#<- (it's pretty light but I'll tag it anyway just to be safe)

[veinsfullofstars]

In a harsh world, at least we have each other.

(ID: Kirby series fanart of Shadow Kirby and Dark Meta Knight providing each other with small comforts. Top right - DMK flies off with an injured SK on his back, tattered wings outstretched and fists clenched at his sides. Middle left - SK sits crying on the ground, and DMK gives him a gentle pat on the head. Bottom left - DMK removes his mask and sets it on the ground beside him. SK, looking concerned, places a hand on the knight’s face just beside the scar over his left eye. DMK simply looks back at him, resigned or maybe just tired. His wing hovers near SK as if to wrap around him. END ID.)

Part 1 (here!) | Part 2

Just stewing in my Mirror World headcanons, don’t mind me. I imagine DMK’s not the best when it comes to displaying kindness or affection, but he tries his best, dangit, and Shadow Kirby can have at least one edgelord dad. As a treat.

Also soft shading this time because I’m eternally indecisive when it comes to rendering, yay.

(Psst, hey, if you’re craving some more sad times, I added a little bonus dialogue for the bottom right one below the cut. Because the inner writer demands comics I simply do not have the stamina to make right now, so it’ll have to make due with snippets instead.)

UPDATE 3/1/24: Changed SK's eyes to be purple instead of blue.

Started on 11/06/23, finished on 11/08/23. NOTE: This was originally posted on my deleted account on 11/08/23.

---

SK: Poyo?

DMK: Hm? Oh, this. No, it’s fine. Long since healed. Don’t worry about it.

SK: Poyo po.

DMK: That’s just because it’s a newer one. It’ll fade like the others, I assure you.

SK: … Poyo?

DMK: … No. Not anymore, at least.

SK: … Poyo.

DMK: Don’t be. It’s not your fault. This is the result of my actions, not yours. Remember that.

SK: …

#veins art #veins fanart #fanart #kirby series #kirby #shadow kirby #dark meta knight #dark metadad #(a tag I don't see nearly enough of tbh) #dametadad #friendship #(also not technically part of the kintsugi au since the scar dialogue doesn't quite fit there - but the boys bonding is a shared element) #angst tw #<- (it's pretty light but I'll tag it anyway just to be safe) #sad kirby tw #veinsfullofstars

[lizzieisright]

Tranquility

dom!reader x sub!Abby

Summary: You want to help Abby relax and show her she doesn't have to control everything, sometimes she just can let go.

Tags: dom!reader, fingering, praise, consent checks, Abby doesn't really notice she is subbing, very light and vanilla, Sylvia Plath's quotes.

wc: 3.7k

MINORS DON'T INTERACT I'll hunt you for sport 

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

You don't jump into power dynamics right away when you get together: Abby doesn't even think about it too much - she just assumes since between the two of you she is the killing machine, big strong scary Abby Anderson, she'll be in charge like she is everywhere else. And you don't seem to mind, even though you had the sex talk way prior to having actual sex (I can't bottom every time if it's something you want, you said to her, and Abby agreed: she liked topping but she could bottom just fine). 

So the thought of power dynamics doesn't come to Abby at all, until one day. 

You are too good at reading Abby's mood - for some reason you can notice even the small shift in her. It's a superpower that creeps Abby out sometimes, how you can recognise her feelings and act accordingly. You don't make a scene out of it, you don't take care of her like she is a child who can't regulate her emotions, but you're there through it all. You're not scared of her anger or her tears, always calm, and for the first time in years Abby feels like she can rely on someone. Can trust someone fully. 

And today Abby is on edge. She is tired, angry and frustrated - the plan for the next supply run isn't safe in her opinion. Abby likes her plans to be foolproof, "if you think they're smart enough think again and dumb it down" type of fool-proof. Everyone said Abby was being ridiculous about it, and maybe she was, but it doesn't make her feel any better. 

And you obviously notice it. You watch her from the couch as Abby walks around packing, huffing every two seconds in anger. 

"I saw that plan, Abby, it's good. Everything will be fine. Manageable if something goes wrong."

"Jamie is on the team, and this idiot will get us in trouble." Abby growls. "And then someone will have to clean up his mess and someone will get hurt and it will slow us down-"

"Okay. Okay, Abs, stop." You put your book away. "Come here, you need to relax." You pat your lap and Abby stares at you before laughing.

"What, you want me to sit in your lap?" Abby asks sceptically. 

"Yeah." You pat your lap again. Abby is unsure and she feels ridiculous: she is not a lap dog, she is a fucking German shepherd.

"I'm too big to sit in your lap, baby." 

"Do I look like I give a fuck?" You deadpan. "Big girls need to sit on their lover's lap too. Come here."

Abby blinks. She likes that she is big and tall - it makes her feel powerful, but it comes with a cost. She doesn't get to feel small. And you asking her to sit on your lap opens something so desperate in her she gets scared. Abby knows she won't feel small, but she wants to try anyway. Abby tentatively makes her way to you, still unsure how it will work, but you tug her lightly and she straddles you. Abby feels like she is a giant on top of you, and she doesn't really remember where to put her hands. She settles on your shoulders.

"This is awkward." Abby assesses, frowning. 

"It's not. Sit, Abby, I can feel that you're hovering. I'm not going to break, I'm not made of dust." You push at her thighs so she can spread them and finally sit. You seem pretty happy with this, hugging her by her waist and pressing her closer to you. Abby is getting used to this, but it still seems ridiculous to her. She is used to tugging you to sit on her lap, not the other way around. 

"Am I too heavy?"

"I like feeling your weight on me. Makes it feel real." You grin and stroke her back. "Really, relax. I can read to you if you want."

Abby doesn't really know what to do. She has no arguments against you, and your lap is very comfortable. As well as being this close to you, feeling your body, your breathing, your warmth. 

"Yeah, okay. We can do that."

Abby does what you usually do when she reads: she puts her head on your shoulder and lets you snake your arms around her. 

"Good." You comment and hold the book with one hand while you stroke Abby's back with the other one. 

You are warm and your smell is comforting, so Abby puts her nose into the crook of your neck and breathes in.

"Yeah. Breathe. Deep big breaths." You say offhandedly as you look through the pages. It's weird. Abby feels safe and taken care of and it feels good, but it is too unfamiliar to be comfortable with it. 

"Would it be too childish of me to say: I want? But I do want: theater, light, color, paintings, wine and wonder. Yet not all these can do more than try to lure the soul from its den where it sulks in busy heaps of filth and obstinate clods of bloody pulp. I must find a core of fruitful seeds in me. I must stop identifying with the seasons, because this English winter will be the death of me-" You've read out loud and Abby suddenly resonates with the first line. Would it be too childish of her to say: she wants your care? 

"What is this?"

"Sylvia Plath's diaries."

"She sounds dramatic." Abby murmurs into your neck while you are caressing her back. Fuck it feels so good. She is so safe. 

"Bitch is all over the place sometimes. But she is a poet."

You kiss Abby's head and she leans into your touch, surprising herself. She isn't usually… needy, but right now something is different. The sudden safety of your arms around her, your calm voice and familiar smell makes Abby feel dangerously vulnerable. 

"You feel pretty relaxed." You notice as you now stroking her head, putting all annoying baby hairs behind her ear. 

"Yeah. It's so weird though."

You chuckle.

"In what way?"

"Usually it's you who sits in my lap. But this is good. Just weird."

"I think the word you're looking for is unfamiliar."

"Are you a thesaurus?" 

You laugh and kiss her forehead. Abby nuzzles her nose into your neck and your breath hitches. 

You know Abby doesn't mean to get you horny with her breathing, but you are getting horny. 

"Come here." You tell her and Abby lifts her head just enough for you to kiss her. She is warm and welcoming, doesn't rush anywhere and you are not rushing either, just enjoying the kiss. Abby relaxes into you and it surprises both of you - she isn't a person who gives up control easily. Hell, the whole thing started because Abby couldn't deal with people not doing everything like she told them to. But you feel how she puts more weight on you and you buck your hips into her. 

"Okay yeah. Still weird, but good." Abby pants into your mouth. You dig your fingers into her ass and press her into your crotch. "Oh fuck."

"Wanna make you cum." You say, panting yourself as arousal takes the hold of you. "What do you think?"

Abby looks at you with a lifted brow. 

"You think I'm going to say no?"

"Well." You kiss her jaw. "I don't plan on letting you do anything at all, so, maybe take a moment to think about it."

Abby stares at you as your words settle in. She will what, just lie there and do nothing? It sounds wrong, it sounds like she is going to be out of control, but also…

Also it sounds like the sweetest sin she could commit. 

"If you're not sure, we can stop. Like, fully. Or at any point you want to." You stroke her cheeks with your thumbs as you watch Abby. You know she is apprehensive about this idea, but you want her to relax fully and forget about everything. And you know you can give it to her if she just says yes. 

"Yeah. Yeah, okay. We can do that." Abby smiles bashfully and you kiss her, so fucking grateful for how brave she is. 

It's one thing to stare death in her face and win, and the other thing to stare in your lover's face and decide to trust them completely. And any other day Abby would have chosen death, but with you the danger can't get safer than this. 

So Abby lets herself relax into you again and just enjoy your touch. 

"Thanks." 

Abby chuckles, but it turns into a gasp as you move your lips down her neck while your hands are tugging on her shirt. Abby helps you take the shirt and the bra off, and you just caress her sides, looking over her. 

Abby knows you like how she looks, but having your attention like this makes her nervous. Your eyes are so dark with hunger Abby wants to look away but she doesn't, as sudden greed for your love washes over her. You look at her like you want to devour her. 

"Pretty." You sigh as you smile. "You're so pretty, Abs."

"I don't think pretty is the right word."

"Beautiful?"

Abby huffs but can't help her smile.

"Gorgeous?"

"Stop it." Abby says, playfully stern. "You're so sappy, god."

You grin and kiss her again, shutting her up - if you say she is pretty, she is, and whatever Abby thinks of herself is totally irrelevant. Your lips make a trail from her neck to her shoulder and you gently kiss her freckles, listening to Abby's breathing closely: it gets heavier as you move your kisses down, and these small sighs are the greatest encouragement you can get. 

You slowly move one of your hands up and cup Abby's tit, kneading her doughy flesh as she gasps. 

"Feels nice?"

"Yeah." Abby murmurs and runs her hand over your hair. It's still hard to let go so she tries to occupy herself in some way. She gently massages your neck and you kiss her just above her nipple. "Yeah, this is nice."

"Good. Let's take your pants off, I need them out of the way."

Your intonation makes Abby throb in her pants - it sounds so commanding and for once in her life she doesn't want to fight it, no, she wants to obey - it's easy with you. Safe. 

Abby stands from your lap and you help her take her pants and underwear off, making a small pile on the floor. Abby reaches to tug your shirt off, but you gently push her hands away. 

"Relax, baby. Don't worry about anything, okay?" You tug her back into your lap and sigh so happily when you touch her bare skin. "Your job right now is just to be pretty. Can you do that?"

Abby is conflicted: you don't sound patronising, but it should sound patronising, shouldn't it? She stops for a second to understand her reaction and you just watch her. You know Abby needs some time to process what is happening, so you continue caressing her back and her pretty ass that makes you drool while Abby figures out how she feels about your new behaviour. 

"Well I can try." Abby shrugs and you smile. 

"Thanks. I wanna call you princess, you know?" You kiss her neck and leave a hickey on her collarbone. 

"Call me what?" Abby laughs in the middle of her gasp at how ridiculous it sounds, but it's not a bad laugh. It's just embarrassing. "I'm no princess, (y/n)."

"Would you actually mind if I called you that?" You kiss her breastbone and Abby watches you. 

"Don't think so." Abby pants and looks at you impatiently as you finally move your lips to her tits. 

"Princess." You murmur and look into her eyes while her cheeks become bright red. "My pretty princess." You suck on her nipple gently and Abby gasps, squeezing your shoulders. The pet name turns her on - a lot of things turn her on right now even though they're weird and embarrassing.

You play with her other nipple and Abby presses closer to you, so you let your restraints go and use all your strength to move her closer to the point where her back is arched. Abby sighs, surprised - obviously Abby knows you are strong (not as strong as her, but strong nonetheless), but she never actually experienced it. Maybe you can make her feel small. Maybe you can make her feel like no one else could before. 

You slowly move your hands up Abby’s muscular thighs, caressing every line with your fingertips - Abby is too hot for her own good, and the hungry monster that lives inside you claws at your chest, desperate to have its way with Abby and make her forget her fucking name, but you’re patient. You would never push Abby into something she isn’t ready for, especially in sex, but you want to show her an alternative. Show that she can let herself forget her fucking name and it will be safe. Because god knows Abby needs it.

Abby watches your hands in anticipation and you smirk at her when you place your hands on conjunctions of her hips, caressing her hip bones with your thumbs. Abby is soft here, but her V-line makes her look sharp and hard, and it gets to your head. 

“I fucking love how strong you are, you have no idea.”

“I think I have a pretty good idea.” Abby chuckles, but she is impatient, so she grabs your hand and moves it down to her pussy. 

“Hey, don’t spoil the fun.” You scold her playfully and bring your hand back. “I’m not going to keep you waiting, princess. Relax.”

Abby feels how her face burns when you call her princess again, but it gets her wet, so impossibly wet there's probably a dark spot on your pants under her. Abby grinds her hips down, searching for some friction, and you push your hips up to let her have it. Abby shudders as her clit grinds down on your pelvis and her hands clutch your shoulders almost painfully as she tries to set a pace of her hips. 

"This is so hot, Abs. Fuck." You tell her as you watch her get off just grinding on you. You grab her ass and help her grind harder and Abby whimpers quietly, and your brain barely holds back your filthy mouth. You want to tell Abby how good she is, how she is doing such a good job getting herself off, but you hold it back for now. 

The friction is not enough and you know it, so you lock her in place with one arm around her waist, praying she'd listen to you, and snake your other hand between your bodies. 

Abby is so fucking wet your eyes roll back into your scull from how hard it turns you on. 

"You're so wet, princess." You murmur into her ear and Abby whimpers again. "You okay?"

Abby just nods and it clicks. Abby is getting overwhelmed, but she clings to you so you figure out it's a good overwhelmed. 

"Do you like it when I call you princess?" You ask mostly to make sure, but it sounds so seductive to Abby, a little mean maybe but in a good way. 

"It's embarrassing." Abby admits and squirms around when you cup her pussy. Finally. 

"Do you want me to stop?" You ask gently and look in her eyes, serious. Abby looks back, but her eyes are glazed over, she is too horny to care about being embarrassed by this point. 

"No. Don't stop." Abby grinds against your hand and you press her closer to make her stop. 

"You wanna cum already?"

"You keep fucking teasing me." Abby says, annoyed.

"I'm taking my time." You kiss her cheek and part her folds carefully, circling her clit with two fingers and Abby buries her head into your neck, moaning. You stroke her back to soothe her, but your fingers only get faster, the pressure is featherlight and it drives Abby crazy because it will get her to cum way too fast, and you know it. 

"Yeah, that's right, princess. Relax and enjoy, yeah?" You can't stop talking now, desperate to praise Abby and make her feel safe in your arms. "Does it feel good?"

"I- I can't fucking-" Abby moans between her words, clinging to you harder as your fingers get her closer to her release. "Icantfuckingthink" Abby says in one breath and you barely make sense of it.

"Oh princess, don't. Don't think, okay? Be good for me." You pay closer attention to her reaction, not sure if Abby would like it, but she is too out of it now. She whines - fucking hell Abby whines - and presses closer to you.

"Yeah, I'll take care of you, I'll make you feel good." You promise her and slide your fingers down, gently pressing at her hole. Abby arches into your fingers, trying to get them inside, and your heart melts. "You're so cute, fuck. You want my fingers?" 

Abby growls at you, refusing to talk, and you chuckle. 

"Just nod for me, okay? Or shake your head."

Abby takes a second to process your words and then she nods. 

"Good girl." 

That makes Abby open her eyes in shock and her walls clench around nothing to push her slick into your hand, and you can tell she liked it. 

"Can I call you that, princess?" You slowly push your fingers inside and just move them to feel how soft and hot Abby is. She suddenly grinds down on your hand and you kiss her shoulder. "Nod or shake." You remind her. 

Abby nods, her embarrassment totally forgotten by this point: she feels small, safe and taken care of, and the way you talk to her only makes it better. Your stupid spidey senses let you know when to check in with her and Abby never knew it could be this way - that giving consent can turn her on so much because you ask for it like you're dirty talking to her. 

And you are so close and you hold her so tightly Abby feels grounded even though she is so overwhelmed she can't think anymore. She just feels, her world only exists in the tactile plane now, and your voice carries her away. 

"Yeah, don't think, princess, I want your head empty and your pretty cunt stuffed with my fingers." You murmur into Abby's ear and she buries her face in your neck deeper as you curl your fingers inside her. Abby moans quietly and you feel how you lose any self-control you had before. 

You pick up the pace, catching the balance between overwhelmingly fast and not fast enough just so you won't disturb Abby's delicate headspace, and you just listen to her. Abby is not loud, never been, but that what makes it so magical - every sigh turns into a quiet whimper the longer you fuck her, and then you feel it, how Abby clenches around your fingers, her orgasm coming closer. 

"You're close, princess, I can fucking feel it. Do you feel it? Does it feel nice when you're so tight around me?"

"Yeah." Abby says in a hoarse low voice and your teeth fucking ache because you want to sink them into her so much. 

"Fuck Abby." You kiss her temple and suddenly you're fucking her so hard Abby gets tense in your arms, overwhelmed. "You have no idea what you do to me."

But Abby is not listening to you because you turn your hand just enough so you could thumb her clit and-

"Fuck!" Abby shrieks and closes her thighs on you as she cums. You stop moving your fingers inside her to enjoy how she pulsates around them, but you continue thumbing her clit."Fuck-fuck, stop-" Abby asks when it becomes too much and you obey her. 

Abby is panting hard and you just kiss her neck and shoulders, waiting for her to calm down, but you can't help yourself so you start slowly moving your fingers in and out. 

"You feel amazing around my fingers, princess."

"Fuck, don't stop, please, don't fucking stop-" Abby whispers and hugs you around your neck. You’re more than happy to oblige, and you can’t help your mean smile as you move your fingers slowly but thoroughly, getting a feel of every centimetre of Abby’s walls. 

It doesn’t take more than a few minutes for Abby to whimper and shudder in your arms again, drenching your hand up to your wrist, and you gently kiss her to help her calm down. Abby is limp on your lap, her head comfortably tucked in your neck as she pants. Abby feels exhausted but ridiculously happy, giddy even - you opened something in her, something that freed her vulnerability fully. God, Abby always knew she could trust you, let you watch her back, but the thought she could be so vulnerable and small with you never crossed her mind.

“Do you want to nap, baby?” You murmur in her hair and Abby hums in agreement. “Okay, let me put your shirt back on, yeah?”

Abby reluctantly lets you put the shirt on her and wrap a blanket around both of you as you adjust your position so you’d be lying down while Abby would be on top of you, so it would be comfortable for her to rest. You open your book again while Abby’s breathing evens out.

“I am watching a pale blue sky be torn across by wind fresh from the russian steppes. Why is it that I find it so difficult to accept the present moment, whole as an apple, without cutting and hacking at it to find a purpose, or setting it up on a shelf with other apples to measure its worth or trying to pickle it in brine to preserve it, and crying to find it turns all brown and is no longer simply the lovely apple I was given in the morning?”

The present moment, whole as an apple - Abby doesn’t have to worry about not accepting it, lulled by your voice and your warmth and your smell - after all, the present is all she has.

#abby anderson x reader #abby anderson x you #abby anderson smut #sub!abby

[richardsgraysons]

Heyyy…. May i request a wife reader x dick grayson… she is mad at him and is giving him a silent treatment, but he is so done with this that he starts annoying her by saying Mrs. Grayson after every sentense and closing tightly lids

anon this is so adorable. i am going feral. also i am so severely sorry for my IA-ness.

tags — just overall fluff. some light swearing

In hindsight, you should've known that this would entail not just dating, but also marrying a vigilante. How could someone blame you, anyways? You were sitting at home, about to go to bed, when Nightwing crashed into your apartment after being chucked across the city by some villain or the other.

He had a major concussion. You didn't know how to treat thrown vigilantes who definitely had a couple of broken ribs and a torn ACL.

What you did know was how to comfort a man who was clearly in pain, who was trying to stifle his screams, because let's face it, the vigilante life should clearly not be glamorized.

He felt bad for the wreckage in your apartment. Every week, there'd be thousands of dollars at your doorstep from him, ready to pay it off. He had to be rich. There was no way he was giving your entire salary in four months and a half.

Eventually, you figured out his secret identity. And instead of being angry about it, Dick Grayson felt awfully in love with a girl who was as intelligent as he hoped she'd be. Sure she wasn't a supermodel, but she made him laugh. She made him think. She wasn't easy to get along with at times, but she made him better.

Three years later, he put a ring on it.

"I told you," you snapped, "you just keep going in stupid situations, and normally, I wouldn't mind, but it's like you refuse my help or anyone else's."

Dick knew he had a really bad hero complex. He couldn't stand anyone else getting hurt because of his issues. "I can handle it," he responded. "And isn't it just annoying that you've been mad at me for the past two days? Can't you just give it a rest?"

"I'll give it a rest when you start accepting help from others," you responded, your brows furrowing. "God, you're so—you're so—ugh!"

Dick rolled his eyes and then smirked at you, that stupid boyish smirk that made your heart tingle and everything else disappear. "I'm so what, sweetheart? What am I, Mrs. Grayson?"

You glared at him. "Dick!" You huffed, both saying his name and the insult. "That's it. I want a cooling down period. Leave me and the kitchen alone!"

He grinned, looking back at you, a mischievous glance in his eye. "Oh, I will, Mrs. Grayson. I will."

* * *

Making dinner was one of your forms of therapy. Dick was starting to go out for patrol, much to your distaste, no doubt about to pick a fight with someone who would give him considerable damage.

You didn't want him to go, you wanted to keep him here and kiss him forever, but he would leave anyways. It's my moral duty to the people of Bludhaven to keep them safe, he had said to you one night. I could never bring it to myself to disappoint these people. To make them unsafe. I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure people are as safe as can be.

And though you really disliked it, you knew that was one of the core reasons why you were so undoubtedly in love with him.

You turned around to grab the jar of pickles, still steaming from the fight, only to find that it was incredibly hard to open.

"What. The. Hell?" You hissed. You had opened it up just a day ago, and put it easily back, making sure it wasn't that hard.

Your face turned red and you looked at it again before trying to open it up, straining and groaning, only for your muscles to give out. There was only one explanation for this.

Your stupid, lovable, husband.

And after a few minutes of recollecting your pride, you stomped over to your bedroom where he was dressing. He was in the midst of putting the top half of his suit on, and your mouth turned a little dry when you saw him shirtless.

You were pretty sure that when the first time you saw him shirtless, literal heart eyes came out of your eyes. You gawked for a couple of seconds, admiring the contour of his muscles, only for him to turn around and smirk at you.

He knew what you were doing. Dammit.

"Hi, Mrs. Grayson," he teased. "Enjoying the view?"

"Shut up," you snapped, and held out the jar. "Open this up right now and stop screwing with my jars."

He smirked at you. "What's the magic word?"

"The magic word is 'I will beat you up if you don't open the jar up right now'," you responded, glaring at him. "Now. Open."

He laughed, tossing his head back, his voice echoing off the room before taking the jar. You watched intently as his triceps flexed when he opened the jar up with ease and returned it back.

"Thank you," you said, your voice having an edge to it. You were about to turn around before he grabbed you by the arm.

"What, no good luck kiss?" Dick asked huskily in your ear. It sent shivers down your spine.

"Even if I give you one, you'll still end up badly injured."

"C'mon," he murmured, planting a light kiss on your neck, his hands dancing on your waist. He squeezed your sides slightly. "I always fight better when my girl kisses me."

You looked up at him and snorted. "In your dreams," you responded, but he took this moment to crash his lips against you. You felt dizzy and couldn't help but to wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

When the both of you stopped, he laughed, looking at you breathless, his blue eyes twinkling in the night sky.

"Knew you couldn't be mad at me for that long, Mrs. Grayson."

"Shut up," you grumbled, punching his shoulder lightly. "Go save Bludhaven, Boy Wonder."

He stepped out the window and then turned back at him, smirking. "You know I am, sweetheart. And when I come back, I'm gonna finish what I started."

#dick grayson #dcu #dick grayson x reader #dc comics #nightwing #dick grayson imagine #dick grayson x y/n #dick grayson x you

[rainba]

This is very random– BUT I wanted to talk a little bit more about Luka and his obsession with his darling. ((I'll be posting the Luka kidnapping Kairos and darling fic next. :3c But I wanted to get this out first.))

In most posts, it always sounds like he’s uncaring about his darling– being mean all the time– and only likes the thrill of chasing them. But…

Deep down, he truly is madly in love with his darling. He’s just… Horrible at expressing it sometimes.

tags/TWs: light mentions of stalking, yandere, slightly creepy/obsessive behaviors.

reader is GN

Luka isn’t used to feeling such strong emotions. Throughout most of his life, nothing has really made him feel much of anything. Getting perfect grades? Whatever. Going out on dates? He just did it because he could, not because he had any real interest in people. Winning a competition or getting into fights? A little exciting, sure, but the feeling fades pretty fast.

But when it comes to you..? He feels something indescribable. And it’s intense.

At first, he doesn’t really understand it. Why is his heart tightening in his chest? Why does his face feel so warm? Why is it hard to look you in the eyes? Why are you constantly on his mind?? He’ll never express these things to you, he’s amazing at hiding it, but his feelings for you are making him go crazy.

In the beginning, he’ll start stalking your social media without realizing it. Every time he’s at work and has a moment to spare, his hands will instinctively pull out his phone and open your profile. He checks to see if you've posted anything– and if you haven’t, he’ll settle for rereading your conversations, if you’ve ever had any with him. Honestly, it’s embarrassing, but he just can’t stop himself. It’s addicting. His heart skips a beat when he sees that you’ve shared something.

…Again, highly embarrassing for him.

Then the next stage rolls in: he gets your pictures printed and frames them in his house and on his work desk. Seeing your face always calms him down and makes him feel warm inside. The more stressful days at work now hardly affect him, all thanks to you… And now he doesn’t feel so disheartened when he returns to his empty home.

Then the third stage rolls around: he needs to see you multiple times a week. It’s similar to the way he checks his phone; he doesn’t realize it as his legs instinctually start to carry him wherever he thinks he may find you. He needs to know if you’re safe– needs to know that you’re happy and nothing bad is going on… Those are his excuses, anyway. He’s not exactly sure why he loves watching and following you, but he just does. He also does genuinely love the idea of being your protector, though.

Possessing you, protecting you, spoiling and loving you each and every day… He wants to do it all. Just for you.

But deep down, Luka’s constantly fighting himself. He has to learn to control his urges and manage his emotions… After all, since he’s never experienced such intense feelings before, he’s never learned how to cope with them. Seeing you being around other men makes his blood boil; he’s had to research ways to cope with his rage. Now he just listens to music and goes on runs, trying his hardest to not seek revenge on the innocent people you talk to.

Luka has never yearned for something so badly before. When he goes to bed at night, he finds himself longing to have you in his arms… It becomes almost impossible to sleep. 

How cute it would be to see you wearing his clothes to bed… How nice it would be to see you crawl next to him and give him a kiss goodnight as he wraps his arms around you, holding you close to him. How nice it would be to feel the rise and falling of your chest as he thinks about just how lucky he is to have you.

And Luka thinks to himself: “...Is this what it means to be in love?”

Deep down, he didn’t really think he’d ever feel it– he almost thought love was just a myth. When people told him that love is a wonderful feeling unlike any other, he thought they were lying. Now he doesn’t want to let you go… He can’t, he just can’t. He doesn’t think he could feel this way about anyone (or anything) ever again.

Once Luka has finally realized that he needs you more than anything, he’ll stop being ashamed of his actions. He will have already been a little bit close to you– he talks to you sometimes, but he’s remained somewhat distant up until now. He can’t keep the gap between you any longer.

Luka will do whatever it takes to get you the “natural way” first. In order to start things up, he’ll create a bunch of fake chance-encounters. Like, oh… You’re here ordering some food, too? How crazy! You’re also on your way to shop for some clothes? Wow, that’s also crazy, because he was just about to go out and buy himself a new leather jacket. So… You don’t mind if he tags along, right? (He tries his hardest to be nonchalant about it. Doesn’t want to look like he’s trying too hard..)

After that, he’ll start to ask you out on dates, buy you anything you’d like, ask you about your interests and let you ramble on about anything you like… He already knows all your interests, but he just likes the way your eyes light up as you talk about them. (Also, Luka sort of just adopts your interests too, as he doesn’t really have too many of his own.)

When Luka first tries to court you, he’ll be an extreme gentleman. He always pays all the restaurant bills, holds doors open for you and drives you everywhere. Although, to be honest, he does this even after the beginning stages… He just likes to spoil his darling in general.

In the end, he wants you to basically be his ”mate for life.” He wants you to be his one and only, the most important and special person in his entire life. You’ve shown him what it’s like to feel love, and now he yearns to know what it’s like to be loved in return. Luka won’t stop until he gets what he wants.

#ask #luka posting #yandere oc #yandere #yandere male #yandere x reader #yancore #yandere x darling #yandere oc x reader

[cookierunauprompts]

Maybe another siren shadow milk post? On reader cookie and siren S.Ms relationship and what shenanigans they get up to?

Like, Reader Cookie would be sailing and out of nowhere shadow milk jumps in like "Whats up bbg?" And they talk?

Not doing a prompt for this one but this gives me an excuse to ramble about the lore of the Beast Hunters AU!! Starting off with Shadow Milk and Reader's relationship.

Their relationship is rather... hm, I'd say complicated? For one, they're bound together by their contract. But on the other hand... well, Shadow Milk has kept Reader safe from more than just the Licorice Sea, hell, maybe he's even fallen in love with his little Songbird. As for Reader's feelings? Well, they consider him to be their closest companion in some kind of way.

Now, onto World building! ahem...

Long ago, monsters roamed and ruled over the Dessert world, terrorizing Cookies and the like... That was, until five Cookies with great power were baked into existence by the witches. These Heroes wielded a great power baked into the Soul Jam that they wielded, but as always... Great Power begets corruption.

One by one, the heroes succumbed to and fused with the darkness within the Soul Jam. No longer were they cookies, but beasts. The lights that remained from the remnants of the Soul Jam quickly split off back to the Witches, who then commanded them to find new heroes to defend against the beasts.

And so, the Lights did. They found new Heroes, and thus the Great Beast War began... And by the end of it, the Legendary Beasts were sealed away. But, something happened to the Heroes as well. In order to gain the upper hand during the war, they had fused with their lights.

Now more like spiritual protectors, they guided their newly formed kingdoms and territories as if they were kings and queens. Some of them were more present in the lives of their cookies, while others took a more observant and guiding role.

But just a few decades later or so, the seal upon the Legendary Beasts weakened... Allowing them to escape back into the Dessert World to reek havoc once more. Seeing this, the heroes set out to find a new set of saviors for cookie kind... Most of them, anyways.

So far, only two of the five have selected heroes...

At least they have friends to help them with their journey, right?

( In case you're wondering, the selected are Gingerbrave(White Lily)(and he's bringing his bestie's Strawberry and Wizard) and Princess Cookie(Hollyberry)(Knight Cookie of course, is tagging along with her), Pure Vanilla, Dark Cacao and Golden Cheese haven't selected their selected yet... Though rumor has it that Dark Cacao had selected someone but revoked his selection.)

And now, onto what the Beasts are!

As we already know, Shadow Milk is a Siren, but what about the others?

Well, so far I have Eternal Sugar as a harpy, Burning Spice as some kind of insect-cookie fusion thingy and Silent Salt as a spirit of sorts. I haven't figured out what kind of Monster Mystic Flour would have become yet... Maybe a Dragon? Who knows.

And that's pretty much all for this post.-

Ah wait, Gingerbrave lore.

So, in this AU Gingerbrave is White Lily's son! She created him mainly to see if she could but also to eventually wield the light of Freedom in her place as a successor. The main reason I did this was because Gingerbrave is very freedom coded to me, and he's silly.

Also he might be part faerie??? I dunno, he's been Fourteen mentally and physically for quite a while though.

I'll probably expand on the Gingerlore later though.

and now that's all! also, drop who you think the other heroes are gonna select because I think it'd be interesting to see who you all pick.

#not a prompt #cookie run #cookie run kingdom #cookie run au #crk #cr kingdom #shadow milk cookie #beast yeast #Beast Hunters AU #silent salt cookie #mystic flour cookie #eternal sugar cookie #burning spice cookie #white lily cookie #gingerbrave #princess cookie #shadow milk cookie x reader

[meownotgood]

a little death / hayakawa aki

You meant everything to him, and Aki promised to keep you safe, even if it meant dying for you.

fic playlist: click here!

pairing: hayakawa aki x fem!reader

word count: 20.6k

tags: 18+, smut, angst, smoking, love confessing, that one trope where they step in front to protect you, tending to wounds, hand job, finger sucking, tender sex, aki is touch-starved and needy as hell

this work contains explicit content intended for 18+ individuals. please read the tags and do not interact if you are a minor.

Human life is expendable. In this world, it always has been. If someone dies, they'll simply be replaced, such is the perpetual ill-fated existence of a devil hunter. 

In a way, it's like the cigarettes Aki smokes. Sometimes they burn halfway, sometimes they burn down to ash, but when you're done, you just smoke another. They do well to remind him of the fragility of life in more ways than one. He inhales, and even though he knows it's slowly killing him, when the rich taste of smoke fills his lungs, all he can feel is heaven. Yeah, she was right. Life is so much better when you have something to take the edge off. 

Aki pulled the cigarette from his lips, tapping it with his finger over the ashtray and watching the dying embers scatter. The smoke from his exhale rose into an oddly calm, cloudless blue sky. As it left his lungs, Aki could almost feel his stresses melt into the tranquility of the cool breeze. Almost. He was only escaping from his work for a short time, because once this cigarette was spent, it was begrudgingly back into the fray. 

Why was it always on the nicest of days that Aki had to be stuck working? Actually, that's a stupid question, considering he works pretty much every day. But shame on him for wanting to patrol peacefully with you and enjoy the nice weather for once. 

Whatever, the devil this time was supposed to be weak anyways. Only you and him were dispatched to the scene, and you were told it was okay to take your time, so this must be something the both of you could handle quite easily. Soon, the sun would set, but maybe if you both managed to get this job done quickly, he'd be able to enjoy what was left of the day. 

"Shit, Aki, I can't find mine. Can I have one of yours?" 

"Nope, it's my last one. Sorry." Aki replied, taking another long drag from the cigarette. 

"Dammit, I left my jacket at home 'cause it was supposed to be hot today. They must still be in my pocket." 

The sun was beaming down, blistering heat radiating off the concrete sidewalk, but while standing in a large shadow cast by the looming buildings, a soft breeze dancing through the air cut through the tepidity. It brushed against Aki's arms bared by rolled up sleeves, tickling the side of his face and the hair on the back of his neck. This corner of the city was calm and quiet today, with the only sound being the rhythmic hum from cars on the nearby street whizzing by. 

"Hey, Aki, let me have a hit of that one." 

Aki shook his head. "No way." 

"Oh come on, I'll be quick. There's no way I'm getting through this mission without some nicotine in my system." 

Aki took the thin cigarette from his mouth once more, holding it carefully between his fingers, puffs of smoke wisping up from the firefly light on the end. He turned his head, finally meeting your pleading gaze. You cocked your head at him and he hesitated, if only for a moment, before sighing in defeat. He brought the cigarette to your lips until they closed around it. 

"Inhale." 

You followed the command, breathing in as he held the half-burned cig steady. The moment the smoke hit your lungs, it instantly flooded your senses with pure bliss. 

It wasn't very hard to convince Aki when it came to you, never has been. But there's something about sharing his cigarette with you, something about watching you take a hit between his fingers, eyes locked onto his. Something about it enthralled him every time. So if you asked, he was sure to let you have a taste, and this time was no different. 

He pulled away when you took in a sufficient breath, bringing the cig back to his own lips. You tilted your head upwards, catching glimpses of pale blue obscured by a tangled web of power lines before the smoke was blown out steadily from your mouth. 

Funny, at one point, you told Aki you'd never smoke. Yet now, here you were. Somehow, "Ew, I'd never," turned into, "Fine, I'll try it," turned into, "What brand do you get again? I'm just curious," turned into now, all right before his eyes, and all because of him. It filled him with a little sense of pride. 

If you were going to be a devil hunter beside him, experiencing the same loss and turmoil as he has his entire life for the rest of yours, he supposed you deserved something to indulge in. Or at least, that's what someone else taught him a long time ago. When you first became his partner, whether it was a nostalgic force of habit or an urge to put you through the same rite of passage he himself once underwent, Aki made it his goal to convince you to smoke. 

With how adamantly against it you were at first, he almost gave up. But after countless missions together, months spent growing closer and further trusting one another, something seemed to crack. He managed to convince you to try it, and in no time at all, he had turned you into just as much of a hopeless addict as he was. It was a satisfying feeling at first, but now, that feeling wasn't enjoyed without a sharp pang of guilt. 

Aki's life was expendable. If he died, what impact would he leave on the world? He had no loved ones, no family, no-one he cared about, besides you. And the very day after he breathed his last, you'd find that he'd be replaced, just as simply as everyone he himself has come to lose. You'd forget about him and move on with your new partner. A stick of tobacco was certainly not going to be his final nail in the coffin, but it doesn't really matter either way, does it? 

Your life though, your life was different. Your life was precious. It was filled with time he didn't have, filled with hope he didn't have. In himself, he saw nothing, but in you, he saw love. To him, you were love. You were the embodiment of everything that made life worth living, everything beautiful. A star-filled night spent drinking the sweetest liquor, or finally getting home and taking off your shoes. The world beat him and broke him down, but in your soul, he found solace. 

But hey, that's something he would never admit. Not out loud, anyways. 

Regardless, you were someone he found worth protecting, and that's exactly what Aki vowed he would do, and that's exactly why he changed his mind. If he could go back, he would have never given you a cigarette. Hell, he would have quit smoking if that's what it took to get you to never try one. Your life was precious, and he should have never taught you to shorten it. 

Ugh, he was thinking too much. What he should do is shake these thoughts from his head and start focusing on the mission. 

Aki took a final drag in before stamping the cigarette bud out into the ashtray. "Alright," He spoke through a mouthful of smoke, "You ready?" 

"As ready as I'll ever be." You pushed yourself off of the wall you had been leaning on, stretching before you stood up straight. "You okay Aki? You've been spacing out." 

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry." Aki replied nonchalantly. You walked closer to him, hands reaching to grab his tie, and you pulled on the fabric, adjusting it straight around his collar. 

"Remember," Aki starts, "If things go bad, you stand behind me, understand?" 

"Don't worry, we've got this." You stated, looking up at him, "And after we're done, we can go out for some celebration drinks." 

When your gaze met his, Aki felt his worries fade away, like snow melting to a warm flame. He smiled softly, something only you could seem to make him do, he thinks. Drinks together after a stressful day sounded great. All he had to do was get through this mission, and then he could relax. And with the two of you, it would be easy, right? 

Aki nodded, "Right. Let's go." 

—

Devil Extermination request for the Public Safety Commission. Devil sighting inside block #9's parking garage. According to the request, the devil fled to the 3rd floor. It is described as a rather weak Spike Devil. All civilians have been evacuated safely from the area. Dispatching two devil hunters from Public Safety Devil Extermination Special Division 4. 

It was never supposed to happen this way. It was supposed to be an easy job. It was supposed to be to go in, locate the devil in the building, and eliminate it. Get things done like you both always do and get out, simple as that. So how did you end up getting cornered like this? 

From the minute you saw the state of disarray the parking garage was in, you knew "rather weak" was a complete lie. You've been a devil hunter long enough to know this much damage couldn't be caused by a mere low-rate devil. Cars were toppled everywhere. Some appeared to be flung with incredible force, and some were covered in holes where something had pierced straight through the metal. A chill was sent up your spine when you began to wonder what that something could be. This devil was definitely much stronger than it may have appeared. 

Likewise, you've been fighting alongside Aki long enough to know when he gets quiet like this, gritting his teeth roughly, sweat coating his furrowed brows, it's usually a bad sign. The only time he goes silent is when he knows things are about to go to shit. 

With no words exchanged, you made your way to the third floor alongside Aki. Neither of you were sure what to expect, but you both were saying silent prayers in your minds as you climbed the stairs. Prayers that this devil really was weak, and prayers that today wouldn't be either of your last. Once you were face to face with the titular Spike Devil though, your assumptions were dreadfully proven. 

First of all, it was no small-fry, boasting a rather large body of contorted limbs and mismatched appendages. It was a disgusting freak of nature, like every devil you've come across. What was most interesting were the equally sizeable spines that covered the entirety of its body. 

The devil appeared to be able to shoot them out and recall them back to its body at will, so not only did it have great range and offense, but when recalled, the spikes also provided an excellent layer of defense. They weren't porcupine levels of spines either. The size was comparable to railroad spikes, and they were heavy enough that it took a wide swing of your sword to deflect them, leaving your arms aching. 

Second of all, thanks to all of those limbs helping to propel it, the damn thing was blisteringly fast and incredibly relentless. Its movements were a blur you could hardly even make out. All you could manage to do was block, block, block, never having the opportunity to get a hit in. 

Despite the growing severity of the situation, you were able to control your breathing and maintain some of your cool. You were both going to get out of this alive, you always do, don't you? After all, you had your full trust placed in Aki, and he had his full trust placed in you. You stood back to back, pressed close to one another, covering for each other's blind spots to deflect the devil's attacks. 

Aki has always been more agile than you, so at this point, you were relying on him to land a blow while you focused on simply keeping yourself from being impaled. Unfortunately, try as he might, he was just as unsuccessful as you. At least he was able to take a few swings at it, which was more than you were able to accomplish, but they proved to be fruitless when the devil dodged them easily. 

With every movement of your sword, it seemed to become heavier and heavier in your hands. In your chest, you could feel every single pound of your heart. It was hard to breathe, almost like the air was being forced into your lungs. You were slowing down, threatened to succumb to your exhaustion. 

Aki could sense it. Where you started to lag, he only moved faster, swinging his blade wider, harder. He blocked where you failed to, and before you knew it, the fight was in a league all its own and you truly weren't a part of it anymore. Aki deflected every hit on his own while slowly backing away with you behind him, taking every opportunity, each break in the devil's attacks to put space in between the two of you and itself. 

Eventually, you both were able to back up far enough that the devil's attacks subsided a little, although not completely. Instead of sending out as many continual attacks as it could, the devil instead honed in on concentrated strikes. It was trying to eliminate one of you, and it clearly didn't care which, with one strong blow. Aki deflected the first hit, but not without briefly staggering under the weight of the impact. 

"Go. Run away." 

Your attention was pulled away from the fight when Aki suddenly spoke, his voice breathless yet resolute. It was the first thing he'd said in a frighteningly long amount of time. His command hung in the air, his eyes remaining locked on the devil as he deflected another attack. 

Do something, fucking do something, you screamed at yourself, but you were rooted in place and couldn't think, couldn't move. Everything was a blur, moving in fast motion while you were stuck in the past. All you were able to do was uselessly stand at Aki's side, your eyes darting between him and the devil as he blocked strikes with the flat length of his sword, loud clangs of metal against metal echoing throughout the garage. 

Aki abruptly turned to you, grabbing your shoulder, and his iron grip paired with his sharp gaze meeting yours was enough to briefly shake you from your trance. He raised his voice, shouting, "Did you not hear me?!"

"I… I heard you, but I…" You stammered frantically, trying to come up with the words, trying to come up with anything at all. Right now, you're aware that you're only a liability, just someone he has to protect. But you didn't want to leave him. You couldn't. You were hoping somehow, someway, you'd find a way to assist. If you searched your brain hard enough, you'd have to come up with something. 

Aki's face seemed to soften the slightest amount when he spoke again, staring into your eyes with an expression ever pleading. "I can handle this, you're only going to get hurt if you stay so please, please just-"

You should do something. Anything. Something to help him, something more useful, something better than just standing there. 

No, you should run. You should listen to him. You should take the chance he's made for you and get out. So why weren't you? Why were you numb, unable to move? 

Wait, when did he start standing so close in front of you? And when did the noise of clanging metal cease? 

And why was Aki not moving? 

The air was filled with a suffocating silence, save for a faint plip, plap sound of droplets splattering on concrete and the twofold echo of weary gasps for breath. You were terrified to look, shaky vision remaining fixated on the devil, but when a spike stained crimson was recalled to its body and the sound grew from a light dribble to a loud splatter, your eyes darted downwards. 

Blood. Aki's blood. 

Aki's sword slipped from his loose grasp, falling to the ground with a clatter amongst the spots of red painting the floor below. His legs buckled, and as he swayed forward, you reached out and caught him by his waist. 

"Aki, oh my God, I'm so sorry, Aki please-" 

Everything was scrambled, surreal, and you were fumbling over your words, shaking, struggling to hold up his weight and not even sure what was going through your mind anymore. 

Aki wrapped his arm around your shoulders, still wobbling but regaining a little bit of his balance. He opened his mouth to speak, but as soon as he tried, he sputtered into a cough, spitting up spots of blood into his hand. 

His mind was a dizzying blur, coherent thoughts swirling, drowned out by a razor-edged pain that kept hammering away at his senses. He's losing blood. He can feel it warm and wet against his side. Even though his adrenaline is pumping right now, he can't have much consciousness left before he's done. 

Make the best call, otherwise we're both dying here. 

The devil seemed to be taunting you now, taking its time to lick the blood off the spike clean. But Aki was the only one who noticed this. You couldn't tear your eyes away from him. 

Despite how much it made your heart sink to see his face contorted in such pain, his lips parted as he took in ragged breaths, your gaze remained locked on. You focused only on watching the heave of his chest, right above where his white dress shirt is stained a vivid red, because you were terrified of the thought that if you looked away, when you looked back, it wouldn't rise and fall anymore. 

At least the devil seemed to have finally let its guard down. The damn thing probably thought it had already won. The two of you had lured it all the way to the edge of the parking garage. Orange rays from the setting sun cast large shadows upon the devil's figure. 

Now was the only chance Aki had to finish it, and he needed to do so quick, before the monster started paying attention again. 

"Aki, please, come on, we need to get out of here-" 

Make the best call, make the best call, make the best call… 

Was this close enough? Was it too dangerous to summon it here? What if the entire building toppled? 

No, stop hesitating or you'll die, idiot. He had to do it, and he had to do it right now. 

Aki brought a heavy, trembling hand up, middle and ring fingers pressed faint to the pad of his thumb. Through blurry vision growing dim, he aligned the circle between his fingers with the shadowy silhouette of the devil. 

Before he even spoke, he could feel the blood bubbling up in his aching throat, but he forced himself to push past it. He choked out the one word he needed so quietly he might as well have been mouthing it. 

"Kon."

The fox's head burst through the nearest wall like it was nothing, its might obscuring the glow of the setting sun, and in one fell swoop, the Spike Devil was gone, swallowed in the Fox Devil's jaws whole. Aki used a final burst of energy to hurriedly twist until he was in front of you. He wrapped his arms around your back and held you close, his tall frame leant over yours to shield you from the flying debris. 

It's over. 

The devil was taken down, Aki kept you safe, and once this realization hit him, the ache in his chest seemed to increase exponentially. It was a piercing, hot, all-encompassing pain, like nothing he could even describe, and nothing like anything he's ever felt before in his life. His ears were ringing, and every breath he took in was starting to become shorter and shorter without his control. 

There's so many things he wants to tell you. He wants to say it's alright, we did it. Don't worry about me because everything is going to be okay. But words wouldn't form anymore, let alone comprehensible thoughts. He was at the end of his rope now, wasn't he? 

It hurts, it's fading away, everything is fading. I don't want to die, God, please don't let me die. 

"Aki, hang in there, look at me, please." 

But your face was a blur, a mere swirl of colors growing hazy, almost as if he was being swallowed into the darkness of a long, pitch-black tunnel. 

Don't give in just yet, don't give in, it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts… 

"Focus on me, please don't close your eyes…"

But your voice was growing fainter, muddier, as if Aki was plunged underwater, the depths threatening to claim him, and his eyelids were starting to feel so, so heavy. 

I'm going to die. 

The realization should have been terrifying. Instead, he felt release, like finally letting go when your hands had been burning from holding on for far too long. The end should have hit him much harder than it did. Instead, he found it soothing, like a river's rippling waters finally settling into a still, tranquil pool. 

"Aki…" 

It's okay, please don't cry. I didn't have that much time left, anyways. 

It was never supposed to happen this way. It was supposed to be an easy job, and now the person you cared for the most was dying in your arms. 

"Can you hear me? Aki?" 

At this point, if you were saying anything, he couldn't tell what it was anymore. He could feel himself slipping, losing the fight, and before he knew it, he was speaking before he was thinking. Soft words tumbled from his aching throat at barely more than a whisper. 

"I'm sorry, I love you." 

And then, he was done. 

Aki's head fell to rest on your shoulder. His body went limp against yours, motionless and heavy. You could feel the ever so subtle tickle of his shallow breaths against your neck. 

He was barely breathing, but at least he wasn't dead yet.

— 

It's happening again. He's there, but at the same time, he is watching himself, a mere observer to the snowglobe that is the microcosm of his life. Inside the dome is a familiar house, surrounded by dead trees with branches clothed in white. Through frosted glass, he can see it; he can see himself, tiny and meager, while as innocent and pure as the pale white snow. But all he can do is watch. 

All he can do is watch as the scene plays out just as he knew it would, just as he's seen in his dreams countless times before. Someone shakes the globe, and all at once, his home is torn into the sky, blown away with the same disorder present in a gorgeous flurry of snowflakes and glitter.  

It's strange. Seeing it now, so small, so far away, a swirl of mesmerizing crystalline, it almost seems beautiful. But as he watches, he can taste the bile rising in his throat, he is weighed down by the sinking of his heart, and in that moment, he's filled with the same sense of dread he felt that day. The feeling of being lost at sea with nothing but miles and miles of blue in sight. Nowhere to run to, no-one to reach out and help you, left treading water until you drown in the deep. 

Aki feels cold, down to his bones. Is it because of the snow? Or is it coming from within? 

The scene fades, and a new one opens on what he remembers to be the first time he wielded a sword. He watches a much younger, inexperienced version of himself through the shiny reflection on the blade. His fragile hands grip the hilt tight and he swings with a reckless naiveté. God, he was so young to be fighting, and even though he tried to hide it, Aki knew him better than anyone, and he knew the boy he saw in the mirror was terrified. 

He became a spectator to his first devil kill. Adrenaline pumped through his veins and he was overwhelmed with the satisfaction of finally doing something useful. From then on, he killed more, more. He didn't stop, not even for a second. 

His sword was plunged into devil after devil, but the madness didn't end for him once they were dead. He cut their bodies open and searched through every last revolting inch of their insides until he found what he was looking for. When he was done, his palms were stained red, down to the crevices. He remembers feeling as though it would never wash out of his pores. With his blade coated in blood, Aki could no longer see through the steel, and so the scene faded anew. 

When the picture took shape once more, Aki was standing on a lonely street. Through a wide set of windows, he could see himself inside, eating dinner with his late partner. Or perhaps it was lunch, he can't remember. The inside of the restaurant appeared to be empty apart from his table, and although he could see himself clearly, the one sitting in the chair across from him was blurred. He knew exactly who it was, and yet, her face was obscured and just wasn't quite right. 

"Aki, wanna job hop to the civilian side with me?" 

Even though he was watching from outside, he could hear the conversation clear as day, like it was coming from inside his brain. 

"We don't have to hunt that damn gun, y'know?" 

Aki didn't look up, although now, he wished he did, because if he had, maybe he would have remembered her face more. 

"I'll go drinking with you as much as you want," He replied firmly, "But I will never go to the civilian sector." 

If he could go back now, would he have changed his answer? 

Right now, he isn't sure, but in this world where he's only an onlooker, it doesn't really matter. He is on the outside looking in, left staring at his double and the hazy vision of Himeno, the window pane seeming fogged up around her form as she lights a familiar cigarette. 

Why was Aki seeing all of these things? Is this what they call your life flashing before your eyes? 

He stood idly, watching the film continue to play out, although he already knew how it was going to end. For a second time, Himeno died right in front of him, and for a second time, he was utterly powerless to stop it. He was a prisoner to a story already told, and even though the rest of the memory was fuzzy, he could remember everything about her as he watched her slowly disappear. 

That memory was always the clearest. His own brain is so cruel. 

Aki couldn't bear to see much more of this. He turned and started walking, then running, leaving the stage behind him. 

Perhaps it was because he hoped to enter a memory more pleasant, or perhaps it was because your face was the last thing he saw, your voice the last thing he heard, and so you were still lingering in the labyrinth of his mind. Whatever it was, Aki began to reflect on recollections of you. 

The first time he gave you a cigarette. He demonstrated how to smoke it before passing it off to you. When you coughed and sputtered, it was almost endearing, like watching a younger version of himself. You didn't give up though, and when he watched you, he couldn't help but smile. That day, he smiled for what was the first time in a long time. 

The first mission you completed together. He didn't think it was anything to write home about, but you were so excited, and some of that cheerfulness couldn't help but be rubbed off on him. You praised him for how strong he was, rambled about how much you wished you could be a devil hunter as strong as him. Never become like me, was what he wanted to say, but instead, he offered to train with you, show you some of what he knows. You graciously accepted, and after that, training sessions together became a regular occurance. That was only the start of Aki spending time with you outside of work. 

The first time he took you to his family's grave. He told you it wouldn't be anything fun, but you insisted on coming. He's still not sure why you did. 

It was chilly that day. You both left early in the morning. You slept on his shoulder on the train ride there. Then, on the boat, it was freezing, so while you looked out at the water, he took off his jacket and draped it over the two of you like a blanket with his shoulder pressed against yours. Lastly was the bus, and even though it was totally empty, for some reason, he stood close to you. Close enough that every bump in the road caused him to lean into you. Close enough that his fingers kept accidentally brushing against yours. 

Another thing he's not sure of is why you decided to grab his hand then. It could be because you were getting tired of all those accidents, or maybe it was because you figured it was awfully close anyways, so you might as well. It wouldn't be a far extension of what was already occurring. 

Or possibly, it was because you could see right through him. You could tell deep down, he was troubled with the reminders of all of this, of everything he lost that day. So when you took his hand, it was to give him something to hold on to. A small form of comfort. He likes to think the reason was the latter. 

"Your hands are cold." You commented. 

"Yours are warm."

The trip was always a long one, but with you, it seemed to go by in an instant. You prayed alongside him, and something about you being there made it easier, made him feel less alone. 

In his eyes, in every memory, your face was clear. He could see every detail of it, but he swore it was more beautiful than he remembered. 

The first time you came over to his house, he showed you around, and when you were hungry, he peeled and cut an apple for you. He remembers the way your face lit up when you saw the bunny-shaped slices, the way you smiled at him as you ate. You watched movies together, talked about stupid shit and gossiped about co-workers while forgetting about the world. For just one night, everything was normal. Aki remembers wishing he could freeze time right at that moment. 

The first time you went out drinking together, you both probably shared more secrets than necessary, but Aki can hardly recall what was said. What he does remember is taking you home when you got too drunk, your whole body leaning on him, your infectious laugh when you wobbled, and the way you relied on him to keep you safe without question. It made him feel important, made him feel like he was needed by someone. 

It's the dullest of moments that Aki remembers the clearest, he notes. They also happen to be the ones he loves the most, because when every devil might be what drives you to the brink of insanity, a little bit of something simple goes a long way. 

Aki relives a conversation he had with you on his balcony, over a shared cigarette and under the dull light of the crescent moon. He recalls something you asked him that night. 

"If you could go back and change your past, would you?" 

You posed it as a pretty casual question, teasing him when he simply replied he doesn't know. 

Ask him any other time, and Aki would have said yes, absolutely. There were so many things he'd like to change about his life. So many people he'd want to save, and when he really thinks about it, all of this started with that stupid house and that damn gun. Against the impossible odds, he'd find a way to prevent it, find a way to save his family. Find a way to fix his life. 

Now though? He's come to feel a bit differently, not just about that question, but about his life as a whole. No matter how much you wish it could, the past can't be changed. The only thing you can do is learn to live with it. Accomplish your goals and treasure what you have left until it's gone. And if you do, you might just find something that makes all the suffering worth it in the end. Someone who makes you look forward, instead of looking back all the time. 

The only thing he regrets is ever giving you a damn cigarette. 

This world has always hated him from the start. Was showing him all of this the universe's way of trying to get him to finally give up? 

To hell with that. Aki still had a job to do, and for once in his life, he had someone out there waiting for him. Someone who would cry if he died, and he can't let that happen. He needed to get out of here. 

"Aki, where are we going?" 

With no warning, he found himself on a busy street, and he heard your voice clearly through the suffocating crowd. 

"We have to patrol the south side," Came his response, although it wasn't coming from his own mouth. Aki turned to where he heard it, and standing out from the group as if a spotlight was shown upon them was the striking image of himself walking with you close on his heels. 

"Try to keep up," His duplicate continued, "I won't have time to babysit you." 

"You must have pretty low expectations of me, sir." 

"I have low expectations of everyone, especially softies like yourself." 

Aki felt his hands ball up into fists. Man, was he always such an asshole? 

"And why's that?" 

"Because everyone in Public Safety ends up either-"

Aki charged forward, closing the distance between himself and you. Before he let himself say another word, he reached out and grabbed your hand. Your palm was warm, and he could feel it when you gripped back, the touch distinct and real. For a moment, his heart skipped and he hesitated, a gravity almost drawing him away, but he held on tight and let it pull him with you in tow. 

He moved as quickly as he could manage, shouldering past those in the way, and when the sea of people seemed to part, he started running. 

"Aki, wait!" Your voice cried out from behind him, and you were slowing down, stumbling, struggling to keep up. "Where the hell are we going?"

His vision was growing muddled, and he wasn't sure where he even was anymore. His surroundings were a confusing, vague blur, in an uncanny kind of way. 

"We're getting out of here," He replied, and the next thing he said poured from his mouth thoughtlessly, "I'm not ready to die." 

"You're not dead, Aki."

Aki froze in place. "I'm not?" He murmured, although to be honest, he knew a long time ago that he wasn't. He knew from the moment he first saw your face, and from the second he felt your touch so strongly when he grabbed your hand. He could feel this was only a dream that he was on the edge of waking up from.  

And as if on cue, a loud boom pierced right through the languor, and the calm haze of a quiet dream was severed in favor of a heart-pounding awakening. 

— 

I'm not dead yet. 

Aki awoke suddenly, the fog blanketing his mind rapidly fading to a clear consciousness. The first thing he heard was the crack of thunder, and once his eyes fluttered open, the second thing was the rolling thrum thereafter. He fought against the grogginess still lingering in his mind and the heavy weight of his eyelids begging to close, attempting to take in the area around him. The room was dim, covered in a veil of grey, and the gentle patter of rain could be heard outside. 

He sat there for a moment, pondering the loose threads from his dream still lingering in his memory. As his senses returned, he felt something in his open hand, holding it carefully, but firm. Your touch blended so well with his dream that it took him a bit before he noticed. Fabric rustled as he turned to look at you, your head rested on the edge of the bed. You had pulled up a chair next to him, and although he couldn't tell since you were facing away, he guessed you were sleeping. 

Aki felt his body relax and his heartbeat slow once he saw you, and for a minute he was settled there, simply enjoying the feeling of your hand in his. It was warm. So warm. 

He could tell from his surroundings that he must be in the hospital. How long had he been asleep? Or, more importantly, how long had you been waiting for him to wake up? Hopefully he didn't worry you for too long, he thought, and as he attempted to recall how he got himself into this in the first place, the memory of the day prior began to return. 

That's right, you and him were dispatched on an extermination mission for the Spike Devil, and that's where he became injured. He remembered fighting alongside you, stepping in front of you, and taking a spike right through his stomach. Aki could feel his middle wrapped in something snug, and to confirm it true, he snaked his free hand up his hospital gown. Sure enough, when his fingers met his side, he felt the smooth cotton of a bandage cloth. 

The next thing he recalled was the pain. How sharp and hot it was, and then the feeling of almost dying that followed. It felt oddly calm, like slipping into a peaceful slumber, but now, the mental image it conjured utterly terrified him. 

He summoned the Fox Devil, didn't he? Yeah, he definitely did. He can't forget to feed it later. 

You weren't hurt, were you? No, if you were here now, you must have gotten out safely. Aki remembered your panicked voice as you begged for him to stay awake. The look on your face that shot a bullet through his heart when he realized you were crying. He remembered being held in your arms, slowly slipping away, whispering his last words… 

Oh, fuck. They were supposed to be his last words, anyways, but considering he was alive and well right now, they certainly didn't turn out to be. He wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. 

In the moment, his mind was in shambles, and all he was concerned with was making sure something left his mouth so you could hear his voice one last time. He wanted those words to be meaningful and good, but he didn't have much time nor energy left to decide on them. The grim prospect of death was staring him right in the eyes, and he could tell from the dwindling sand within the hourglass that he didn't have much time left. He dug a hole for his own grave, and as he did, he unearthed feelings he had long since buried in the dirt. In the moment, all he could think of was not allowing those feelings to be forever buried alongside him. 

Aki could feel his heart constrict in his chest. I love you. I love you. I love you. Each resoundment was like a punch to the gut, echoing throughout his head, spoken in his own voice. Out of all the things he could have said, why did he have to go with that? Maybe it would have been endearing if he had actually ended up six feet under, but in this instance, all he did was force his feelings onto you. 

He shouldn't have said it. The time and place couldn't have been any more horrible. You shouldn't feel pressured to accept his confession just because he almost died, so Aki decided the first thing he's going to do when you wake up is take it all back. He'll tell you he didn't mean any of it, even if that was an outright lie. 

Speaking frankly, Aki didn't know much about love, but somewhere down the line, he became pretty sure he was in love with you. He could feel it clearly in the way his heart came alive every time he was around you, and in the way your presence alone brought him so much peace. You treated his life as anything but expendable, and you cared about him in a way almost no-one else ever has. There was something about you that captivated him and made him grow him very, very attached, until before he realized what was happening, you became the most precious thing in his life. 

Nevertheless, for so many reasons, he swallowed those feelings and kept them concealed. You were his partner firstly, his friend secondly, and he couldn't allow something stupid like this to get in the way of either of your jobs. Besides, if you grew closer to each other, it would only lead to more hurt when one of you inevitably departed. Aki had to keep you at a certain distance. For his own sake and yours, you two could never be more than friends. 

But when you find yourself on the brink of death, something about you changes. You start thinking of all those things you've tried to keep hidden and you're met with a choice: speak now, or die beside them. 

Oh, whatever. What's done is done, so it's not worth agonizing over now, is it? 

Searching for something to distract himself, Aki finally decided to push himself up, doing so slowly as to not wake you. The second he rose, he immediately felt the strain of fatigue on his body, like a hook held by a taut line threatening to drag him backwards. The slightest bit of movement also triggered a steady throb in his side. He brushed strands of long hair from his face, rubbed some of the stress from his temple, and forced himself to stay up. 

A dull flash of lightning brought his attention to the window beside him. Gentle droplets tapped against the glass, then steadily cascaded down, obscuring the view with blurry streaks of water. Dark, puffy clouds hung low in the sky and blotted out the light from the sun. The slosh of water could be heard when cars in the streets below passed by, headlights casting streaks of yellow that travelled across the room. 

For a while, Aki watched the rain, the soft rhythm beginning to settle his thoughts. He could still feel your hand in his, and he faintly closed his fingers around it, holding it in a tender grip. The drizzle outside bounced off of the sidewalk and soaked into the soil. Where it had the chance, it collected into puddles that reflected the city's colorful glow. It could have been his imagination, but he swore the storm was only picking up. 

"Aki?" 

A voice calling his name stirred him, but before he could fully turn towards it, before he could even form a word in response, you had already flung forward and wrapped your arms around him. Aki's breath hitched in his throat. For a few seconds, he stalled, before he hesitantly returned the embrace, shaky arms clutching around your back. Loosely at first, but tight when he gave in. 

You held him close, close enough that how glad you were to see he was okay was conveyed through your touch alone, and without a single word spoken, he understood. You could feel his heart beating through his chest and the fabric of his clothes was balled up tight in your hands. 

His heartbeat. In the grand scheme of things, it was inconsequential, but hearing it now made it sound like the world's most perfect melody. 

Although his lips trembled like there was something he wished to say, Aki was rendered speechless until you pulled apart. You held his shoulders, the look on his face one of relief. When he met your gaze, he got lost in your eyes, and when he spoke to end the silence, his voice was low. To hear it after so long made it sound especially comforting. 

"How long have you been here?" 

"Since this afternoon," You replied, "They've been letting me off work early 'cause I can't patrol without a buddy." 

Aki looked away, his face tensed in thought, and you spoke again, figuring you knew what was on his mind. "You've been asleep for three days now." 

Three days? He should be grateful he wasn't out for longer, but three days was still far too long to have left you worrying about him. He was so stupid, so sloppy, such an idiot. How could he let something like this happen? 

Aki sighed, "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? For what?"

"Fuck, for everything," He answered, his voice fragile, like it was glass about to break into a million little pieces. "For failing you, for making you worry about me, for what I-" 

The hospital room's door opening with a creak caused Aki to trail off, his attention and yours shifted to a nurse standing in the hallway. 

The nurse stated simply, "Visiting hours were over a long time ago."

Your hesitation made Aki almost think you were going to protest, but instead, you responded, "Okay, I'm leaving in a minute." 

When the nurse left, you pulled Aki into another curt hug. You were about to tell him not to apologize because there was nothing to apologize for, but when he rested his head on your shoulder, you heard him say quietly into your ear, "You should leave now anyways, the rain is picking up."

As much as you didn't want to, you cut the hug short and decided to leave the conversation there, since it seemed like what Aki wanted you to do. You began shuffling around the room to find your belongings. "Yeah, I guess you're right, but I wanted to talk to you for longer." 

"I know. Me too."

"I'll come back tomorrow as soon as I'm off work." You said, pulling your arms through the sleeves of your jacket. 

Aki shook his head, "That's not necessary." 

"You don't want me to?" 

Of course he wanted you to. If he was truly listening to his heart, he would have begged for you to stay and never fucking leave his side again. But he has to listen to his head. 

"No, just… Don't worry about me, okay? I'll call you when I get out, we can talk more when I'm feeling better." 

"Alright. Do you need anything before I go?" 

"I could use a cigarette, but I doubt they'll let me smoke in here, so..." Aki pondered with a shrug of his shoulders, but without a care for what he just said, you rooted around in your jacket pocket, tossing a lighter and then a half-full pack of cigarettes at him. He saw them out of the corner of his eye and spun to catch them with ease. 

You were about to leave the room, but as you grabbed the door handle, you stopped to say one more comment, "Hey, make sure you get some rest, alright?" 

"Didn't I tell you not to worry about me?" 

In response, you only chuckled. 

Aki spoke between the cigarette already placed between his teeth, "Be safe." 

"I will, see you later. Call me." 

Aki waved, and after catching one last glimpse of him, you left and closed the door behind you. 

—

Aki never called you. 

After almost a week of not hearing from him, you decided to take matters into your own hands. You went to the hospital first, only to find his room empty upon opening the door. You flagged down a nurse, who informed you he left a few days ago. Against the wishes of his doctor, might they add. Yeah, sounds just like him. 

So next, you tried to call his phone, but of course, it rang infinitely without an answer. When that plan failed, you didn't waste any time trying to leave voicemails. You got in your car and drove right to his apartment. 

Considering what the nurse told you, it wasn't hard to believe he was ignoring you because he was trying to get some rest, but considering what you knew about Aki, the real reason was probably because he didn't want you to fuss over him. It was either that or he was too embarrassed to talk to you. 

You parked in front of his apartment and then made your way to the door. The sun hung low in the sky, casting orange ribbons of light upon everything it touched. A sharp chill was settled in the air, leaving goosebumps on your arms in its wake. You raised your knuckle and knocked. 

No answer. 

You rung the doorbell, hearing the muffled chime resound from inside. 

No answer, again. 

The lights weren't on, but his car was parked in the lot, so he definitely was here. Was he okay? Something didn't happen to him, did it? You're starting to get a little nervous. 

You were about to try knocking at the door again, but to your surprise, it unlocked with a click. You hurriedly moved your hand away, and when it swung open, you couldn't hold back a sigh in relief. 

Aki leant on the doorframe, his hair down and an utter mess. He was wearing comfortable clothing, what you assumed to be his pajamas, and a weary look was present in his eyes. Maybe he actually was resting after all. He eyed you up and down before asking in a flat tone, "What are you doing here? Do you need something?" 

You scoffed, "You said you would call me and you didn't, idiot." 

"Oh, sorry." Aki replied, his attitude standoffish, and he averted his eyes, looking down at the floor. 

Could he be any less subtle about this? At least you were here now, so he couldn't avoid you for any longer. 

"Can you let me in? It's cold out here." You said, crossing your arms. 

Aki appeared to be unsure, but regardless, he opened the door further and moved aside, allowing you to walk in before he closed it behind you. The second you entered, a heavy warmth settled over your body like a cocoon. The familiar smell of his apartment and the distinct musk of his cigarettes filled your lungs. The scent was comforting, albeit a little suffocating, but it smelled exactly like him, and that's what you loved about it. His living room was lit solely by the rays of light shining through the balcony's sliding glass door. 

He wobbled past you, and before he sunk down on the couch, you noticed how he was clutching his side. "There's beer in the fridge if you want one," He said, grabbing a can from the coffee table in front of him. 

You rolled your eyes, but decided to take him up on that offer, walking over to the kitchen. "Isn't it bad to drink while you're recovering?" 

Aki brought the can to his lips, head tilted back as he took a drink. After a swallow, he simply stated, "It helps take the edge off." 

After rummaging around in the fridge, you grabbed a beer can of your own, cracking it open with a satisfying hiss. The bitter taste of alcohol pricked at your throat when you took a sip, and as you made your way to the living room, you looked at Aki again. He didn't look to be in much pain, but he was still holding his stomach like something was sore there. His expression was plagued by exhaustion and his hair was in total disarray. He probably hadn't even brushed it since he got home. Most curiously, his arm was wrapped in bandages stained a dark red from dried blood. 

"Aki, are you alright?" You asked, plopping next to him, the couch sinking under your weight. 

"I'm fine." 

"You don't look fine." You snapped back after his curt response, pointing to his arm as he brought the beer can to his mouth again, "How'd you get that? Have you been changing your bandages at all?" 

"I fed the Fox Devil flesh from my arm in exchange for using its power." 

"You didn't answer my second question." 

Aki looked away, unresponsive. There was your answer, you supposed. You took another swig of your beer before setting it on the table and pushing yourself up. 

"Where are you going?" Aki asked, peering up at you. 

"Bathroom." 

This was far from the first time you'd hung out at Aki's place, so you knew exactly where the bathroom was. You dug through all the cabinets and drawers until you found everything you were looking for: a roll of bandages, a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a washcloth, and his hairbrush. 

When you returned, Aki immediately saw everything you were holding and a slight look of annoyance formed on his face. "You don't have to-"

"Come on, let me help you." You interrupted, setting everything down on the table besides the brush, which you held in your hand. "Face forward, I'm gonna brush your hair first." 

Aki gave a few more flustered comments, but you ignored them. You stood behind him and grabbed his chin when he tried to twist around, tilting his head back until it was forwards. Realizing there was no sense in fighting you, Aki sighed rather dramatically and reluctantly kept still, allowing you to run the hair brush through his tangles. 

You were gentle, as much as you possibly could be, anyways. Aki tried his hardest to keep still. It was impossible for you to tell from this angle, but if you could see his flushed face, you would know he was totally embarrassed. Not embarrassed enough to stop you though, of course. It's fine if you wanted to brush his hair, because he definitely wasn't enjoying this and his heart definitely wasn't pounding right now. 

"Hey, Aki, I have something I've been meaning to ask you." 

"Yeah, what is it?" 

Oh, were you finally going to ask him about his last words? It's okay, he already prepared what he was going to say, so it'd be fine. It'd be awkward, but he'll get over it, you'll get over it, and everything will go back to normal. 

"On our last mission, why did you step in front of me?" 

Why did he… do what? For a second, Aki was taken aback. This isn't what he expected you to say, not at all, in fact. Was this really all you were wondering about? 

At first, he isn't sure why. In the heat of the moment, the only thing in control was his reflexes, and when he protected you, he did so without a conscious thought. But the more he thought about it, the more the answer became obvious to him. 

Aki is used to losing partners. It's nothing new, and even though he tells himself he's not going to get attached, he always does. When they die, reduced to nothing but ash, their souls burn on in his memory, haunting him until he drowns in salty tears and the thick smoke of another cigarette. They're replaced with hardly any time given to mourn, and the cycle repeats itself. The world discards them, but he never will. 

The thing is, you're not just another partner to him. You're not just someone who can be easily replaced. You meant so much to him, more than you would ever really know. If you died, you'd be taking a piece of him with you, and the void left behind is one he would never be able to fill again. Not with anyone else. Not with the cigarettes or the alcohol or the rush from fighting devils. Nothing else would compare. 

Aki is tired of this, and he realized he was a long time ago. He's sick of the world giving him something he thinks he can cherish, but no matter how tight he holds on, it always ends up slipping away, right between his grasp. He can't do this anymore. He can't sit back and be complacent, allowing the cycle to repeat itself over and over again until everything he finds beautiful is wilted, all right before his eyes. He can't sit back and let this shitty world win. 

He doesn't care about all the pain he's in now. The temporary sting from this injury doesn't compare to how much it hurts to lose someone he cares about, a wound that aches everlasting. And he knows he could have died, he knows the feeling of death to an uncomfortable degree. But if keeping you safe means giving up his life for yours, he'd do it in a heartbeat, and he did. 

Hah, finally, he understands her now. He finally gets all those letters he read that day, why she wanted him to quit so badly, why she kept him alive. This was what she must have been feeling back then, wasn't it? And when he protected you, must he have been feeling the same emotions she was? 

"Aki, did you hear me?"

"I did it because I didn't want to see you hurt." 

You stopped for a moment, before exhaling a long sigh. "I don't want to see you hurt either, you know. You could have died." 

"I'm sorry." 

"Don't apologize, just next time, let's both be more careful. I don't want you dying on me any time soon." 

Aki didn't say anything back, half expecting you to ask him something else, but the discussion stagnated. 

I don't want you dying on me any time soon. How could one little sentence carry so much weight? He'll try, God, he'll try. He'll do anything and everything in his power to stay with you for as long as he can. 

By this point, you finished brushing out his hair, and it was soft to the touch when you ran your fingers through to make sure you didn't miss any knots. One thing's for sure, it looked a hell of a lot better than when you started. 

"All done," You said while moving to stand in front of him, setting the brush down on the table, "I'm going to do your bandages now, take off your shirt."

"Huh?" 

"I said I'm going to do your bandages now. I'll do the wound on your side first since that's gonna be the harder one." 

"No, no," Aki shook his head, reaching for the bandages, "I'll do it." 

You promptly put your hand on his and pushed it away. "No, you won't. Aki, please. Let me help you." 

Although his mouth opened like he was about to argue, he ultimately kept it shut, the pleading tone in your voice convincing him. He sunk back on the couch and his gaze avoided yours as he reached down, grasping the hem of his shirt and pulling it up and over his head, the faintest blush dusted on his cheeks when he tossed it aside. 

It's the first time you've seen Aki without a shirt, and under it, he's a lot more fit than you expected him to be. His body is lean, but with defined muscle. Especially in his biceps, which you would assume is from wielding a sword. Bruises kissed his skin and scars decorated every last inch. You could imagine each one telling a different story: some of sorrow, some of triumph, but all a reminder that through everything, he lived. Just below his ribs, stained bandages were wrapped tightly. 

"Uhm, how should I…" You stood in front of him, leaning down, attempting to figure out the best way to go about this. After feeling around, you located the end of the bandage, pulling on it and beginning to unwrap it from around his body. You could see the gentle rise and fall of his chest and hear the sound of his breathing: soft, and a little shaky. The angle was awkward and quickly caused an ache in your back, so to alleviate it, you rested your knee on his legs. 

When the last of the bandage was unwrapped, you finally got a good look at his wound, and the only thing you could think was this would definitely leave his biggest scar yet. The cut was sealed by stitches and travelled up the length of his abdomen, dried blood coated around it. 

You took the bottle of rubbing alcohol from the table, then the washcloth, pouring a small amount onto the surface. When you turned back to him, you decided the easiest way to continue would be to climb into his lap. 

Aki couldn't hide the blush on his cheeks anymore, nor could he stifle the way his breath hitched when he felt your weight settle on top of him. You were so close, way too close, and when you shuffled against him, his entire face suddenly felt very, very hot. He could feel the warmth all the way from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. 

"Alright, this is probably going to hurt. Are you ready?" 

"Uh, yeah." 

God, why was he so embarrassed? Why couldn't he calm down? His heart was thrumming against his ribcage, pounding so hard he wouldn't be surprised if you could hear it through his chest like he could hear it in his eardrums. With you pressed up against his lap, he could admire the details on your face like he never could before. The curve of your nose, (Was it always so perfect?) the color of your eyes, (Were they always this beautiful?) each and every mark and… and he didn't know where the hell to put his hands. Maybe he should… No, it'd be best if he just- 

"Ow! Holy fucking shit that hurts, why didn't you warn me?!" 

"I did, you dumbass." 

The second you pressed the rag to his cut, a sharp sting shot through him and he flinched back instinctively. When you pressed it to him again, he tensed up and subsequently jerked away. 

"Aki, you need to hold still." 

"Sorry." 

You gave him a second to compose himself before trying once more. Aki winced and swore under his breath, but he was able to keep still this time. You cleaned around his wound carefully, taking the washcloth away to give him a break whenever he squirmed or made it obvious he was in pain. Searching for something to hold onto, he grabbed your shoulder, squeezing tight to ground himself. 

"You shouldn't have left the hospital so early, this looks horrible." You ascertain. 

"I- shit, ow… I need to get back to work, I've-" He cuts himself off with a sharp intake of air, "I've lost enough time already."  

The pain stung like all hell, but there was something about being looked after by you that felt nice, almost calming, in a way. There was also something about how you fit in his lap that felt so, so right. Aki could hardly get over that feeling, and when he was squirming too much so you gently held his waist to keep him still, your soft touch against his bare skin was tender and heavenly and perfect. Any more of this, and his heart might pop like a balloon. 

"I'm almost done," You said softly, your tone comforting, "You're doing good, hang in there for me." 

Aki gave a quick nod and you continued. You cleaned the entire length of the wound, and once you thought your work was sufficient, the next thing you grabbed from the table was the fresh roll of bandages. You began wrapping them around him, winding them up the width of his body once, then twice, then a third time for good measure. When you were finished, you asked him, "Are you okay?" 

Aki merely nodded again. 

"Are the bandages too tight?" 

He shook his head. You secured the bandage with a knot, and when you started to slide off of him, Aki suddenly stopped you by grabbing your arm. 

He can't let this moment end. Not right now. Not when he needs it. Not when he's needed you for so long. 

"Wait," He said nervously, swallowing, "Can we… Can we stay like this for a little bit longer?" 

You smiled, "Of course." 

You slid back into his lap, carefully straddling him, and Aki couldn't help but feel the way your body connected to his was like puzzle pieces finally fitting together. He's not sure if he planned to or if it was purely by natural reflex, but he was a slight bit bolder this time when he allowed his hands to find your waist and hold it faintly through the fabric of your clothes. 

"Are you alright?" You asked him. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just really missed you." 

To be honest, that didn't even begin to scratch the surface. Aki missed you so goddamn much. He longed for your touch, for your mere presence alone. To have you in his lap now was a blessing, and what he didn't tell you was on that day, when he woke up at the hospital and you wrapped your arms around him, the feeling which leapt through his heart was the most he's felt in a long, long time. 

Fuck, he was so stupid. Why did he ever try to push you away? Why did he think that was a good idea? 

"I missed you too." You replied. 

"I'm sorry, I should have called you." 

"Aki," You said with a half-hearted laugh, "It's okay." 

"No," Aki shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing, "It's not, and I'm sorry. It's not okay for me to get hurt so badly I'm out for three days, or for me to ignore you, and I won't let it happen again. I promise." 

His expression seemed to soften, and the next thing to leave his mouth was spoken a little quieter, a little softer, and much, much warmer.

"I don't ever want to be apart from you, not for that long. You matter too much to me." 

The way he said it so genuinely took you by surprise and ignited a little feeling inside your heart. It was a few seconds before you responded, "I don't want to be apart from you either." 

The room grew silent, and in between the two of you, only deep breaths and lingering gazes behind heavy blinks of eyelashes were exchanged. The sun is nearly set by now, the day nearly spent. Twilight casts the faintest lush glow of orange on half of Aki's face, and the other is obscured by the dark shadow the light creates. The way it makes him look is practically ethereal, and your hand starts to drag up, up, until you're caressing his jawline, cupping his cheek, feeling warmth radiate from his skin when he leans into your touch. 

Aki's not really sure what it was, or how it happened, but something fell into place right then. A want turned into a need turned into a desire, and Aki knew, he knew he was done for, but quite frankly, he didn't care. 

He shouldn't be doing this, should he? His fingers shouldn't be trailing under your shirt. They shouldn't be shaking, climbing slowly upwards until he can study your waist, the dip of your sides, the outline of your ribs. He shouldn't be losing himself to you, nor should he be allowing you to touch him so earnestly, so intimately. 

With one hand, you toy with the piercings on his earlobes, and the other you run up the back of his neck, tangling it in his hair until he can feel tingles throughout his scalp. Meanwhile, he touches you with the delicacy of feather-light fingertips against your skin, like he was scared you might shatter if he wasn't careful, and the nervousness of unsure movements and trembling hands. And when he does so, he shouldn't be wanting more. If he shouldn't be doing this, why did it feel so good, and so right? 

All he knew anymore was right now he wanted, no, he needed you, more of you. More of your touch, more of everything you'd be willing to give him, and then some. He needed you to take him somewhere far away from this world, because when you touch him like this, he doesn't feel empty anymore. He doesn't want it to end, even if he should, even if it would be the smarter choice. Truth is, he's been cold inside ever since that snowy day, and this is the most warmth in his soul he thinks he's felt since then. 

You're his partner, nothing more. But in this space away from reality, inhabited by just the two of you, the world of devils doesn't really fucking matter. 

Maybe it's because he was a little tipsy, or maybe it's just because he was high on you, but his mind was a dream-filled haze, and with a budding, lovesick ache in his chest, Aki felt words blossom until they were falling from his mouth like petals, words he thought he would never say again. 

"I love you." 

It came so naturally, as did his affectionate hold on your chin between his thumb and finger, as did the way you whispered I love you too in return without missing a beat. 

Do you? It felt like a dream, but if it was, this was one Aki definitely didn't want to wake up from. 

I do, always have. It wasn't a dream, it was real. You loved him. You said you loved him, and he didn't even know how to process it. He didn't know where to begin. But with you right here, he didn't think, he didn't complicate it, he just believed you. He let his heart take control and allowed everything to unfold. 

His eyes dropped to your lips, and then gravity started to pull him in closer, closer, listlessly, his hand seeming to guide you forwards in the same way. His voice was quiet when he asked, Can I kiss you? and your response only came in the form of eyes fluttering closed and your mouth pressed against his. 

His lips were soft, hesitant, woven with sparks, filled with a longing he didn't even know he had, and to him, yours felt like a dizzying sense of relief. All of his longing, all of his infatuation. All of the times he was so close to you but stopped himself from doing anything more. All of the indirect kisses shared through sticks of cigarettes. All of it led up to this. And yet, the moment was cut short when he pulled away almost as quickly as he leaned in. 

When you met his gaze, you smiled, and told him, "You can kiss me like you really mean it, you know."

"Like… Like how?" 

"Like this." 

Your lips sought his again, but this time they pressed harder, for longer. In between struggles for breath, your mouths parted. Suddenly, your hands were becoming lost in his hair and he was kissing you much deeper than he ever could have expected or imagined. He tasted vaguely like cigarettes and beer, the ones you both always smoke, the kind you both always drink. Comfortingly familiar. 

It had been forever since he'd kissed someone, and never since he'd been kissed like this, so everything was clumsy and messy. The dance became one you were teaching him how to do, and eventually, he started to get the hang of it. He was hesitant at first, but when he pulled you closer by your waist and you rocked your hips hard against where he was stiff beneath you, all nervousness and any attempt to control himself went out the window. 

Sucking on your tongue has him feeling lightheaded, and with soft sighs and gasps echoed between each other, it was then that Aki realized: you didn't just taste like his cigarettes, you felt like them too. Your lips on his felt like the way nicotine soothes your lungs, working its way into your blood until you're left hopelessly addicted. 

When you pulled apart, he was breathing heavily, eyes filled with lust and an almost divine sense of adoration. Your hand pressed to his chest, the steady beat of his heart thrumming beneath, and you pushed him until he settled backwards. Tender kisses were blessed to his cheek, his jaw, his neck, where he tilted his head up to give you better access, and then you kissed the Adam's apple in his throat, where he let out the sweetest whine. 

Your lips traced downwards, and where they did, they wrote words Aki wished he could etch forever into his skin. There was a kiss on his collarbone, then one on his chest, over a faded scar. Another, on top of a bruise, and although still sore, the pain was drowned out by tingles of pleasure. 

If it's possible for heaven to exist on Earth, Aki thinks this might be what it's like. 

Somewhere down the line, his hand met yours. When exactly? He doesn't know, but what he does know is your fingers fit into the crooks of his too perfectly to be a coincidence. He knows it's ridiculous, but it has him thinking perhaps, his hands weren't meant to summon devils or hold the hilt of a blade. They were meant for something more like this. 

Somewhere down the line more, he's asking, Can I touch you? and the hand that's free is moving on its own the second he sees you nod, his palm exploring wherever it oh so desperately wants to. It slips under your bra, caressing and squeezing your breasts, rolling the nipple between delicate fingers. Callouses morph his touch into a mix of rough and gentle, providing the slightest bitter reminder. 

A moment of clarity finally befalls him when he notices your fingers playing with the drawstrings of his pants. A moment which whispers to him, Hey, this is your last chance to get a grip, are you going to take it? He chooses to pretend he didn't hear. 

Actually, he chooses to go directly against the little voice in his head when he grabs your hand, his fingertips brushing against your knuckles as he starts to guide it down, down, right to where he's craving it to be. There's a gnawing hunger for more that festers in his heart, in his stomach, and in between his legs and… For fuck's sake, when did he get so hard? He's so turned on it hurts… Was all of this just from a little kissing? 

He's hopeless. Way more hopeless than he thought, way more needy than he thought. And who can blame him? No-one has ever touched him like this or loved him so strongly, not once in his life. Certainly you can't blame him for being a little desperate. 

So if he wants you to touch him, you will. If he wants you to make him feel good, you'll make him feel even better, all because he deserves it. He works so goddamn hard, he's been through so much. He deserves to be happy, he deserves to be pleasured, he deserves to be loved. He deserves to have a break from how horrible the world can be and indulge in something much sweeter. 

You know exactly what he needs, and so, you give it to him. Grant him a little taste to hold over his appetite. And God, when you do, Aki's mind is so far down the gutter there's truly no hope of saving him. (Not like there ever really was, anyway.) 

"Fuck," Aki swears under his breath once you palm the shape of his dick through his pants, nearly stuttering. When he speaks again, his voice is barely uttering the words, but they roll off his mouth so effortlessly that he hardly knows what he's saying anymore. "Right there baby, just like that, holy shit…" 

It doesn't take long before his legs are starting to squirm and his head is tossed back, needy moans punctuated by his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. His hand flies to cover his mouth in an attempt to muffle the noise, and his hips rut upwards in a desperate plea for friction. Even though you're only rubbing him through his sweatpants, the feeling that pumps through his veins, settles in his core: it's addictive. He can feel himself sitting thick and heavy against his thigh, leaking out all over it. Your touch feels so damn good he doesn't even notice when your hand slips down, past the hem, until it starts feeling a whole hell of a lot better. 

One less layer of fabric makes all the difference. You can feel the outline of his cock more prominently, big and incredibly hard, the cotton of his boxers damp and slightly see-through over the tip. He needs something to hold onto, anything, so he grabs your waist with a firm, white-knuckled grip. The way you're squeezing him and rolling your palm is driving him fucking crazy and he knows he can't hold back anymore, not when it feels this amazing, not when he wants it this bad. All it takes is one more grind into your hand before he's on the edge, and when everything is tumbling over, he's riding it out and letting it happen. 

Cries of your name are entangled with gasps for air as he finishes, cumming right in his boxers. His back arches into you, his entire body tensing before it abruptly goes limp. His moans are so perfect, and the way he whimpers even after his release is absolutely adorable. 

You give him a moment to catch his breath and recollect himself, his chest rising and falling with force. You reach up, brushing his messy hair from his face and tucking it behind his ears. Then, you lean forward, lips connecting with the nape of his neck. The skin gives between your teeth, and he sighs when you softly suck a deep mark, one you know will last 'til morning. 

He must be so pent up. That's the only explanation behind him cumming before he's barely been touched, before you've barely even done anything. He must have never been touched by anyone like this. Hell, he probably didn't even touch himself like this. There must be so much built up tension, so much that he's starved for any kind of touch, so much that he'd get hard from just a kiss, from just you sitting in his lap. 

You want to touch him more, give him more, give him everything until he's whole again. You can help him relieve some of that tension, couldn't you? 

You pull back, admiring the bloom of dark purple on his neck, before kissing his jaw. Then, you trail up, where you nibble at the metal piercing on his earlobe, kiss the shell of his ear, and whisper, "Can you keep going?" 

Aki's mind is in a complete daze when he answers, his voice light, like he's high, "Yeah…" 

Your thumb hooks around the waistband of his pants and the briefs he's made a mess out of, and he raises his hips to help you pull both garments down just as far as necessary. You know his dick wants to come free so bad, and when it does, it springs up and taps against his abdomen. 

Aki can hear you spit into your hand, hear his heart pounding in his ears like a drum. He knows what you're going to do, but he's still nervous. The anticipation might kill him, but he's too embarrassed to look, so when your hand suddenly wraps around him, the surprise causes him to jolt and his breath to catch in his throat. 

His pretty cock has a certain weight to it, a certain curve and thickness which makes your fist fit perfectly around it. Paying careful attention to the high he just came down from, you stroke him slowly, gently, almost in a lazy manner, sliding off of his lap and making yourself comfortable beside him so you're able to get a more desirable grip. The mixture of his slick and your spit is enough to make your hand glide up and down easily, echoing a soft, wet sound. Your shoulder is pressed to his, and here, you're able to utter the quietest of words into his ear. 

"Does it feel good?" 

Aki nods. "Mhmm…" 

"How good? Tell me." 

"Really good, really really good… Ah, fuck-" Aki momentarily cuts himself off when your palm swipes against the sensitive tip, his hips rocking upwards desperately, "Please, don't stop." 

It feels amazing. Being touched by someone else like this, and that someone being the one he's so desperately in love with. It's like nothing he's ever felt before. It's making his head spin, like he can see stars. He's already fully hard again, and he can feel himself fucking throbbing. 

"Do you want more?" 

"Yes…" Aki groans between sucks of air through his teeth. He's thrusting into your tight grip shamelessly now, his dick sliding in and out of the hole you've made with your fingers, to the point where you don't even have to move it anymore. He's whining, getting himself off on your hand and dribbling precum all over it, all by his own doing. 

"What do you want?" 

"I- You- I…" His attempts to get the words out mostly end in failure until you hear him swallow, and with a sigh, he admits, "I want to fuck you." 

His comment is direct, way more inappropriate than you thought possible for him to say, and goes straight between your legs. It's hard to keep up your previous confidence now, but still, you tease, "Do you? How bad do you want it?" 

"I want it so bad, I want more of you, I want to be inside you," Aki begs, each sentence punctuated by a breath as he fucks your hand, "I need you so goddamn much. You don't understand." 

"Yeah? You wanna fuck me so badly, huh? I can tell." 

"Yes, yes… Fuck- I'm gonna cum again, I'm gonna cum, oh my God-" 

You jerk him off as his thrusts take on an unsteady rhythm and all of the sudden, Aki is falling apart in your grasp, moaning as he cums all over his chest and his stomach. It shoots out in ropes, and even when he thinks he's done, it still drips out of his cock, coating your hand and making your fingers sticky. And after everything, even once he's came, he's still half-way hard and thrusting slowly into your hand like he can't get enough. 

You abruptly take your hand off of him and he whines in dismay. You lick your fingers first, then shift back on his lap and bend down, dragging your tongue from the bottom to the top. Over his stomach, over his bandages, up his abs and over his chest, all the way until he's squirming and you've licked up every last drop of his cum. 

When you're finished, you comment, "I think I understand a little." 

"Huh?" Aki replies, still catching his breath. 

"I mean I understand when you said you need me." 

"Do I make it that obvious?" 

You smirk and plant a faint kiss on his lips, one that makes his heart jump a little in his chest, and then pull back to speak against them, "You always have." 

Aki grabs your chin and goes to drag you in for another, but he's interrupted when you're blabbering, "Wait, wait, wait, wait," and pulling yourself away from him. 

"What?" 

You point to where his arm is wrapped in bandages, "I need to take care of that. I'll give you what you want after." 

Aki can't even attempt to hide his disappointment before it's plastered all over his face. "Are you serious? Can't it wait?" 

"You're not going to want to do it later, so no, it can't." 

Ugh, he knows you're right. Once he gets started with you, he's not going to be able to stop, and either you're going to forget, or both of you are going to end up too exhausted. He knows he has to listen to you, but fuck if it isn't frustrating to have to control himself right now. Honestly, he's not sure if he can, and he definitely doesn't want to. He needs you and he's tired of waiting any longer, so he brazenly asks, "Can you do it while I'm inside? On my lap?" 

You brush off the vulgarity of his comment as to not let it affect you, but it's hard to ignore the feeling between your legs when you start to imagine it. "I can't multitask like that. I want this as badly as you do, you know." 

"I won't move. I just want to feel you."

He seems awfully sure of himself with that statement, so sure you almost believe him, so sure you're starting to consider it…  

"Are you sure you can't wait?" 

"I can't."

"You're annoyingly stubborn, you know that?" 

Aki watched your hands find the bottom of your shirt, where you grasped at the hem and pulled, wrestling it and your bra over your head before tossing both articles of clothing in a heap on the floor. You reached for your pants next, and he asked, "Is that a yes then?" 

"It will be if you help me." Came your reply, your pants and underwear discarded at the same time, just as hastily. 

"With what…?" 

Your answer comes in the form of you straddling him, grabbing his hand, and bringing his fingers to your lips. 

The sight that follows is one Aki simply cannot begin to tear his eyes away from. It's a bit befuddling at first: the way your mouth parts, and the way you lick a prudent stripe of saliva up the length of his middle and ring finger. When you take the digits further, pushing them down your throat, wet and hot tongue swirling around them, Aki's breath gets caught in his lungs, and it's there that he realizes what you're trying to do. 

His gaze remains fixated to the display. You're sucking on his fingers, gagging, practically choking on them with tears pricking at the corners of your eyes. They're getting all wet and messy with your spit and drool. It's such a fucking cocktease, and it's making him imagine things he shouldn't be imagining, but things he absolutely needs. He doesn't protest when you drag his fingers out, prop yourself up on your knees, and proceed to guide them right between your legs. 

Aki has no idea what to do and he's totally transfixed by you, so he allows you to press them inside you, and then he follows your lead, shoving them in the rest of the way. You groan when his fingers fill you, leaning over and whispering quietly in his ear, reassuring him, "I'll show you what to do, it's okay." 

You've taken his fingers all the way down to the knuckle. They're slender, trained, and fucking long, much longer than yours. They reach so deep inside, feel so amazing stretching you out. 

Aki really, really wants to make you feel good, and that's the only thing running through his mind as he concentrates fully on you. On the feeling of your cunt around his fingers, on your moans, on your beautiful face. He needs to return the favor for you, and he desperately wants to see how you look when you're overwhelmed by pleasure, hear how you sound when you can't hold back, and he wants all of it to be because of him. 

So he pays the closest attention. His fingers are slick from your saliva and spit, and he takes note of the way you're pressing them in and out. When you instruct him to curl them, he does so, and when you're screaming, There! Right there! he commits that spot, that movement of his fingers to memory. 

He's a rather fast learner. You understood this when you kissed him, but with the way he's working you, massaging that perfect spot inside again and again, you've become aware of it even more so. Your instructions were no longer needed, and Aki took the liberty of fucking you with his fingers all on his own, scissoring them, until you're getting wetter and wetter around the digits. They're so damn good to you, so perfect, as perfect as the way they sit between the crooks of your own. Surely, his hands were made for you. 

"So wet… It's squeezing so much." He mumbled quietly, half to himself, almost as if he's in awe. 

Searching for more stimulation, you maneuvered a hand to your clit, rubbing tight, hasty circles. Aki noticed your movement and your noises starting to pick up, so he innocently asked, "Can you show me what you're doing?" 

When you grab his hand and pull him out of you, Aki can feel the resistance, as if his fingers are being sucked back inside, and the thoughts that immediately manifest in his head would be enough to send him to hell ten times over. They come out covered in your slick, and you press them to your clit carefully. 

It takes him a little bit longer until he's got a good grasp on this one. He keeps a slow, deliberate pace, mindful of how your body reacts and the manner you're guiding him. He doesn't always find the sweet spot at first, but each time he manages to, it feels like utter bliss. In due time, he begins to pull more noises from you, and when your focus starts to shift from teaching him to grinding against his fingers, searching for more of your own pleasure, he starts to take the initiative. 

His fingers rub precise halos right where he can tell you're most sensitive. They're so disciplined, so dead on, and fuck, he's teasing you with them. Rubbing your clit determinedly before slowing down, stopping, edging, before starting up again, and repeating the process. His dick aches just by watching you and knowing he's making you come undone in this way, so he's trying to draw this out, make this last as long as possible. 

"Is this good?" Aki asks curiously, sweetly. 

"Yes! It feels amazing, oh my God, Aki-"

His name falling so deliciously from your lips makes his heart flutter before it goes right between his legs, making his cock throb. It's an abrupt, awkward realization when Aki notices he's been dribbling precum all over his abdomen, and probably all over his bandages too. Damn, between that and him finishing all over them, he's created more work for you, hasn't he? 

Your knees feel like they're going to give out, so you rest your hands on Aki's shoulders for support. Your breath is coming out in ragged gasps as you feel your release already close, and when your head dips, Aki is using his free hand to hold you up, support you, lovingly muttering into your ear, "I wanna make you cum baby. Are you gonna cum all over my fingers?" 

Everything in your core builds to a fever pitch, and all at once, you're wrapping your arms around him as you finish, clumsily grinding your hips against whatever part of his hand you can find, making it messy. His arm goes around your back, and he praises while you tremble, voice smooth and resolute, "Just like that baby, just like that. You're so beautiful when you cum." 

Aki holds you while you come down, and you almost, almost forgot what your objective was going into all this, until you can feel the bandages on his arm rubbing against your bare back. You're a bit reluctant to move, but you'd be lying if you said you weren't eager for more, eager to get his cock inside you. His fingers were one thing, but they weren't enough, and almost as if he can read your mind, Aki whispers low and breathy into your ear, "Do you want my dick, sweetheart?" 

He's asking you, but it's mostly his way of telling you, of prompting you. Telling you he wants you too, right now. And God you want it, need it, and you really don't need him to tell you twice. 

Your hand finds his cock and he sighs as you pump the length a few times, getting it wet with his precum. It's so hard, thick, and throbbing steadily beneath your palm. With how needy he is, it's impossible to tell he already came two times before this. 

You grasp the base and hover your hips over him, aligning it until the tip presses right against your entrance, prodding, teasing, so close but not quite and making your cunt pulse around nothing. He grabs your chin, tilting your head until he can look at you. His eyes meet yours, and behind the kind, cerulean gaze, is nothing but lust and desire. 

"Do you want it?" He asks again, unflinching. 

"Yes, I want it, yes…" 

"Then take all of it." 

Aki grabs your waist and pulls, guiding you to sink down on his cock. He's whimpering the moment he's inside of you, but he doesn't get greedy, continuing to drag you down awfully slow as he opts to enjoy the feeling of filling you up inch by inch. 

Your cunt is squeezing him so much, sucking him in, taking all of him so well. He's not sure what to focus on: your beautiful face contorted in pleasure, eyelids fluttering closed, or the near addictive view of his dick becoming buried further and further inside. The sight is somehow enough to make him even harder, and he can't contain himself from rolling his hips upward in tandem with pulling you on him further. 

It's you, it's him inside you, and holy shit, it's a feeling that's hardly set in yet. It doesn't hit him fully until he's stuffed in to the hilt, filling your stomach, with your weight settled on top of him. In this moment, it feels as though now, more than ever, the love he'd kept hidden for so long is finally tangible, finally real. He almost moves, nearly thrusts up, but he stutters and stops himself before he can once he sees you reaching behind you for the roll of bandages. 

Fuck, he almost forgot. 

"These first," You gesture to the bandage wrapped around his sides, speaking through ragged breaths, "You got them filthy." 

"Sorry." 

Despite the calm veneer you're trying your best to maintain, it's clear you're hurrying, unwrapping the bandages with haste and a hint of desperation. They're tossed to the side without a care when you're done. Aki's chest heaves with every shaky breath, so you instruct him to hold it, otherwise the bandages won't be secure. He complies, and when he does, he can hear his heartbeat in his ears, feel it pulse in his dick; it's near agonizing to keep still, and he hardly can. 

When you're finished there, you reach for his arm next. Thankfully, this wound isn't anywhere near as bad as his other one, but the press of the rag against it is still enough to give him a sharp sting. Trying to avoid hurting him too much, you slow down a bit and focus, well, as much focus as the situation will allow. 

Aki shifts beneath you, his hips fidgeting, fingers of his hand still held deft to your waist drumming against your skin just to keep himself busy. You can tell he's desperate for something more when you feel him twitch inside your stomach. Right now, he's so enthralled in you, in the feeling of being inside you, in being one with you. It's not long before the pain blends with pleasure and he doesn't even notice it anymore. He'll let you do whatever you want to his arm while he stares at you, drinking in the view like this'll be his last time seeing it. 

You wrap the roll of bandages around his arm once. He's shuddering, and he can't resist rutting his hips up a bit, just barely so that you won't notice, but just enough to get an ounce of relief. 

Twice. You've almost wrapped up the length of his arm. One more time, just one more time around and he'll get to fuck you. 

Three times. He's so dizzy the room is spinning. 

Four times. Fucking hell, he can't handle being teased like this, was now really the time to be this thorough? 

Finally, finally, after the fifth time, you wrap the last of the bandage around his arm, tear it off and tie it. The second you've tossed the roll aside, his hands are grabbing fistfuls of your hair to pull your lips onto his. The kiss is frantic, sloppy, and he's using way too much tongue, but you don't have the time to correct him, nor does he have the patience to be corrected. 

When Aki pulls away, he wipes the spit from his mouth with the back of his hand while thrusting into you, wasting no time at all to satisfy everything he'd been craving and fulfill the pleasure he was desperately waiting for. His grip on your waist guides you to bounce shallowly on his cock. He doesn't let you go up far before he's dragging you back down again, longing to stay deep inside you. Each press down has his eyes threatening to roll back into his head, and each thrust up has him moaning a pathetic string of swears, practically whining between every word. 

"Fuck, fuck… You feel so- a-ah, fucking good baby, oh my God-"

He reaches so deep inside you, and when he guides your body by your waist, it's not only for him, but for your needs as well. He tilts, curved cock fucking into you at just the right angle to hit the perfect spot like he was made for it. His hips are moving with reckless abandon now, rolling upwards to an unsteady, ragged rhythm. You hold his face, caress his parted lips with your thumb, feel his hot breath ghosting against your skin, and suddenly, he stops. His hips halt as he firmly holds you still, and his voice is rough, a bit hoarse when he gasps out, "Can we change positions?" 

You're a bit confused, but give an affirming nod. Aki pulls you off of him gently, slowly, savoring the feeling for as long as he can. When he's out, he uses his strength to easily twist you around until your back is on the couch and he's oriented above you, pulling his pants and boxers off the rest of the way and discarding them on the floor. Long, dark hair falls over his face in a mess, and he reaches up to comb a hand through, pushing it out of his vision so he can see all of you properly. 

"Are you okay with this? Are you comfortable?" Aki asks at barely more than a whisper, his eyes locked onto yours as he grips your thighs and tenderly pushes them open. When the couch has no more space to provide and your leg is about to slip off, he grabs it and tosses it over his shoulder. 

"Yeah, I'm okay," You answer, continuing to say, "Aki, don't push yourself. You're still injured, remember?" 

"I won't, I'll go slow. Don't worry." He affirms with the faintest smile. 

Aki's never been dirty-minded, but when he looks at you, allows his hands to take to your body, palms gliding up every curve of your form, his mind can't help but wander. You bring out something in him that he's never experienced before, something that makes him want to have his way with you. It's awfully strange to him, that feeling of wanting, of yearning. For so long, he's wanted a lot of things and never got them, but he's never desired something this selfish before. Every second of your time, every inch of your body, your everything, he wants all to himself. It feels good to want something, someone. 

Aki's never been much of a daydreamer, either, but he can't say he hasn't imagined this from time to time. Meaningless sex has never appealed to him, but sex with someone you trust, with someone you truly love, deeply and passionately, is another story. Being as close and as vulnerable as possible to another person, giving them all of you, and they trust you enough to give themselves in return; it's something he's always desired to experience at least once in his life before he dies. 

Yeah, maybe he shouldn't be doing this. He shouldn't have let it get this far from the start. But after a lifetime of never being selfish, never getting anything he wanted, right now, what he should or should not be doing doesn't matter. All that matters is you under him. 

His hands settle on your hips, adjusting them until they're lined up with him, and then he leans down to murmur, "Are you ready?" And all that matters is the way you whisper back, "Yes, Aki, please, give it to me. I need you."

That's all it takes. That's all it takes before there's no going back, and Aki is fully drowning in this sensation of utter want and utter desperation. He's so easy to convince when it comes to you, always has been, and if you're telling him that you need him? Being needed by you is the best feeling in the world, and when you ask him like that, he couldn't deny you any longer even if he wanted to. 

Aki presses inside you steadily, colliding his mouth with yours and stealing a quick kiss to silence his moans, his hair tickling your face as he does. You're still so wet, and he slides in easy, filling you up until his hips are flush with yours and your legs are wrapping around his back, crossed at the ankles. When he pulls away, he notices your arms splayed above your head. He grabs your hand, linking his fingers with yours, his grip tight, safe, and familiar. Warm, for the first time in a long time. 

Aki doesn't move, not at first. He catches his breath, stares at you, at your face, admires everything he finds perfect about it. He can't stop himself from smiling now, and from the way you're smiling back, he's sure he must look like an idiot. So he lets his head fall, burying his face in the nape of your neck, softly mumbling, "God, you're so beautiful." 

When he finally does start moving, every drag of his cock out is done at an exceptionally slow, meticulous pace, and once he presses back in, he puts his full weight behind the roll of his hips, shoving himself as deep inside as he can possibly get. His breath is hot and quivering when he moans into your skin. 

"Oh my God," Aki whines, "You're so fucking good to me baby, feels so good… Can I go faster? Please?" 

It wasn't much of a question, more like a heads-up, because before you're even telling him yes, Aki's moving faster. He bites at your neck as he becomes a bit rougher, a bit less contained, but steady; he's still holding back. He leaves impressions of his teeth and places wet, open-mouthed kisses all over your neck, sending a tingle up your spine. Finally, he gives you one last kiss before he draws himself away, his eyes immediately connecting with yours. 

He's so damn pretty. Everything about him is pretty, from his staggered whimpers and moans in pleasure, to the lovely mark you've left on his neck, to his messy dark hair. It frames his face perfectly, and loose strands he has to keep pushing out of the way stick to his forehead from sweat. No-one gets to see him like this, with his hair down, since at work, he makes a habit of always keeping it up in his topknot. At work, he's a totally different person: the Division's strongest, coldest Devil Hunter. But here? He's just yours. 

You're the only one. The only person who knows how pretty he is, and what he's really, truly like, under all that coldness. You know it's just a facade, and underneath everything, he's just someone who wants to be loved. All he desires is a little bit of intimacy, a little taste of something normal, just to feel something. Perhaps, you're the only one who understands, or perhaps, his warmth is something you draw out of him. 

You bet you're definitely the only one who gets to see what his face looks like when he's all hot and bothered, though. 

Aki's tempo is quickening more, the couch starting to creak under the pressure. He's breathing harder, and he chokes out as he fucks into you, through gasps of air, "I know you can be louder than that sweetheart… Don't hold back… Let me hear you." 

If what he wants is to hear you, that's what he's going to get, and he's going to get all of it. 

"Aki! Fuck!" You cry out, and you swear you hear him start to hold back his own whines so he can focus on yours. "It feels so good-"

"Yeah?" He teases, a little smirk present on his face. He still hasn't broken eye contact with you, fawning over you with blown pupils and a half-lidded gaze like he's so unbelievably head over heels. His voice is light, bordering on a whine when he speaks again, "Does my dick feel good?" 

"Yes! It's s-so… fucking good." You're slurring, stumbling over your words, just focused on him, all of him. 

"I bet it does baby, you're- fuck- taking it so well, you're so perfect." 

Aki's grip remains tight on your hand as he drinks in every noise that comes out of your mouth. The sun is well past the point of dipping below the horizon, rays of light starting to fade away. The room is growing dark, growing dim, illuminated by only the faintest pink glow, but through it all, you can still see the outline of his face, his body. His defined nose, sharp jawline, dark hair, and broad shoulders. Earrings that shine when they catch the dying light at the perfect angle. If Aki had more patience, he'd get up and turn on a light, but he doesn't, so this will have to do. 

The sound of skin slapping against skin echoes around the room. The way Aki makes love to you is tender, relaxed, languid, like he has all the time in the world and he's going to savor it. He hardly cares about chasing his own release, just about enjoying it and making you feel good, but multiple times, he finds himself having to deliberately slow down to keep from finishing too quickly. 

He can feel his body tensing up, but each time he gets too close to the edge, he shoves himself all the way in and stays there, lets himself calm down. His cock is throbbing, and holy shit, he wants to cum so bad. So bad that if he moves even the slightest inch right now, he's not going to be able to hold back, but he has to. He has to when you get impatient, rut your hips against his, and plead, Aki, move. Please. 

He wants this moment to last, so he's going to hold on for as long as he possibly can, staving off his orgasm until he just can't take it anymore. He gives himself a couple more moments to come down from the euphoria before he's fucking you again, giving you everything you want. 

And he's so damn vocal, so much more than you expected he would be. He doesn't attempt to hide how good he's feeling at all, moaning at every thrust, at every clamp of your pussy around him. He teases you, praises you, like he can't hold back from saying any and every thought that happens to enter his brain. 

You want me to fuck you deeper? Harder? 

Tell me. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you. 

Are you comfortable, baby? Does it hurt? 

Ah, fuck, I'm so close already, I don't wanna cum until you do, baby. 

Aki holds himself off, for longer, for further than he even thought possible. Even when he wants to cum so bad he's fucking delirious, he holds it, focusing on giving it to you just how you want, just how you beg him to. You're begging for him to go faster, Fuck me harder, I can take it. Fuck me like you really mean it. And you and him both know, whatever you ask him to do, he's going to do it. His side is starting to hurt, a little dull throb, but he ignores the pain when it's overwhelmed by waves of pleasure. 

The sounds coming from the both of you are so obscene, so loud they can probably be heard a few apartments over. Aki is still holding your hand, never let go, and his grip is clammy and sweaty, but he still holds onto it tight. He can feel you beginning to tense around him, and when he does, he doesn't relent. He keeps up the same deliberate pace, just how you like it, hitting the perfect spot inside you every single time. The way your pussy squeezes around him is making his head spin, and when he once again finds himself right on the precipice, he knows it's over, he can't hold back anymore. 

He can't stop, there's no way in hell he can. Not with your moans and screams and chants of his name in his ear. Not when your cunt is throbbing around his dick, so hungry for his cum, so demanding of all of him. He rolls his hips and fucks you deeply, hand reaching down and fumbling to find your clit, and when he does, he rubs clumsy, rough circles that quickly build up a tight coil of pleasure right in your core. His head dips and he presses even closer to your body. Your hand snakes into his hair, fingers threading through close to his scalp where you grab and yank back hard, drawing a needy whine from his lips. 

"F-Fuck, I'm gonna cum, please," Aki begs, voice high-pitched and desperate, helpless, "Please let me cum inside you, please, I need it so bad, I can't- I-" 

He can hardly speak, and each thrust of his hips is sloppy and inconsistent. Between his dick fucking butterflies into your stomach and his fingers messily working your sensitive clit, the stimulation is growing too much to handle, and you can't deny him. You can't when he begs so sweetly like that, when he sounds like he needs it so goddamn bad. Before you know it, you're gripping his hair tighter and commanding, Cum for me, Aki, fill me up with all of it. 

"Yeah? You want all of it? Then- Fuck!" He cuts himself off, ramming into you one more time before his hips are shaking, his whole body's shaking, actually, and he's stammering, "I'm cumming I'm cumming I'm cumming, oh my God, I love you, I love you…" 

Aki's holding onto your hand so hard his grip might break it, and his voice in your ear is enough to throw you over the edge. You cry out, cunt pulsing hard around him. The steady throb around his dick feels like it's milking him, pleading for every last drop he's willing to give, everything he has left. And he's going to give it to you, pump you full of it and not even let a single drop go to waste. It's what you want, after all. 

Everything, it's so overwhelming, it's too much, it's nothing like Aki has ever experienced in his life. He's shaking so hard and he can't stop it, and his vision has gone so blurry he can't see a thing, all he can see is black. He's gasping, whining, and he can hardly breathe, just feebly choking on air as he fills you with so much of him. When he's finally done, the feeling that overtakes him is utterly euphoric. 

It's like he's floating. His body goes limp, and his heart is pounding, but he's calm. Incredibly calm, like finally letting go, vulnerable, allowing the waters to take you wherever they so choose. He's tired, so tired, but not a heavy, exhausted kind of tired. The sleepy kind of tired that holds you tight and weighs you down, that promises to take care of you and if anything, never let you go. It envelops him until he's slipping away, and it's kind of like, kind of like… 

It's kind of like dying, isn't it? 

To die by your hands is a pretty good way to die. 

Aki's body pins you to the couch as you both come down from your high. The both of you are covered in sweat and smell undeniably like sex. He's so close, so warm, to the point where you start to feel hot, but his weight pressed on top of you feels nice. It's comforting, feels safe and puts your mind at ease. 

For a while, the two of you lay there, relaxing and letting yourselves sober up. His heartbeat is slow; you can feel it through his chest pressed up against yours, and eventually, the rhythm of your heart begins to match his. He's still inside, still holding your hand, but through a much looser grip. His head is nestled in the space next to yours and you can feel his steady breaths fan out on your neck, tickling the shell of your ear. 

He's quiet, really quiet. His breathing is so deep… Is he falling asleep? 

"Aki?" 

No response. None. 

"Aki. Hey." You squeeze his hand and shift a little bit under him, wiggling like you're attempting to push him off of you, although there's clearly no real effort put behind it. 

Nope, nothing. He doesn't move an inch. He's got to be out cold. 

"Come on," You drag your hand away from his to shake him a little by his shoulders, and it seems like your grip disappearing was enough to wake him up a little. He shifts, just the tiniest amount, and you continue, "Aki, I know you can hear me." 

He doesn't move, again. Just grumbles in your ear. 

You sigh in defeat. Fine, he can lay on you for a little bit longer. His injury might be hurting him. He did work himself really hard, after all. If he's exhausted, he can rest, he deserves to get some. You run your fingers through his hair, stroking the back of his head, listening to the constant inhale and exhale of his breath. 

The moment is oddly peaceful, considering what just transpired. The room is covered in a thick darkness now. It's deathly still and incredibly silent, save for the distant whistle of a train passing by somewhere in the city, but it feels like you and him are the only ones to exist in this world. 

Aki is just barely awake, teetering on the edge of falling asleep for real. His weight on top of you and the rhythm of his breathing might be enough to lull you to sleep as well, that is, until he starts mumbling in your ear. 

"Love you. So much." His voice is groggy and tired, to the point where it's difficult to tell what he's even saying. You can make it out close enough, thankfully. 

"I love you too." 

"Thank you." 

You laugh half-heartedly, "What are you thanking me for?" 

"Everything." He replies simply, and finally, he decides he's ready to get up, pushing himself off of you with a large exhale of breath, his muscles feeling weary and spent. 

He meets your gaze and asks, "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm okay." You nod. 

Aki's eyes briefly rake up and down your body before he slowly pulls out, flopping back hard against the couch with an annoyed groan. 

"My side fucking hurts." 

"I wonder why," You push yourself up on your elbows, staring at him with a knowing look, "I told you not to push yourself too far." 

"You were the one babbling about, 'Go faster' this and, 'Go harder' that. I think it's your fault." 

"No way… Aki." 

"Yeah?" 

"You got any smokes?" 

Aki laughed. A real, genuine laugh. Now there's something he never does. 

"Let's get dressed. Then, I'll give you one." 

Aki turns on a light resting on top of a table beside the couch. He outright refuses to allow you to put on your dirty clothes, stopping you when you went to reach for them on the floor. From his room, he brings you some of his clothes, and some for himself as well. He takes care of you first, kissing your forehead as he pulls a shirt over you, gently lifting you by your hips to pull on a pair of his boxers and pajama pants. His clothes fit baggy on you and they're covered in the smell of him. 

He dresses himself next, hastily, before rummaging around his apartment to find where he left his box of cigarettes. Actually, they're your box of cigarettes that you leant him at the hospital. He hasn't had the opportunity to go out and buy some more because he's been resting at home, so he's been trying extra hard to make this box last. 

How many were left again? There's probably a couple. He opens the box to check and… 

One. Just one. Did he really smoke that many? They go by so fast. 

"There's just one in here," He muses, walking over to where you're laid back on the couch and showing you the near-empty box. 

"I guess we're sharing again." You reply with a smile. 

"Guess so." 

It's not long before you accompany Aki to the balcony. The night air is cold, and there's the slightest hint of a chilly breeze passing through. Aki holds the cigarette between his teeth and shields the lighter from the wind with his palm, striking it once, twice, three times before it comes to life in a flurry of sparks. You stand close, holding his arm, leaning on him. 

Aki can't help but feel… strangely euphoric. Now that he's coming to his senses, thinking more clearly about everything, he knows he probably, definitely shouldn't have done this. He's letting himself grow closer to you. What's going to happen when you die? When he dies? When one of you is killed in the line of work, it's not going to be fair to the other. It's not fair to fall in love with someone when you always tow the line between living and dying. 

It's not fair. It's not fair, the world isn't fair. In another life, maybe Aki would have a better chance with you. Maybe you two could be a regular couple, be normal for a change. But he can't change the past, can he? All that waits for him is the future.

He's made his choice. He made his choice to be selfish, and now he's got to live with it, but fuck if he isn't going to enjoy it for as long as he possibly can. A man like him doesn't kick the bucket so easily. He's through with complicating things, done hiding anything. He's going to live for as long as possible, and it's going to be with you, whether the damn universe likes it or not. 

And if you die, it's going to kill him. It's going to be the death of him, and he knows it. 

But the world is better with a little self-indulgence, even if it kills you, right? 

"Will you stay the night tonight?" Aki asks, ending the silence, taking a long drag out of the cigarette before exhaling and watching the smoke rise into the starry night sky. The nicotine immediately soothes his lungs and aching body, and with you pressed close to him, all he can feel is total relaxation through his veins. 

"Yeah, I can." 

"Good. Because I don't want you to leave." 

"I won't leave any time soon, then." 

A little smirk forms on Aki's lips, and as he goes to take another hit of the cigarette, you push against him, pouting. "You were supposed to share." 

"I will. Hang on a sec." 

Aki takes another long hit, breathing in the smoke, holding it in his lungs. He turns to you then, and he grabs your chin firm, tilting it up to where he leans over you. In an instant, his lips press against yours in an open-mouthed kiss and your eyes flutter shut in response. 

Aki blows the cigarette smoke into your mouth slow and steady, and when he pulls away, it's only slightly, only enough to let stray wisps rise in the space between the two of your mouths. He already breathed in all the nicotine, so there's none left for you, but the smoke still pricks at your throat, still gives you that familiar feeling. Maybe you should complain and ask him to give you a proper hit, but his kiss is just as addicting as any cigarette, so honestly, you don't really care. 

"How was that?" Aki asks quietly, pulling away to give you a chance to exhale. 

"Another?" 

Aki smiles, "Of course." 

He's so easy to convince when it comes to you. 

— 

Aki falls asleep by your side. 

He drifts off with his large frame pressed against your back, his dark hair fanned out over the pillow. His whole bed smells like him, and his blanket and sheets are soft. As his arm is splayed over your body, his hand is connected to yours, holding gently where it lays delicately in front of your face. You can feel his heartbeat against your back, his gentle embrace clutching you closer to his body, the warmth radiating off of him, his breath hot against your neck. 

For the first time in a long, long time, Aki doesn't dream of that stupid house, or of people dying right before his eyes. He dreams of something much more serene. His own slice of heaven, in this wretched hell. 

He dreams of a future with you. 

And even though he knows in the back of his mind that it's going to end tragically, he doesn't care. Even though he's aware he's going to die, and just how soon he's going to die, too, he ignores it. Forgets about it. 

It's selfish. So, so selfish of him. But he's stopped looking at himself objectively. He'll only look to the future, with no turning back, and it doesn't matter how unattainable that future might be. 

He's going to love you until the end. 

And besides, there's no one else who's arms he'd rather die in than yours. 

#aki hayakawa x reader #aki hayakawa smut #aki hayakawa #chainsaw man x reader #chainsaw man smut #aki x reader

[sainzfilm]

request: hii can i please request carlos and you have been dating for a few years and he finally propose to you under the northern lights during winter break, thanks 💗

pairing: carlos sainz x reader

a/n: …..ANON YOU’RE GONNA MAKE ME CRY wtf this is so romantic i love this and i love carlos sm he’s my everything ok im gonna shut up now. also had to repost because i forgot to put tags and tumblr keeps messing up :/

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

"Carlos, wake up!" You exclaimed as you poked his cheek repeatedly, "It's evening now!"

"Amor, 5 more minutes." Carlos groaned as he rolled over in bed, pulling you closer to him, "We have all the time in the world."

"Please," You whined as you squished his cheeks, "I won't give you a kiss if you don't wake up from your nap right now."

Frowning as he opened one of his eyes, Carlos scoffed, "You know you can't resist me?”

"If you don't get up and get ready right now," You shrugged, "Maybe I can. It's the northern lights! We're finally seeing them! C'mon!"

"Ay, fine, amor," Carlos chuckled as he leaned in to kiss you softly before getting up and walking towards the bathroom, "Hold on."

You nodded eagerly as you stood up and followed him, hugging him from behind as he brushed his teeth, "Have I told you how much I love you?"

"Always," Carlos replied, muffled from the toothpaste in his mouth, "And, you know how much I love you."

"Of course," You grinned as you peeked from his side and looked up at him in the mirror, "I don't know how you're not fed up with me all these years."

Carlos raised his eyebrow as he gargled and rinsed his mouth, drying it with a paper towel, "It's a privilege to spend everyday with you, baby."

"So cheesy," You laughed as you pushed him out of the bathroom, "Now, l'll bundle you up so we can be quicker!"

"I love it when you coddle me," Carlos grinned as you wrapped his scarf around his neck and put on his beanie, "Makes me feel safe."

"And that's what you make me feel," You smiled as you kissed his nose and grabbed his hand, "C'mon!"

"Wait, let me grab something, you go ahead," Carlos smiled, "I promise, l'll be quick."

You nodded and put on your boots as you went outside of the cabin to bask in the snowflakes falling around you. Everything was truly magical at this point.

Carlos dug around his suitcase as he grabbed something that you weren't aware about. He knew it was the right time and he wanted to make your trip even more special from what was going to take place.

"See, I told you l'd be quick," Carlos smiled as he closed the door behind him, "Pretty cold, huh?"

"Definitely cold," You laughed as you held onto his arm and leaned in, walking out in the middle of the snow, “You're here to warm me up anyway.”

"Of course," He teased as he wrapped his arm around you, "You think this is the perfect spot?"

Looking around to spot a few other tourists, you nodded and smiled, "Perfect."

Sitting down on the snow in between Carlos legs, you leaned back against his chest and hummed, "Now, we wait."

"Alright, amor," Carlos mumbled as he kissed your temple and held you close, "It comes around unexpected, no?"

"Yeah! That's what most people say,” You replied enthusiastically, "Usually unpredictable at most times."

"Just us taking a chance here, then?"

"Somewhat like that." You nodded and shrugged, "If it doesn't, I'd still be happy because we got to go on a trip after a while."

"We'll have more trips soon, promise," Carlos said as he rested his chin on top of your head, "I'll always make time for you when I can, you know that."

"Ay, I know that, love," You smiled as you intertwined your fingers with his, "I'm g- Carlos, look! It's happening!'"

You quickly stood up on your feet as you looked at the sky above you, in awe of what the universe is capable of.

"It's so...beautiful," You whispered as you admired the sight above, "Just ethereal."

Carlos smiled as he looked at you, "Yeah. Beautiful."

"I have to take pictures, I need to send them over to Lily!" You gasped as you grabbed your phone from your pocket, "She's gonna love it."

Carlos took a deep breath as he shoved his hand inside his pocket for a different reason from yours, grabbing the small velvet box tightly.

"Mi amor, could you turn around? I want to take a picture of you."

"Yeah, of course!" You nodded as you put your phone back in your pocket, turning around to see Carlos down on one knee, "Oh my god.”

"Y/N, mi amor," Carlos smiled lovingly, a twinkle in his eye, "When I met you, you were stubborn. You were this sassy girl that I steered clear of most of the time. But then, remember when Lando asked me to drive you home - we had a great time then, didn't we?"

Nodding, you laughed as you had tears in your eyes, “That was a hostage, Mr. Sainz."

"I think that was the day I opened my heart again. Believe it or not, I'm still shocked as to how we got together," Carlos chuckled as he shook his head, "I'm way too lucky to be with you. You loved me with every bit of your heart."

Bringing out the small box and opening it, revealing a diamond ring, Carlos smiled, "I want to spend every morning with you, every birthday, all the ordinary and special things in life - I want it with you. Year after year."

"So, Y/N Y/L/N, will you marry me?"

Tears falling down your eyes as you nodded, "Yes."

Carlos grinned as he slipped the ring on your finger, standing up to pull you in for a kiss. You were right, everything was as magical as you thought it would be.

bonus scene!

Liked by charles_leclerc, lilymhe, and 892,373 others

carlossainz55 how it started vs. how its going ❤️

i love you yesterday, i love you still. always have and always will. here's to spending the rest of our lives together, mi amor.

view all 374,958 comments

charles_leclerc you finally did it!!! congratulations, mate. so happy for the two of you ❤️

landonorris cheesing so hard right now. happy for you and Y/N, congratulations, brother!!!

lewishamilton cheers, mate!!! 🍾🤍 wishing the best for the two of you

lilymhe take care of my best friend 🥹 congratulations to the both of you xx

scuderiaferrari tanti auguri! congratulations ❤️

sainzupdates OH MY GOD ITS HAPPENING THE BEST COUPLE ON THE PADDOCK

ynupdates THIS IS THE BEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE WE’RE GOING TO GET LITTLE SAINZ’S

yourusername i love you with everything that i am. you’re my forever in this lifetime and through all the lifetimes that i’ll have. 🖤

danielricciardo damn it, Y/N. someone’s cutting onions around here

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[terras-domain]

(Thanks)Giving Season

Characters: Kang Seul-gi (Seulgi), Male Husband (Reader), Husband's Brother

Tags: Cheating, Cuckold, Kitchen Sex, Blowjob, Watching, Caught, Condom, Rough Sex, Forced Submission, Thanksgiving, Cum in Pussy, Abs, Cum Eating

Words: 2941

Author's Note: Hi Hiiiii terra here!!! Been a while since I posted, sorry for that. Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. Personally I don't celebrate it but I hope to those who did, you guys enjoy it <33 As the tags show it's gonna be a cuckold smut so if it's not your thing, oh well. Enjoy <33

Reader's POV

Thanksgiving. Not the best holiday to be honest, never understood the hype behind it but at least now I have a day off from work to spend some time with my wife, Seulgi. Work has been brutal for me so our time together is precious to me. Opening the front door with a smile to greet her that I'm home, only for me that smile to slowly fade away. "Oh hi, honey!" Seulgi smiled, waving at me as I see her talking to a guest. "Oh hey lil' bro, long time no see hm?" My brother, a person who I haven't seen in years actually. I actually don't bond well with my family in general, which is why my personal time is mostly dedicated to my wife Seulgi. "Hey...what're you doing here?" I asked, an eyebrow lifted as I start to make myself at ease, putting my stuff down and joining my wife and my brother around the living room.

"Awww don't be too cold, lil' bro. Just wanted to see my family for Thanksgiving you know." He gave a big grin, a face that makes me feel so annoyed for some reason, always been all my life. "Now now boys. Let's not be like that, okay? We need to get things done for Thanksgiving" My breath got stuck through my throat. She's right, it's not like I have much time to spend with Seulgi, and I'm not gonna waste the time I get now by arguing with this dumbass. She had planned to cook something special for tonight, so she brought us both to the kitchen, showing the turkey she planned on roasting, only to find it rotten. "Oh fuck! Nooo that fucking butcher lied to me." Now with no turkey, we can't have the so called Thanksgiving spirit. My big brother can't drive, which means there's only one thing I can do now. "I'll go buy you a new one hun. Don't worry about it" Seulgi's eyes sparkled and hugged me tight, euphoric as now her problem has a solution. "Awww thank you sweetheart. I love you." A kiss on the lips I received from my loving wife, followed by her warm smile that just melts my heart. I got myself ready, grabbing my keys and look back to my wife and wave. "I love you Seulgi. And take care of my wife okay?" I looked to my big brother, I don't really like him but I'm sure family still care for each other. "Oh no worries lil bro. Your wife's safe with me."

Seulgi's POV

I'm glad my husband is around to help me with the turkey. It was silly of me to not realize it was rotting. Oh well, I just have to start prepping food for now. My husband is a big fan of Italian food so I thought making him some fettuccine alfredo might make him happy. Dropping the pasta to boil them while I prepare the sauce was pretty much light work for me, I'm used to working alone in the kitchen since my husband isn't often in the house anyways. I checked around and notice my brother-in-law looking deep into my eyes, sometimes shifting to my cooking elsewhere. "Smells good Seulgi. My brother must be happy to have you." His low voice echoes the kitchen. I didn't know how to respond to that but only smile awkwardly, what a weird thing to say I thought. "Oh come on beautiful. Don't be shy. Live a little we're family right? Nothing wrong with a little compliment, especially if it's for a pretty woman like you~" he kept on going with his praises and weird antics, which start to make me get goosebumps. His footsteps felt heavy but firm, slowly inching closer to me as he started to lean towards me, looking at the pot of fettuccini I'm preparing followed by a sniff, trying to smell the food, or so I thought. His face was closer to my hair than it was to my cooking which made me feel a little uncomfortable and insecure as the thoughts in my head start to turn into a reality. He's groping me!

With his hands reaching under my apron and gripping my chest through shielded by the cloth of my clothes, it was hard to push him away since he's so big and muscular. "W-wait. Please don't do this, your brother won't like this." I mumbled, squirming a bit as I'm overpowered, my whole body held tight as my brother-in-law completely gropes me for his pleasure. "Oh no worries beautiful. Your husband ain't doing shit on me. Now let me see how good you feel." His wide grin send shivers down my spine, but when he started to pull my face for a kiss, I felt unreal. My whole life I've only had intimate relationships with my husband so this felt so bad, but not like my brother-in-law cares about it.

"Mmmh Seulgi. You're quite the curvy babe aren't you?" He chuckled, now biting my lips as he has full control over me. I can't escape and just let him use me, hoping my husband can come just in time to save me from this creep. His hard bulge is pressing on my ass cheeks and it's disgusting, having another man than my own husband using me for pleasure. After a few minutes of making out, he pulled out and gave a big grin. "Well time for the real thing bitch. Get down there." My in law now guides me to be on my knees, facing his stifling bulge before he pulled his pants off, showing his erection pointing straight at me. It's huge. Bigger than anything I've ever seen, it made me nervous since I know what's next.

"Well what're you waiting for hoe? Get to it." His thick length started slapping on my face, making me whimper in inferiority. My husband did tell me how much of an asshole he is, and how violent he can be, so I have no other choice. My mouth slowly opened up as I slowly accepted his cock, taking it in inch by inch. It felt so wrong, the way is thick meat makes me choke just by putting the tip in, the way his hands rub on my cheeks and how I'm actually cheating on my husband right now. "Good girl Seulgi. Just need a little bit of...enthusiasm." As he kept his dominant persona going, his wishes are all coming to a reality as he uses me as he please. His hands are on the back of my head, plunging his cock inside as he thrust his hips back and forth. It hurts. My husband isn't as big nor as rough as his brother so this is all new to me. "ghhhh GAAAAK-!" My mouth just kept on making weird noises and choking sounds as he continues his barrages of mouth fucking on my throat, drilling my mouth and using me as a sex object.

Reader's POV

Phew! That took a while. turkey secured, and it's fresh from the oven. Too bad traffic isn't really on my side today, man why does life hate me so much. But all that complaining will soon end as I reached home, excited to see my wife. Creaking the door open I was greeted by nothing by a strange noise, a woman who sounded like she was choking over something. I went to explore my own home, looking for the source of the odd sound as I reached the kitchen. Just like the turkey, my heart fell. Seeing my wife sucking on my brother's cock, bobbing her head back and forth just made me feel sick. "Oh, you're finally here lil bro. Gimme a sec!" He grunted as he pulled out, stroking his 8-inch length while looking down at Seulgi. "Open your mouth, beauty, I wanna cum on that face." He ordered, which my wife seems to obey despite taking a few seconds to follow. I can hear a few sobs coming from her. is it shame, is it resent, or is it just the aftereffect from a rough face fucking she just went through. Regardless, it seems my brother enjoyed my wife a lot when he unloaded his load all on her face, splattering everywhere from her forehead to her chin.

Seulgi's face turned away, looking very shy and scared. "Honey..." I tried to approach her, wanting to know what's going on when my she stopped me in my tracks. "I'm sorry baby. He...he made me do this." She sobbed, looking down to the floor as cum dripped down her face. I had a dead stare to my brother, my face inclining so our eyes exchange eye contact. In those few seconds, memories of how much my brother overpower me in any way came back. How he's physically, mentally and even academically superior to me, which makes him so much better than me. I want to confront, I want him to pay. But with what has happened my whole life, it may be best to just give in, I don't have a choice. I could only walk towards Seulgi, holding her tight and give her a gentle soft kiss. "I love you, Seulgi." the kiss ended, interrupted by the after taste of my brother's semen on my lips. After that I just wiped my wife's face with a clean cloth before walking away cowardly. I need to take my mind off of this, and staying in the kitchen won't help me. I took one last look at my brother, sighing. "She's yours." A defeated frown sticked to my face face as the words flew out of my mouth, and my feet drags across the room.

My words seem to influence my brother for some reason. As soon as I sat on the couch, I couldn't distract myself no matter what is on the TV. My mind still wanders in the kitchen where my brother shreds my wife's clothes off, completely taking advantage of the situation where both me and Seulgi are mentally lost. I could hear banging noises coming from the sink, making my lewd mind imagine how Seulgi looked getting fucked by another man, it made me hard. My penis pitching a tent from my imaginations running wild from the voices that both Seulgi and my brother make aroused me and made me touch myself while fully clothed. A pathetic loser touching himself through his pants while his wife gets fucked rough that is me. Soon I can see the pair walking out of the kitchen both half naked. Seulgi seems to have less resistance towards my brother and just embraces him now. "I'm sorry honey." i stared at the floor, ashamed of my incompetence. Seulgi didn't reply with a single word, instead her facial expression is more than enough to show the disgust she had towards me for giving in too easily.

Seems like they weren't done. No, seems like they were just getting started. My brother sat next to me on the couch, butt-naked while Seulgi climbed up on him, riding his bigger cock as her tight pussy gapes open for her. "Nghhhh ahhh~! Yeah daddy, fuck me, fuck my tight little pussy!" Seulgi's moans and words were like a knife to me, humiliating me as I just looked at my unintended tent, with nobody but myself to please it. I could only resist so much. The bounces Seulgi made, the sheer size of my brother destroying my wife's vagina, the way I was completely ignored. It was degrading me, but at the same time turning me on more, I eventually gave in to my urges and started jacking off, stroking at the site of live porn acted by my wife and my brother. And they both seem to ignore me, it's as if I'm not even there and they just fucked like they've been doing it together for years. "Nghhh fuck Seulgi you little bitch! You love this cock huh? You love it more than you love your husband's? My cock is better than my brother's isn't it?" The questions he asked showed how they both can see me, I'm not invisible, at least not literally. "Nghhh~ yes daddy. Daddy's cock is just too good. My husband feels like a shrimp compared to yours daddy." That single line from my own wife broke me, made me lose myself as I screamed while rubbing my shaft so fast and uncontrollably. It made me cum, splashing drops of dilute cum on my pants. It made me huff and puff for some reason. I've had sex quite some time with Seulgi, but none of them drained me as much as this. I felt like I could pass out, so I retreated and moved to my bedroom to find clarity.

When I thought being alone in the bedroom was enough, it wasn't. My brother crashed in with Seulgi, holding her in his arms carrying like newly weds. They were making out which made me slightly irritated. Again they ignored my existence and just jump on the bed, forcing me to lay on just a small fraction of the mattress. Their make out session broke up and Seulgi now traced back to my brother's long hard shaft. I could've sworn he came a few times already and yet he's still rock solid and raring for more. Seulgi's pretty mouth enveloped his cock, slowly lowering her head before moving back up, and a slow cycle continues as she sucked my brother's cock. What's worse is how I can see our wedding rind on Seulgi's hand, shining to me while her fingers wrap around my brother's shaft. My wife's head game kept on as she went faster after a while, only for my brother to stop her and lift her face up. They made out, making me feel uncomfortable yet so turned on before changed positions, Seulgi's pussy directly above my face.

"I'll fill you up, bitch-" My brother grunted as a tight smack echoes the room, leaving a red handprint on Seulgi's ass. It made Seulgi scream out a submissive moan too and a drop of cum dripped down her pussy and onto my face. It seems like they didn't want to waste any time and went straight to business, with their two bodies connecting, my brother's cock penetrating my wife's pussy and I got the best, or worst view to see it happening. "Ngaaah~! Aaaaah aahhh yessss~!" Seulgi's moans became vocal, the opposite of her behaviour a while back. She's just lost in lust, just like me it seems. "Harder daddy pleaseeee~" She plead, her head twisting back to face my brother acting like it's only them in the room and I'm nowhere in the scene. "Fuucckkk shut the fuck up slut. I didn't tell you can order me around." With a rough yank on her her, Seulgi's moans became only louder. With precum from both of their private parts leaking on me, I couldn't have felt more humiliated, but somehow I'm happy. It made me feel content to listen to my wife's sweet and loud moans, even if it's not from me.

"Mmmh~ Daddy's cock is getting bigger in me oh god!" Her pussy bulges as she finished her sentence. He's about to cum, isn't he, I thought. "Nghhh yeaahhh...fuck I'm gonna fucking fill you up Seulgi!" He grunted, digging his nails into her hips as my brother starts to buckle his hips harder until eventually he came, bursting inside my wife. There's so much cum inside it was up to a point where the cum from the pair drips down on me, covering my face with cum. It was embarassing, having them cum on me in my bed in this manner and cuck me. After all that, Seulgi finally looked at me. "Do you want to cum baby?" Her words are still as sweet as ever, but her expressions sure seemed cold, of course I'd say yes. I was so eager to put my cock in her until she stopped me, handing me over an S size condom.

Of course, it was a bit too tight for me but I don't feel much physical pain. I ended up finally getting to fuck my wife, despite only by wearing a small condom. My thrusts were clear to be ineffective, as Seulgi's fake moans just makes me so humiliated and degraded. "Fuuuck hunny! It feels so good!" I screamed, getting closer to my climax despite only being a few thrusts in. "Mhm, okay sure. Cum then baby" Her replies seem to be short and uninteresting. It just fuels up my self-degradation which made me cum so much sperm in the condom, filling it up. "Aaaaah, nghhhh~" My whimpers were so weak, it sounded like I could faint any moment. But my wife wouldn't let me yet, not after being a coward and not standing up for his wife. She pulled off the condom from my cock and spilt it on her stomach, making her abs more defined. "Eat it" She ordered, and I had no choice but to oblige. Licking and cleaning my wife's fit body, cleaning her abs from my worthless cum felt both horrible and amazing at the same time, most probably because of how fucked my mind is at this point. I felt defeated and lay on my back beside Seulgi, before hearing her whisper. "I love you honey~" followed by a sweet giggle before my brother joins back in bed with her. Sure she still says she loves me, but for some reason I believe she loves his cock more.

#kpop smut #red velvet smut #seulgi smut #cheating #gg smut

[huffle-dork]

Swap into the Crystalverse Chapter 1: Switch

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix

Read Swapboys | Read Switch | Read SwitchSwap | AO3 Link

Prologue

Tag list: @brokentimewatch

AN: so I haven’t written any more of switchswap yet cuz I gotta finish alt.exe first but Cry knows the plot points I’m planning so like- this takes place after switchswap where the Switch and Swap boys know each other and alludes to stuff that’ll happen in switchswap without giving away too much plot hghgg I’m sorry writing is hard but! I love this part :’) hope you enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the chaos that just happened, Bro Fantastic is met with sudden calm. It's late afternoon, and he's standing on a set of train tracks. On either side are station platforms with benches and lights that are just now turning on in preparation for evening. Everything is quiet.

Until--

"Hey!"

There's a man on one of the platforms. He has brown hair, dyed with streaks of green and black, and heterochromiac eyes: one blue, one green. One hand is reaching inside his black jacket's pocket, the other is held out, protectively shielding a redheaded boy--small for his age--who seems very curious about what just happened. "Get off the tracks!" the man says. "There's gonna be--wait a second, do I know you?"

Bro Fantastic shakes off the wave of vertigo from whatever that spell was and then dips down to his knees, clutching his burnt stomach. He blearily looks out at the man shouting at him- he looks like Jackie but… edgier- wait-!

Bro’s eyes widen and then he pushes himself off the tracks and bursts into the air then quickly lands in front of the man and boy. He laughs a bit dazedly, gripping his wound. “A-Anti!” He exclaims, blue silver power bright in his eyes. “Thank god this place has at least something familiar…”

Anti's eyes narrow in suspicion, then widen again. "Oh, fuck, yeah! You're--wait." He glances at the redheaded boy. "Uh, I mean--"

"Dad, I'm eleven, I hear you say that all the time," the boy says.

Anti laughs. "Alright, fine." He turns back to Bro. "You're from that--that other place. You're... Chase. Right. Sorry, I forgot your name." Then he notices the wound. He inhales sharply. "A-are you alright? Stupid question, you're not. Shit, we have to get to a hospital, uhhh..." He pulls out his phone.

Chase waves Anti off and tries not to let himself grimace, “no no I… I’m fine- I can heal fast just- hurts like a bitch till then…”

"I'm Will," says the boy.

Bro smiles down at the boy and waves, “Hi Will, you’re Anti’s son, huh? He def mentioned you pretty sure…”

"Yeah, this is Will," Anti repeats. "What're you doing here, anyway? How are you here?"

Chase’s eyes then widen as he straightens up and looks around frantically, “Oh shit right-! Uh I don’t know how it happened but- Magnificent… he took Alt- and made him use this weird doorway thingy! And then- god everything happened so fast… there was this huge burst of light then… I was here.” He shakes his head, “But god damn this… this isn’t good- Mag could still have Alt or- or he might go after some of you all again-!”

He looks at Anti desperately, squeezing his aching stomach. “Anti, can you help me find them?”

"Doorway thing...?" Anti is confused by that, but decides to move on. He's seen weirder. The point is that shit's going down. "Yeah, man, of course I'll help you find them. If that cat c--bitch is here, it could mean trouble..." He shivers just remembering things in that other world. "I gotta get Will home first, though. Or, maybe to Rama's house, it'll be safer that way. Yeah, I can call them to come here and pick him up."

"Daaaad," Will whines.

"No, don't be like that, bud, this is dangerous. Rama will keep you safe." Anti looks down at his phone again and starts tapping. "If you're sure that you can heal, we'll forget the hospital. I'm texting the others to let them know. Maybe they've seen Alt or Magnificent. In the meantime... I dunno. I need to stay here and wait for Rama to come get Will. You can stay too, or maybe I can give you the others' addresses and you can start looking around? Do you have your phone with you?"

Chase pats down his outfit in mid panic before relaxing, pulling out his phone. He’s not even in his super suit- but he does keep his utility belt tucked under his shirt sometimes. He’s wearing a tank top that looks like his super suit but with his emblem tinier in the upper corner- new merch he was trying out… heroes gotta eat too you know? And of course- his signature jacket, but one of his knock off ones that had a hood. He might not even need to whip out his mask- “yeah yeah I got it I….” He grips at his stomach and pushes past a wave of pain but it’s getting less and less. Only problem with super healing is it took energy from other parts of his body- meaning he might be grounded for a bit. God that sucked ass… but the others were always telling him he shouldn’t be pushing through injuries anyways. But his nerves were on fire thinking about Alt…

“I… fuck I guess I should try to recover for now… I might get myself lost otherwise. Hopefully one of the others might run into Alt…” He chewed on his lip in worry. “I hope he’s okay… and that whatever magic Mag used- hopefully he’ll be out of commission for a bit…” But- things like that don’t usually go their way.

"Okay good." Anti looks at him, concerned. "Yeah, sit down, man. There are benches everywhere. Alt's pretty tough, he'll be fine for a little while." Probably. Maybe.

Bro nods and stumbles to sink into a bench, holding his wound. He could feel it closing up and hardening but god that burned like a motherfucker. Sometimes he hated his ability- but it made it so he could save people faster and that’s what matters.

"Okay so I don't think cell reception works in other universes but WiFi is probably fine, so turn on the WiFi texting option so we can reach you just in case. I'll call my friend to come get Will." Anti glances down at his own phone. "Looks like Jackie and Schneep might be here soon, too. Good."

"I like your jacket," Will says to Bro.

Anti laughs. "Yeah, his jacket is cool."

Bro blinks and then smiles at Will, “Thanks lil dude! I… designed it myself- kinda- this is, a knockoff of the one I made. Superhero Fan merch you know-“ ah his delirium is showing off his adhd wonderful but hey, maybe this kid likes superheroes…

"Oh, cool. A real superhero?" Will's eyes are wide. "Like Uncle Schneep? Wicked. Michelle would go crazy!"

Bro grins wide and nods, “Yup! I’m Bro Fantastic~!” Shit did he even have his mask? He was too tired to check- would be cool to show the kid though. “Though you little dude, can just call me Chase if ya want- or bro~!”

Will looks over at Anti. "How do you know this guy?!"

Anti smiles gently. Eleven-year-olds are probably smart enough to understand multiverses, right? But are they emotionally ready to deal with that being real? Probably not. "It's a long story." Anti sits down on the other side of the bench Bro sits on. "Uh... we have some time. I'll explain..." Bro settles in to listen to Anti’s retelling, even if all he could feel was dull panic swirling in his gut.

-----------

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, Alt pops into being in a suburb. It's fairly ordinary-looking. Houses are taken care of. Except... for one. One that has yellowing grass, grayed peeling paint, and shingles falling off the roof. But Alt doesn't see that right away. He appears with his back to it.

Alt’s body is hard to piece back together at first, pixels and shapes at first before finally snapping back together. He crashes to the ground and grips tightly at his arm, biting back a pained scream. Black magic pulses painfully in his veins and it burned, eating away at him. Purple still fought in his eyes but- he was away from Mag and his influence so it was starting to clear. He grit his teeth and ducked his head to the ground, letting out an angry scream. “that MOTHER F̵̟̂U̵̎̉C̷̡̈́Ḱ̸͊E̵͐̒R̷͂̇!”

Okay okay- he needed to try to figure out what the hell was happening… all he could piece together was Mag took him, and used him for something. Something dangerous… Chase was there but- didn’t manage to stop it. Alt finally peeks up his head to try to look around, feeling himself pale. This… this wasn’t Brighton- it didn’t feel right. God no- did Mag actually manage to- to multiverse hop?? And he used Alt to do it!

Alt glitches angrily and curses up a storm as he tries to get to his feet. Ugh he feels faint- but he has to try to get up. He has to stop Mag- he has to find Chase!

As Alt struggles to get up, the door to the house behind him slowly opens. Then he hears it. The voice, so hard to describe and yet so distinct in its indistinctness.

"Well look who's back!"

Alt’s blood runs cold and he stumbles back from the door, unable to stop his limbs from starting to tremble. His eyes widen and he tries to glitch back but the black magic flares and leaves his body only fizzing with glitches. “No- no no no- not you…!” He whispers, dread filling every inch of his body.

Distorter giggles. How did he get so close to Alt without him realizing?! He's only a few feet away. "How'd you get here, Anti?" he asks, grin widening. "All by yourself, too? None of those friends of yours with you? Aw, what a shame. But it's okay." He takes a few steps forward. "They'd only get in the way." His head tilts to the side. "Looks like you're having trouble there. Can't get those powers to work like they should? How useless."

Alt’s panicking, trying to back away as he feels gray fogging up his vision. No no no!

“I… I don’t know- Mag… Mag did something…! He… he…” Alt tries to get his magic to work- but anything he tries to summon has the dark magic reacting in kind, sapping his energy. Still, Alt tries to hold out a sparking hand, blue and green struggling to flare up in his eyes. “S-stay back-! G-get away from me!!!”

"Oh? But it sounds like you need help. I'm happy to be there." Distorter's grin widens further. He walks right up to Alt, undeterred by his threats and sparking, and reaches out with a blackened hand. Stay calm, Alt. Nothing bad is going to happen =)

Alt shudders and tries to pull away but his thoughts start to fizzle into nothing but fog. Especially as Distorter manages to grab him.

He… he does need help. He’s in pain- he’s scared. Distorter can… can help… right? He’s… he’s helped before… right? It was all so… fuzzy.

Calm washes over him so fast he nearly loses his balance. It’s like all his senses have been turned down to zero. His eyes widen and the magic around him fizzles into the air into nothing but spare electricity.

“…help…” He whimpers- whether it’s to Distorter or a cry for someone else… it’s hard to say.

"Shh. Don't worry." Distorter's smile widens again as he steadies Alt from falling, holding him up. His grip is tight, clenching his upper arms. "Do you think that Magnificent came with you? He probably did, right? We should go find him before he finds you." Maybe this time he'd get one up on that magician. He'd be a useful friend. Or at the very least, it would be good to stop him before he messed with the others.

Alt swayed in Distorter’s grip, head threatening to fall to his chest. It felt like something was trying to leak out of his eye but he could barely feel it. “Yeah… mag… mag’s here.., we… we gotta… gotta stop him…”

Distorter was powerful, he could help Alt stop magnificent. …they were friends after all…

Distorter briefly wonders if any more people from Alt's universe showed up. If they did, it would be good to have a... shield of some kind. "Come on. We'll go together. We'll help each other. You can protect me, and I'll make sure nothing bothers you."

“Mmmmkay… yeah…” Alt muttered dazedly, eyes glazing over. “We can… protect e’chther…” His mouth didn’t want to work.

His mind tried to wander, brief panic flickering in his gut. A smiling face was in his vision- a nicer smile then Distorter’s… with sun kissed cheeks that radiated warmth. But, Alt couldn’t grasp onto why he was important. It didn’t matter. Distorter would tell him what mattered.

"Exactly." Distorter lets go of Alt, letting him balance on his own two feet. Is he still swaying? Whatever happened to him before must've done a real number on him. It'll be fine, though. Nothing to worry about. Now... where to go? He thinks about it for a moment, then nods. "Magnificent will try to head to a certain place sooner or later. Let's see if we can beat him there." He disappears from Alt's vision, reappearing some way down the sidewalk. "This way."

Alt nods distantly and trembles slightly before pulling his body to walk after Distorter. He gripped at his arm, a dull ache trying to make itself known. Blood flowed slowly down his cheeks as he dazedly walked after Distorter. He had to find Magnificent… he had to. Nothing else mattered.

————

Magnificent himself has appeared in a different, unfamiliar location--just as he wanted. This looks like a neighborhood, made up of rows and rows of old-fashioned-looking townhouses. He stands near a street intersection No people or cars are in sight... but there's a weird green glow coming from around one corner.

Magnificent looks around his new surroundings, a burst of pride and erratic excitement overcoming him. He laughed madly, clawing back his hair as he took stock of himself. Kinda weak from the spell but nothing he can’t recover… he just needed another source of magic to steal. But, at least he had enough to disguise himself… he can’t draw too much attention to himself right away. In a buzz of static his eccentric clothes change into something light and casual- a dark green button up, a black blazer, black pants and purple dress shoes. His scar is disguised- his hair pulled up into a brunette bun on his head. He grinned and checked himself over. Alright- perfectly normal!

He closed his eyes to let out some energy, trying to see if he can sense any magic sources nearby. Once recovered… he could hunt down the greatest sources of magic he can find here…

He opens his eyes to notice the green light and tilted his head curiously, much like a cat would. He started to slink towards it, almost hungrily.

There is a man standing at a bus stop. He's wearing a red jacket, which calls Jackie to mind, but he's not him. His hair is dyed green like meadow grass and his eyes are framed by a pair of glasses. The green glow is coming from something... floating... near the man. Something... green. And... spherical. It's moving up and down somewhat frantically, making it hard to notice details.

"--can't figure out what you're saying if you go so fast!" The man is talking to the floating thing. "I get it, it's important, but--really? Yeah, I know, but I can't fucking drive, do you want me to just walk away? We can keep going to their house--Okay, okay! Look, calm down, anyone could see you." The man glances around--and notices Magnificent. He freezes like a deer caught in headlights. The green thing also freezes and ducks behind him, like it's hiding.

Magnificent smiles charmingly at the two as he approaches. “Well… don’t you keep the most peculiar company?” He muses silkily, walking up but stopping just a bit short of the pair.

“You seem distressed, young man. Might I ask what’s troubling you and your… pet?” His eyes locked into the glow from the spherical thing- he couldn’t understand the power that came from it but it had something. And that was enough…

"Uhhh..." Jack takes a single step backwards, immediately wary. This stranger... he looks like Marvin, but he obviously can't be him. Unless he figured out some new spell with those cards, but even if he did, Marvin would never call Sam a pet. "W-well, I... I'm actually on my way to visit some friends, but they... want to leave..."

Sam wants to leave because Sam was suddenly struck by the feeling that something terrible is going to happen. And as they hide behind him, they say that this might be it.

No kidding. But Jack's not sure how to proceed. He didn't expect to be ambushed by...whoever this is. Maybe this is one of Distorter's tricks that he heard so much about? "And, uh... I-I don't want to upset them, so I'll just... hurry and go..." Sam really doesn't want him to go to Marvin and JJ's house. They say the bad feeling just gets worse when they think about that.

Magnificent tilts his head like a predator looking down at its prey. Jack can see his image stutter slightly, one of his eyes glowing green, the other devoid of life, surrounded by ugly raised scars like cris cross over each other like lightning. But, the image quickly fades as the stranger smiles.

“I see- well. Don’t let me keep you! Sounds like this is an urgent matter… so sorry to disturb.”

It was taking everything in him not to pounce right now- but he needs to be patient. In control.

"Uh... yeah." Jack starts walking backwards... slowly... and then abruptly turns and hurries away, walking as fast as possible without actually running--who knows what would happen if he ran?! Sam perches on his shoulder as he fumbles with his pocket and starts pulling out the phone. He has to tell the others! This feels like some weird shit that'll involve them!

Ah perfect- these idiotic humans never thought about how bad it was to turn their back on a threat. Mag grins and then lashes out a hand to try to grab Sam in a flash of purple and green magic.

Sam's pupil widens as the magic grabs them and yanks them back. Jack immediately stops and spins around. "Sam!" he cries. "No no no, let them go!" Sam squirms, nerve-tail lashing, and Magnificent now has a clear view of them in all their eyeball-ness for the first time.

Magnificent’s eyes widen at the sight then he laughs, holding the eye up closer to his face with his magic. “Well aren’t you a curious little thing?” He purrs. He then cups his hands around the eyeball and starts to crush his magic around them. “I hope you’re not too attached to your human, little eye, because I need whatever magic or power is running through those nerves of yours!”

He’s not sure if he can- but he tries to see if he can siphon some magic from this strange glowing creature.

Sam squirms, tail lashing. Their glow dims slightly and Magnificent feels... something. It feels sour, in some way. And sharp. But it's only a small trickle, and their glow is still going pretty strong.

Magnificent squirms slightly at the feeling of the magic he siphoned. Unpleasant… but something…

"Hey! Asshole!" Jack looks around, desperately. He doesn't want to get too close but he can't just let Sam be hurt. In desperation--acting on instinct and not really thinking--he throws his phone at Magnificent. Immediately regretting it the moment it leaves his hand but oh well its too late now he's committed!

Before Mag could push for more he hears the shout and then lifts up a hand to catch the phone in a wave of magic.

Unnatural cat-like eyes meet Jack’s glowing in the night as the man grins. “ooooh? Is the human thinking himself brave? How adorable~!”

He flicks his hand and his magic darts back to make Jack’s phone hit in the stomach. Magnificent’s voice darkens to something dangerous, “I have no use for useless things like you- get out of my sight and I might spare you~” He chuckles, crushing a hand around Sam.

Jack staggers back and barely manages to grab his phone before it falls to the ground. What should he do? What can he do?! He looks at Sam. Their nerve-tail flails wildly, but they tell Jack to get out of here, that they don't think anything too bad will happen. But Jack can't just leave them!

Then he has an idea. He makes a show of fumbling with his phone as he puts it back in his jacket pocket, using the motion to hide him dialing the first number on his recent contacts. "I-I'm not useless," he says, further distracting this--this evil doppleganger. "I--I know about you. Or--or your kind. You're a magician, aren't you?! What are you going to do with Sam? They can't--they can't help people like you!"

Magnificent chuckles more and tosses Sam up and down in his magic, like someone throwing a ball. “I guess you could lump me up in that title- though I am something far greater~!” He purrs with pride. “As for your little creature- I don’t need much… just a bit of whatever power they have to claim for my own. Then- I can hunt for… bigger fish~” Mag’s eyes glow brighter as he grins. “You know of magicians- that means some are around… I guess you were more useful to me than I thought!”

He shakes his head and then looks down at Sam. “Though- you are rather unusual, little eye… maybe I should keep you to study closer, hm?”

Nope nope nope nope--Jack can feel Sam's distress at that statement. They say something about deja vu and other Sams that he doesn't quite understand, but it's not the time to ask about that. "No!" Jack blurts out. "No, you can't--you can't get anything from them!" That sounds desperate (which it is) but he's pretty sure it's true. "I can--i-if you're so curious I can tell you anything you want about them, just leave them alone!"

There's a faint voice on the other end of the phone conversation. He can barely hear it but it's recognizable. He wonders how fast they can get here. Even if they run it'll take a while--maybe there's some magic that can help.

Magnificent studies Jack with a critical eye. He could see a faint magic aura from this boy- but it’s faint. Not even flowing in his blood, just there. How disappointing.

Mag pulls his lip back in a snarl. “I have no time to waste on hardly magic mortals, boy. I doubt any information you know will even be of use to me.”

Mag squeezes at Sam trying to see if he can get another inkling of magic- he can’t teleport right now, and he isn’t stooping down to running away from something that’s not even a threat.

Jack's heart pounds in his chest. Sam is begging him to leave, to run, reassuring him they'll be alright. He doesn't believe them. But he'd be no help if he gets himself killed. He stands there, frozen, watching Magnificent squeeze his friend--

And then there's a puff of blue smoke behind Magnificent. Before it even disperses there are three wheels of blue light spinning out, heading straight for Magnificent.

The dark magician barely has a chance to suck anything from the eye before he’s struck by bolts of blue light. One hits his arm- then the others manage to throw him off his feet, He flies back, the magic holding back Sam crackling into static. He yells in anger, his disguise also melting away to show the masked villain in all his dramatic glory.

He turns to snarl at the source of magic that dared to strike him-!

Jameson stands there, hands raised, a shield crystalizing into place even as the smoke from the teleportation spell still lingers. His eyes widen. He thought he recognized the voice over the phone but he hoped he was wrong.

Sam flies to Jack as soon as they're able, smacking into his chest. He catches them and holds them close to his chest.

Go! Jameson signs.

Jack hesitates.

Go! He repeats, more insistently. Tell the others!

After another second, Jack nods, and turns and runs.

Jameson lets out a breath of relief. He just needs to distract Magnificent for long enough. He's sure that the dark magician would prefer him as a target instead of Jack.

And he's right- Magnificent's eyes light up hungrily as he pulls himself and sways slightly, looking off kilted as he grins wildly. "Well well well! Hello there, kitten~!" He laughs. "Oh I was hoping the universe would be kind to me... and they deliver you here to me on a sliver platter!"

The mad magician then lunges at Jameson with his hand outstretched- trying to grab him with his claws.

Luckily, Jameson's shield is solid. He spins it around to block Magnificent's attack. How are you here?! he asks, unsure if Mag would know what he's saying. Then he puts his hands together, cupping them like he's holding a ball. A sphere of blue light forms in his hands and he drops it on the ground, letting it splash. The magic spreads across the sidewalk, turning it blue and slick like ice.

Magnificent bangs across the shield and then jumps back, landing in a crouched position on the sidewalk. His eyes reflect the light like a cats as he giggles, pulling himself up to full height.

A voice slithers into Jameson's head, purring, "Now Jameson... so hostile~! Is this anyway to treat your master?" His eyes are swirling as he tries to advance. "It'd be so much easier if you didn't fight, little bird... I won't harm you, I only need to borrow something from you."

The magic spreads across the sidewalk and Magnificent stumbles then hurries to hold himself up, trying not to fall flat on his face. He growls. Being drained is a real inconvenience... but all he had to do was make Jameson fall back under his thrall.

Jameson flinches back, keeping the shield up. He smiles a bit as he sees Magnificent stumble--there's something vindicating about that--but it distracts him for just enough to make eye contact. The swirls are familiar... comforting... His shield is flickering... No--no! He shakes his head and tries to resist but... why would you resist something so beautiful? The shield dies quickly.

Magnificent grins even wider and strides forward more, humming. "Very very good, birdie~! Fall nice and deep for me... and this won't hurt a bit~"

He approaches and then grabs Jameson's arm, digging his nail into the skin, branches of black veins spreading across the surface. Then, he tries to siphon magic from the magician, greedy trying to pull as much as he can.

Jameson shivers. There's a dead feeling creeping into him from his arm, from the spot where Magnificent grabbed him. He looks down and sees the black veins spreading. Faint alarm bells go off in his head but he can't bring himself to do anything about it, even as weakness makes his arms and legs tremble. He falls to his knees, breathing heavily.

The air seems to shimmer...

Magnificent laughs as blue light floods into his veins, pulsing with energy then fading to blazing purple. He feels his magic and strength returning. He doesn't drain Jameson completely though, not yet- He may be of use to him... he needs to find another way to hop to the next multiverse before he finishes up here. Oh and find his cub... just in case. But, this will suffice for now~

He lets Jameson drop to the ice below and sighs dreamily, "Mmmm just what I needed! Thank you very much, Jameson~!" He then bends down to pick him up by his hair and hums in thought, "You should stick by me though, little lark~ I may have further use of you."

The mad magician is too distracted by his prize to notice anything shimmering in the air-

Jameson's eyes are glazed over. He doesn't react at all to anything Magnificent is saying or doing. The combined hypnotism and draining has left him weak. He looks up at Mag and mumbles in a raspy voice, "Yes... yes, Magnif—"

And then, for a split second, there's a flicker of orange and blue and yellow, a spiral much different than the ones Magnificent uses—

And Jameson is gone.

The stolen magic remains in Magnificent's veins, but the blue ice coating the sidewalk is also gone.

As if it—and Jameson—were never here in the first place.

Magnificent blinks in mild surprise at the new colors- then springs to his feet as Jameson disappears, wildly looking around for any lingering hints of magic. He then curses in Gaelic and throws a tinted punch into the bus stop sign, making it dent in on itself in a burst of purple and green sparks.

He then hums and tries to breathe, studying the lingering blue in his veins. ... he had enough, enough to at least look for his cub and find out more about what this dimension uses to explore other universes. In a wave of static, he dons his disguise again and then walks further into the night, looking for any other lingering of magic around.

#swap into the Crystalverse #SITCV #swapboys #switch au #switchswap #alt anti #bro fantastic #swap magnificent #the jaunty jackson #distorter #programmer anti #jacksepticeye #SITCV switch

[makeste]

Just out of pure curiosity, isn't this a horrible way to experience the story lmao?

I'm not saying it's for everyone, but it's worked for me personally so far. more than I would have expected, tbh!

honestly though, this might sound kind of backwards, but a big part of my decision to read these chapters early had more to do with me NOT wanting to be spoiled. let me explain.

I went on hiatus from the BnHA manga beginning in January 2022. I remained completely spoiler-free for almost eight whole months without the slightest issue. then August happened. :')

the thing is, despite my taking a break from the manga, I didn't stop reading fanfiction. in fact I probably read more fic than I usually do, because I missed the series and the characters. it may sound odd that I had the time to read fic but couldn't use that same time to catch up with the manga instead, but they're very different things as far as mental load and time commitment. one is very passive, almost relaxed, while the other requires me to be quick-witted and mentally engaged (at least if I want to do a halfway decent job). something which I wasn't really capable of being at the time. so yeah.

anyway so at the time I generally thought of fanfic as a relatively safe activity, spoiler-wise. and to be fair it was. right up until the single most popular character in the series fucking DIED in the most grisly way possible while fighting the main villain, right in the middle of everyone's fucking summer break. after which pretty much the entirety of fandom erupted into "BAKUGOU DIED??!" and "HE DIED THINKING ABOUT IZUKU??!" and "BABY BOY WANTED ALL MIGHT TO SIGN HIS TRADING CARD?!?!" and "RAIN!?!?" etc. etc. pretty much 24/7 on all social platforms for weeks on end.

so what I learned from that experience is that no matter how good you are at dodging spoilers, it is literally impossible to do so when something THAT momentous and life-altering happens your favorite character who also happens to be fandom's most beloved blorbo. hell, I didn't even get spoiled on AO3 initially; they got me over on YouTube of all places. literally nothing I could do to prevent it. and after that, no matter how meticulously I avoided all of the fics tagged with "362: Light Fades to Rain spoilers", I still kept getting caught off guard because people would casually drop spoilers into untagged fics as well. so I had a bunch of additional little details spoiled for me unexpectedly and I was pretty much defenseless against it. pretty much the only way I could have avoided it all would have been to stop reading Kacchan whump entirely. which, idk about you, but to me that would have been a far more horrible fate. :p

anyway so fast forward to last month, and Kacchan finally came back, and you bet your ass I spoiled myself for it immediately. because I knew it would still take me forever to get caught up The Right Way, and in the meantime I would once again be leaving myself at the mercy of the internet. at least this way I have control over where and when and how I find out. and I got to experience the moment via the manga itself, rather than a third party. and I have to say, this way was vastly preferable to the alternative.

and at the end of the day that's pretty much the same rationale I had for giving in and reading 404 - 406 as well. I knew that once Kacchan was back, the pace of the Final Battle was going to start picking up, and things were going to start happening, and I'd rather read all of those things for myself! like just for example, there's close to a 100% chance the "Kacchan" line from this week would have been spoiled for me in someone's fic if I hadn't read 406 beforehand. just little things like that. anyway so this way, no matter what happens to Kacchan and Deku from this point forward, I'll get to read it fresh and experience it in a way that I unfortunately never got to with the chapter 362 moment. and so to me, that's more than worth the trade-off.

#bnha 406 #bnha 362 #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #makeste reads bnha #asks #and honestly these last few chapters have been so self-contained #and focused pretty much exclusively on this one battle #that there really haven't been *that* many spoilers for other things #and the few things I don't yet have context for have been easy enough to piece together even without #so yeah all in all it really hasn't been that bad #and still hoping to finish catching up within a few weeks' time so then this will all be moot

[eliteseven]

do you, by any chance, have more HCs about the House of Tavyndír? 👉🏻👈🏻 how are Serena's mom, how is she called, how she sees Serena, Serena's brother and etc

i absolutely adore how you constantly think about your story and you always keep saying new things LMAO aside from the final result, which is when you upload a new chapter, i love how it makes more alive and richier than already is

Ahh thank you so much! 🥰 it’s definitely a living, breathing AU this way and it’s so fun to just consider all the possibilities with everyone!

I actually happen to have an entire planner sheet in docs dedicated to BG3 Nobility/Patriar Families and House Tavyndír’s history. I am SO flattered you would like to hear more 🥹 I was going to paste the entire thing here, but I think it's a bit too long and I don't want anyone to hate me lol. If you're interested in THAT much depth of their family life/history pre BG3 events, I'll make a post for it! 💕

A Few Tavyndír Family HC's:

-House Tavyndír was a once-great patriar family that owned a sizable fleet of trade ships and some dry docks in the Grey Harbor. This means they also enjoyed an estate in the upper city and frequented High Hall; they had political sway, at some point.

-By the time Serena's father came to power as the heir, their house was already in decline.

-Serena's father was Lord Aldin Tavyndír of Baldur's Gate, and he wasn't always cruel. In fact, he was kind, sociable, and liked well-enough by his peers before inheriting a failing dynasty. Though towards the end of his life, he only had time for his vices. He was the son of nobles, and thus was well-rounded in his skillset. In Serena's early years, he couldn't go a day without seeking her out and sitting her atop his shoulders- so strong was his adoration for his daughter. He was warm, then. He was well-read and Serena often enjoyed having him read to her, when she was a young child. He used to make Serena feel safe.

-Serena's mother is Lady Amelia Tavyndír, formerly Bayne, of Cormyr. She married Serena's father out of familial/business obligation. She liked Aldin, at first. By all accounts, he was a good father and a loving husband. They did enjoy a happy life, for a brief time. I think that’s an important bit of info.

-Serena has no siblings- though perhaps due to the stressful situation they found themselves in, Amelia could not conceive after her. This made Serena a little lonely- she would seek company from the estate staff, if her parents were feuding or worried about the last shipment that never reached the docks. A sibling definitely would've helped soften the blow of how everything played out. She made friends easily enough- but there were so many rules imposed upon her, upon the other children of nobility. She wasn't allowed to be a child, in the traditional sense- though she tried, anyway.

-Serena’s favorite activities: sneaking to the lower city (was often caught and as the severity of the punishment increased, she stopped). She enjoyed watching the guards train and switch posts. She loved going down to the docks and just people-watching, as well as keeping an eye out for new ships coming into the harbor. Wouldn’t be surprised if she tagged some walls with charcoal, just like Shadowheart mentions upon visiting the city.

-Though Serena's father began to grow cruel with time and pressure, turning to alcoholism, to gambling, etc.- her mother remained a beacon of light for her the entire time. Amelia is one of those people who simply radiates warmth, happiness. Serena knew the callousness of her father, yes, but she also learned love in its purest form from her mother.

-Serena’s mother would often sing to her, a talent she picks up and passes on to her own baby, eventually 🥲💕

-Serena was pretty capable by the time she was 19 or so. Though her family name was beginning to be tarnished, she was well-liked in court and an eligible bachelorette, which fueled her desire to escape with her mother. She could see the toll her father’s presence was taking, not only on her, but her mother. Surely, she could likely marry out of this abusive situation (and hopefully not into another one), but her fear for her mother made her strong.

-Serena and Amelia have nothing when they return to Cormyr. Amelia’s house has long since crumbled inwards- there is no family for them to join. Serena is forced to provide for herself, and her mother, and has few options other than joining the military. Still, they’re happy to be alive, relatively unharmed, and away from Baldur’s Gate. They go from riches to rags overnight.

#Tavyndír family history #nls series #oc: serena tavyndír #ask #anonymous #sorry Ik it’s not as fun as the future stuff 🥲 #bg3

[magicalrocketships]

WIP 7 Line Game

Rules: Share 7 (or more) lines of a WIP you've been working on.

I was tagged by @writcraft to post seven or more lines of a WIP. Welllllll... have two snippets, because for the first time in three years I have actual things on the go (hurray).

I've put them underneath the read more because I have lazily copied and pasted two half-scenes rather than seven sentences, one from Max and Daniel play dick chicken, and one from the one where Max figures out he likes boys and pretty underwear, not in that order.

Tagging @junkshop-disco, @lights-out-go, and @flawlessassholes, if they'd like to share too :)

This is from the one gently known as Max and Daniel play dick chicken:

The messages are from Max. There are three of them, all pictures. The first one, he's topless, in his bathroom. Daniel recognises it from hanging out at his, even though it's the one that comes off the bedroom and not the main bathroom. The second one, a wider angle, Daniel can see his bare hips too, although anything not safe for work is hidden beneath the countertop so that Daniel can't see, thank fuck. The third one is Max reaching down to cup his dick. It's accompanied by a single question mark. 

He hasn't deleted the messages or said anything else. 

Daniel waits until he's in his flat, and then his thumb hovers over his phone keyboard. He gives in and types, did you mean to send these to me?

The answer is a screen cap, taken on Max's phone, of his message window. It says Daniel at the top. It's accompanied by a single Y. 

&&&

And this one is from my emotionally isolated, touch-starved Max figuring out who he is fic (with pretty underwear and also Daniel):

Daniel grins. "And, definitely unrelatedly, how much lube have you got left, are we going to need more?"

Max tilts his head to the side. 

"If we're going to have our hands on each other's dicks again," Daniel says, still grinning, "we're going to need more lube than the none we used before. This baby doesn't like to chafe." He waves a hand in the general direction of his dick. 

That he has just called baby. Max re-focuses. "I don't have any." 

"All right, I'll get some of that too. Any preferences? What's the Japanese for lube? Hope no one recognises me when I'm just waving my google translate at the shop assistant. Maybe it'll just be like, super obvious. Next to the condoms—" Daniel, Max notes, has gone pink too. He bends down to unlace his Vans so he can shove his feet in, going in barefoot and hiding his dirty socks in the pocket of his jeans. 

"I've never bought lube," Max says finally. 

Daniel stops tying his shoelaces, perched on the end of Max's bed. "Why not? Do you get given it as presents, or what? How have you never bought it?"

"No, I mean—" Max shrugs a shoulder. "It is fine without." 

It is Daniel's turn to tilt his head to one side. "Like, you like it dry and it turns you on, or you have an actual aversion to lubrication, or—"

"Or," Max says. "It is fine. I have just never tried it. Is it not pointless if you're going to come anyway in the end?"

"Okay," Daniel says, after a pause. "I am going to buy you some lube, and I'm going to get your dick so wet you won't know what to do with yourself, and then afterwards you can compare it to a dry jerk and tell me which you like best. If you'd like."

#my fic #fic i wish i was writing #dick chicken #closer #max/daniel #f1

[iepurasdepraf]

I... don't have the editing skill or knowhow to make something pretty to put here so you just get me talking, isn't that fun?

Arkhamverse Jervis Tetch x reader

Warnings: Female reader, bondage, fingering, ah... hm... that's all I think for this.

I just felt like it was getting a little long, but it's tasty as it is also, a whole thing on it's own really. If you want a part 2 let me know and maybe I'll finish what comes next, yeah?

@callsigncrash - You asked to be tagged.

A half sunken portion of a major city left to mold and crumble would normally make for an interesting if morbid opening for a fairytale or maybe an overeager young adult post-apocalypse novel the author didn’t have the technical skill to pull off. As would taking shelter in the attic of an abandoned townhouse. Turning that damp den into a passable hidey-hole for two lost dreamers to overwinter in, safe from the frigid water that was always seeping in and whoever else was creeping around what remained of Arkham City. Which was more than you’d think, really.

The man who called himself both mad and a hatter was in the midst of all that folly. Calling out to his friend with glee “Oh look! Mary Ann! Mary Ann, come look!”

An expert in making trash into treasure, the finding of Christmas lights sent him reeling into a giddy state. He had woken up bright eyed and bushy tailed and hadn’t lost that spirit for an instant even in the rising water and inclement weather though she’d woke finding herself far less hopeful. She’d barely slept at all in fact. 

However, said Ann of Mary didn’t look away from the ladder she’d been staring down at for the past hour or so even though normally she would have come with a skip at his beck and call putting a damper on the Hatter’s excitement somewhat. “Mary Ann?” Once more did not answer his call, it was as if she didn’t hear him at all. This was a vice versa of their usual and Jervis wasn’t sure what to think of it. It was his schtick to be lost in his own head after all. She was out of character!

He took offense at first, how dare she not give him her full and undivided attention! Then after a moment and impulsive thought wrangling he pouted. It wasn’t like she was one of his pawns. She had her own thoughts and feelings and- what was she looking at anyway? 

With lights in tow and shuffling in oversized boots, he makes his way over to peek over her shoulder. Mmm… water? Just water and soggy furniture. How boring. Not even anything swimming in it. Stinky, smelly thigh deep, to him, Gotham Bay water. 

More important than all that though was that she was frowning he noticed. Poor sweet Mary Ann, was she scared of the water? Worried? It wouldn’t come up this far. That’s why they were up so high.Though maybe she didn’t know that he considered. She’d not experienced Arkham City as he had after all. 

“Mary Ann” He said one last time, a little tersely this time, and when she didn’t respond he tossed the lights over her. Tangling her up like a tuna in a net to drag her deeper into the attic away from the distracting portal to a dreary reality. “Jervis!” “There she is!” “Get this off me!” She laughed over it luckily, amused as ever with his wiley antics. He couldn’t recall her ever getting mad at him for being himself. Maybe that’s why he felt so secure in being himself with her even if that meant doing something silly like tangling her up in Christmas lights. “What is this?” “Why, I’m so glad you asked! They’re lights. Fairy lights, Mary!” “I’m very happy for-” He pulled the wires tight playfully and she came to attention in a way he’d never seen before. So quiet, so red in the face. Ah. Jervis was mad, but not a fool. He knew that look. Seems they both just learned something about dear sweet Mary Ann. 

What fun! 

Something to pass the time then? Something to… distract her. That was a passible excuse. “Sit up for me, won’t you?” Oh, she was so obedient! Quick to do exactly as she was told now, just needed a little incentive. The wad of lights were easy enough to untangle. He had more than enough practice after so many years of decorating hideouts and set ups to get them undone in a jiffy though all that talent was then turned on it’s head to truss Mary Ann right back up nice and neat. Easy enough to make a harness, easier still to bind someone’s arms behind their back. He’d done that oodles of times. That delicious thigh meat dressed nicely, so thick it muffined around the strings. It would normally bring him to distraction, but right now he had just as lovely things to savor so he had to force himself to peel his eyes from the sight. 

He’ll be back later, thighs, just give him a moment. He has to bind shin and ankle so they can be bound to you, you see? 

Making dear Mary Ann kneel so sweetly on the floor that he just can’t resist showing her that being bound so specifically had it’s own benefits. A pull of the wire wrapped around his gloved fist and those loving binds squeezed coyly in all those tender places she could have ever wanted them to. She made the sweet mewls to prove it even after he let go.

Perfect, it was all so nearly perfect, but wasn’t quite. No, he had one thing left to do. “Don’t move.” She looked back in her partially bent forward position, but didn’t otherwise move which was fine and good. He beamed at her scrambling to get the dangling overhead light which he had to hop for to plunge them both into total darkness. “Jervis?” “Trust is essential, Mary Ann,” His disembodied voice said while seeming to float across the attic “You trust me, don’t you?” Without so much the pause for a breath she answered “Yes.” leaving her breathless when the generator roared to life on the other side of the room and the multicolored Christmas lights jumped to life around her revealing a grinning Jervis still crouched down from plugging the lights into the power strip. Oh yes, he was very willing to burn gas for this, for her. 

He looked utterly mad in the flittering light with that smile. Wide hazel eyes taking her in like he could physically consume her with them. Anyone else would be terrified of him, but not her, no. No! Not Mary Ann. Silly girl was arched and eager for him to come closer. They’d never done anything like this before. Such a shame! Such an interesting first time! More than made up for it by his math. 

“You’ve never looked more like Alice.” Her eyes went wide at that. There was too little time between the comment and Jervis dropping to his knees in front of her to respond. Even less between that and him pressing his lips to the corner of hers after lightly holding her chin to tilt her head just the way he wanted. He kissed her bottom lip, the top lip, the other corner. Teasing her until she whined about it before pressing his lips to hers and she learned his kisses were like him. Completely overwhelming. He didn’t kiss once in a long slow maneuver, no. He kissed her once, twice, a hundred times then finally slowing down to let her only gasp between them. 

He loved how she trembled, how she gave in. Pressing her chest to his while he let her desperately kiss him back while he enjoyed every sweet exchange. 

He had to indulge himself a little, didn’t he? Couldn’t let her have all the fun.

“Good. So good for me.” Jervis cooed treacly as a dove letting his hands wander as they pleased. Dressed in blue with the cutest pinafore and sweet as can be. Not Alice, but someone close enough for comfort. Someone you could confuse for Alice, but not her, no. He’d forgotten his logic for it at the moment. Was it that she cleaned up better? Mn, it wasn’t important. Mary Ann, dear darling Mary Ann in his arms was. Just a few more kisses he told himself. Just a few more. His tongue slipping in her mouth made them both swoon. Hers was soft and shy. His bold and brash, tasting her like Eve tasting the forbidden fruit and with the same fervor. If you're going to damn yourself it might as well be with gusto. Or in this case turn a friend into a lover. No going back in any case. 

“Jervis…” Down, down the rabbit hole or what felt eerily similar while he kissed his way down her throat to the very top of her chest. He couldn’t go lower and find flesh. He’d not thought ahead and undressed her before tying her up. More's the pity, but there was always later for that sort of fun. Instead he turned her gently, careful of her knees on the eeky creaky old wood of the attic floor while making sure to give the lights slack so as to not pull the plug out of the loose socket.

Hello, Thighs. Did you two miss him? He missed you. Oh, yes he did. He’d never had this much fun adjusting the clothing under someone’s binds before. At some point he’d not taken much notice to, he’d peeled his gloves off and tossed them a little too hard across the room to be found another time. Entirely to eager to finally feel the flesh of those absolutely maddening thighs against his palms. He didn’t have much feeling in his fingertips anymore. Too many scars, too many callouses. How long had it been since he’d felt someone’s thighs shaking like this against his own? How long had it been since someone made such thrilling noises that made every atom of his being vibrate with wanton desire just from his touch? He couldn’t recall. 

The Hatter managed to focus himself, moving pinafore and skirt around to the front and out of his way eventually between giving into the baser instincts his brain sent painful throbbing impulses to his groin demanding. Touch her here, feel her there. Cup right where you know she wants you to and call her yours just to make her whine and pant. A little pause just holding her close to make sure she was still with him before exposing those bloomers he’d spent so much wretched time getting the lace just right on.

“Next time I get it in my head to tie you up,” He whispered resting his chin on her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her hips so he could tangle his fingers in the light cotton fabric of the offending underpants “Be a dear, won’t you, and remind me to undress you first.” “I-” She didn’t get the time for a proper response. She didn’t really need it, did she? He ripped the seam open with a grimace and she let out the most pleasant squeal. “I can fix them later.” He assured as if it mattered. 

“That’s better isn’t it?” It was for him. Lord, was it. “Hm?” “Mhm.” “Now now,” Jervis tutted “I am a man of words. Use them.” She liked it when he was bossy. When he got that growl in his lilting squeaky voice and it dipped low low low to a rumble. It made her shiver and flush normally and though right now her poor face couldn’t get anymore red she managed to peep out a “Yes! Much better!” that told him he was doing everything right. “Good girl.”

Heavens to Betsy, if she wasn’t wiggly before she certainly was now and much to his delight he found out exactly why when he let his fingers go where they were naturally inclined. “Oh my…” Jervis breathed, ghosting just the bare tips of his fingers along her slit. It was hard to tell who was more worked up at this point. The way he clung to her while his fingers slipped into her to feel exactly how much she wanted him of all people was something poets would drool over. That rarely felt realization of what was generally revolting being wanted and oh how wanted he was. “Jervis- Oh my god!” He grinned, nuzzling his face into her hair. She didn’t know he knew how to do this and it was a little funny. People always mistook madness for innocence. He’d lived through the 70’s darling, this was vanilla cream in a lavender darjeeling. He’d bitched this pot before. “Hm, Jervis be nimble, Jervis be quick.” He squeezed her tighter and let his thumb find her clit to rub while his fingers fucked her hard and fast making her arch her back in her binds and shake while calling out his name over and over like a mantra. She didn’t last long at all, no, not after everything and came with all the flash and splendor he dreamed she might. Soaking his fingers in a way that made him nearly regret not skipping straight to the point earlier. “Jesus Christ-” “Not too bad for a lunatic?”

Poor girl could only huff out a few laughs at the silly rhyme after she’d come down a little then moaned low and long in relief in pleasure while sagging against him. “Don’t get too comfortable, darling,” He cooed, wrapping the leashlike cord of lights he’d left for the express purpose of a moment like this around his fingers after he’d pulled them from his lover to give her a little breather, only pulling hard enough to bring her back to attention with a meep. 

“That was just the foreplay.”

#arkhamverse mad hatter #jervis tetch x reader #mad hatter x reader #A little crusty this one but I think it has enough strawberry ganache to make up for it with just enough fluff to make it a mouthful #arkhamverse mad hatter x reader #//.mywriting.//

[danketsuround]

sunday six!

early again (late for me, but). i wrote this on tumblr while waiting for a package that hasn't arrived yet. tagging uhhh @four-white-trees @c-cw-f-saeko @overdevelopedglasses @fire-tempers-steel @passthroughtime and uh i forgot who else is participating in this

sawa and mitsuru one shot below. not an au, they're just in high school. i was complaining earlier today about how they didn't get to interact at all (like, not even in a flashback???) so like whatever i wrote my own thing. be the change you want to see in the world. kthnxbye

Past a road on a steel bridge, among little fossils in a river, there was a mound of green grass, and two bikes laying diagonally atop each other. Mitsuru laid there in the sun, craning his neck upwards to look at their chains, tangled like legs under a blanket. He sighed and let his head drop against the ground. It made a sound much heavier than him.

"Mind your head," pretty Sawa seemed to scold him, as if he were some infant with a soft spot in his skull. She had the nerve to speak to him so dearly, even as he twisted the grass between his fingers in anxious sorrow.

"It didn't hurt," he said, not bothering to look up again.

Her little patent leather shoes hit rocks. She had been balancing on a log near the river. He heard the gravel under her feet, then the grass, and then the sun disappeared.

"You have a grass stain on your shirt."

A halo of light hit her backside. Had he prayed more, he thought, maybe the angel would say something useful, or kind.

"That's okay," he replied shyly. She was tall; tall enough to call the sun again when she sat beside him.

They had biked from the train station—as most high schoolers did—recklessly, without their helmets. Sawa lived three doors down and across from him, in a smaller, gated house, with a nice windowsill tomato garden and an old dog with a hoarse bark. Despite this, they never saw each other. Better yet, Mitsuru never saw her. He kept his head down and looked at his feet like his shoes were in danger of catching on fire at any moment. He was quick-footed, too, despite his chronic tardiness—or, perhaps, because of it. Sawa held onto his arm in the sardine-packed commute of the sweaty summer afternoon rush. She didn't let go when the doors opened, or when they squeezed out of the car, or when they took the escalator down; and she didn't say a word to him at all until Mitsuru found he had locked his bike next to hers, and suddenly it seemed his feet were safe of any interesting fires. She wanted to tutor him.

"No thanks," he told her, then frowned when tall and pretty Sawa made an angry wrinkled face like she was going to chew him.

In the long hour they walked their bikes together, he discovered her face was stuck like that, always, even when she smiled. He thought, that's probably why no one messed with her, and why she won the student council election by a landslide. It was the first day of the second semester and they came to the knoll, together.

"Are you eighteen already?" Sawa asked him out of air, watching the sun lower behind the old bridge.

Mitsuru shook his head into the dirt.

"Are you?"

"I turned eighteen over the summer."

"Happy birthday."

"Thanks."

Then it was quiet again when Mitsuru started thinking about sitting at the dinner table with a grass stain on his shirt, and his mother with her eyes on some stack of papers he couldn't read.

"I'm still a kid compared to you."

"I guess."

"You can vote, and take out a loan, and apply for a credit card, and stuff."

"I can't drink yet."

For some reason, she defended herself.

"But you're closer," he argued anyways. "And you're taller than me."

She laughed. "Age doesn't have much to do with that."

He looked at her and, for some reason, he grew excited.

"Do you think I'll grow ten centimeters by winter?"

"No," she said, which sounded cruel coming from her chewy face. "Or, I guess you'll have to wait and see."

"Yeah, I'll wait," he said sadly. "I'll wait."

She loosened her clip and pulled her fingers through the bend in her hair. Being a girl seemed really hard, but, like most things, Sawa did it effortlessly. He hadn't noted much about her, but he knew she played the cello, and that she played it beautifully. She could have played a stand-out instrument—the violin like Mamiya, or the flute, like himself, which stood-out in terrible, shrill ways—but she played the low, humming background of an instrument and she played it better than anyone else. Her kindness was the same, her voice played a pitying, slow tune.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

He imagined she asked because she, a grown up, already knew.

"A nurse."

"A nurse!"

Admittedly, her shock stung a little.

"That's just the first thing that came to mind. I want to work in a hospital, like my mom."

Sawa tucked her legs in. "Is she worried about exams?"

He wrinkled his face taking another blow, then shook his head in an uncaring way.

"No, she doesn't worry about me," he said. "She thinks I can do anything."

"You can do anything."

Mitsuru shrugged. "I don't know."

"You can play the flute pretty well."

"I don't know."

"And you can swim pretty well, too."

"I don't know. I hate swimming."

She leaned forward. "Do you like being a nurse? Don't say you don't know."

His answer was silence instead.

"What do you want to be?"

She held her breath. Her face was red and puffy and she laughed when she couldn't hold it any longer. On her back, next to Mitsuru, she said, "I don't know."

Mitsuru scrambled to his feet while Sawa held her stomach, spitting and laughing and hitting the ground with her legs.

"Well!" He said stridently. "Then! Then, then! Why'd you make me pick!"

When she finally calmed down, she said, "I want to know more about you, Kusumoto."

That was a damn good answer—better than one he could ever give. The sun had mostly set, leaving gradients of pink and yellow, which settled starkly under the coming twilight. He stuck out his hand for her to take it; his actions were bold but he was red in the face, redder than Sawa's spitting laughter.

"I want to go home now," he said. "And do my laundry."

"Okay." She took his hand but pulled herself up by her legs. They untangled their bikes and she motioned putting on an invisible helmet, then she led the way because her house was a block further than his.

On their bikes, Mitsuru yelled, "Maybe you should be a teacher."

"Maybe," she yelled back.

"I'd like to see that." He was smiling but she couldn't see. "Sawa-sensei."

#sunday six #judgement #rgg

[oplishin]

Sethie for the character asks :D

favorite thing about them

the neverending shame fueled self sabotage! that's great. also the phoenix splash! it's so pretty

these days it's very obvious that he'll never hit it, but i liked its usage in ROH! it's his super super special finisher that's generally ill advised because it takes so long. the phoenix splash specifically continuously fucks up his matches with DBD. In southern navigation, his unwillingness to pivot to a different move means bryan repeatedly gets back up and murders him. In their last 2008 match, he's literally unable to go for the phoenix splash at the end because (spoiler alert) the top rope is Gone. uhh for some reason in the first one he hits it but DBD immediately rolls him up anyway. we don't have to talk about it. the rest of the match is good! super significant match in terms of seth's singles career

least favorite thing about them

his knees probably because he's GONE and i MISS HIM, and also these kicks, i think they look like ass

favorite line:

"i liked the person i was before i met you" or any of his gushing over dean being his wrestling soulmate

brOTP

kevin!!! KEVIN!! like idk it's fun to imagine them having fucked many many times (2021-2022 rollowens i love you) but i like where they're at now. kevin and sami helping him leave wrestlemania. <3 scrub room forever, oh my god.

OTP

shield ot3 my BELOVED. not a pairing but. that's the one. they're so bad!! they're so bad for each other

nOTP

he honestly has insane horny chemistry with almost everyone so it's hard to think of one people ship that i hate. i'll go with seth/kane again because fuck mayor glenn jacobs. don't though

random headcanon

as the forever designated driver, he hates hates being driven by other people. it's a control thing, it just feels less safe he's not The One with his hands on the steering wheel.

unpopular opinion

from what i've seen of his ROH stuff, i generally enjoy his tag matches a more than his singles stuff. his tag work with jimmy is pretty consistent, while his singles stuff is pretty hit or miss for me. as in, i basically only like the matches where nigel or bryan are there. i'd heard good things about his match with davey richards and i ended up really disliking it! also really didn't like match where he wins the roh title. i also haven't seen that much of his ROH work, to be fair.

song i associate with them

mitski's "everyone"

(i'm making a gifset for this, probably after finals are over grah)

favorite picture of them

FUN QUESTION!! either of these two. i recommend clicking on the left one for the full picture, the lighting is truly so erotically dramatic. right one makes me go :((( :( :(

#tyler black dbd 2008 trilogy my beloved #i haven't watched their 2009 hdnet stuff yet because it's less readily pirateable and its NOT ON HONORCLUB #its being sold by some weird amazon distributor #they're legit i got a week long free trial a while back #but still why :( #jrestling #asks #thanks for the ask anon!! super fun #insufferable bird of paradise #long post #its so long im so sorry

[sillypinkboy]

Blood and Bruce

Characters; Bruce Banner, Jake Lockley, Joe Fixit

Word Count: 2.4k

Tagging: @goodoldfashionedengineer

Notes: this was supposed to end at 500 words. Anyway, Bruce Centric. POV's jump around a bit. Anything marked with a sun is a flashback, moon's are time skips. I'll probably write another chapter eventually. Enjoy!

──────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

"Are you fucking kidding me!" Jake slammed on the breaks.

A familiar body watched as the car slid forward and the window rolled down. Rock music poured out of the gaping hole.

"I just got this detailed, you ass. You better not think I’m letting you in here without a towel. These seats are leather, you know? You better not fucking stain them. Especially if that’s not - “

It wasn't Joe that stared back.

"I want to go home," the voice broke. Long arms wrapped around the body's torso.

The music quickly shut off.

"Get in. Don't worry about the car," the voice had softened.

Rusty eyes followed the body as it quickly pulled into the backseat. The brunette shook off his coat and handed it to the newest passenger.

He took it, taking a moment to decide to hang it over his shoulders. He curled into the still warm corduroy, trying to focus on anything but the metallic smell that coated him.

A beat of silence as the car pushed back into the road.

Jake rolled up the window. He waited for the other to decide it was time to talk, but soon realized that it wasn’t going to happen.

With a quick movement of his hand, the radio sparked back to life. It stayed quiet as he waited. And waited. And waited.

The car rolled to a stop as the light changed to red.

He sighed, "You got a name?"

The stranger stayed quiet for a moment.

The light changed to green.

"Bruce," he spoke into the cold glass of the window.

The car moved forward again.

“You know who’s blood that is, Bruce?” the brunette looked in the rearview window.

Bruce shook his head.

Jake nodded, “Do you know where you're staying?”

Again, the passenger shook his head.

“Okay. I do. Promise to get you there safe, okay? You going to be okay back there?”

There wasn’t a response.

Jake sighed and turned up the radio.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

The cab pulled into the motel’s parking lot.

The car’s motor hummed to a stop as Jake unbuckled his seat. He checked in the rearview mirror again, making sure Bruce was awake.

“We’re here,” he hummed, opening the back door.

Bruce blinked up at him.

“I’ll take you to your room. If you want me gone after that, just tell me, okay?” he holds a hand out for the other.

Bruce nodded, but didn’t move to grab the hand.

“I promise I don’t bite. I just want you to get yourself cleaned up,” he offered.

He hesitantly grabbed the hand and pulled himself out.

Jake quietly led the other to his room.

He watched as the anxious man flicked on the lights. For the first time, Jake clearly saw the sheer amount of blood. The red had dried mostly to a dark brown by now.

“What did you..” he mumbled, following Bruce in.

“Do- do we have clean clothes here?” he questioned picking at the flaking blood.

“Yeah, there’s some in the dresser. I’ll grab you something. Go clean up, yeah?” he answered.

Bruce nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. Jake heard the distinct click of the old lock before water started.

He dug through the unorganized drawers, trying to find some casual wear. He ended up setting aside some blue checked sweats and a white t-shirt he was pretty sure belonged to him.

The brunette sat on the old, creaky bed and waited for Bruce.

It took awhile for the blood to fully wash away. Bruce had managed to get almost everything off in the scolding shower. Now, he sat by the sink desperately trying to get rid of what blood was under his nails.

Not knowing how he got places had become a norm, but waking to your body covered in blood was always a bad thing. He had checked, and it seemed that it wasn’t theirs, which was only slightly less concerning.

Who had they killed? Why was he trusting this random cabbie to not tell the cops? Why had the cabbie known where he was supposed to be more than he did?

Bruce scrubbed harder.

The blood didn’t leave his nails.

Were they going to get caught? Were they going to have to run again? What had they gotten into?

Bruce bit back tears as panic built.

He continued to scrub.

And scrub.

And scrub.

A knock made him jump, and he felt his eyes burning.

“You okay in there, Bruce?” The cabbie’s voice was laced in concern.

“Y-yeah,” he managed, pulling the hands out of the stream of water.

He felt himself pull back when the cabbie spoke.

“No injuries you need patched?” he questioned, leaned against the door.

“I’m… I’m okay,” he pulled at the towel on his waist.

“Alright,” Bruce heard the weight lift off the door, “clothes are by the door. I’ll wait outside.”

Bruce nodded.

Jake closed the door behind him and leaned against the peeling paint of the walls. He sighed against the cold air and pulled out a pack of reds.

He slipped one in his mouth and lit it, taking a long drag. He blew out the smoke and watched it drift. He took another drag.

The door opened when he let go of the smoke.

“You alright?” he questioned, shaking out the cigarette.

Bruce nodded, “I think I’m just going to um- go to sleep.”

“You want me out?” Jake asked, dropping the smoke and crushing it under his boot.

Bruce nodded again.

“Alright. Call me in the morning, ‘kay? Try to rest up. See you around,” Jake gave a small smile.

He watched as Bruce shut the door, and headed to his car.

Sliding into the driver’s seat, Jake started the car. The engine hummed to life and the radio came back to a commercial from a detailing company.

Jake flipped the channel and pulled out of the green-lit parking lot.

Maybe another night, things would turn out fine.

Maybe.

He’ll call them in the morning, he decided on the way home.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

The morning came, and Bruce hadn’t called the mysterious cabbie. For one, he wasn’t even sure who he was supposed to call, and second, he was laying exhausted in a shitty bed trying to convince himself to turn on the news.

He knew nothing good was going to come from it. He knew, deep down, that he was going to have to leave again.

He wasn’t sure exactly where they were, but he was tired of running. They all were. At least, that’s what he had thought.

Bruce rolled over to pick up the ringing phone. The clock read 10:10.

He must have fallen asleep again.

“Hello?” Bruce mustered.

“Hey, Bruce, you doing okay?” It was the cabbie.

Bruce answered with a quick yes. He was ready to end it there, but remembered the news he slept through.

“Hey, did you catch the news?” he questioned, already feeling a knot form in his stomach.

“Only a bit. What’d you want to know?” Jake had a feeling he already knew.

“Was there anything about an um- attack?” He questioned.

“None that I saw. I’ll keep you posted,” he hummed in response, “You sure you’re holding up okay?”

Bruce didn’t answer. He sat the phone on the mattress next to him.

“Talk to me,” the cabbie filled in the void.

“I don’t know you,” Bruce answered.

The line fell silent.

“You’re right. Sorry, I’ll drop it. Get some rest,” the line went dead.

Bruce felt himself falling into a sleep.

⋆⁺₊⋆ 𖤓 ⋆⁺₊⋆

Joe stood outside in the empty parking lot. It was late, and the feeling of being watched ran down him like ants.

He checked to see who - or what - was following him. The dark wasn’t the best for it, and he knew he should keep walking.

He didn’t keep walking. He just waited to see whatever it was come closer.

Hands wrapped around what they could find in his pockets.

Gravel crunched under boots and he quickly turned towards the sound.

He couldn’t remember the faces, or the bodies. There were three others in the parking lot, but only one tried to move.

That was the first mistake that was made.

Joe knew how to fight. These guys? Not so much.

It was over quick.

Joe had ran off after, knowing better than to stick around a fight. Something warm ran down his face and arm. It seeped into his clothes, but he wasn’t exactly sure how much it was.

He stumbled, staying towards the darker parts of the street.

He, at this point, figured out it was blood that was sticking on him. The gore had ran down his face, making it to his mouth.

Copper had always been a familiar taste.

Something was different this time. Something pooled in his throat, and clouded his mind.

He lost balance.

The body slammed into the pavement, but he kept falling.

The world felt further away the longer he fell.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Bruce started shoving things into a suitcase when he woke up. He hadn’t heard anything, but knew he’d have to skip town.

He tucked their cash into his pocket, but not all of it. Just enough for some food and a bus ticket. The rest was at the bottom of the bag. His phone’s sound was on as he waited for any updates.

Nothing had come in yet, but he wanted to be ready.

He zipped up the suitcase, and his phone chimed.

A text.

It read, “Asked around, only person that knew anything was Crawley”

Bruce marked it as read. If one person knew, then word would spread.

He would leave as soon as the front office opened.

For now, he would shower and change.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

It took a total of twenty minutes for Bruce to pay for the room. Despite the front being opened, nobody was there. He was tempted to leave, but didn’t want to do so without paying.

When the person showed up, he had to argue about his room. But, now, he was sat in a mostly empty diner with a plate of eggs and a coffee. The food wasn’t the worst, and he was thankful for that.

Mentally, he was trying to figure out where to go next.

He knew the bus couldn’t take him too far from here, but he would make due. He wasn’t fully sure how far they had to get to be far enough away from the murder.

Bruce wasn’t sure if it was murder, but the blood told him it was. He accepted that he was a monster a long time ago, so it didn’t seem too far a leap.

He was wondering if he’d need to cross state borders when his phone went off again.

He moved to check it, pulling out the phone in a quick motion.

The cabbie - Jake, as Bruce recently learned - had sent him a link.

Bruce didn’t have to open it to know what it was about.

He left fifteen dollars on the table and left.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Joe had been sitting in Bruce’s dingy room for the past thirty minutes trying to find something to do.

What he had expected to find when starting the phone again was a few missed calls and notifications for overdue bills. What he hadn’t expected was six missed calls from Jake and twice the amount of messages.

What had they left him with? Something told him that his partner would be pissed if he called now. So, he decided to go hunt the town on his own. Something was bound to catch him.

He had made it to the shopping center when the phone rang. Joe checked the caller id - Jake was calling again. He answered, trying to sound casual.

“Heya, Sunshine,” He hummed, untucking part of his shirt.

“Where the hell have you been? I checked the motel and they said you left! I’ve been trying to call you for a week!” Joe listened to the frustration of the other.

At least he had an idea of how long he was out now.

“Ohio,” the was a pause, “Think somethin’ happened. Any clue?”

He listened to Jake take a deep breath.

“Are you guys okay?” the voice had softened from frustration to concern.

“If your askin’ if we’re in one piece, I think so,” the older man switched the phone over to his other ear.

Jake stayed silent, trying to figure out his next question.

“Sunshine, I promise we’re okay, yeah?” Joe walked into a random store.

“What happened?” he sighed, sitting down.

Joe pushed aside the shirts, looking through them with feigning interest, “Whatcha mean?”

“Whose blood was that?” He bit part of his check.

It was Joe’s turn to stay silent.

“Joey,” Jake tried.

“I‘unno know. It was dark,” he offered in response.

“Did you kill them?” He pushed further.

“I don’t remember,” Joe pushed aside more shirts, stopping to look at one.

“Joe. Please. I need to know,” desperation filled the voice.

“Why?”

“Because I’m worried.”

Silence fell between the two.

He moved to a different rack and started to dig.

“Don’t say that,” Joe focused on the sound of the hangers hitting each other.

“It’s true,” Jake continued.

Joe sighed, "Gotta go."

The line falls dead.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Bruce had found a mix of clothing styles on his bed the next time he entered the room. A majority of them seemed too nice for him to afford.

He sighed. Something he'd never understand was Joe's fascination with clothes.

He moved the clothes aside and flipped on the news. Unfortunately, the news was taking a lot of the scientist's attention right now. Nothing else had come up, which only left anxiety to build.

He wanted to believe they were safe now, he really did, but uncertainty left him paranoid.

Bruce wanted to keep moving. A week in one spot felt too long. They didn't have enough money to keep moving, especially after Joe's shopping trip.

He paced the small space.

Time felt still as the news anchor droned on.

Bruce tried to figure out what to do next. Would staying be that bad for now? He wasn't even sure what he was looking for.

Thousands of thoughts swirled together into an unintelligible mess.

Bruce eyed the clothes. Maybe it'd do them some good to get fresh air. Maybe he could think if they got out. Maybe he could figure out what's happening.

He hoped so at least.

#bruce banner #jake lockley #joe fixit #pink writes #long one boys