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dat-town · 3 years

Text

throw me to the wolves (and i’ll return leading the pack)

Characters: rebellion leader!Juyeon & thief!you

Genre: action, kind of enemies to lovers, historical (set in early 1900s like in Mr. Sunshine)

Warnings: some suggestive themes but nothing explicit, violence, minor character deaths

Summary: As the king’s thief, you had been assigned to get back the stolen map of the palace. It’s easy as pie but you would have never expected such consequences of your actions and you certainly did not expect Lee Juyeon in your life.

Words: 8.3k

Author’s note: title is a Seneca quote as far as I know (and I swear it will make sense), also the concept is very much inspired by TBZ’s Road to Kingdom Reveal and Danger stages.

Lee Juyeon might not have been of royal blood but he had definitely been born to rule.

The first time you met him, he pressed the blade of a knife against your neck, pinning you to a dirty wall in the outskirts of Hanseong.

"Not the nicest way to say hi to a lady," you remarked casually as if neither the closeness of his firm, strong body nor the sharp object grazing your skin didn't affect you. He was a lot stronger than you, you knew that, it would have been useless to go against him with brute force, so you had to be smart about it.

"You are very far from a lady," he sneered at you, dark messy hair falling into his fierce eyes.

Meeting his gaze, your heartbeat stopped for a moment in fear before blood rushing to your face tinted your pale cheeks in the colours of rosy sunrises. His eyes were murderous and he held his weapon steadily, so you were sure he wouldn't have hesitated to slice your throat if things didn't go his way. He was a dangerous man, you knew that already. With a reputation like his, you expected nothing less.

Although he might have had the reflexes and the wits, he might have been able to find you but you weren't going to just let him win so easily.

"Oh, am I?" you tilted your head nonchalantly yet careful not to hurt yourself because of your own hastiness. Then you elegantly lifted your right leg to link it behind his thigh almost as if you wanted to pull him closer. As expected, he faltered momentarily, blinking surprised at your bold and suggestive move, but that was all you needed to pull out your own dagger from its case on your leg and point it at his abdomen with a triumphant smile playing on your carmine lips. Oh men and their confidence, they always overlooked the skills of women.

Juyeon gritted his teeth, pressing his lips together firmly and as he was looking at you through narrowed eyes and you swore you could almost see the cogs in his head turning.

"Not that I don't enjoy this but what about we continue this discussion in a more civilized manner?" you croaked a brow at him challengingly to which the guy just let out a ridiculing snort.

"Well, you could have thought of that when you robbed me," he remarked almost as if he was waiting for you to deny it. But you just shrugged, unbothered.

"Stealing from a thief can hardly count as a theft."

"But it doesn't change the fact that I want my possession back," the young man retorted and you cracked a smile at that. That wasn't unexpected, of course, he wanted it. A lot of people desired the same thing in those chaotic times.

"Well, I don't have it with me but if you are willing to pay me more than my current client I might consider giving it back. I won't risk my life for nothing. Not even for that handsome face of yours," you teased pressing his buttons on purpose, testing him but the guy let out another snort, this time with a roll of his eyes. He clearly didn't appreciate you joking around but you were dead serious about your offer. In this kind of business you were dealing in, betraying a client had a high price.

"What about you giving it back nicely and I will forget about this little incident?" he offered you a chance to come clean and there was a dangerous edge in his voice, a 'because if you don't...' kind of threat. Oh, so he was the revengeful kind. It didn't really surprise you but he also wasn't the first man promising to ruin your life. But also because of that, his words could not scare you.

"What about I start screaming and men will come and save me from a pervert who pushed me against the wall?" you asked and from the flinch of his mouth you knew you had won this time. Because Hanseong might not have been the most righteous place of all, men still liked to play the hero if a pretty girl called for help. Juyeon must have known this as well, so his silence made you smile. "What about we play by my rules? Be at the Eastern altar of the Buddhist temple by the time the bell rings last at midnight and we might make a deal if you bring enough cash."

“Aren't you afraid that I will just take it?” he pondered the thought but he should have known better.

“Aren't you arrogant to think I would let you have it so easily? So what will it be? Should I scream?” you provoked him on purpose and did not like his smirk one bit. But at least he pulled away, lowering his knife, slipping it back to its place while his gaze wandered down to your rolled up skirt and the dagger you held in your hand.

“There are better ways to make you scream,” he said hoarsely and you couldn't decide whether it was supposed to be a threat or he was just being cocky. But before you could have questioned his motives, he swiftly climbed over a wall, disappearing into the shadows.

Lee Juyeon was fuming. He hated to lose and for some reason, meeting you felt like a slap. He didn't like that you had something over him, something that he really needed, so he had no choice but to cooperate, something he really hated to do with people he didn't trust and he certainly loathed your fleeting loyalty. Your kind, who didn't believe in anything, always chose the side which seemed more favourable, was the worst in his eyes because you two might have been criminals just the same but at least he did it all for a reason, a greater cause.

"Did you get it back?" Changmin greeted him excitedly as soon as he stepped into their hideout but Juyeon didn't spare him a glance, he went straight to their safe.

"She didn't have it with her," he murmured grumpily and mindlessly but the other boy was quick to catch on that tiny detail.

"Wait... she? It was a girl that almost broke Chanhee's nose?" he gasped to which the guy he just mentioned threatened to throw the closest object at him which happened to be a stolen jewellery box.

"Thank you for the reminder," he spoke up ironically sweetly.

Juyeon just shot them a disapproving look.

"Yes, it was a very annoying girl," he said, blood still boiling because of the fact that this unknown girl managed to break into their hideout and steal the map of the palace. They worked too hard to get it just to get it taken away by a pitiful thief.

"We will get it back, don't worry, but we can't make it too easy for her because then she might get greedy. Get some of the boys. We are going to pray tonight," Juyeon said as he fixed his sword on his side.

Changmin and Chanhee exchanged a knowing look but neither of them objected. They knew better because if Juyeon was good at something other than having a tongue as sharp as his blade, that was planning. He just didn't like when things got out of hand.

The temple was eerily quiet moments before midnight. When the bell of curfew woke up all the birds that flew away, Juyeon stepped out of the darkness as well, making his way slowly towards the altar but just as he stepped inside the temple, a familiar voice echoed all around.

“Aren’t you curious why I chose this place?” came the rhetorical question from somewhere in the shadows. “Because the acoustic is so perfect that every little step can be heard clearly. So you better leave your boys out and come in alone.”

Juyeon gritted his teeth and signalled to the others to wait outside. He hated that he was outsmarted by you. Not because you were a girl, he prided himself in the fact that he didn't care about that. He didn't like anyone crossing his plans and you were doing that as if you had the time of your life waltzing through his chess board.

He took careful, calculated steps inside the temple. He halted for a moment when he saw you sitting cross legged in front of a golden statue of a deity. He himself had never been religious, no god had given him a reason to believe, so he believed in what he could see and experience: himself and his group.

"Let's cut to the chase. I brought the money," he said, throwing the bag of coins between the two of you.

You hummed, acknowledging the heavy weight of the bag. But if you wanted to be honest, you didn't really care about money. Sure, it was a good safety net in case your previous clients turned against you but money couldn't save your life, you could have done nothing with it dead.

"Why do you need the map of the Palace?" you roll the sheet of paper in front of you, so both of you would see it: the pretty architectural plan of the most important building complex of the empire.

"Isn't it obvious?" Juyeon croaks a brow at that, glancing down on the paper and the candles nearby, wondering whether you would threaten him to set it ablaze if he wasn't cooperative. If you were arrogant enough to think you could be faster than him.

"Hm, no. I can think of multiple purposes," you told him lulling the options in your head. “But you don't have a good thief. If you had instead of trying to negotiate with me they would steal it back, so I guess you don't wish to rob the treasury. Then again you would have much easier ways to get inside if you would like to free a prisoner, so that leaves me with one option: you want to kill the king. Or someone as important as him."

Him, that puppet king so hungry for power that he didn’t even notice how his advisers controlled him.

The corner of Juyeon's mouth twitches. No matter how much he tried to act nonchalant he was annoyed how well you figured him out. His silence was enough of an answer for you nevertheless. So with a content smile on your carmine lips, you tilted your head in interest, gaze fixed on his sharp lines even in the dim lit temple.

"You know, rumours say that you are the bastard son of the late king," you told him paying close attention to his reactions but Juyeon stayed unfazed.

"And you think I will tell you if it's right or not?" he let out a mocking laughter but you weren't one to take it to heart.

"It was worth a shot." you just shrugged, then looked down on the map he so desperately wanted. "I will let you have it for free. On one condition."

"Then it's not free," he corrected you but the way his mouth tilted with annoyance but eyebrows raised in curiosity, he couldn't have been that bothered.

"I want in," you told him, clear and honest, confident. "If you really want to kill the king, I want to join."

For the first time that night the guy seemed really surprised and he didn't hide it. He looked at you as if you thought killing was a children's game.

"That's rebellion, you know, right?"

"We're both criminals, you know, right?" you retorted and he stared into your eyes, cold fire burning in his dark orbs. Moments passed like this, in grave silence and then...

"Accept her freaking condition. We do need a good thief," someone yelled from outside and you let out a chuckle. At least someone was smart on that team, you liked him already. Unlike the infamous Lee Juyeon.

"If you ever just think about betraying us, I'll kill you myself," he gritted his teeth but you merely smiled at him. You had no plans on betraying them as long as they got rid of the puppet king. And your unpaid debt.

"Understood," you stood up, pushing the map to his chest and grinned at him. "Instead of sulking, introduce me to your boys."

The notorious group was unlike any other than you had met before. They seemed more like friends and family than allies from the way they acted around each other. Of course, you weren't taken to the headquarters right away. You were taken to some inn where a guy named Changmin who seemed the most open to your arrival checked whether the map was real. They also stood guard one by one during the night as if you wanted to kill them. Gosh, it was four against one and Mr. Almighty thought girls weren't a match for him.

You immediately hit it off with Changmin over the fact that you had punched someone called Chanhee in the face while stealing the asset from them the last time. Sangyeon was kind but careful from the beginning. But Sunwoo and Juyeon seemed more wary of you but after you gave the last chicken wing of yours to the younger, he softened, so only their leader was hard to crack. You didn't exactly blame him, he just tried to keep the others safe even if he did it in an annoying way.

"Let's get one thing right: I don't trust you. Your kind, only working for money as if that was your god, not believing in something, that's the worst," he told you one evening, right before you were about to meet the entire team.

"I don't have the luxury to believe in anything else than myself. Never had," you looked him straight in the eyes, no tremble in your voice and then, for the first time since you knew him, Juyeon's eyes had a kind of understanding in them as if he knew what you were talking about.

The next day you were heading towards a temporary base and while the guys warned you about possible checks and guards on the road, neither of you expected any connotation. You travelled on horse backs with a farm-wagon like some nomads trying not to draw attention but each of you were known and wanted criminals, so it was almost inevitable to get on someone's bad side.

"Where exactly are we going?" you complained when you noticed that you took a turn that led backwards from where you departed.

"To the base, like we said, we just don't want unwelcomed guests there," Juyeon gritted his teeth, tilting his head towards the mountains. You didn't see anything special in them but he must have been aware of how ambushes around there worked because it didn't take long for the men to show their faces… or well, their intent. The first arrow pierced into the ground only a few steps away from Sunwoo's horse's feet, scaring the animals and alarming all of you. You looked around, drawing your daggers from your belt but you didn't see anyone in particular. The attack must have come from the mountains, from behind the rocks and the first one was soon followed by another again and again arrows raining down on you like a summer downpour.

"Into the woods! Right now!" Juyeon yelled and everybody followed his order without questions asked, leading the horses among the trees, into hiding. You tried to keep up and follow the guys but it seemed like you had lost their sight while watching behind your back too, checking on the approaching attackers. Eventually you decided to let your horse go, far into the woods, away from the danger on its own as you tried to hide from the men. You were like a shadow thief after all, you were good at disappearing into thin air but not if you had an animal three-four times your size with you. You hid behind a rock covered in green leaves, wondering whether you should have climbed the bamboo trees instead when you heard the steps nearing. You suck in your breath, holding it in to not make any noise while mentally cursing Lee Juyeon and his gang for setting you up. The king must have offered a nice sum of money for proving you unfaithful. Why else would they have left you behind?

Just as you thought you were by yourself, a hand clamped over your mouth, pulling your body close to his.

"Keep quiet and follow me," Juyeon, that impossible guy, muttered before slowly taking his hands off you and yanking you towards the growing bushes in the middle of the bamboo forest. There, between two ordinary looking branches he crouched down and climbed into some kind of hole that was unnoticeable from afar. You followed him, knees and hands dirty by the time you got to some kind of cave where you could stand up finally and you blinked, trying to adjust to the dark.

"Welcome to the base," you heard Changmin's cheerful voice and he lit a lamp, filling the cave with light where everybody was safe and sound. Seeing that and how Sangyeon was in the middle of treating an arrow scratch on Sunwoo's arm, you let out the breath you had been holding this whole time. Back there, you really thought for a moment that they betrayed you already and while lack of trust saved you quite a few times, this time you weren't proud of doubting them already. Not that they had any sentimental reason to get you to safety, they needed you for their mission, only that, you knew that and refused to believe otherwise.

However, the confession that fell from your lips that evening while passing the pot of jjigae around was more out of a sense of fairness than guilt.

"You told me you hate the kind that works only for the money, right?" you met Juyeon's sharp, dark, ever so telling eyes by the campfire, keeping your voice low enough, so only the two of you would hear it.

"I don't really have much choice. I work for the king to pay off my family's debt. It's this or prison and if I can make some side money like that, why not?" you shrugged, not looking at him. You weren't curious about his reaction or opinion, you told yourself. You didn't tell him to pity you.

A few long moments of silence passed while you pretended to cool the food down while stirring until Juyeon spoke up.

"Then why are you betraying him?"

"Isn't it obvious? A debt to the king has no limit, I would have to work for him until the day I die, he would never be satisfied with less. I want my freedom back," you told him, honestly, which was received only by a hum but you were glad that he didn't drag the topic out, he didn't ask about the reason behind the debt.

After that day, you were more involved in the planning phrase of the upcoming missions and eventually you met the whole team. You went out to steal this and that with Chanhee, playfully commenting on how pretty his nose was and grew totally fond of Haknyeon who made the best noodle soup you ever ate. The more missions you had been a part of, the more time you spent with them and away from the castle, the less chance you had to go back and beg for mercy if things went wrong. That was your original plan: give it a chance and retreat if it didn't work out but you had to realise that these people didn't have A and B plans, this was their one and only fight and they believed in it. It made you want it to succeed even more.

"We don't do this to rule," Changmin told you one day, after practicing sword fighting. "Nobody here, not even Juyeon desires the throne. We do this for the oppressed people, for those who suffer the most under this unfair regime."

It sounded too noble to be real but you believed him. Even more so when you heard that their takeover plan considered the loss of people and that they wished to get over with it with the least victims possible. That was why they needed the plan too: to know the best path to the throne room and the king's and his advisers' rooms without getting in the way of many guards. You also needed to know where and when the soldiers did their regular checks in the palace, so your plan's next phase was to observe the place. Chanhee has some connections and you could have your hideout in a courtesan house close to the royal quarters.

"Change," Juyeon said as he put a pile of pastel green dress in front of you. You looked down with clear disgust on your face before looking back up at a disgust.

"Are you for real?"

"You can't walk into a courtesan house dressed like that. You are a girl," Juyeon's voice was authoritative and a bit tense, you scoffed.

"Wow, now you're saying that," you rolled your eyes at him, still grimacing even when you were told that it was expensive to get said dress. In the end, you had to admit, it was the plan possible way to get in, so you picked the clothes up with a sigh and walked into a further alcove to get changed before your departure. It had been a long time since you wore skirts, those weren't too practical for climbing or fighting, so you preferred pants and anything that made it easy to move quickly and comfortably. So it felt strange to wear something like this again, not to mention it was probably silk based on how soft it was against your skin and you probably had never worn something as expensive as that. You ever let your hair down from the usual ponytail that made sure it didn't get in the way, so you looked every bit of a decent lady when you stepped out.

"Wow," Youngjae gave voice to his awe the moment he saw you and Sunwoo had to nudge him in the side to close his mouth.

The boys were either shy about it or similarly amazed, only Juyeon didn't really react. He barely glanced your way before telling everyone to hurry up. You rolled your eyes at his obvious behaviour and stuck to Changmin’s side on the way to the courtesan house. It would have been too conspicuous if everybody went together, so you formed smaller groups.

The plan was to get everyone to the new base before midnight and observe the palace for the next few days in turns. To make it even more believable, in public you had to act as if you were one of the girls working in the courtesan house, that made it less suspicious for the guys to visit you either and you didn’t care about your reputation much anyways. Not that a lot knew you, the faceless shadow thief, anyways. During the next days you gathered enough information to know when it would have been the best to attack but there must have been a whistleblower around because soldiers raided the courtesan house one of the evenings.

“They closed off every exit and entrance, we cannot get out without being caught,” Sangyeon said while Hyungseo looked out the window, confirming that there were soldiers outside as well.

“Chanhee says they are checking every room where there’s no business going on,” Changmin closed the door behind him. You were on the top floor, so you had advantage in time while the soldiers were busy checking beneath.

“Business?” Youngjae furrowed his brows, confused and got a smack in the head from Sunwoo.

“You know,” he emphasized making hand gestures that almost made you laugh despite the tense situation.

“Then hide and let’s make it look like there’s something here they don’t have the right to see,” you said pulling the fancy hairpin out, letting your locks fall onto your shoulders as you threw your red robe onto the ground, leaving a bit of a mess.

“Oh my gosh,” Youngjae shrieked, scandalized and turned his back on you, deciding to hide inside the closet followed by Sunwoo while others moved behind the curtains.

“Come on, I can’t put on a show alone. That would be even more suspicious than having a tea party here,” you complained, heartbeat drumming in your ears as you heard the approaching steps echo from the stairs outside. You climbed on top of the bed that faced the door and raised a brow at the two guys staring at you as if they didn’t believe you were alright with what you had just proposed.

“Showtime, boss,” Hyunjae decided and literally dragged Juyeon’s jacket off him before drawing his sword out, he stood behind the door in case the soldiers would have come inside anyways. That left only the team’s leader, the guy who had once said you weren’t much of a lady, in front of you, looking like he had some internal conflict.

Ridiculous. It was just a fake act, even if he was terrible at pretending, he could have made an effort. You weren’t a bad face to look at, so he really could have at least not suffered so visibly about having to get close with you. Maybe you just imagined him cursing under his breath, maybe he really was that frustrated but at least you didn’t have to force him to get on the damn bed and unbutton his shirt a bit himself. Great.

“Could you not act as if it physically hurt you to touch m–” you muttered under your breath, annoyed but Juyeon cut you off with a simple movement. He climbed over you, hovering over your body and slid a hand onto your neck, angling your head just right for a kiss that never came. Your lips parted in surprise but his only grazed against it slightly, your breaths mingling in the air while his piercing gaze shot right through you. It felt burning, the way he looked at you with those feline eyes from so close. You could practically feel the heat of his body, his skin scorching against yours – or was it you? – and your heart picked up its speed once again. The wait was nerve-wracking because you felt the tension stiffen in the air while you listened to the thuds of doors opening and closing, soldiers shouting.

When the door your room opened, revealing three men in black behind it, you pretended to be shocked and automatically reached to rearrange your clothes while Juyeon turned his head lazily towards the intruders.

“Who are you to disturb me? Did I not pay enough?” he yelled at the soldiers who exchanged knowing looks, but after looking around for suspicious signs, they indeed retreated.

You let out a breath when the door finally closed again and tried and failed not to roll your eyes at how fast Juyeon pulled away. Hyungseo cleared his throat and said something about seeing the two of you slightly undressed in a bed scarring him for life and one by one all the guys came out of their hiding place, only making comments about the recent events behind your backs.

After the visit of the soldiers, the tense atmosphere slowly dissolves into something like anticipation and determination to get done with their plan as soon as possible. You already had a good idea about the daily routine within the palace but with how frequently they changed their guards it would have been almost impossible to get through them without drawing too much attention and that was the least you wanted. If the royal guards knew about your arrival, you would have been too outnumbered to actually do anything, much less to get to the king himself. But you had a good card in your favour.

"So I will be taking the map back?"

"Right. If we have at least a bit of luck, the king and his men only know that you came to get that. Let's say you had trouble getting your hands on it..." Sangyeon explained which made you scoff out loud. You didn't mean to look down on them but it was ridiculously easy to get the map. Sure they had stood guard and they kept it locked away but a group of about ten guys was nothing you who had been robbing much more secured places than their bases. The most difficult part was to actually find them, after that it was like a children's play. So it somewhat hurt your pride and reputation as a thief to admit you had to waste days until you got it.

"Sure, we can say that I tried to seduce your boss to get the map here," you shrugged and glanced at said guy and knew that despite your nonchalant behaviour your words provoked him based on the way he clenched his jaw. "That would explain even if one of the guards recognized me. Though I don't see much of a chance for that. Although this much time would have been enough for you to get what you wanted from it, so the king will be displeased."

"Will you meet him in person?" Haknyeon asked since that was crucial information regarding your plan. If you were about to meet the king, then they must be there, too. But no, you only met the king once and the memory sent shivers down your spine. You were dragged in front of him, clothed rugged, dirt and bruises all over you as two guards held you. You weren't proud of how you had been crying but that day, you were sure you were about to die. As a daughter of servants in the royal palace, you had no way of providing a better life for yourself. You weren't only a subject to the king but his slave. When you were born that way, there was no chance of getting out. Born as a girl you couldn't become a guard, a soldier or a scholar. It was a time when the higher you could go was becoming a concubine but you had no intention of lying under the king or a prince. You would have chosen death over that.

But no, the king must have wanted something since he didn't kill you with your parents when he learned about their betrayal, about how they sold information about him to his brother. No, he took your life and made sure to form you to his will, to make the perfect little thief and spy for him in exchange for letting you live. But he was naive to think that you would be loyal to the murdered of your parents. Because he might not have been the one to draw the sword but he was the one who gave the orders, him and not his stupid advisers who made your country rot and the people suffer.

"Probably not. He usually gives me orders through his right hand man," you said, knowing too well that said man had his temperament to match the king's. They would beat you just enough, so you could steal more for them. Maybe break only your left hand to cause enough pain but not turning you incapable for them. You were an asset, nothing more and you hated it.

"What will happen to you because of your latency?" came the next question and gulping down your own fears, you waved it off, forcing a confident expression onto your face.

"Don't worry about me and break into the king's quarters like you should," you told them, clear as the sky was on summer afternoons you had liked as a child.

The truth was, everybody knew what happened to those who displeased the king. It wouldn't matter that you bring back the desired map. If you were late, it was the same as not going along with the order.

"You should have someone to be there with you," Juyeon spoke up for the first time for a while, his gaze fixated on the map without a fail and it made the corners of your mouth twitch. It almost sounded like he cared.

"Are you worried about me, Lee Juyeon?" you raised a brow at him, cunningly like a tease but when he looked up and your eyes met, the words froze onto the tip of your tongue. There was something sad in his eyes, something you had failed to notice before. As if he understood you more than you would have thought.

"Of course, we are all worried about you!" Changmin said vehemently and you tore your gaze away from the raven haired boy to turn to him with a grateful smile.

"Then, focus on not getting yourself killed first. I can take care of myself," you claimed and kept acting like it through the meeting, deciding on the upcoming Lotus festival celebration's night for the attack. There might have been more guards around then but with more guests in the palace, it would have been easier to blend in. No to mention that the king being drunk could probably help too.

It was a good plan, one you believed in. One that could finally bring you peace and freedom. You didn't want to delude yourself too early, so you tried not to think too much about it. If the mission wasn't successful you would have been killed for sure since what you were about to do was treason and no traitor could live in Hanseong.

It was a two way street then: freedom or death. Free from the king's chains either way. Yet, the night before the Lotus festival, you found it hard to sleep. You were fidgety, even snapped at Changmin when he tried to make a joke about you finally looking like yourself in your regular clothes instead of the courtesan one. You apologized and he understood, everybody was tense after all but it showed differently. Juyeon for example was even more closed off and quieter than usual. You didn't expect to run into him at night, though.

It was eerily quiet in the corridors and you just wanted to get some fresh air, outside of the suffocating atmosphere of your room. Meeting him by the gate, however, wasn't the plan.

"Are you ditching us?" he asked in a hoarse voice, back leaning against the brick wall as soon as you passed by him like wind. His voice was more passive and sad than angry and you remembered how he warned, threatened you to kill you if you decided to betray their trust. Sure, you could have ratted them out, saving yourself but did he really trust you so little?

"I don't know. Should I?" you retorted just for the sake of it because it was ridiculous: his suspicion of you even after all this time. But he didn't answer, so you rolled your eyes. "I just needed some air. Just like you, I assume."

Juyeon seemed to complement over your reply but he must have deemed it good enough because he turned his deadly gaze away. You didn't intend to have a heart-to-heart talk with him but since you might die tomorrow, it was your last chance to ask questions like:

"You already know my reason for treason but what's yours? And don't give me some crap like for a better and fair future," you turned to him but you were careful enough to look around before talking about something like that in public.

However, Juyeon either wanted to avoid answering or simply didn't like the place as he bob his head towards the courtesan house and as his sign, you went back inside, finding solace in your empty room. It had been a long while since you had been alone with him and you remembered what happened here the last time when you were this close… even closer. Now you both sat on the ground, backs to the wall, no touching, no smart retorts, no audience.

"Have you heard the story of the Crown Prince?" Juyeon spoke up but his question made you furrow your brows.

"About Prince Hyunjoon? What story?" you wondered out loud as confused as you were. Prince Hyunjoon had been sent to study in a prestigious academy as it had been advised to the king but it was probably not for his own good, there were rumours going around that he had sent the boy away because he feared he would try to take his throne from him. He had grown to be paranoid.

"No, not him. The first born prince," Juyeon corrected you and that made sense, you couldn’t recall anything else that was interesting regarding the next ruler of the country. You believed that after his father’s death, even if he was inexperienced, he could make a better king. He was said to be kindhearted after all.

"Ah, the prince who died almost 20 years ago?"

Your question had been left hanging for a few long moments and you even turned to face Juyeon, wondering whether he heard up but what he said next made your eyes grow comically wide.

"He didn't die,” he claimed so sure of himself that it left no doubts even though it was already crazy. “But he has always been unworthy of the title of the crown prince."

"What do you mean? And how do you know?" you sprouted questions because in that moment you could do only that, even forgetting how it came up in the first place.

"You see, the crown prince was indeed the son of the queen but just as the king wasn't faithful, she wasn't either. She had her child out of wedlock but raised him as if he was the kind of royal the king desired,” the boy continued quietly, looking down at his hands, playing with a ring on his pinkie finger. “The king figured out and he was furious. He got the queen killed but the boy was rescued by rebels. He was only six at the time but from one day to another, his father who had never been a kind man became his biggest enemy, so he had grown up seeking revenge.”

You had listened to this story, his story, you were sure, and you couldn’t have been more shocked. You knew that the king was an awfully temperamental man but killing his own wife and a child? And these days he got drunk and had multiple women in his quarters? It made you sick.

“That’s my reason for treason,” Juyeon added slowly, quietly, almost gentle and for the first time you wanted to tell him something reassuring, something so unlike you but it wasn’t your place to pat him on the back and tell him everything would be alright.

“I… I never knew. I have grown up in the palace but I have only heard that the first prince had died and his death broke the queen’s heart, too,” you whispered, suddenly feeling naive but who would have thought?

“Not many people know. He hid it well,” the boy gritted his teeth, then exhaled a few shaky breaths. “But Hyunjoon knows and he’s on our side. He will make a good king.”

You hummed along, agreeing, hoping for better days and that you could live long enough to enjoy those.

"Look, I know you hate me..." you started off, not trying to come off as someone close to him just because he told you this but then, he unexpectedly cut you off. His confident voice caught you off guard so much that it had your eyes widen in surprise.

"I don't," he said and you might have only imagined it but he sounded a bit nervous. He probably wasn’t used to talking about his feelings, even if it was hate. Now, that made two of you. "I did hate you but... I hate everything that I associate with the king and you... I have seen the bag of gold coins paid for killing my mother and me."

Ah. So that was why he hated ‘your kind’ so much. The kind that took dirty money and accomplished any task thrown in their way, even murdering an innocent child. It made sense, the murderous look in his eye, the disgust he had written all over the place whenever he looked at you. He probably associated you with those who had taken his mother away from him.

“I’m just a thief. I never killed anyone, even though some I encountered would have deserved it,” you told him. You didn’t owe him an explanation or anything for that matter but still, you wanted him to hear that from you because you knew how your reputation made you sound.

"I know," Juyeon stated, oddly calm and you were dumbfounded to notice the subtle smile in the corner of his mouth before he turned his head to look at you. Dark orbs finding yours, stirring something inside you. "Your aim is too shitty for you to be a killer."

"Yah!" you gasped, pseudo-offended but then laughed it off and for the first time in a long while, for a moment you felt light and at ease. Who knew Juyeon could make you feel that way too and not just boil your blood in an annoying way.

Looking back, you should have known better. You should have seen that something was off. But your mission was planned so well that you believed the smooth execution was thanks to all those long days who had put into it and all those months and years of preparation that Juyeon and his team had behind their backs in order to even dare such a thing.

Getting into the palace during the Lotus Festival was easy. A lot of people came and went during the parade and the palace was buzzing with life. The king looked like he was having fun as well, maybe a bit too much with how often his glass was refilled with rice wine but his recklessness was only working into your favour. By the time the celebrations became dull enough for the ruler to leave, you left your signal in the throne room, wishing for counsel. It was always like this but you never met the king during these times, you didn’t even mind it. Still, waiting in the half-lit room was quite nerve-wracking while you prayed for the others to be able to make their way to the king’s chambers without any hitch. You knelt before the empty throne, head onto the ground, waiting like a good, loyal subject and you suppressed the shudder running through you when you heard approaching, arrogant steps.

“You’re late,” a voice said and you still kept your head down. But you were ready to draw your dagger any needed moment.

“My deepest apology, Your Majesty. I tried to be as quick as possible,” you mumbled out an excuse knowing well that until the right hand let you know that he wasn’t the king, you had to act as if he was.

“Then you were too slow,” the man grabbed you by the chin, forcing you to look at him and with widened eyes, you saw those ruthless ones that had been haunting your dreams since your parents’ death. There was the king in front of you.

But… the whole team had clearly seen him go to his chambers! Then… who was that? Who played that role in the trap? How far would they have gone? What was waiting for the others on their way to the king’s main bedroom? You had to warn them somehow!

"You really thought you could double-cross me? You thought I wouldn't know that you betray me?" the king clicked his tongue, earning your attention again, injecting fear into your veins. You wanted to turn your head, to pull away, to yell at Changmin to go and let the others know but before you could have done any of that, the king pushed you onto the ground.

"Ah, looking for your friend?" he asked mockingly and with a flick of his wristy he called for his guards, the men who carried the luml body of a familiar face.

"No! Changmin!" you shrieked in panic. He was supposed to keep an eye on you, not getting caught. Now, that it wasn't just you in immediate danger, worries took over your chest almost suffocating you.

"Although I should be grateful since you brought my long lost son back home, so I could finish the job my men couldn't," the king tilted his head as if he was pondering over the thought. Your fingers curled up in a fist, glaring at the man with hatred. He played with all of you like a cat played with mice before eating. He enjoyed your suffering and the mind games he played but you weren't keen on being one of his pawns. Not anymore.

Juyeon was ready to kill the king, even if he had to die and in a way you both just wanted revenge and freedom. You had never been a killer but you were ready to die trying in order to end the rule of a tyrant and to save the guys who had become your comrades and friends over the past few days, weeks and anyone who had the same destiny as you. Nobody deserved to have their life hung by a thread of an ultimate made by one side.

So you decided to make a risky move, a reckless one as you reached for the dagger in your belt, throwing it at the smug man the next time he turned towards you. It was a hasty movement, surprising enough for the guards to rush to the king's side but Juyeon was right: your aim was shitty.

Instead of his chest, the dagger barely grazed the king's upper arm and fell onto the ground with a pathetic thud. The man just laughed as if it was funny and picked up your weapon, turning it against you. You gulped as you backed up until the wall. You heard Changmin yelling at you to run while trying to free himself from the guards but you couldn't move, you just stood there, frozen, and watched as the man lifted his hand to strike down at you with the blade. You flinched when he moved, closing your eyes like a coward and only opened them when you felt the man get wobbly in front of you, falling onto his knees from the dagger getting him from behind. Blood spilled from his mouth as his body shook before giving up the fight and you let out a relieved sigh. Such an unceremonious, simple way for a king to die but he didn't deserve more.

"Are you okay?" Juyeon asked, voice honeyed with care and even his dark eyes softened as he stepped closer to check on you, looking for bruises. The same eyes you noticed behind the king when he approached and you had to try your best not to show surprise and relief.

"Yeah. You got here just in time. How did you know?" you gaped at the guy and the others who fought off the guards in the meantime. If the king's bedroom was a trap, how did they get out?

"That man didn't have a limp. I realized he had been a fake one to begin with," he said simply as if it was natural but you had no idea the king had a limp up until now. You still tended to forget he had lived in the palace, close to the king in his childhood and now you tried to imagine him on a throne. It was easier than ever with you being in the throne room with a dead king but Juyeon had never had the ambitions to govern.

"Well, next time you could be faster," you teased, trying to lighten up the atmosphere and luckily, the team's leader didn't seem to mind. His smug smile was back and you would have rolled your eyes if he hadn't just saved your life.

"Will there be a next time? When you're being cornered by a man?" he raised an eyebrow challengingly, a little suggestively but instead of hitting him on the chest, you raised your chin and played the same game:

"Who knows? I keep getting into these situations since I got to know you," you tsked and there was no lie in there. Juyeon smiled at you, sincerely, his eyes holding a secret only the two of you knew but he was practically pushed aside when Changmin came to make sure you weren't hurt, mumbling something stupid about it being his fault.

Juyeon looked around, proud to see his men fight for the same cause and their efforts paying off. When it was finally time for you to leave and start a new chapter in your life, you looked back on the empty throne and the bloody crown on the floor.

“We don’t need a king sitting high on his throne, it’s the time of dogs and wolves,” Juyeon muttered and outside, the Lotus Festival continued as if nothing happened. Smiling, you joined the celebrations.

So this is what it tasted like: freedom.

#the boyz x reader #juyeon x reader #the boyz x you #the boyz scenarios #the boyz imagines #stories

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vecnawrites · 3 years

Text

Two Flavors Of Delicious Chocolate

Jaune Arc was a normal guy, if one asked him. He was moderately strong, reasonably intelligent at most things, skilled at a few. If one had asked him if he would have two girls fighting for his attention, he would have laughed. However, the fact of the matter was, he DID have two women wanting him. And they would do what it took to get that fact into his head...

(Hooooolllllyyyyy Fuuuuucccckkkkk...this one got away from me! This is my second commission, from The-Wayward-Arc. I loved the idea, and it became this! An art piece is connected to my AO3 page for this one, and more should be coming when I can commission the artists!)

Jaune Arc liked to think that he was a reasonably intelligent individual. After all, he always scored at least middling in both Grimm Studies and History, and the highest in Tactics and Situational Defense and Assault. Even Weiss was admittedly (and more than a little begrudgingly) impressed by that.

...so how in the name of any God or Gods listening did he not notice this!? He looked back and forth between the two, admittedly extremely beautiful women glaring at one another before him.

One was Emerald Sustrai, a chocolate skinned, carmine eyed, mint haired beauty, with thick curves that drew the eye of every male, and even some of the females, as she walked (even him. What? He treated women well, like he had been taught. He wasn’t fucking blind), her hips swaying back and forth and bringing attention to that absolute shelf of a rear end she had. That wasn’t to say her chest had nothing to offer, as her breasts looked perfectly sized for his hands, perky and firm.

Her personality was confident, and a bit sarcastic and snarky, although that usually came out only when faced with people she wasn’t too fond of, like Cardin or her own teammate, Mercury...although in the latter, he was pretty sure it was part of how they acted with one another. Like how Yang teased Weiss.

The other was May Zedong, another incredibly beautiful classmate of his, with muted maroon colored hair styled in a way that covered her left eye, leaving only the right gray-blue orb visible, and a black beanie keeping her hair in place. She had that wallflower air about her, generally going around unnoticed by most unless a teacher asked a question, even by her own teammates (something that made him seethe), but he had always noticed her and sought to talk, even if it was only some minor casual conversation over class notes. He wasn’t going to let her feel as alone as he did before coming to Beacon.

One would think that the girl was nearly flat, maybe a double-a cup (like Weiss supposedly was, don’t ask how he knew), but that was a lie. The girl was more stacked than Yang and even Professor Goodwitch were! Her breasts had to be as large as her own head! Again, it wasn’t like he was a pervert, but having seven sisters made him able to tell when a woman was binding or stuffing her bra to either remove attention or gain it.

And he could understand why, honestly. May was almost cripplingly shy, more nervous than Ruby or Velvet when called upon by staff or someone else. She seemed to revel in being invisible and unnoticed.

But now they were both before him, glaring at one another; Emerald looked like she wanted to, as his elder sister Saphron liked to say, “Slap A Bitch”, and even the shy and bashful May looked ready to try and claw out Emerald’s eyes with her fingernails.

“If you think your shy ass can make him happy, you’ve got another thing coming! What are you two going to do, hold hands while hiding in the shadows?” Emerald snorted, popping her hip and placing her hand on it, smirking darkly at the beanie-wearing sniper.

May glared, only one being visible doing nothing to hide the intensity. “At least I didn’t have to flaunt myself like a whore to get Jaune’s attention! He always noticed me, even without knowing about my tits!”

He could see them about to fight, and his body moved before his brain did, placing himself between them and giving them both a stern look (something perfected by dealing with mischievous younger twin sisters), silently telling them both to stop.

Both huffed, curling into his sides and glaring at one another, static seeming to form between their gazes.

He tugged the two girls who had captured his heart over the semester close to him and closed his eyes, recalling exactly how this started…

Start Of The Week

Emerald Sustrai had known little in the way of happiness or of comfort for most of her life. Growing up an orphan in Vacuao, she had lived on the streets and been forced to scrounge and steal in order to survive. She had been tempered and hardened by such a thing, her heart steeled to do what was necessary, even if it wasn’t right.

She had managed to steal, scrimp, and save enough to catch a flight to Vale, and apply to Beacon. She hated Vacuao, and wouldn’t set foot in Shade for a second if she could help it. She knew that they held a ‘survival of the fittest’ ideal, and after living it for most of her life, she wasn’t going to be going through it at school, where she was supposed to be able to trust the people who she teamed up with to watch her back!

Getting to school and getting through initiation, she had been partnered with Cinder Fall, an enigmatic, but intelligent and resourceful woman who used a bow and arrows and Fire Dust. Her other partners were Mercury Black, a silver haired smart ass with prosthetic combat legs, and Neopolitan, a mute midget with a weird ass reinforced parasol for combat of all things. But even Emerald couldn’t deny that they were skilled and effective at killing the Grimm in the forest.

But she was still missing something...or rather, someone. She wasn’t an idiot, she knew that she was more likely to die before retiring, so she wanted to find someone...maybe they would last, maybe they wouldn’t. But before the year’s end, she would be free of this pesky virginity!

But...surveying the available males made her wince. Mercury? No, it was a bad idea to have sex with a teammate. She had enough to worry about, she wasn’t going to have to worry about her own teammate as well.

Brawnz Ni? Arrogant, and full of himself. She wasn’t going to give him a bigger ego. Roy Stallion? He was okay, but not her type. Nolan Porfirio? Too passive.

Lie Ren? Nice, but taken, going by the ginger with the hammer constantly hanging off of him. She would not ruin a relationship, thanks...or risk having her kneecaps obliterated by a combination War Hammer/Grenade Launcher.

Team CRDL?...Pfft, she’d sooner stick a slim teasing vibe in her pussy and seal it up to be tormented for the rest of her life before letting one of those slimeballs touch her.

But Jaune Arc...he was interesting. Kind, but not to the point of being walked over, as evidenced as he corralled his (possibly certifiably crazy) teammate, Nora Valkyrie. Not the strongest, but not the weakest, reasonably intelligent, although his strongest points were tactics and applied strategy, being the only student to be actually acing the class. He...he would work. He was handsome, in that goofy, awkward way, messy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, awkward, charming smile...and always doing small acts of kindness, even if he never got thanks for it.

The one problem? His partner, the Invincible Girl. She couldn’t tell if they were together, hell, she couldn’t tell if the redhead even liked him in that way! She looked at him softly, but it wasn’t seemingly the way that a lover looked at another lover.

An elbow nudged her, and she looked to see a head of multicolored hair, heterochromic eyes and a cocky smirk. She deadpanned at Neo. “What is it?” she asked, scowling as the shorter girl wagged her eyebrows as she glanced over at Jaune, making her scowl deepen.

“Don’t even, Neo…besides, aren’t you a card carrying member of the ‘Lady Lover’ society?” she asked, knowing that Neo much preferred females, having seen her eyes roaming over the stacked blonde on Team RWBY, Yang Xiao Long. She couldn’t see it, but she wouldn’t mock the pink, white, and brown haired girl for her interest.

Neo shrugged, almost saying “I can appreciate looks, can’t I?” before nodding over to the corner. Following, she felt her heckles rise almost instinctively, lip curling up in anger as she saw what Neo was referring to.

In the corner was the quiet May Zedong. Now, Emerald had nothing against the quiet girl who hid herself in the corners and hardly ever spoke up unless she was directly spoken to. One would think herself a complete and utter wallflower, non-threatening. But, May Zedong was a sniper. She preferred to wait and strike when it was best for her. And right now, her lovesick blue-gray eye was locked right on her future man. This would not stand. “I’ll be back to the dorm later, Neo...I have to...talk...with someone.”

Neo tapped a finger against her lips as she watched her teammate stalk off, an intense look in her crimson eyes, before shrugging and heading back to the dorms. On one hand, she hoped her teammate knew what she was doing...on the other, she would take her amusement where she could get it.

May Zedong was used to going unnoticed among a crowd. She knew she wasn’t the beauty that most huntresses-in-training were, feeling as though she had really plain features. Slightly narrow face, only one eye (a grimm attack when she was young taking the other one), she felt even her hair was limp and unappealing, even if it was a unique maroon color. Even her own teammates paid her no second glance, instead preferring to fawn over the likes of Yang Xiao Long, Cinder Fall, and Pyrrha Nikos.

A small, extremely bitter part of her knew that she could get any boy’s attention if they knew what she hid under her hoodie or uniform top. She had been extremely ‘blessed in the chest’ as it were, going from almost flat bee stings to Double-G cups in the span of her teenage years, and was only able to hide the damned things by an expensive, dust enhanced binder that made her look like she was barely a B-cup.

But while she could easily get any guy, she didn’t want to rely on her tits to do so. She’d only attract creeps to her, who only wanted her for her breasts. She’d never let that happen. She wanted to be liked for who she was, not her chest.

She had come to Beacon with her clothes, some personal items and her Sniper Rifle/Climbing Axe, Opening Gambit, hoping that she could find some happiness with a boyfriend while at Beacon, the risks of her survival until she was thirty drilled into her head by her mother.

So far, she had dealt with nothing but disappointment. Her own teammates glossed over her as a woman without so much as a second glance, even her own partner, Nolan. Hell, Brawnz had thought she was a boy until she had said otherwise. CRDL were assholes. Mercury Black gave her the creeps. He just...stared at people sometimes. Without blinking. Lie Ren was cute, but he was claimed, even if he didn’t know it yet. Nora Valkyrie clung to him like a baby koala did to its mother.

But Jaune...he...he was nice. He was kind. He noticed her, always went out of his way to talk to her, even if it was a simple ‘hello’ in the halls! Her heart beat faster and she could feel her cheeks heat up as she thought of being held in his arms, just being accepted for who she was-

“Zedong.” May was cruelly ripped from her fantasy by the curt voice of Emerald Sustrai, a dark skinned beauty that turned more than a fair few eyes with her teasing smile and swaying hips. But currently, there was no smile on her face, instead there was a severe look that made her heart race, this time not from a happy fantasy with a potential boyfriend, but from adrenaline flushing through her body as her fight or flight instincts went wild. She swallowed.

“Y-Yes, Emerald?” she asked, cursing internally as she stuttered, despising the weakness. She flinched as a cocoa skinned hand slapped right on the wall next to her.

She leaned close, allowing her to smell her scent (cherry blossoms, very pleasant), and carmine eyes narrowed. She leaned even more forwards, until May could feel the verdette’s nose poking her own. “What are you getting at, staring at my future boyfriend like that?” she growled.

May blinked, before the words registered in her brain. She scowled back, her body making more adrenaline and scowling at the surprised looking Sustrai. “You. Don’t. Own. Him.” she growled angrily. “I know he’s not dating anyone right now.” despite her anger, she felt worry when she saw a glint appear in Emerald’s eyes, her lips turning up in a smirk.

“Really…?” Emerald murmured to herself, tilting her head, “I figured, but its nice to have confirmation...that will make it much easier...especially since I don’t have to worry about potentially ruining a relationship…” she licked her lips. “Thanks for the information, wallflower. Do yourself a favor: stay away while I go for him. I’m not cruel, but you’re honestly bound only for disappointment if you go up against me.” she smirked. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a boyfriend to go claim.”

Pulling away from the beanie-wearing girl, Emerald turned and walked away, making sure to sway her hips and let the girl know what she was dealing with.

May breathed harshly as the adrenaline slump kicked in, not unlike when she was out of combat. She flushed, not only from shame that an altercation from a fellow student made her feel like she was going against a Grimm, but from anger. To be told, ordered, not to pursue the one boy that gave her the time of day, that held her interest...that wouldn’t fly. She obviously couldn’t use her tried and true method of waiting for the right moment to strike. She would have to go out of her comfort zone and attempt a strike normally…she glared at the retreating Emerald, her blue-gray eye narrowing. It was on. Tomorrow, the battle would begin!

~x~x~

Emerald smirked as she looked herself over in the mirror. She had ‘borrowed’ a few skirts from both Cinder and Neo, who were both smaller in the hips than she was, and loved the effect it had when placed on her thicker frame.

The material of the skirt clung to her ass nicely, even coming up a bit and showing off just a bit of her plump cheeks. A quick sway of her hips made her chuckle, as it showed off more of her ass, just enough that it could confuse...and arouse...those who saw her. Especially since she had forgone normal panties, instead wearing one of her thongs, the string being swallowed up by the split between her cheeks.

Sure, she had only one person in mind, but teasing others was good fun too. She knew enough that Jaune didn’t have the best self-image, either, so when they got together, it would do his ego a bit of good that he had a girl on his arm that everyone else lusted after.

“So this is what you wanted to borrow our skirts for…” a dash of red dusted Emerald’s cheeks as she looked up to see her partner, Cinder, leaning against the door frame, her arms crossed over her chest, watching her.

Emerald cleared her throat and forced the redness away from her cheeks. She knew that she had nothing to be embarrassed about. Cinder wasn’t loose, but she had shared her bed with a few boys before, generally civilians from Vale on the weekends. That way, she didn’t have to worry about them ‘getting attached’.

“So, who’s the lucky boy that managed to catch your attention, my dear Emerald?” the inflection of Cinder’s tone was more that of ‘leader’ than ‘friend’, meaning that Cinder wanted to know to make sure it didn’t affect the team. They may not be number one team of the year (that belonged to JNPR), but they weren’t far behind it.

“Jaune Arc.” she replied, her tone soft, watching her dark haired team leader close her eyes and nod, lips tilting upwards a bit. “Hmm, not a bad choice...you could certainly do worse…” opening her golden eyes, she smirked. “Best of luck. I know many others have been eyeing him, not just the girl you spoke to yesterday. If rumors are right, even a second year is interested in him...that rabbit faunus, Velvet something.” she hummed, her smirk growing a bit even as Emerald stiffened. “Go get him, girl.”

~x~x~

May Zedong stood in Team BRNZ’s locked bathroom, gathering her courage. She knew that this was going to be risky, but the potential payoff was worth the potential discomfort.

She stood naked in front of the mirror, looking over her body critically. Her large breasts, larger than her own head, jutting form her chest proudly. Most girls would consider it a point of pride, she however, considered them a point of shame and embarrassment, to be hidden away.

Carefully, she gently cupped the heavy swells, hefting them and contemplating them. The skin was smooth, not a single flaw to it, not a blemish nor a beauty mark. Her nipples were large and puffy, a horizontal slit showing that they were inverted, another oddity of her body that she disliked, along with how brutally sensitive her chest was. She always got wet simply by rubbing them, and playing with them intently could make her cum.

Letting her breasts go, she slid her hands along her sides, trailing them along her flat, toned belly and to her hips, twisting her upper body this way and that, glancing at her breasts from profile, a weak smile forming on her face as she saw the jiggle.

Glancing between her legs, she looked at her freshly waxed core. She had never liked more body hair than necessary, something she knew was shared by almost all Huntresses-in-training. Turning around fully she looked over her shoulder and pushed her butt outwards, taking a look at her rear. She knew it had nothing on Emerald’s, or even several other girls, like Velvet Scarlatina’s from second year, but it was a nice shape and firmness, something that maybe Jaune would like to grab? Spank it as he played with her sensitive tits and fucked her soaking pussy, turning her into a gooey puddle of lust in his skilled hands?

She shook herself out of her fantasy and straightened up, grabbing her panties and slipping them up her legs and covering herself, then her uniform skirt. Turning back around, May gnawed at her lower lip as she looked at her binder. She glanced at it, then down at her chest, before sighing and grabbing it, beginning the process of flattening herself down to look ‘normal’.

But as she did, a naughty thought, a wicked thought, filled her head. She would gradually start loosening her binder, until she could proudly go without the damned thing...or at least have it loosened enough that people-that Jaune-saw her as the young woman she was.

Strapping it on, she tightened it until she reached her normal almost flat state, before loosening it a bit, her breasts pushing the material a bit more outwards. Grabbing her uniform blouse and tie, she put them on, looking at herself in the mirror.

A hint of redness formed on her cheeks. She looked...she looked feminine. Her shirt bulged a bit, going from nearly flat to respectable. Was...was this what she could look like? She smiled softly as she brushed her hair, making sure her bad eye was covered before putting on her beanie to keep her hair down.

“You can do this, Zedong.” she whispered to herself, steeling herself for the day, and the battle, to come. “It’s no different than combat...time to hunt.”

~x~x~

Jaune Arc woke up feeling odd that day. Not like he had forgotten to study for one of Oobleck’s tests (thankfully, Pyrrha and Ren helped remind him and Nora of those), but more that something...interesting...was going to happen to him. He wanted to hide in his bed and just believe the world outside the dorm room didn’t exist, but knew that he couldn’t do that.

“Jaune?” he glanced to see Pyrrha, his partner in arms, and closest friend at Beacon, looking at him worriedly. He gave her a weak smile. Both he and Pyrrha knew each other’s darkest secrets. For him, it was his falsifying his transcripts and sneaking into the school untrained.

For Pyrrha...it was a more touchy subject. She had been forced to be this perfect girl, someone untouchable, indomitable...she hated it. She also feared how people would react when they learned that she had never felt any type of romantic feelings nor had ever felt sexual desire. Never even found joy in masturbation, even. They had both been blushing hard as she admitted that.

The reveal to one another had only brought the two closer as both friends and partners, and they both felt comfortable telling one another everything. So, he decided to tell her the truth. “Just have this weird feeling that today is going to be interesting…”

Pyrrha hummed. “Interesting? Or...interesting?” she asked, sending a look over at Nora, who was happily chatting with Ren. Jaune shuddered. “It feels between that, but I hope to god its not the latter…” he said softly, making Pyrrha nod. They both loved Nora dearly, but she was a handful, and they didn’t need more than one of her.

Shaking their heads, both redhead and blonde gathered their things, preparing for the day.

~x~x~

Jaune sighed as he made his way to Study Hall. Once again, Oobleck had managed to speak so fast during his class that he was going to have to do extra studies for it. As he was about to enter, he stumbled a bit, his arm lashing out to catch whoever knocked against him, although his breath still left him when he hit the wall, and (the bigger reason) something soft pressing against his groin. Opening his eyes he glanced down to see one of his year mates, Emerald Sustrai, pressed against him, her...ample...rear settling between his thighs perfectly, pressing against where his cock was sure to bulge if she kept moving like that, wiggling that ass of hers! He watched as her eyes opened (a beautiful red shade, he thought), and she looked back at him, a small gentle smile forming on her face.

Emerald smirked to herself. Step One was complete, ‘accidentally’ stumbling into Jaune and making it so her best ‘asset’ was pressed against him. Now for Step Two, Teasing.

Putting a small smile on her face, Emerald made sure to subtly shift her backside against him, wanting to see what he was packing. She knew he wasn’t small, god knows that she heard Winchester bitching about how that size ‘couldn’t be possible without drugs’.

“Thank you for grabbing me...your name’s Jaune, right? I’m Emerald...sorry for being so clumsy!” she chuckled awkwardly, inwardly loving the red hue to his cheeks...and the pressure she could feel start being placed on her ass. She was surprised. From what she could tell, he wasn’t even truly hard yet, but she could feel him pressing quite firmly between her ass cheeks! Redness seeped into her own cheeks, this...this was something special.

Before she could say anything more, her world spun as she was picked up and gently placed onto the floor again, hearing Jaune frantically apologize before taking off in almost a sprint, leaving her there, shocked and soaking her thong.

A smirk formed on her lips. “Stage one and two, complete...now for stage three later on…” she hummed happily, knowing that she could have great fun with that. She knew what fun she wanted to do next...and her semblance could surely help with it…turning, she walked away with a skip in her step, already plotting how the second phase of her plan was going to unfold…

Jaune darted into the Library, holding his books in front of him to hide his straining erection, face flushed as he made his way to the back of it, to his preferred table for studying. That had been mortifying. He desperately hoped that he wouldn’t be getting looks later due to his ‘perversion’. It would be his luck.

Setting his books on the table, he took a seat and sighed, willing his erection away so he could focus on his studies. Jaune cracked open his history text, knowing that the dry words within would slaughter any arousal ruthlessly.

“...Jaune?” he lifted his head, hearing the voice of May Zedong, a girl that he was reasonably well acquainted with. Her voice was soft, and he didn’t know if it was because they were in the library, or because of her natural shyness. But he smiled softly.

“Hey May, how are you…?” he blinked as he noticed that she had loosened her binder (he knew she wore one, but he hadn’t known it was that tight), her chest protruding more outwards, giving her a generous looking C-Cup. He gave it the barest glance (he wasn’t going to apologize for being a guy. He knew girls looked too) before locking eyes with her. He could tell she was embarrassed, but her smile was genuine.

May’s heart was beating faster than it had ever had. She felt all the eyes on her as she moved around her day, and she had only loosened her binder a bit! She could only imagine how people, how Jaune, would react when they saw her true size. She felt her heart skip a beat as he glanced at her chest, but her feels swelled even more as his eyes were only there for a second before locking on her face. “Do...do you mind if I sit here?” she asked, nervously fumbling with her own book for Tactics class. It was Brawnz’s, but she had ‘borrowed’ it so she could actually have something to talk with her crush about.

Her heart warmed as her crush nodded with an affirmative, now, it was time to make her initial chink in his armor. “W-would you mind helping me with Tactics? I could help with History in exchange?” she offered. Fortunately, she was a fair hand in History, being in the top five of the class.

Jaune swallowed. “S-Sure!” he stuttered a bit, his nerves jumping a bit at being alone with a pretty girl. Hopefully this would go better than just before he entered the library?

Jaune was wrong. It was worse. May had always felt comfortable around him, and it showed; she sat next to him, scooting her chair as close as she could get it, practically leaning against him, squishing her chest against his arm. This had the additional effect of getting him to notice that her blouse wasn’t buttoned all the way, giving him a tantalizing view into her cleavage, something he knew no other man saw.

He hated himself. He knew that May was afraid of being objectified, just like Pyrrha, but here he was, having the urge to stare at her. Every glance he made not only made his cock twitch, but his embarrassment and shame grow.

May was pleased, very pleased. She could see the subtle shifts in Jaune’s body, his cheeks flushing like her own were. She wasn’t going to make her final strike now, that would come later. She pressed herself more firmly against him. “...thank you for helping me, Jaune. It helped and I really enjoyed spending time with you.” she said honestly. “...can we study together again?” she asked hopefully, looking into those startling blue eyes.

She smiled as he nodded. “Thank you!” she grabbed him in a hug, although she failed to immediately notice that she pulled his head down to her chest, pressing his face against the exposed tops of her breasts. But even when she did, she only hugged him tighter, despite the redness on her cheeks.

Jaune stiffened, in more ways than one. For not the first time, he bemoaned being so large. Why couldn’t he have been more normal sized like Ren was? Her scent invaded his nose, vanilla and cinnamon, and his cheeks burned, even as his cock swelled and began making a distinct shape down the inner thigh of his uniform slacks. He had to act fast, before she thought him nothing more than a complete pervert!

May squeaked as Jaune quickly slipped out of his arms (unknowingly putting a delicious pressure on her sensitive nipples, making her panties soak. In a flurry of activity, Jaune collected his books and notes, rapidly saying, “It’s been great, May! We should study together again sometime! Sorry, I just remembered I had something important to do! Talk to you later!” he blurted out, before dashing off, leaving an aroused May sitting at the table.

She licked her lips, having seen the distinct ‘manprint’ that her crush had running down his inner thigh. She rubbed her thighs together. She knew that he was big, but not that big…

She swallowed and grabbed her things, standing and deciding to head back to the dorm. Walking away on slightly shaky legs, she knew she would be taking a long personal shower when she got to the dorm room.

Reaching the dorm, Jaune threw himself face first on the bed, face red and eyes wide. Had...had that really just happened? Did two beautiful girls just...what had happened?! Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he forced his aching cock to calm. One good thing about being surrounded by so many beautiful girls all his life, he gained an almost semblance-like ability to force his cock down.

He sighed as it thankfully shrank down and calmed, even though his balls still felt the effects of the arousal that had flooded through him not too long ago. He closed his eyes and sighed. Hopefully, this would just be a one off thing...something that he could laugh about year later on.

Poor Jaune. He had no idea what he was in for.

~x~x~

Two days had passed since the initial incidents, and Jaune had attempted to put them form his mind. Granted, it was impossible really when the two subjects of his thoughts were constantly there, smiling, waving, greeting him.

Considering neither of them were screaming ‘pervert’ or spreading rumors about him, he guessed things were good between them, leading him to wave back and smile awkwardly. Of course, Yang had to make jokes about it, acting as though him getting female attention was something noteworthy…

...and he supposed it was, considering his luck with Weiss. That didn’t mean he needed to hear the jokes about how he was finally getting attention from the ladies.

Rolling his eyes, he sighed and stood. “Very funny, Yang...now, if you’ll all excuse me, I’m going to head off and go anywhere but here.” he said, standing and heading off, distantly hearing Ren, Nora, Pyrrha, and even Ruby going off on her sister. Bless them.

As he left, he failed to notice carmine eyes watching him, following his every move. And both failed to see the calculating blue-gray eye.

Jaune sighed as he placed the barbell back down on the rack, wiping sweat off of his face and neck with his workout shirt. His muscles burned nicely, and he felt pleased with himself. He had come a long way from the unmuscled noodle that had sneaked into Beacon.

Now, while he wasn’t the best warrior, he could certainly hold his own, no thanks in part to his wonderful Partner and teammates. He knew that he would have been dead by now without them.

“Oh, hi Jaune! You decided to get a workout in too?” his eyes widened as he turned and saw Emerald walking up to him. His mouth went dry and he bit his tongue to try and stave of the twitch in his shorts as he saw what she was wearing.

A tight sports top held her sizable breasts snugly in almost a shelf, while she wore sinfully tight black shorts that looked almost painted on. And he was only seeing her from the front. He both desired, and dreaded, seeing what they looked like from behind. ‘Danger, Danger, Jaune Arc! Abandon The Area!’ his mind screamed as the beautiful young woman walked forwards, her hips swinging.

“H-Hi, Emerald…” he mumbled, eyes darting everywhere for help, but heart sinking when he realized they were alone in the gym. He quickly scrambled for an excuse. “Sorry, but I have to go…”

Emerald pouted. “Are you sure? I need to do some squats, and it would really help if someone spotted me...would you, please? I don’t want to overdo it…” she bat her eyes a few times, not overdoing it, but still pulling the ‘sweet demure girl’ act.

She barely resisted the urge to smirk when Jaune nodded, instead cheerfully going, “Great, thanks! Only going to do a few sets today, since I know classes aren’t far away, but there’s enough time to get a quick workout in, along with a nice hot shower! That’s always nice after a workout to ensure you don’t cramp, right? Feeling the hot water running over your body...there’s nothing like it!”

Jaune bit the inside of his cheek as the beautiful girl put the image of her standing under the shower head, the steaming water running over her trim, curvy body...he could feel himself getting hard in his shorts.

Emerald smiled as she slowly turned around, making sure to highlight her ass in these sinfully tight shorts of hers. She had honestly outgrown them, but had kept them around for reasons even she didn’t know...until now, at least.

Bending down and grabbing the barbells, making sure to push her ass out, she smirked when she heard a stilted intake of air. “Ready?” she asked, raising herself up, not waiting for an answer before dropping herself, pushing her ass out hard, quickly falling into a rhythm of rising and falling, making sure to showcase her ass and thighs.

Jaune was hard, unable to stop his cock from getting fully hard and stretching out his shorts lewdly. As embarrassing as that was, he preferred that to it sliding down his leg and peeking out to say hello to the world. He was just very grateful she was facing away from him, otherwise he knew this would end badly.

Emerald smirked widely as she performed her squats. Jaune had apparently not noticed the mirror across from them, and she had a perfect view of how hard he was staring at her ass...and how hard he was in response. She licked her lips and her core tingled, warmth bubbling up in her belly as she imagined being speared by that cock.

Despite loving the fact that Jaune was captivated by her ass, she knew she had to finish up sadly. But she wasn’t going to let that end her fun, there would be plenty of chances to tease him later. So, as she went down for her final squat, she rocked backwards, letting out a squeak as both she and Jaune hit the mat, her ass squashing against his cock.

Jaune groaned piteously as his cock was pressed down by those soft cheeks, just like two days ago, as Emerald rubbed her head and-oh god-squirmed on top of him, his balls going haywire. He bit his tongue to avoid making any sound that could tell Emerald exactly what was happening underneath her.

Forcing his eyes open, he saw her rubbing the back of her head, before glancing back, although not down, much to his relief. He twitched as she shifted more, her ass rubbing against his cock. ‘Oh, fuck, she needs to stop!’ he thought, panicked.

Emerald had to hit Jaune with her semblance, she couldn’t keep the smirk off her face anymore as she subtly wiggled her plump ass on the thick meat stick underneath her. “Ow…” she whined piteously, rubbing the back of her head, “Are you okay, Jaune? I hope I didn’t hurt you!” she asked, forcing the weight of her ass on his cock more, loving the panicked look on his face. She was glad that they were alone and that her ass was facing him; she was soaked.

The groan that hit her ears made her smirk, more teasing to be had then. “Did I hurt you?! Hang on, let me see where I landed!” she slowly dragged her ass down Jaune’s cock and placed herself on the mat, turning around-

-only to see Jaune up already and rushing to the showers, hunched over. She blinked, before she smirked, standing up and slowly following, intending to find him and watch what she knew he was doing. Maybe even ‘help’.

She herself failed to notice her follower, the blue-gray orb narrowed in anger.

Jaune groaned as he stood naked under the shower spray, one hand on the wall and the other performing what was known as a ‘tactical jerk’, rapidly tugging at his cock, trying to bring himself to orgasm before anyone else arrived.

“Fuck...why...how did she not notice?” he groaned, his cock and balls aching terribly as he pumped hard on his cock. “She can’t have not felt it…” even now, he could feel the warm squeeze of her ass on him, almost a phantom sensation that drove him wild.

He moved his hand for a moment, only for his eyes to snap open as a warm squeeze seemingly did envelop his cock, a tight warmth that made pre spurt from his tip. Looking before him, he saw nothing, but sniffing, he smelled the scent of cherry blossoms, just like the girl who he had been spotting. The sensation began to move, confusing him utterly, but the pleasure made him quickly forget thinking about it too hard.

Emerald smirked at a job well done. Jaune was wrapped in the throes of her semblance and she had stripped and slipped in front of him, capturing that massive cock in her ass. She hummed to herself as she began to rub that hot hard flesh, her ass moving along it, her own honey leaking down her inner thighs. She knew they would have to be swift, after all, people could come into the gym or its showers anytime. But she knew enough that Jaune had to be close. She just needed to...make...him...cum!

Jaune released a broken sound as his balls finally began to release, his cock spitting his copious seed all over the wall in front of him, much to his shame, his cock throbbing and balls pumping out a massive amount of cum, utterly painting it white.

Shame filled him, and after a quick rinse, he swiftly dried off, dressed and made his way out.

Under the spray of the water, Emerald hummed to herself as she rinsed herself clean. While she couldn’t see how much cum was on her backside, she could definitely feel the warmth that coated her. She chuckled. “Step three, complete…” she murmured. She would hunt him down again and next time, she would ask him out. She was sure he’d be all for it.

Hidden in the shadows of the corner, a tear-filled blue-gray eye stared at Emerald in rage. May knew about Emerald’s semblance, and she knew that Jaune didn’t see what had really happened. Slipping away, she wasn’t going to give in. No, she was going to fight for Jaune!

Creeping back, she May skulked out of the showers, already preparing for her next move. She needed to do something special.

~x~x~

Jaune sat in Survival Class, an elective course, but one he found damn useful. Even as he looked over the diagrams that they were working on today, he knew his mind wasn’t in it, it going back to the scene in the Gym earlier with Emerald. Glancing around, he supposed it was okay, though...after all, there seemed to be low turnout for the class today. As an elective, you came when the class had something you wanted to learn in it.

He sighed as he felt his cock, still semi hard, twitch in his slacks. He still felt phantom feelings of her rear on his lap, like when he was in the shower…

“Hi, Jaune! Can I sit with you?” he looked to the side, hearing May’s voice, only to choke as he turned. May’s chest had grown again, and now matched Yang’s size. He quickly shook himself though, knowing that she would hate gawking. “S-Sure, May.” he stuttered, watching as she happily took the seat next to him, her breasts bouncing slightly as she settled. Glancing around, Jaune noticed that they were the only two in the classroom, which filled him with a bit of trepidation, but he trusted May. He knew she wouldn’t do anything to embarrass him.

He heard the door opened and a flush filled his cheeks as he saw Emerald enter in her uniform, looking up and waving at him, although her smile seemed...dimmed. He didn’t know what caused that and would have thought more on it, but he was distracted-incredibly distracted-by May leaning into his arm again as she pointed out something in the book. If anyone asked, he wouldn’t be able to tell them, since his entire focus was on the softness pressing against his arm.

While Jaune was...preoccupied, both Emerald and May were having a stare down, giving one another very ugly looks, unimpressed with the fact of what the other was doing or did. Their eyes were cold, and if one looked closely, it would seem like lightning was crackling between the two beauties. May was happy that she had arrived first and foremost and was able to sit next to Jaune, while Emerald was incised for the same reasoning.

After a moment, Emerald smirked, immediately making May stiffen, wondering what the devious verdette had in mind.

Heading over to the table that held the books they used for the class, Emerald wasn’t going to let Zedong get in the way of her snagging her future boyfriend. She’d just get the sight that Jaune was going to be able to enjoy whenever he wanted, too! She laughed to herself as she stretched straight out over the table, feeling her skirt rise and rise, cool air brushing over the skin of her ass...the dual gasps made her smirk and glance over her shoulder, using her semblance to hide the blatant action, her cheeks red, even though she thought this was so hot…

Both Jaune and May stared in shock as Emerald’s skirt moved up more and more, until the entirety of her ass was completely exposed, the smooth chocolate skin taut and unblemished. More to the point, she was lacking underwear, letting them see everything.

May was horrified. She had no idea that Emerald was going to be that blatant with her wants! She knew that it wasn’t an accident, either! She could see her shifting her stance (subtly, of course) to arch her rear up and make it spread a bit! Glancing at Jaune, she was disheartened to see him staring with a dark blush on his cheeks, although she could understand it. Acting quickly, she did the first thing that came to mind to get his attention back.

Jaune’s mouth went dry as he saw her cheeks spread, allowing him to glimpse the darker circle of skin between the half moons, and the plump, pouty lips just beneath. He lost his battle keeping his cock soft, the shaft swelling with blood and pitching a massive tent in his slacks. He didn’t know how long he stared at the enticing image before he heard a squeak, and the wind was knocked out of him as he fell out of his chair and onto the floor, something warm landing on his crotch, making him freeze in horror.

Glancing down, he saw May, planted face down on his crotch, her cheek rubbing up against his hard shaft, her warm hand on his thigh, her breath seeping through his clothes and brushing over his balls; his cock ached.

May had attempted to put her hand over Jaune’s eyes, but slipped and slammed into him, taking them both to the ground. As the dizziness faded, she felt something hard poking her cheek and noticed that she was taking in a wonderful, musky scent. One that made her pussy clench in her panties. Opening her eye, her face burned as she realized somehow she had ended up face first in Jaune’s lap. Her eyesight grew hazy and stung as tears of humiliation filled them. She hadn’t meant for this!

She threw herself up and back, looking down at the ground and tried to take in a breath to calm herself, but all that came out was a loud ‘Hic!’ as burning hot tears began to stream down her face, falling onto her skirt. She couldn’t bring herself to look up at her crush, knowing that she would see the most disgusted look on it-she froze as strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close to his chest. “It’s okay, May...its okay...it was an accident…”

May buried her face into her crushes chest, taking deep breaths of his scent, her emotions settling and her love for Jaune growing as he comforted her after that humiliating experience. She snuggled against him, letting herself relax to the powerful thump, thump, thump of his heartbeat.

Neither noticed Emerald stomping out with a scowl.

~x~x~

Another two days had passed, and while things had been slightly awkward between him and May, it wasn’t bad enough that they couldn’t interact with one another. However, today was an off day for classes (something about a staff wide meeting? He didn’t really care enough to confirm it), so he was planning on heading to one of the indoor pools. Oddly enough this meeting coincided nicely, since the team had reserved it today anyway. Now, instead of a few hours after classes, they had the entire day to laze away in it if they wanted. Which they were going to.

Nora laughed as she changed into her swimsuit in the middle of the room, uncaring if her teammates saw her naked. None of them batted an eye, used to Nora’s wild side by now. “This is going to be great! How often do we say that we get to just sit by and swim in a pool all day?” she asked.

“We don’t, since the pools are always filled up on the weekends, and we don’t want Pyrrha in a swimsuit appearing in the tabloids. Its bad enough people are taking photos of her in classes, for God’s sake.” Jaune sighed, shaking his head as his closest friend and partner blushed.

“I’m sorry!”

“No, Pyrrha, don’t be sorry that other people don’t know boundaries.” Jaune said, patting her on the shoulder. His partner looked very attractive in her modest two piece bikini, but he knew that people would only be able to admire from a distance. After all, most of them never had the nerve to speak to her, and even if they did, Pyrrha, being on the Aromantic Asexual side of the spectrum, wasn’t cruel enough to lead them on.

A knock on the door drew their attention, and glancing to make sure his teammates were decent, Jaune moved over to the door, opening it to see…“May? Hey, what’s up?” he smiled as he saw his shy friend in front of their dorm room.

May blushed brightly as she saw the boy she loved without a shirt and wearing only swimming trunks, her mouth going dry as her eye roamed over her muscled form. Feeling warmth bubble up in her belly, she cleared her throat and spoke, hoping her voice didn’t crack. “I...I came to see if you wanted to hang out...but I can come back later?” she asked hopefully, hoping that she got some time with her crush today...without her trying to muscle in.

Pyrrha blinked. While she may not feel it herself, she could see that May was attracted to Jaune. Hell, she likely would be attracted to Jaune if she was capable of feeling those types of emotions. He was a great man. She smiled and moved forwards. “We’re going to the pool, May. Would you like to join us? The more the merrier?” seeing the beanie-wearing girl’s surprised look, she winked from behind Jaune’s shoulder.

May had to bite the inside of her cheek to avoid the face-splitting smile she wanted to reveal, instead managing to say, “A-are you sure? I don’t want to be a bother...or get in the way of team time.” she nearly winced, since most of the time she was left out of ‘Team Bonding’ stuff in BRNZ, since she was the only girl.

She didn’t see Jaune’s eyes soften, but she did hear him. “It’s not bother to spend time with a friend, May. You’re welcome to come. We’d be glad to have you.” she couldn’t keep the joy off her face this time as she smiled wide. “Thanks! I’ll go get my suit! Which pool are you heading to?” she asked. This could be her chance! And it looked like Jaune’s own partner, Pyrrha freaking Nikos, approved of her going for him!

“The smaller one on the West side of the dorms. More private.” left unsaid was they chose that one to make sure Pyrrha had peace, since it was one of the few of them that didn’t have windows to the outside, meaning no loiterers attempting to hide with cameras. It may have been against the rules and punished harshly, but that didn’t stop perverts in their attempt to get pictures of swimsuit malfunctions.

“Thanks! I’ll go grab my suit!” in a burst of emotion, she hugged him, before darting off back to her own dorm to get her suit. She had thankfully bought one in case she ever had the courage to do something like this.

Granted, it wasn’t ideal, since preferably, it would just be her and Jaune, but at this point, with what Emerald had been pulling, she couldn’t afford to stay her usual self anymore...besides, worst came to worst, she had her semblance to fall back on.

Entering her empty dorm, she dug her bikini out of the bottom of her dresser, blushing at the thought of Jaune seeing her in it, wondering what he would saw when he saw how large her breasts were, before shaking her head. Now wasn’t the time for talk, it was time for action. She wouldn’t allow anything to stop her.

May was pouting. Honest to god pouting. Why? Apparently, Team RWBY had overheard Pyrrha and Jaune inviting her to the pool, so they invited themselves! And what’s worse, Emerald had found them and gotten an invite too! But she wasn’t going to let an extra five people stop her! She was going to get Juane’s attention!...right after her knees stopped trembling.

She stood before a mirror in one of the small changing rooms, wearing her bikini. The bottoms were a pretty lavender color, and a modest side-tie in style. The top, however...well, it was a bikini...in theory. The two tiny triangles covered her puffy, inverted nipples for sure, but a good portion of her pink areola was still visible.

Her blush was dark, almost taking over her face, but she wasn’t going to be deterred! She was going to go and show her crush what she had to offer!

Knock! Knock! May looked at the door, seeing the outline of someone’s shadow underneath it. Part of her hoped it was Jaune, but she knew he was too much of a gentleman to do such a thing unless someone else was there. “Hello?” she was proud her voice didn’t crack.

“May? Are you okay?” her shoulders relaxed when she realized it was Pyrrha and not Emerald here to taunt her. She had seen the smug look that the verdette had on her face as she went into one of the changing stalls herself.

“Yes, thanks! On my way out!” she called, gathering her clothes and putting them into her bag, making sure that they wouldn’t go ‘missing’ mysteriously. Standing and moving to the door, she opened it to see the redhead standing outside.

Despite the embarrassment, she couldn’t help but feel amused when Pyrrha’s eyes went wide, the normally reserved girl blatantly staring at her chest. She chuckled, making her breasts bounce. “Take a picture, maybe?” she teased, getting the redhead to rapidly shake her head and back up, looking incredibly flustered.

“I’m sorry!” Pyrrha yelped, before calming and taking a deep breath, looking May in the eye. “May, are you sure you feel comfortable wearing that? I mean, there’s more than just Juane out there…” May felt her eyes widen. “I can tell you like him, and honestly, on some level, I think he likes you too, but Juane...he’s not unintelligent, but he has a very low sense of self-worth.”

May nodded. Anyone could honestly see it. The blonde seemed to hold himself to an impossible standard. “But, I think you’re good for him, so let’s go and you can make his eyes pop out.” Pyrrha chuckled, and May nodded, her heart rising as she realized she had a great ally in Pyrrha.

As they headed back to the pool area, they could hear voices, Yang talking predominantly. “Damn, Em. How do you hide that? It’s bigger than Blake’s?” May’s expression soured, knowing exactly what Yang was talking about.

Emerald had happily shown off her thong bikini to May, revealing the same amount of ass that she had shown off in Survival Class the other day. She knew that Jaune was likely just as embarrassed as he was then...but he was likely to be more when he saw her.

“Oh, its a bit difficult, but a good skirt or pants does wonders!” Emerald’s voice was cheerful, but she could hear the hidden dislike within it; then again, May knew that Emerald had no real respect for those who flaunted themselves. Hell, she could honestly say that she had never seen Emerald act like this before until she decided she wanted Jaune.

As Pyrrha reached for the door, May took a deep, calming breath and nodded. Showtime.

Emerald smiled to herself. It was so easy to tease Jaune like this! And with the little wallflower out of the way, she had full access to him! Just a little longer and she was sure he’d be interested in spending some time alone with her on their free day…

The door opened and her jaw, and she was sure everyone else’s jaws dropped. Where had the shy little wallflower gotten the courage to wear something like that? Off to the side she heard huffing and jealous murmurs from Schnee, which at any other point would make her laugh, if she wasn’t so shocked.

Instead of being downright flat, like she had thought, the mousy girl had tits bigger than Xiao Long! When the hell did that happen?

May ignored everyone’s expression, from Yang’s shock, to Weiss’s not so little amount of jealousy, to even Nora grabbing Ren by the head and shoving his face into her own sizable chest; her attention was solely on Jaune, who was staring at her with awe. Filling her with strength.

Walking up to him, she sat down next to him. “H-How...how do I look?” she didn’t care what the others thought of her, Jaune’s opinion was the only one that mattered. If he didn’t like it, she had wasted her time!

She watched his throat bob as he looked over her body, making the warmth bubbling in her lower belly grow, wetness beginning to form in the bottom of her swim bottoms. “Y-You look wonderful.” she smiled as his voice cracked a bit.

“Thank you.” she said, relieved. She was happy that he wasn’t disgusted by how lewdly...large...her breasts were.

Time passed, the group having fun, or as much as they could have while stewing in jealousy over Emerald’s and May’s attributes.

Both Jaune and May were swimming together, making Emerald frown. There were too many people to use her semblance effectively, but maybe she could make it so they were misdirected...a smirk appeared on her face as she moved slowly through the water, weaving her semblance.

May was enjoying herself greatly, she and Jaune had stopped for a few moments and relaxed, Jaune sitting on the edge of the pool, and May floating before him in the water. She smiled at him, happy that this was going well. But now, she needed to talk to Jaune. “Jaune...I need to tell you something.”

Jaune looked down at May with a smile. “Yeah? What is it, May?” he asked. This...this was very comfortable. He truly enjoyed spending time with her, and even Emerald; she had sat with her and May and they had just talked. And despite the embarrassment of all this week, he found himself attracted to Emerald, just as he was May. It had been a very pleasant day.

May looked up at Jaune. This was it, she was going to do it! “I wanted to tell you-” her eyes widened as she felt her top slipping. Cheeks turning dark she saw Jaune’s eyes widening so she knew he noticed it to.

Before panic set in, she activated her sembalnce and pushed herself closer to Jaune as her top slipped off and began to float away, pressing her breasts onto his lap. She took several deep breaths as her heart rate calmed down. Looking up, she blushed more as Jaune was definitely noticing her now, especially if the poke on the underside of her breasts told her anything.

Jaune glanced around rapidly, waiting for the laughs, the shrieks, the mocking, the perverted jokes, but nothing came. In fact, none of them were even looking their way. Looking back at May (doing everything he could to not stare at those magnificent breasts, massive with puffy, inverted nipples, the flush from her face extending down to the top of them), he gave her a confused look. “H-How?”

Emerald agreed with Jaune. ‘Yes, how?!’ pulling off her top was supposed to embarrass her! Not basically make her set her tits on their crush’s lap!

May blushed. “I...it’s my semblance. When activated, anything surrounding me is...normal, for lack of a better word. It helps during combat, or in embarrassing situations like this, but I really don’t like using it much...but I left you and Emerald out of it...because…” she swallowed. “We both like you, and Emerald used her semblance on you in the gym showers!”

Jaune’s head spun. “I...what? You...you like me?” he asked, stunned. A nod from May. “Emerald does too?” another nod. “Sh-she used her semblance on me in the gym showers? How?” he asked. He was fairly certain he would have would noticed her doing something to him…

May blushed. “Her...her semblance is Hallucinations...she made it so you didn’t notice her in the shower with you…” his cheeks burned as he remembered the incredible heat and tightness that wrapped around his cock, bringing him to a swift orgasm. “Th-that was her?” he asked, mortified.

May bit her lip. “She does like you, just like I do...she just doesn’t...well, neither of us have ever...tried to get a boy, you know?” she glanced to her side, seeing a shocked Emerald looking at her, holding her top in her hand. Looking back up at Jaune, she smiled weakly. “Can we talk? We...we can go to one of the empty study dorms?”

Looking between the two beauties, Jaune swallowed and nodded. “Y-Yeah...I...I think that would be a good idea.” he said, quickly reaching over and plucking May’s top from an unresisting Emerald’s hand and handing it to the maroon-haired girl to put back on.

After May’s breasts were covered up (a part of Jaune mourning the loss of the beautiful sight), the trio gathered their things and left the room, uncaring that the moment that the door closed and May dropped her semblance around them, the room descended into confusion over where the three went.

~x~x~

Now, here the three of them were, in a student study dorm, the girls having swiftly gotten into another argument when they settled in here before he stopped them. He wasn’t going to let this ‘competition’ for him go on any longer. He wouldn’t deny that the two girls were beautiful, and he felt for both of them...his eyes hardened. It was time to take charge. Clearing his throat, he looked between the two of them.

“Now, both of you have been enjoying teasing and tormenting me this past week...that means, both of you are going to be fixing this.” he gestured to his tented pants, his hard cock jutting outwards. “Are we understood?” Jaune growled. “Now, don’t waste my time...clothes off.”

Neither Emerald nor May would admit it out loud, but they were soaked. Jaune taking charge and demanding that they finish what they had started by teasing him so was...hot. Instantly, they began tugging at their own clothes, shirts being tossed to the side, bra and binder falling to the ground, skirts, thong and hip hugger panties following, leaving both naked and dripping before their lover’s, hopefully boyfriend’s, eyes.

Jaune licked his lips, his cock straining in his pants as he looked over their bodies. They really were beautiful, and some part of him still couldn’t believe that they were truly interested in him...but the eager looks on their faces...those weren’t fake. They were real.

He walked around them, close but not so close her touched them, reaching out and just brushing his fingers along her backsides, watching with lust as goosebumps rose up from their skin. Jaune’s nostrils flared as he smelled a sweet fragrance wafting up from below, making his cock throb.

While Emerald’s ass was larger and more soft, his fingertips sinking into the fat cheeks, one couldn’t that deny the firm heart shape of May’s rear end was delightful as well.

Moving around to their front, he hummed, placing a hand on each girl’s hip, slowly and teasingly drawing his callused hands upwards. He chuckled at their their trembling, smirking at their needy whines. “Really?” he chuckled, “You two are begging for it already? I mean, you both tormented me all week...maybe I should leave you both on the brink for an entire week before finally taking you?”

Jaune didn’t know where all this confidence was coming from, but he did know that he felt empowered by the looks of panic and fear the two girls had, followed by immediate pleading to not do something so cruel to them, that they couldn’t take a whole week of being on edge-

“Like you had no problems letting me?” he asked. “You have a weeks worth of teasing and blue balls to make up for. I’m not cruel, so...if you promise not to tease and then refuse to follow through anymore after tonight, I can forgive you.”

Both May and Emerald breathed a heavy sigh of relief as they realized they weren’t about to be as teased and tormented as Jaune had been. It would have been hell! They were both already dripping down their inner thighs with need! Both shivered, releasing keens as Jaune’s hands moved down again, cupping their soaking cores. He did nothing, just cupped their slits. It didn’t take either of them long before they were grinding themselves shamelessly against his palms, shuddering and moaning as the callouses on his fingers and palm rubbed over their slick, sensitive skin.

It didn’t take long for them to break, both keening and trembling as they came hard, squirting along his palms, faces flushed darkly as they both realized they had cum in less than three minutes, but Jaune looked...he looked amazed, not amused.

Both slowly came down from their intense orgasms, watching with flushed faces as their lover contemplated their juices on his fingers, before tasting them, licking them clean and making their pussies clench.

The girls looked at another, and nodded. For now, they were on the same page. They had drove the man they both wanted to fits, and it was up to them to make it up to him.

Jaune blinked as he saw Emerald whisper rapidly to May, who blushed fiercely, but nodded. Before he could ask, both acted, moving him and having him sit on the bed. Glancing between them, the both looked at him softly. “We did you wrong, Jaune...we treated you as though you were a prize to be won, although among all the men here, you are one…” May began, looking ashamed, her blue-gray eye looking down, before it snapped back up as she realized what she was staring at.

Despite the situation, both Jaune and Emerald chuckled, before Emerald sobered and continued. “We’re going to make it up to you...be the best girlfriends we can be. We promise.” seeing Jaune’s shocked look, she smirked. “You heard right...you hit the jackpot, tiger!”

Glancing at May, Emerald nodded again, and May slipped down onto her front, her upper body held up by her elbows, while the verdette girl turned around, setting her plump rear on his thigh. “We couldn’t decide who would get to please you first, and well, our assets are quite opposite to one another, so I thought, “Why shouldn’t our forgiving boyfriend get the luxury of a titjob and an assjob at the same time?”...oh! I can tell some part of you likes that thought!”

Both May and Emerald giggled from how hard Jaune’s cock was twitching, obviously imagining what they were about to do. Locking eyes with their new boyfriend, both moved, sandwiching and engulfing Jaune’s large shaft between their impressive endowments.

Jaune groaned darkly, his cock feeling as though it was being utterly smothered by four large, warm pillows. Opening his eyes, he saw both Emerald and May looking at him with equal amounts of lust, and glancing down...he barely saw his tip emerging through the twin cleavages. He huffed, his fingers digging into the sheets by his body. He could feel his balls churning already, but knew that he was nowhere close to cumming.

He took deep breaths, as they started to move in tandem, in such a way that he was wondering if they hadn’t practiced this beforehand. “Fuck...you two…” his voice was almost a growl, something that disturbed him, but he could see the effect that it had on his two new girlfriends. Both were looking at him with lust in their eyes, their movements getting even more frantic, his cock slipping in their cleavages, his tip popping up and out between them as they fell, Emerald’s rear and May’s breasts squishing against his thighs.

“Like it, lover?” Emerald asked, eyes hooded halfway. “I...I won’t lie...I’m getting wet just feeling this thing between my cheeks...how about you Zee?” she asked.

May blinked at the nickname, but smiled softly. “Y-Yeah...this...this is really turning me on…” she was mortified at saying that out loud, but she wasn’t going to lie about the fact that her juices were streaming down her inner thighs. It didn’t help that her sensitive nipples were dragging along the soft skin of Emerald’s rear end.

Jaune groaned as both of them worked harder and faster, getting him closer to his end, growling as both stopped their movements, leaving him on the brink again. He scowled lightly as both moved off of him, although it lessened a fair bit as they leaned over and kissed him. “Don’t worry, baby…” Emerald smirked, “We’re going to get you off, we just don’t want to waste all that’s in here,” Jaune hissed as two different hands cupped his large balls, rubbing the swollen and packed spheres gently. “by letting it spit out onto our tits or ass, that’s all. We want it in us…”

May hummed softly, kissing Jaune again and getting lost in the addictive feel of his lips. Pulling away from his lips, she rubbed her nose against the blonde’s, pressing her tits against him. “We want you to fill us up...I tasted it before, I want it in me. No condoms, I’m on the shot...I...I want to feel it raw…” her cheeks burned, but Jaune only smiled softly, reaching down and cupping her cheek.

“If you’re sure...is it alright that she goes first, Em?” Juane asked, giving the cocoa-skinned verdette a glance, knowing that May had far more self-image issues than she did. The carmine-eyed girl pouted, but nodded. It would give her a chance to contemplate her own problem.

Emerald hadn’t hadn’t renewed her birth control. She hadn’t bothered resuming the shot; after all, why get something that you weren’t going to use at all? Now she was kicking herself. She’d figure out something. There was no way that May was going to be the only one fucked tonight!

Jaune kissed May again, which the buxom beauty accepted eagerly, moaning softly as Jaune’s tongue prodded at her lips. Clutching at him, May slid her body over his, enjoying the feel of his body pressing against her own. A small whimper escaped her lips as her sensitive nipples rubbed against his chest. Her pussy clenched around nothing as she pulled back from the kiss, a thin line of saliva stretching between their lips several inches before breaking. “Make...make love to me, Jaune...please don’t make me wait…”

Jaune kissed her again swiftly, rolling them over so May was on her back and he was looming above her.

May blushed, completely exposed before Jaune’s gaze. Her GG-Cups were on full display, her areola puffy and engorged, although her nipples were still tucked away in their little slits. Her trim legs were spread wide, exposing her soaked core. Even her milky, scarred eye (a testament to a Grimm attack when she was young) was uncovered from its hidden shield of her hair. She should have felt mortified. But with Jaune’s hungry gaze on her...she only felt...desired. Like a woman. She released a keen as Jaune leaned down and pressed kisses along her neck and collarbone, his fingers roaming her sides.

A squeal erupted from her mouth as Jaune’s firm hands grasped and toyed with her breasts, the callused digits almost sinking into the soft flesh. She squirmed and shook beneath him as his fingers rubbed over her sensitive areola, teasing the sensitive nubs.

Pulling back, Jaune stared into her visible eye as her face scrunched up, feeling her hips arching and rubbing up against him. He chuckled. “Sensitive there, are we?” he asked letting his index fingers and thumbs trace around the protruding flesh, his hard cock throbbing hard as he watched the busty girl squirm and writhe. This was breathtaking.

May was mortified! She couldn’t cum from just having her nipples teased! She wouldn’t, she wouldn’t, she wouldnnnnnn’t-a shameful keen escaped her mouth as Jaune’s fingers pinched, her nipples popping out of the small slits they hid in; her core clenched, her pussy squirting her fluids onto her thighs and on the sheets. With a whimper, she covered her face with her hands, not wanting to see the laughing expressions that she was sure both had.

Jaune was the furthest he had been from laughing in a while. He had never remembered be so hard in his life. Sharing a glance with Emerald, who looked just as shocked, Jaune grinned and slipped his hands down to May’s toned thighs, gripping them and spreading them a bit wider, slipping between them, the tip of his cock a hair’s breadth away from her soaked core.

Emerald, sick of being left out, leaned down and gently pulled May’s hands away from her face, looking into her embarrassed...sister-girlfriend?...she looked into May’s eye. “Come on, Zee...Jaune’s about to make you his...don’t hide behind your hands for this…” she smiled as she watched May’s eye immediately shoot down to see Jaune’s cock moments away from breaching her core.

Jaune smiled softly as he moved just a bit, allowing his head to touch her sticky lips. “Are you ready? I want confirmation…” he looked May directly in the eye, refusing to move further without her okay. He watched May nod, staring directly down at their potential joining.

That wouldn’t do. “I need you to tell me with words, May…” he said softly, rubbing his cock along her soaking lips gently. “I want to hear your beautiful voice telling me you want me to fuck you…” he hummed, turning his head and planting kisses on her toned calf muscle, running his nose along the smooth skin as May released small squeaks of sound, but nothing resembling words. He was patient. He had waited this long, he could wait until she found her ability to talk.

Fortunately, Jaune didn’t have to wait long. Emerald hummed and gently cupped one of May’s tits. “If you don’t tell him, he won’t fuck you. If he won’t fuck you, there’s no need for him to be where he is. It will be my turn. He’ll be fucking me. You wouldn’t want me to go first, now would you?” she asked, seeing May’s eye widen in panic.

“NO! Fuck me, Jaune! Don’t fuck her first! Please, I want it! I need it! Fill me with your cum!” May cried out, bucking her hips upwards, trying to take Jaune’s cock into her core. There was a beat of silence before her her lightly tanned face turned dark red, her cheeks resembling dark cherries.

“Heh, such a naughty girl, and a screamer to boot!” Emerald chuckled, gently fondling May’s breast, feeling heat flow off of her. “Don’t worry about it sweetie, its just us. But you heard her, stud; fuck her and fill her up!”

Jaune took a deep breath. While both had used their semblances to please him before; Emerald giving him that assjob in the gym showers while hidden from him and May had used her own to rest her breasts on his lap in front of everyone at the pool, he had never done this. He wanted it to go well.

“Looking at May, he smiled as he slowly began to push his way into her core. Huntress-in-training she may be, but she was a virgin and he wasn’t small. So he was slow to enter her and spread her open. He watched her face as she mewled and squirmed underneath him, digging her fingers into the sheets, gasping for air and whining for more.

Finally, Jaune bottomed out, his hips pressing against May’s, his own face tense as her walls were rippling and flexing tightly around his cock. She was hot, scorching even. Combined with her internal movements, it felt like she was constantly cumming around his cock. The look on her face only made him think more that she was cumming.

Slowly he pulled back, watching May’s face pinch and hearing the weak mewl coming from May’s mouth, feeling her thighs trembling in his hands. He watched her arch as he thrust back in, pleasure hitting him hard as well.

Seeing May starting to relax, Jaune knew it was time. Shifting his grip in her thighs, Jaune began to move faster, making May’s visible eye widen as he suddenly began to pound into her, loud smacks and claps filling the room as flesh smacked against flesh, pale hips colliding against tanned ones, Jaune’s swollen balls smacking into May’s toned ass.

Emerald stared jealously at May’s ecstatic face, before deciding that May shouldn’t be the only one having any fun. Sitting up, she carefully shifted so she was kneeling over her face. “It’s only fair I get off too, you know…” she teased, before plopping down and placing her pussy on May’s mouth, her ass covering the rest of the girl’s head. She moaned as May immediately started lapping away at her core, her tongue surprisingly skilled for a girl who had never eaten pussy before. She smirked as she saw Jaune’s eyes fill with lust, but she had to readjust herself as she nearly rocked off of May’s face as Jaune began fucking her even harder, his grip on the maroon-haired girl’s legs shifting a bit more.

Her eyes widened as Jaune lurched forwards, almost bending May in half, locking her legs down, putting her into a mating press and slamming into her. She threw her head back, a choked cry escaping her mouth as May screamed into her pussy, sending vibrations along with the sensations of that surprisingly wicked tongue. She released a choked cry as she came hard, squirting over May’s face.

May could see and hear nothing, could only smell Emerald’s intense scent of cherry blossoms and natural musk, could only taste her sweetly tangy arousal, and feel...oh Gods above, could she feel Jaune fucking her, bending her in half, making her his breeding bitch-her slick pussy clenched around him in sudden orgasm, a wail of pleasure leaving her mouth, being muffled by the slick flesh that hadn’t moved from her oral cavity. She thrashed underneath her two lovers, bucking upwards and trying to get more and more pleasure, to receive Jaune’s cum and become his woman.

Jaune growled as May clenched and flexed and squirmed around him, her juices leaking around him and dribbling down onto his pulsing balls. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to hold back too much longer. This was, these two were too erotic to maintain calm. “C-Cumming!” he groaned, hearing May squeal eagerly as his balls rose and fell, his sack squeezing as his thick cum spurted out of his tip, forcefully filling up the maroon-haired girl’s core.

May cried out into the soaked flesh above her, heart singing as Jaune filled her up, claiming her body as his, and his alone. No other man would stretch her out, would fill her up...no other man’s seed would ever take root within her.

Feeling Emerald slip off of her face, she inhaled deeply the sweet air and stared at her lover. Feebly, she raised her arms, wordlessly asking for a hug. She moaned as she found herself scooped up into strong arms and smelling Jaune’s musky scent, her core flexing and rippling around his still twitching cock. “...Love you…” she moaned, nuzzling against him. “Love you too, May…” he hummed.

Jaune slowly, very slowly slid his still hard cock from May’s body, both staring at the veritable waterfall of semen that spilled from her pussy and onto the sheets. May managed a giggle. “You really did fill me up…” she whispered in an awed voice. Looking up at Juane, she kissed him. “You’re going to be doing that again soon...”

Emerald let the two have their moment, before she pouted, reaching down and gently squeezing Jaune’s balls, quickly gaining his attention. “I...I haven’t renewed my birth control yet, but I want it raw too…” she pouted. She cursed herself at the fact that she hadn’t thought of something as simple as birth control. Her eyes brightened. “You can fuck my ass.”

The blunt manner of speech made both May and Jaune gape at her, although Jaune’s sticky, twitching cock told Emerald that he really liked the idea. She slowly spun around on the bed, pushing her ass out and giving it a wiggle. “I know you want to~” she teased. “I don’t mind...after all, it is my best feature~”

Reaching back, she grabbed her cheeks and spread them, revealing her winking little pucker to her audience of two. Glancing over her shoulder she smirked, seeing both her boyfriend and fellow girlfriend staring. “You’re nice and lubed up due to Zee, so c’mon, lover...claim what every boy’s thought about!”

She watched with amusement as Jaune reached out for her almost zombie-like, his hands grabbing her ass and squeezing tightly, making her moan as his strong fingers sank into her flesh. “Yeeeasssss…don’t be afraid to get rough with it…” she groaned, getting wetter and wetter from Jaune’s rough handling.

SMACK!

A guttural moan spilled from her lips as Jaune’s strong hand slammed against her bubbly backside, making the cocoa-colored flesh ripple and sending a pleasant sting through her body. SMACK! Another one on her opposite cheek made her juices start sliding down her inner thighs.

Repeated spanks covered her ass, falling in a random pattern, sometimes going from cheek to cheek, other times he spanked a single cheek several times, the sting building until it became almost painful, the fire between her thighs growing and growing and growing until-

Jaune stopped.

A piteous whine escaped her lips, looking over her shoulder desperately at him, seeing him smirking. “You’re not going to get to cum that easy, Emerald…” she felt a slick feeling, and knew that it was Jaune’s cock. It slid between her cheeks, the cum slicking up her crease and covering her tight little pucker. A bit of adjustment and she felt his tip poking the small circle. Her pussy quivered. “Please…” she keened.

Jaune thrust.

Emerald’s eyes widened as Jaune bottomed out in one go, hips slapping her stinging rear as all ten inches of cock spread her wide. “Fuck!” she groaned, gripping the sheets as Jaune drew back until just his tip was still inside her, then plunging back in again. Smack!

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Jaune’s thrusts were rhythmic, and every time he bottomed out her ass cheeks were spanked hard by his hips. Broken moans spilled from her lips even as her own juices dripped down from her pussy and onto the bed, dark spots forming and growing in size.

Seeing May looking at Emerald hungrily, Jaune smirked and spun them around, much to the dark-skinned girl’s shock. Her carmine eyes widened as May spread her legs, revealing her cum stuffed pussy. “Eat me, Emerald...you made me do it to you, so its only fair...and hey, you get to taste Jaune! Won’t that be great?” she teased.

Emerald could smell it, the tangy, slightly bitter scent of their mixed arousal, her mouth watering as she found herself leaning forward…

...only for May’s legs to wrap around her head and drag her in, smushing her face against the maroon-haired girl’s cream-filled core. “MMMMMPPPHHH!” she whined, only making the one-eyed girl moan and Jaune rail her ass even harder.

May watched as her boyfriend railed her sister-girlfriend, and said sister-girlfriend sucked and licked and slurped away at her soaking pussy, sending pleasure through her body.

Jaune slammed into Emerald’s ass, enjoying watching the ripple of her flesh jiggle as his hips slammed into her, watching May moan and clutch at the Verdette’s hair as she was eaten out. He fucked her hard and powerfully, giving her all of the aggression that he hadn’t given May. He could tell she loved it, just like he did. She was already cumming, her anal walls squeezing bearing down on his cock, her juices spilling down her thighs.

He knew that he was close too, but he wanted to wait, hold out for May to cum again...lurching forwards, he began to slam himself against her, his balls slapping against her pussy, sending droplets of her cum flying as he slammed his lips against May’s.

“MMMMMMHHHHPPPPPHHH!!!” the trio moaned in unison, their screams of passion drowned out by their flesh.

May squirted hard, covering and almost drowning Emerald in a mix of her cum and Jaune’s, while Emerald sprayed the sheets with her clear cum as they came in unison.

Jaune, however, growled as his balls snapped taut and he began to pump his cum deep into Emerald’s backside as he devoured May’s lips, their tongues tangling against one another.

Slowly breaking the kiss and moving away, all three panted for air. “F-Fuck…” Emerald gasped, her head slumped on May’s inner thigh, licking her lips of May’s and Jaune’s cum. May was speechless, her massive chest heaving as she fought to get back her breath.

Jaune rolled his hips slowly, letting the last drops of his cum side from his cock as he slowly pulled back, watching in awe as Emerald’s ass gaped, his cum spurting out as the formally tight little hole struggled to close.

Grabbing his lovers and shifting them, Jaune slumped in the bed, followed by two female bodies, May and Emerald each grabbing an arm and pulling it close, his limbs being swallowed up by May’s massive cleavage and Emerald’s more modest one. Their legs entwined with his as they relaxed, their heartbeats finally calming down and breathing returning to normal.

“Ah, hah...that was...that was…” Emerald slumped against Jaune, trailing off, unable to come up with the words necessary for what she honestly was feeling. May hummed, nuzzling against Jaune’s shoulder. “...Perfect…” was the only word she said, and despite the fact that she had been Emerald’s worst enemy not two hours ago, the mint haired girl found herself agreeing.

“Yeah...perfect…” she hummed, closing her eyes and resting against her new boyfriend as fatigue finally hit her. She knew that she wasn’t done, not by a long shot. She may have agreed to work together with May tonight to make sure they both got what they wanted, but that didn’t mean that she was going to be passive all the time...the next morning, she was going to wake her boyfriend up with her mouth.

...little did she know, May had the same idea, dreaming of driving Jaune wild with her own talented tongue.

A Week Later

“Jaune? Are you okay?” Pyrrha asked, looking at her closest friend in concern as they studied in one of the study dorms. His face was flushed and a fine sheen of sweat was on his forehead. He looked at her and smiled, although it seemed strained. “I’m just fine, Pyr. T-Thanks for asking!” he said, although his voice was tense. Tilting her head, Pyrrha nodded and going back to her work.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, despite the immense pleasure that flooded through him. Looking down, he narrowed his eyes at a naked May beneath the table as she swallowed the head of his cock in her mouth, while her breasts swallowed the shaft, eyes bright as she looked up at him happily.

That wasn’t the only thing happening. Before Jaune in the middle of the study dorm, on top of the table he and Pyrrha were sitting at, was a naked Emerald. She had changed positions several times already, from doing exercises in booty short that showcased her magnificent ass, like Yoga and squats (reminiscent of the teasing she did to him in the gym), to belly dancing, to stripping herself of her bottoms and twerking, clapping those fat cheeks together, to the position she was in now, sitting on the table before him, legs spread lewdly and cupping one of her breasts as she openly fingered herself in front of him.

Jaune wondered how he had gotten so lucky. He had two beautiful girlfriends, both of them surprisingly adventurous...to the point of Emerald using her semblance to keep his partner from noticing anything odd as they both played with him...and each other.

Jaune bit his lower lip to contain the groan as he came hard, coating May’s face and tits in a thick, gooey mask of his cum. Eyes brightening, Emerald turned and hopped off the table (making sure to wiggle her ass in his face as she did so), crawling underneath it and immediately attacking May, kissing her deeply as they both began to scoop up his cum, moaning happily as they devoured his seed.

His cock, having lost none of its rigidity even with the massive cumshot he had painted May with, twitched. As he watched, both his girlfriends leaned forwards, pressing their lips to the head of his cock. Right next to his partner. Who remained oblivious due to Emerald semblance.

God...he loved his life right now.

#Jaune Arc #May Zedong #Emerald Sustrai #Team RWBY #Team JNPR

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war--lords · 4 years

Text

NSFW, Female!Reader

The whole ballroom shines golden, more so when you take into account the partygoers inhabiting it as if they are collectively in defiance of the rainclouds starting to form in the cobalt night. Le Comte, the only reason you are attending this ball commemorating some Duke’s something, is once again being swarmed by many charmed men and women of the high elite, and you’ve taken this opportunity to make a beeline for the food.

An hors d'oeuvre rests delicately between your fingertips as you watch the scene from afar:

Your benefactor, and most recently lover, surrounded by some of Paris’s most important people, men and women alike, some of which you recognize from previous parties. He is the picture of patience, replying with only the amount of words necessary to be polite and sociable at the same time. Having lived a long life as a vampire, he surely has the art of small talk mastered, but it is chiefly his poise and graciousness that attracts these people to him—this much you understand, for you are no different than them.

A lady, young and enchanting, extends a gloved arm to him and he gently kisses the back of her hand. It is a common gesture of the time, but you notice the look in her eyes as she looks down at him.

You know what lies in that gaze. Want.

That same not-so-well-concealed desire lingers even when she stares at him as he stands up straight again, as her plush carmine-dyed lips curl into a pleased, meaningful smile. As Comte speaks, she slowly hooks her arm with his, fingers drawing slow, sensual circles through the fabric of his waistcoat as if coaxing him to please, tell me more. She watches his lips form words.

And when he turns to look at her, he smiles. A pleased, meaningful smile.

You start to feel sick in your throat, chest, and stomach. The first you think to do is look away and take deep breaths, as much as your corset permits. Clearly, your emotions have taken too much control, but it’s too late because you feel jealousy sinking its ugly roots at the bottom of your gut. They were just being friendly, you’re sure. After all, etiquette is of utmost importance in the 19th century.

In your head, another voice replies to you—one that sounds like your own. She is being awfully friendly. The look in her eyes and the curl of her lips enter your mind’s eye again, and you cannot deny the purpose that lies behind them. Beautiful and treacherous she, waiting patiently to lure the Comte with her siren song. That sounds like a lovely story, she would probably say. Please don’t stop there.

God, you sigh, feeling as though you are split into two. You find that you are hating everything, and it has been less than ten minutes since the two of you entered the ball. It is undoubtedly going to be a long night.

A long night, you find yourself imagining the woman whispering that into your lover’s ear as she drapes herself atop him, and you grit your teeth. He has lived a long immortal life, much of which you don’t know about. Surely there were many more before you—women, men, all of them pretty and prim and lusting for him all the same? They must have held whatever place you hold in his life, too.

You try to shake the thought away. Have you become that overly-possessive, jealous person? You shake your head to yourself. That would be horrendous, and you would hate yourself for it.

He probably didn’t even notice that you’ve slipped away.

You swallow the doubt down with a flute of champagne, courtesy of a waiter passing by, and you find yourself glancing at the scene again.

The circle of people has significantly reduced in size. They’re laughing together.

At the exact moment you decide to pray to the higher powers to give you the boundless strength you need to get through the ball, a man approaches you, effectively covering the sight of your lover across the room. You recognize the friendly smile he beams at you—he is no stranger, but a son in a family of knightly nobility you have made acquaintance with from the many encounters at various events around the city. He has one flute of champagne in each hand.

“I was going to offer you a drink, Mademoiselle, but I see you’ve gotten a head start.”

You offer him a curtsy and a smile before downing whatever measly amount you have left within your glass, placing it onto a waiter’s empty tray, and taking his in your hand.

“Sir, I can handle one more.”

He guffaws, more than amused, and the two of you fall into a perfectly natural conversation about how life has been—the perfect distraction for your current situation.

You miss a pair of watchful golden eyes from across the room.

He steals glances at you while doing his best to maintain a sociable countenance with boiling blood, still surrounded by three-four people.

It is testing, even for him, because you seem to be engaging in animated conversation with the heir of the house of Monfort, and he said something to make you laugh. Not the polite laugh you reserve for small talk, but a genuine laugh, one that sends you flashing a grin wide enough you have to cover your mouth with a hand.

The grip on his glass of champagne is dangerously strong, and the Mademoiselle that is persistently latched to his arm has undoubtedly interpreted the flex of his arm as a result of his forbearing towards her unsubtle physical approach rather than his ever-rising temper aimed at the Monfort heir. You mentioned that the two of you have been talking more regularly at parties lately, largely because you judge that he has no romantic intentions towards you, but Comte knows better.

The noble of Paris are always planning. He might not want to romance you, but Lord on high knows there is a great chance he wants to bed you. Engage you as a companion. Comte closes his eyes, willing negative visualization away from his mind, but to no avail, for he has already pictured you in the man’s arms, blushing at the suggestions he whispers in your ear...

A gargle of laughs snaps him out of his thoughts. He wishes he could close the distance between the two of you, kindly tell the Monfort heir to look for another woman to ‘make conversation with’, and whisk you back to the mansion for a proper lesson to remind you who you belong to.

Comte quickly realizes that he hasn’t completely outgrown his rashness from his younger days. Taking another sip of champagne, he tastes nothing but the sour of it and decides to wait.

“Is something the matter, cherie?” he asks as soon as the carriage door closes. “You look like something has been bothering you throughout the ball.”

You swallow, quietly cursing his unbelievable insight—or your very easy-to-read countenance—or both. You realize that this is not something you can skirt around, especially with the amount of time you’re taking to come up with an answer, and the coaxing look Comte is giving you clearly means you cannot back away from this. You take a deep breath.

“Please don’t be upset with me,” you finally say, looking down at both your feet pointing at each other like it is the most interesting thing in the world.

If only you have the courage to look at his face instead, you will find that the placid, peaceful mask he wears at the ball is slowly crumbling.

“I, well, I’m not sure how to say this,” you begin, “but there was a woman you were talking to. Earlier at the ball. The one with the maroon dress...?”

Realizing where the conversation is going, Le Comte’s gaze darkens, uninhibited feelings beginning to bubble from the pit of his stomach. “Mademoiselle de la Roche. Continue.”

You are still not looking at him, opting to observe the moving scenery of the city outskirts from the carriage window instead. Even so, you feel the intensity emanating from the person sitting across you. Something about the night sky and the quiet of the outskirts helps you come forth with honesty.

“Well, I thought she was awfully close, and got a little jealous. Not a little,” you quickly correct yourself, smiling sheepishly, “you obviously noticed. I was jealous. I’m sorry, it was childish. I trust you.”

And that is when you meet his eyes, seeing the gold of his iris melted into caramel by his dilated pupils, the way his lips are slightly parted as he looks at you. Your breath hitches in your throat.

The coach lurches forward, and at the same moment, Le Comte uses the momentum to pull you towards him until you are sitting on his lap, chest to chest. You gasp at the sudden sensation of him pressed so tightly against you, and from above the hammering of your rabbit heartbeat, you hear the coachman from the front.

“Terribly sorry, sir! Other carriages are heading into the city, so there’s a bit of a jam here.”

“That’s quite alright,” you hear your lover reply before he quickly draws the curtains. And to you, he whispers. “Keep your voice low.”

You sigh, because the next thing you know he is kissing your mouth with a different kind of fervor, and his hand snakes up to cup your breast from over your dress. Your hands quickly find their way to his shoulder and into his hair as your body responds to the pleasure—sudden, but not entirely unwelcome. He groans into the kiss, muffling the sound, but from the way his teeth bite your lips and his fingers work the ties of your corset, he is growing impatient.

“You are cruel,” he whispers, moving down to your jaw and neck, “Did you not feel Monsieur Monfort’s gaze on your body? This body,” he says, accentuating his words with tugging the front of your corset, allowing your bare breasts to spill out for his eyes to see. His fingers tease you, pressing and circling your nipple, and you bite your lip so as to not make a sound, too stunned to do more than encourage him by stroking his shoulders.

“You’re so oblivious,” he continues while he litters your neck with deep kisses. “Man wants, my sweet, especially one that already has everything, like him.”

“He’s just a friend,” you gasp as he bites the top of your breast, lapping at the skin seconds after as if offering consolation.

“And Mademoiselle de la Rouche is nothing but another social climber.”

“Ngh!”

He finally slips a hard peak into his warm mouth, tongue flicking and toying with it while his hand on its twin mirrors his movements. You melt, all the tension and anger you’ve kept in your blood throughout the ball fading, replaced by an escalating desire. Warmth pools between your spread legs situated on his lap—Comte feels it, and his hand move further south.

“Don’t—”

He stops, unlatching your nipple from his lips to look up at you. The sight knocks the breath out of him.

You’re almost properly topless, save for the remains of the dress hanging helplessly around your frame, your face red and wanton, with parted lips and hooded eyes looking down at him, your naked chest heaving with each hasty intake of air—the very picture of desire.

“Don’t mention another woman’s name while you’re fucking me.”

Whatever remains of his calm is quickly discarded out the metaphorical window as he kisses you again, this time more desperate than the first, like he can’t get enough of your taste. You moan when you part, and he quickly covers your lips again to muffle the sound, hands on your breast and between your thighs. When met with a hot wetness seeping through your underwear, he smiles into the kiss.

“Then it’s only fair for me to erase all of the traces Monfort has left on you, yes?” He leans down again to pleasure your breast, while his finger insistently presses your clit. You throw your head back, a hand against your mouth and the other in his hair, quietly begging him for more. He laps and sucks and nips in a way that is best described as a man starved. His hand slips under your dress, stroking your thigh and playing with the garter, teasing, making you anticipate. The other is still on your clit, relishing the wetness that you’re coated in. His breath is hot on your chest, and even with your eyes closed, you know he’s looking at your face. He always does.

“That man’s eyes were all over you, cherie, did you even notice?” He asks, panting, admiring the work he’s done on your now flushed breast. Moving to the other, he begins again, this time with his fingers pushing your panties aside and sinking into your heat. You let out a ragged breath against your knuckles, willing your voice to never escape your lips, else the coachman finds out. Comte lets out a sigh amidst his ministrations, enjoying the softness of your flesh against his mouth.

“I’m sure he’s fantasized about this,” he says, and the quality of his voice makes it sound like he’s in a daydream, “about taking you home and having his way with you.” You whine at the sensation of a third finger being added into the foray, and the little control you have over your body and mind is now close to snapping.

“I’m a man who has everything, too,” he sighs your name and you resort to gripping the lapels of his coat as the pressure on the bundle of sensitive nerve grows, “and I want more of you, cherie. Come.”

And you do, breaking down silently into a mess from his fingers alone, inside a carriage taking you home. Your lips form mainly his name and other nonsense like oh god and yes while your body quivers at the impact of your orgasm. He watches with glazed eyes, drinking in the scenery that is making his mouth water, his appetite far from whetted. Comte strokes your cheek, waiting for you to come down from your high, observing your breath slowing down.

The first thing you do when you open your eyes is to search for the buckle of his belt. You work on undoing it with urgency, your eyes glinting still with a desire that reflects his, and when he sees you licking your lips and kneeling at the sight of his erect member, he nearly loses his mind.

“Sweetheart—”

“I want it,” you cut him off before he stops you, gently pumping him with your hand. “I want to give you pleasure too, you know,” is the last thing you say before taking the tip of him in your mouth. Le Comte’s hands fly to your hair, uncaring of the mess his fingers make by combing through them, and his head is thrown back, eyes locked on the scene unfolding before him. Every time with you reduces him into a helpless, desperate, hungry man that only wants one thing.

Your lips are slick with his precum, and when you look up at him and chuckle, your breath on him racks shivers up his spine. He watches as he sinks into you again, in and out, your hands caressing where you don’t reach with your mouth. He can’t take his eyes off of you, and with the knot in his stomach ever-tensing, he quietly calls your name like a mantra.

“Stop,” he finally says, feeling too close to release, and you immediately do as you’re told, looking up at him with concern. He resists the urge to groan at the absence of pleasure, but he manages to whisper to you.

“I want to come inside you.”

“Comte—” you sigh as he coaxes you off your knees and on his lap again, this time with the hardness of him pressed against your very core. Before long you’re panting, because he’s brought your hand up in his, kissing your gloved fingers as his other hand slips your panties to the side, allowing him to enter slowly. Your lips fall open at the sensation, and he hurriedly kisses you, unable to quiet his voice at the feel of you around him.

“Ma cherie,” he breathes, “as much as you’re mine, I’m yours.”

He begins thrusting and you gasp, because the carriage is suddenly moving again, at first slowly, but then gradually becoming faster. With each bump of the wheels against cobblestone, it rocks, pushing him deeper into you, and you no longer have the control to govern over the sounds coming out of your mouth.

“Ah, ah, ah—”

Comte presses a kiss on your throat before sinking his fangs, a catalyst to the most pleasure the two of you have ever felt in a lifetime. He relishes the taste of you, and the impossibly wet tightness encapsulating him like a velvet glove. You whisper his name, slave to the sensation coursing through your veins, body growing mad with wanting more. He pulses inside you, and knowing that he’s close, presses a finger against your clit and pulls you into a kiss.

Your hands on his chest stay still as you come undone a second time, the first of the night for him, the moans you both spill barely quieted by the kiss. You’re left weak and satisfied, but only until you see the look on his face when you open your eyes. Comte presses his lips against yours one last time as the carriage slows down into a stop. He hooks his arm under your knees, ready to carry you upstairs despite your unkempt state. You let out a small laugh in defeat, hiding your bare chest by pressing yourself as close to him as possible.

Right before the coachman opens the door, he leans down to whisper to you, a scandalous smirk on his lips.

“We’re not done yet.”

#Female reader #le comte #ikemen vampire #comte x reader #reader insert #ikevamp #scenario #imagine #imagines #tw:jealousy #smut #ikevamp smut

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concealeddarkness13 · 3 years

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WHG 16 Sentiment and Attachment Part 2

Warning for Maisa continuing to be creepy. Tagging: @ratracechronicler, @maple-writes (also thanks for Indigo!), @pen-of-roses, @onmywaytobe, and @knmartinshouldbewriting!

The next morning, the Peacekeepers swore at me as they tried to open the door. It took them about half an hour, and I smirked at them as they stomped up to me and grabbed my arms.

I cocked my head. “What? Didn’t like my little barrier?” They didn’t say anything, so I took that as a no. Good. As they started walking with me, I kicked at their feet, and one of them went down, and I pulled out of the other’s grip (let’s call them Steve 2 and Steve 3). I tried to run for the open door, but Steve 3 grabbed me again and hit me with a small taser shock. I hissed but crumpled enough that he got a good grip on me as he pulled out some handcuffs.

I tried to flail in his grip, but Steve 2 (who had finally gotten up from getting kicked) grabbed me in a hostile hug to keep me still as Steve 3 put the handcuffs around my wrists. Shit.

They started dragging me wherever I was being taken, and I tried to fight, but they were prepared now. They dragged me to another plain room with a table and shoved me inside before closing and locking the door behind them. Wow. They really thought that I’d just sit patiently for whoever was coming? I took up position beside the door, waiting for it to open again.

Someone knocked on the door, and when they opened it, I kicked out to try to sweep her legs from under her and ran through the open door as she went down swearing. Of course, there were Peacekeepers outside, and they grabbed me, so I hadn’t gotten very far, but at least I had kicked a Capitol bastard.

I swore and fought as they dragged me back in the room, and they pushed me into a chair and cuffed my hands to the chair instead so I couldn’t move (it was a heavy chair). I strained against the cuffs, even though I knew there was no hope that I could get out. I glared at the Peacekeepers as they left the room and then over at the woman as she sat down.

She looked highly inconvenienced. Good. “Fuck was that for?”

I kept glaring at her. “What reason do I need to hurt someone working for the Capitol?”

She took a very long breath. “Did they tell you who I am?”

I shook my head. I wasn’t going to say anything more than I needed to around her.

“Well, my name is Dr. Indigo Carmine. You can call me Indigo.” She nodded. “I have been tasked with figuring out what to do about you.”

Oh. She was the science bastard that that made the covering for my prosthetics. Piece of shit. But…she was also probably the person who cared about Warren. So…not a complete piece of shit? Still. “I’m not going to cooperate.”

“I can tell,” she grumbled. She leaned back in her chair and spoke quieter. “I saw your signal, about them. Thank you.”

Warren. I’d never see them again. I looked away from Indigo. “I didn’t do it for you.”

“I know.” She paused. “Still, I don’t want to be your enemy.”

And how was she planning on doing that? “I’m not going to cooperate with the fucking Capitol.”

“I am not the Capitol,” she hissed. “Besides what am I supposed to do with you? I work in genetics, not mechanics, not prosthetics, and not brainwashing citizens. They only chose me because of my position.”

Wow. Whining about how hard her job was to the person who was trapped by the Capitol and had already been tortured. That really made me feel bad for her. I leaned forward, looking in her eyes again with a glare. “Not my fucking problem.”

“They took my best friend, Chess,” she growled. “You think I’m keen to side with them after that?”

I scoffed. I didn’t give a fuck what she wanted to do. She was doing what they wanted. And even if she was planning on not doing it, I wasn’t going to cooperate. “So, you’re going to tell me to cooperate with them to make your life easier, to bide my time? I won’t.” I huffed out a breath, and smoke escaped my lips. “I won’t let the Capitol think they won even for a second.”

“It doesn’t matter what you do, they’re going to use you.” She leaned forward, resting her hands on the table. “I only offer to try and make it bearable. Consider it returning the favor since you did what I asked in the arena.”

I shook my head. “I guess that sentiment is appreciated, but I won’t do shit for the Capitol willingly. I’ve been a pain in the ass for so long. I’m not going to stop now.”

She glared. Ooh. I was getting under her skin? Good. “Would you rather I made it harder for you?”

I flipped her off. “Make it as hard as you want.”

She leaned in, so that our faces were inches from each other. Sure. She seriously wanted to help me. I totally believed her with the fury in her eyes. She didn’t give a shit about helping me. She just didn’t want her life to be harder. “Do you want to die?”

I’d rather die than willingly do what the Capitol wanted. “Do your fucking worst.”

She reached into her bag and pulled out a small gun, which she proceeded to hold right up to my forehead. “Say that again.”

My pleasure. I smirked. “Go ahead. Do your fucking worst.”

“I wonder what your friend Conor would think of those last words.” She watched me with sharp eyes. “He fought so hard to save you from being taken. Imagine his reaction when he finds out it was for nothing.”

Conor. I sucked in a breath as sorrow nestled deep, but I didn’t show how those words hurt me. They weren’t coming for me. They couldn’t. They’d get hurt, Conor would get hurt, if they came and tried to help. Better that they just forgot about me and got someplace safe. “I’m not cooperating with the Capitol. And if they just wanted me killed, they would have when I stopped them from capturing their true target.”

She didn’t move for a bit, just watching me. “I told you, I’m not the Capitol’s bitch.” Could have fooled me. “If I want you dead you will die.” She hesitated before taking the gun away. “I’m only helping you because you looked out for Warren.”

Suuuuure. She was still a science bastard, so I couldn’t believe she was really trying to help. My lips thinned. “Appreciated.” And I didn’t hear any sarcasm in my voice either. Yay! I was still a good actor. “But I’m not cooperating with the Capitol.”

“Fine, whatever.” She tucked her gun away. “If you want it harder than so be it.”

I leaned back and watched her. She didn’t seem to be in any hurry. “So, now what?”

“That depends.” She crossed her arms. “Are you going to kick me again?”

“If it’ll be annoying, yeah.”

“Really?” She sounded so tired. Poor science bastard.

“Yup.”

“Then I’ll send you back to Maisa if you’re going to be like that.”

Shit. I…I couldn’t go back to him. He could get under my skin too easily. It wasn’t worth that. “Fine. I won’t kick you.”

“Good enough.” She stood up. “You can come with me. I have a job for you.” She unlocked the handcuffs holding me to the chair. I tensed, and my prosthetic twitched into a fist. It would be so easy, and I wouldn’t go back on my promise….but then she could still send me back. I relaxed and followed her as she led the way to what looked like a storage room with boxes scattered everywhere.

She paused and looked back at me after she closed the door. “I’d like you to unpack these boxes and put everything away. Match the labels to the ones on the shelf.” She sat at a table off to the side. “I’ll be here.”

I glanced around with a frown. I had to admit, it wasn’t the worst job in the world, but I had to remain firm. “What the fuck is the point of this? And no. I’m not doing your damn Capitol organizing for you.”

“Honestly?” Indigo barely looked up as she took out a laptop. “This is babysitting.”

I crossed my arms. “I’m not cooperating with them. And I won’t do this because that would look like I can be convinced.”

She started typing, not looking up. “I can tell them you put up a fight.”

This made no sense. And that didn’t change anything. I sat down on the floor. “What are you doing anyway?”

“Work.”

“All that science bullshit kind of stuff?”

She sighed. “More or less.”

All the more reason to not like her. My lips thinned, and I looked away, coughing up some more smoke.

Science Bastard Lady gestured at the boxes. “Go on.”

I shook my head. “Nope.”

She worked on her laptop for a while, but then she sighed. Damn. I had thought she had given in. “Are you open to a bribe?”

Didn’t matter what it was, I wasn’t going to do shit. “Not really.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Too bad.” She went back to work, and I didn’t speak. I didn’t need conversation. Actually, this was kind of nice compared to having to deal with Maisa yesterday.

After a while longer, she leaned back in her chair. “Are you not bored just standing there?”

Wow. Unobservant Science Bastard Lady. “I’m sitting.”

She glanced over at me finally. “That you are. Are you not bored just sitting there?”

“Nope. I’m fine. I can entertain myself just fine.”

“We’re here for a few hours.”

“Fine. I’ll daydream about all the ways I can punch you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Didn’t know there were that many.”

I smirked. “Oh yeah plenty. Want me to demonstrate?”

“No thank you. I want you to unpack the boxes.”

“Nope.” I paused. “Why do you think I’d do this when I’ve already expressed disdain for doing anything the Capitol tells me to?”

She sighed. “Everything does things they hate.”

“Nope. Not for the Capitol.”

“You know, when Warren told me you said you wanted to meet me I thought you’d be less of a pain.” She crossed her arms.

I grinned. That was such a compliment coming from Science Bastard Lady. “Well, when I thought you had good taste with the wine, I didn’t know I was complimenting a science bastard.”

“Why are you like this?”

“I hate the Capitol, and I hate science bastards especially.” My prosthetic twitched, but this wasn’t Warren or Conor. I wasn’t going to explain beyond that.

She just looked mildly annoyed. Good. “I couldn’t care less about your limbs if that’s what you’re mad about.”

“I don’t care. I don’t trust any dumbass who call themselves a doctor.” Except for William. A little bit of smoke leaked from my lips. “And I certainly don’t trust a dumbass who calls themselves a doctor and also works for the Capitol.”

She rolled her eyes. “I said you could call me Indigo didn’t I? No one’s calling anyone doctor.”

“If you have a Dr. in front of your name, you’re a science bastard. And therefore I hate you.” Except for William. He was awesome.

“Yeah?” Science Bastard Lady sighed and turned back to her computer. “What if I got my phd in art history?”

“Still a science bastard.”

“I wouldn’t be a scientist.”

“I don’t give a fuck. Anyway, that was your subordinate that gave me that shit that covered my prosthetics. And you supposedly made it. It hurt like hell. So, you don’t have a fucking phd in art history.”

“I didn’t make it myself. It was delegated. The team lead should have told me you experienced pain in his report so I will need to have a word with him.” She typed something on her laptop.

Huh? Why would she care about that? I just huffed and stayed quiet. I had nothing to say about that.

She was still typing on her laptop. “The protocol for procedures that are painful for the recipient requires that adequate pain management is used to minimize suffering.” She glanced at me. “I take it he did not do that?”

I shook my head. Really, why did she care? “He sounded particularly gleeful when he told me it would hurt.”

“That’s concerning.” She crossed one leg over the other and brought the laptop on her lap. “Tell me more.”

About what? I squinted at her. What was she scheming? Was there a way she could turn this against me? “Tell you more of what? It fucking hurt.”

She sighed. “I know it hurt. I want to know about Antonio’s conduct.”

I sighed back. Could I even remember what he had done? “I guess he wasn’t rude, or anything. Besides when he said it would hurt. He just kept writing shit on his notepad. He did have me wait a few minutes before I could leave, but he didn’t pay attention to me. Just kept writing shit down.”

She typed as I spoke. “Damn it,” she hissed. “I can’t have some sadist working with living things. Who fucking knows how truthful any of his notes are, what else he conveniently overlooked.” She actually looked angry.

I frowned. This was a surprise. “Why the fuck do you care? The Capitol employs plenty of sadist science bastards.”

“And I don’t want them working in my lab.” Wow. That was weird. “I can’t trust the work of some low life who hurts the creatures under their care for their own enjoyment. It’s pathetic.”

A Capitol person who actually cared a tiny bit about people? Now, that was something I couldn’t take the time to wrap my head around. “Huh.”

She finished up typing and set her laptop to the side. “I will be speaking with him and looking into his work. By the end of the week I don’t believe he will be working for me anymore.”

I just stayed quiet. What could I say to that? I didn’t understand why she’d do that. She glanced at her laptop and sighed and closed it. “I think it’s time for lunch.”

My stomach growled, but I ignored that. She only meant for herself. “Have fun.”

“For you too.”

Huh? I just cocked my head at her. Why would she care?

She stared back at me, looking tired. “What’s not clicking here?”

“Why do you want to feed me?” They hadn’t given me breakfast. Or dinner last night.

She sighed. “Did our last conversation about ethical care not get through to you?”

I still hadn’t wrapped my head around it. “The Capitol treats me like an object. I don’t expect anyone to treat me like a human.”

She put her laptop away. “I am not the Capitol.”

Could have fooled me. I shrugged. “There’s plenty of people who aren’t the Capitol who still treated me the same way.”

“This really isn’t that complicated.” She stood up. “It’s just getting lunch.”

I hesitated. What if it was a trap? But my stomach growled again, and I sighed. “Fine.” I stood up, and Science Bastard Lady led the way to a different room where she ordered some lunch that we could eat. And I had a full stomach for the first time since the Hunger Games started.

My bed hadn’t been replaced when they shoved me back into that room. But the rest of the furniture had been taken away. Damn. I guess it was time to figure out how to prop the ruined bed up against the door!

Which took a few hours of pushing it around on my own until it was finally propped up against the door. It wouldn’t stop Maisa, most likely, but it would annoy the Peacekeepers again. Which was always a plus.

I just sat on the floor again and waited. Maisa wouldn’t leave me alone. He’d come eventually. And either way, I wouldn’t fall asleep. Not in the Capitol.

After a few more hours, there was a knock on my door, and the door opened too easily. Shit. Maisa again. I jumped up and got into a defensive position, but I flinched when I saw him. He looked like Charles—Bastard—this time.

He looked me up and down lazily as he strutted forward, all that damn confidence and pride of Bastard’s. Shit, he was a good actor. I cowered away as he got closer. This was exactly why I had stayed away from him in the arena.

He walked right up to me, putting his face inches away from mine, smirking in the way Bastard did. In that fucking infuriating way, like I was just a useful object in his eyes. His eyes wandered down to my chest, and I started shaking. He laughed. “It’s good to see you again, pretty girl.” Still staring at my chest.

“Maisa.” My voice cracked, and I had to pause to control it. Shit. “Show me an original form, you coward.”

He laughed and caressed my cheek. “But it’s much more fun this way, pretty girl.”

I hissed out a breath and bit his hand (even though I knew that wouldn’t actually hurt him). He still pulled back with a look of surprise, before he smirked again. “Cute. You should know that that won’t hurt me.”

I glared at him. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get you away from me for even a few seconds. I won’t let you toy with me.”

He laughed. “Oh, you don’t have a choice. But I do like that fire.” He closed the distance and kissed me intensely, not giving me room to breathe as he backed me up to the wall.

Shit. What could I do? I couldn’t hurt him, so how could I get him to stop? He had still avoided my fire yesterday. Just because I couldn’t hurt him directly didn’t mean that it didn’t feel good when he was “hurt”? As his hands wandered down to my chest, I activated my magic onto my prosthetic as the hottest fire I could, and held his exposed arm as tightly as I could.

The fire was hot enough that the flames burned through the skin to the bone and muscles underneath, and when that happened, Maisa pulled back with a hiss and pulled out of my grip quickly.

He backed away from me, watching his arm where I had burned it, and the skin was growing back slower than I expected it to. There was…pain in his eyes. How? I kept the fire on my prosthetic as he looked over at me with a smirk.

He laughed. “I truly do love your fire, pretty girl. At least your mental fire. Not so much your physical fire. But we can work on that.” He didn’t come closer, but he cocked his head. “Why fight anyway? Do you think you would have had something different with your ‘friends’? They only thought of you like this.” He gestured at himself, and I flinched. Like Bastard thought of me, he meant. “Why would you think differently? You’re a fool to think otherwise. My dear, all they wanted was your body, nothing else. That was all you were good for to them.” I…I couldn’t believe that. That couldn’t be true. But…why had I thought it was different? That was how it had always been. Even Creed was only around because it was convenient for him. Why would this be any different? Anyway, it didn’t matter. If they were smart, they wouldn’t come for me. They’d stay safe and be happy without me. I wasn’t worth it.

He kept smirking. “Think on that, pretty girl, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He left, and I sunk to my knees. I was trapped, and they better not come to rescue me, and why would they anyway?

#writeblr hunger games #writeblr #whg

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j-elaine-hyde · 4 years

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Your Remedy

Like clockwork he called you. Every Wednesday at 7:00, for the last four months. You stared at your phone and watched it ring. His stupid handsome face plastered across the screen. Your dumb face smiling next to his, sitting in his lap, arms wrapped around each other, blissfully happy. The 30 other selfies you’d taken together at that time now resided in a hidden folder where you’d be less likely to see them.

7:00. Every Wednesday. He knew you’d be home and settled, relaxing after a long day at work. Feet kicked up on the coffee table on your patio, glass of wine in hand. At first it took everything you had not to answer. Then it irritated you and you purposefully walked away from your phone at 6:58. For a brief period of time it made you smile. It tugged at your heart strings that he was still trying. Now it just made you feel guilty.

You were the bad guy in this scenario. You were the one breaking his heart. You were the reason he posted sunsets with sorrowful captions on Instagram. You had seen the tabloids. “Mystery woman crushes Cavill.”

He even talked about you on talk shows. Instead of pushing his new show, he sulked and smiled forlornly. He never mentioned you by name. He knew his celebrity status was what was keeping you away. You had refused to be a part of the fishbowl life. You were a private person and couldn’t fathom prying eyes commenting on every aspect of your being. You didn’t feel strong enough to endure it. He didn’t fault you for it, but he knew he couldn’t protect you from it.

He told you he understood. That he’d do his best to respect your wishes. He did so by sending flowers to your office every Monday and your favorite Chinese takeout to your house every Friday. The delivery guy knew you by name, he’d sigh and shrug every time he arrived at your door.

This time he surprised you. A text followed the call. Three words. And it cut you deep.

“I miss you”

You opened the text and read it. Your heart instantly sinking into your stomach. You chugged the last of your glass of wine and went inside for more. As you opened the door to go back outside you heard your phone ping again.

“Please talk to me”

You started to type, but immediately deleted it. He must have seen the text bubbles...

“I miss us” and he sent the pic you saw every Wednesday at 7:00. You knew he had saved it as his wallpaper. But now he was reminding you of how happy the two of you had been. A tear rolled down your cheek as you tossed your phone into the chair and went inside. He was clearly on a roll, and you couldn’t mentally or emotionally handle it. You knew you’d cave. You’d call him back. He’d talk you into getting back together and saying screw everyone else.

But it didn’t work. It couldn’t. Your life wasn’t in LA. It was here. Your family, your friends, your job that you had busted your ass to get. His life was in LA and London. Far from the small quiet life you had worked so hard for. You couldn’t justify flittering off and living abroad, forsaking everything you knew and loved. You were too level headed and logical for all of that. You didn’t believe in fairy tales, in happily ever afters with Prince Charmings, and you were bound and determined to keep your feet planted firmly on the ground.

You stood in your kitchen, back against the counter as you finished the bottle of wine. Another one staring at you from its rack.

“I see you damnit. It’s Wednesday. I’m not doing this.” You said defiantly to the inanimate object.

Your blood ran cold. You could hear his ringtone blasting from outside. He never called twice, but then again he didn’t usually text either.

You swallowed hard and grabbed the second bottle of wine. Swiping the corkscrew off the counter you slid down onto the floor.

You sighed heavily as you opened the bottle. The cork popping as you pulled it out. You leaned your head back against the cabinet and tried to fight the flood of emotions and memories hitting you.

The feeling of his full pouty lips on yours. His massive hands sliding around your waist. The way he’d bury his nose in your hair, breathing in the smell of your shampoo. The sweet way he’d smile at you when you’d wake up and say good morning. The safe feeling that would wash over you as he tucked you under his arm while you were cuddled up on the sofa. And the little things you didn’t even realize until now that meant so much. He’d always walk between you and the street. How he’d lead you with his hand on the small of your back. The secret grin he’d give you making you feel like you were the only two people on Earth. The way he’d kiss your forehead or gently squeeze your hand and wink.

Being in love with him made you smile like a fool. You were always giddy and excited. Nothing else mattered when you were with him. Nothing bothered you. But the rational part of your brain started chipping away at your happiness. This wouldn’t last. It was just a fling. You can’t leave your life for a guy. And your biggest fear, that he would ultimately break your heart.

You were still sitting on the floor reminiscing by the time the third bottle was empty. And you were drunk. Drunk enough you contemplated sleeping on the kitchen floor.

“Alexa! Play Adele!” You drunkenly yelled.

You were in the mood to sloppily sing sad love songs. You climbed to your feet, and fell into your feels. Eyes closed, hands in the air, you belted out Adele songs like your life depended on it. The power of the music swept you up. You clutched onto your remote like a microphone, haphazardly balancing on the sofa cushions and sang your heart out.

The doorbell ringing startled you so much it gave you the hiccups. You hopped off the sofa onto the floor and tossed the remote. You yelled at Alexa to stop as you drunkenly stumbled to the door. You tripped on the rug and face planted against the door, barely catching yourself before attempting to peer out the peep hole. A feat your eyes refused to focus on.

You regained your footing and opened the door. There he stood. All 6’1” of him. You hiccuped and tried to shut the door. You were mortified. His strong hand stopped the door from slamming in his face.

“Babe please.”

You wretched. You knew what was coming. You bolted down the hall to the bathroom. Skidding to your knees and slamming the seat up. The last thing you remembered was Henry’s hands gathering your hair away from your face.

You came to expecting to be clinging onto the toilet for dear life. Instead, you were cradled in Henry’s lap, his hand stroking your hair. You squinted as you looked up at him. He was watching tv, and flipping through channels.

“Hey there” he smiled.

“Henry.”

“Yes darling?”

“Water?”

“Of course.” He helped you off of his lap. You rushed to brush your teeth as he made his way to the kitchen to retrieve some water for you.

You had never been so grateful for his persistence as you were making your way back to the sofa. He came back into the living room with a bottle of water and a couple ibuprofen. He sat back down pulling your legs over his lap.

“Take these my love. Judging by the vineyard you projectiled, I think it’s safe to say we need to get some food in you.”

You nodded happily as you sipped the water, swallowing your pills in a poor attempt at staving off a hangover.

“Pizza?” He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Carmine’s?” You squeaked hopefully.

“Consider it done my love.”

You watched him as he rubbed your legs and ordered the delicious wood fire pizza.

You didn’t care about anything else right now. You didn’t even think of the dozens of reasons why he shouldn’t be here. You didn’t even worry about what happened beyond tonight. You were just grateful he was here to take care of you.

The two of you laughed and ate while watching movies. You snuggled up against him, deeply breathing in his scent as he kissed the side of your head and hugged you tight.

You sighed heavily, “I don’t deserve you. I’m so sorry. For everything. I’m horrible.”

He rest his chin against your head, “You really are.” He laughed before continuing, “...but I love you. And I understand, I do. But I need you. It’s as simple as that.”

You turned and looked at him, shifting in his lap to face him. “I’m so sorry Henry. Please forgive me. I love you. I-“

“I know my love.”

You leaned forward planting a quick kiss on his lips before ducking your head down feeling almost guilty for it.

“Hey...” he tipped your face up to meet his with his finger. “Don’t I deserve a proper kiss after everything?” He smirked.

You kept a straight face as you climbed off his lap and stood up. He furrowed his brow and gave you a confused look.

“Aren’t you coming? I owe you a proper welcome home.” A brief smile was replaced by a seductive look as you stood there waiting.

His eyes got wide as he jumped up off of the sofa, sweeping you off your feet into his arms as he carried you to bed.

-The End-

#henry cavill #fiction #fanfic #fanfiction #romance

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therectoress · 4 years

Note

Okay, hear me out: Yennaia as parents!! (Yennefer comes back from a risky assignment with an unknown artifact. Tissaia touches it and, without anyone else noticing, receives a vision of the future--a future where she and Yen are married and raising a family 👀)

I’M SO SORRY IT TOOK ME LIKE 84 YEARS!!!!!!!! Also, I changed a tiny little thing that I think makes this So much better, so whoever you are, please don’t be mad!

Yennaia prompt: Yennaia as parents. (Yennefer comes back from an assignment with an unknown artefact. Tissaia touches it and, without anyone else noticing, receives a vision of the future- a future where she and Yennefer are married and raising a family.)

LINK TO ARCHIVEOFOUROWN IN THE REPLIES

Word count: 2.6k+ Pairing: Yennaia. Rating: T.

She rubbed her temples, a migraine working its way from the right side of her head to encompass it all. Eyeing through narrowed eyes the books sprawled around her desk, she belatedly noticed that some were threatening to fall off, almost making her chuckle, because no matter how much she might have changed since her conduit moment, Yennefer was still as messy as ever.

Tissaia sighed instead, leaning back into her chair, contemplating changing the contents of her pipe to something stronger than Kaedwenian tobacco, nevertheless, she was called back from her thoughts, just as she was about to summon the herbs, by a loud groan coming from the woman in front of her.

Who by the looks of her, wasn’t faring much better, with both hands clasped together as if in prayer, her forehead resting against them, black silky hair covering the rest of her face from view.

They had been at this for weeks, ever since the mage came back from an emergency call from Istredd, who had found only Gods knew what in those ancient ruins he studied as a saner person might their lover. And from the annoyed twist of her carmine lips and the crackling of chaos around her when the younger sorceress had portalled into her office, the boy had put up quite the fight to give it away to someone that wasn’t from the Council or the Chapter.

(Creating a way to erase memories might just be the Arch-mistress’ greatest achievement, not that anyone would ever know the author behind that particular spell.)

But neither could be trusted with the current political climate, after Sodden… well, everything had gone to shit after Sodden. The only good thing to come out of it being that Yennefer had decided to stay for the time being at Aretuza, then again not without imposing herself on Tissaia, of course, for the Rectoress now had a shadow that followed her everywhere except the laboratory.

Alas, Margarita had taken over her classes, since she was still recovering from the dimetirium, so her overwhelming amount of spare time had been spent trying to figure out what the golden ball in front of them was. A lost cause, probably, now that she considered it coldly.

Even so, hours and hours of hard work had borne no fruits. Nothing in her office, her mind or the immense library her school possessed had given them even clues.

Such an inconspicuous looking thing that it was… The most dangerous kind, if her five centuries alive had taught her anything.

It had slight cracks that looked intentional as if it was holding something on its insides of great importance, yet other than that, it wouldn’t look out of place in the workshop of a famous blacksmith. It certainly didn’t look like something found in an elven gravesite.

There had been moments when it had called to them, yes, to the Arch-mistress and her rebel. Distorted whispers, chants in Elder, beckoning them to touch it, still, they never did. That might just be suicide, considering the sheer power it exuded and after the battle with Nilfgaard, neither sorceress was keen on ending it, no matter how willing they had been on that hill.

‐

“It’s time to accept life has no more to give.”

‐

“You’re worth more than Nilfgaard could ever give you.”

‐

No, they didn’t need any more blood on their already soaked hands, thank you very much. That didn’t mean Destiny agreed with their passivity, though. Those gods-damned whispers. They hadn’t even had lunch!

Fingertips tinted white, Tissaia de Vries, resident Ice Queen, was actually considering throwing the sodding thing into the ocean, from her window office.

“What’s the worst that could happen? Really?” Said the violet-eyed mage and were the Arch-mistress in a better mood or her lungs not burning or exhaustion not weighing down on her like talking to Stregobor at length did, she might’ve listened to her conscious, to her control or just to reason because what she did next was shocking to both her and Yennefer.

She extended her bare hand as if possessed, ignoring the high-pitched wails of the younger mage who insisted she had only been joking, because what else was she supposed to do in this bloody hovel of a castle that was filled with cretins and hormonal teenagers?

The sorceress might have also noticed that her former pupil was just as willing to put herself in the line of fire for her as she had been on the battlefield.

They touched the metal. Together.

And their whole worlds were shaken to the core.

╌

Sitting up so fast she almost fell off the bed. A bed? Blue eyes opened to gentle sunlight coming from the window, the cold air hitting her bare skin, making goosebumps form on her ivory skin.

Looking down on herself she took notice that she wasn’t only naked but on a foreign bed, one that resembled the one in- Oh, fuck.

Cautiously she looked to the person next to her, holding the sheet against her bosom, trying to recover whatever she could of her destroyed modesty. The sight that met her was red, full, lips, her beautiful mouth open so wide her jaw might be dislocated, violet eyes and equally bare olive skin.

Tissaia and Yennefer both screamed.

The younger mage put space between them by jumping out of the bed and thus revealing herself completely to the brunette, who just responded by covering her petite form with the sheets. Hiding in a makeshift cocoon, her hands came up to cover her eyes like a toddler, only to find a wedding band on her ring finger, falling down the mattress, on her arse, accidentally, in her fright.

About to scream some more the pair were startled by a tentative knocking on the door and a child’s preoccupied voice, “Mama, Mummy, why are you screaming? You promised we could sleep in since aunt Rita almost burned down the kitchen yesterday!”

She could perfectly see the pout of the baby girl in her mind’s eyes, the fantasy upsetting her beyond belief, a visceral reaction she had only ever had with one girl out of the dozens she had taught. “It was a bat, it came through the window!” Tissaia responded on reflex, the words out of her mouth before she knew it.

The raven-haired mage followed suit, not knowing what was happening, just that she had the urge to make that tone of hers go away as fast as she could, “We’ll make it up to you! What about pancakes, sweetheart?” Covering her mouth with her hands, she made the same discovery that had the mighty Rectoress of Aretuza reacting like Fringilla was about to throw the powder at her face again.

“Okay! I’ll go tell Duchess!” And with that the girl, who they somehow knew was four and feasted on those pastries as King Foltest had done on wine, was gone, leaving two gobsmacked mages behind. King Foltest was dead.

“Whatever in fuck’s name happened?” Hissed the Arch-Mistress, crawling up to the bed and covering herself with one of the quilts she took from it. She threw with her free hand another one to Yennefer’s face, which the younger mage immediately wrapped around herself like a towel.

“Don’t ask me, you’re the one that touched the bloody artefact.” Walking to the wardrobe she pulled out a dress, glaring at the offensive garment for being a plain thing that she would have never in her right mind spent her coin in. Taking, as well, from one of the drawers a shirt and a skirt that could only belong to Tissaia, since they were so small, passing the clothing to the brunette and avoiding her eyes. “And like an idiot, I tried to stop you.”

She made a beeline for the bathroom, slamming the door closed. “Balance and control, my arse!” After throwing a pillow at the closed door, the brunette put on the outfit, frowning at her reflection in the mirror whilst simultaneously doing her hair up in her normal bun, almost hyperventilating when she noticed that her necklace was nowhere to be seen.

Breathing as deeply and slowly as possible, she went looking for some footwear and found worn boots by what the Arch-mistress assumed was her part of the bed, fastening the shoelaces with her teeth gritted and her hands shaking with electricity. Gods, she knew looked like a bloody peasant and that the pendant was gone and that she was now probably married with a child, but burning the house down with lightning wasn’t going to help matters at all.

Tissaia’s mind had never been this troubled as when she slid down the wall, her head resting against her knees, her arms hugging them. The brunette had dreamed about something like this, for years, decades even, but that was all she let herself have, never thinking she could get over the hurt of allowing herself to embrace it, knowing it was impossible.

Flashbacks assaulted her then, blood coming from her palms as she dug her nails in the skin. The coup on Thanned, Princess Cirilla and the witcher Geralt, the Lodge of Sorceresses and the end of the conflict and then… peace. A wedding. A gift. A baby. Her daughter. Their daughter.

Her whole frame shook, dry sobs coming from her lungs. Teeth biting down on her wounded hand to not make a sound. The grief. The loss. The happiness. The love. It was unbearable and still the best that had ever happened to her. Still a fabricated fantasy.

Inside the laboratory, her violet eyes filled with tears, letting some of them, the most stubborn, fall. This was all she had ever wanted, but not like this. Gods, not like this. From what little she could see they were happy, so happy in this reality and yet she knew it would slip from her fingers like water the moment that fucking ball decided to take this from her.

She wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand, trying to take comfort in applying the green eyeshadow on her eyelids, the lipstick on her lips, as a thousand memories fought for the spotlight in her mind. Gripping the brush so hard she broke it when her clever mind managed to solve the riddle of this existence.

They were in the future.

Racing to the door she opened it with magic, almost tripping in her haste to get to her wife. Stopping dead in her tracks when she saw what Tissaia had been reduced to.

Her thoughts unguarded for the first time she could remember, flowing in the stream of chaos that was always present around her. There were so many things to decipher she just stood still for a few minutes and then her heart broke. The ocean inside her was killing her. “Oh.” She whispered.

“Tissaia.” Yennefer knelt in front of her, taking her hands and healing the half-moon cuts in her palms. Blue eyes fluttering open, the light in them belonging to a broken woman, to a dead one. As she almost made herself. Gods, please, no. Anything but that. Anything. Even so, it was the truth and she was thankful for the knowledge in a way, for the opportunity to stop her, to hide her from the world that would come to want her head on a pike.

She hugged her, burying her face in the crook of her neck, smelling in the scent of her. “Please.” When that wasn’t enough, the younger sorceress manoeuvred them so the woman was on her lap, her chin on the crown of her head, rocking her back and forth, whispering sweet nothings in her ear, until the Arch-mistress was able to pull herself back together somewhat.

Her hand went to her cheek, her thumb caressing her reverently, tears leaking down blue orbs, but not for the reason the mage would’ve thought. “I’ve never wanted anything- I wish with every fibre of my being this was real.” Letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, she rested her forehead against the brunette’s. Yennefer had never been so grateful for thought transference.

Their eyes opened. Full of love, full of life. This was right. All their sacrifices were worth it, would be, knowing where the path ended, knowing the story ended and began again with them. A decade from where they left, together in that office studying the artefact and the wait couldn’t matter less when this was the endgame.

The door opened, and their gazes landed on a child, half dragging, half carrying a white cat into the room, her white shift barely covering her feet and Tissaia gasped, the familiar tingling in her head warning her of a conduit moment, her daughter’s. “Everything felt so wrong.” The child whimpered and getting off Yennefer as fast as she could she scooped her baby into her arms, Duchess landing gracefully on the floor, looking at the three of them suspiciously.

“It’s fine. Everything is fine now.” The sorceress whispered, blue meeting violet, her fingers moving one strand of chestnut hair behind her tiny ear. Slowly turning to the younger mage, who had clapped to get their attention, a choked sound leaving her throat when she realised just how much like them the toddler looked.

Controlling herself and smiling, the raven-haired mage said, “Now, who wants blueberry pancakes, with lots of honey?” The cat mewed, making the little girl giggle and she knew instantly, who she had taken the sound of her laughter from and putting her olive hand on Tissaia’s, Yennefer guided them down to the kitchen.

╌

She heaved, her hand against her chest, against the coolness of the pendant and she saw the younger mage was the same.

A vision. A gift.

The Arch-mistress tackled the raven-haired sorceress, kissing her for all she was worth. Kissing her again and again, until their bodies protested the magical strain they had just endured, loudly enough.

Frowning, when helping her up instead of happiness she sensed in her aura a deep paranoia. “Darling?” Not meeting her eyes, she answered, fiddling with the cloth of her elaborate skirt, but not letting go of the hand that held hers.

“Yes?” It came in a breathless whisper.

Tissaia grabbed her chin, frowning. “What’s the matter?” She nudged her consciousness with her own, finding steel doors firmly locked, still, she persisted, until she was sure the answer was ready to leave her tongue.

“Now that you know what will happen, will you… will you stop the coup?” ‘Will you change fate? Knowing the price of keeping the Brotherhood?’ went unsaid. Destiny was a fickle, wilful thing and they knew this better than most people. A give and a take, as the still Rectoress had restlessly engrained into her pupils.

The brunette laughed, reminding her of what was awaiting them if they dared. “Of course not.” Kissing Yennefer again to shut her up, she continued, “No. Every great empire has fallen. Every great empire will. I know this. I always have.”

Never in her life had she been this openly honest, vulnerable. She couldn’t bring herself to care. “It’ll hurt me, it might break me, to see what I created in ashes, but if I have to choose… my choice will always be you, Yennefer, it will always be our baby.”

Tears fell from her eyes again, this time the Arch-mistress cleaning them. “My choice will always be the both of you, too. When the world falls into the darkness, which we know it will, please remember I love you.”

“I promise.” She muttered.

#yennaia #tissaia de vries #post: ask #ship: yennaia #writing*#sityiatwru*

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gongju-juice · 4 years

Text

8. Once Upon a Southern Night

The Wrath of Nature

Warnings: Fighting, the usual, language

It was a cold, damp morning when they arrived. Nature seemed to acknowledge the supernatural army’s presence, for not even a bird or cricket made a single chirp in the golden morning. Beside you, Jasper, your family, your friends, Zacarias, and the wolf tribe stood. You held your boyfriend’s hand, trying not to tremble from pure fear and the billowing wind that was so oddly cold this late in the spring.

And when you saw her, your terror quadrupled.

Her olive skin lightly sparkled in the morning rays, thick, black hair cascading elegantly down her bare, uncovered shoulders. She was dressed like she could be headed to Florida for vacation instead of the chilly environment that was Washington. Her piercing red eyes found yours, and your heart quivered in response.

Preston was even more unnerving. His hair had been let down, straight and free which covered his ears. He wore a long black coat that stopped at his mid-thighs as well as a wide-brimmed hat and leather black boots. He was eerily relaxed for a person who intended to go to war.

Behind them were the newborns. They sauntered in the shadow of the trees, their glowing eyes full of hate and pure instinct. Some were young—looking no older than the age of fifteen. Others appeared to be in their late twenties. But none were over the age of thirty.

“Friends,” Maria called, but her voice was barely loud enough for you to make out. She was having a private conversation with the wolves, one she did not intend for you to hear. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen some of your faces. You, especially, Jasper. It’s been—what? Just over a century now.”

“Take your newborns and leave,” Jasper advised. “We left on a mutual agreement that you supported my search for tranquility. Does that agreement no longer stand?”

She tsked. “Jasper, Jasper, ever the romantic. You never liked violence, did you? I may be immortal, but a hundred years is still a long time. And besides, the Captain made such a tempting offer.”

Preston walked a few paces forward, his heels crunching in the soft grass. “I’ve waited forever for this. I thought my Camille was gone forever, that is, until I heard of a little baby being born in New Orleans. You wouldn’t believe how fast news spreads in the Crescent City.”

“So why didn’t you take her then?” your mother demanded. “Before I adopted her, before she had the chance to fall in love with Jasper, her mate?”

“I had to get my thirst under control. Living completely unrestrained is so satisfying, but when it comes to associating with humans, it’s impossible to stay decent. I didn’t know at the time that witches could change, but if I did, trust me, you or any of you rotten Cullens would have gotten to her first.”

Your breath caught in your throat. And to think this man had known about you along.

“That’s right, Jasper,” he chuckled, much to Jasper’s dismay. “I was watching from afar—every birthday, every school dance, and every vacation. You think she belongs to you? I know her inside and out, 19th century and 21st century. And when I was finally ready to bring her back with me, you just had to interfere.”

“You disgust me,” you spat. “You couldn’t win me over properly, so you had to become a perv. I will never love you.”

He lifted his head in the air, his dark eyes closed. “Well, then, I guess we’ll have to do things the hard way.”

The newborns behind him began charging, and those around you met them, alabaster limbs meeting alabaster targets. The young vampires were faster, stronger. But the Cullens and your friends’ combined experience forced them back until they could be dealt with individually.

In front of you, Zacarias and Ava worked hard keeping the waves of bodies back. It was then that you noticed the small, determined girl standing in between Maria and Preston. She looked no older than ten, someone who must’ve been easily manipulated to do their bidding. But one thing for sure, she was definitely a witch. And a powerful one at that.

“I should do something!” you cried. “I’m a witch, I can fight!”

Jasper held you back. “Your skills are not up to par. If you go out there, you’ll be killed. Or worse, Preston will get to you.”

Suddenly, a pale white arm came flying past you. Emmett barreled near carrying a decapitated body. His bulging muscles sparkled from the effort.

“Don’t worry, Y/N. We’ll have him ‘em all in no time.”

But that’s when Maria broke out of her formation. She wrangled Alice by her throat, her dainty legs swinging in the empty air.

“If you won’t face me, then I’ll make you come.”

“Alice, no!”

Jasper sprung towards them, his lightning speed barely registering in your mind. Alice’s face was contorted, the sickening crack of her neck like shattering glass. Maria smiled menacingly.

But before he could get there, his body was gripped in an invisible force that froze him in place. His amber eyes were completely overcome with a blue glow. Zacarias and Ava both worked to free him—Ava concentrating on Maria’s steele grip and Zacarias focusing on the tiny witch’s magic.

The hair behind your ear fluttered, you felt his cold breath in its stead.

“I told you. You are mine, you will always be mine.”

You tried to propel yourself away, but he snatched you by your arm, pulling you across his shoulder like a sack of rice. It was futile to fight like you did, to beat your fists on his back and kick your legs. But nevertheless, you struggled in vain.

“Y/N!” your mother called, but she was thrown down by a newborn so hard, her torso shattered from the force. And Ava, she tried to get to you, but the little witch wrapped her in blue light, her powers and range of mobility completely incapacitated. Meanwhile, Zacarias tried to hold the front for both the vampires and Maria.

This is it, you thought. Back to your chains. Preston would not give up his tirade. His muscles tensed and you sensed he was preparing to run. Before he could do so, however, a line of sun-tanned bodies emerged from the thick throes of the forest.

He stopped, his eyes widening in rage. “No! No! We had a deal!”

The first one to speak had long, gray braids covered in beads and ribbons that fell down her back. Her skin was golden brown and covered in elaborate tattoos which stretched down her arms.

“The deal was that you’d take care of the girl, restore her back to her proper time. That was the only reason we allowed Maaliyah to come with you. But then we learned your true intentions—and no witch would ever bring you back to the 19th century.”

He shook his head, placing you on the ground beside him. “We belong together, Queen Lovie. In the 1860s. Help us restore the timeline, we don’t belong here.”

“No,” she said, “you do. You’re a vampire, you aged as a vampire should. But she was de-aged and taken to this time and century. She will go back, but you will stay.”

She waved her hand, and you were blinded in white light.

You looked around and you were standing in the Oakleigh mansion’s library. A wall of books lined the wall, silk curtains fluttering from the afternoon breeze. In the corner of the room was a crumpled American flag on the cherry wood floor, and up on the wall was the red and blue Confederate flag proudly displayed on the wall.

You approached the glossy desk, examining the thin papers covering the surface. A broad newspaper, The Mobile Press Register, sat on one of the open bibles. The date at the top read, December 25, 1862.

“It’s you,” you whispered, lifting your eyes. “You’re my mother.”

She was dressed in a servant’s dress, her thick hair unmoisturized and unkempt due to the hard years of work in the fields. But she looked just like you, and she resembled your sister, Ava.

“For years I’ve watched you from the spirit realm, watching you grow and mature under the care of a stranger. I watched you do things your father and I only dreamed we could see come true.” Reaching forward, she brushed her calloused fingers against your cheek.

You were filled with memories from another life—playing in dirt-floor shacks, braiding the other little girls’ hair with flowers and twigs, singing songs by the riverside on Sunday mornings. It was your life on the plantation, a happy, pleasant life. Your happiness did not solely revolve around Preston, and for years, the two of you encountered a rift from the ages of ten until fifteen.

It wasn’t until his sixteen birthday did he start looking at you in that way, and it was only because his friends and male family members did it first. He wanted his own girl to call his own, something he could completely control and possess outside the realm of fancy dresses the daughters of wealthy girls flaunted when they visited the estate.

He never loved you—not the way a real man loves a woman. If his desire had a color, it would be blazing red. But Jasper. Jasper’s love was tender like lavender. Gentle and light like cornflower blue.

“I won’t let them undo what I sacrificed my life for,” she promised. “I knew they would try this eventually. That’s why I cast a spell, forever keeping you in the future. I won’t let you come back to this place, I won’t ever let you experience that pain—the pain you felt when my grandchild was lost.”

She waved her hand, and the view of the room began to fade.

“Please, Mama!” you cried, falling to your knees and the skirt of her dress. “I will never see you again! I lost so many good memories of you. . .I don’t even remember your name.”

She kneeled down, placing a feather-like kiss on the top of your forehead. Together, you cried in the receding reality of the room. She was sending you back home.

“Nothing—not time nor man—could take you away from me, baby. I will always be in your heart, even if you can’t quite remember it all. I would rather you hold on to the feeling, the love we had, rather than the details. Take that love and give it to Carmine, to the Cullens, and to Jasper.”

You opened her eyes, and she was gone. Elizabeth. Her name was Elizabeth.

“That damned woman,” Queen Lovie laughed mirthlessly, her hands resting on her hips. “She just don’t know when to quit—even after death. Well then, I guess if the Goddess would have it so, there’s nothing we can do.”

“But what about us?” Preston shouted. “The deal we had?”

“There is no deal, don’t you see? If she would have you, then by all means, I wish you a happily ever after. But it seems she hates you as much as you hate yourself,” Darla, Queen Lovie’s attendant, snapped. “And the witches have nothing to do with that.”

Maria’s grip failed, and Alice came bouncing to her feet as she ran away. Now the playing field was unequally matched. The newborns, in the meantime, were slaughtered by the Cullens and friends, it was just Maria and Preston on the opposing side.

“It’s over,” you said. “You lost. Accept it, and move on. Life isn’t over, Preston. You have centuries to change your ways.”

He hung his head, fists curled at his side. He lunged.

You held him in mid-air. Your meeting with your mother completely empowered you. You were not some scared little girl. He did not own you, and he never would.

“I could kill you. Nobody would ever miss you. Nobody would ever care. But your life is not mine to claim. Every creature is subject to the wrath of nature, and you will meet that same fate.”

He shuddered violently before his eyes transformed from its vibrant crimson to their river gray. His brilliant pale skin became darker and darker until it was naturally tan, and the inhuman strength once residing within him gradually drained away.

“What. . .what did you do to me?”

“I made you human,” you explained. “To reflect on your actions. No matter what, if a vampire ever tries to turn you, not only will you die, but they will die too. You’re going to spend the next seventy or so years of your human existence regretting ever threatening my family. Since you blame Jasper so much for your vampiric life, you can thank him for delivering you back out into your second human life.”

He fell to the ground, coughing at the sudden impact. Maria’s wild eyes flashed at you, weighing her options. But you knew and she knew; she couldn’t get away.

“But you, bitch, I’m sending you straight to hell.”

When it was over, everybody rushed to their loved ones, throwing their arms around them, holding them close. The emotions were too much, you cried into Jasper’s chest as he cradled you. You refused to put him through the pain of killing two of the closest people in his lives. Yes, the Major would relish in their deaths, but Jasper—your Jasper would feel their pain. He would never be the same.

He didn’t have to say anything, but he professed his love for you as he held you quietly in the midst of the celebration. You were finally together, obstructed by no one or nothing. He reciprocated your emotions which multiplied twice as much, which then came back to you once again. It was a never ending cycle of love and joy, you felt high off of it.

“She really is the most powerful witch there is,” Zacarias said, breathlessly. “Her mother passed on her powers. She. . .teach me for crying out loud!”

Your mom, Carmine, wrapped you and Jasper both in her strong embrace. You didn’t feel the loss of a mother, but the addition of another. One to watch you on Earth and another to watch you in heaven.

One more chapter left and it’s sMuT.

Be safe mah bois, and remember: Black Lives Matter

@frozenhuntress67

Part Six Part Seven

#jasper hale #jasper hale imagines #jasper hale x reader #twilight #twilight imagines #twilight x reader #carlisle cullen #edward cullen #esme cullen #emmett cullen #rosalie cullen #alice cullen

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slippinmickeys · 5 years

Text

The Next Week

TUESDAY The whole bank thing from the day before had him feeling cross and out of sorts. Déjà vu was never his favorite metaphysical phenomenon. Scully seems out of it, too. On edge and jumpy. Just as he was about to suggest they call it a day, she pushes back her chair and stands. “I’m going home,” she says, not making eye contact. “Okay,” he says lightly, and she pauses in the doorway, turning back to him. “Do you want—“ she starts, but cuts herself off. He raises his eyebrows at her expectantly. He suspects she’s feeling the same thing he is – off, like maybe if they separate they may not see each other again. Residual mental innervation, he once heard Chuck Burks call it. “Never mind,” she says, and turns back toward the hallway, though she doesn’t leave. “Go get some sleep,” he says gently, “It’ll pass.” She gives him a half smile and drifts off toward the elevator. The room feels empty and stretched out. He grabs his coat and leaves, too. XxXxXxXxX WEDNESDAY She awakens with a pang in her abdomen, can feel the path that Peyton Ritter’s bullet took through her torso, though she’s been healed for weeks, surprising her doctors and herself. She barely even has a scar. She tries to forget the look of pleased surprise on Alfred Fellig’s face as he died in front of her. Her alarm clock informs her that it’s 5:07am, and she swings her legs over the side of the bed, knowing she won’t be able to fall back asleep. She may as well get ready for work and get in early. Mulder is already there when she arrives. They both look at each other in surprise. There are two Starbucks coffees sitting on his desktop, and he slides one over to her without a word. His thoughtfulness surprises her for some reason, making her feel lightly guilty and she smiles at him to make up for it. He returns her smile and holds it for longer than normal. She notices the file in his hands then and nudges her chin towards it, sitting across from him, holding the coffee with two hands. “What’s that?” she asks. “Skinner sent it down,” he says, still smiling. “Undercover assignment in California.” “Undercover?” She feels her eyebrows reaching for the sky. “Married couple,” Mulder says, closing the file and lightly tossing it in her direction. “We don’t leave yet. It’s going to take about a week to set up. An advance team from the LA field office is working on it.” He’s not doing or saying anything suggestive, but his smile coupled with the thought of posing as a married couple is sending her mind to places she’s not entirely comfortable with. There’s a tightening low in her belly and she takes a sip of coffee—it burns all the way down.

XxXxXxXxX THURSDAY She’d been in his apartment a week ago, had gotten cold – she was always cold—and had reached for his suit coat. It smelled like her now, just a touch. A hint of her perfume on the edge of his senses, like a memory. He misses her suddenly, though he saw her only hours ago, an ache opening up inside of him, and he reaches for his phone. “Mulder, what’s wrong?” She says after a ring and a half. There’s a hesitant quality to her voice, a sleep-touched breathiness. “I woke you,” he says, feeling like an asshole. He hadn’t even glanced at the time. “Are you okay?” She asks, sounding only slightly more awake. “Yeah,” he says, “go back to sleep.” “Mulder—“ “Go back to sleep.” But she doesn’t hang up and neither does he. He pictures her in her bed, head on her pillow, phone to her ear, connected to him by the soft hiss of cellular technology. He thinks of a thread running from cell tower to cell tower, stitching them together, the needle piercing his heart. They don’t hang up for a long time. XxXxXxXxX FRIDAY He has somehow caught his elbow on the sharp edge of a filing cabinet in their office, and her chest clutches in sympathetic affection, even as his colorful swearing fills the air. He falls heavily into his chair and clamps his other hand over his injured joint. “Oh, Mulder,” she says tenderly, reaching out to run her hands lightly through his hair. He has such thick, wonderful hair, and his current cut makes it look buzzy and stuck up in places like a hedgehog. It works on him, it really, really works. He raises his eyes to her, his lip in a child-like pout. “Ouch.” She runs her hands through his hair maybe three more times than is advisable and then reaches down a hand to help him up. “Come on,” she says, “let me buy your elbow dinner.” They end up ordering take-out and eating it at his place. It’s a Friday night, so she lets him talk her into a couple of beers and a movie, and he even lets her pick. She goes with something light hearted, a rom-com she can’t even remember the name of, and after 90 minutes, she finds herself warm and brain-muddled from honey lager and somehow her feet are in his lap and he’s rubbing them and she doesn’t remember how either of those things started. The guy gets the girl and the credits roll and she reluctantly pulls her feet out of his grasp and tucks them under herself. “I should go,” she says, though she makes no move to leave. “You okay to drive?” He asks softly. She nods and he stands, clearing plates and the couple of empty bottles into his kitchen. When he returns she’s still sitting on his couch, and against her better judgment, or maybe because of it, she reaches out and grabs his hand. His hand is warm in hers, dry, dusty-soft. He gives her fingers a quick squeeze. “Want to double-feature it?” He asks softly. She shakes her head and stands, still holding onto him. “I should go,” she says again. He takes a half-step towards her. “Stay,” he whispers.

XxXxXxXxX SATURDAY He comes awake slowly, comfortable and impossibly warm. He’s still fully dressed. Scully drifted over in the night, is tucked into his side, still deeply asleep, also fully clothed. They slept under the duvet but not the sheet, like that somehow negated the fact that they were sharing his bed.

They tiptoe and tiptoe around this thing between them, a pirouette of feeling, of unresolved sexual tension. He’s almost lost her – how many times? – and why hasn’t he done anything, why hasn’t he? He remembers finding out she was in remission--the relief that ripped through him, from the top of his head to the tips of his toes, like a net -- catching everything inside him, even the strength to stand. He had fallen to the floor. She would live. They both had. But he is tired of the dance.

Her lips are parted in sleep, glistening like she just licked them. It feels like the most natural thing in the world to lean in and kiss them, so he does. He finally does.

The next thing he knows, Sleep Scully is kissing him back. Without even a breath of wakefulness she’s there too, and it feels so good to be kissing someone. To be kissing Scully. He’s a tactile person, a touchy person, but he denies himself those things out of some self-punishment thing that he refuses to analyze in himself but probably has to do with Samantha. To touch and be touched feels amazing and Scully is touching him now, is sort of awake and has somehow not decked him for the osculational indiscretion but instead is clutching his shirt and sucking at his bottom lip and he takes a moment to ensure himself that he’s not actually still asleep and dreaming. She senses his lull and pulls back, looking into his eyes, hers a sleepy aquamarine. “Sorry,” he says, smiling, not really sorry at all. “Don’t be,” she says, her voice sleep-choked and rumbly.

He expected her to be shy for some reason, but she’s not. They’re not teenagers, he reminds himself. There’s a real-life grown-ass woman in his bed, and she’s still clutching at his shirt. He reaches around her and grabs her backside, pulling her to him, tight. “I…” He starts, but how do you tell your partner of almost 7 years that that you’re insanely in love with them and have been since almost day one and would they mind terribly if you fucked their brains out because that’s all you want to do whenever they’re within a foot of you?

“Me too,” Scully says with a kicky smile, like she heard everything he was thinking.

She probably did, he thinks. There’s something ethereally otherworldly about Dana Scully. She heals fast and she can’t die and she’s a deadeye marksman.

“With an ass that won’t quit,” he whispers and she’s about to give him a look, but he leans in and starts kissing her neck and she sighs instead.

He peels off his shirt, then undresses her slowly, mapping out the soft planes of her body with fingers, with lips. She is uncharted country and he an explorer, intent on discovery.

She’s placid in his bed. Warm, willing. She has a sleepy smile on her face and the morning sunlight coming through the window catches on her carmine hair, practically burns his eyes.

She reaches up tenderly when he pauses to look at her, brushes her hand along his raspy jaw, pulls him down to kiss her. He marvels at the pillows of her lips, the way her tongue dances with his. He will never get enough of this, not ever, but there are other places to explore.

He works his way down her body, pausing at her breasts, lavishing them with the attention they’re due.

When he moves to the triangle of soft curls at her center, he’s taken with the color. He’s always known she was a natural redhead—she’s always careful in the sun, curses the MC1R gene (it’s just like her to curse a gene)—but the fact that the carpet matches the drapes delights him. And just like that, he’s developed another Dana Scully-specific kink.

Scully is fully awake now and hungry, hungry for him. He can see it in her eyes, in the way she’s pulling at his his jeans, pushing them down.

He had planned to make slow, reverential love to her, but she has other plans, pushes him back toward the mattress and climbs atop him. This is more than he had ever even dreamed and he’s having trouble processing. When she grabs him and guides him home, he’s certain his brain will short-circuit.

She is riding him hard and has her fingers in his mouth and when she looks at him, connects eyes with him, her hair swaying rhythmically into her eyes, all he can say is,

“Yeah, yeah.”

It’s been so long, he’s not sure how much longer he can hold out when Scully grabs his shoulder with one hand, reaches between them with the other and within seconds is clamped down on him, he can feel her orgasm around him and he’s gone too, lights bursting behind his eyes, flashpoint.

Later, when they’re laying there, a little sweaty, breaths coming in ever-slowing puffs, he feels a wetness on his chest where her head is resting. He tilts her chin up, canting her face to his own. There are tears in her eyes, but she’s smiling, and he feels the exact same way, he knows he does. There’s an ocean of feeling inside of him, and Scully the only spit of land.

XxXxXxXxX SUNDAY She could have laid around in his bed with him all day, drinking coffee, reading the paper, but she had lunch plans with her mother and dinner with a friend, had no clothes at his apartment. She kissed him lingeringly at his door, slow to leave, and he held her hand, only dropping it when she was in his hallway and he stood there watching her, leaning against the doorframe and he was still there when the elevator doors closed.

She rolls her face into her pillow smiling, thinking of where she was, what she was doing just 24 hours ago.

She thinks she hears something and stills. There it is again, a light knocking at her door, she’s certain.

Donning a robe, she approaches the door, looks through the peephole.

She swings the door open, the air differential puffing her hair up around her face.

“Mulder,” she says, “it’s not even 8:00.”

He bites his lip.

“Can I come in?”

She nods, tucking in a smile as she opens the door to him, a sudden feeling like estrus washing over her. She feels like a nymphet, like Lolita. The low throb of want in her womb suddenly shorting out all other circuits. She couldn’t stop thinking about him yesterday, of them. She channels her partner for a moment, thinking maybe some psychic connection, some siren paphian call brought him to her this morning.

“I’m sorry,” he says, stepping inside, “I… I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

She steps into him, close, steps right on top of his feet and scrunches her toes around his shoelaces. Her face is inches below his.

“Fuck,” he whispers.

And all she does is nod, and his lips are crushing into hers, finally, finally.

They stumble their way to her bed, shedding clothing, leaving no space between them.

The backs of her knees hit the bed and she leans back, pulling him to her and she wonders if there is any feeling quite so delicious as the heavy, warm, hard planes of a man’s body atop your own, but he starts kissing his way down her torso, and yes, yes there are.

And then he’s nudging her, asking if it’s okay to go down on her and she has this sudden realization that as well as she knows him—and she knows him pretty well—she has no idea of his sexual proclivities, and the fact that he’s practically begging to eat her out is just so perfectly him that it takes everything she has to not laugh out loud at the absurdity of the moment. He takes her silence as hesitancy and his brows crease. “Scully?” He says, pulling back a fraction of an inch and she can’t have that, so she practically bucks her groin into his face. Luckily, that’s all the encouragement he needs, and he grabs her by the hips, and his tongue is there—holy shit, right there, and she doesn’t think anymore, she just feels.

Supernova. There’s no other word for it. In no time at all she’s coming apart at an atomic level. It’s almost too much, but it’s never enough, and then slack, her whole body, slack.

He gives a rumbly chuckle, planting a firm kiss just under her belly button, and she comes back to herself as he works his way back up her body. He pauses at her necklace, taking the delicate chain into his mouth and tugging on it gently. It’s somehow incredibly erotic, and she bites her bottom lip. If Father McCue could see her now…

And then his face is even with hers and his mouth is back and she’s tasting the warm tang of herself on his lips.

“I want…” she hears herself say.

“Anything,” he whispers.

“You,” she says, and he’s there, right there again, and she’s filled to the hilt, and it’s all she wants to feel.

Five thrusts, ten, and she hooks her leg up, wraps an ankle over his hip, and they’re both gone again. How , she thinks, how is this possible?

He rolls off of her after a minute and she misses the crush of his weight, but he takes her hand and holds it to his lips.

“Is it always going to feel like this?” Mulder asks, dumbstruck and uncertain; a hint of awe in his voice.

She presses a kiss to his temple. She’s pretty sure it will.

XxXxXxXxX MONDAY They have to be at work in an hour, but this has been the best weekend of his life and he’s loath to let it end. He has his hands around her rib cage, his thumbs nearly touching, and she reminds him of a bird—all hollow bones and soft feathers, and he wonders at how this small sprite of a woman contains such strength.

“Satyriasis,” Scully says, contemplatively.

Med school word, Mulder thinks.

“It’s going to be hard to work today,” she says in explanation.

“It’s going to be hard to work everyday.”

“No funny business at the office,” she says then, stern, like she’s trying to convince herself.

“Funny business?” He parrots back, teasing.

“I’m serious, Mulder,” she says.

You’re always serious , he thinks.

“Not in the field, either,” she says.

He lets go of her, groans and falls back against the mattress dramatically.

“We can’t play the part next week in Arcadia?” He asks the ceiling.

“Mulder,” she says, her tone a warning.

“No, you’re right,” he relents. As if those who want to shut them down need another excuse.

There’s silence for a moment, then her voice comes to him low, quiet.

“But we’re not in the office yet,” she says, standing.

She takes his hand, pulls him toward her bathroom, her shower. She pulls him with her, to her, away from himself, away from the earth.

The office is twenty minutes away, but he’s lightyears beyond it, soaring into the heavens, up, up and away.

XxXxXxXxXxX

The End

#txf #msr #the x files #fanfic

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fantasyfandommaiden · 5 years

Text

Adrien’s Mentorship AU: Adrien’s Familiar

Not every magic user needs a familiar in order to be great, however Carmine points out that it would help move along Adrien’s magical training.... and if he happens to get a magically sidekick like some magical girls do in the anime’s he loves that just a bonus.

[[MORE]]

Carmine had preformed the lineage ritual before Adrien arrived for his next lesson a week later. Adrien had been disappointed in not being able to see the ritual being performed but Carmine had insisted to him that it was actually fairly mundane without much fanfare.

“So I do have magic in my family?” Adrien asked as they sat at the table, drinking tea. Carmine had insisted that drinking tea helped with the magical process (Adrien figured it was more to do with her tea addiction, but he wasn’t about to argue with his teacher).

Carmine nodded, smiling gently at him “Yes. The ritual showed me that SOMEWHERE in your family blood line there is magic, however it has been dormant for a few generations.”

Adrien blinked in confusion “... how does that happen?” He asked “Can you just... lose your magic?”

“Well... yes and no.” Carmine said, leaning back in her chair. “SOMETIMES, if you are deemed a danger to the magical or mortal community, you can have your magic taken, and if you have no magic in your blood, it can take a few generations for it to reappear in your family. Besides for that there is no way to lose your magic.”

“... so... is there a ministry of magic than?” Adrien asked, grinning widely “Like in Harry Potter?”

Carmine let out a soft hum as she thought to over “We don’t have a ministry so much as we have a council, and each country has one. Placing one person in charge of an entire magical community isn’t always the right idea unless you have someone like Merlin in charge, bless his soul.” Carmine stated, sipping her tea. “The politics are somewhat confusing but basically it’s usually a group of fifteen or so magic users who are appointed or voted into the council. As a collective they make major decisions about the magical community, and rulings about anyone that posses a threat to both the magical and non magical community.”

Adrien was furiously writing this all down as Carmine spoke, not stopping until he got all the information down. “So, could you be on the council?”

Carmine gave a loud laugh, Gladiolus seeming to do the same from his spot at the table “Oh by the gods no, for one I am too young to be apart of the council, you need to be at least 40. Two, I am much happier helping people directly than through politics. My uncle however, Yarrow Rosewood, is a member of the council here in France. We could meet him and he could tell you more about the politics if your interested, politics was never my forte.”

Adrien looked at her, blinking. His experience with older males in a place of authority were... great but if he was related Carmine he must be good! That and... it would be nice to have a male role model. Mlle Carmine was great! But there were some things he wanted to talk about with... a man.

“So does he decide if someone needs to have their magic taken away? What sort of ruling would need to be done for that?”

Carmine leaned back in her chair, looking at Adrien sombrely “... anyone who causes the community a great loss of life or a danger to that life. A pair of pyromancers back in 1871 were both quarreling over the affections of a young woman, their duel got out of hand and caused the Great Chicago Fire.”

Adrien’s pencil stopped as he looked at Carmine in shock “Wait... wasn’t that when-“

“300 people lost their lives, leaving 100,000 residents homeless and almost three and a half square miles of the city damaged? Yes, yes it was, and all over a woman.” Carmine said with a roll of her eyes “Said woman was the one who brought forth both of them to the council for judgement, they had been attempting to court her for months and she. Was. Done with their bullshit.” Carmine stated her eyes cold “She almost lost her best friend in that fire, and as punishment for their recklessness and the reason for the fight to begin with, they were stripped of their magic and their descendants for the next twenty generations.”

Adrien looked at Carmine, his mouth feeling dry. He hadn’t realized how... dangerous this was going to be. Cataclysm was dangerous but he had never caused that much damage to be done. “Are... are they still without magic?”

Carmine blinked at the question, closing her eyes and murmuring softly, Adrien only hearing her because of his enhanced hearing, she was counting.

“... yes, but only for another four generations, after which the magic will slowly return.”

“... what happened to the woman?”

Carmine looked at him with a raised brow, Adrien blushing slightly “... I... I mean, she turned them both in and her friend almost died... I can’t imagine that would have been easily, especially turning in two gentlemen who were courting her.”

“She married her best friend, and the two ladies were very happy together.” She stated sipping her tea “Well, married by magic standards, but back to why we are here.”

“Right!” Adrien said smiling widely “My magic! It’s not dormant, so we can start my training right?”

Carmine frowned “Well, it’s not dormant but it’s very weak, most likely you family might have only regain its magic with your mother, because I refuse to believe Gabriel has any magic in him.” Carmine said, leaning back in her chair, her fingers drumming against the table “Since you have such a small pool of magic that will make it difficult to train you...”

“Is there a way to increase so it’s not as difficult?” Adrien asked, Carmine looked at him with a raised brow “Not that I don’t want to put in the work! I mean, if it’s hard I’m willing to work twice as hard to prove myself-“

“Adrien, you don’t need to worry, I’m not going to drop you as my student just because you want to know if there is a simpler or easier way.” Carmine stated “Knowledge is power, and in this case there IS a way to increase your magic at a more accelerated pace... so instead of years it will only take a handful of a handful of months, maybe weeks depending on what you get.”

Adrien blinked, looking at Carmine confused. “What I ‘get’... what are you going to do?”

Carmine looked at Adrien, a small smile on her face “... Adrien, we are going to summon a familiar for you.”

~~~~~~~~~

Adrien had helped Carmine push her furniture in the living room to the walls and sat on the couch as she drew on the floor with chalk, Gladiolus holding the pages of her grimoire down and gesturing towards certain passages on the pages.

“So... will my familiar be like Gladiolus? A ferret?”

“Gladiolus chooses to be a ferret for the sake of convience more than appearance.” Carmine told him, her concentration on the circle she was drawing “Fey like Gladiolus typically dont have appearances in the material plane, the only ones I know of are Kwami’s.”

“Because messing with fey can lead to a lot of headaches.” Plagg stated, glaring at the circle “Your sure this is safe? I don’t want to go through the headache of getting use to a new chosen.”

Carmine looked up at Plagg with a deadpanned expression “Plagg, this isn’t my first rodeo, nor my first summoning circle! I’ve done this at least 20 times for my family, and I’ve over seen twice as many after that. I’ve got this.” Carmine stated before returning back to the circle, muttering something about ‘stupid kwami cats’.

Plagg glared at Carmine “Hey, this is my kitten, you got that, if anything happens to him, I will show you WHY I hold the mantle of destruction incarnate!”

Carmine stopped, looking up at Plagg “... the worst that will happen is he will become extrmly tired afterwards, that’s it. Besides, he’ll have fail safe, Gladiolus.”

The ferret ran off towards the bedroom, coming back with a beaded bracelet, rushing at Adrien and dropping in his lap “If you ever feel your endanger, pull it apart and it will bring you back.”

“Back?” Adrien looked at her, wide eyed “Where am I going?”

“Physically, nowhere, it’s your spirit that will be traveling to the spirit realm to find a fey that is willing to be your familiar.” Carmine stated, standing up and brushing the chalk off her hands “All done.”

“So... like Avatar?”

Carmine sighed, looking at Adrien with a small smile “... yes, like Avatar. Now sit yourself in the middle of this circle, and I’ll explain what is going to happen.”

~~~~~~

In short Carmine explained it like this.

- she was going to help his spirit travel to the spirit realm, there he was encounter perhaps three or fourth spirits who would be interested in being his familiar.

- Don’t give any of the fey your name, they will use it against you to make you do things. (As some sort of mind control or something, he was still confused but agreed to not say his name out loud)

- He is to decide who would be the best familiar for him, his spirit will know which is best.

- Once he finds a familiar, he is to rip the bracelet apart brining him and his familiar back.

Carmine had told him there was a chance that there was no spirit that would be suited for him, and Carmine herself had taken three attempts before she met Gladiolus, so not to feel distraught if he couldn’t find one, and most importantly to not ‘settle’ with one.

“This is a bond that will last for the rest of your life, it is not something to be rushed.”

Adrien simply nodded, sitting on the floor cross legged, eyes closed. He didn’t know how long he sat there, but it must have been a REALLY long time, because he was getting bored, and honestly nothing had changed.

He sighed as he opened his eyes “Mlle Carmine, I don’t think it’s-“ he stopped short, looking around. He was no longer in Carmine’s living room anymore, but instead in a large grassy field.

He felt the wind gently blowing against his his skin as he slowly stood up, looking around. The grass was a deep green colour and the sky the deepest blue he had ever seen, but he didn’t see a town or building anywhere as far as his eyes could see.

“Hello?” He called out, his voice seeming to echo out into the grasslands. Adrien looked around, no seeing any spirits... was he suppose to walk around? Carmine hadn’t really given him any instructions beyond him arriving and meeting possible spirits.

As if sensing his unease, the scenery changed as if everything around him had been a mirage, and now he stood in the middle of a forest, standing on top of a large tree stump. Her heard the soft chattering of birds, and soft wind blowing through the leaves.

Although it was a nice change, it didn’t help out Adrien too much with finding a spirit. He knew he had to be patient, and it might not happen this time, but he REALLY wanted to impress Mlle Carmine... or at the very least prove to her that it was the right decision to take him on as her student...

Adrien blinked when he heard a different sound.... it sounded like soft, gibberish chatter that got louder, and louder, and the wind seemed to pick up as the trees groaned and seemed to sway. Adrien felt his body tense up as he gripped the beaded bracelet in his hand, looking around as suddenly a horde of lights and sounds and wind tore through the tree line into the small clearing were where Adrien stood.

The lights and sounds circled him in a never ending tornado, it shocked him so much that he dropped the bracelet somewhere, but Adrien was to preoccupied to notice. It was too LOUD, there was too much sound and colours and he felt like his brain was going to BURST with all the chatter that the dozens, maybe even four or five dozen dancing lights circled him, chanting different thing. He fell to his knees, his hands covering his ears and his eyes closed tightly. He wanted it to stop, but Carmine had told him to be respectful, and his mind couldn’t take this torture as the spirits continued to talk and chant.

‘So much magic!’

‘Ancient magic!’

‘The ring! It’s the ring!’

‘Pick me! I’ll be your familiar!’

‘No me! I will make you stronger! I must be near that ring!’

It was too loud, Adrien didn’t known how much more he could take much more, he would give anything to make them all stop, even if it was as simple as accepting one of the as his familiar, but none of them felt right. He didn’t feel a pull to any of them, or a strong connection, not like what he expected, but he needed all the noise and lights to stop! He opened his mouth, about to accept the first spirit he saw when he heard one voice speak, not too loudly or in a bossy tone, but a voice that commanded authority.

“Will you all shut the fuck up!” It snapped, and all the lights and sounded stopped. Adrien felt his body trembling, not daring to look up as he kept his ears covered in case the spirits tried to begin chanting again.

“Now get the hell out of here, can’t you see your scaring the kid to death!”

“But... the ring-“

“Did I fucking stutter?” The voice responded “Your not becoming a familiar to some damned ring but to the boy himself! Now, if I have to say it again, you will all cease to exsist, am I understood?”

“Ah-“

“Am. I. Under. Stood?”

And suddenly there was silence, but Adrien still did not dare to remove his hands from his ears or open his eyes. His body trembling as he remained on his knees.

After a few moments of complete silence he dared to open his eyes and saw a light, this one not as blinding and not so much a ball as a shape. It looked humanoid, possibly masculine if the outline had anything to say, but it still appeared to be light, albeit much dimmer than the other spirits, and they sat cross legged in front of him, seeming to be waiting.

“First time in the spirit realm?” The spirit asked him in a quiet voice, to which Adrien nodded. “Pfft, that explains it. Whoever sent you here is either not very smart and hasn’t dealt with a lot of ancient magical items before.” It stated, pointing at Adrien’s ring. “THAT is why they swarmed you. Powerful and old item like that was bound to draw that many excitable spirits. Most of them don’t mean you any harm but they don’t understand boundaries.”

Adrien simply nodded again, still not moving besides his trembling body. The spirit looked at him thoughtfully “... You do know you could have told them to fuck off right? Maybe not in those words, but you could have told them ‘No thanks, your not for me.’ Or ‘no thanks, I’m not ready for this’.”

“I was...” Adrien licked his lips, which felt dry before speaking again “I was told to be respectful.”

“There’s being respectful and there’s being a doormat.” The spirit told him, looking around the clearing “Honestly, if I hadn’t come along you would have probably just picked the first spirit you saw to be your familiar, no questions asked and live with some subpar or down right awful spirit, and trust me you don’t want any of those LEECHES for a familiar.” He stated, before looking back at Adrien.

“... do you want to go back to your world?” The spirit asked, holding out Adrien’s bracelet “There’s no shame in not getting a familiar on the first try... at least that’s why I assume you are here for.” The spirit said to him.

Adrien took the bracelet gently, looking at the spirit “... but... I don’t want to let my mentor down...”

The spirit seemed to almost give off the impression that he rolled his eyes “Listen, you won’t let your ‘mentor’ by not getting a familiar on the first try. Did he get it on the first try?”

Adrien blinked, shaking his head “... no, the third apparently.”

“There you have, so your old coot of a mentor won’t be on your ass for it, I sought he will be mad.” The spirit said standing “but if your that determined to get a familiar I’ll help you out... but first...” the spirit helped Adrien stand up, than walked behind him, grabbing his shoulders and forcing them back slightly before he walked in front of him, grabbing his face and making Adrien look straight in front of him.

“Good, now hold that pose and tell me to leave.”

Adrien blinked, relaxing slightly with confusion only for the spirit to snap his fingers again and Adrien (of his own will) go back to the more confidant position the spirit had place him in “Go on, pretend I’m one of the annoying spirits from before and tell me to leave you alone.”

“Um...” Adrien looked at the spirit somewhat confused “... please leave me alone?” He said in a somewhat lame tone.

The spirit looked at him in a bored manner “... are you asking me or telling me? Try again.”

“Leave me alone please.”

“No.”

“I said, leave me alone please.”

“Yeah, still no.”

“Leave me alone!” Adrien shouted at him angrily, getting somewhat annoyed with this.

“I’m stubborn, not deaf. Show me some resolve, make me want to leave.” The spirit said to Adrien.

Adrien glared at the spirit, taking a deep breath as he thought of all the people he wished he could say this to. The fan girls, the pushy photographers, the models that were a little TOO hands on, Lila with her touching and invading of his personal space.

He let the breath out slowly as he glared at the spirit “... leave me alone, now please.” He said in a deadly serious tone. The spirit clasped his hands on Adrien’s shoulders, bending down slightly to look Adrien in the eye.

“.... now that is how you do it. Alright kid!” He stood up straighter and began to walk towards a random direction “Let’s go find your familiar spirit.”

Adrien looked at the spirit curiously, remembering back to the conversation he had with Carmine before entering the spirit realm...

“Will it be like love at first sight or something like that when I meet my familiar?” Adrien asked excitedly, almost bouncing in his seat as he watched Carmine start the chalk circle.

“Some people say it’s like that, that it’s an instant connection, like a part you didn’t know is missing is found.” Carmine replied back evenly “Others say it feels like you’ve been shot with lightning, the sensation causing tingles to go down your whole body, others say it’s like meeting a new best friend, everyone’s experience is different when it comes to finding your familiar.”

“What was it like with you and Gladiolus?”

Carmine stopped momentarily, a small warm smile spreading across her face “... like meeting an old friend.”

Adrien looked at the spirit in front of him as he continued to speak about the different kind fo spirits he could potentially have as his familiar.

He didn’t feel like a part of him was found, or like lightning had struck him, or like meeting a new friend. Heck, he didn’t even feel like he was meeting an old one, but something about this felt... right, like being around that one person who gave you a boost of confidence even when you were at your lowest. It felt... good, and maybe that was what Adrien needed.

“Um, Mr. Spirit, actually....”

~~~~~

Adrien groaned as he felt his spirit return to his body, feeling exhausted both mentally and physically. He saw Carmine sitting cross legged in front of the circle, like she had been when he entered the spirit realm and she sat up straighter.

“Adrien, thank goodness, you were in there so long, I was beginning to... worry.” Carmine’s eyes were looking down at Adrien’s lap, a look of shock on her face. Adrien looked down as well in concern only for the expression to change from concern, to confusion, to joy.

Sitting in his lap was a hamster, it looked like it was a grey dwarf hamster, however it’s eyes instead of being a dark brown were a deep shade of blue. Adrien starred at it and the hamster starred up at him. “... hi?” Adrien said slowly, only for him to ‘hear’ a response in the back of his head.

‘Hey Kid, you look like shit, you should really rest-‘ the hamster stopped short as he examined his surroundings only to freeze at the sight of Carmine who was still starring at him.

“Adrien, you summoned a familiar!” Carmine said, her face breaking out into a large grin as the hamster climbed up Adrien’s shirt to sit on his shoulder, which had been a good thing because Carmine all but FLEW at Adrien to hug him tightly “Good job! This is amazing! Hardly anyone summons their familiar on the first try!”

‘Psssst, kid!’

Adrien, who had been to distracted by the hug, glanced at his familiar who was looking at Carmine with great interest.

‘Who’s this lovely woman?’

“This is Mlle Carmine, my mentor!” Adrien said to him, as Carmine sat up straight and looked at the hamster “What’s his name?” She asked.

‘You did NOT tell me your mentor was such a fine example of femininity and grace!’ The hamster exclaimed, and Adrien felt himself becoming more confused as he noticed how the hamsters eyes were starring directly at Carmine’s bust and waistline and... lingering there.

‘Oh, I look forward to getting to know you, AND her quite well~’ the voice all but sang.

Adrien felt his face blush deep red... of god... his familiar was a pervert!

“Adrien.” Carmine said, looking at him confused. She couldn’t hear the voice since the hamster wasn’t her familiar “Have you two decided on what his name will be?”

Oh, Adrien had the perfect name for him.

“Zeus.”

#ladybug au #ml au #adrien’s mentorship au #carmine regal #adrien agreste #tea magic #introducing Zeus the Familiar #Familiar!Zeus #Hamster!Zeus #long post

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honeyandfiregame · 5 years

Text

While I was away, I wrote something I thought I'd share. I have no motivations for why I wrote this or even really what inspired me, I guess I was just thinking about hot older guys and that lead to thinking about Day when he's older.

Don't take this as rooted in canon, btw, if you don't want to. As in, the circumstances in this short are not definitely what'll happen in the future if you romance Day. Whatever happens after the credits roll is up to you.

(Under the cut, hopefully, for length. 1.7k. Also I didn't edit this at all. It's not even good or anything)

The breeze that hits your skin is a welcome chill against the warm air surrounding you with the pleasant scent of spring. The ground is hard beneath you and you shift a little, trying to dispel the stiffness of your legs.

"...Best get on, then." The voice is quiet, subdued with a heaviness you know too well. You offer a sad smile in return, but say no more. Normal life can't wait forever.

Your companion rises to his feet. There's not much struggle in his movements, but he can't help but let out a grunt with the effort. Your smile turns fond at the sound, a chuckle escaping you before you can reign it in.

"That was an old man sound, if I ever heard one," you tease, climbing to your feet with much more ease. "Careful. You're not so young and spry anymore."

Day groans. "Stop. You're gonna make me kill myself."

You laugh to yourself. But it's true. How old is he now? Fifties? It's been a couple decades and while you still retain the look of a young adult, albeit at the very beginning of shifting into an adult, Day has... aged, like anyone would.

He's still fit, still dangerous as he always was, but now small lines have carved age into his once youthful skin, and his rich black hair, currently styled away from his face, is tainted by a streak of grey.

You'd be lying if you said he hasn't aged well, though. He is, to this day, one of the most handsome men you ever met and you think only part of that is exaggerated by your love for him. His lips can still curve into that stomach-fluttering smirk, his carmine eyes still hold the steel they always did. Silver fox doesn't begin to cover it.

You pause as he holds a hand out to you, poised to take yours. You cock your head and accept, noting the way his fingers gently close around yours to keep his black claws from catching against your skin. The silver band on his left ring finger glints in the sunlight, a perfect match to the ring on your own hand.

"You sure? We're about to enter town. People are gonna think you're, like... my guardian." You almost chuckle at a memory. "Or worse, that you're rich and I'm desperate."

Day isn't nearly as amused, a hum of indignation rumbling in his chest. "So?" He glances at you out of the corner of his eye, emotions cautiously guarded. "Am I someone you've ever known to care what other people think?"

Your bright smile returns at that. "I suppose that's true. You're one of a kind, Daiya."

He doesn't reply verbally, instead lifting your interlocked hands to his mouth to place a kiss on the back of yours.

Silence falls over you two comfortably for a while, the only sound the crunching of loose gravel beneath your shoes. It's nice, but your mind is wandering several places over. The years have moved on and things have changed, both you and your husband have changed, everything around you has changed...

"Maybe we should get a puppy."

Day nearly stumbles at the words you didn't even realize you were going to speak until they were already out of your mouth. He takes a breath, opening his mouth like he's about to say something but then changes his mind.

His paused footsteps resume, more tension held in his posture than before.

"Very funny," he growls. The way his claws nearly scratch you as his grip tightens suggests he thinks otherwise.

You frown, jogging to catch up to those long legs and their sudden increased pace.

"I'm not trying to be funny this time!" you shoot back, defensive both because you didn't mean it like that and you really don't want him getting moody right now.

You dig your heels into the ground, tugging on his arm to get him to stop. Surprisingly, it works. He doesn't just drag you along like he might if he were really annoyed. Instead he lets out a huff, but swings around to face you. In doing so, however, his hand releases its grip and he defensively folds his arms in front of his chest.

Trying to ignore the cold emptiness you feel in your palm, you sigh. "Day... I'm being serious."

You glance around, thankful to see the road devoid of life other than you two.

"It's been years, you know? Skoll and Hati passed on ages ago and now..." You wave your hands for emphasis. "We just got back from the funeral of your best friend."

"He wasn't my best friend," Day interrupts, smoothly arching an eyebrow.

"Yes, he was," you calmly reply, keeping your voice gentle. You're pleased when he doesn't rebutt you again. Because you both know it's true.

He shakes his head and looks away. A refusal to meet your eyes and a guarded tone, but the tension has eased a bit from his shoulders. "The only shocking part about it all is how long Zenos lasted before he was finally stupid enough to get himself killed. Besides, this and that are two different things. I don't need a dog; I have you."

A small smile tugs at your lips at the sentiment, but you push it back. "Having a dog has always helped you."

He actually meets your eyes again, though you almost wish he hadn't. "What, all my friends are dead and now you think I need a little companion animal to feel okay again? As I said, two different things."

His voice is sharp, that part about him hasn't changed a bit. But you've been together long enough, you don't even flinch away from his glare. You also don't point out he just called them his friends because you're afraid he'd take it back.

"Not all of them," you remind him gently. He sighs.

"I don't speak to Effie or Niina anymore."

"But I do. They know how you're like. They still care about you."

"I didn't ask them to. And I didn't ask you to try and replace my dogs."

Punctuated with an air of finality, Day turns and begins heading down the road. You rush to catch up, halting him again with a hand around his arm. A growl rumbles in his chest, but he doesn't turn his anger on you, he just faces you again with a silence to let you say your piece.

"No one was suggesting replacing your dogs, Day." You clasp your hands together, hoping he can see the sincerity in your eyes. "I'm sorry it came across like that. I just meant..."

"A dog would help me?" Day interrupts before you can gather your thoughts. He rolls his eyes. "Love, I'm fine. For Hells' sake, I'm 53. I'm a grown man. I can handle a little death."

There's a lot to unpack there, particularly the fact that it took him all of two seconds to revert back to that old 'I'm a grown man' excuse. However, you decide you'll save that for later.

"Day..." you start gently, calmness layered over your voice. Almost disturbingly calm, as you reach up to cup his face and guide him closer to you. "Let me speak."

The fight immediately drops from his stance as his shoulders do the same, his mouth shutting so fast you hear his teeth click together. You can almost feel him trying not to roll his eyes again as he straightens himself up.

"Fine." There's no attitude, just a soft resignation.

Though him straightening his posture pulled his face out of reach, your hand stays on him, sliding from his neck to his shoulder. You soothingly rub your thumb in circles as you speak.

"It was just a simple suggestion in the face of a lot of loss lately. Daiya, you have trauma and I meant it when I said your dogs helped you. A new dog can be trained to do the same; when I'm not there with you." You lift your gaze, meaningfully catching his. It's an admittance that's hard to swallow, especially for him. Care for mental health, you've come to know, is not easy to find in the world. Zenos has- had barely been able to find information about what might be wrong with Day, or even you. But it's getting better. Slowly.

You kind of wonder if maybe you'll see the world change for the better eventually. Even if Day won't get to.

You shake the thought from your head, refocusing on your current statement. "But that's not the only reason. I'm not implying you can't handle all this. I'm just saying... I mean..."

You throw your hands out, finding one last tactic in what you admit might be grasping at straws. "I like dogs," you say. "I get lonely sometimes and it gets boring at home without another living creature, or two, to play with."

"It doesn't have to be boring." Day finally breaks his own silence with the suggestive statement. He uses those boyish dimples for evil, a wolfish grin tugging at his lips to reveal semi-feral teeth that look like they're ready to take a bite of you any second.

"Don't change the subject," you snap, sternly holding up a finger. Even if you don't feel all that stern. Because you don't. An excited heat creeps up your neck from your belly at the suggestion behind those words.

Damnit, he did this when he was younger, too.

Day lets out a sigh, swaying back a step and once again holding out a hand for you.

"If you want a dog, we can talk about it more when we get home," he finally gives in. You bite back a victorious grin and slide your hand into his.

Keeping close to his side as you walk, you smile up at him. "You know I love you, right?" Of course he does, but you ask anyway.

He's silent for a moment then gruffly replies, avoiding your gaze, "Yes... I love you too."

Before you can continue that line of conversation and see how embarrassed you can get him, Day suddenly gives a groan.

"We should've taken a damn horse," he growls, one hand pressed against the small of his back.

You smirk. "Old man."

"Hey!" he barks, baring his wicked teeth.

That pleasant walk home quickly turns into a chase, your laughter filling the warm spring air as you go.

#Day #shorts #Honey and Fire

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lizartgurl · 5 years

Text

Suited Up (Young Justice Outsiders, OCs)

Willow Lance returns to high society, now with her girlfriend, and tries to get her parents to talk to each other. Bruce Wayne, however, may throw a huge damper on her night.

Word Count: 3132

“Diggle,”

“Miss Lance. Welcome back,” The ex-navy seal-turned-bodyguard for Queen Industries smiled warmly as he opened the door, holding it wide open as I stepped out of the backseat, and then as I helped Serene out of the car.

For a moment, the cameras stopped flashing as the paparazzi scrambled to recognize either of us. They returned in full force, screaming my way. With Serene’s arm in mine, I ignored them, making my stride quick and purposeful as I led her into the venue.

The glass geometric dome was bordered with gardens, plants cleverly hiding the speakers for music and raffle announcements. On the far side of the room were tables, piled high with every rich delicacy you could think of, next to the bar, which led to the kitchen (and bathrooms).

The entrance, where we stood, was a grand staircase, which led down to the dance floor that made up the majority of the venue.

Much like the paparazzi outside, many people stopped what they were doing, eyes on us in silent wonder.

I could feel Serene’s grip on my arm tightening.

“You ready?” I asked her.

“So long as you are,” She laughed lightly.

By the time we’d reached the floor, the live orchestra had started back up again, and all the donors had gone back to their own business, except for the two middle-aged blondes who hurried to greet us.

“Willow,” Dinah gasped, hugging me tightly.

“You look stunning,” I told her. Dinah’s hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail, and her slim, midnight-blue dress sparkled with a thousand glittery stars.

She smiled, wiping something from the corner of her eye with care not to smudge her eyeliner. “You too.”

“Hey chickadee,” Oliver hugged me too, “Glad you could make it.”

He glanced at Serene, “That you both could.”

I smiled at my girlfriend, sliding my arm around her. “Mom, Dad, I want you to meet my girlfriend, Serene. Serene, my parents, Dinah and Oliver.”

Dinah grasped Serene’s hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Serene.”

“You as well, Mrs. Lance.”

“Call me Dinah,” She insisted.

“How’s Olivia?” I asked.

“With Will and Lian for the evening,” Oliver grinned, “Why? Were you hoping to get away with babysitting duties? After that entrance?”

“Maybe,” I teased right back.

I could see it in their blue eyes, in their aching smiles. They had millions of questions pressing at their polite appearance, but I couldn’t get away with explaining everything now. It would have to wait for a quieter time, where we weren’t surrounded by the well-to-do of society.

“If you’ll excuse us for a moment,” I led Serene over to Emma, watching me with a huge smile to go with her brother’s trollish grin.

“Wow,” Emma couldn’t stop smiling, looking me up and down, “Just...Wow!”

“You like it?” Serene lifted my arm to give me a spin.

“I think you rock a suit better than any guy,” Emma shook her head.

“Even me?” Rick begged.

“Especially you, Mister Fashion Disaster,” Emma hummed in satisfaction.

“Why, if it isn’t Little Miss Willow!”

I winced, vaguely recognizing the creaky voices of Gretchen “Granny” Goode, of Goode World Studios, the same studios that produced the Logan twins’ show, and once upon a time, M’gann’s ancient favorite: “Hello Megan!”

“Good to see you, Mrs. Goode.”

She gave a hoot of laughter, “As if I haven’t heard that one before. And call me Granny, Willow. And that goes for all of you as well,” She pointedly eyed Richard, Emma, and Serene. Funny, I don’t recall giving her permission to call me by my first name.

“How’s the fundraising going, Granny?” Emma asked, handing Granny a glass from a passing waiter’s tray.

“Oh just wonderful! I only wish Bruce could be here, he always brings in such a haul,” Granny sighed melodramatically.

“He’ll be here. You know Bruce, fashionably late as always,” Rick promised her.

“As if any entrance he made could top Willow’s!” Granny held out her arms, as if she expected a hug from me.

“Thank you,” I nodded awkwardly, holding out my hand to Serene instead.

“Would you care to dance, my love?”

She smiled softly, eyes glittering and reflecting the lights, the bubbles from the champagne, everything in the room all at once. It felt like the whole world was contained in her eyes.

“I would love to.”

I swept her up with the swell of the music, both of us floating across the floor, lost in each other’s arms. And that’s how most of the evening was spent, dancing with my girlfriend to avoid awkward rich people who tried to claim some sort of connection with me in an effort to rebound off the attention I received from entering with Serene. We finally managed to catch Emma and Rick by the appetizer buffet after they’d successfully ditched Miss Goode, loudly laughing at inside jokes to drive away any intruders.

“Bruce is gonna kill me for being so rude,” Emma snorted into her small plate of shrimp.

“Nah, he’ll think it’s hilarious,” Rick said, now on the lookout for anyone making a beeline for our table.

“Dinah’ll be mad, but she won’t go as far as grounding.”

Serene shrugged, “My dad would be the one hiding from everybody.”

We all fell into laughter again, and I waved over the waiter for another flute of champagne.

“This is definitely the most fun I’ve ever had at a gala,” Emma sighed happily.

“Even more than when Mara, Livvy, and Stephanie stole all the cream puffs?”

“I was panicking for half the evening wondering where they were before we found them. Under the bar of all things.”

Richard shrugged. “Miss Serene, would you mind to terribly if I asked you to dance?”

“Oo, watch out, Will, Rick’s gonna steal your girl.”

“As long as you understand that I am taken,” Mister Richard,” Serene giggled, taking his offered hand.

Emma shrugged, the two of us alone at the table with four empty plates, and Carmine Falcone heading straight for us.

“Wanna dance?”

“Thought you’d never ask.” We ducked into the crowd, leaving Falcone scratching his head in our wake so that we were almost laughing too hard to joined in the foxtrot they were playing.

“You look so much happier nowadays,” Emma observed.

I nodded, “Serene says I’m even better now that I’ve started talking to you guys again.”

Emma tilted her head back and forth, “Well that, and you look so much better in a suit than you ever did in a dress.”

I snorted softly, “You sure?”

“Well, it could be a combination of that and you don’t look nearly half as awkward dancing with Serene as you did with Kaldur.

“That was seven years ago! And he was your boyfriend!” Emma giggled as I spun her.

“Are you happy with him?” My tone serious as Emma came back to land in my arms again.

Her face serious, but with a smile slowly etching into the corners of her mouth, Emma nodded. “I love him, Willow. And he loves me too. I see it every day.

“We’re thinking of getting married.”

“Married?” My voice squeaked, too late to stop us from running into six-foot-four Bruce Wayne, immovable and unfazed.

“Bruce,” Emma gave him a quick hug, “How is everything?”

“It’s all well, Emma, Barbara has things well in hand.”

His gaze looked up from his adopted daughter, focusing in on me now. “Miss Lance.”

“Mr. Wayne,” I folded my arms across my chest, as if he were Superman with the x-ray vision and could see right through me.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your dance, Emma, but I need to speak to Willow.”

“Alright,” I shrugged, and leaned back on my right leg.

“Alone, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“I do,” I growled, following him back by the bar. I glanced back over my shoulder, seeing Richard and Serene stopped by Emma, watching me retreat after Bruce.

“Two bourbons, please,” Bruce asked the bartender, taking a seat at the end of the bar, away from the gossiping drunks. A Batman-esque glare was enough to drive anyone else away.

My drink came, but I refused to drink it, watching Bruce drink his first.

“What do you want, Wayne?” I asked.

Bruce downed the last of his glass, but when he went to put it down, he winced and nursed an area by his ribs momentarily.

“Where have you been, Willow?” He asked with a grunt, struggling to breathe evenly.

“STAR Detroit. I’m surprised you don’t know that.” I huffed.

“When you left, you said you needed space. I decided to give you that, so long as you didn’t go crazy and burn down Lexcorp headquarters in Metropolis.”

I was surprised that he’d actually managed to stay in his own business for two years, but annoyed that he thought so little of me. Then again, my tantrums over the teams first few years didn’t give him much reason to.

“So, still in STAR Detroit. I assume with Doctor Silas Stone?”

I glared at him.

“He is the leading expert on alien technology, two fields you are uniquely familiar with. And after all, you are here with his daughter.”

“I thought you said you stayed out of my business.”

“I did, but I make it a point to background check anyone who the league trusts with alien technology such as a Father Box.”

I froze, hand around my glass.

“It was only decided last night. When Jeff returned from deep space after what happened on Rann over the summer, he brought with him a Box Diana and her team had captured from a fleet of parademons they’d fought.”

He held up his phone, showing me security footage one of the Leaguer’s off in space had recorded of a dark Father Box healing a parademon’s half-missing limb and repair the staff he was holding. I felt a surge of pride in my chest noting Doctor Adam Strange in the background, having master his jetpack and his laser gun as he fought alongside Alanna, daughter of his scientist friend.

Bruce only played the clip once, on silent, before hiding it back in his pocket. “When Steel and the Lanterns couldn’t figure out how to make it work, Kaldur decreed that it would go to STAR to be studied. Of course, with Strange in space and Dorado now managing the metahuman youth center, that leaves Doctor Stone. And you, as his brilliant underpaid internist.”

I sighed. “What do you want, Bruce?” I emphasized again. “How do you even know all this? Emma says you quit the League, and so did Ollie.”

“I had a hand in creating every piece of technology that the League uses. I modified everything on the Watchtower myself.

“But this isn’t just for me, Willow, it’s for the League, for Richard and Emma’s team, for all of us still trying to make the world a better place. We don’t know Stone like we know Strange, and we know he’s a little...irrational at times. Rationalizes too much, loses himself in his work. We need you to keep him on track, to keep him from using the Father Box in the wrong way, or at all.”

“What do you think I’ve been trying to do since I became his intern?” I snapped suddenly.

“Excuse me-” I spun about to tell whoever was interrupting us to buzz off, when I saw Ollie smiling at me.

“I’m sure you won’t begrudge me the opportunity to dance with my own daughter, Bruce. Would you?”

Bruce sighed heavily. “Think about it, Willow.” Without gracing Ollie with an answer, he left a sizable tip for the barkeep and disappeared into the crowd.

“What was that all about?” Oliver asked, offering his arm.

“Just Bruce being Bruce,” I sighed.

Oliver chuckled, bringing us into dance position for a waltz, “Figures.”

“Anyone else I should be worried about running into?” I asked, trying to remember the lady’s steps instead of the gentleman’s this time around.

“Well, Granny insisted on inviting Luthor, but he declined, insisting that his focus was needed on the UN’s efforts to eradicate meta-human trafficking.”

The short bark of laughter that painfully tore itself from my chest drew the attention of several other dancing couples for a second.

“You look happy, Willow.”

“I am happy.” I told him.

“I’m glad,” He smiled beneath his dopey goatee, eyes crinkled sadly.

“What about you? Are you and Dinah happy?” I asked.

“That...” He sighed, spinning me around. “That’s a tough question to answer, Willow.”

“Why’d you leave?” I asked, a sudden edge to my voice, “I could’ve told you and Bruce years ago that Luthor was going to make things harder for the League. The people love him too much, you’ve seen it.”

He nodded stoically. “But that doesn’t mean we stop trying, chickadee. When we told you and the team to stay behind in the cave, did you guys listen?”

“No,” I said. I stared down at my feet to make sure I was putting them in the right spots.

He smiled again. “You have a heart for good, and a smart head on your shoulders. You’re going to do whatever you need to make sure that people get the help that they need, in whatever way that may be.

“With the League, we were able to keep reaching people on a wider range, at least for a while. That tsunami in Rhelasia was the last straw for me, personally, and when Bruce offered a way to keep reaching those people, I had to take it.”

“So why didn’t you tell Mom?” I begged, “Olivia called me the night you left the League. She saw Dinah drinking, and she’s terrified that you two are going to get a divorce.”

Oliver’s face was slightly pale in the already white lightning of the dome.

“I’m not sure, chickadee,” Ollie sighed. “I love your mother, I always have. I don’t want to leave her, but she cares about you guys so much, I couldn’t ask her to betray Kaldur. At least until it was too late.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Bruce seems to think you’re still working with the League,” I glared over at the bar, my face hot.

Oliver chuckled, “Bruce thinks a lot of things, not all of them true.”

I sighed, resting my head on his chest.

“What are you thinking now, chickadee?”

I pressed my lips together. “I’m just glad to have a dad again.”

The dance ended, and Oliver kissed my forehead. “I’d love another dance with you, but I think your gal pal is a little anxious to talk to you.” He attempted to grin, and gave me a little push toward Serene, who waited at a table with a glass of champagne and one solitary cream puff.

“May I?” I asked.

She slid the plate towards me with a giggle.

“I spoke with your mom, you know,” She nodded over my shoulder, and saw that Ollie had headed in Dinah’s direction. She stood on the edge of the dance floor, surveying everything while swirling her glass, which had a potent lipstick stain on the rim.

“Did she interrogate you or anything?” I asked.

Serene chuckled, “No, no, she was very nice. In fact, she told me a very fun story?”

“Oh?” I raised my eyebrow at her.

She nodded, smiling slyly. “It had Emma in it too, I think, about the time that she got sick and you tried to make her a pot of soup to make her feel better?”

I shoved the cream puff back her way, hungry no longer. “She swore she would never tell that story.”

Emma and Richard, having a drop too much to drink, danced past us, twirling elegantly. “She comes bearing soup!” Emma laughed.

“You’re all awful and you know I can cook much better now.”

“Yes, but can you make soup?” Richard wiggled his eyebrows before dancing off with his sister again.

Serene giggled, “Is that why you never make soup?”

“Come on,” I took her hand, “Let’s dance over there, there’s more room.” Serene laughed as I led her across the dance floor, and sure enough Emma and Richard followed us, but fortunately for me, not another word was spoken of soup for the rest of the evening.

-------

“She’s very happy,” Oliver said as he approached Dinah.

“I can tell,” Dinah said stiffly.

Oliver gently lifted the glass from her hand, letting a waiter take it away, before bringing his wife onto the dance floor. Though she didn’t resist, she seemed determined to stare at the floor, at the ceiling, at the bar, anywhere but at his face.

“I spoke to Serene. She’s a brilliant woman, and she loves Willow very much.”

“Dinah, we’ve been married for almost ten years now. When are we going to talk to each other?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Dinah quipped.

“Dinah,” his hand left her back, coming up to hold her cheek, “I couldn’t ask you to leave the kids.”

“You could have told me what you were planning.”

“I could have, and I should have.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

It was Ollie’s turn to look away. Across the room, Willow and Serene were spinning around, and emma was probably recording it on her phone.

“It was Bruce’s idea, of course.”

“Since when do you listen to Bruce?” Dinah huffed.

“He had some pretty good reasons. He was asking each of his potential recruits one on one, and he didn’t want them to join just because of peer pressure. And he never said it outright, but I don’t think he wanted Kaldur to get wind of it either.”

“Why not? We don’t have the power to keep people from leaving the League.”

Oliver shrugged. “And this one’s more personal, but I didn’t want you knowing that I was leaving to drive us apart so soon.”

“Some good that did,” Oliver spun Dinah around, bringing her back around to land in his arms.

They stopped dancing.

Dinah gripped his lapels. “I...I know that you look out for the little guy. You always have. That’s why I fell for you in the first place.”

She held up one finger to keep him from interrupting, “I can’t leave the League. You’re right. I won’t abandon Kaldur when so much has already gone south for us.”

She glanced over at Willow and the others, “And second, you need to talk to me. No matter what, if we really love each other, we can’t be keeping things like this from each other.”

“Deal. Anything else you’d like to get off your chest, Pretty Bird?”

A wicked grin etched itself into Dinah’s mouth. “Oh, I can think of a few things, Mr. Green.”

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callumturncr · 6 years

Text

A Different Path [Sirius Black AU] - Part 1

Summary: Post-graduation AU in which the reader, Lily and The Marauders have just joined the Order of the Phoenix. As tensions are at its highest in the First Wizarding War, the reader, who likes Sirius Black more than she would like to admit, is framed for the murder of Marlene McKinnon.

Parts: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8

Gif is not mine. Words: 2k.

A soft whoosh signaled that she’d arrived. Stepping out of the bright green flames that had transported her to the Ministry of Magic, Y/N gazed around in wonder at the Atrium. Many wizards and witches poured into the hall through the many ornate fireplaces lining the corridor and in the center, a few feet away stood a towering fountain. As much as she wanted to go over to inspect it further, one look at her watch told her she was later than she would’ve liked to be on her first day. Heels clicking on the polished floor, she set off for Level 2 which was home to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

As she walked, Y/N tugged subconsciously at her new, midnight blue robes. It had been a few months since she’d graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and she missed her friends desperately (despite having seen her closest friend, Lily Evans, only last week). Her pace quickened with the prospect of meeting them all again and in no time, she was standing in front of the particular chamber Dumbledore had instructed her to come to. Straightening her robes once more, she pushed open the door.

The chamber itself was quite small for the Ministry’s standards and the paintings of previous ministers hanging on the walls dwarfed it even more. Y/N shuddered with the realization she could probably name most of them – thanks to her incredibly tedious History of Magic lessons back at Hogwarts. At the far end stood a table piled with food and hovering next to it stood a redhead she knew all too well, along with James Potter. A voice called out for her as she started towards them.

“Y/N!”

Turning around, she saw none other than a beaming Sirius Black striding towards her.

“Hello Sirius,” she said as she returned his smile. “You look well.”

Once he was close enough to see her properly, he stopped in his tracks. His dark grey eyes gave her a once over before an even larger grin came over his face.

“Your hair.”

Y/N rolled her eyes before nodding at him. It had taken Lily the better part of an hour to convince her to do something different – and permanent – with it when they had stopped at a Muggle salon so Lily could get a haircut. Y/N had insisted that there was no need to go in the first place, she could cut Lily’s hair herself but the latter had insisted using magic was dangerous, let alone wandless magic (which Y/N was quite accomplished at). Besides, Lily had said, you’ll be able to see the Muggle world, you’re always saying you want to!

One of Sirius’ fingers curled around the ends; now carmine red and bleeding up into black. Playfully tugging he said, “Pretty. It suits you.”

Y/N turned her head before he could see her flush and instead tugged his arm so they could make their way to where Lily and James were still standing. James smiled as he caught sight of them.

“Hey you two. Dumbledore is about to start speaking soon. Y/N here, have a muffin,” he handed one to her and batted away Sirius’ hand as he reached out to take one. “Piss off Sirius. You’ve had five already.”

“Have not! You wouldn’t know anyways you’ve been here the entire time talking to Evans–”

“Let’s find our seats guys,” interjected Lily and she steered James away, Sirius and Y/N following suit. They sat down near the front, joined by Remus and Peter. The latter seemed a little jittery which was quite different compared to how confident he acted at Hogwarts, she thought. As much as she tried to hide it, Y/N didn’t like Peter Pettigrew and she could never pinpoint for what exact reason this was. Always hiding in Sirius and James’ shadow, Pettigrew had vigorously cheered on their treatment of Severus Snape (the former two however had grown well out of their ways). As incredibly unpleasant as Snape was, no one deserved to be bullied, although taking Remus’ lane and staying out of it herself hadn’t been much better either.

“Welcome,” boomed the voice of Albus Dumbledore, cutting short her train of thought.

“I thank you all for joining me here today and for agreeing to be a part of the Order of the Phoenix. What we are trying to achieve here will be extremely trying not to mention dangerous; you will all be given as much responsibility as the Ministry places on its Aurors.” In her peripheral vision she thought she saw Sirius perk up because Marlene McKinnon had just walked in. Slightly late and looking sheepish, she slid into the chair next to Y/N, who shot her a smile before returning her attention to Dumbledore.

“As all of you know, dark times lie ahead. Lord Voldemort gains more and more supporters every day and has the backing of most ancient pure-blood families in the wizarding world. I advise constant vigilance to all of you and once again, thank you for your contribution to the Order.”

Lily was muttering something about Dumbledore’s speech but before Y/N could turn to hear properly, another voice called out.

“All the Hogwarts students come to me!”

It was Alastor Moody. Glancing around at her group of friends, Y/N was relieved to see all of them looking just as baffled. Slowly, they shuffled over to where he was standing.

“Dumbledore has placed you all directly under me,” he began gruffly. As he spoke, he looked around the circle as if sizing them all up. “These first few weeks I will send you to sort out minor inconveniences to the Ministry. I want no fooling around.” He eyed James and Sirius specifically. “I may send you on these tasks alone or with a partner. You will report back to me on whatever you find at the scene.”

“He’s brilliant you know,” Sirius leaned over to whisper, “Caught almost all of the Death Eaters they’ve put in Azkaban so far. Best Auror the Ministry has right now.”

“Black!”

Sirius’ eyes snapped back to Moody. Y/N froze, terrified. With his stark black robes and stiff posture, he reminded her largely of Professor McGonagall but even stricter (which Y/N didn’t think was even possible). While her old teacher had put up with Sirius, this was the Ministry and she expected Moody to be furious at him for interrupting. Even James looked at his friend with wide eyes.

“Sorry Sir, I was just–”

“Since you’re so eager, you can go to the first house Crouch wants checked. And take your friend with you,” he barked. His hasty look made Y/N snap out of her state.

“O-of course Sir. We’ll go right away,” Y/N gave a quick nod before pulling Sirius away. They walked at brisk pace, out of the chamber and back down to Level Eight where the Atrium was. Y/N gave him a light shove as he stepped into the green flames.

“I can’t believe you got us into trouble on the first day!”

As the familiar feeling of being forced through a sinkhole engulfed them both, she thought she heard him laughing.

“How was your holiday?” she asked as they walked.

“Very good actually. Better now that we don’t have school anymore and I didn’t have to go back to see my family,” answered Sirius, smiling bitterly.

Y/N nodded and then to diffuse some tension, poked Sirius in the side and added, “And because of Marlene. Lily tells me you guys were barely out of each other’s company for more than a few days.”

A blush came over his cheeks and he gave her a good natured shove.

“That too, yes,” he paused. “How come you didn’t come over to James’ that day? Lily said you weren’t feeling well but you wrote to me only two days before saying everything was fine.”

Y/N hadn’t gone because she had been unsure whether to join the Order in the first place. The shame had risen in her throat like bile with the realisation and there was no way of avoiding the topic if she’d gone to James’. More than that, she wasn’t sure she could’ve faced seeing Sirius and Marlene together. Of course, Lily knew all this and had simply made an excuse but Y/N couldn’t reveal this now.

“I… I just wanted sometime to myself to really think if… if this is what I want to do.” She fiddled with her fingers as she avoided looking at him. “At Hogwarts I threw myself into my studies because I was convinced the Auror career path was the one I wanted to take. When Dumbledore told me about the Order, I was hesitant to agree.”

It wasn’t a complete lie, what she told him. Sirius didn’t say anything and only stared at her intently, prompting her to continue.

“You guys knew immediately that you wanted to join, no matter how dangerous. I– I don’t know if it has anything to do with you all being in Gryffindor or anything but I just wanted to think it through before I agreed and...”

Sirius had reached out to squeeze her hand. The action startled Y/N for a second but she recovered quickly enough so he wouldn’t notice. “Seeing all of you guys again before I agreed to come would’ve made me choose this just for my friends you know? To be together with all of you and I didn’t want that to be the only reason.”

“I understand.” She had never heard his voice this soft. “And you don’t have to justify it Y/N, I just wanted to know if you were okay.”

Y/N opened her mouth to carry on but Sirius beat her to it.

“It’s got nothing to do with houses either. I know you’ve felt out of place being the only Hufflepuff among us but your reaction was normal. I… I also reconsidered after agreeing.”

Sirius was glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, like he feared her judgment. Y/N tried not to let her surprise show on her face.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. This Order stuff is like Dumbledore said, Auror work without all the training and I didn’t know if I was good enough to do it. My mother’s voice in my head certainly reminded me.”

“Sirius that’s– that’s rubbish. You were one of the best students in our year – top grades as well as mastering non-verbal magic, you were the one who taught me remember? And you became an Animagi, albeit illegally. Even McGonagall said you were at the top which is very high praise,” he rolled his eyes playfully as she continued.

“You will be good at this, I know you will. And if you ever have doubts again just imagine the look on your mother’s face when she finds out you’ve gone and joined an organization that wants to protect Muggle-borns.”

It was at this stage she realized that Sirius still had not let go of her hand. Looking up at him, Y/N saw that he was grinning.

“That is a very impressive list. Do you often think of my accomplishments to know them off by heart like that?”

Y/N snatched her hand back and poked him in the ribs hard. Sirius’ loud laugh echoed around the neighborhood.

“Only teasing Y/N, you know how much–”

She cut him off with a huff.

“I think this is the house.”

Sirius spoke again before she could knock.

“Thank you Y/N. You how much it means to me. This is year is going to be fun.”

“Of course,” she replied curtly. “Living in mortal peril is always fun. I should know, I was a first-hand witness of your pranks.”

“Always the responsible one. Maybe it is a house thing–”

“Sirius!”

Chuckling, he raised a hand to knock and Y/N shook her head as he greeted the woman that opened the door.

It was going to be a long year.

#sirius black #sirius black imagine #sirius black imagines #sirius black x reader #sirius black au #sirius x reader #sirius x you #sirius black fanfiction #marauders era #harry potter #harry potter imagine #harry potter imagines #harry potter fanfiction #sirius black fanfictions #my writing

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douxreviews · 5 years

Text

Gotham - ‘Ruin’ Review

Zsasz: "I did not make that building go boom Jim!"

After two sufficient episodes, and one jerry-built episode, 'Ruin' delivers easily the best chapter so far of Season 5's no man's land arc, jam-packing all of Gotham's best qualities on the front lines.

Last week, an unknown assailant bombed Haven, the refuge taken over by the GCPD to protect the civilians still trapped within the city. Gordon has no suspect at the moment, but an act as broad as this means it could really be anybody. And very understandably, Gordon's redundant speeches are not enough this time to quell the survivors' fear and rage. But at long last, Season 5 continues to give me glimpses of a more valiant and sympathetic side to Gordon as he struggles to keep the morale of his fellow officers intact, and works urgently to protect as many individuals as he can in the immediate wake of Haven's bombing.

Though 'Ruin' is still split into two separate subplots like previous episodes, the narrative of 'Ruin' has a more orderly flow to it, simply because Gotham is taking advantage of one of its most prominent gifts - its cast. Rather than having each character more allocated to their individual stories (or even worse a crime, just not having them show up at all), they are all in some way or another either involved in the search for the Haven bomber, or they're involved in the continuing pursuit of Jeremiah Valeska. Characters that have felt neglected lately, such as Nygma, Lucius, Alfred and Jeremiah, now all get at least one opportunity to be dubbed 'scene-stealer' in 'Ruin'.

Because he lost men in the bombing too, Oswald proposes a truce with Gordon so that they may combine resources and bring the bomber to justice. Since the premiere of Season 5, I've felt that Oswald should have started off this year from the get-go working alongside the GCPD. And the reason for that is because Season 4 made it a point to establish that Oswald, by comparison to other rouges, possesses a more sane and logical approach to his criminal activity. Oswald simply needs order and structure to run a prosperous criminal empire. The chaotic antics orchestrated by the Valeska brothers in Season 4 that upset the established order of Gotham's municipal formation goes very much against Oswald's rule of thumb, which was why he was so quick to turn on Jerome too. But since this alliance was likely an inevitably anyway, it's a mere nitpick for me. (That being said, it was a really dumb move for Oswald to give away his and the GCPD's position through a bullhorn when they were pursuing their suspect. Even Tony Stark, the guy who gave his home address out in a video threat to a terrorist, would see that and shake his head in stupefaction.)

Oswald and the GCPD follow up on a tip given by Barbara which leads them to none other than Victor Zsasz. Of all the characters that could flourish in no man's land, I've been especially curious this season to see the shenanigans of the gunslinger Zsasz. Anthony Carrigan's comedic take on Zsasz, reinterpreting the character more as a fusion between Deadpool and the Man with No Name, has made him one of the series' best guest-appearance characters. That being said, after Season 3 and his consistent failures to assassinate Gordon per Carmine Falcone's decree despite talking up a storm about how no one ever sees him coming, I can't say I buy Zsasz's gloating in the precinct when he assures Gordon and Bullock he didn't bomb Haven; Zsasz's reasoning is that if it was him, there'd be no survivors. I'm sure a shopping cart with one bad wheel is more fruitful than Zsasz with a firearm.

Oswald remains vengeful towards Zsasz for selling him out to Sofia Falcone last year and believes that Zsasz's denial means nothing, and that the blatherskite should be executed, a decision that is met with unanimous approval from Haven's survivors in the style of a kangaroo court (one reminiscent of Scarecrow's own hearings from The Dark Knight Rises). I always appreciate these tiny callbacks like Oswald still bitter towards Zsasz, or a desecrated 'Make Gotham Safe Again' campaign poster from Season 3 appearing in the streets, because it keeps each season from feeling disjointed from the others, and given how many writers Gotham has had staffed over the years, that feature comes up time and again. But because one does not simply kill Victor Zsasz, Gordon decides the 'innocent until proven guilty' doctrine still needs to be upheld, and frees Zsasz. Whether it's to repay the favor, or maybe because he realizes Gordon is essential to Gotham's rebuilding, Zsasz chooses afterwards to not kill off Gordon either. Because Zsasz routinely comes and goes throughout the series, this may be the very last we see of him, and so I felt it was a nice way for him and Gordon to part there - both have come quite a ways since the days of Season 1 where Zsasz was always aiming something lethal at Gordon's head.

Meanwhile, Ed Nygma continues meager efforts to understand the nature of his blackouts. For weeks, I had given up wondering if Gotham was going to give us any hints at all about Nygma's arc this season, and instead decided that maybe his story was appropriately meant to be a riddle itself. We finally get some answers to Nygma in 'Ruin' that completely revolutionize the way we'll look at all of Season 5. In his quest to follow up on a clue he had left himself, Nygma is bargained with by Lucius Fox to help him and the GCPD understand the nature of Haven's bombing. Nygma agrees, and before long, the two concur that the assailant used a rocket launcher from the outside to ignite the initial explosion within Haven. We haven't seen Fox and Nygma interact with each other since Season 3's 'How The Riddler Got His Name', and I very much enjoy their energy and possibly even dormant affinity for each other. I suspect that in another timeline where Nygma never went down a path of crime and corruption, he and Fox would have probably worked well alongside each other within the GCPD.

Also contrary to what I thought might have been Nygma's shtick this season, he actually doesn't play up the 'I've-lost-my-marbles' mindset at all this episode, instead returning to the traits of egoism and lacing riddles throughout his speech, a pleasant blend almost between the old Ed and Riddler. Following his and Fox's teamup, Nygma examines the rooftop Haven's bomber must have fired from, and notices an old lady watching him from her apartment across the street. From her, Nygma is horrified to learn that he himself is Haven's bomber (and most likely the one who also fired upon the Wayne Enterprises chopper back in the season premiere). Why Nygma is routinely shifting between alternate consciousnesses we don't know yet, but I would definitely chalk this twist up to one of Gotham's best. If not for Season 5 preparing to introduce Bane, as well as keeping Jeremiah Valeska in the spotlight, I would raise my hopes much higher for the possibility that Riddler in fact is Season 5's main antagonist. It would keep in line with the showrunners' claim that the 'Zero Year' comic inspires much of Season 5, and I personally feel we haven't really seen Riddler yet as a force to be reckoned with, at least not since the end of Season 3.

The other subplot of 'Ruin' is Bruce and Alfred pursuing Selina, simply because Bruce believes if she kills Jeremiah, it may change her for the worse. It's another amusing detail for me that this is where Bruce draws the line in regards to Selina's internal metamorphoses, yet had no problem giving her a plant with atrocious side effects Ivy advertised quite clearly. Though Bruce and Alfred both get past goons working for Jeremiah, in a manner much like how Batman will ambush his foes in the future, they are too late to stop Selina from fatally stabbing Jeremiah. Or so it would seem.

This was the most irking feature of 'Ruin' for me, and it's not even a fault of the episode - it's a fault of the marketing. Early trailers and promos for Season 5 have clearly shown additional footage of Jeremiah that we haven't gotten to yet in this season, so I don't know why Gotham suddenly thinks they can pull the wool over our eyes, and try to convince us Jeremiah is as deceased as a girlfriend of Spider-Man's who took too hard a fall off the George Washington Bridge. Personally, my money is on Clayface actually being the one Selina made quick work of. He's been absent from the series since Season 3 as well, and would also be a welcome character to see return to the final season.

Right now, I'm still skeptical if the series can follow-up with an episode that lives up to the momentum that was 'Ruin', but I don't say that as if it's a difficult thing for Gotham to accomplish. You have an incredibly talented cast and array of characters that you understand in and out Gotham - savor that while you still can, because it's a fortunate feature for any show to have.

Other Thoughts:

• Gordon tackling Zsasz head-on is a pretty amusing visual, but also another quick and snappy showcase of his increasingly appealing valor.

• Will we ever get to hear Jeremiah laugh? We all know Cameron Monaghan is very capable of the deed, it's a talent that needs to be made the most out of. It'd be like a movie casting James Spader for a role that doesn't require him to talk - indefensible!

• 'Ruin' ends with a sudden cliffhanger showing renewed romantic interest between Gordon and Barbara. Not sure why these two suddenly have the hots for each other again, but with the revelation that Barbara will have some major news for Gordon in one of the oncoming episodes, I guess it's fair that the show needed to pave the road to Barbara Gordon/Batgirl somehow. I don't quite think showing a stork deliver her to Gordon's doorstep in a basket is going to cut it for viewers.

Aaron Studer loves spending his time reading, writing and defending the existence of cryptids because they can’t do it themselves.

#Gotham #Bruce Wayne #James Gordon #Oswald Cobblepot #Selina Kyle #Harvey Bullock #Edward Nygma #DC Comics #Batman #Gotham Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews

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lfthinkerwrites · 6 years

Text

A Riddle for a Bat, pt. 7

Title: A Riddle for a Bat

Fandom: Batman

Pairing: Riddlebat

Rating: T, for canon violence and hostage situation.

Chapter Summary: Bruce and Edward go to pay Falcone's driver a visit, but an incident there significantly affects their relationship.

Previous Chapters: 1/2/3/4/5/6

AO3 Link

The two were barely back in the Batmobile when Nigma began to recite information about the suspected mole. "Mark Cragen, age 37. He's been employed as Carmine Falcone's driver for the past ten years. Address is 4525 Avenue D, apartment 1505, Gotham Starlight Apartments Gotham City."

Bruce nodded as he programmed the address into he onboard Batcomputer. He could see Nigma staring gleefully at it out of the corner of his eye. He did seem to have developed a fondness for his tech in the last few hours. As soon as he was done, Bruce fired the engines on the Batmobile and it took off. Bruce considered the information Nigma gave him. "Gotham Starlight Apartments. That's in the Downtown interior. Pretty fancy neighborhood for a driver."

He heard Nigma chuckle a bit. "Quite. Which makes one wonder, how exactly he affords it."

"Thorne's been paying him off," Bruce said. He almost smiled a bit, before he caught himself. As much as he enjoyed working with Dick, it was almost refreshing to be partnered with someone who was more of an equal, rather than an apprentice. Nigma certainly kept him on his toes. "What else do you know about him?"

Nigma hummed a bit. "I happen to know from a reliable source that he also has a bit of a gambling habit. Gotham Racetracks, every Thursday afternoon. He regularly spends a few hundred dollars betting the ponies."

"Which is probably how he made contact with Thorne. He's been running the racetracks for years." They were at a red light now. Bruce turned to glance at Nigma and was surprised to see him looking back, genuine admiration on his face.

"Well done. I may let you join my detective agency at this rate."

Bruce scoffed. "I'm afraid I'll have to pass."

Nigma shrugged. "It was worth a shot." He chuckled again. "Trading barbs with the Dark Knight himself. And to think, Nina and Deirdre never thought this would happen."

Nigma seemed to be in a good mood. Perhaps he'd be a bit more receptive to questions. "How did you meet those two? On another case?"

Bruce detected a faint flush form on Nigma's face. "Not exactly," he said. He sighed. "I suppose I can tell you. Back when I first joined GCPD, a few of the more boorish of my former colleagues thought I needed to 'loosen up' a bit, so they took me to a strip club." Bruce watched the other man fidget with his sleeve a bit. "I was in my twenties at the time, I wasn't quite so-I didn't quite have the nerve to tell them-I wasn't out yet." He gave Bruce a furtive look, almost as if he was afraid that he'd pull over and toss him out of the car.

"Ah," Bruce said and he felt relief as Nigma visibly relaxed. To tell the truth, he'd had his suspicions back at the party. He had to stop himself from shaking his head. Poor Ronnie, once again falling for someone completely unattainable.

"Well, anyway," Nigma continued. "The lot of them pooled a few hundred together and got me a private room with Deirdre. As it turned out, she was about as interested in men as I am in women. We spent a half hour talking with each other, mostly about how idiotic my colleagues were." He smiled in earnest. "She introduced me to Nina a few days later and we've been as thick as thieves since."

Bruce nodded. "So it's not purely professional. It's a genuine friendship."

Nigma turned to give him an arch look. "Is that so surprising?" He shrugged when Bruce didn't answer. "I suppose I've always been attracted to more unconventional types. I find them much more stimulating than the average person. You must be too, I think. Why else would you do what you do?"

"I do what I do for the good of this city," Bruce said immediately. "Not because I enjoy it."

Nigma scoffed. "You regularly face off against mobsters, people with extraordinary conditions and powers and a psychotic clown, all while dressed up like a bat. You can't tell me you don't enjoy it just a little bit."

Bruce didn't answer as he considered Nigma's words. He couldn't deny that there was a part of him that was exhilarated whenever he sped off in the Batmobile, that was proud whenever he'd solved a challenging case, that was excited when he used his grappling hook to fly through the night sky. He knew how much Dick enjoyed the life, for the same reasons. Despite this, Bruce never lost sight of what he stood for, of why Gotham needed a Batman. He'd lived that reality when he was eight. "I don't think you do what you do purely for the enjoyment," he said finally. "You must have had the greater good in mind at some point. Wasn't that why you joined GCPD in the first place?"

Nigma's smile turned into a dark scowl. "I was naive once," he said. "I won't be making that mistake again."

"What happened to you?" Bruce probed. "Why did you leave GCPD?"

"Why are you so fixated on that?" Nigma asked, his voice becoming almost venomous. "What does it matter, who I used to be? How is it relevant to the case at hand? I'm not about to start asking you why you started wearing that cape and cowl!"

Bruce's eyes narrowed. "It matters because it's what's been motivating you to take down Thorne. " When Nigma didn't respond, he tried in a softer tone, "Did Loeb or Thorne threaten you? Push you out?"

Nigma for a long time said nothing. Then he spoke so softly that Bruce almost couldn't hear him. "They didn't do anything to me." Bruce was about to ask him more when he folded his arms and pointedly turned to look out the passenger window. "I'm not talking about this anymore."

Bruce sighed, then turned back to concentrate on the road ahead of them. Whatever had happened at GCPD, it was apparent just how badly it had hurt Nigma. It had embittered him to the point that he'd changed his own last name in order to sever his connection to his past. Bruce wondered for a moment who Edward Nigma had been before that, or rather, who Edward Nashton had been. He was beginning to regret that he hadn't known that man. Finally, he caught sight of their destination. "We're here," he said.

He pulled the Batmobile into the parking lot across the street from the twenty story building that was Gotham Starlight Apartments. He unbuckled his seatbelt and pressed the button that opened the hood of the car, allowing himself to get out. Nigma followed him out, not making eye contact. "Be careful," Bruce said. "He may be expecting us."

Nigma rolled his eyes. "I do know how to conduct myself around suspects, thank you very much." He pushed past Bruce without making eye contact. Bruce frowned. So he'd decided to be difficult. Wonderful. He followed Nigma to the front door of the building. Bruce checked his watch. It was 2:00 am. Only a resident with a fob would be able to get in at this hour. Normally, he'd simply grapple his way up and go in through a window, but somehow he doubted Nigma would approve of going airborne. Instead, when he approached the locked door, he pulled out a device from a pocket on his belt. "What's that?" he heard Nigma ask. It seemed that his natural curiosity won out over his sullenness.

"It's a device to disrupt the time lock on the door," Bruce explained, placing it on the handle. The device lit up for a few seconds, then beeped before the door popped open. Nigma sniffed.

"Well done. If you want to do things the easy way, I suppose." He entered through the open door and walked towards the elevators without a look back. Bruce followed, shutting the door behind them. He made it to the elevator just as it was about to shut and stood next to Nigma, neither man speaking or even looking at the other. It was a long elevator ride to the 15th floor. As soon as the door opened, Nigma was out, taking a right turn down a hallway. Bruce followed, taking note of their surroundings. It was quiet and the hallway was empty, as Bruce suspected it would be given the hour. The denizens of this part of Gotham were either asleep or still out.

Suddenly, Nigma paused before him. Bruce caught up to him, his guard up. "What is it?"

Nigma pointed at the apartment in front of him. The door was wide open. Bruce stepped forward, a Batarang at the ready. "Stay behind me," he whispered. He stepped forward through the open door and into a living room. In the center of the room, in a pool of blood, lay the body of a white man. As Bruce took cautious steps closer, he saw two bullet wounds on the man's chest. No doubt this was Mark Cragen, Falcone's driver.

"No, no no no no!" He heard Nigma hiss out behind him. "Damn it!" The other man stomped his foot. "This was our best chance to get Thorne! Now there's no way to link him!"

"Thorne must have thought that too," Bruce said. He crouched down to get a closer look at the body. "He probably sent the same man who attacked Falcone at the hospital to make sure Cragen couldn't talk." He'd probably done the same to any informants he had in Maroni's camp as well.

"Wonderful," Nigma spat out. "I'm going to search his room to see if I can't salvage something out of this." Bruce watched the man walk past him and down a hallway to the left. If there was any evidence linking Cragen to Thorne, the killer had probably already taken it. The real evidence would be left on the body. Bruce moved his fingers to examine the wounds. .38 caliber, same as the gun the attacker at the hospital used. Then he took a closer look. The wounds were still bleeding.

Bruce moved his fingers to the pulse point on the dead man's neck. There was no pulse of course, but the body was still warm. The man had died only minutes ago. Bruce got up to his feet. The apartment was at the end of the hallway and he and Nigma hadn't seen anyone else in between getting off the elevator and arriving here. Either the killer had gone down the stairs-

Or he was still here.

Bruce ran down the hallway towards the bedroom. "Nigma!" he shouted. In seconds, he'd made it to the man's bedroom, only to stop dead in his tracks. He was too late. Before him stood the blond man from the hospital, one gloved hand covering Nigma's mouth. The other, holding a gun to his temple. Nigma's green eyes were wide and he looked Bruce beseechingly. The man gave Bruce a crooked smile. "I see you got a new partner, Batman. What happened to Robin?" He smirked a bit. "Did I kill him?"

Bruce's eyes narrowed and he stepped forward. "Let. Him. Go."

The man took a step back, shaking his head a bit. "No, I don't think so. You take another step forward, and I'll blow his brains out." Nigma struggled a bit to get out of the man's hold, but the killer only dropped his hand from his mouth to wrap his forearm around his neck. Bruce froze. If what had happened at the hospital was any indication, the man was serious. The killer laughed. "That's a good rodent. Now, hold your hands up where I can see them."

"Don't!" Nigma shouted. "Just take him out!"

"Sounds like your partner's got a bit of a death wish," the killer said.

"More like I've seen more hostage situations in this Godforsaken town than you've killed people," Nigma shot back. "If you kill me, what exactly is stopping Batman from breaking every bone in your body?"

The killer's smirk fell as he considered this. While this was happening, Bruce's hand slowly crept to the reverse Batarang he kept on his leftmost utility belt pocket. He'd used it before in situations like this. He just needed Nigma to keep the killer distracted for a few moments more-

The killer smirked again and began dragging Nigma towards two windowed doors on the far left side of the room. Bruce followed his movements and his own eyed widened when he realized what they were. A balcony. They were on the 15th floor. The killer pushed through them, dragging Nigma outside and Bruce quickly followed. The killer was now alongside the balcony railing, Nigma on his right side, only inches away from being over the railing. He was looking down, his eyes large as saucers. "Your partner's got a pretty smart mouth," the killer said. "Tell me: can he fly too?" Then he gave Nigma a short, sharp shove and the private detective tipped over the railing and off the building with a piercing cry.

Bruce vaulted over the railing a second later and dove down, headfirst. Nigma was free-falling, his arms outstretched. Bruce in his vertical dive was catching up to him, but three floors had gone by. 12 more. Another second, and he'd caught up to Nigma, grabbing hold of the man. Three more stories had passed by. 9 more. "Hold on!" he shouted and Nigma complied, throwing his arms around his torso. Bruce angled them so that his body was facing the ever approaching ground and pulled out his grappling hook. 5 more stories. He had to get this right. He took aim and fired back up towards the balcony railing. 3 more stories. The hook met its target and the pair were suddenly vaulted back up. Nigma's grip tightened even more onto Bruce. As soon as the balcony railing was in sight, Bruce grabbed a hold with one hand, the other hand tossing Nigma back onto the safety of the balcony. As soon as he was sure Nigma was on solid ground, Bruce pulled himself over the railing and back on the balcony. He took a quick look. The killer was long gone, as he suspected. He might still catch him if he jumped back down toward the street-

Then he caught a glimpse of Nigma and froze. The man was curled up onto his side, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps. Bruce immediately went to his side. "Nigma?" he asked. "Are you alright?"

Nigma couldn't answer him at first. "I can't-I can't breathe-I can't-"

Bruce realized he was having a panic attack. He looked back to the street. He couldn't leave Nigma in a state like this. He gently brought his hand to Nigma's back and rubbed it. "Deep breaths," he said. "Take deep breaths. You're alright."

"What time is it when an elephant sits on your fence?" Nigma gasped out.

Bruce frowned. "What?"

Nigma took another deep gasp of breath. "Ask me a riddle," he said. "Helps me when I get like this. What time is it when an elephant sits on your fence?"

Bruce nodded. "Time to get a new fence," he said. "Where does a 500-pound gorilla sit?"

"Anywhere it wants," Nigma answered. He began to gasp again. "I thought I was going to die-"

"But you didn't," Bruce said, continuing to rub his back. "Deep breaths, Edward. Mr. Smith has four daughters. Each of them has a brother. How many children does he have?"

"Five," Edward answered. He turned to look at him. "Did-did you just call me 'Edward'?"

Bruce didn't acknowledge the question. "Feed me and I live. Give me water and I die. What am I?"

"Fire," Edward answered. His breath had slowed down and he slowly rolled over onto his back.

"Are you alright?" Bruce asked.

Edward nodded. "I'm getting there."

"Has this happened before?"

Edward shook his head. "Not since GCPD. I can usually manage it better." He'd lost his hat in the fall, but otherwise, Edward didn't look the worse for wear. Edward pushed himself up to a sitting position. "The killer-"

"He's gone by now," Bruce said. "Relax, Edward."

"No!" He shouted. "That was our best lead! How could you let him just get away?"

"You were falling to your death," Bruce said bluntly. "Saving you was more important."

Edward's mouth dropped open at that. He looked up at Bruce with a strange wonder in his eyes. The smug, preening persona of the private detective was gone and now Bruce suspected he was beginning to see bits of the true man, of Edward Nashton. Edward groaned and shook his head. "I don't believe it. I'm not partnered with you for a few hours and I've already been a damsel in distress. The girls will never let me live it down."

"You'll live," Bruce said. He got up to his feet and picked Edward up, carrying him in a bridal hold back into the apartment. The other man flushed a bit but otherwise offered no resistance. "What happened to your cane?"

"I must have dropped it when our homicidal friend grabbed me," he answered. Bruce set him down on the bed for a moment, then scanned the room. He saw the cane laying on the floor just past the doorway and grabbed it, handing it back to Edward without a word. "Thank you," Edward said. "What now?"

"I'm taking you home," Bruce said. "I think you've had enough excitement for one evening."

Edward's eyes narrowed. "The patronizing is not welcome," he said. Then his shoulders slumped. "But you're right. I have things I need to see to tomorrow anyway." He looked back up at Bruce. "This isn't the end of our partnership, is it?"

Bruce should probably say yes. There were still many unanswered questions he had though. And there were things he wanted to know about Edward. "No," he said and a part of him was happy at the look of relief on Edward's face. "I'm not taking you to high rise buildings again though."

Edward shot him a sardonic look. "I am just lucky, I guess."

Instead of an apartment building, Edward directed him back to his office. "Do you live in your office?" Bruce found himself asking as he followed Edward into the building.

"No," Edward answered. "The floor above it. Cramped, but functional." Bruce followed him up the stairs and into a small apartment. Bruce eyed it critically. Cramped was a bit of an understatement. It wasn't quite a studio apartment, as there was a hallway that presumably led to a bedroom and bathroom, but he could barely detect where the boundary lines between the kitchen and the living room. There were unused rooms in Wayne Manor that were bigger than this.

Edward opened a closet and removed his green jacket before hanging it up. "I really did like that hat," he mourned. "Oh well." He walked past Bruce towards his kitchen. "I need a drink. Do you want anything?"

"No," Bruce answered. "I won't be here long." While Edward was occupied in the kitchen, Bruce's eyes happened to go to his round dining room table. On it was various newspaper clippings, mostly of Thorne and Bruce himself. He raised an eyebrow at the dates on some of the clippings. Just how long had Edward been interested in meeting him? Besides the clippings was an open planner. Bruce could make out a few events in Edward's messy handwriting, but one, in particular, caught his attention. LUNCH WITH KRISTEN. WEDNESDAY, 1:30. That was today's date. Bruce remembered the third set of initials on Edward's whiteboard. K.K. Was this Kristen K.K.? He thought about looking through the planner when he heard Edward's footsteps walking back towards him. Bruce looked up to see the other man running his hand through his now messy auburn hair awkwardly.

"By the way," Edward said. "Thank you. For saving me."

"You're welcome," Bruce said. He turned to leave when Edward's voice called him back.

"What now?"

Bruce considered this. "I need to speak with Maroni," he said. "When you're up to it, ask your Maroni sources if they've heard anything unusual. If there's any chance Thorne's informants in Maroni's gang are still alive, we need to find them. I'll be in touch."

Edward nodded. "Well...good night then, I guess."

Bruce left without another word.

As soon as he was back in the Batmobile, Bruce radioed Wayne Manor. "Dick? Are you still awake?"

"Sleep is overrated," came Dick's reply. "So. How did the new partner work out?"

"It was...an interesting experience. There's someone I need you to look up."

"Shoot."

"See if you can find any information about a Kristen linked with Edward Nashton."

#a riddle for a bat #riddlebat #they're progressing!#finally!

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