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howlingmoonrise · 4 years

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Thoughts on Petshop of Horrors: Wandering Ark volumes 1 & 2

(also on dreamwidth)

HOW did I manage to miss the translation of my long-awaited Papa D PSOH series?? I've been stalking it ever since I found the announcement and somehow the fact that @ruthlessnightsscans already put out the first two volumes completely went past my head.

Obviously I had to read it right away, sleep be damned.

this is the edited version of my brain thoughts after i managed to get two sleeps and calm down a bit or it would be a lot more incoherent

The art: the initial pages really remind me of the old art! Unfortunately it goes back to the roundness prevalent since the Shin series (which has only become even rounder with time) not long after. That art style is also a lot less dynamic than the original, I find. It's a bit of a problem on scenes that are supposed to have some tension caused by movement. This is nothing new since, like I said, Sensei has been using this art style since a good while ago. I really miss the original art though. It had a major nostalgia punch to it and a lot more feeling as well.

-- First chapter: "I am on a journey with no destination in mind" just say you're on vacation and go off I guess.

Papa is... weirdly easy-going. I want to say it's because he's not yet mad with grief and his son being taken away and so on, but the glimpses we saw at his time in university definitely didn't paint him this soft. There's no edge to him, on this volume or the next.

Regarding the story itself, I can't say I loved it but it’s not the worst out of all of them (there are four in total between these two volumes, and a third volume is on the way). I liked Koushun's character, but Seiyou annoyed me, especially when he presumed to know what she wanted (or perhaps he didn't presume, but decided for her what was better anyway) - something like I Shall Revive This Species So Breed In My Name Okay Bye. Note also that while Koushun was willing enough to marry (thinking she was marrying someone else but that's another point entirely), the groom himself came in chains. And then Seiyou... locks them in together? Great. Just great. Very conducive to a loving mood indeed, locking a woman with a potentially dangerous stranger who might cause her harm and telling them both to fuck (note. the. chains. you don’t put chains on someone you think is harmless; they never put any on Koushun even when she attacked Seiyou). I was afraid for her when it cut to another scene here, with the last we saw of her being pushed against a wall and being told by the groom that it seemed that he would have to make a child with her. "Rather than hate each other, I want to break that curse"? Seiyou, sweetie, that is NOT the way to make them not hate you. ((The reveal that Koushou is some sort of creature - very PSOH-y - does not help, since putting two wild animals together without them being used to each other is perhaps even more likely to them killing/harming one another.))

MAJOR little mermaid vibes on Koushun standing over a sleeping Seiyou with a knife.

There are quite some parallels with the D species on this tale of bloodshed and revenge. The Ds could stand to learn from this, though historically they don't. "Even if you kill the third prince, the Kagetsu people are already gone. They won't return." Papa himself says that 'winning on the last available tile' is a waste of time, which really resonates with his research into reviving lost species and the issues of his own kind. A reference to the health of descendants when no new blood is introduced is also made here, which might or might not point to our D depending on where in time this Papa is from.

Second chapter: it's... frankly, super choppy. The story is all over the place. On the author's note, Akino herself says that it's a challenge to put the whole life of that empress in 57 pages, and I have to agree. Either it should have been cut to the REALLY relevant parts and worked on them some more, or be discarded in its entirety. It's too rushed. The whole first part was unnecessary: it could have started with her already working at the palace or being chosen as a concubine, and then made references to her previous life in her thoughts instead of wasting several pages on it when that backstory won't be going anywhere (except for some references to Hakubun whom she sees on that other actor - who dies like, two or three pages later, so that's that on that). I do like Ranji herself as a character: she's clever and quick to pick up on things. Her life is just a series of tragedies one after the other, unfortunately.

Papa D is some sort of benevolent helper in this chapter for some reason - this pattern repeats somewhat on the next chapters, but on this one there isn't really anything to gain for him at all, other than perhaps his dubious acquaintance with one of the concubines/future empress, which wouldn't really hold much weight since he met her ?once? apart from near her death.

And then, somehow, the initial Papa D in this chapter was actually Sofu?

Sofu???? I'm calling bullshit. As far as we know - going back to Sofu's own series and flashbacks on the original PSOH, even - Sofu never had a hairstyle of that length, and out of our three known Ds (new!D excluded) he's the one least likely to help a human just because. The ark is also said to travel through space and time, so I'm saying that's Papa D and that's it. Fun aside: on this chapter, Papa says he's the "third generation", meaning that on this series he's probably the youngest existing D (and by inference our D does not exist yet).

Also, some issues with in-story continuity here: when the last emperor dies Ranji still looks fairly young and the emperor-to-be is three years old, a couple pages later she looks a lot more aged but the new emperor is still three years old. To be honest, I think the story would have been tied off much better if A-chan had some connection with Hakubun or the eunuch instead of each having their very brief, individual emotional connections to her - which, in turn, doesn't really make them memorable. The "wishes" thing was interesting, really called back to the old PSOH tradition with the mystical pets and bittersweet be-careful-what-you-wish-for endings.

Third chapter: I think, overall, this was probably the one I liked the best. Can't really bring myself to call it my favourite though, since none of them even begin to compare to the original PSOH chapters. I cackled at the "jawline is too sharp" dialogues and thoughts: with this art style EVERYONE has the same round jaw as every other character, and it's the furthest thing from "sharp" possible.

With this series it really seems like Sensei is giving more focus to trying to tell historically-accurate stories rather than focusing on the stories themselves, as there is a huge amount of superfluous historical information to be found in these volumes.

The empress Elizabeth reminds me of Sofu, in truth. She won't "mind" affairs and the like (read: she will hate it but ignore them) as long as it works towards her ends. Her taking away the newly-born child is a huge parallel to Sofu regarding both Papa and D, and D and new!D. Child-snatching FTW! That being said, I actually kind of liked her, ruthless as she was: the whole reason why Sophie made it as far as crown princess was because Elizabeth valued her hard work. You don't get to hold an empire together without having a steel spine and a cunning mind (or people to do the work for you I guess, but here it doesn’t seem to be the case).

I hate that Sophie had to change even her name and religion to fit her new reality, accurate as it is to history. That sort of thing always messes me up (throwback to the Nazi/teddy bear chapter of the original PSOH series, where there was also a name/religion change for the sake of survival). Not a reflection on the author in any way, I just hate that this is something people had to go through. As something I hated that kinda does reflect on the author, though, was the ugly = terrible association with Pyotr and the maid. Sophie/Catherine is initially said to not be beautiful but she's not depicted in the same way those two are at all.

Papa's benevolence is thankfully offset this chapter by the fact that he does have something to gain here. For some reason Ds doing things merely for the goodness of their hearts kind of rubs me the wrong way unless it's D during or post-Leon.

Most PSOH victims clients: oh a pretty person! WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S AN ANIMAL Sophie/Catherine: a dog you say? sounds kinda hot ngl

Gotta respect how she just jumps straight into the dog affairs. The take-back of the empire was also nicely executed, and I'm always here for ladies in traditionally male clothing.

Fourth chapter:

This is linked semi-directly to the third chapter by virtue of the amber room Papa D craved. Marks also the second time that Papa takes a human on board of the ark.

D, circa end of original PSOH, a single tear rolling down his cheek as he watches Leon plummet towards the earth: Humans have not earned the right to board this ark. Papa D: I'm gonna go for a joyride and take along this human and this human and this human and this human and--

Papa really gives Doctor Who vibes on the ark matter. Travelling through space and time, occasionally taking human companions? The one for this chapter - who I'm guessing might be a cameo from one of Sensei's other series, since I didn't recognize him and there was no backstory for him on the chapter - even has era-appropriate wardrobe changes (at least assuming it's the same person and not just someone who looks similar scratch that they have eyes of different colours so I guess Papa has been giving rides to delivery men now), the second of which leaving me very ??? as to WHEN he is from.

That last Look(TM) reminds me a of Leon Orcot, between the long ponytail and the clothes resembling the ones Leon wore on the last chapter of Shin PSOH (in PSOH time, that would have happened approximately 15 years after the end of the original series, meaning that Papa was already long dead then. Unless Leon's style was just stuck in time, which is also very possible).

It might or might not have endeared him to me for that exact reason. What can I say? I'm a sucker for Leon Orcot, and apparently also for characters that visually remind me of him. ANYWAY.

Why another Nazi-era chapter??? Sensei plz. One was already enough on the original PSOH - it wasn't anywhere near my favourites back then, either - and the fact that this one mostly followed a Nazi colonel didn't help either. Here we witness them tearing down the amber room, "reclaiming" art from all over the world, a father's heartbreaking sacrifice to “save” his daughter’s dog, and Papa D coming to meet the Nazi dude. One would expect the Ds to avoid genocidal racists given the fate of their own species, but apparently the Nazis were relevant enough for not one but TWO Ds to interact with them. Oh well. Either way, I really don't like how Papa appears to not care one way or another - when the D for the original series interacted with people he didn't like, his mask was really fairly obvious (at least for the reader). Perhaps Papa simply has a better mask. Perhaps those nuances were lost to time and round art styles. Perhaps Papa or Sensei just don't give two shits. Guess we'll never know.

EVERYONE seems to comment on the flavour of Papa's tea: it's 4 out of 4 so far for these two volumes, and in this chapter in particular it seems as if it's laced with some kind of truth serum - it seems to be Papa's version of D's (and possibly Sofu's?) incense from the original PSOH. A reference to the original PSOH's Nazi chapter is also made here, with Papa mentioning that Sofu was on friendly terms with Eva Braun: this implicates that in this time they were in closer contact (not surprising since Sofu probably hasn't stolen his still-non-existent kid yet).

The colonel seems to value art over human life - surprise surprise! - so he kills his own comrades to keep the art "safe". A stomach-turning moment comes where they find human golden teeth being kept as treasure, which Papa mentions remelting to turn into golden nuggets. Why, Papa/Sensei, why? It's in poor taste, even if you're testing the colonel the way D did with some of his clients on original PSOH.

At the very least an eerie moment comes next where Papa explains that dead creatures can be revived using DNA. "Even dead people?" Cue Papa's all-seeing stare directly into the reader's eyes (and presumably the colonel's as well) with a backdrop of an inverted black-and-white multitude of graves as he says that future is not very far. Colonel almost shits his pants, with reason when you consider the amount of people the Nazis killed off that would presumably come after them. This almost forgives the teeth comment, and it's probably the first moment in these two volumes when we see some genuine emotion on Papa's face (on this page and the next), creepy and maniac as it might be.

Colonel dude has spent the whole chapter justifying everything under "orders of the fuhrer" so far. Then comes the moment that Papa calls him out by saying that the orders were to burn his sweet dear art so that it wouldn't fall into enemy's hands, and it's here that we see how much of an hypocrite the colonel is when he doesn't want to follow those orders. Suddenly it's "treasures of mankind" (even though he's been stealing them left and right) and the fuhrer is "a fool" (even though he's been using his orders and his "greatness" as justification for everything).

Suddenly, Papa's companion! Who the heck is that! Shoots him! This is someone whose family was killed by the colonel (directly or under his orders) or so he says; he's gripping a piece of art we don't get to see, which is presumably the reason for those deaths. Now in the future! A guy who looks a bit like that other man who shot the colonel, but who I'm not 100% sure if it is or is not the same person because the round art style makes everyone look alike Someone who is definitely not the same guy because his eye colour is different (and who's dressed in a sporty outfit with a long ponytail, which I've mentioned kinda reminds me of Leon) looks for the amber in the place the art was stored, alongside Papa. He flies on the ark (all these humans on the ark, Sofu would have a conniption!) and reminds me of Leon once more while being shouty and holding on to the main mast for dear life.

The sacrificial father mini-plot also gets resolved with the dog returning (but not the father himself) along with a picture with that family. Which is presumably the picture the other dude who shot the colonel was holding, which begs the question: how is he related to them? He doesn't look like any of them, but he did say the colonel killed his family while (presumably) holding that same picture, so hmmm. Maybe he's the dog, colour-scheme aside? But apart from the father, the rest of the family seems to have survived, so it's kind of a strange thing to say since that sort of wording usually means more than one person. Even if he is the dog (my money is on that option), it's not exactly obvious to a reader who's not looking very closely. Some loose ends there, or at least ends that don't really look like they're tied together at all.

"No matter how long winter is, spring will come." Fairly hopeful final words there, Papa D. These echo similar ones spoken by D at the end of Shin PSOH, after running from Leon once more ("someday, the season for returning will come"): perhaps both these Ds are not as pessimistic as to their future, at least at this point? Poor Papa definitely had a change of heart between his series and the ending of original PSOH, unfortunately.

General thoughts: Sensei hasn't quite managed to replicate the feeling of the original PSOH just yet. The storytelling feels a bit shallow and rushed, though the pacing improved from the first volume to the second. There's also very little focus on Papa himself for some reason: he's more of a background character on his own series except for the fourth chapter, which is a very strange narrative choice. In part this might also be because he doesn’t have a permanent companion to discuss/argue with like in previous iterations of the PSOH series. I wonder if the third volume will continue on this trend? I wish it’d delve a bit more into Papa, but either way it’s still nice to get some more PSOH content.

I've heard Vesca will make an appearance next volume, I'm so excited!! Out of Shin PSOH, my favourite chapters were Leon's (surprise surprise!) and the ones with Papa and Vesca on their university days. Papa definitely seemed a lot sharper there, which I miss here - I feel like Sensei has been smoothing out all their edges like with the art style lmao, and in turn it makes them feel a bit lacking since the Ds are not meant to be bland and forgiving and easy-going, at least as per their original portrayal. I've also seen sneak-peaks of Leon and D from author notes of the next volume so I can't wait at the chance to weep at the slightest panel of my son Leon.

A final shoutout to RNS for continuing the PSOH translations! I really can't thank them enough!!

#PetShop of Horrors #pet shop of horrors #psoh #hyouhaku no hakobune hen #papa d #wandering ark #psoh wandering ark #psoh ark adrift #petshop of horrors hyouhaku #howl rambles a lot

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hs-devote · 4 years

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8. T R O U B L E I N P A R A D I S E

Moodboard // Content // Masterlist

Disclaimer:

All characters and situation in this story are fictitious. Resemblance to any person living or dead is only God knows.

Previous chapter :

Y/N cried out of the how fast he rocked her, the way he slammed back and forth made her wanted to pass out anytime. Before Harry got the chance, he slid out of her on time – seeing his thick cum squirted from his tip all over her and him. Slowly, he lowered Y/N legs, quickly support her body because he knew how weak her legs were.

8. TROUBLE IN PARADISE

They both roamed each other body with a foamy bath sponge softly after the sex they had earlier. Harry was laughing when Y/N seductively rubbed his shoulder blades, down to his chest, and ended in his tummy. However, he quickly warned her if she didn't want to get another trembling leg. He could fuck her right here, right now – if she couldn't keep her hands. She immediately took the note and began to wash his hair. Being the cheeky man he was, Harry stole kisses here and there when she was brushing his wet hair out of his eyes.

After finished their shower, Harry carried her out to the en-suite. Plopped her down onto the small chair in front of the massive mirror, he gave her her bathrobe and towel to dry herself.

“Do you want me to bring your clothes, sweetheart?” he asked while tying his bathrobe strap. Y/N shook her head, “I'll take them myself, but thank you.”

“Oh, your legs aren't trembling anymore?”

“It's a little sore but it's okay, I can bear the pain.”

“It seems I failed to make you unable to walk, didn't I?”

“Harry!” her face hot in embarrassment, she rubbed her face to ease the feeling. Harry just shook his head before heading out to get dressed.

After she got to dress up and dried her hair, Y/N walked to the living room. Her eyes found Harry who was working on his laptop. From the way he furrowed his eyebrows, something wrong came up and he didn't like it. She sauntered to him and stood behind his back. Her hand started to rub his shoulder and gave him a massage to ease his stress, tense muscle.

“What's wrong? Your muscle is so tense.” She questioned, hands squeezing his sore spot.

“Brendan from Finance department send me the trimester report. I don't know if he messed up the number or... there's a possibility of financial abuse in the company.” He sighed, eyes up and down the Excel on his screen.

“Trimester? It's only early December. They won't be due until mid- January, right?” Y/N asked in confusion, her palm still massaging his shoulder.

“It's July – September reports actually, they were late sending in October because their reports weren't matching.”

“How many?”

“Around £15,000.”

"Holy shit." She whispered –couldn't help her surprise.

“I just hope my eyes were playing tricks on me or he messed up the number.” He said, “Remind me on Monday to call him to my office, yeah?”

“Will do, Mr Styles.”

“Heyy..” He whined, putting his laptop aside. His hand grasped her hips so she could sit on his lap, “What was that?”

She shrugged, pinching his nose playfully, “You give me command of work.”

“Anyway, why wouldn't we shop for Christmas? I mean.. your house needs some Christmas joy.” She added, her eyes glancing around his interior.

“All right, let me grab my keys.” He smiled, kissing her cheek before standing up. . . . .

Monday came faster than she thought. When her legs carrying her to her building, she saw some workers were putting up Christmas decoration. She smiled, feeling the excitement over the holy day. Her Christmas decoration shopping with Harry a few days ago led them buying a new Christmas tree, which somewhat bigger than Harry had. Although they know they wouldn't celebrate the eve together, Harry couldn't resist the puppy eyes she gave when she asked him to buy the tree.

While she stepped out from the lift into her floor, it was like she's the one arrive first. She knew Harry would come late since he had a meeting outside the office, and Madeleine always came later than her.

A few months of being in a relationship, they both agreed to keep their relationship hidden from the employees. Y/N hadn't ready for the whole company to know about them. So, they kept it as a secret and private.

Harry came to his office by one in the afternoon and asked Brendan's presence immediately. Now, Harry was seeing him and his co-worker. She could see them through the glass that separated their office. His body leaned back, both of hands on his stomach. From the look on his eyes, Y/N was sure he was feeling disappointed yet a slight relieve. Not long after, he dismissed their presence. She grabbed her phone, quickly send him a short message.

“Good news?” Her phone buzzed, Harry instantly replied to her text.

“They messed up the number, no money was abused. They bring an audit report to prove. But I was upset because they did twice the same mistakes.”

“That's a relief then.”

“Fancy lunch together? I heard Marriot have a new menu. A friend of mine told me that it's recommended. I won't take a no, meet me in the lobby in 15.”

Y/N rolled her eyes, that was one of Harry's habit. Forced something. When her eyes switched look to his office, she saw Harry winking at her before taking his key car and head out.

. . . .

“Hello, darling.” Harry happily kissed her cheek, “What are you doing?”

When he came home, he couldn't find Y/N anywhere. He was a little panicked, but he could breathe relief when he saw her sitting on the balcony. Her hair was in a high bun, legs folded together with eyes glued to her laptop screen.

“I'm looking for a gym nearby. I haven't exercised in a long time since I moved here.” She huffed, “I feel my body has started to feel not good.”

“Why didn't you come to my place? I think you can start today if you want.”

Y/N stopped her typing finger, head tilted to look at him. “Are you sure? Don't I have to register as a member first?”

“I know the owner, so it can be arranged.” He answered, “If you want, I'll leave in thirty minutes.”

“Didn't you just had run earlier?” Y/N closed her laptop down, interlocking her fingers.

“I have to keep my shape, baby. Running isn't enough.” He cackled, “Let's get ready.”

Y/N squealed after Harry left her. Since the early morning, she was looking for a suitable gym place for her. Yet, she was confused to choose since all of them had a good review. At least if she went to the same gym as Harry, she would have a companion in there.

She met Harry exactly thirty minutes later, her black Nike's sports bra with matching leggings. Her duffel bag clinging to her shoulder, hair tied in a ponytail. Harry stared dumbfounded at her, eyeing her up and down.

“You’re wearing that?” Harry asked, pointing at her normal outfit for a workout.

“I am.” She wagged her head, “And so are you.”

Y/N back pointed at his clothes. He just wore a plain black shirt and shorts, his red headband wrapped around his head. His duffel was sitting next to him. Harry cackled at her innocence, his girlfriend didn't catch what he meant.

“I mean, you don't wear any cover-up.”

She arched her eyebrows together, a little confused with his words. “Because we're going to the gym?”

Harry scratched his neck, a bit uncomfortable to talk about this. To be honest, he was also baffled why he felt like this. Imagining her body being an object to stare for people out there made him uncomfortable. Yes, Harry knew they were going to the gym and it was fair for her to dress like that. He just didn't like sharing what he had with others.

“I just a little uncomfortable thinking people will stare at your body.” He murmured nervously, “I don't like sharing what I have with people.”

Now, it was Y/N turn to look at him bewildered. She didn't mishear, did she?

“Oh, Harry.” She cooed, laughing a little. Her hand adjusted her duffel strap on her shoulder, “I bring a jacket. Don't worry. Need I to wear them now?”

“No, it's fine. I know I was being ridiculous.” He scratched his nose, “C'mon let's go.” His gym was only twenty minutes drive. When Harry opened the gym door for her, not many people were exercising here. He was then greeted by an older man, they both looked close to the way talked to each other.

“Matt, this is Y/N, my girlfriend. Darling, this is my personal trainer, Matt.” Harry introduced them. Y/N held her hand out, being polite to Harry's friend. Working with him made her more often shaking hands at the first introduction. Before, she just waved or nodded her head.

“Hello. Nice to meet a girl that Harry always talked about.” Matt smiled, shaking her hand.

"Okay then. I will meet you later, Matt. I have to register Y/N first."

Matt nodded, “Sure. I'll wait for you at the back.”

After Matt left them alone, Harry escorted her to the desk, registered Y/N in membership and took her schedule together so her session would match with him. Y/N got her trainer right away, a bulky man with black jet hair. He looked intimidating but once he gave them a polite smile, Y/N believed he wasn't scary.

Aldo, his name, led her to her first session right away – leaving Harry who was staring at him with the slackened jaw. He was mad. Not with Y/N, but to Aldo who didn't speak any word dragging his girlfriend away.

Since it was her first time to back at the gym, Y/N did everything from the start. Aldo taught her with so much patience, yet he was a funny person. Her session was only about an hour and a half but delayed to two hours because they talked more than exercising.

He instantly became her friend. They were talked about each other life, with sometimes Aldo talked about Harry and his exercise.

"He's a little... peculiar." He said, looking at Y/N who was now wiping her sweat off her neck. "You see he's not bulky like any other Matt's clients. He can do more than any of professional athlete Matt trained if I could say that."

“Really?” Y/N looked interested, her eyes looked down at Aldo who was sat on an exercise ball.

“He always trains very hard, very determined. He did every gym equipment he could. Not surprising if he could pull more than 500 pounds on a rope only with his upper body.”

500 pounds?! Holy shit. Not surprised he was also strong in bed. - Her inner goddess patted her cheek

“He's very good at everything. That's why most male in here kinda hate him for that.” Aldo added, shrugging his shoulder. “He also does boxing.”

Yes, Aldo... He was indeed very good in bed too...

“I can also say he's stronger than any bodybuilders who trained here.”

“You're talking about bodybuilder, I can imagine if he's more muscular than he's now. But, I can't..” Y/N cringed, “He's in his perfect shape.”

“I agree. I can't imagine if he's bulkier than he's now.” Aldo bowed his head, “I believe he's boxing right now. Want me to escort you there? Your session is over for today.”

“Sure.”

Aldo walked Y/N to the private area in the gym. Mostly used for famous people to do their workout without being worried to get stalked or bothered by fans in any chance. From a distance, Y/N could spot Harry was standing on the ring. He wore headgear, his hands covered by boxing gloves, his upper body was naked and he had exchanged his shorts to red boxer shorts. He had complete boxing equipment all over his body. Matt was standing next to the ring, eyes stared at Harry and his opponent.

"That's Ben who's standing in front of him, his boxing trainer." Aldo said, "Both Matt and Ben work hard together to train him."

Y/N ignored Aldo's words, focusing only on Harry. His movements were fast enough to avoid Ben. His fist swung strongly as Ben ordered him to. Her eyes raked him up and down, his glistening sweat on his shoulder and torso did something to her. She was hot, and now seeing Harry like that, she felt even hotter. All she could do now was.. drooling over him.

She clenched her thighs together when Harry spun around, his back now facing her. The way his back muscles made an appearance, made her sucked her breath. She didn't know Aldo giggled at her.

“Yeah, I know your boyfriend is hot as fuck but don't ogle him like that.” He laughed before leaving her alone – letting her mind wandered about Harry's body.

“Darling? Hey!” Harry nudged her shoulder, landing a kiss on her cheek when Y/N completely ignored him. Her stares were blank, and that made Harry worry a little. He was aware of her arrival when he was in the ring. He felt weird when she didn't sit in the chair nearby until he was finished. He was up in there quite long.

“Are you okay? Don't make me worry.” He hummed, rubbed her shoulder. Y/N startled, blinking her eyes like she had just woken up.

“I'm sorry I was spacing out.” She sighed, “I'm okay.”

“How was your train? Is it good to be back at the gym?” he asked, guide her out from the open space. He didn't wear his boxing equipment anymore, yet still bare-chested.

“Mhm. It was good. My body feels lighter now.” She nodded.

“Yeah? Good then.” He paused, “How's Aldo? I saw him is too good to you.”

“Really?” Y/N laughed, knowing very well which way this question is lead to. “You don't have to be jealous, H. He's gay if you want to know.”

Harry stunned a little, didn't expect for that. He felt embarrassed that Y/N could guess what was thinking about her new personal trainer. And that was new for him to know Aldo wasn't into girls.

“He's nice. We got along very well. He said he's jealous at the moment he knew that I'm your girlfriend.” She giggled, “He thought you're gay since you had never been seen with a girl before.”

“So, he thought he had a chance with me?” he asked, “I didn't know that he's gay.”

“Exactly.”

“Not good for him since I'm into girls.” He rolled his eyes, “But I hope he finds his right man, then.”

"Speaking of that, I didn't know you're into boxing too?”

"Eh, I did it ever since I went to college in States. And I've become used to it." Harry shrugged, "Other than helping me in my self-defence, sometimes it can be an impingement."

"An impingement?" she didn't like how it sounds. But, she couldn't throw any judgement yet.

“Not in a bad way, of course.” He assured her. His smile wasn't really convincing but he tried to cover it up.

“Well then. Do you want to take a shower here or at your house?” Y/N inquired once they were in the reception room. Her body was sticky yet she doubted Harry would take shower here. It was a public shower and she knew Harry very well; he loved his privacy.

“Eh, just want to wash my face then we get back home. I don't like taking a shower here. Is it all right?”

Y/N nodded, “Fine. I can wait to take a shower but face wash can't. I'll join you.” . . . .

As she said to Abbie before, Y/N would spend Christmas in Swansea while Harry back to Manchester. Both of them agreed to celebrate Christmas with their own family first and having quality time together later in New Year. She had been home for four days and would back to London on 28th, before heading to Italy.

It might sound odd they would be on a beachside on at the end of December while the coast was best visited on the summer. It was still better than having a holiday in a place covered in snow.

Y/N wake up from the noise downstairs. She looked at her phone, only showing 7.00 am on December 25th. It's Christmas morning.

She stretched her stiff muscles before shoving her blanket away and hurried to the bathroom with eyes half-closed. She cursed herself for splashing the water to her face, making her eyes wide open and flinched from the coldness. She peered out, looking at how the snow covered her yard made her think snow was falling heavily last night. Her window's glass was also dewy and very cold. Lucky for her, she didn't forget to turn on the heater last night. If else, she would wake up with frozen body or die because of hypothermia.

Her mother, father, and brother were gathering around in front of the blazing fireplace when she jogged downstairs. Their Christmas tree stood tall in the corner with some presents neatly arranged underneath. She was a bit feeling weird with her family's Christmas tree. If people out there use the usual green Christmas tree, her mother preferred to use a white one. Maybe it would look more beautiful considering their family room was dominated by dark colours. At least, it would make the tree stand out.

“Good morning, pet! Come take a seat. Do you wanna eat your breakfast or open the presents first?” Brenda tapped the empty seat next to her. “I made Casserole and French Toast.”

“I'll eat them later, we can open the presents first. But, Happy Christmas guys.”

“Happy Christmas!”

“All right then. I’ll open my presents first. ” Brenda took her present first, bring it to the couch. She was smile when she tore the paper – revealing a brand new robot vacuum.

“That's from me, mum.” Connor smile, “I think it would be helpful for you.”

“Thank you, darling.” She beamed. Then, her hands grabbed the red one which was from her husband, because it was written clearly with for my wife. She giggled when opened the box, finding some scented diffuser, a scented candle, and new bathrobe.

“And what did you get me, pet?” Brenda asked her daughter with a smile after thanked her husband. Y/N picked her present to her mother, “You have to find out.”

Y/N got her mother a leather wallet, some facial skincare, and Tesco vouchers. She also got a watch and sunglasses for her father, and an espresso coffee machine for Connor. Connor himself got her some scarves and bath bombs gift set, and baseball set for their father.

“All right, the last one.” Y/N said while picking the present from their parents. Both of them got her their family photograph, journal and some pens, passport cover, and two knit sweaters.

“That's better than me.” Connor whined, “I got mug set and Roastworks espresso!”

“Shush! That espresso suitable for the machine you've got.” Their father, Calvin, pushed his son shoulder playfully.

"Thank you, guys. I love it." Y/N smiled.

"Oh, I forget something! Let me get it for you." Brenda squeaked, rose from her spot. Her body bent down behind the tree, picking up the hidden present. Y/N didn't see that when she placed the presents last night. When her mother put that down?

“This is from Harry.” Brenda put it down her lap, “He asked me to not to tell you and give this in the end.”

“What is it?” Y/N lifted the box, shaking it gently. “When he gave this to you?”

“A courier delivered it a few days back. Harry called before and asked me to keep this secret.”

"So, this Harry is.. Harry as your boyfriend?" Connor questioned, looking at the package with a curious look. From the way the box looked, he could call it some expensive items.

“Of course! He's the sweetest young man I've ever met.” Brenda giggled, “He's even more handsome than your father when he was young.”

“You already met him, mum?” he demanded with wide eyes, then looking at Y/N. “And you haven't brought him to me?”

“Let me tell you something, Connor. When I came home from Bergen that day, your mum was smiling like crazy. Then I asked why. She only answered that she had met Y/N's boyfriend.” Calvin shook his head, “Well, I'm being more curious right now. My wife looks very awe-struck by him!”

"Okay guys, calm down. I'll bring him home if I have the chance. After all, our relationship had only been a few months.” Y/N sighed, “Can I open this box, please?”

“Go on, pet. Don't ruin the box, it looks nice.” Calvin smiled, pointing at the shimmering red box. Slowly, Y/N untied the golden ribbon. Her heart skipped a beat as her fingers began to lift the lid, excited to find out what inside. She picked the lid carefully, and place it next to her. Her eyes widened when her eyes found something in there.

“What is it?” her mother asked. Seeing her daughter's face, she didn't know if it's a good thing or not. Y/N took a poetry book and some scrunchies out from the box. Connor was laughing when he watched his sister stretching the scrunchies, “That's cute honestly.”

She ignored him, her hands turned to another box inside. It was a small package with a familiar colour of blue. She took the small box that written Tiffany & Co. in the centre and untied the white ribbon. She gasped quietly when she flicked the lid.

There was a diamond necklace resting in all its glory, the blinding white sparkle made her eyes could sweat in any moment. This was the most beautiful jewellery she ever saw. Her mother shot a quick look, before covering her mouth with her palm, “Oh my god, that's so beautiful!”

The necklace was around 17 inches long and engraved beautifully with little diamonds. Her hand lifted it – looking at the gem under the lights made it reflect elegant sparkles. She overwhelmed, couldn't believe Harry gave her such beautiful and breathtaking thing like this. She bet this beauty cost a fortune. It was Tiffany & Co. after all.

“Your boyfriend is fucking rich if he could afford that shit.” Connor mumbled, “Go call him. Say thanks and wish him a Happy Christmas.”

Y/N exhaled, nodding in agreement. She put the necklace back to its box, taking it with her. Before she went back to her room – to call Harry, of course, she grabbed her breakfast so she could eat them upstairs. She dialled Harry's number right after she got her bedroom, quickly put her AirPods on before he picked up her call.

“Hi, darling.”

"Harry.." She breathed, hearing his voice made her heart about to explode due to missing him so much. But, she must be patient, a few more days until they meet and spend time together.

“Happy Christmas, sweetheart. How's your Christmas, baby?” Y/N could tell Harry was smiling even she couldn't see him. His voice sounded happy.

“Happy Christmas, H. Mine is amazing, like usual. How about you?”

“Better, because I have a girlfriend to call for Christmas.” Harry sighed happily, "Thank you for the present, I love it."

“About that, thank you for the poetry book and those cute scrunchies. But the necklace? That's too much, H.”

“Oh, you didn't like it, did you?” his voice toned upset, Y/N quickly denied it. "No, I love it, baby. But I didn't think it was jewellery. I only got you a tie bar, some ties, belt, and a slipper for fuck sake.” She sighed, “I feel like my presents are worthless."

“It's okay, darling. You deserve it. And no, your present as valuable as mine. I love the fluffy slippers, that's very thoughtful of you."

“Mhm, I remember one day you said sometimes your feet hurt when you step on the cold floor too much.”

“Perks of being old, I guess.” He laughed. She could hear a shuffling sound behind him and Anne's voice in the background.

“All right, I have to hang up. Tell your mum and Clementia I wish them a Happy Christmas. And, thank you very much for the present.”

“Okay, send my hello to your family as well. Bye, darling.”

“Bye, H.” Y/N hung up the call with a smile on her lips. She opened the box again, admiring the diamond twinkle while scooping her breakfast.

. . . .

Gatwick Airport this afternoon more crowded than usually do. Due to holiday season, every traveller was in and out to spend their time wherever they heart desire. Their flight would board two hours from now, and Y/N just arrived with her small backpack and big suitcase. She and Harry would stay at a private villa in Sorrento, their flight would take them to Naples first before taking a car ride to where they stay. Again, she had no idea why Harry chose Italy for their seven days holiday. But to be honest, Sorrento was one of her bucket lists – well she believed Harry didn't know about it. She had never told him about that after all.

The necklace rested around her neck and she proudly wore it. Not only wanted to make Harry feel appreciated for his present, but her eyes also couldn't take her eyes off from the necklace. It was too pretty to ignore.

Y/N waited in terminal entrance since Harry was the one who holding their ticket, she couldn't check themselves in yet.

From afar, she spotted Harry was walking casually with a holdall clung in his shoulder while the other hand pulled a medium-sized suitcase. He wore a plain black shirt, along with a white line printed loose trousers. For a moment Y/N didn't recognise him when he came over, his stubble was gone. He looked younger.

“Hi, darling. Waiting too long?” he smiled before leaned in, gave a quick peck on her lips. Y/N shook her head, “No, I arrived like.. ten minutes ago.”

“C'mon, let get us check-in.” He said and walked her to the check-in counter. The staff welcomed them kindly. When she asked for their tickets, Harry asked Y/N to help get his phone in his pocket and open the airline's application. She gave her his phone along with their passports.

After checking their tickets, the staff asked them again for their baggage and prohibited items if there was one.

"All right, Mr Styles and Ms Y/L/N. This is your passports and boarding passes. Your seats are 1A and 1C. Your gate is A12, and the gate will close at 12.10. You can enjoy our lounge while you waiting for boarding time. Thank you and enjoy your flight." She smiled before gave the pass to them.

“I didn't know we'll flying Business today.” Y/N hummed, her left hand locked to Harry's while the right one holding the pass, looking at it with sometimes her eyes looking for where the lounge was.

Harry shrugged, his thumb rubbing hers. “If I tell you, you would try to prevent me booked the Business class.”

“The necklace looks good on you.” He added, looking down at her.

“Thank you. It's really beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you.” He winked.

After his eyes found the lounge, Harry pulled her hands in the right direction, where the lounge at. He kind of forgot where it was since he usually flying private with, of course, his private jet. This time, he didn't use his jet because he would know her reaction if she found out.

The lounge wasn't too full of travellers, so they could enjoy a little time more before boarding to the plane. While Harry was working with his iPad, Y/N continued reading the poetry book given from him. Being the sweetheart he was, Harry took some complimentary snacks and drinks for her. Y/N gave him quick thanks and kiss on his cheek, yet still occupied with the book.

“Is the book that good? Since you ignore my presence.” He asked, didn't mean to insult her, just teasing his girlfriend because she was busy reading. She didn't realise they would be boarding soon.

"No.. no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you." She answered, closing her book and grabbed his face with both her hands, giving him a quick kiss on the corner of his lips. "But yeah, this is good. How could you know such a good book?"

“I have a copy in the office. I like this book so, I thought you would like it too.” Harry patted her hands which still holding his face, “Let's go, boarding gate will open in five minutes.”

"I forget to compliments your clean face, when did you shave?" Y/N asked while walking hand in hand with Harry. Both of them didn't need to hurry since they would have priority gate.

“On Christmas Eve. Mum said it tickles her every time I leaned back to kiss her cheek.” He lowly said, “Is it look good? Which one do you prefer? Beard or clean?”

“Stubble is okay, just don't let it cover your entire face.” She laughed, “But a little hair on there does a bit favour on me."

Harry raised an eyebrow, looking at her with a teasing look. He knew what she meant, “Especially if it could tickle your thighs, yeah?”

“Harry..” Y/N rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

When they arrived at the boarding gate, they were welcomed by the staff and used the priority lane to get to the plane without having to queue.

The flight took two hours and a half in the air before landing at Naples airport. Most of the time Y/N spent with sleeping due to Harry loved to stroking her hair, made her feel sleepy. It was like his hands had magic to make her fall asleep right away. He sometimes woke her up if the flight attendant came to serve their meals.

They were greeted by a butler service when both of them arrived the arrival hall, the driver was holding a sign with Harry's name written on there. Harry bid him hello and spoke to him in Italian, which Y/N didn't understand.

Along the ride, Y/N mostly look out to the view from her window. Her eyes looked at the beautiful Sorrento night light, the tourists were out enjoying the festive. Her eyes lighted up when the car passed by a massive Christmas tree in a roundabout, before moving to a secluded area.

The car stopped in front of a beautiful villa, Y/N climbed out first and look at her surrounding. She could hear the waves from afar as the strong winds hit her body. She didn't realise that her and Harry's luggage were at the door already, the car that drove them had disappeared. Guess she was enjoying the bliss too much.

"Welcome to our villa for the next seven days." Harry said, opening the door. He took his luggage while Y/N took hers. Their villa was huge, modern yet still friendly with a little Italian traditionalism. The interior was dominated by white, but the other two bedrooms had the calming blue colour painted across the wall. They put their belongings on the master bedroom that have access to the terrace overlooking the sea. The terrace was long wide from side to side the villa. Grey chairs sprawled every here and there. Small stairs were leading to the small yard with sunbathing chairs on the edge to the infinity pool. On the very right side, there was a small private garden with a wooden fence, a perfect place to looking at the ocean. Next to them were the stone steps leading to the beach.

Back inside, she wandered around the spacious kitchen and dining room. This villa had at least four bedrooms and two living rooms. She was sure this place could accommodate at least ten people.

“This is so nice, Harry. I can't wait for morning come so I can see this place better, I bet the daylight view would be amazing.” Y/N beamed, plopping her bum down the couch.

"I'm glad you love it, darling." He joined next to her, bringing her closer so he could kiss her. "The food will come in about half an hour, I ordered from a restaurant not far from here. I think you're tired so it's better we're not coming out tonight."

Y/N lifted her head, looking at him in such awe. "Thank you for all of this." She pulled his face closer, just for giving him a big kiss. . . . .

The very first days in Sorrento, they were spending by walking along the beach – splashing the water here and there even though the temperature was cold, tasting local foods in a small restaurant that had an incredible view to the sea where it hung on the cliffs. Harry even rented a convertible car for their transportation during the holiday. One of her favourites was when they visit the Piazza Tasso, the streets were lit with fairy lights and towering evergreens were decorated in the centre. Good things they came here in winter, Sorrento in December was exceptional.

Apart from the touristy activities they did, they also spent the day with sex. A lot of sex.

She could even forget how many rounds to go in a day... Her inner goddess gagged.

Harry was nowhere when Y/N walked into the villa for groceries shopping, they decided to have a barbecue for New Year tonight.

It was just three in the afternoon, where he could be?

Yet, she could hear the sound of water waves coming from the back of their villa. She found Harry was swimming, didn't aware she was watching. She had no idea why Harry swam in such cold weather outside.

"Oh, hey baby." Harry smiled, realising his girlfriend already back – watching him from the terrace chair. He stood up with his back to the sea. His hair was wet, the water droplet slid from his face to his neck, then to the chest. The sight made Y/N gulped, he was looking so freaking attractive.

“Are you not cold? The wind is pretty strong.” She asked.

“The pool has a heater, luckily. So, now I feel cold from head to chest, and the rest down I feel warm.”

Y/N didn't pay attention to what he said, her hearing was fazed while she eyed up and down Harry's bare chest. How wet his shoulder until chest, to how the water swallowed down the rest of his body. He might feel warm, but the way his lips trembled slightly indicate how cold the wind hit his body.

She woke up from her daydream when Harry asked her to join him in the pool. She felt unsure at the beginning, but screw it – she couldn't resist him any longer. Harry shook his head when his girlfriend walked inside to change, he didn't expect her to bring a swimsuit. She jumped into the pool with only bra and underwear, it was more than enough.

Harry returned to dive to the bottom of the pool, enjoying the warmth of the water. He was good at holding his breath, he didn't need to go the surface once in a while to inhale. But every time his hand was crawling forward, something bothered him. The more he tried to ignore it, the sound became clearer in his ears.

A sound.

A voice.

How could he hear a voice underwater?

“I've let you too long”

“I'm stronger than you, Harry.”

“You're too weak.”

“Pathetic..”

He was gasping for breath when his head out to the surface. He rubbed his wet face, the voice was too annoying to ignore.

That voice belongs to Marcel.

No, Harry couldn't let him ruin his holiday. Squinting his eyes, Harry shook his head. He should remove the voice from his head, immediately.

Harry snapped his head up when hearing footsteps from the inside, only for seeing Y/N walked to him in her neon lime bikini. He watched her slowly dip her body down the water. Her eyebrows furrowed, but once the water swallowed her body up to her collarbone, he could see a look of relief drawn on her face.

“I see you've came prepared.” He smirked, a smug grin plastered on his face while his girlfriend stepping slowly to him. Y/N ignored his statement, once she was in front of him, she brought her hands around his neck.

“I guess it was tucked below my folded underwears. So, it's luck for you.” She hummed, biting her lips. Her full eyes looked at him like he was the only addiction in the world. Her gaze was so adoring, innocent, yet seductive.

Harry stunned, this girl was definitely teasing him. He better played along.

“That's a shame.” He frowned, his hands stroking her thighs to made them wrap around his waist. “If you didn't bring any, you could wear those sexy bras and knickers. Or.. naked is more exciting you know?”

“Is that a challenge?” she pouted her lips, her index finger delicately stroking his swallows' tattoos. She liked this, she was glad the way Harry played along.

“Anything with you is a challenge, sweetheart.”

Y/N gasped of Harry sudden move, he dragged them underwater in one pull. She couldn't complain since Harry was already kissing her, his hands holding her backs – carried her like a koala. Her hands held his face, legs still wrapped around his waist. This was a new excitement for her. Both of their hair was floating before slowly sinking around them. They broke the kiss as they returned the surface, Y/N coughed badly since she didn't have time to take a breath, “As much as I like that but please let me take a breath first.”

“I'm sorry darling. But your face was funny!” he laughed, “Do I have to give you artificial respiration?”

She rolled her eyes, splashing water to him before swimming to the edge. Her eyes looked at the orange sky, the sun over there would set soon. The ocean breeze kissed her cheeks and nose, causing her eyes to flutter shut as she inhaled deeply.

"Isn't it so beautiful?" Harry heard her murmur, he was leaning beside her. Instead of answering his girlfriend, he was too drowning in her beauty. Her face bright radiant from the sunset sky, natural on its beauty. His heart was beating so fast when he saw her smile.

Then his minds rolling around to the when he smiled and grateful to whatever she did to him, how his palms being sweaty when he was nervous around her, how she behaved around him, how she kept the conversation between them even them both was busy, how his mother and sister adored her since the first time they met, how protective he was with her, how jealous he was when his client trying to make a move to her. Most importantly, how she treat him as normal as possible.

He did failure on the previous relationships. His ex always treated him like a walking trophy. A trophy that produced attention and money. Maybe it was his fault, he took a risk of dating models or people from the entertainment industries. His life at that time couldn't be separated from the spotlight and media.

But, would Y/N still act like this when he's honest about the darkness in his life? Which he believed would still haunt him until he dies?

“Harry, darling?” she kissed his jaw, made him wake up from his reverie. Harry smiled, kissing her nose in return. “Yes, baby?”

“You were spacing out.” Y/N muttered, “Don't just standstill. The wind getting cold.”

Y/N swam away from him. Harry shook his head, trying to shove away that awful feeling. Now, seeing she swam was more fun for him. He noticed how the bikini fit her body so well, the colour really gave her compliment. He stared at her for a good thirty minutes; a worthy thirty minutes to him.

“Why you don't swim?” she asked, half shouting from the edge.

“I already spent an hour swimming when you were out.”

She shrugged, before returning to swim. The bikini was worth a shoot for this situation, the bliss was too good to miss. She spent another fifteen minutes before swimming back to Harry. The sun stayed just a little the end of the horizon, a sign it would set perfectly just a little more.

“Thank you so much for taking me here, Harry.” She smiled softly. Both of them leaned to the edge side to side, looking at the endless ocean in front of them.

"I bring you here because I remember that day you told Clementia you wanted to visit Italia." Harry said. Also, he had a sex dream about fucking her in here – he thought in mind.

He was surprised when she jumped into him. Good for her that he instantly hold her. If not, she would fall into the water. Harry giggled when Y/N peppering wet kisses all over his face while murmuring thank you over and over again.

“I'm glad to see you happy.” It was all he said before taking her in kisses. Her hands cupped his jaw while his hands wrapped around her back. The kiss was soft, gentle, a delicate one. The sun setting beautifully behind them with the faint sound of the waves made the situation sweeter than ever. Their tongue twisted each other, the sound of their lips clashing together was all they heard. The air got colder yet the kiss getting heated when Harry tugged her lower lips – licking them sensually. The dark sky began to rise as Y/N let out a moan. Harry's lips began to kiss her earlobe, licking them before suck it gently. Y/N hands wandered his chest while he was kissing her jaw, down to her throat. She gasped as her boyfriend suck on her collarbone, leaving some red marks there, before moving to her neck and her shoulder.

“Harry..” Y/N whined.

Harry could feel his hard erection from the way his swimming trunks suffocating him. He ran his finger to her cleavage, "Yes baby?"

“Harry..” Y/N choked as Harry dragging his finger down her stomach to her navel, she gasped as she felt Harry's finger snuck between her thighs for sneaking up underneath her bottom; teasing her core. She dropped her head to his shoulder, her breath panting as he rolled up and down his finger there.

“Harry, not in the pool please.” She begged, but Harry didn't want to hear that as he slowly pushing his index finger into her core. She cried, fingers digging into his shoulder.

“Too late..” he hummed, “But, your order always my priority sweetheart.”

Harry carried her to the edge, still with his index into her. He helped her out of the pool after he slid out his finger before he got out by himself. He immediately lay her down to the sunbathing chair. Y/N giggled when Harry kissed her hard, his hands wildly reach out to her back to untied her bikini strap, but her hands prevented him. “I can't get naked here, H. What if people see it?” she asked in worry. He kissed her lips then, “Don't worry. This is a private area, the distance between the villa is quite far. And the stone steps have a small gate, remember? They won't go break through."

“Okay.” She answered his questioning look; asking for her permission. Harry loosened the strap one by one before throwing them away. He kissed her breast, sucking her left nipple while his hand palming the right. She grasped his hair while Harry licking her hard nipple, moaning in pleasure when Harry gave them a gentle massage.

“Baby, I'm not a colouring book!” Y/N giggled when Harry sucking her breast, leaving red swollen marks almost all around her chest. He lifted his head, looking at her. “Yeah? But your body is like a white canvas that needs beautiful art paintings here.”

Harry brought his lips back to her, only for savouring the way her sweet and plump lips against him. His palm propped her neck, while his other hand sneaking down her body. Silently sliding under her bottom, flicked his finger to her clit before rolling in. Y/N gasped in his mouth, hands wandering around his back.

"Oh my god... Oh!" she cried, feeling his finger rocking in and out in speed. Y/N arched her back when Harry moved his lips to assault his nipples, she was sure her entire chest was red and start to leave bruises from how hard Harry sucked them.

She whined in protest when Harry slid out his finger, but then she trembled from the cold wind hit her lower part. She didn't realise when Harry took off her bikini bottom, she was too carried away by her lust. Y/N tilted her head as Harry disappeared between her legs, her thighs instantly clenched his head from the way Harry giving her core a few kitten licks. She flinched as Harry spread her legs open and threw them to his shoulder, so he could get better access to her.

“So wet already?” he hummed, collecting her wetness in his finger and gave it a taste, “Sweet like usual.”

Harry averted his gaze to find Y/N looking at him with tender eyes, glowing all over with adoration smile. She nodded at him, permitting to continue. Y/N stroked her fingers to his soft roots, breathing heavily while Harry tasting her intimate part. She shut her eyes closed, arching her back the way her core felt Harry's warm tongue dancing around them.

“Please, Harry.”

Obeyed her order, Harry slid his two fingers into her. His mouth sucked her pubis as his fingers pounding into her hard, only to heard loud moan from his lovely girlfriend. Sometimes, he licked her clit here and there to pleasure her, his priority now was to make sure her satisfaction fulfilled enough.

“Harry.. Harry, oh my.. oh my.” She panted, before letting out an animal moan. “Oh, Harry! Oh.. Oh!”

Her entire body was shaking terribly, her legs became numb. She squinted her eyes from how hard Harry rocking her in and out. She was so close...

“I'm close baby, please... Oh!”

“Cum for me baby, cum on me. Ride my tongue.” Harry swapped his fingers to his tongue quickly, adding more pressure in Y/N stomach. She exhaled loudly, rolling her eyes. Her back arching when she came on his tongue, her wetness spurting all over his mouth until his face. Y/N looked down, Harry seemed very satisfied – while collecting her wetness on him and suck them from his fingers. She wanted to open her mouth, but her eyes caught his bulge formed underneath his trunks.

“Now, you sit here.” She got up, pressing Harry's shoulder down so he could sit down, ignoring her limp legs.

“What are you doing, baby?” he asked curiously, then his eyes got wide when she pulled down his trunks. His erect length sprung up instantly; looking hard and in anger. Y/N bent down, taking it with both hands, pumping him slowly.

“Fuck, you don't need to do that. We have to get ready for barbecue, love.” He sighed, tilting his head. Y/N shrugged, hands still pumping his pride. “I know, but I saw your friend here need be taken care of.”

Harry sighed, squinting his eyes feeling how good her hands on him. He choked when Y/N flicked his heavy balls, and peppering kisses from the tip until his base – licking them back from base to tip.

“Oh fuck.” He moaned when she slid in his length to her mouth slowly. His length barely made it all the way her mouth, the rest of it covered by her palms. She bobbed her head up and down, rolling her tongue seductively.

His eyes shut close, mouth open gasping for oxygen. He pressed her head further down until his length hit the wall of her throat, guide Y/N to faster.

“Oh, darling. Yes, fuck it.” He cried every time his tip touching the end of her throat, her hands magically cup his balls – pumping them slowly. Harry could feel he was close, his loaded gonna exploded. But he didn't know if she wanted him to cum inside of her or not.

Before he got the chance to lift her head – to ask her, he shot his cum into her mouth. He exhaled in relief, his eyes squinting before made contact with her – watching her as she swallowed down his cum with eyes looking back directly to him. Harry noticed the rest of his cum oozing out through the corner of her mouth.

His release was too much for her mouth to hold.

Once Y/N released his length, Harry grabbed her head to kiss her mouth. His lips licking his oozing cum, then gently lay her back down the chair. Shielding her from the curious stars in the night sky looking at them.

. . . .

Harry went out to look for wine for them. He took a walk because people were pouring into the streets, ready to welcome the New Year in a few hours. He didn't want to take a risk driving car, it would waste his time. Y/N fell asleep as soon as Harry brought her to their bedroom, she was exhausted after their lustful activities. While she was sleeping, he took the chance to buy the drink since she forgot.

Luckily, a few locals told him there was a wine shop not far from the villa, so he didn't need to looking around. When he was walking down a cobblestone street, he passed a small florist. Harry's mind drove to Y/N back at their villa and decided to bring her some flowers. He thanked the old lady after she gave him his bouquet choice.

After he got two bottles of wine and a flower bouquet in his hands, he walked back to the villa. He suddenly realised chose the wrong route because there was no lighting on this street, and it was relatively quiet. He tried to relax, but at the end of the alley, he could see two people standing – looking at him. He turned around, taking another route. His anxiety increased when he heard footsteps followed him behind.

Hell, it was not a good sign.

Harry tried to walk faster, but they were able to catch up with him. He froze when someone grabbed his shoulder from behind, forced him to turn around.

“May I help you?” he asked calmly, trying not to make them angry.

“What have you got on yourself?” one of them spoke in broken English, Harry showed them the bouquet and wine.

“It's not what I mean.” He groaned, his breath was very smelly from alcohol. “Where is your wallet? You must be got a wallet on you.”

He stretched his hand, asking for Harry's wallet. Harry hesitantly put the bouquet and bottles on the side of the alley, before taking out his wallet from the pocket. The unknown man snatched it away. Harry prayed that they would leave soon, but it seemed his wallet not enough for them. He got irritated when they also ask for his phone.

“I gave you my wallet already, isn't that enough?”

“Do you want to save yourself or keep your phone?” The man smirked before took out a pocket knife from behind his jacket. Harry gulped, his mind battling with himself which one is better. His phone kept a lot of his work and some secrets, but he couldn't just give up his life. He couldn't scream for help because it was only three of them. He gripped his phone tightly, he couldn't give up on them, they didn't have a right.

“Are you fucking deaf?! Give me my phone you fucking bastard.”

Before they got a chance to shove him, Harry step back. His hand kept his phone behind his back. He shook his head, “You know what? Sometimes I like challenges.” His eyes grew darker, looking at them in disgust.

“You speak too much.”

The man lunged forward to Harry, while his friend just stared at them. Harry smirked, instead of dodging him, Harry went forward – as fast as lightning grabbed the hand that held the knife, twisted it until a heartbreaking cracked bone echoing in the air. Harry snatched the knife, throwing it next to the bouquet. While the robber was crying in pain, the friend ran to him.

“Wrong move.” He mumbled, punching the man in the stomach until he fell. Harry gave him a few good kicks in his arms. He picked the knife and stabbed the second man before he could get hurt. He twisted the knife before pulling it out and slit the first man's throat.

Harry smiled, watching their filthy blood pouring out their wound. Taking a step closer, he watched their face carefully. “You have to be smart at finding prey before you attack them.”

He threw the bloody knife as far as he could before picking up his wallet, phone, the bottles, and bouquet. Before he walked away, he glanced at them once again from his shoulder – making sure those assholes was dying until the death took their life away.

When Harry got back, he could smell the barbecue was on from behind. The delicious smell of seafood, sausage, corn, and vegetables made his stomach rumble. He put his wallet and phone on the counter, before walking to the outdoor area – where they would celebrate the new year. Y/N was standing in front of the grills, sometimes she wiped her sweat on her forehead due to heat of the burning flames.

“I got the wine!” Harry yelled, making her jump. “Jesus, Harry! You scared me.”

“Sorry, baby.” He kissed her cheek, “I got you flowers too.”

“What occasion?” she smiled.

“I just want to buy you them.” He shrugged, putting the wine on the table. “Can I help you with something?”

“Err, can you help me set the table? I'm almost done here. One hour to go.” Y/N said excitedly, looking at the clock.

After helping Y/N set the table, both of them began to put down the plates, cutlery, the foods, and the whine on the table facing the ocean. They could hear the crowd from the beach, lots of people were waiting to see the fireworks. Harry complimented on how good Y/N at making barbecue, he rambled of he could keep eating because of it.

“Oh god, I'm full.” Harry sighed, leaning back to the chair. Seeing how much he ate, making him shake his head. They were silent for a while, enjoying the bliss and the beauty of the night.

Fifteen minutes to 2020.

"Thank you for what have you done for me in this past year, Harry. Words can't describe how grateful I am." Y/N said while sipping her wine. "I owe you a lot."

Harry took her body so she could sit on his lap, he looked at her with full adoration. His fingers brushing her baby hair away, “Thank you for making me a better man, Y/N. Thank you for giving me the chance, I know being my girlfriend is not easy. You're constantly dealing with my irrational anger. You never got angry every time I was forced to cancel our date. You never got angry if works standing between us. I'm grateful God brought you to me.”

His whisper made Y/N feel touched, hearing how genuine he was, made her tears ready to burst. Her lips quivered, she quickly snuggled into his neck. Harry was confused by her, he just keeps rubbing her back.

“What's wrong, baby? Did I say something wrong?” Harry cooed softly. He felt Y/N shook her head, before looking at him.

“No, I'm just happy.”

“Okay then. Now we're counting down.” He hummed, kissing her temple. The countdown started, they didn't need to look at the clock since the screams of people on the beach were heard enough by them.

10.. 9.. 8

“I can't wait what 2020 may hold for us. I just want us to keep like this. Be happy with each other.”

“Me too, H.”

7.. 6.. 5

“Hope everything gets better, you know?” “Everything will get better, darling.”

4.. 3.. 2.. 1..

“Happy new year, baby” “Happy new year, sweetheart.”

Their lips crushed each other as the fireworks shooting into the sky, made the darkness look beautiful because of the sparkling colour. Their kiss got deeper as fireworks clashed. Harry hungrily biting her lower lips, sliding his tongue in and twisting their tongue. His hands stayed on her waist. Y/N let out a soft moan when Harry slowly grinding on her, her fingers stroke his roots softly. The only sound they heard now was the colliding of their lips. Harry sucked her mouth, making a pop sound before detaching his lips. He beamed at how swollen her lips were.

Both of them looking at each other with sincerity and utter admiration, then Y/N leaned on Harry's chest, watching the fireworks dancing in the sky. His hands rubbed her body up and down, with his chin sat on top of her head.

Relaxing for another thirty minutes, they cleaned up the table. Ready to go to bed. Y/N saw the bouquet laid down the table. She grinned, that must be her flowers. She took the bundle, smelling the fresh aroma. She didn't even think Harry was such a romantic for buying her flowers. But, her smile faltered when her eyes spot the red dot on the white petals.

No, it wasn't just a dot, there were splotch red marks on the other petals. Her fingers caressing the red marks, it was dry, yet still felt wet on her finger. She scrunched her nose, seeing the other splotches on the stalk. Her brain told her it was blood, but what blood?

Whose blood?

She gripped the bouquet tightly against her chest, wanting to ask Harry. Seeing her boyfriend wallet being left unaccompanied next to the bouquet, she decided to bring it with her. But, her hands felt sticky – like there was liquid spilling on his wallet. Her eyes widened in fear, noticing some blood smeared on her palm. Her hand didn't hurt, she had no wound. Where did the blood come?

Something knocked her brain. She looked at Harry's wallet and the bouquet in turn.

She had to ask Harry now.

“Harry?” she called him, sighing in relief when she saw Harry was sitting on their bed.

“Mhmm?” he smiled, “Oh, you've got the flowers.”

“It's beautiful, thank you.” Y/N uttered quietly, walking closer to him. “I want to ask you something.”

“Okay?”

She felt a lump in her throat when she wanted to speak, the wallet and bouquet in her hands became heavy so suddenly. But, she had to do this.

“Are you in pain? Did you get hurt when you were out earlier?”

Harry furrowed his eyebrow, “No. Why do you ask?”

“My bouquet and your wallet.. there was blood on them.” Y/N admitted, showing him what did she mean. Y/N was a little fidgety when she saw a sudden shift in Harry's expression. He looked surprised, like a deer in the spotlight, a bit jittery. There was a huge silent before Harry opened his mouth, justify her words. “Yes, it was blood.”

“Whose blood? I didn't see any wound in your body?”

Harry looked at her, didn't know how to tell her. She looked at him with soft eyes, worried look. Her eyes never gave him some easy judgment to him. He must be honest with her, sooner or later, he couldn't keep hiding his lies.

“Not my blood, it was.. someone blood.”

"Oh, okay... it's a relief that wasn't your blood." Y/N mumbled softly, her eyes widened suddenly as aware of his last sentence. "Hold on, it was someone? Harry?"

She sat next to him, watching her boyfriend in a suspicious look. “What do you mean?”

Harry took a long breath, his eyes were scared to look at hers. He had to be honest now, or he would regret it in his entire life.

But, would he be ready for her reaction?

Was he ready if Y/N will leave him after this?

Why did this have to be happening at a time like this?

. . Please excuse some errors. Chat me here!

#harry styles #harry styles series #harry styles writing #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles au #harry styles smut #ceo harry styles #harry styles fic rec #harry styles fanfic #romance #fantasy #smut #fic rec #to read #fanfic

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leovevo · 4 years

Text

one thing leo absolutely adored about the sloth was that they were (arguably) a memorable bunch. so, when he heard that they were making a time capsule, leo was pumped, because he already had a box of memorabilia he kept safely stowed away in his room.

it almost felt like a scene in a cheesy coming of age film when leo pulled out his box of memories from his cabinet. all that was missing was a song playing in the background.

leo excitedly popped the cover off, revealing a well worn moleskine notebook, thick with photos and mementos that were haphazardly glued onto every page. he hadn’t opened this in a while. a small smile played at leo’s lips as he scanned through the pages—

a polaroid of him, ian, and callie wearing matching onesies. another polaroid of a sleeping vic and cleo, looking rather peaceful and adorable. a picture of rumor grinning at the camera and holding up a peace sign. a candid photo of charlotte laughing at a dumb joke aylie said. leo chewed down on his lip, gaze lingering on the blonde’s dazzling smile.

flipping to a random page, leo was pleasantly surprised to see a massive photo of roman wearing harry styles merch. “jesus christ, this is scary,” leo cackled, feeling like an idiot for laughing alone in his room, but the resemblance was uncanny. he turned to the next page. ticket stubs to a queen & adam lambert concert. leo huffed out a laugh, his mind rolling back to the unforgettable night with kieran and ryder. he also remembered sobbing when brian may began singing love of my life and freddie mercury appeared on the huge monitor.

on the last page was his one-way plane ticket to california, with a strip of pictures of him and marco inside an old carnival photo booth taped beside it.

leo instantly shut the photo journal.

this was good enough to hand over, leo decided, hugging his notebook to his chest. too good, a small voice in the back of his mind shouted. leo was a sentimental guy, and giving this out only to be buried under the ground and dug up a decade later felt like a waste. cursing himself for being so fucking indecisive, leo looked around his room, trying to find something else to hand out in case he changes his mind.

oh.

—

leo spent two nights sprawled in his bed, watching through every uncut clip of his friends that he filmed these past few months. starting a youtube account had been a spur-of-the-moment thing, but his subscribers were steadily growing, and it was all thanks to his friends.

“stop being naked on camera!” video leo shrieked out at video kieran, who was very, very naked and checking himself out in the mirror. “oh my god—” it cuts to a clip of kieran grinning at the camera, who was now thankfully wearing a pair of joggers. “i am so, so sorry if my friend accidentally flashed you,” leo huffed, glancing at kieran with a disgusted scowl. “this is so not going in the vlog.”

“why not?” kieran’s incredulous shout could be heard off screen.

“because your bare ass is—”

— “day one of working out at the gym with the love of my life,” leo gushed at the camera, cleo standing behind him with an unamused look on her face. “are you done? it’s time to stretch.” “mamma mia, here we go again! my, my, how could i resist yo— ouch, ow! stop hitting me!”

—

ivan’s grim face filled the screen, before panning to a disappointed-looking leo. “no grizzly bears found today, my friends,” leo’s tone was just as dispirited as his expression as he spoke to the camera. “you won this time, but we’re coming back, fuckers. this isn’t over.”

—

“do you think these can fit in the capsule?” was the first thing leo asked as he burst into brad’s office, unquestionably startling the poor man. he held up the grubby moleskine notebook, thick and worn out. on his other hand was a small usb, tied to a miniature rilakkuma keychain. “ten hours’ worth of sloth content,” he slid both items towards the man, “hopefully, they’d still be watchable in ten years.”

#— tasks.#bigbeartask4 #this is... a lot #sorry

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mxliv-oftheendless · 4 years

Text

Ruining KISStory: The False King of Persia, Pt. 2

And we’re back! Enjoy Part 2! We pick up right where we left off in Part 1, so enjooooy!

Tag list: @cosmicrealmofkissteria @ashestoashesvvi @kategwidt @retronova

PAUL [voiceover]: Leaping into action, Cambyses hastily mounted his horse to return to Persia and… accidentally stabbed himself in the thigh with his sword. And then he died. But before doing so, he instructed his noblemen to return home and retake the throne from fake-Smerdis, by whatever means necessary.

[cuts to Ace silently laughing, his hand smacking the table]

PAUL: [amused] You’re just having the time of your life over there, aren’t you?

ACE: [laughing] This fuckin’ story, man… I love it.

BRUCE: So he was preparing for maybe a weeks-long journey home—

PAUL: Yeah.

BRUCE: —and was so excited to get on his horse [laughing] that he stabbed himself?

PAUL: [laughing] Yeah.

VINNIE: It doesn’t seem like it’s that hard to seize this throne.

GENE: This is some Game of Thrones stuff going on.

PAUL: Unfortunately, there’s no Tyrion Lannister in this story. And no Olenna Tyrell.

VINNIE: [visibly disappointed] Aww…

PAUL [voiceover; animations show cheering crowds while the silhouette of the false Smerdis sits on a throne above them]: The problem faced by the band of noblemen is that most of the Persian population believed that the man on the throne was in fact the son of Cyrus. And with Cambyses now dead and the real Smerdis secretly murdered, they also believed fake-Smerdis was the rightful king. Prexaspes probably could’ve cleared all this up, but he was keeping his mouth shut. Because in case you didn’t realize, secretly killing a prince ain’t really something you talk openly about.

ACE: So there’s only one person who knows that this isn’t the real Smerdis…

BRUCE: Prexaspes…

ACE: And he’s gonna get in trouble if he says so.

PAUL: Yeah, because then they’d be like, “Well, how do you know that?” And he’d have to say it’s because he murdered the real one.

GENE: So are these two just doing a bit the whole time? [points to the Magian] Because this guy knows he’s not the real Smerdis, so there’s gotta be some tension going on there, right?

PAUL: [smiles mysteriously] Maybe… you’ll have to wait and find out.

VINNIE: Ooooh…

PAUL: Probably there won’t.

BRUCE: Just gonna stab himself in the leg and die, probably. {Ace laughs]

GENE: He’s gonna kill himself pouring a glass of wine, the way this shit’s going.

PAUL [voiceover]: Fake-Smerdis further protected his identity by remaining in seclusion whenever possible, and surrounding himself with those who had never met the real Smerdis.

GENE: Now that just sounds exhausting, trying to discern which person’s never met the real Smerdis and which person has.

BRUCE: Nah, man, you just go on Facebook and see how many mutual friends you’ve got. [Ace laughs]

GENE: But just imagine carrying the baggage of any interaction you go into, thinking, “Oh, this person may have known the real Smerdis, and now I’m gonna get murdered.”

ACE: That’s how I feel every day. “You don’t belong on this history panel. Get outta here.”

PAUL: [grinning] I’ve been meaning to talk to you, Ace.

VINNIE: [miming] Pulls out a bow and arrow from underneath the table. [panel laughs]

PAUL: [waving his hand] Bring out Ace’s son! [panel laughs]

ACE: [laughing] Oh shit!

PAUL [voiceover]: Enter: Otanes, a nobleman with the sneaking suspicion that he knew the true identity of fake-Smerdis. He remembered a man who, many years earlier, had his ears cut off by the late king Cyrus. Otanes believed this man was the imposter on the throne, and he could prove it if he could just get a look at the man’s ears. Problem: fake-Smerdis was never seen without a turban on his head. So it was impossible to see his ears, or lack thereof.

ACE: That’s amazing, that there was such a physical deformity on this person.

VINNIE: What if he’s just totally confused as to where he is? [laughs] Because he can’t hear, so maybe he’s just like “Oh, this is my home!”

ACE: [laughs] “You’re not the king!” “What?”

VINNIE: “What????”

GENE: Wait a second, did the other Smerdis wear a turban at all times as well? No one questioned that all of a sudden he’s wearing a turban at all times?

PAUL: No, but like, no one’s gonna point at him and be like, “You’re wearing a turban, you’re an imposter.”

VINNIE: Yeah, I don’t think anyone’s going to notice a little thing like that, Gene.

ACE: It is a pretty bold statement to be like, “You’re wearing a turban! You don’t have any ears!” [panel laughs] “You’re an impostah! Smerdis is not here!”

PAUL [voiceover]: Otanes quickly devised a plan. His daughter, you see, was a member of Smerdis’s harem. He asked her to wait until the king fell asleep, then check for ears under his turban. So she did…. no ears!

VINNIE: [gasps dramatically]

BRUCE: [snickering] Would’ve been funny if she checked and there actually were ears, and Otanes was like, “Ah, fuck.”

VINNIE: Can you imagine just being like, “No, Dad, I’m not gonna do this for you.”

PAUL: Like, you think it’s a bunch of bullshit because your insane dad is like, “I think your husband doesn’t have ears!”

VINNIE: On a side note, it’s kind of odd that she’s the daughter of a nobleman and yet part of a harem. I’d hate to be part of a harem. [points at the camera] Make note of that, fanfic writers.

BRUCE: Also, he still wears his turban while he’s naked… [laughs] He’s committing to it, I like that.

PAUL [voiceover; dramatic music plays]: Otanes had confirmed the identity of the false king. As he suspected, it was not Smerdis, brother of Cambyses. It was in fact a man actually named…

… SMERDIS!

ACE: [bursts into loud cackles as the rest of the panel bursts out laughing] What?!

VINNIE: You’re making this up!

PAUL: I am not making this up!

GENE: What are the fucking odds?

ACE: How’d this happen, Paulie? Tell us!

PAUL: [snorts] You’re so invested, I love it.

ACE: Tell us!

PAUL: Okay!

PAUL [voiceover]: It turns out, when Cambyses and Smerdis left for Egypt, the Magian they had employed to keep an eye on their palace happened to have a brother, also named Smerdis, and was the man whose ears had been cut off by Cyrus, AND who also bore a striking resemblance to the prince. So while Cambyses was off fucking shit up abroad, the Magian installed his brother Smerdis on the throne as an imposter, seemingly at the ideal time, since the real Smerdis had just been secretly murdered. Upon piecing the plot together, Otanes assembled a group of noblemen to overthrow the false king. One of these noblemen happened to be…

[panel gasps in anticipation as Paul reaches under the table]

BRUCE: Is it our guy?

PAUL: [takes out a figurine and displays the label: DARIUS] It’s our guy!

PANEL: Yay!

PAUL [voiceover]: Darius! Our guy! Who had arrived after piecing together the plot himself.

ACE: Wait, Darius figured all this out from abroad?

PAUL: According to the story, Darius, on his own, just put this all together and was like, “I gotta get over there quick.”

ACE: The rate information spread back then was like, super fuckin’ slow…

PAUL: Yeah. I don’t have a timeline for this. I assume it takes place over a period of over forty years. [panel laughs]

PAUL [voiceover]: While the noblemen talked about the best approach, Smerdis and his brother began to get nervous that rumors of their scheme were beginning to spread. According to Abbott, quote, “They conceived the plan of inducing Prexaspes to declare in a more public and formal manner… that Smerdis had not been killed.” So while the noblemen readied themselves to storm the palace, Prexaspes climbed atop a tower and began to address the citizens, ready to assure them that fake-Smerdis was the rightful king. But the weight of his lies had finally become to great to bear.

[dramatic yet inspiring music begins to play] Abbott states, quote, “He decided, desperately… that he would go on in his course of falsehood, remorse, and wretchedness no longer… Instead of denying that he had murdered Smerdis, he fully confessed to the astonished audience that he had really committed that crime; he openly denounced the reigning Smerdis as an imposter, and called upon all who heard him to rise at once, destroy the treacherous usurper, and vindicate the rights of the true Persian line.”

VINNIE: Damn… that sounds so inspiring…

PAUL: It does, that’s why I decided to quote it.

VINNIE: Definitely better than anything you would’ve written. [Ace and Bruce laugh. Paul looks mock-affronted at Vinnie and throws the Cambyses figurine at him; Vinnie laughs and dodges]

GENE: He was about to pull a move of major obstruction of justice. And then he had a change of heart, you say? His change of heart here doesn’t really strike me as a moment of conscience. It seems more just like self-preservation, get on the winning side… that’s kinda what it seems like to me.

PAUL: Well, we’ll see about that.

PAUL [voiceover]: With his burden finally lifted, Prexaspes must have known his fate was sealed. But, quote, “before the officers of the king’s household had time even to consider what to do,” Prexaspes, coming abruptly to the conclusion of his harangue, threw himself headlong from the parapet of the tower and came down among them, lifeless and mangled on the pavement below!

PAUL: So, as to the question of self-preservation, Gene… [looks at Gene pointedly as he throws the Prexaspes figurine face down on the table]

ACE: Oof, shut down, Simmons.

BRUCE: Get rekt, Gene.

GENE: Shut up.

[screen cuts away to a title card:

CHAPTER III:

THE GANG KILLS ALL THE MAGIANS

screen cuts to old video-game-style animations as Paul narrates dramatically; old video game boss music play]

PAUL [voiceover]: While chaos erupted in the courtyard below, Darius, Otanes, and the other noblemen walked right into the palace, ready to carry out their assassination. Initially, guards just let them in without question—they were noblemen, after all. They eventually made it to Smerdis’s room, where he was waiting with his brother, the Magian. The usurpers tried to run for it, but were quickly caught! Darius made a slash at Smerdis; quote, “the magian fell upon the floor, and there, stabbed again through the heart by Darius’s sword, almost immediately ceased to breathe.” Nearby, the Magian’s head was also cut off. The imposter and his brother had been slain.

[cuts to a closeup of the figurines; Paul is removing the heads off the Magian and the Smerdis(?) figurines]

PAUL: So I’ll remove their heads now.

ACE: Can I have one?

PAUL: Yeah, sure. [Ace snatches the head of Smerdis(?) and gazes down at it] Dude, why are you smiling at it?

VINNIE: You’re looking so lovingly at it.

ACE: It’s just really well-done. It’s great.

PAUL: Oh, thank you.

PAUL [voiceover]: Propping the usurpers’ heads on spikes, the noblemen went back on the streets and explained the plot to the people of Persia. And just to be safe, they encouraged everyone to kill other Magi, if at all possible. Quote, “Before night, vast numbers of them were slain.” Doesn’t seem like the smartest decision, but hey.

The seven noblemen, victorious in slaying the imposter king, now had to figure out what they were going to do moving forward. After some debate, it was determined that they would proceed with a monarchy, obviously. But the method they landed on to choose which of the seven noblemen would take the throne was… certainly something.

PAUL: Any guesses to how they decided who would take the throne?

BRUCE: Rock Paper Scissors.

ACE: Thumb war!

GENE: One of those jellybeans in a jar contests?

VINNIE: Who has the best ass.

PAUL: [laughs] Who would judge that?

VINNIE: [smirking] Me. [panel laughs]

PAUL: Well, here’s what they did.

[screen cuts away to a title card:

CHAPTER IV:

ONE LAST THING

screen cuts to animations as Paul narrates; traditional Middle Eastern music plays in the background]

PAUL [voiceover]: It was decided that all seven men would mount their horses and sit on the outskirts of the city. Whoever’s horse was the first to neigh at sunrise would be king.

VINNIE: The hell?

ACE: So it’s got nothin’ to do with the person, or skills.

PAUL: They’re just sorta rolling the dice here.

GENE: If you smack a horse, won’t it neigh? So at sunrise, I’d just be spanking my horse.

PAUL: That [laughs; Ace, Bruce, and Vinnie laugh as well] that sounds like a euphemism for something else.

GENE: [laughs] I’m spanking my horse at sunrise, as I always do. [panel laughs]

PAUL [voiceover]: According to one version of the story, Darius turned to his groom, Obares, for help with the competition. His groom assured him, [adopts a shady-sounding voice] “Master, if this is to determine whether you become king or not, be confident for this reason and have an easy mind, for no one else shall be king before you, such are the tricks I have.” I don’t know if he actually sounded like a Muppet.

[cuts to Gene, who looks comically surprised]

GENE: He’s gonna spank his horse, and that is a euphemism, oh shit! He’s gonna jerk off the horse at sunrise!

PAUL: He’s not gonna jerk off the horse at sunrise—

GENE: Oh man!

PAUL [voiceover]: Before the competition, Obares sought out one of Darius’s horse’s favorite mares. And then he proceeded to… rub… his… hand… on the horse’s… vulva. He then kept his hand [laughs slightly] hidden in his clothing until he stood alongside Darius’s horse at sunrise. At that point, he raised his disgusting hand towards the horse’s nostrils, which caused the horse to immediately snort and whinny.

And that is how Darius the Great became Emperor of Persia.

[cuts back to panel; Ace is cackling loudly]

BRUCE: [laughing] Did that seriously happen?

PAUL: [also laughing] That seriously happened.

GENE: This is the least-earned title I’ve ever seen in my life.

VINNIE: This is hilarious…

GENE: It is a testament to honestly, though, I guess. Most people nowadays would lie about how they got a black eye, much less how their friend diddled a horse.

BRUCE: It does also say something about the time period though, because they thought that was cool.

PAUL: Yeah, he didn’t even lie about it.

VINNIE: I’m sensing a pattern with these stories: the horses are always getting screwed in some way. They gotta fight in wars they’ve got nothing to do with; they’re getting diddled when they don’t want to…

ACE: It’s weird that that part wasn’t in Cyrus’s dream. [panel laughs]

GENE: But if you did dream frequently about a horse getting diddled, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t talk about that, right? [text boxes appear around Gene:

WHAT ARE YOU SAYING, GENE?

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE?]

GENE: I’m not gonna go about spreading that around that I dream about that.

ACE: Yeah, it’s just like, “What’d you dream about?” “Uh… nothin’. Just Darius havin’ wings and stuff.”

BRUCE: “Any other details?”

ACE: “Ya sure? Ya sure that’s all it was?”

VINNIE: He’s constantly Googling what it means.

BRUCE: He’s constantly consulting Magi, and he’s just like, “Okay, I need you to be very discreet about this.”

PAUL: [laughing] They’re like “Ugh, what the hell?”

ACE: And he’s just like, “Fetch my bow and arrow.” [panel laughs]

PAUL [voiceover]: And there you go! For the record, Darius would go on to, y’know, unite Persia, do some good things… probably some bad things. I just thought this was a fun story. A lot of murder, a lot of funny characters, [laughs] a lot of horse vulvas. Well, one horse vulva, but, you know. That’s been Ruining History, thanks for learning with us!

#kiss unsolved #ruining kisstory #hope you enjoyed part 2!#I stg this is the funniest story I've ever heard XD #also hope you enjoyed the huge plot twist #there's a ton of moments here that I hope you enjoyed #also Ash if you're reading this: yes that was a callout XD #it's also a callout for Shandi too #I stg writing ace was my favorite part of writing this lol #kiss au writing #my writing #thanks for reading!

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sonicknx · 3 years

Text

untitled pt2

Now the other side of the same coin:

the hell did i see in her? first thing i ever noticed was that she had an odd style and barely resembled her pictures, but when our hearts finally connected i saw her through a veil; permanent beer goggles, my imagination gave her a makeover and allowed me to be attracted to her

my mind is so toxic that it can ignore the most crimson of red flags i can see the best in the worst of people which lets my heart get the better of me only now that the veil is lifted i can see the fool that i was love sure is blind, oh yeah and christ, does it deceive you

our two hearts were floating in a vat of acid hers was immune as it had known this environment for years. the other self-harmed to build tolerance to chemical burn, as it needed a layer of callused flesh to continue. eventually wearing rhino skin my heart went full throttle to terminal velocity so that it might conjoin with the other heart it so desperately and steadfastly sought

when i finally opened my eyes i determined she was being quite honest with me when she admitted every toxic characteristic about herself and she hit every damn nail square on the fucking head: a vantablack heart unfeeling and unempathetic; and a trust to never be fully gained by any human; the turmoil she carried out from countless relationships that she aired out time and again mistaking me as the perpetrator

i've always had my faults no man may claim otherwise but she was one mess after the next oh yes, boo fucking hoo! ‘the feeling is mutual’ that's yet another thing has she ever had an original complaint? no, take everything i say and be like "ditto" like i have to speak these things for both of us

am i supposed to feel sorry that she wasted her time with me? fucking funny joke! it had to end somewhere and sometime, she just chose to pull the trigger at my lowest point, ever the opportunist, yet i had the courage and diligence to bear with her self-centered emotional outbursts; and her wretched attention-seeking suicide attempts

i lovingly accepted her despite the black putridity within her soul; much like the toxic stew that comes out both ends after rancid meat for dinner and washing it down with rain-puddle water i embraced her flaws and the absurdity of her humor but what got to me was the in her eyes when she inappropriately cackled at absolutely nothing actually disturbed me as if i was visited by a demon

deep down i loved her the way i wanted to be loved though i made atrocious mistakes, i squeezed her in embrace, and begged forgiveness for my misdeeds. of course she was forever keeping tally because the 'unconditional love' she claimed was more appropriately 'your mileage may vary'

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scribomaniac · 7 years

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Man of Ash and Thorns: Chapter 12

Start from the beginning here!

Reyna stared at the powerful Castor before her. Adele really was marvelous. Her fashion style was on point, her magic was . . . off, but strong, and her confidence—her swagger—she was everything Reyna felt she was supposed to be. What Dunstan tried to turn her into. It was a wonder she hadn't climbed through the ranks of the supernatural community already. Adele began to move, her long dress dragging on the floor behind her as she slowly walked counter-clockwise. Mirroring her, the two Castors circled on another, sizing each other up and waiting for the other to make the first move. The green eyed Sorceress had never been in duel before, especially not one to the death, but she'd be damned if she let the first one become her last.

Reyna felt every cell in her body come to life in preparation of the fight. Her limbs hummed and tingled, then crackled to life as a layer of fire arose from her skin. In a flash, she raised her hands, snapped her fingers and barraged Adele in burst after burst of fire. The sound was deafening as the blades of flame made contact with the stone floor, dry wall and brick foundation of the basement. Smoke emanated from the point of impact, causing Reyna's eyes to sting. Waving her hand before her, she hurriedly brushed the gray tendrils away to see if she'd hit her mark. Where Adele had once been standing was now a new, imperiously tall stone wall. It looked unnatural; it's large, gray blocks not matching the the tan, skinny ones that surrounded it. The wall had taken on the brunt of her attack, but barely showed marks of scorching on its front.

Adele's cackling laugh echoed throughout the room and then the ground began to rumble and shake beneath Reyna's feet. Plaster and crumbs of stone fell from the ceiling like sand in an hour glass. The stone wall protecting Adele vibrated, making Reyna take a wary step back, and then multiplied itself. Then again, and again, and again, until the room was full of stone walls cutting this way and that.

"The fuck?" Reyna heard Samyaza. He'd just been ten feet behind her before, but now they were separated by who knew how many layers of stone. "What is this?"

"A maze," Reyna mumbled, more to herself than to Sam, and looked around. There were two paths before her, one to the left and one to the right. Placing her hand on the stone wall closest to her, Reyna closed her eyes and breathed. She couldn't trace Adele's location through the wall, it was purely her and would lead her around in circles, but she could tell that the previously large cellar of the bar was long gone. The dimensions altered to fit the maze's need for space. It was a fortress, and wouldn't be broken easily.

"I prefer the term labyrinth," Adele's voice sounded so close, almost as if she was right behind Reyna. Spinning around, Reyna felt her heart thump painfully in her chest. No one was there, she realized soon enough, but from Adele's cruel laughter, Reyna knew the red headed Castor could see and hear everything within her maze. Swallowing loudly, Reyna clasped her hands together and go to work. She needed to bring down the labyrinth and she needed to do it now. Squeezing her hands together, Reyna poured copious amounts of magic into the small space between her palms and then opened them up. A small, shining golden ball sat in the middle of her palm. "Very pretty," Adele commented, again sounding like she was just hovering over her shoulder. Not turning around this time, Reyna placed the ball into a small gap in the stone wall.

Nothing happened. "Huh," Adele huffed, "that was anti-climactic. Come on, Reyna, you can do better than that!" Fluttering could be heard down the walkway to her right. Reyna stared down the path, trying to figure out why it sounded so familiar. "You might want to hurry, Reyna, dear. Hurry up and find me . . . find me before my beasts find you!" Eyes flashing dangerously, Reyna barred her teeth at the invisible Castor. The sarcastic term of endearment focused her, forcing her to remember everything that rested on her shoulders. Everything that depended on her. Sophie was depending on her.

Taking the hall to the left, Reyna ran into the unknown. Behind her, the fluttering grew louder. Shrieks and clacks soon followed after it, and Reyna chanced a glance behind her shoulder. Nothing was there. Not yet, at least. She had no idea where she was going. For all she knew she was going in circles. But she couldn't stop to gain her bearings. She needed time. She needed to get Adele talking—to distract her. So skidding to avoid a dead end, Reyna called out in a breathless voice, "Is this how you plan to kill me? By trapping me here?"

"And where would the fun in that be?" Adele's dream like voice answered. It was calm and unhurried. Satisfied and confident. She was toying with Reyna, and enjoying every minute of it. "I'm just having a little fun with you. Keep running for me. Eventually I'll get bored. Probably."

"How comforting," Reyna stopped to catch her breath and leaned over, hands braced on her knees. The fluttering was almost deafening now, and Reyna realized why it sounded so familiar. Pupils shrinking, she snapped up and threw her hands up in front of her. "Avikele!" She yelled, raising a barrier of pure magic just as a legion of three eyed ravens crashed into the invisible wall. Reyna grunted, feeling herself slowly being pushed back as more and more monstrous shades slammed into her barrier. Gritting her teeth, she widened her stance and held her ground. With an animal like shriek, Reyna pushed her magic forward, casting it away from herself and towards the opposite end of the hallway. The three eyed ravens, continuously trying to get past the barrier, were pushed back along with her magic, and like a fly swatter making contact, crushed the birds against the stone wall at the end of the hall.

Breathing heavily, Reyna didn't wait around for a second barrage of birds and began to run again. "Is that all you got?" She taunted. "Just some shades? I thought you were more advanced than that!" A hiss reverberated throughout the walls, making them shiver and shake. Good, Reyna thought. If the walls were shaking from Adele's anger, that meant she'd invested herself into the labyrinth emotionally. Reyna could use that to her advantage. "I know ten year old's who could summon better looking shades than those ravens! Hell, even Weres could do better." The walls continued the rumble, echoing its mistress's displeasure. Coming to a fork in the labyrinth, Reyna quickly chose the path to her right. "You must be the luckiest usurper who ever usurped! Good thing you and lover boy haven't left your little back water town yet—the rest of the world is gonna tear you apart at this rate."

A wall materialized before her, blocking her once clear path. Chest heaving, Reyna grinned, "There you are." Intertwining her fingers and splaying her palm towards the new wall, the green eyed Sorceress summon magic up from the very bottom of her feet, up through her body, along her spinal cord, and through her arms to her finger tips. The walls around her pulsed as a bright, golden light illuminated her hand. All around her, in between the stones of the labyrinths walls and throughout the cracks and gaps, roots and vines grew. Nature began to reclaim what once belonged to it one wall at a time. Thickening until they were the size of her forearms, the vines and roots expanded and overtook the walls, expelling it stone by stone. The wall before her quickly crumbled, it's newness and hasty creation making it weak and vulnerable to Reyna's magic. The golden light illuminating her hands pulsed and sent shock waves throughout the entirety of the labyrinth. Vines surged forward along the floor, creating a new layer of undergrowth that faintly resembled the web of a spider. Walls crashing to the ground echoed throughout the room. Reyna , unhurried, walked forward on her vines and roots as the walls standing in her way crumbled to her feet.

With all the green and brown, the colors of Earth and nature, surrounding her, it was easy enough to spot Adele's flaming red hair off in the distance. Her face was and angry red, her teeth barred in a snarl, and her hands twisting and flailing uselessly as she tried to regain control of the environment and reinstate the labyrinth. She hadn't noticed Reyna yet, her anger and frustration blinding her to the danger. A vine reached up and wrapped itself around the Sorceress's forearm and wrist, anchoring itself. Sucking in a deep breath, Reyna held it and charged. She leapt of fallen stones, ankle shattering roots, and other forms of debris deftly. Launching herself off an upraised root, Reyna threw her arm out, as if she were throwing a javelin, and flung the vine latched on her arm at the red headed Castor. The vine, now straight and pointed like an arrow, burrowed itself into Adele's back, through her chest, and protruded out her chest.

Adele sucked in a breath and fell to her knees. "Adele!" Ashur's voice called out from somewhere far away. The Castor gurgled as blood seeped into her lungs and overflowed from her mouth. Reyna stalked around her prey, her breaths coming out hard and fast after all that exertion. Adele reached for the hardened vine still within her. She glared up at Reyna who stood in front of her now, her eyes glazed over with pain and the first touch of death. Adele's mouth opened, and a hoarse whisper escaped. The vine had pierced her diaphragm, rendering her literally speechless.

Adele's hands reached for the vine and she gripped it tight before beginning to pull. Reyna's brows furrowed. The vine was most likely the only thing still keeping her alive. Without it she'd bleed out soon enough, so Reyna watched silently as Adele brought on her own doom. It was hard, every muscle in Adele's body was trembling with shock and her hands could barely hold steady long enough to pull the vine out. She managed it, though, and Reyna waited for her body to fall to the ground. She waited for the woman to die. It was taking long enough as it was.

Adele shifted, and Reyna released a breath she didn't realize she was holding. This was it. Now she'd fall. Adele's body swayed, but instead of falling lifelessly to the ground, she regained her bearing and began to stand. Reyna watched with wide eyes as Adele batted away death's cold hands like mere flies, how a healthy flush once again colored her cheeks, and as the hole in her chest slowly closed. Muscle, bone and skin re-knit itself before her and soon enough the only evidence of the wound was the hole within Adele's dress and the blood on her chin. "What?" Reyna whispered as Adele spat the remaining blood from her mouth onto the floor before her.

"Did you really think it'd be that easy?" Adele's asked hoarsely. A smug smile overcame her lips. "Did you really think I'd allow myself to be killed?" Reyna's mind ran wild, trying to think of what spell could be responsible for this. She herself had cheated death before, with a Goblin in a forest once upon a time, but that was because of a binding spell. And that doesn't work nearly as quickly. That spell takes at least a half hour to kick in. And technically, during those thirty minutes, you were dead. Adele hadn't died. She hadn't even pretended to. She'd healed herself—but not even Jorge could have healed such a fatal wound. This was something else. Something new. The way her body had knitted itself back together . . . it was something she'd seen before, but never from a human. Her mind flashed back to Ashur—to the mark on his chest. "Vampire," she gasped.

"Hmmm, you are a smart one," Adele confirmed, her voice growing louder and stronger with each passing moment. A ripple of magic hit Reyna and the rest of the labyrinth crumbled to dust. Adele was switching tactics. The cellar returned, Reyna's vines and roots still ingrained within it, and Ashur ran started for Adele. She held a hand up, stopping him in his tracks. "I'm fine, love. Just a bit bruised." Ashur hissed and barred his long canines at Reyna, but didn't take another step.

"Reyna?" Bub called out behind her. "What's going on?"

Reyna didn't reply. She didn't know how to. She stood frozen, not sure how to proceed with the duel. How was she supposed to win now when her opponent couldn't be killed? "Don't mind her," Adele directed. "She's just coming to terms with her inevitable demise." Walking closer, Adele reached out and grasped Reyna's chin. Her nails dug into her skin, causing small beads of blood to rise up. Jerking her arm forward, Adele propelled Reyna across the room. Her body slammed against a wall with a sickening crack and she slumped to the floor.

"Reyna!" Both Bub and Sam yelled. They didn't move though. The duel was still on and they couldn't interfere.

Adele threw her head back and laughed. The red haired Castor raised her hand, lifting Reyna up off the floor and magically pinning her against the wall. Reyna's head lolled to rest against her chest, a ribbon of blood trickled down the side of her face from where her head hit the wall, and her eyes stared, unfocused, before her. "You put up a good fight, Reyna-darling, but in the end it just wasn't enough," she purred as her eyes raked over her prize. She stepped closer, her heels clicking against the hard floor the only sound in the room. Reyna's roots and vines coiled away from her, retreating to the four corners of the room.

Reyna blinked once. Twice. The foggy haze in her eyes lifting away as her gaze connected with Adele's. "Sophie," she whimpered."

Adele stopped and titled her head, "What?"

"Sophie," she repeated. "What did you do to Sophie?"

"Sophie?" Adele looked over her shoulder to Ashur, who shrugged. Turning back, she quirked a brow, "Who?"

"What," Reyna's voice was slow, steady, and devoid of any emotion, "did you do to Sophie?" She enunciated every word, her green eyes piercing into Adele's.

Ashur barked out a laugh, causing all eyes in the room to veer towards him. "Oh, you mean Lilith's pet!" He laughed again, placing a hand over his heart. "That obnoxious, pathetic excuse for a Vampire!" Smirking, he demanded, "Don't tell me you cared about her?"

Adele puckered her lips in thought. "That loud, blonde thing?" She inquired. Ashur nodded, but continued chuckling to himself. "She's dead," Adele informed her with a shrug, brushing it—brushing Sophie—off like it was nothing. Like Sophie was nothing. Reyna's fists curled into fists. Leaning in to gloat, Adele gloated, "What were you saying before? That the rest of the world would tear me apart? Do you still think that?" Not waiting for an answer, she stepped back and turned her head towards Ashur. "What about you, Ashur? Think I'm still too weak for the big bad world?"

"Well let's see." He stroked his chin in mock thoughtfulness. "You have the entirety of New Orleans under your thumb. You've dethroned the Vampire Queen. Defeated a member of the Council of Three. It doesn't seem like there's much else in your way."

Adele and Ashur droned on, their voices a mere muffled noise in the back of Reyna's mind. The only thing she could truly hear was her pulse thump, thump, thumping in her ears. Sophie was dead. Sophie was dead and they killed her. Sophie was dead and they killed her and they were making plans! As if they'd already won everything! As if they were talking about the weather! Reyna's blood boiled within her veins. She was hot. So, so very hot. She wanted them to feel this burning within her—she wanted to set them ablaze. Listen to their screams and laugh the way they laughed at Sophie. She wanted Adele, Ashur, this whole city to burn!

Adele screeched, bringing Reyna back into the now, as she stomped out a fire burning at the bottom of her dress. Snarling, Adele pressed Reyna harder against the wall, causing the green eyes Sorceress to hiss in pain as the bricks behind her dug into her back. "Still got some fight left in you, hmm?" Adele snarled, getting up in Reyna's face. "I think it's time to end this duel, don't you?" She tightened her hand into a fist and Reyna gasped as she felt her heart constrict.

"No," Reyna hissed defiantly. "Not yet." Arching her back, Reyna spiraled deep down inside of her, pulling up every ounce of magic inside of her. The grip on her heart loosened, the invisible bands around it breaking, as her magic over came Adele's. Yelling at the top of her lungs, expelling every emotion from her in one massive flood of exhalation, Reyna's body fell back down to the ground. Her feet held her body upright on wobbly knees, and with a wild glint in her eyes, the green eyed Sorceress gave Adele a taste of her own medicine. Throwing her hand out, she propelled the red haired Castor across the room and slammed her into the wall across from her. Breathing heavily, Reyna kept a hand out stretched to hold Adele in place as she struggled against the wall.

"Adele!" Ashur yelled, stepping forward to help her. The vines and roots that had been waiting in the shadows, waiting in wait, struck out and wrapped around his legs. He grunted, pulled at the roots, tore at the vines, tried to over power them by forcing his legs forward, but they didn't budge. Instead, with each struggle, with each movement, they thickened and strengthened, trapping him in place. The roots spread out through the room, widening each crack, finding the holes in the building's infrastructure and rose higher and higher. The vines slithered this way and that, snaking around Ashur's neck and squeezing tightly, cutting off his cries and howls. The building rumbled as the roots began to raise up, past the ceiling, out towards the city above. Soon their environment looked more like a swamp than a cellar. Vague echoes of screams could be heard from the city above, as well as tire screeches and horns blaring from cars being stopped and interrupted by Reyna's roots. They kept growing and growing, taller and taller, until there were no longer just roots, but fully grown trees, taking over everything and anything around them. Nature had been unleashed, and it wouldn't stop until the city had been reclaimed.

Reyna's breath was a wheeze, her ribs ached sharply, and blood still dripped down the side of her face and off her jaw line, but she stood tall before Adele. A conqueror before the defeated. She was a bat out of hell, thirsty for blood and seeking vengeance. "You thought," she fumed, a ticking time bomb preparing for detonation. "You could escape death without any repercussions? You thought escaping death would keep you safe?" With each word her voice grew louder and louder until she was howling into the woman's face. Spit flew from Reyna's lips and trickled down her chin which she angrily swiped away.

"I'm immortal," Adele taunted, her lips quirking up into a smile. "You can't kill me. Beat me into oblivion," she challenged, "and I'll still win. The smile turned into a sneer as she explained, slowly, as if to a child. "There is no beating us."

"You're an idiot," Reyna surmised, her voice steady and cold. "if you think there's nothing worse than death. Sorry to break it to you," she stepped closer and wrapped a hand around Adele's slender neck, and whispered, "But there are worse fates than death." The tattoos on her forearm burned with the warning. Free hand shimmer an illuminating, white light, Reyna forced it into Adele's chest. Adele's body instinctively tried to get away from the pain, it tried to flatten against the brick wall behind her in an attempt to escape the hand burning through her body to her very center. Adele wailed, screamed, howled, as Reyna dug through her chest. She sobbed, and begged for Reyna to stop, but her pleas went unanswered. The green eyed Sorceress dug and dug and dug, burning through the woman's sternum, her lungs, her heart, searching for something hidden—something deeper. And when Adele's body regenerated thanks to whatever bastard spell she'd cast, Reyna tore through her again.

When Adele's cries died off, and her head lolled to the side, her eyes glazed over with shock and pain, Reyna found what she'd been looking for. Gripping it tightly within her illuminated hand, which still shook from rage and exhaustion, she tore her hand out from Adele's chest with a sickening hiss. Releasing her hold on Adele's body, Reyna watched as the woman's body fell to the ground like a discarded rag doll. Ashur's muffled cries of concern were the only sound in the room, but no one paid the Vampire any attention. Slowly, and with great effort, Reyna uncurled her fingers and stared down at her prize.

"Reyna?" Bub called out quietly, slowly walking towards her. "You all right?"

Sam whistled and stared at the Sorceress's handy work. Unlike his brother, he walked at a normal pace until he stood before Adele's broken form. Nudging her body with his foot, he asked, "What'd you do to her?"

Bub gently placed a hand on her shoulder, making her jump. His blue eyes peered down into her green ones, his concern overwhelming. Glancing away, she stared down at her hand, which had returned to its normal color and no longer glowed. Following her gaze, Bub asked, "What's in your hand, Reyna?"

"Her soul," she mumbled. A small sphere of misty light hovered over her palm. It was light gray and weightless. It looked like nothing, really—almost resembling a ball of mist—but it meant everything. In her hand, which shook and trembled and her fingers twitched, Reyna held Adele. Everything that ever was, is, and would be Adele now hovered harmlessly in her grasp.

"Shit," Sam cursed, frowning before nudging Adele a little harder with his foot again.

"How?" Bub asked, his brow furrowing.

Reyna shook her head, "Not sure," her voice sounded so small, so tired. "I've seen you two separate souls from bodies . . . and I just did it. I knew I could. I was just so mad," she fingers clenched as Ashur's laughter flit through her mind again. Looking up at Bub, she added, "She deserved it."

Bub didn't say anything in response to that. A muscle ticked in his jaw, but he nodded in agreement. "'Course she did," Sam said, placing his hand on the back of Reyna's head and bending down to touch their foreheads together. "She hurt you, Reyna. She hurt the people you love. She deserved this and so much more. Don't ever doubt that." Tears welled up behind Reyna's eyes, making them burn. A lump grew in the middle of her throat, rendering her speechless, but she was able to nod her thanks.

Extending her shaking hand, she choked out, "Take it." Her fingers unclenched completely as she offered Adele's soul to Samayaza. He didn't say anything, just kept eye contact and took the soul out of her hand. Reyna didn't see what he did with it, nor did she particularly care. The fight left her then, all adrenaline seeping from her body, and slumped forward, resting her weight against Samayza's solid form.

"What next?" Sam asked, carding his fingers though Reyna's hair and using his other arm wrap around her waist in case her legs gave out on her.

"Lilith," she murmured into his shirt.

"Right. Any idea where she is?" Reyna shook her head no, and she was too tired to really figure out where they'd hidden the Vampire Queen. She had to be close by, but the details were unknown. "That's okay, we'll just ask lover boy over there."

Ashur moaned and began struggling again, hoping that Reyna's exhaustion had weakened the spell. It held strong though. Not just for Ashur, but above ground as well. Screams of terror could still be heard if they listened hard enough. Reyna's trees were growing rampant, and they wouldn't stop even now that Adele was defeated. "You gonna do something about that?" Bub asked, his head tilted back so he could look up at the ceiling.

"Why should I?" Reyna confessed bitterly. She sneered at the thought of calling off her trees. It wasn't the burning she had imagined, but the trees were scratching that itch within her for destruction just fine.

"Reyna," Bub was suddenly in her face. Not in an angry or aggressive way, but in an attention seeking way. "Stop," he commanded. Placing his hands on her cheeks, he saif softly, "I know you're hurting, but the people up there didn't cause it. They didn't know. Sophie's death is not on them." Then, knowing she'd need something to focus her anger on, Bub side stepped and pointed to Ashur. "He is."

Green eyes glinting in the dimmed light of the cellar, Reyna felt her magic coil with anticipation. Reaching out to her trees, she called them back to her. Slowly, one by one they listened, shrinking back into thin roots and vines until nothing was left of them but a single, golden seed lying on the floor before Reyna. The vines and roots holding Ashur down had disappeared, too. Pushing away from Sam, Reyna stalked towards him. Their eyes locked on to one another's. Silently, through that gaze she conveyed to him that it didn't matter if there was no longer anything to hold him down, because there was nowhere to for him to run.

#original fic #fic #lit #long post #long read #writing #fantasy #supernatural #witches #vampires #demons #my work

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evilback-wards · 6 years

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Top Candidate [Pre-DRV3]

Chapter 11

Length: 2245

Rating: 16+ish? For gore mostly.

Prefer AO3 format? Click here. Otherwise, below the line lovelies!

Once my time had elapsed, the lights went out. When I tried to feel around me to get my bearings, two bright white cloaks grabbed me from underneath my arms. I grumbled, but complied, not wanting my distaste to spoil my chances. Being Kaito Momota wouldn’t be so bad anyway. Heck, I don’t even remember who I was before that name was shoved down my throat. I know I liked sports. I know I liked movies and television too. Maybe I was just...normal. I gave my pup Chip a kiss before heading out to school every day. I think I may have even won a trophy or two for my athleticism. But, from what I recall, nothing I ever did pegged me as worthy to be in a killing game. Or this title of Kaito Momota. Whatever, I guess.

The white cloaks continued to guide me through the darkness. My mind began to wander to my ex, Kaede. Was that really her name though or her character’s name? I’m not really sure to be honest. When we first met, about a year ago, her appearance stood out more than her name. Her eyes called me to from across the train, begging for me to talk to her. I remember squeezing my way past the crowd of people just to stand beside her. Of course, I’m no creep so I didn’t try anything too early. Our schools were nearby which meant I could easily play truant and be the bad boy. Kaede took a liking to me so quickly, too, inviting me out to places for me to relish her in constant praise. Ah; that easy life would’ve been my dream. But, now I have a few added roadblocks. Now I had to find my way out of this darkness. And then, survive the first round. Then survive the second round. And then beat out the others in the killing game. Easy, just four steps until the easy life would be granted to me.

I felt one of the cloaks press their hand against my chest. I stopped moving to comply as best I could.The sound of machinery overcame the current silence and steps. Thin lines of light began to outline a door in front of me and the white cloak personnel. Was this finally my waiting area? A rhythmic sound of beats rang out into the quiet, the thin lines of light becoming much wider.

Once there was a noticeably longer beep, the room in front of me felt almost too bright. I kept blinking, hoping my eyes would adjust sooner rather than later. The two in white shoved me forward, the door behind me closing quickly. I rubbed my eyes with my hands, struggling to make sense of the room around me. The walls had been a strange mixture of black and white, with random streaks of red where the other two colors met.

The room was as big as fifty of my school gyms combined. The room seemed to endlessly stretch forward. As I took my first step, I felt myself a weird texture underneath my feet. I took a closer look and noticed there had been a thin layer of plastic. Before I questioned the placement, I recalled what the losers ‘punishment’ had been if we lost the audition. I cracked a smile at this, beginning to feel around the floor for any openings in the plastic. I started to hear the door open and close again, over and over, but I had to push that thought out of my mind. I had to keep my ex Kaede in mind. What Kaede would like. What Kaede wouldn’t like. She was my queen in this game, and if I had to keep her as a possible resource, I needed to keep myself clean. While I had been searching for an opening to the plastic, I found out an interesting fact about this large room. There had been a total of 26 streaks. Was that the number of survivors that there would be? My fingers finally found a bit of an opening near one of the furthermost corners of the room. Most people crowded around the door we all entered from, though that’d likely be a bad move. They stood close to each other, like this was some sort of cohort we could be best buds in. Idiots. Once bodies start exploding, limbs will start flying!

I found myself a nice secluded corner with moveable plastic, making sure no one dared talked to me. What’s the point of being friends with anyone of these fuckers anyway? They’re all going to die. Well, besides those who pass the audition. I saw a few others take a similar approach to me, finding corners or secluded areas to deter others from standing too close. I kept a kneeling position next to my corner, keeping the plastic on the floor above my fingers. I needed to have easy access if the explosion were to randomly occur. I started to notice the auditioners become more antsy the more people entered the room. We must be nearing the end of the line. And, after one of the shorter versions of me entered, the door behind the guy shut tight with metal. Some idiots decided it best to start clawing it at it with their hands. I lifted the plastic from the floor a bit, preparing for my quick entry.

“And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for! The results for our first character, Kaito Momota,” yelled that preppy voice from before.

As the voice began to cackle over the loudspeaker, my eyes were brought to the slim bracelet wrapped around my wrist. The fit felt tight, a small slit of red where my vein was. So this is what will kill the losers, huh?

“Ten...nine...eight...like, say your final prayers now, losers~, seven…” the high pitched voice counted. If the announcer was the mastermind for this sort of event, maybe dying would be the best option. I bet she’d be some preppy girl, early teens, getting her first chance at running daddy’s illegal human trafficking organization. Maybe this is a sign of the times we live in. Or, maybe, it’s a sign of how humanity has given up on itself with such bullshit events like this. I quickly started to slide myself underneath the plastic,being careful to cover my entire body. I kept my eyes open to see through the plastic, seeing several others do the same thing. Dammit -- if they explode, there’d be a risk I’d get some of their disgusting blood on me! Well, I’ll just hope they’re not as dumb as the group near the door trying to leave.

I closed my eyes as I heard the voice countdown to 2, bracing myself for the explosions. I’d live, of course, but I’d rather not see human bodies fling across the room. I heard a variety explosions go off around me, as well as some annoying shrill yelling. And, of course, that teenage girl’s sniveling laughter. I wasn’t sure what the next test would imply. If it had anything to do with my looks, well then, I’d probably win for sure! Whatever would come, I needed to be ready to fight for my life. Once I get those riches they talked about earlier, I’d be safe from ever having to work this hard again. As the explosions continued, I felt some blood skitter above me. More and more of it came my way, idiots still alive running in circles as if they had no other way of showing their excitement. Even if they did survive by some stroke of luck or late exploding, they should’ve known to close their eyes. Hide under plastic. Stay clean and free of all the filth that failed.

I decided to give myself a bit more time underneath here, in case there would be any late exploders. And, I assumed, the preppy bitch would make another announcement for an all clear.

“Congratulations, final 25, you’ve moved onto the next audition! The second round will start promptly after the next 11 auditions. Sit tight, ok,” the girl's voice blared out again, annoying high pitched and cheeky. My eyes slowly opened to the bloodbath that occurred only seconds ago. Sure, there were only streaks of blood on the plastic above me, but there must’ve been worse once I got up.

As I pulled myself up and peeled the plastic layer off from me, my suspicions were affirmed. Body parts were flung to every other part of the room,busted pieces of heads, arms, fingers without hands, bodies without limbs, limbs without digits...awful. I’ll smile though. Just to freak out those other 24. Most of those who survived hid under the plastic, like me, while others appeared to be shivering, blood soaked. One guy in particular had been taller than me, crying as he held an disembodied arm. Poor guy. Maybe the hand he’s holding was a guy he spoke to for like, I dunno, an hour?

I looked around the room, watching as one of the red streaks manipulated itself into a door. Could this be a fictional reality or was this still the virtual world? White cloaks began to gesture us to leave, coming from the other side.

I started to walk toward the exit, careful to side step any squishy or otherwise disgusting materials. I couldn’t have trash on the ground taint me, hah, yeah! I kept my smirk plastered on my face, ensuring to look at anyone that crossed my path directly in the eye. Yeah, I gotta keep psyching them out! Then I’d win this game for sure! I kept my ears opened as I heard a variety of conversations spark.

“Hey, something’s off. The chick said 11 but they’re supposed to be 16 students total.”

“Yeah? And? I ain’t complainin’. I just wanna be one student, I don’t have time to care about where the other 3 are gonna come from.”

“Danganronpa is a traditional killing game of sixteen participants though. If we’re missing part of the cast, then this’ll all fall to pieces.”

“Dude, shut the fuck up. People literally just exploded. Fuck off…”

The variety of comments felt human, or at least something resembling how most people would react. Twenty-four other high school students managed to pass along with me. How else could I psych them out? I needed to stay alive to keep the easy life dream alive. No matter what.

As I crossed the threshold to the other side, the room style completely changed. The walls were now black, furniture matching the color to a tee. Besides the other Kaito’s exiting with me, I noticed a familiar smiling blonde cunt. I gave her a warm smile, running up to her. I opened my arms wide, preparing to pick her up bridal style. This was like a movie ending, or rather, the build up exposition for my character.

“A-Ah, Kaito! I’m glad you survived,” Kaede said, a grin on her face too. I could feel the other Kaito’s eyes the back of my head. Good; feel all those terrible emotions. Get too distracted to act your part. I made my grin as wide as I could make it.

When I got close to Kaede, she put her hand out in front of her body like a stop sign.

“What?” I asked, gesturing toward my pristine body. Sure, my feet were a little bloody, but, I was mostly unscathed as I shouted for everyone to hear, “Don’t want a hug from your perfect boyfriend? Oh, I’m sorry, ex boyfriend!”

“I...I want something more,” Kaede mumbled, looking down with a scarlet blush across her cheek. Ah yeah, this day just keeps getting better! I kept my grin, hell, I’d make it wider if I could, as I smooched my ex. Her lips felt like fire against my mine, pressing through with her tongue...mmm…

After a few minutes of satisfying tongue kissing, I took a look over her shoulder. I saw a weirdly dressed boy with one hair sticking up from his head. His eyes were aimed toward the ground, looking as if he had been loneliness incarnate.

“So, you got another new boyfriend? Man, it’s getting hard to keep up Kaede,” I said, though half-jokingly. This guy was dead if he was even on a huggable basis.

“No, and my old one was a piece of shit. He’s actually one of the main ones running this shitshow,” Kaede replied, crossing her arms as she had a pouty look on her face. You know, despite the killing and all, she still looked pretty cute!

I took a seat next to Kaede, sitting on a plush chair.

“When’s your audition,” I asked.

“Me and Shuichi got passes for the 1st round. So we’re just killing time like you now,” Kaede said, seeming passive as her head leaned against me. I stayed quiet as I ran my hand through her hair. I wonder what type of connections that new friend of hers has to get her pass the first round. I needed to play nice if I wanted to share some of those benefits!

I guess I should play nice until the 2nd room, and hopefully, I was already sitting with 2 of the 12 killing game members. I took another glance over at the Shuichi kid, still not acknowledging my presence. Huh, well, I’ll definitely change that during the killing game!

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hs-devote · 4 years

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10. C U R I O U S E Y E S

Moodboard // Content // Masterlist

Disclaimer:

All characters and situation in this story are fictitious. Resemblance to any person living or dead is only God knows.

Previous chapter : Harry asked his girlfriend for her birthday. Yet, she didn’t know what she wanted. That was just soft moment in the beginning, turn out to heavy made out right after Y/N teased his hair. One thing led another, they knew their voices would be louder than the sound of rain out there. If they wouldn’t stop, now.

10. CURIOUS EYES

Y/N didn't really give Harry what kind of birthday she wanted, nor where she would love to celebrate. It wasn't like her seventeen or twenty-first birthday after all. A nice wish and hope were enough for her. The day she really looking for, yet kind of not, was coming today. Today, her age added one year older which mean her life in the world would a year reduced, she thought jokingly. Many hopes she wanted, but she had to be realistic since there were some that she thought were impossible to get shortly. She still had a long journey to go and plenty of time to get what she wants. “Happy twenty-three in happiness, baby.” Harry came out of nowhere all of a sudden – pecking her cheek. His palm caressing her small back while his other hand placed a small package on her table. Y/N stared at him dumbfounded, didn't aware when Harry had snuck into her office. It had been locked, or she was too busy with her computer screen.

“This is like hundred times you wish me, you know? But, when did you come in? I didn't see you.” She asked, looking down at Harry who was squatting in front of her. Y/N didn’t lie when she said this is the umpteenth time he said it. He was the first person to wish her happy birthday.

The man called her at exactly midnight, just to make sure he’s the first who wished her. When he called her, Y/N was already asleep, but she woke up when her mobile phone rang loudly; she couldn’t help but smile when Harry’s deep – raspy voice being the first thing she heard at her new age. She didn’t deny the feeling of joy and strange burst in her stomach when she got the small yet sweet treatment from her lover. The butterflies and flowers dancing in her body, made her feel like a teenager when her heart was beating so fast. In her mind, she could imagine he was lying on his bed bare-chested while staring at the ceiling while his hand supporting the phone in his ear.

Harry hummed, pointing at her screen, “You were too busy with this,” his hand pulled the nearest chair so he could sit comfortably.

“And what it is?” Y/N put the package down her lap, her elbows rested on top of it, eyes stared at him questionably.

“Your birthday gift, darling!” he grinned, “Open it.”

“You don't need to give me a present, H. But, thank you so much.” She smiled, stroking his cheek with her thumb. “Madeleine didn't suspicious when you come in, did she?” For months they were in a relationship, they managed to keep it a secret – still. Didn't know until when. Both of them had to stay professional with their jobs. Their life behind the work was entirely their privacy. Yet once or twice, Harry stole kisses from Y/N when he had the chance and no one was in there. “It's a lunch break, love. She was out ten minutes ago.” He shrugged, “Oh, I forget to tell you that I have your birthday dinner reservation tonight. We should leave on time. I chose the place since you didn't say anything.” “You're such full of surprise, aren't you?” she beamed at him. Who knew Harry Styles had many ways to made her swoon with the simplest way. Simple yet effective. “My life is full of surprise, love.” “Mhmm.” She nodded, “All right, I'm gonna open this.” Before she opened the box, Y/N looked to it carefully. A navy coloured box with paper ribbon as its wrapper. Her fingers slowly untied the ribbon, put it on the table before lifting the lid. Her eyes found a dozen pairs of cute socks, three nail polish, a mini beauty gift set, and the last – small package with the name of a famous watch company in England written on it. “I know you like cute socks and love to colouring your nails. So, I think you would like it.” He grinned, then picking the nail polish. “Well, we can match!” “You're such a dork.” She cackled. Then her hand took the small package and opened it – finding a dazzling watch. Her eyes stunned in awe to beautiful rose quartz, sunray dial watch. Her fingers slowly picked up the beauty and looked at every detail sculpted on it. It was simple yet so pretty. “This is so pretty, thank you.” Y/N beamed, her smile showing her pearly white teeth. Harry smiled before leaning in to kiss her jaw, “You’re welcome, darling.” “And oh, Harry. You said earlier we have dinner tonight? Should I change my clothes?” “I’ll take you to a club afterwards, maybe you can go home first and change? Then we’ll go after that. I don’t need to change so I’ll just wait for you.” He nodded. “Ooh, someone wants to get drunk tonight?” she teased while wiggling her eyebrow. “Nah, I just haven't been to the night club in a long time.” He playfully rolled his eyes, “Have your mum wished you a happy birthday? She texted me to ask if I knew your birthday?” Y/N squinted her eyes in a shy, her inner goddess groaning inside. “Why she did that?” she mumbled, "But yeah, her and my dad FaceTime me in the morning and Connor joined later.” "Must be so nice having a whole family got online together, yeah?” "Next time you have to meet them, especially my dad and Connor.” She bit her lower lip, "They threatened to come to my office if I try to hide my boyfriend from them.” Harry laughed, massaging his temple. "They sound like fun people." “Oh believe me they really are.” She sarcasm, "One time they once conspired together to hide my bag when I was late for school." “And… the worst part is when I was celebrating my tenth birthday, they changed my candles for magic candles that didn't go out easily, I remember I cried there because they couldn’t get off and my friends were there!” Y/N sighed while playing with his rings adorned his fingers. His long, curved fingers were well suited to the jewellery he was wearing. One of her favourites was sterling silver of dancing bears that was resting on his middle finger. Her fingertips couldn’t bear to play with his rings. Sometimes, it crossed her mind if the ring bothered him when he was typing or holding something? Considering him almost had a ring on his ten fingers. Only his thumbs, ring, and middle finger on the right hand were clean.

Her eyes noticed he had a tie bar that she gave him for Christmas along with the tie. She smiled a little, feeling all soft and giggly to knew he wore them.

“You're wearing these.” She said, stroking his tie up to down – and tapping the tie bar.

“Finally, you noticed that!” he chuckled, “All right, I'll go out for a meeting. I'll come back to take you home, okay?”

“Okay. Drive safe, H.”

“Later, darling.” Y/N smiled softly when Harry kissed her temple before walking out of her office. This was her first birthday with a boyfriend after almost a year being a single. Her previous relationship was left sour in her heart; her ex-boyfriend was the one who broke it off – after admitting he was bored of her. She was annoyed by him when she found out he already dating another girl only five days after they broke up. But that was no longer her business. That was a lie if she didn't sad, they were dating for a year, long enough to make a story. . . . . A few hours later, Y/N got a message from Harry saying that he was already in his private parking – waiting for her. She happily replied to him, letting him know she was on her way. After she finished her work, she tidied her desk. With her hands carried her presents while her bag dangling on her shoulder, she strutted out of her office.

“Oh my god, Y/N! Happy birthday! Why you didn't tell me today is your birthday?” Madeleine squealed when she passed her desk. Her gleaming eyes squinted together yet gentle smile plastered over her lips.

“It's not a big deal, honestly. But thank you.” Y/N spoke softly, “How do you know it's my birthday?”

“Mr Styles told me earlier.” She answered, her smile got bigger when she spotted her co-worker had a present in her hand, “You got a present already.”

“Oh,” Y/N looked down, smiling. “Mr Styles gave it to me.”

“How wonderful! That’s very nice of him.” She nodded, “All right, I want to go home. Want to come down with me?”

Y/N nodded before thinking twice. After all, they would go to the same floor before she headed to the place where Harry was waiting. Madeleine happily took her bag and rushed to the lift with her. Both of them were saying goodbye when they were down to the ground floor together. While Madeleine exited through the main lobby, Y/N walked in the other direction to get to the parking area. She quickly spotted Harry’s black BMW on the corner, parked somewhat away from the others. Her legs brought her to him confidently before opening the door. Although the tinted windows were a bit difficult to peek at, she saw her boyfriend who was playing with his phone faintly. Harry quickly greeted her with a soft kiss on the cheek after she opened the door before revved up the engine and drove off.

Y/N didn’t need much time to change. When she arrived at her apartment, she immediately cleaned up her body and chose the perfect clothes in her mind. She opted a black tight midi dress since Harry told her they would go to the club after the dinner, she didn't have the chance to do her makeup because Harry was dragging her already – saying she could do that in the car.

Harry killed the engine when they arrived in The Shard. Y/N remembered the first time she came here for a meeting, and now back to the same place for a different purpose. She flicked the rear-view mirror to her direction, so she could see the reflection of her lips. Her hand was pulled by Harry before she could put her lipstick on; instead, he took her lipstick and applied it on her plump lips.

“Don't mess it up, H.” She warned, her eyes gazed at him while he was looking at her lips.

“You will make me mess it up if your lips still moving, darling.” He scoffed, biting his lips. His eyes squinting with his lips pursed. Y/N laughed softly as he unconsciously stuck out his tongue. It was his habit when he was focusing on her.

“All done.” Harry gave the lipstick back, letting her look at herself in the mirror. He never failed to impressed her, he could perfectly put her lipstick – he even polished her nails well. What else he couldn't do?

She kissed his neck as a thank, then stepped out of the car along with him. He offered his hand once he was beside her, Y/N happily held him in hers – stepping inside the building. Harry didn't change his clothes, he just removed her suit jacket – leaving him in black shirts with his sleeve rolled up until his elbow, his two tops unbuttoned; showing a glimpse of his tattoo and silver cross necklace. The lift they stepped in took them to the 31st floor where some restaurants were located. When the two of them arrived at a fancy restaurant, the doormen welcomed them warmly with one of the chefs – she assumed, since he was wearing toque – escort them to their table. Theirs was in the corner which had the best panoramic views of London city; was one of the private corners they offered made the couple didn’t need to worry about other guest noises. Y/N giggled in awe when her eyes set on beautiful stems of White Hydrangea, Lavender Spray Rose, and Carnation with some Astrantia standing lovely in the purple box. A small card attached to the ribbon;

You’re, my lady, turning twenty-three today. So I have twenty-three stems of them as a symbol of your step life. I know the flowers are so exquisite but the beauty of you is incomparable. Happy birthday, darling.

Your Harry x

“You’re such a sappy romantic,” she grinned, “But, thank you.”

Harry shrugged, his hands help to pull the chair for her. “Only for you.”

The food was amazing, the ambience was exceptional. The chef paced back and forth to their table just to make sure their food was served perfectly.

“Your birthday is next week, do you have any plan?” asked Y/N before scooping her dessert; her tongue swept her cold, sweet lips. Since her birthday was in the end week in January, Harry's birthday was only one week away from her. A nice coincidence for them, celebrating an adjacent birthday.

“Actually, I want to ask you to come to Manchester with me for my birthday. We'll leave on Saturday morning, and go back on Sunday night. It's been a long time since I didn't celebrate my birthday with my mum, so this year I decided to spend my birthday with her, too.” Harry said, “It's her idea and she asked me to come with you.”

“Oh, that's nice of her. I don’t think she told me earlier.” She frowned. Anne called her this afternoon, wishing her happy birthday but didn't say anything about Harry's upcoming birthday. Anne and she had been exchanged messages quite often. His mother loved to ask her about Harry's well-being because Anne knew that sometimes Harry felt a little annoyed if she always asked about his state every day over a text. From there, Y/N knew Harry was such a mummy boy – yet he didn't want to admit it.

“It's because I asked her not to tell you.” Harry faced down his spoon, “And I don't take a no.”

Y/N rolled her eyes jokingly, not surprised by Harry's demanding behaviour. Actually, Abbie asked her if they could spend the Sunday lunch together, but she didn't promise anything yet because that's Harry birthday. Of course, she would prefer spending her weekend with the boyfriend of her. It’s not like she didn’t want to hang out with Abbie, but Harry would be disappointed if he knew that his girlfriend didn’t celebrate his birthday with him. They left the restaurant right after Y/N finished her ice cream. Ready to start the real night. Her impatience grew even bolder when Harry drove the car into the Soho – again. Right after his car got into a parking lot, he killed the engine after the car stopped perfectly. She mumbled a thank after he opened her door. Once she was out, his arms secured perfectly behind her waist.

He winked, “This is the real surprise, if I could say.”

Y/N didn't know where Harry would bring her since there were lots of nightclubs here. Her feet just followed where he was going, she just hoped it wasn't too far due to her thin heels could cramp her legs. Both of them stopped after four minute-ish walking, standing in front of a nightclub at the end of the intersection. The doorman let them in after Harry told his name.

Loud music and spotlights were calling her when she got in, but Harry didn't pull her into the sweaty – drunk bodies, instead, he pulled her hand into the next room. She let out a gasp when her eyes identify some familiar faces in there. Besides, there were lots of balloons and birthday decorations installed in every corner of the room. Abbie was the one tackle her into her arms. Y/N spotted Sarah, Amy, and Cindy at the back. She also could see some of her uni friends, but she couldn't recognise the rest. They could be Harry’s friends.

“You have to thank Harry, you know?” Abbie giggled in her ear, “He called me one day, asked for my help to contact some friends because he had a party for you.”

Y/N widened her eyes, didn't know that Harry was the one who had the idea of hold a party for her. When her eyes were searching for him, he was talking to Niall in the corner.

“He's so damn fucking handsome in real person. How did you get so lucky, huh?” she pinched her shoulder, “I might never meet him if he doesn’t make this party.”

Abbie didn’t lie, this was the first time she met Harry. Thanks to him anyway. If not, she wouldn’t know when her friends would bring him to her.

Y/N scoffed, “I have my reason. Well, excuse me I have to talk with him.”

“Right, go get that dick.”

“Abbie!” she hissed. Her head shook at her when she saw her friends were giggling hysterically. Y/N ignored her, instead, she walked to Harry – leaving Abbie alone. Niall was the one who noticed her and he immediately wishing her happy birthday. He excused himself after Y/N thanked him, leaving her alone with her boyfriend.

“Hey.” She smiled, touching his arms. Harry took her hands, brought them around his waist. “Hi, baby.” “Thank you for all of this, and the dinner.” Y/N spoke a little louder since the music got louder. “Abbie told me you called her the other day for making this party happened, you didn't have to do that.” “But I want to, and I have a promise to have your birthday no fail.” He chuckled, cupping her jaw. Y/N stared at him with a dreamy look; didn't know why she got so lucky, having Harry beside her was the most beautiful thing that happened in her entire life. If she ever said she was grateful for the accomplishment of her career, now she was extraordinarily grateful to be one of the most important people in Harry's life. Y/N smiled before pulling his face closer to hers, so she could savour his plump lips –having no care of so many people around them. All she cared about was her and Harry now. Harry happily kissed her back, invading her tongue and mouth with his. He could hear some of his friends cheering over them, he only gave them the middle finger before detached his lips from her.

He gave her one more small peck on the lips, before smiling like a crazy to her. Their eyes locked together with an elated smile forming on their lips, was busy with their own world – didn’t aware of their surroundings. Abbie and Sarah approached them while carrying a birthday cake with burning candle sparkles. Her friends gathered around, singing happy birthday while the rest was watching from afar. Y/N giggled, giving a quick kiss on Harry's cheek before put her hair aside – didn't want her hair being in the flame of the candle.

She did make a wish before blowing out the candles. Yet, began to feel annoyed when they didn't go out, made her laugh. Everyone cheered when she finally could make the candles go out, thanks to Harry's help.

Y/N introduced Harry to her friends as her boyfriend. Almost all of her friends were drooling over him, but she didn’t need to worry because he was hers. She also made sure didn’t slip up saying he was also her boss.

“Your friends seem nice,” Harry spoke, his hand occupied by Gin while eyes wandering to every single person in the room.

“Yes, they are.” Y/N sighed, chugging her Mojito. “How's yours? I could only recognise, Niall.”

“Here, let me introduce you to them.” Harry took her hand, leaving their couch vacant. He pushed her into the crowd, slipping among the sweaty bodies. She saw her friends got wild, grinding on whoever they want. Harry smiled at his friends who were sitting together in the corner before introducing the birthday girl. Y/N was blushing from the way they complimenting Harry for choosing a girl.

“Most of them were from uni, and one of the company clients if you remember.” He whispered, rubbing her back with his thumb. Small gestures like this that could make her lovesick. Sound cheesy but she really liked it. That was one of her favourite habits of Harry's.

“Yeah, I saw the Alex guy and something in my mind said he was familiar.” Y/N nodded, but suddenly her eyes getting wide as if remembering something. “Hold on, he will know that I'm your assistant!”

“I doubt that, he's drunk anyway.” He shrugged, “Even if he knows, let it be. I'm fine if people know if it's okay with you.”

His words just now made her stunned in her place. Harry didn't mind if their relationship being exposed to the public. He didn't care if everyone knew she was his assistant. That was a sign he wouldn't keep this as a secret anymore. Without any further do, Y/N agreed quickly. There was a bit of relief at least she didn’t have to pretend anymore.

Right? – her inner goddess was a little doubting

“I like that idea.”

“C'mon then, dance with me.” Harry took her to the dance floor, standing in the centre of the crowd. Y/N wrapped her hands around his neck while he placed his hand on her hips, their body swayed to the music. Everything got wilder when the DJ played the stomping music; bumping to each other of being drunk. Y/N turned around, pushing her back to Harry's front, grinding on him. The alcohol she had that night made her bolder, she rolled her neck only for Harry to suck them. Her thighs heated up due to Harry's hand slipping up and stroking them slowly. Her body was burning, her head dizzy. She just prayed both of them weren’t too drunk due to the alcoholic drink they had.

“You have no idea how much I want to fuck you right now.” Harry hummed on her ear, “But, I don't like their bathroom, too cramped for a quick fuck.”

“Oh my god, H.” She giggled, but choked instantly when his fingers sneaking into her underwear. She hurriedly held his hand before he went any further, “Not in a public please, they can see your hand in my thighs.”

“I don’t think so. Everyone is too drunk to look at us.” He sighed. His lips pursed but he couldn’t hold back his grin when his fingertips felt wet and sticky, “Why are you so wet already?”

Y/N gulped as Harry's finger rolling up and down her centre – feeling her wetness. She wiggled for Harry got easier access into her. He moaned in pleasure when his fingers could dip deeper into her. Y/N herself refrained from making any noises that made others suspicious even if it was difficult. She only bit her lips when her boyfriend teased her.

“Now look who's the most aroused.” He mocked her, licking her earlobe. Y/N quickly turned around, squeezing his crotch through his trouser.

“I bet it was your first?” she smirked, feeling his already hard bulge. Her teasing smile faltered when she felt something strange, “You’re not wearing a pant, are you?”

“No,” Harry answered innocently, eyes wide in realisation yet she could see his face clearly wasted. She averted her eyes to the clock, it was already three in the morning, they didn't realise they had been hours on the club, everyone still enjoying the night, dancing and get drunk.

“Let's get home, H. We have to go to work six hours from now,” she yawned, “I need my sleep.”

Harry just nodded before rubbed his eyes lazily. He clung to her while holding her wrist since he was drunk enough, didn't want to trip or walked unsteadily since wasn't sure how much alcohol had sunk into his body.

Y/N told her friends she had to call off the night. Rolled her eyes, she neglected their teasing look before gripped Harry's arm when both of them out of the room. The dark hall very deviated from the other rooms which still alive, the music was blaring as well as the crowd noises. Being a person who was at least sober, she pulled him to her to keep up with her footsteps since he began to wobbled. Now, she was confused about how could he drive them home if he wasn't sober enough. Drunk Harry was something else; he loved to snuggle her closer and smelling her hair.

“Harry, c'mon. We have to get into the car.” She whined when he stopped in his track, swinging their intertwined hands together. Shaking her head, Y/N couldn't help let out her chuckle. Her boyfriend was so adorable when drunk.

“Harry..” her voice stern, “Let's go, darling.”

He pouted his lips, nodding briefly before followed her steps in front of him. He was goofing around causing Y/N to stumble when her body bumped into someone, she quickly apologised but they didn't take it.

“Watch your fucking step, female!”

“Hey, she already apologised.” Harry snapped, didn't like anyone talking harshly to his girlfriend. Besides, she had apologies at first – didn't mean any harm.

“Try looking out your slut next time, dude!” The man said rudely, his reddish eyes looking at both of them – squinting for a second before scoffed at them; he knew who they were.

Harry never thought he would meet him here. Among many nightclubs in London, why he had to encounter this man here.

He growled, “Watch your fucking mouth, Dale.”

Y/N held his arm, preventing both of them from doing something awful. They were both drunk, she could tell, and it wouldn't be nice if they fight.

“C'mon, H. Let's get home. He's not worth for your time.” She whispered, rubbing his chest tried to comfort him. Dale knew his old friend was wasted; pupils were dilated with slightly reddened eyes. He took the opportunity to sneer at him. He would always be the cocky one while Harry was always being his victim one. No matter how far Harry had changed, he couldn't stop seeing him as the dirt.

“Now, you need your slut to defend you? Need someone to stick for you? How pathetic. First, you need your stepfather, now you need your whore. Someone like Harry Styles or.. Harry Edward could never defend his own self. You will always be the pathetic Harry, you would never be a Styles. Poor the Styles had to let a rotten man into the fami–”

A female piercing scream echoed the air when Y/N saw the scene before her eyes. Her eyes wide in horror over how hard Harry punch Dale. Her mind was too numb to think.

What should she do?

No, you can’t do anything. You’ll spice them up if you try to interfere! Her inner goddess stated

Like a lightning struck before her eyes, her mind remembered Harry told her once if he couldn't control his anger, Marcel was there. And now she believed it wasn't Harry now who punched Dale back and forth. She didn’t see Harry, instead, she saw his twin. She knew how strong Harry was and what he could do when the fists were ready, yet he might not waste his energy only for people who weren’t important.

Her mind snapped into consciousness noticing they still punching each other whilst her wits drove her away. No matter what, both the man must be separated. Her vision caught Dale's female companion standing in the corner like a fool did absolutely nothing.

Y/N rolled her eyes, “Hey, care to help me grab Dale?”

“I don't want to get hit!” the girl scoffed, crossing her arms.

This girl really got her nerve if she didn’t want to do anything… her inner goddess gagged.

“It's better than you standing there like an idiot! I could have told the police that you let him get beaten up, you know?” she challenged with hands ready to grab Harry's waist to get off from Dale who was the one punching. Dale just laid on the ground while shielding his head, yet Harry still had his way to pulled his hand.

“Harry, please. Leave him alone. You're fine, we're fine!” she cried out, her small hands holding his hand back. That girl hurried took the chance to help Dale standing on his own.

“That's none of your fucking business, Y/N.” Harry growled, shoving her away yet didn't make her fall. He looked even more infuriated when the girl helped Dale. Grabbing the girl in the neck, he choked her with one hand only. The unknown lady gripped Harry’s wrist tried to shove him away, but his strangled was so strong that Y/N could see his popping veins in his hand. The poor lady was out of breath, her eyes were enlarged and mouth parted away like a fish.

She could die at the hands of Harry if he kept like that. Y/N screamed for him to release her, she didn't do anything wrong to him after all.

“Get out of my way.” His venom voice made both the girl shudder before shoving the poor female aside. People started to come out of the room, curious about what was happening. Y/N began to feel anxious about the increasing number of witnesses. She couldn’t let others see this state of him.

“Marcel, please. You could kill him.” Y/N ventured herself to taking a step closer to Harry, whispered to his ear, hoping that Marcel would listen to her. Yet, he didn't. He still punching and kicking Dale's body showing no mercy – like the devil if they want to.

“What the fuck, Harry!”

Y/N tilted her head to the sound, eyes stared at Niall who was running to them. He did his best to pull his friend away to get out of that place before the security came, or the worst, people began to record him. Harry, of course, tried to let his body loose while Niall still holding his body tight. While Niall dragged him out, Y/N tried to talk to him; calling for Harry to fight Marcel over his body. He began to calm down when they were out. Good things there was no doorman to be found, so no one was suspicious.

“We’ll go home, thank you for your help, Niall.” She thanked him, “I wouldn’t know what to do if you didn’t show up at the right time.”

“No problem, if you have any difficulties with him, don’t hesitate to call me.” Niall nodded and then paused, like there was something he was considering. “I assumed you know who he is right now?” Stupid! Harry had told him she already knew.

Y/N just bobbed her head slightly, confirming what Niall asked. “I do.”

Niall sighed, “That’s good then. At least a small burden had lifted from him.”

“It’s not easy for him, Niall.”

“I know.”

She excused herself and Harry after thanked him one last time. During the walk back to the parking lot, Y/N gripped Harry’s arm tightly yet not too hard. She didn’t know who she was holding now. If it was Harry, she might feel relieved. But if it was Marcel, she must be careful and tried to bring Harry back to her side.

“Harry, are you in there?” she asked lowly. His face was still hard, yet not too scary like earlier. The way he gave her no response made her heart beating fast. Marcel obviously still in there.

“Marcel, do you want to talk about it?” Y/N inquired once more, sighing afterwards when he ignored her. The moment when they reached his car, he didn’t open her door like usual, just straight forward to his door. He stared at her lazily when she was still standing in front of his car, did nothing but only watched him.

“Get inside, Y/N. You’re an adult, aren’t you? Open the damn door by yourself.” He scoffed before climbed in. She got inside without saying a word. The air and atmosphere were too thick to cut when Y/N put her safety belt on whilst Harry turned on the ignition. Out of nowhere, he suddenly grimaced and dropped his head on the steering wheel, made her winced when he hit the dashboard with his other hand tugged his roots.

“Are you okay? Talk to me, please.” She mumbled, looking at him with full concern. She didn’t know what to do, and to whom she was speaking now.

“I’m sorry about that.” Harry said after being silent for one minute. He lifted his head, gripping the wheel with both of his hands before averted his gaze to her. She couldn’t distinguish if it was Harry or Marcel she was looking at. His voice wasn’t heavy as before, yet calmer but his irises were still a little bit darker. His face showed no anger at all.

“It’s fine, H. Thank you for sticking up for me.”

“He called you slut. It’s not fine, darling.” He shook his head, “He made me mad, too. Accusing me of not being able to defend myself.”

“But yes, I shouldn’t make him almost die, should I?” Harry threw her a smile, a sickening smile that Y/N didn’t know what it meant.

“Can I ask you something, Harry?” she murmured. Little did he knew, Y/N observed Harry’s gesture all the time once she was inside the car. From the way he spoke and looked at her, she had trouble guessing who he was.

“Anything, darling.” He shrugged, smiling sweetly at her. The sweet that could turn into a poison at any time, and Y/N must anticipate it.

“How come Dale still bothering you? It looks like you can’t escape from him.”

“Dale is still a child and always be. Maybe he thinks it’s cool even though it’s been years and we’ve grown up. He still needs his toy since he doesn’t have any other. He’s so wrong if he thinks I’m still his toy.” His voice flat, steady – while his eyes looked at her, “But you’re wrong, I can escape from him if… he’s the one who escapes himself from… me.”

“All right,” she nodded, “Do you think you’re sober enough? I can drive if you don’t want to.”

“I’m very much sober right now, baby.” He grinned, “But…”

His sentence stopped in the mid-air as he leaned to her, both of their eyes locking to each other. Cupped her chin, his eyes now looked at her lips. Y/N felt his hot breath swept across her face, rich in the smell of the alcoholic drinks he had earlier. Along with their touching noses, Y/N tilted her head and allowed her mouth to be infiltrated by his tongue. Her lips tasting his chapped ones.

The dry of his lips made her tongue quickly moisten his lips. The clicking sound of their lips was louder than the sound of car engines, her moan became the second thing that was heard. Harry grabbed her bum, bring her to rest on his lap. Y/N carefully moved without touching anything, she didn’t want unintentionally pressed the horn or moving the steering wheel. She felt his hardened bulge right below her centre, if she pulled down her panties and Harry unbuttoned his trouser, his length would be bury inside of her immediately. Slowly yet confidently, he led her to grind on him with lips still attached to each other, his hand squeezing her bum and the other one slipped inside her dress to rub her back.

“Oh fuck.” He moaned, “Oh my fuck!”

They could both say they were sober, but still intoxicated. Harry cursed every time her grind became aggressively harder, made him pulled the recliner so Y/N could move freely however she wanted. He growled when Y/N detached her lips from him. Both of them was running out of breath, lips wet and swollen. Her eyes squinted seeing something different from Harry’s face now; he looked a little strange. Like there was something he wanted to tell. His persona was colder and darker. Hell, he was like that since they were walked away from the club.

“I can escape from him if… he’s the one who escapes himself from… me”

“Escape from... me.”

Her eyes widened after realising something.

Marcel

He was Marcel.

Marcel was the one in front of her right now.

Marcel was the one whom she kissed.

“Hey, why you stopped?” his voice calm, heavier and a little faster. She couldn’t be wrong. This was Marcel. But why he was so gentle with her? Why? Why wasn’t he rude and arrogant? “Baby, why you’re spacing out?” asked him with the fake sweet voice while fingers stroking her hair. Y/N still had her eyes on him.

What game was he playing now?

He couldn’t know that Y/N knew of who he was…

“No, I... I just overwhelmed by you. You’re so beautiful.” She imposed a smile, touching his lips.

She would play along with the game? How treacherous! – her inner goddess shook her head.

“Beautiful? I am no beautiful, darling.” He smirked, “I am your sinful.”

Y/N gasped when Harry kissed her all of a sudden. She was a little reluctant to kiss him back – she knew she wasn’t kissing Harry, but Marcel. Yet, she didn’t want to cause any suspicion.

He’s still Harry, you fool girl. It’s the same lips you kiss, just he was more or less different! Her inner goddess rolled her eyes, folding her arms.

It was very contrast. Harry kissed her with so much tenderness, meanwhile Marcel was a bit rough. Yet, both of them was aggressive.

“Kiss me, baby.” He muttered after releasing her now swollen lips, squeezing her bum roughly. Even if her mind and heart refused, her body couldn’t deny the lust lingering around them.

She bit her lip before her finger pulled his cross necklace – made him pulled towards her. Their lips were an only mere inch apart. Knowing his eyes were fixated on her, Y/N chose to play with his cross pendant. She whimpered when he kissed her again, teasing her soft lips with his tip tongue before barged into her mouth. She was hesitant in the beginning yet she kissed him back, tried to make herself comfortable with Marcel. After all, he was part of Harry. They couldn’t be separated. They couldn’t yet be separated. . .

Please excuse some errors. Chat me here!

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