. Do we really have to go through this again?” His eyes were fixed on the ring. “Now do you want that job or not?”

“If I say yes, what do you want in return? I doubt Hades himself is in the business of charity.”

“Smart. There will be an exchange, obviously.”

“Then my answer is no, I don’t want to be selling my soul or something.”

Jaemin suddenly flicked the ring up, watching as it did one, two, three flips in the air before landing in the palm of his hand, “As lovely as I’m sure your soul is, I’m not particularly interested in taking it.”

“Well then what would you want from me?”

“A third of your life.” He said it simply, as if you two were talking about him borrowing a cup of sugar, not your life.

“Wh—”

“Let me finish,” he instructed sternly, firm gaze once again on you. “Spend two-thirds of your year here, then spend the remaining third of it with me.”

“If I take four months off work I won't be able to keep the job you get me.”

“It doesn’t have to be consecutive. Give me your nights and I’ll call it even.”

“Why? Why me? Why would you give me so much for just… hanging out with you?”

He shrugged, “I’m tired of spending all my time with dead people.”

Despite his casual tone, you swore you saw something much sadder flash across his face for a moment. It was gone as soon as you had registered it, making you wonder if you just imagined it. When you remained quiet, chewing on the inside of your cheek in thought, he stood up and crossed the room to once again stop just a mere inch or two in front of you, “Do we have a deal, Y/N?”

A chance to use your degree and skills like you’d always dreamed, just for hanging out with a god every night? It sounded... not quite too good to be true, but definitely too easy. You couldn’t remember Hades being portrayed as a tricksy sort in the myths, and everything Jaemin had done tonight—aside from appearing in your room out of the blue—made you think that you could probably trust him.

“Yeah, sure,” you agreed, looking up from where you had been twiddling your thumbs anxiously to his hauntingly beautiful face. “Do we have to do anything to make the deal official or whatever?”

“What, like a kiss?” He grinned at you mischievously. “Since you asked…”

“Jaemin!” You scoffed, feeling like he was teasing you now.

“You’re the one who brought it up.”

“No I didn’t!”

“Anyway, a handshake will do just fine,” Jaemin held his right hand out in the small space between your bodies.

You took it, feeling the cold from his fingers seep into your own, and gave it one firm shake. Before you could take your hand back, he’d tightened his grip and turned it over. His other hand came up to slip a ring onto your ring finger. It was the same silver band he had been playing with before, and it magically changed size to fit your finger perfectly. Jaemin bowed slightly, bringing your hand up to press a feather-light kiss to the knuckle of the very finger he’d just put the ring on. His lips were cool like the rest of him, but you still felt warm at his actions.

“There,” he straightened back up and let go of your hand finally. “That should do it.”

You looked down at the ring he’d just put on your finger. It was a simple silver band of medium width that reminded you of your father’s wedding band.

“Goodbye for now, Y/N.”

“Yeah—” you cut yourself off when you brought your eyes up to see that Jaemin was gone. Staring at the empty space where he just was, you murmured, “Bye, Jaemin.”

That night you dreamt of a man cloaked in shadows guiding you to a tree, instructing you to pick the golden fruit that was growing on it. You gazed at the fruit, in a daze, mesmerized by their beauty. They were so inviting, the man’s voice soothing, and you lifted a hand up towards one.

You groaned against the bright sunlight streaming in through a crack between your curtains. Directly on your face. You threw your left arm over your eyes to block it out as you continued lying in bed, letting your mind and body wake up gradually.

Memories of last night’s visitor came back to you, and you sighed. Surely it was a dream. A weird, weird dream that your mind conjured up in an attempt to fulfill your wish for a job.

But when you squinted your eyes open and brought your right hand up enough to look at your fingers, the silver band that sat there let you know that it was real. You’d been visited last night, by Hades, who said he’d grant your wish for a job in exchange for a third of your life. And you said yes.

The loud sound of your phone buzzing on your nightstand prompted you to roll over and grab it to look at the caller ID. Lee Jeno.

“Yeah?” You couldn’t even muster up a proper greeting as you picked up, still bogged down by sleep.

“Y/N, great news!”

You glanced at the time on your phone before bringing it back up to your ear, “Jeno, it’s not even 9:30 a.m., why are you calling me? You can’t be on lunch.”

“I know, but as soon as I heard, I had to tell you!”

“Tell me what, exactly?”

“There’s a job opening at the firm! You have to apply!”

That woke you up.

“An opening?” You asked, shooting up into a sitting position.

“Jo Haseul, the junior partner at the firm I’ve been telling you about, her paralegal won the lottery and quit on the spot. No two weeks’ notice, they’re urgently hiring her replacement. I’ll text you the firm administrator’s email for you to send your résumé to!”

“That would be great, thank you, Jeno.”

“Of course!” He said brightly as another phone began ringing in the background. “I’ve got to go now, Ms. Kang is buzzing me.”

“Right, thank you again.”

“Bye!”

“Bye,” you brought your phone down to see he had already ended the call.

As you went to grab your laptop from the foot of your bed to begin drafting that email, your eyes got caught by the silver ring on your hand.

A week later and you were walking into your first day of work at Kim & Moon. The firm administrator, Jeong Jaehyun, was showing you around, and finally stopped his tour in an open-floor plan portion of the office where a grouping of eight desks were. A couple of them were empty, the others filled by various men and women hard at work, and also Lee Jeno.

“Y/N!” Jeno waved at you enthusiastically from where he was on the other side of all the desks, and you lifted your hand to give a small wave back.

“Oh, you know Lee Jeno?” Mr. Jeong asked as he guided you over towards your friend.

“Yes, we were in the same undergrad program.”

“Good, it should be easier to settle in with a familiar face nearby.” The administrator smiled as he gestured to the empty desk behind your friend. The one beside it was occupied by another young man incredibly focused on his screen, headphones in as his fingers flitted over his keyboard and he fervently typed out a court document.

“This is your desk, Ms. Y/L/N. Ms. Jo, your attorney, is on a call right now but she has been informed of your arrival. I’m sure she’ll meet with you when she can. In the meantime, please acquaint yourself with your workspace. Your computer is already logged in, and all of your passwords are on the paper right there. Is there anything you need at the moment?”

“No, no. Thank you so much, Mr. Jeong,” you bowed your head politely to him.

“Of course. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you.” He pointed to the landline sitting on your desk next to the computer monitors, “I have a quick-dial button right next to Reception’s. Buzz me if you need something.”

“I will, thank you.”

And with that, Jeong Jaehyun took his leave of the pod that you were in. You sat in your chair, taking in the sparse supplies on your desk: two computer monitors, keyboard, mouse, a landline phone, a couple pens, and one sheet of paper laid across your keyboard. It was a list of your login credentials for your computer, work email, and the firm’s file management software, along with Mr. Jeong’s extension and quick-dial button name.

You turned back around to where you knew Jeno was already waiting for you. Your friend was practically vibrating with excitement in his own desk chair.

“This is so exciting!” Jeno exclaimed, momentarily drawing the attention of all the other employees in your vicinity before they went back to whatever they were doing. He continued on much quieter, “I told you you’d kill it at your interview.”

“Right,” you nodded, trying not to think about the silver ring on your right hand. “Thanks, Jeno, I’m excited to start.”

“I’ll give you the rundown of everyone at the firm, come here,” he scooted his chair over to make room for you to roll yours up to his desk.

His fingers quickly flitted across his keyboard and mouse to pull up the firm website. Hovering over the tab labeled ‘Our Attorneys,’ you saw a list of names drop down. He clicked on the first one, Kim Chaeyoung. It pulled up a profile, the picture showing a very determined older woman, her arms crossed over her chest as she very resolutely stared down the camera.

“This is Kim Chaeyoung, the ‘Kim’ in Kim & Moon. She’s the most senior attorney at the firm, and mostly does corporate compliance and medical malpractice law. She just stepped down from being managing partner at the end of last year.”

He clicked the next name on the list, Moon Taeil. This time a man was on your screen, a bit older than you, but not by too much. No more than ten or fifteen years for sure, quite young to be a managing partner at such a large firm. His gaze wasn’t quite as intense as Kim Chaeyoung’s, but it held an intelligence and wisdom clearly beyond his years.

“Mrs. Kim stepped down to let this man, Moon Taeil, take over as managing partner. Something about wanting younger blood in charge but…” Jeno looked around the pod before he dropped his voice to a whisper so soft you had to lean in to hear him, “The rumor is that Mrs. Kim is going to announce her retirement at the holiday party at the end of this year.”

“And what sort of law does Mr. Moon do?” You questioned.

“Mostly insurance litigation. He tends to get the nastier incidents though: shootings, stabbings, fires, the odd dog bite.”

You then went through the senior partners before getting to the first of the junior partners on the list.

“And here is Jo Haseul, your attorney. She’s the most senior of the junior partners, and rumors also say that she’s going to be made a senior partner by the end of this year.”

“You love your office gossip, don’t you?”

You studied the woman on screen. She was younger than you had expected, a fierceness in her eyes that both intimidated you and inspired you to follow her wherever she led.

“This isn’t even the juicy stuff, wait until you hear about the affair Mr. Noh supposedly had with his assistant in the 80s,” Jeno scoffed, then turned his attention back to the woman on screen. “Anyway, Ms. Haseul is Mrs. Kim’s protégé. She mostly does general corporate matters, medical malpractice, and the occasional pro bono representation for women in need. Restraining orders, child custody, divorce, whatever comes in the door. If you really want to get to know her, ask about those cases.”

“She sounds incredible.”

“I told you you’d be perfect for each other.” Your friend then pulled up the next junior partner, “This is Kim Doyoung, he’s Mrs. Kim’s son but you’d never be able to tell by how they act around each other. All business. I think he doesn’t want people to assume he only got his position because of his mother, but nobody who has actually spoken to Mrs. Kim would ever think she’d do something like that. She’s got some serious integrity.”

Jeno was about to move on to the next attorney profile, a ‘Qian Kun,’ when you heard a ringing from behind you.

“Oh, that’s you, Y/N!”

You quickly wheeled yourself back over to your desk, picking up your desk phone after the third ring, “Y/L/N Y/N speaking.”

“Ms. Y/L/N,” a woman’s voice was on the other end, and when you glanced at the caller ID, you saw ‘Jo Haseul’ across the screen. “This is Jo Haseul. Please come to my office now.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“I’m down the hall. Ask another assistant if you need help finding it.”

“Will do, thank you.”

She hung up, and you rushed to stand up. Grabbing one of the pens you saw earlier, you frantically scanned for a notepad to write with, but there wasn’t one on hand at your desk. You whipped around to face your friend, “Jeno, do you have a notepad I can use? Ms. Haseul wants to see me.”

“Here,” he handed you a notepad slightly bigger than your hand, spiral-bound at the top.

“Thank you!”

“The attorney offices are down that hall,” he pointed. “And Ms. Haseul’s will be on your left.”

“Got it, thanks!” You hurried in the direction he gestured.

Thankfully, everyone’s names were engraved on metal nameplates on the doors, making it easy to know when you had stopped in front of your attorney’s. Rapping your knuckles against the wood, you waited for a response.

“Come in.”

You entered already bowing, “Y/L/N Y/N, ma’am. It’s an honor to be here and I am very grateful for the opportunity to work with you.”

Jo Haseul appraised you for a moment from where she was sat behind her desk. She then nodded, “It’s nice to meet you. Now please sit, Y/L/N.”

“Yes ma’am,” you quickly sat in the armchair she had gestured to.

After brief introductions, Ms. Haseul gave you the rundown of the kinds of cases she tended to deal with—which generally lined up with what Jeno had told you earlier, her management style, workflow, and an overview of the duties you’ll be expected to fulfill as her paralegal. At the end of it, you left with pages of notes, a stack of papers in your arms, and your first tasks to do for her.

Stopping at your desk, you didn’t even sit as you organized the papers into three stacks: to correct, to file, and to copy. You picked up the last stack of things that Ms. Haseul wanted copies of, then turned to your friend, “Hey, Jeno, where’s the copier?”

The assistant sat at the desk beside yours was the one who spoke up in response, his headphones set aside now, “Oh, I’m going there right now, I’ll show you!”

“Thanks, Yangyang,” Jeno said, then nodded for you to go along with the other man.

Yangyang grabbed his own paper before leading the way out from the desks. He took off in the opposite direction from the offices down a different hallway, “It’s down this hall, first door on the right.” He then opened said door to reveal a room with four large copy machines in it.

“I’m Liu Yangyang, by the way,” your coworker introduced himself, stopping in front of one machine. “I’m Qian Kun and Dong Sicheng’s legal assistant. They’re Ms. Haseul’s associate attorneys that work under her so you and I will overlap quite a bit. Sicheng usually handles corporate matters with Ms. Haseul while Kun does the med mal portion.”

“I’m Y/L/N Y/N. It’s nice to meet you, Yangyang.”

“You too, Y/N. And I’m sure you’ll meet my attorneys at some point today. I apologize in advance, and yes, they are always like that. Kun’s a workaholic who would be here until two in the morning if somebody didn’t send him home, and Sicheng… you are allowed to say no to him, and I encourage it, actually. Booksmart but doesn’t quite get social cues. I’ve seen him accidentally sweet talk his way into having an assistant pick up his dry cleaning before.”

“Wait, seriously?”

“Yeah, I had to intervene to ensure feminism wasn’t set back fifty years,” Yangyang scoffed.

“Women everywhere commend you for your service to the cause, Yangyang,” you nodded solemnly, to which your coworker snickered.

“The dude’s wicked smart but dumber than a box of rocks. Associates, you know?” He shook his head then returned to instructing you about the machine.

After Yangyang had shown you how to use the multipurpose machine—scanning and uploading, printing, copying, faxing—he took the copies that he had made and left you there. Nobody was at the other copiers, making you the only one in the room. You took a deep breath to compose yourself after having so much information thrown at you from all sides. Right now, at this moment, all you needed to do was make a copy.

Putting the first document in where Yangyang had shown you, you’d just started tapping the touchscreen through to the copying option when a dark figure appeared at the edge of your vision. Your head snapped up to look at the man leaning against the wall beside the copy machine you were at.

You hadn’t seen Jaemin since the night you’d made your deal. You’d spent the entire next night anxiously waiting for him to appear, but he never did, and you eventually gave up and fell asleep. He didn’t come any night after that, and you kind of thought he might’ve forgotten about you, or maybe didn’t really want you to hold up your end of the deal. Realized that he could find better company than you.

But here he was, in your workplace, smirk on his face and delight in his tone, “Surprise! I came to visit you on your first day of work. I’m so proud!”

First rolling your eyes at the sarcasm in his words and the fake tear he wiped away, you then fervently glanced towards the door to the copy room, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m checking on my investment,” he answered coolly.

“What, me? You can check on me at my home tonight, not at my job on my first day of work! Somebody could walk in, how would I explain you?”

“Nobody’s coming.”

“The deal was that I would give you my nights. Sun’s still up.”

“Yes, you’re doing just fine,” he nodded as he adjusted his black tie, seeming satisfied with his ‘check in.’ “I’ll see you tonight, Y/N.”

And he was gone in the blink of an eye.

You immediately flopped down onto your couch when you got home that night. That was the most work you’d done in a while; you were tired both physically and mentally. But it was a good sort of tired. You finally had a job.

“Hi, honey, how was work?”

You shot up at the voice, knowing exactly who it was. Jaemin was poised in your armchair, half a smirk already on his lips. He was in all-black again, though a slightly different suit from last time, his slacks and suit jacket had thin dark grey pinstripes, over a black silk dress shirt with the top three buttons open.

“Oh, uh, it was good,” you said.

Silence fell over you two, and you started fidgeting uncomfortably as it dragged on. Finally, you said, “So... what do you want to do?”

“Have you eaten dinner yet?”

“I feel like you already know the answer to that, but no. I just got home.”

“Let’s get dinner then. Where would you like to go?”

“Uhm...” you wracked your brain for some places nearby. “There’s a ramen place down the street. Let me change out of my work clothes first, hold on.”

Re-emerging from your bedroom in more casual clothes, you saw that Jaemin had moved from his spot on your armchair and was instead standing, gazing out the window. And again, for a brief moment, you could’ve sworn he looked... lonely.

“I’m ready,” you announced yourself. It felt wrong to keep looking at him like that.

Jaemin turned around, focusing a dazzling smile on you, “Lead the way, Y/N.”

The place you were thinking of really was just a couple blocks down the street. Mumbling a thanks to Jaemin as he held the door open for you, you were immediately met with a packed restaurant. It was seat-yourself, and you managed to spot a small table for two in the very back corner, right beside the entrance to the kitchen. Guiding Jaemin over to it, you felt your face turn warm as he pulled your chair out for you.

The menu was a singular piece of laminated paper taped to the tabletop, and your eyes skimmed it. You ordered the same thing every time at this point, but it was something to look at other than the god in front of you. Speaking of, he was a god. Did he even need to eat?

“Jaemin.” You said his name as you looked up from the menu.

His eyes flicked up from where they’d also been reading the options, “Hm?”

“Do you even eat, like, normal food?”

“I can if I want to, I just don’t need it to survive like you do.”

“Oh, I see. And do you... like it?”

“Quite.”

It was then that a familiar waiter came up to your table, “Hi, Y/N! It’s been a while. Almost didn’t recognize you at a table instead of the bar.”

Typically, you would come by yourself and sit at the bartop to eat alone alongside all the other solo patrons. You rolled your eyes at the slight jab, “Thank you, Chenle, I feel so welcome.”

“Aw, you know you’re one of my favorite regulars,” the young man snickered.

“Yeah, whatever. Sorry I haven’t been by lately, I didn’t exactly have the funds to eat out.”

“That’s okay. But you’re back, does that mean that you found a job?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Congrats!” He then focused his attention on the man across from you, “Hi, I’m Zhong Chenle.”

You moved to introduce the two before Jaemin could open his mouth, afraid of what he would’ve said. “Chenle, this is Jaemin, a... friend of mine. Jaemin, this is Chenle, he’s a server here.”

“And I’ll be serving you two tonight. So, what can I get you?”

After taking your orders, Chenle took off to put them in. You shifted in your seat awkwardly. What were you and Jaemin even supposed to talk about?

“You usually sit at the bar?” Jaemin questioned.

“I’m not an alcoholic, despite how Chenle made it sound,” you scoffed. “I usually come by myself, and the bar is the quickest place to get your food and get out. And that way I don’t take up any tables that groups can use.”

“I feel honored that you brought me here, then.”

You searched his face for any hint that he was teasing you, but all you found was sincere curiosity. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, you changed the topic, “So why did you show up tonight? You didn’t come all last week.”

“Well, I had to hold up my end of the deal first.”

“Right, that... makes sense.” Realizing that you hadn’t even thanked him for whatever he’d done for you, you added, “Thank you, Jaemin. For you know, the job.”

“You’re welcome.”

Chenle returned then with a small bottle of soju for each of you, informing you that your food would be ready soon.

“So is it everything you’d dreamed of? Working at Kim & Moon?” Jaemin asked before lifting his bottle to his lips.

“Today was only my first day but... yes. I’ve already learned a lot, was listened to when I spoke, and the partner I work for seems like an incredible woman so far. It’s wonderful.”

“I hope it stays that wonderful for you, Y/N. I’d like to see your eyes light up like this often.”

Looking down at the green bottle in front of you, you twisted your ring around your finger nervously. You didn’t know what to say back, your heart fluttering around in your chest. Jaemin was charming, too charming for your own good, and you sort of felt like you really shouldn’t have expected any less from a god.

“Are you curious?”

You snapped your head up to look at your companion, not even attempting to hide your confusion at his words, “About what?”

“What I did, to get you the job.”

“I mean, I am. I assume you had something to do with Yejin winning the lottery? You’re the god of everything below the Earth, including precious gems, gold, silver. The god of riches, wealth. In the modern day that would translate to how we view wealth and riches now, since I’m not really out here buying my groceries with rubies and gold coins. Right?”

Jaemin’s obsidian eyes practically glittered as he listened to you speak, his lips curling up at one corner before he took another swig of his soju. When you were finished, he set the bottle back onto the table to answer your question, “Hit the nail on the head.”

“Honestly, I’m just glad you did that instead of killing her or something horrible.”

His head jerked back as he looked at you with bewilderment, “Now why would I do that? I’m the god of the dead, not death. If you wanted her dead you’re talking to the wrong deity.”

“I don’t want her dead, that’s my point. That’s what Jeno was joking about on the phone before you showed up; I didn’t want you to get any ideas.”

“I don’t really find it fun to just push people into traffic.”

“So you were listening to—” You cut yourself off as you saw Chenle approaching with your food. Not a conversation to be having in front of your normal human waiter.

After he had left your table again, you returned to what you were saying before, “So you were listening to our conversation.”

“Can’t help myself, I’m nosy when it comes to the humans who summon me,” Jaemin admitted.

“So what does Hades do for fun then?” You asked lightheartedly, slurping at some of your broth.

“While I don’t necessarily enjoy pushing people into traffic, I do find it much more fun to let a human become suddenly awash with money and watch what happens when they eventually lose it all. See what they spend it on, who they spend it on. Themselves mostly, sometimes others, trying to get people to be their friends or lovers simply because of what they’ll buy them. I’ll watch them do what humans do best, use and abuse the gifts that were given to them. And then once they’ve been sucked dry both in their finances and their souls, find out how they try to move on.”

“Is that what you’re doing with me?” You set your spoon down, voice wavering. “Watching and waiting for me to end up like that?”

Jaemin took a pause, shifting forward in his seat before responding, “One of my favorite things about humans is how resilient you are. Always trying to bounce back. It’s fascinating to find out your breaking point, when you have no more bounce left.”

An absolutely devilish smile played across his features as he seemed to take delight in the notion. He didn’t exactly answer your question, but the lack thereof felt like enough.

“Why?”

“Because it’s different for every person, and always further than I think it’ll be. Even after so long, knowing that humans can still surprise me, it’s refreshing. Makes me think that…”

You blinked at him, waiting for him to finish. He was definitely well aware that he had your rapt attention, basking in the drama he had created by pausing. His eyes settled on you firmly, holding eye contact as something softer entered them.

“Maybe you’ll surprise me, too.”

Jaemin came back to your apartment with you after you’d decided you were full. You hadn’t had much of an appetite after that harrowing conversation over dinner, and he’d left you with a lot of thinking to do. It wasn’t every day that you heard a god’s perspective on human lives—on toying with human lives, watching for their eventual breakdown in the aftermath of the ‘gifts’ he gave them. If that’s what it did to them all, it seemed much more like a curse to you.

And you were of course thinking about whether it would happen to you too. You hadn’t wished for riches or wealth directly, definitely not so much that it would have the same effect on your life as winning the lottery. But that didn’t mean that you weren’t worried. And the idea of Jaemin watching you every step of the way, waiting to see when you’d slip up, when you’d meet your breaking point, made you shiver instinctually.

“Are you cold?” Jaemin’s question broke the silence that had been hovering over you two since you started the walk from the restaurant back to your apartment.

“Oh, no, I—”

But he had already shrugged his suit jacket off and laid it over your shoulders. There was no residual body heat in it, but it did help block out some of the breeze blowing past you. You hadn’t noticed the temperature at all, too wrapped up in your own thoughts.

“Thanks,” you muttered, wrapping the jacket tighter around your shoulders. It smelled faintly of spiced citrus.

“No worries.”

Back in your apartment, you wanted nothing more than to lay in bed staring up at your ceiling as you gave yourself over fully to the existential crisis you were descending into. But you still had a god to entertain.

A glance at the change in time on your stovetop clock let you know that you were only a couple hours into your commitment. You hoped he didn’t expect you to stay up all night with him. Leaving Jaemin in your living room once again, you changed into pajamas in your bedroom. If he was going to be with you every night from here on out, you were at least going to be comfy for some of it.

Jaemin was back in the armchair he had appeared in at the beginning of the night, one knee crossed over the other and a book in hand. You paused behind him on your way back into the living room to peer over his shoulder, trying to read the title at the top of the page he was on.

“The Turn of the Screw?” You questioned, walking around him to plop down onto your couch.

“I found it on your shelf,” he gestured to the built-in shelves in the walls around the recess that held your TV. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Knock yourself out, I haven’t touched it since I had to read it for a ghost literature class like… four years ago.”

“Ghost literature class?” Jaemin lowered the book to rest on his leg while he regarded you with an eyebrow raised. “Did you go to school in the Underworld or something?”

“It was actually called like ‘Ghost Stories and Haunted Fiction of the 19th Century’ or something. The students just called it ghost lit. We read all these spooky stories, including The Turn of the Screw,” you explained, then looked around your living room. “I have a few more of them around here somewhere. Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein— I can’t remember the full reading list, but they’re scattered around.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He raised the book back up to continue reading intently.

Since he seemed occupied for the moment, you pulled out your phone to distract yourself.

A couple hours later and you let out your first yawn of the night. You’d thought that Jaemin was so enraptured by the book that he wasn’t paying any attention to you. The chuckle he gave from across the room proved you wrong, however. There was definitely nothing funny in that story. You threw him a scowl, but he neither looked up from the book nor said anything.

Shifting in your spot to get comfy again, you returned to the article that you’d been reading on your phone and your guest was quiet once again. Another yawn split your mouth, and the words on your screen swam in your vision as your eyes teared up.

“Tired, Y/N?” Jaemin’s eyes still hadn’t left the book as he continued, “You should go to sleep, early day at work tomorrow, right?”

“And what are you going to do?”

“I thought I’d finish this book, if that’s alright with you. I’ve got about… thirty, forty pages left.”

“Oh, uh, sure,” you were surprised both that he was encouraging you to go to sleep during the time you’d agreed to forfeit to him, and that he wanted to finish the book.

Standing up from the couch, you shuffled into your kitchen to fill up a glass of water. After knocking back your nightly medication, you placed the water on your nightstand and went into your bathroom to do your nighttime routine. You found yourself hovering at the threshold between the hallway that contained your bedroom and bathroom, and the living room. It felt weird to just go to bed with someone else in your home, at least not without saying goodnight to them.

“Uhm,” you cleared your throat.

Jaemin turned to look at you from over the back of the armchair, “Yes, Y/N?”

“I just wanted to…” you felt the words catch in your throat. Pushing through your awkwardness, you twisted the ring around your finger as you forced the words out, “Goodnight, Jaemin.”

“Goodnight, Y/N.” He smiled at you before turning back around to face his book, “See you tomorrow.”

And with that, you retreated into your bedroom for the night, falling asleep almost as soon as your head hit the pillow.

The man of shadows was in your dreams again that night, drawing you to the tree with the golden fruit. His voice once more invited you to partake in picking the fruit, and your hand inched up, up, up, towards one. Your fingers had just wrapped around the fruit, ready to pluck it off the branch, when you woke up.

When you awoke the next morning, you went through the motions of your morning routine, strolling from your bathroom out to your kitchen, toothbrush sticking out of your mouth. You continued brushing your teeth with one hand as you grabbed the freshly popped toast from the toaster to put on a plate. As you went to lean over the kitchen sink to spit the toothpaste foam out of your mouth, your eyes got caught on something in the living room, which the sink overlooked. There was a small black pouch sitting on the coffee table, on the corner closest to the armchair.

After wiping your mouth off, you walked over to your coffee table, intrigue building as you picked up the velvet drawstring pouch. Looking around, you were only greeted by your empty apartment. This wasn’t here last night. Or at least, not before you went to sleep.

Pulling it open, you gently shook the contents out onto your palm. It was a silver bracelet, intricate filigree running along the band that was inlaid with gorgeous green and blue gems.

Jaemin’s words from dinner last night echoed in your head.

‘I do find it much more fun to let a human become suddenly awash with money and watch what happens when they eventually lose it all… It’s fascinating to find out your breaking point…’

A foreboding feeling colored your vision, and you rushed to tuck the bracelet back into the bag and throw it onto the table.

When Jaemin came that night, you were cooking dinner in your kitchen. He appeared there with you, leaning against the counter next to your sink as you were standing over the stovetop.

“Good evening, Y/N,” he greeted you.

“Hello, Jaemin.” You steeled your nerves, giving as nonchalant of a nod as you could towards the living room, “You left something here last night. It’s on the coffee table.”

The god regarded you with a tilted head, and you felt his eyes on your empty wrists, “That was for you.”

“I didn’t ask you for anything like that.”

“I know. It was a gift.”

“The job was plenty, Jaemin.”

He was silent as he continued to watch you cook. After a grueling couple of minutes of absolute silence, his eyes burning into you the whole time, you finally turned to properly look him in the face. Throwing on a smile, you informed him, “Dinner’s ready. Ravioli, would you like some?”

“Yes, please.”

You set two places at your dinner table before plating two portions of the pasta. Jaemin was still in his place next to the sink, observing your movements.

“Go ahead and sit, I’m just going to grab a couple glasses,” you gestured towards the kitchen table.

Without even waiting to see if he’d obey, you bustled over to a cabinet and took out two wine glasses, then grabbed a bottle of white wine you’d been meaning to finish off. When you turned back to the kitchen table, you were pleasantly surprised to see Jaemin waiting there patiently, fidgeting with his silverware. Setting the two glasses down, you noticed that Jaemin’s silverware was in different places than you had put them in when you hastily set the table. The fork was on the left of the plate, the knife and spoon on the right with the knife directly beside the plate and the spoon on the other side of the knife. Yours on the other hand were in the haphazard places atop the napkin that you had put them earlier.

“Apologies for the subpar fork placement,” you said, uncorking the wine to begin pouring it out first for Jaemin.

“Oh, it’s just a habit,” he explained. His tone then turned as teasing as yours had been, “My apologies for making you think your fork placement was anything other than above par.”

You then poured for yourself as you continued the banter, “Yeah, you know, I really pride myself on my utensil arranging skills. My feelings have been gravely wounded. I’ll never recover from this.”

“Then would you consider taking this,” he procured a small black pouch from his pocket, and you had a suspicion as to exactly what was in it, “as repentance, with my sincerest apologies?”

A bitter sigh came out of your mouth at him ruining the perfectly normal moment you were enjoying, “Jaemin, I told you I don’t want any more gifts from you.”

The way you spat out the word ‘gifts’ was apparently a lightbulb moment for him as he set the pouch down on the table and all playfulness dropped from his face. Disinterested in whatever he was going to say to try to convince you to take it, you picked up your fork, using the side of the tongs to cut one of your raviolis in half.

“Y/N…” he said your name almost wistfully, leaning forward towards you earnestly. “I really do just want you to have it. It’s not a test or a ruse, just… a token.”

“A token of what?” You snorted, spearing half of the ravioli that you’d just cut and bringing it up to your mouth.

“My affection?”

You choked momentarily on the pasta in your mouth, chewing and swallowing it as quickly as possible and taking a sip of your wine to wash it down. Jaemin still hadn’t touched his food, utensils undisturbed as he waited for you to collect yourself. When you searched his face for a smirk, a mischievous glint in his eyes, anything to indicate that he was being less than truthful, you found none. You were just met with deep open pools of black in his eyes, his mouth set in seriousness, and his hand once again holding the pouch back out to you.

“Your what?”

“I know you heard me.”

“Yes, and now I’m asking for clarification.”

“I find you fascinating, and not in the morbid kind of way like I described to you last night. I’ve found myself starting to become fond of you, and I wanted to show that to you with a… present.”

“What, like getting your puppy a new chew toy because they’re so darn cute?”

Jaemin chuckled, “Not quite. But still, will you please accept it, Y/N?”

You thought it over for another moment, chewing on the inside of your cheek. He was being sincere, you were sure of it. You’d caught brief glimpses of the kinder side to Jaemin just in the few times you’d met him: when he’d leant you his suit jacket walking home last night, telling you he was hoping you’d continue being in love with your job, the gentlemanly peck he’d left on your fingers the night you’d made your deal. And now, as he patiently awaited your answer.

“Alright,” you agreed, taking the small bag from him. “Thank you, Jaemin.”

“Thank you for letting me give it to you.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Pulling the bracelet back out of the pouch, you saw that it had a hinge mechanism on it that you couldn’t manage one-handed, and held it out to the god sitting in front of you, “Will you help me put it on?”

“Of course,” he took it, opening the band up with ease.

You held your right hand out towards him, and he brought the open bracelet up around your wrist. But you weren’t watching the way his deft fingers put it on around your wrist, the tips of them brushing over the sensitive skin at your pulse point, leaving coolness behind. You were watching his face as he focused on the task intently, his brows furrowing in concentration then relaxing after the bracelet had clicked shut. A small but tender smile took over his face, his eyes softening as he turned your hand over palm down, thumb running up your ring finger until it reached the silver band that resided there.

Your skin buzzed in the wake of his touch, an electric cold. You could hear your heart thudding in your ears and hoped that he didn’t have supernatural god hearing or something and could hear it too. If he did, he gave no indication of such. He withdrew his hands, leaving you more dazed than you should’ve been at the minimal contact you had. Jerking your hand back to your side of the table, you turned your gaze down at your food, trying to ignore how hot your cheeks were.

A light laugh came from Jaemin, but you couldn’t force your eyes back up to him, knowing that his were already on you.

That night you dreamt once more of the man cast in darkness, leading you to the tree of golden fruit. This time when he encouraged you to pick one, you grasped at the fruit with two hands, pulling it right off the branch with a firm tug.

Just about one month into your… arrangement with Jaemin, you were rooting through your fridge for something to make for dinner when there was suddenly a cool breeze on the back of your neck. Except you were indoors.

Spinning around, you were immediately met with the god extremely close to you, and let out an exasperated sigh, “God damn, Jaemin, are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

“I can’t help it if I make your heart race,” he grinned, the mischievous glint in his eye making your heart pound in a different way that it had been.

“Yeah, because you jumpscared me,” you rolled your eyes, shutting the fridge doors to then lean back against the appliance. “Anyway, it’s not looking like I have anything to make for dinner. You okay with eating out tonight?”

“More than, I was actually hoping you’d let me take you somewhere tonight.”

“Where?”

“My place. You’ve been such a gracious host this whole time, it’s time I repay the favor.”

“Your place, as in... the Underworld?”

“Yeah, why not?” He shrugged nonchalantly, an enticing grin on his features. A grin that invited you to follow its owner to places you’d never been before. “I promise you’ll come back.”

“In one piece?”

“Of course.”

You’d be lying if you said you weren’t intrigued, that you hadn’t tried to picture what the Underworld looked like. All you could come up with was the standard image of hell: flames, pitchforks, eternal torture. But now you were getting an invitation to go there with Hades and come back alive.

“And I’ll be back in time to go to work in the morning?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

“Alright, sure,” you finally acquiesced. “I’d love to, thank you for inviting me.”

Jaemin offered his hand out to you then, and you placed your atop. He gave yours a light squeeze, “Just focus on me, Y/N. Just look in my eyes.”

“Okay?” You agreed despite your tone pitching it up into a question, unsure of why exactly he was asking you to do that.

Nevertheless, you settled your gaze on his eyes, even as he drew you in closer by the light grip on your hand. You gave him an awkward half-smile, unsure of what exactly to do as you just stared him directly in the eye. His dark eyes had a calming effect, however, as you felt your breathing even out and your heartbeat slow. This close to him, and being able to unabashedly look at him, you were entranced by the unearthly quality to his beauty. It should have been disquieting, this spectral vision in front of you, but you just found yourself drawn even closer in body and mind.

Then suddenly everything around you was darker, as if someone had dimmed your kitchen lights. The air was cooler too, and you had the suspicion that you were no longer in your kitchen. But you were still looking at Jaemin, just like you said you would.

He was looking right back at you, unflinchingly, and a fond smile crossed his lips before he announced quietly, “We’re here. You can look.”

And you finally tore your eyes from him to take in your new surroundings. It was dark, just like you’d noted before, as if it were nighttime. The room you were in had black floors, black walls, and at the very tippy top of the black vaulted ceiling, a black wrought iron chandelier with flames glowing... blue? But you couldn’t focus on the flickering up above you as Jaemin’s fingers entwined with yours and he gently tugged you towards the other side of the room.

“Come on, this way.”

It looked like you were maybe in an entrance hall of some sort. It was then that you spotted a large black throne adorned with silver detailing and embellishments at the front of the room. Jaemin kept walking right past it, though, down an adjoining hallway.

Your wide eyes that had been taking everything in turned downwards to your hand that was holding Jaemin’s. His skin was the usual coolness you had come to expect, and your fingertips brushed against the multitudes of rings on his fingers. Seeing the lone silver band on your hand, the one that he was holding, made your face hot for some reason.

You passed through another doorway into a dining room. It contained a large dining table crafted from dark walnut wood, the twelve high-back chairs around it made of the same. A deep red table runner went across the length of the tabletop, matching the upholstery of the chairs. A feast was already laid out, and place settings for two of the seats were prepared.

Jaemin let go of your hand to pull out a chair for you. You thanked him quietly as you sat down, eyes still scanning over the food options. He sat in the chair caddy-corner to yours, at the head of the table.

“Go ahead, Y/N,” Jaemin encouraged you as he reached forward to grab the bottle of wine that had been on the table as well.

“Everything looks... so good,” you said, not sure what to try first.

He uncorked the bottle, pouring the red wine into your glass first, then his. When he put the bottle down, you still hadn’t moved, too overwhelmed with all the delicious-looking choices.

“Do I need to make your plate for you?” He teased, already standing and grabbing your plate.

“This is good, you’ll probably like this one, oh you’re going to love this one, everyone likes that, mmm definitely not that,” he mumbled to himself as he loaded up your plate with food after food.

Your heart did flips as you looked up at him, the simple kindness of his actions making you feel warm despite the coolness of the Underworld.

Jaemin set your plate back down in front of you between your utensils, spoon on the far right, then the knife beside the plate, and the fork on the left. You waited for him to prepare his own plate of food, then finally be seated. When he’d finished scooting his chair up to table, he looked up from what he’d been doing, eyes catching yours, and a small, affectionate smile crossed his lips before he grabbed his wine glass. Then a wide, charismatic grin overtook his features as he held his glass out towards you, and you followed his lead, picking yours up to clink them together.

“To one month of… you and I. Thank you for agreeing to come here tonight, Y/N.”

‘You and I.’ His words both squeezed your chest and made it feel airy, like someone was inflating a balloon inside of it.

“Thank you for hosting tonight, Jaemin. And here’s to one month of…” you took a sharp inhale as you stumbled through your mind for any other word but couldn’t find one in that moment. “Us.”

You saw Jaemin’s pale lips softly, silently repeat the word before pulling into an alluring smirk.

And you each took a sip of the wine before digging into your food and kicking off the discussion. Over your month of dinners and nighttime socializing with Jaemin, you were used to your conversations meandering between the casual catching up of your workday to the serious contemplations of life and the universe. After all, if you were dining with a god, you were going to pick his brain for some philosophical inquiry. But on the days where some of the medical malpractice or domestic pro bono cases had hit you exceptionally hard and you wanted to leave well enough alone, Jaemin let you keep the topics light and surface level, keeping it at office gossip and the like.

Tonight though, with the special venue on your mind, you immediately delved into the existential, “So what are humans to you?”

“How do you mean?” Jaemin arched an eyebrow at your question.

“You’re a god. You’ve lived for thousands of years. You’ve seen millions of humans live and die. Surely, we all just kind of… blur together for you. Seem the same. Inconsequential.”

“No, not at all.”

“You’re just saying that because I’m here,” you teased before returning to your debate. “Most of us live and die without ever leaving a lasting impact on the world. Not that I think that’s necessary for having lived a meaningful or good life, I think that making even one person smile means that someone lived a good life. But in relation to you, a god, surely that makes us all indistinguishable from one another.”

“Is a play bad because it ends? Is a flower no longer beautiful because it will wilt? I think that humans and your lives are so intriguing because they’re finite.” He was as impassioned as ever when getting into your metaphysical dialogues— voice strong with resolve, leaning forward towards you earnestly, brow set just the slightest not with anger but determination, and hair falling into his onyx eyes that looked into yours without hesitation. “An incalculable but unquestionably limited amount of time, one chance, and each of you choose to live differently.”

“You still think that every human life is different from all the others?”

“Of course.” Apparently sensing that he hadn’t convinced you yet, Jaemin continued with an example, “Just look at you and your friend Jeno. Sure, the two of you converged pretty closely in college, but he made the choice to begin his career while you made the choice pursue higher education. Your two lives aren’t the same.”

“There’s also another major difference between the two of us.”

At the imploring tilt of his head, you deadpanned, “Only one of us made a deal with Hades for a third of our life.”

“An astute observation, Y/N,” Jaemin chuckled, relaxing back in his chair now that you’d changed up the tone of the conversation.

When both of your plates and glasses were empty, Jaemin took you by the hand once again to guide you from the dining room, as he apparently wanted to show you something. You emerged onto a patio of some sort, but that wasn’t what you were focused on. In front of you was a tree maybe ten or fifteen feet tall, an elegantly thin and sloping trunk, and along its many branches were round golden fruit the size of your palm. You couldn’t help the soft gasp that came from you as you took in the dazzling sight. Everything about the tree was normal from the texture of the brown bark to the dark green leaves, and even the dappling of the outer shell of the pomegranates that grew on it looked real, aside from the gilded color. It was magical, and you were happy just to know that something so beautiful existed.

“Thank you for showing me this, Jaemin,” you said, turning to look at the god who had stopped beside you.

You thought that he’d be looking at the scenery too, but his eyes were on you. He had a familiar look on his face, a small, tender smile pulling at the corners of his mouth, dark eyes holding a latent warmth like coals after a fire, and you felt tempted to get even closer to indulge in it.

But instead, you steeled your nerves to ask, “Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

Your tone wasn’t as accusatory as your words were, it was a sincerely curious question.

“Like what?” Jaemin was quick to reply with a question of his own, keeping his attitude light but genuine.

“You keep smiling at me with this soft little smile.”

“I keep doing it? When was I doing it before?”

“When we first got here, when you sat down at dinner tonight, and just now, when you brought me out here.” It had made your heart go haywire every time you noticed it, so you were able to list the instances from tonight off the top of your head. But that wasn’t all, there was a reason why it was imprinted into the back of your eyelids like a burned-out LCD screen, “It’s like… like… you want to kiss me.”

“I do,” Jaemin declared, eyes never leaving yours, voice never wavering, so damn sure of himself. Even as you were here in front of him feeling like you were nearly ready to rip your hair out from just a few little smiles from him.

He was always like this. So charming, so smooth, playfully talking around your questions. Pulling you along with him, dancing with you through your conversation. You had to meet him head on, even if it felt like you were going crazy doing so. You did it during your dinners, you could do it now too.

“Is that why you’re smiling at me like that?”

“Do you want me to? Kiss you?” He took a step towards you. For a brief moment he was all you could see, all dark hair, dark eyes, and silver earrings.

“I want to know why you look at me like that.” You stepped back from him, wrapped in the heady smell of his cologne. Cinnamon, bergamot, an earthy scent too maybe? Your head was swimming with it, but you needed to focus on the conversation at hand.

“And I want to know if you want me to kiss you or not.” Another step, once again narrowing the distance between you.

“I asked first, Jaemin,” you poked your pointer finger against his chest as a warning. “An answer for an answer.”

He stayed put, seeming to be fighting a delighted smirk from his face as he looked between your face and the finger you held up defensively between the two of you. Jaemin’s features relaxed as he clasped his hands together behind his back, looking into your eyes earnestly, “All of those times that I’ve been looking at you tonight, I was thinking to myself, ‘It feels like she’s come home.’ You just looked like you belonged here, in my home, with me. It felt like I belonged with you. And that made me want to kiss you. That’s why.”

Of all the answers you had been expecting, that hadn’t quite been one of them. Grand declarations of love were a faraway possibility, sure, you’d seen movies before. That’s not what this was, though. This was both more and less. You hadn’t anticipated for Hades’ answer to be so simple yet all-soul-encompassing as the idea of coming home. While everything tonight had definitely been new and unfamiliar to you, you hadn’t been intimidated or uncomfortable in any way. With Jaemin at your side, you’d been able to take it all in with wonder and an open mind, knowing that you had him right there watching over you.

“I believe you owe me an answer now too, Y/N.” Jaemin’s voice was quiet, low, meant only for you. “Do you want me to kiss you?”

Your gaze fell to the finger you had to his chest, your right hand. It had lost all the force you started with, limp and simply resting against him. You could see the silver ring there, and lower on your arm was the bracelet he’d given you, both pieces of jewelry glinting in the hazy light afforded in the Underworld. You briefly wondered if they had come from here, from deep under the Earth; if they’d come home tonight, too. The god in front of you remained silent, waiting for your response. If there was one thing Jaemin was good at, it was waiting— after he’d given you his final push.

Then you finally looked back up at his face, into the sunken obsidian black that greeted you there. That ever-stubborn lock of raven hair was hanging between his brows, and you had a sudden and smitten urge to fix it. But you had something more important to do in that moment. After all, he’d given you his answer, now you owed him yours. And you’d made up your mind.

Your mouth had barely started forming around your answer before it was captured by Jaemin’s in a kiss that was equal parts tender and ravishing. It felt like he was trying to devour your ‘yes’ right off your tongue and keep it all to himself. Admittedly, your head had started nodding before your vocal cords could work.

If you thought you were swimming in spices and citrus before, you were drowning in them now. Cinnamon, oranges, and… cedar. Your hand that had previously been poking at his chest was now crumpling the collar of his dress shirt, the other hooking a finger in one of the belt loops at the front of his slacks to yank him closer. His own hands were doing their part, too. One cupped your cheek while the other held you by your waist. The sweetest nectar was being dripped into your veins, and you hungrily took more and more with each wanton kiss from Jaemin.

When his lips finally parted from yours, you couldn’t help but steal just one more kiss. He let out a breathy chuckle as he clasped a hand over the one you were grasping at his shirt with to gently pull it off, his thumb then rubbing slow circles into your palm. His hand that had been on your cheek dipped to gently grip your chin, and as he looked at you, you knew exactly what he was thinking.

“I’m home,” you promised.

The shadowy man was back in your dreams that night, and this time the golden fruit was already in your two hands. He was encouraging you to break it open, feed on its juicy flesh that he promises will taste so good.

You woke up before you could follow through on the decision you’d already made.

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