#also i promise i have other jokes for shadow other than putting him in shirts

[sonicboomseason3]

I have an episode idea!

Ok so basically it’s about Shadow deciding to participate in a game show for some reason (my guess either for ego inflating reasons or a prize of some sort like a large sum of money or an ancient mech), but he doesn’t have anyone to fill out his local edgelord duties for him while he’s gone, he can’t have Sonic fill in for him, heavens no, he thinks Tails is like 3 and too young for the job, Sticks is too insane, Amy too pink I guess? And Knuckles is Knuckles. So who does he ask? Silver the hedgehog (and possibly Mephiles too), hilarity ensues.

ALKSDJLAJLFSJALJ HEY THIS COULD ACTUALLY BE AN IDEA i have some thoughts on how to expand upon this concept...... and so i created what you see below instead of making bullet points like a normal person

(takes place sometime after this post and this post)

. . .

"...and because I'm getting paid below minimum wage at my job, I applied for Veggies Gone Edgy," Shadow finished explaining to his audience.

Team Sonic was baffled. Shadow was standing in front of them, wearing sunglasses and yet another Hawaiian shirt and looking as self-assured as ever despite...everything he had just said. Veggies Gone Edgy? Seriously? That one game show hosted by Comedy Chimp where contestants make weapons out of celery sticks and asparagus and kick each other's butts with them?

"Who're you and what've you done with Shadow?!" Sticks demanded to know, brandishing her boomerang threateningly. The Shadow she knew would never resort to using pea shooters! He would just use regular shooters! "Which android are you?!"

One of Sonic's hands shot out to block her from tackling Shadow. He wasn't in the mood to watch one of his team members die. "Shadow, all I asked was why you were wearing that, and that didn't answer anything."

"It's part of the dress code." Shadow raised his sunglasses to rest upon his brow. "The theme for this episode is summer fun."

Sonic nodded slowly, absorbing the information. Forgive him if he was having a hard time reconciling summer and fun with Shadow the Hedgehog. "Okaaaay... and why are you doing this when you don't have to?"

"I told you, you daft idiot. I'm underpaid."

"I think what Sonic meant," Amy interrupted, "was that you don't actually need any more money. You can afford anything you want with what you currently have. You don't have to pay rent or anything, since you live in a cave."

"That's the great thing about living in nature!" Knuckles grinned before holding up a hand. "High five!"

Shadow smacked it away. Knuckles decided that counted.

"Fine, you got me. The truth is, I'm participating because Infinite, that pathetic, grungy, loser mutt who wears that freak mask to hide his ugly mug, applied in a futile attempt to prove himself as a bigger edgelord than me. I'm going to show him who's boss."

The others had no words.

"But because I'm going to be busy being edgy on set, I won't be around to be edgy around the village. Which is a problem," Shadow mused aloud. "Who else will be around to walk around hating everything? That's why I've called you all here."

"You want one of us to fill in for you?" Tails felt like he was picking up on what Shadow was putting down. "I don't think that's--"

Shadow snorted before he could finish. "Chaos, no. I don't need to even consider it for half a second to know none of you fools can measure up to my presence. I called you all here precisely so I could rub in why you're no good."

"Have you ever thought of considering why your attitude is no good?" Amy hissed.

"Never. For starters, you." He pointed a rude finger at her. "Your color palette is the least edgy thing I've ever seen. You're better off masquerading as a pony in some cartoon about friendship."

"Excuse me?!"

He redirected his attention towards Sticks. "You're not it because I don't need people saying that my substitute swims in the local landfill for sport."

Sticks sighed wistfully. "None of you will ever get it..."

"You, fox, are out of the question." Shadow looked down his nose at Tails. "You're 6 months old."

"I thought you said I was 3."

"So, you admit it."

Tails blinked. "Huh?"

"You admit you're 3."

"What? No. I'm just saying you think I'm--"

"You admit you're 3 months old."

"Three months? Nonono, hold on, when did--"

"As for the echidna..." Shadow trailed off as he peered at Knuckles, who smiled somewhat bashfully under his unreadable gaze. After a brief staring contest, the black hedgehog sighed and quickly moved on to the team's leader. "Last but not least, Sonic, you seem like the best option, but..."

"...But...?" Sonic prompted.

"I don't like you."

Sonic resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I saw that coming."

"And people confuse us to be each other enough already," Shadow added. "I don't know why, considering we look nothing alike."

Sonic nodded, a gesture that indicated surprisingly genuine agreement. "Yeah, that's always been annoying. That's a pretty valid reason, actually."

"Speak for yourself." Tails was still pretty put out over how Shadow was under the impression that he was aging backwards. Which was literally impossible, by the way. "If none of us are good enough for you, then who is?"

"No one is. Don't ask stupid questions," Shadow replied. "I know when to settle for less when I have to, though, so I have no choice but to ask someone outside of our usual circle."

Before anyone could ask him to explain himself, he starts making a beeline for the door.

Amy's eyes followed his retreating form. "Where are you going?"

"To destroy the world."

Team Sonic spent no more than 2 seconds freaking out over this blunt admission and getting their weapons out before a portal opened above them and dropped a familiar face in between them and Shadow, who stopped walking as soon as he heard the sound behind him. Still, he didn't turn around.

"Shadow the Hedgehog!" Silver glared, skipping all pleasantries. "I'm from a future where you destroyed the world and I somehow still exist even though my planet doesn't! I plan on stopping you, no matter what!"

"Ah, just the one I was looking for."

He faltered slightly at those unexpected words, but he refused to drop his battle stance completely. "Excuse me?"

"I need you to fill in for my edginess while I'm off participating in a game show." Shadow finally turned around to look him in the eye. "It's imperative that you succeed."

"Wh... Okay, I don't understand a word of what you just said, but why would I help you when you destroyed my world?!" Silver shouted.

"Do this, and your world will be safe."

"Shadow, you did not just create a whole timeline where you destroyed the world only so you could summon Silver here to act like you." Sonic was the first to break the stunned silence that befell his entire group. He couldn't believe this... Actually, never mind, he could. Shadow would do this. He would. "You really couldn't pick someone from the village in our time?"

"Do you think I can rely on any of those nitwits?" Shadow shot back.

"Do you think you can rely on Silver?" Sonic paused before turning to the newcomer. "No offense."

"None taken, but if this will really save the future..." Silver took a deep breath. Shadow wanted him to act edgy, did he? He still didn't get why, but he had a feeling that he shouldn't ask for more context. The Hawaiian shirt was already a red flag by itself. Lowering his voice in a poor attempt at emulating Shadow's own, he exclaimed, "It's no use!"

Sticks could detect any lame, overused meme from a mile away. "You're not funny," she told him, though her words were mainly aimed at the author who had just made him say such things.

"Ah, sorry..."

"We'll work on it. You just need to be in the correct mindset first." Shadow grabbed his soon-to-be replacement by the arm. "I'm taking you to get a dye job. I'm sure it'll help with everything else."

Before anyone could protest, the two of them teleported away in a flash of blue light.

"Guys..."

Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Sticks turned to face Knuckles.

"The more we interact with Shadow, the more I feel embarrassed to know him."

The others found that they shared the sentiment.

#sonic boom #sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #miles tails prower #amy rose #knuckles the echidna #sticks the badger #silver the hedgehog #episode idea #wow this post sure was a lot of effort for one single ask! #dont expect this to be a masterpiece btw i sorta winged it along the way #and this is admittedly the first time ive written for the characters in any continuity so go easy on me thx #it was a fun lil writing exercise nonetheless i hope people actually read this or else this whole thing would look kinda sad #also i promise i have other jokes for shadow other than putting him in shirts #and more jokes that dont rely on famous fandom memes pls dont unfollow <3 #uhhhh maybe ill do more of this in the future so i should maybe create a tag for it #mailbox #caiman-the-chimera #writing thing

[its-not-a-phase-mom-i-d8-demons]

pairings: Lucifer x Fem!Reader, Mammon x Fem!Reader, Leviathan x Fem!Reader

warnings: tw abandonment (but it turns out okay, I promise), mentions of the act of birthing,

A/N: you came to the right place! as the second oldest of six children, I have some experience when it comes to pregnancy:) I hope you don't mind, nonny, but I'm gonna split this up into a few parts so I can do the dateables as well!

Lucifer

The moment you had shyly produced the positive pregnancy test from the pocket of your hoodie, it felt like Lucifer had entered into a fever dream filled with nursery designs, baby names, the expenses that pile up before the baby even arrives, researching human pregnancy, keeping you out of harm's way and healthy and happy...

So when you first stagger out of bed and rush to his bathroom, hand clamped over your mouth and one shaky hand on your slightly swollen tummy, Lucifer isn't surprised

He is very concerned, however. You had been so nervous to tell him of your pregnancy, you waited until the last moment before your bump was noticeable to tell him

That meant you had been suffering from all of these pregnancy side effects before he'd permanently moved you to sleep in his room

Lucifer hoists himself out of bed and pads into the bathroom, gathering up your hair, if any, into his fist and pulling your hunched form between his legs for support

You hate this feeling with a passion; throbbing stomach and a lump in your throat with little to no vertigo and tears rolling down your face as you try and catch your breath

You tell him it hurts, you ask him if he can take the pain away as your head rests on his chest, lashes fluttering with wooziness

Lightheadedness was unbearably common; you would suddenly grip his sleeve and he could watch the color drain from your face and your knees get shaky, body beginning to sway

He always catches you though, finding a place for you to sit or lie down and gather yourself

Tummy rubs become more common; the feeling of his hands against your bare tummy, spreading their warmth and nullifying the ache, allowing you to relax

He's extremely attentive as well and can tell whenever you need something

Water? Here's a cup sweetheart, remember, you're hydrating and eating for two people!

Craving something? Chocolate? Fried pickles? Chips of some kind? sweets? He's stockpiled anything you could want and locked it away just for you.

I feel like Lucifer would want your baby to be a little girl. A little princess he can carry on his shoulders and spoil with his love and gifts.

Satan ruined him for having another baby boy, but if that's how the cards fall, he certainly wouldn't mind. Unfortunately, he'd be constantly walking on eggshells, afraid he'll make your little boy into another rebellious child

That's the last thing he wants

Lucifer does his best to keep his kid away from Satan and Belphie and out of the 'Formerly Anti-Lucifer League', but sometimes you're taking a nap or out shopping with Asmodeus, and Satan and his brothers manage to coerce the little one into their shenanigans

One thing is for sure though, even if Lucifer didn't want any kids and the creation of one was unplanned, he would never ever turn you away

He's very responsible and does anything in his power to make the pregnancy as easy and happy as possible

On the day you are to give birth, he's a mess

He has already sweat through 3 shirts by the time the IV has been secured to your hand

Everything he says doesn't come without a stutter

He's squeezing your hand and kissing your hair during labor, trying to distract you from the burn between your legs as much as he can

You probably need extra stitches from baby's horns ngl

Definitely cries before the baby is even put in your arms

Refuses to let his brothers come and see you, "They can wait until we go home."

Lucifer is Smitten™

He smooches the tiredness under your eyes and tells you to get some rest

Surprisingly, he enjoys a lot of the names from the human world you discuss and will most likely pick one of those

But if it's a girl, her name is Lilith. I'm sorry MC, your input is invalid at this time

You don't regret 'final day in the devildom sex' at all when you get to witness the Avatar of Pride reduced to tears when the nurse puts the child in his arms

P-P-Pregnant? MC, ya better be jokin'...

Mammon

You weren't, judging by the pregnancy test(s) clutched in your fist

He's not mad at you, he's not upset, (in fact, he's the happiest he's ever been), he just scared

Broken Condom Victim™

He loved you just a bit too hard last week...

but let's be real here, HIS MC, carrying HIS baby?

That's like the highest level of ownership on his lovely human you could get! Levi, Asmo, Beel, Lucifer, everyone would be SOOOO JEALOUS!!!

AND

He gets to have a little one running around again!

You saw how sweet he was to babified Satan in the obey me anime premier! He LOVES little kids and nothing would make him happier than someone to play with (besides MC of course) that wouldn't make fun of him for messing up and being silly!

AND

You're so pretty!!

I mean, ya were always pretty, but somethin' about ya is different and yer even more beautiful than before somehow!

Mammon said, his entire face the shade of a pomegranate

Pregnancy glow is REAL

Asmo agrees, after stealing you away from an extremely overprotective mammon and hiding in the attic to chat without disturbance (mammon)

But as much as YOU know he would be the BEST father, comments from his brothers continue to drag him down and the evenings he cried into your shoulder became more and more frequent as your pregnancy progresses

Mammon, as we all know, is, in fact, a tiddy man

He likes to touch and squeeze them, and just gently hold them while cuddling or even browsing in a store, he'd just come up behind you and touch your boobs

(also, mammon likes all sizes, so if you have next to no tiddy like me, you'll be at his mercy as well. those with the large honkers, however, watch yourself)

Now that there's a miracle growing in your tummy, other parts of your body are preparing for its arrival, including your chest

Swelling, swelling, soreness, growing and darkening of the nipples, and swelling make it so Mammon can no longer touch your pretty tiddies :(((

(grammarly didn't like that word)

On the day mammon snack size was to be born, mammon is silent but extremely fidgety

It was early in the morning when you'd shaken him awake like, "mammoney, I'm going into labor" and he was out of bed and out the door with your luggage before you finished blinking

After grabbing your DDD's and you, he carries you down to the car (what dysfunctional family doesn't have a car? a nice one (Mercedes, Audi, you get the idea) for lucifer and a Volkswagon bus or something for his siblings to share) and drives quickly, but very carefully drives to the hospital, holding your hand the whole way.

He covers your eyes when they put the IV in, just in case you're squeamish, and rubs your arms as the drugs begin to take effect and there's a little fear in your eyes at the thought of pushing an entire human/demon being out of your coochie

He assures you and never lets go of your hand no matter how long you're in labor

When it's all over with and you are resting in your hospital bed waiting for the doctors to finish the Apgar tests and give you your baby

Mammon is speechless as the nurse places the baby in your arms

That's HIS KID!!

Immediately starts crying

The little horns poking out of the blanket? Those look just like his!!

Judging by the bit of hair on it's head, it looks like the baby will have hair like yours

If it's a baby boy, he thinks it should be named "Mammon II" but you just giggle and remind him of the deal he made with lucifer long ago, that his first born child, no matter the gender, had to have 'Lucifer' somewhere in their name

Human names are dumb, except for yours of course, so he searches for suitable demon names

The last thing he wants is a kid named Lucifer, so that will be the kid's middle name

He really regrets his past decisions now

Leviathan

"Levi?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"I'm pregnant."

*leviathan has been KO'd*

No joke, this man is literally floored and didn't wake up for a while and you were afraid you had just slain the fucking Lord of Shadows

Some Henry you were

You had to call Lucifer in to wake him up because he was still flat on the floor a half and hour later

Mammon is more that happy to tip a bucket of ice water on the face of the son of a bitch that impregnated HIS MC

Levi wakes up and pounces on you, gripping you tightly by the arms

"You're k-kidding r-right?"

Him? A father?

Uhhhhhhh

Unfortunately, Leviathan.exe has stopped working, try again in two thousand years

I hate to say this, but he definitely detaches himself for a while until his brothers, especially Asmodeus, literally beat him into shape

He comes back to you, a little bruised and sobbing, but not from the beating he just received

He's so sorry he neglected you! He's such a horrible demon, undeserving of your welcoming nature

He's gonna be the worst dad, and he's not good enough for you, and his kid will hate him just like everyone else does, he doesn't deserve you, he's so sorry for making you suffer the side effects and feel all alone,

Sir, I-

FALSE

It's your turn to shake some sense into him, reminding him that he would be the. best. dad!!

Not to mention the fact that you were just happy he realized his mistakes and came back to you

He begs you to sleep in his bed tub with him for security, and you have to admit his tail is very comforting

Levi does extensive research on human pregnancy and now at the dinner table, instead of talking about the latest slice of life anime he'd been watching, he's just spouting random pregnancy facts and you're laughing so hard it brings you to tears

When the weird dreams and vivid nightmares happen, Levi is right behind you, rubbing your swollen tummy, and letting you talk about them

A lot of them were about him and about your future child

Most of them were about how they got hurt in some way, either that or YOU got hurt and the baby died

These, more often than not, brought you to tears and stress you out, but Levi is right there, okay? Nothing can hurt you, nor would he let anything happen to you on his watch

Learns how to massage you (safely) to reduce stress

Definitely talks to the baby a lot

Levi begged you to be induced so the birth was safe and not a sudden occasion and you agree

On the day the doctor recommended, you arrived at the hospital and got down to business

Levi didn't really want to be in the room with you, but he knew he had to for your sake and he'd played a few birth simulators from both perspectives and you really needed him

Kinda sits there awkwardly comforting you and encouraging you, holding your hand and caressing your cheeks, a bit flushed from exertion and tears

Listen

If the baby is a boy, his name will be Henry and that's final

If it's a girl, he doesn't really care, as long as you don't name her 'mammonia' or something dumb like that

definitely crashes your hospital bed to snuggle until the baby is ready

cries when the baby wraps its extremely small digits around one of his own

also at the little horns protruding from its head

and the tuft of purple in its head

Also Smitten™

He's so excited to get home and show off his beautiful baby to his brothers and then formulate a plan to raise the kid to live and breathe TSL just like his daddy <3

--

July 9th: VIP MEMBERS, GET YALLS JUICE!!

Countdown Masterlist

Main Masterlist

#obey me mammon x reader #obey me! shall we date? #obey me! #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me swd #obey me shall we date #swd obey me #obey me imagines #obey me! mammon #mammon x reader obey me #mammon obey me #mammon x reader #mammon #obey me! lucifer #obey me lucifer x mc #lucifer x reader obey me #obey me lucifer x reader #lucifer obey me #lucifer x mc #lucifer x reader #lucifer #om! leviathan #obey me! levi #obey me! leviathan #leviathan x reader obey me #levi obey me #leviathan obey me #leviathan #obey me levi

[badgirlcovenrep]

omg chenrich prompts? hell yeah!! Okay so how about immediately after the council meeting? Steph taking Alex to the hospital because u KNOW its steph who takes her to get treated

As is expected I got a little carried away 😁

So this is a bit of a mix between chenrich in the hospital and medical grade painkillers Alex lol

Hope you enjoy!

No one could have prepared them for that community meeting. Steph shook all over just to think of Jed luring Alex into the woods. Of him leaving her for dead in some awful mining hole.

It made her so furious. Even hearing him cry, blabbering like a sad shadow of the man she'd known (the man that was all a charismatic lie, showmanship, to hide the disgusting truth) her anger, her hurt was too fresh for the girl to gather any sort of sadness for him.

"I'm sorry, Ryan," Alex repeats, standing at the bar with them.

Ryan is staring, speechless, at his father's crying shadow.

"I'm so sorry-" she tries to take a step forward, but her feet falter, and Alex nearly topples over to the ground, grunting in pain as Steph jumps to hold her elbow and help steady her into the floor once again.

"Fuck, Alex, you need a doctor." Steph insists. But Alex is looking at Ryan with so much concern that she can't get her to move.

"It's not your fault, okay?" Ryan finally speaks, breaking out of whatever haze he'd been in to look back at her, "It's not your fault. I just- need a moment to process all this. Go with Steph, you're hurt."

Alex finally looks at her then, and Steph can feel herself plead with her eyes - because she might not know a lot about these sorts of injuries but she's smart enough to know - just by the way she's swaying back and forth on unsteady feet - they probably have another minute, at most, before Alex collapses.

"You did it." Steph mumbles, voice filling with unbridled pride as well as urgency, touching down Alex's arm to hold her cold hand, "You did it, ok? You can settle down now."

Her brown eyes are hazy, blinking back to Steph with rapidly heavying eyelids.

"Good. That's- That's good." Alex slurs back, the last reminiscent of adrenaline leaking out of her body in a heavy huff, "very, very good-"

Steph barely has a second to process what is happening before Alex's body gives out. By some miracle, she's able to flip her arms around her shoulders just fast enough to stop her from falling to the ground.

****

Pike helps her take Alex to the local hospital before going back to deal with Jed's arrest.

It's a small hospital and probably has about ten rooms, but given that these sorts of things (bad things) rarely ever happen in Haven Springs, they're quickly given a private room, and Alex is just conscient enough (before she passes out from the painkillers) to tell the staff she could stay.

Steph doesn't think she would have left either way. Not without knowing Alex was alright, but it's good to have permission to sit by her as she fluttered in and out of drug-induced, heavy sleep.

The doctor had given her the run-down of the other girl's injuries. Five broken ribs, stage two trauma to the head - probable concussion to be assessed once she was more awake - a punctured lung, internal bleeding all around the ribcage, and a bullet wound to the shoulder.

She was an absolute mess of scars. A walking, breathing miracle.

Steph had heard the doctor talking to the police when she stepped out to get some snacks at the vending machines. "She should be dead." He said, with such conviction and surprise, it made her stomach turn.

Steph felt that she could do nothing but sit by Alex's sleeping form, slowly realizing that she was absolutely screwed. Because she already liked this girl way too much - and God, what a roller-coaster of emotion she'd been put on the last month - but how could she not? When Alex just waltzed into everyone's lives like this determined, selfless little light? When she was so obviously a rare soul, made of so much sweetness, and softness, and strength, Steph doubted she'd ever come across someone like her again?

Looking at the circumstances from the other side now, it seemed as inevitable as any of it.

"I can feel you thinking." Alex's voice startles her out of her thoughts. Steph looks up to meet her tired brown eyes, looking so soft and vulnerable without her glasses and surrounded by clean hospital sheets, "You've been broody lately."

Steph giggles, choking on her own emotion, "Guess I'm still mad about Jed." It's not a lie. She is upset. But there was a lot more than that, more about how her insides swelled with emotion when Alex looked at her - but she leaves it the way it is.

"I forgave him." She shrugs. And Steph knows she did, she was there after all, but that didn't mean the drummer was quite as ready herself.

"Well, I didn't." And maybe that makes her childish - resentful - but she can't take the image of him pointing a gun at Alex out of her head. The image of him pulling the trigger, sending her off to what could very well have been death - "at least you made him cry like a baby."

"Jerk." Alex smiles, eyes squinting back at her in humorous indignation before they slowly turn more vulnerable as she adjusts herself on the mattress, patting the empty space beside her body, "Can you- come lie down with me?"

There's nothing, truly, that Steph would have liked more. She would take any chance of being closer to Alex (and of getting off the uncomfortable hospital chair) but she was also still afraid - still scared something might go wrong and they'd lose her. "Are you sure? You're hurt."

"Please?" Alex pleads, blinking back at her with honest-to-God puppy eyes, even if still a little glassed-over from the amount of Vicodin they were pumping into her veins. For the umpteenth time in the past few days, Steph has even more confirmation that she is screwed.

Because, honestly, there's nothing Alex couldn't get her to do with just a slow blink of her brown eyes.

So she gets up and climbs into bed with her. It's incredibly tight for two people, and they are instantly pressed together as Alex scoots over the pillow so they can look at each other, alone in this hospital room that smelled like industrial-grade detergent.

Alex reaches forward and takes her cheeks between her palms, so very close Steph can't help but catalog all the cuts and bruises covering her face.

"You're so pretty." The girl says, finally, and Steph can hear the tiny slur in her voice. She's probably still drunk on a shit ton of medicine, but it does nothing to stop the drummer from blushing profusely, "you're, really, really pretty. Have I told you that?"

"Hm- yeah you sorta- do that when you're on painkillers." Steph comments, and her eyes can't help but fall to Alex's mouth.

She has a tiny cut on her lower lip, and Steph's fingers itch to touch it. To feel her skin again, like that night on the roof, when she felt so warm and tingly, like a live wire of electricity that could swallow Steph whole. For now, she holds her distance.

"But it's true." Alex pouts, "and you're really hot when you're protective too."

Now that- that was different from anything she'd said before. And when she looks up, the girl realizes Alex's eyes have turned to stare at Steph's lips too.

"Yeah?" She asks, a little too cocky given the situation, but oh well, you can't blame her for the swell of pride that takes over her chest.

"Yeah." Alex teases back, "Thank you. For taking care of me. For being mad at Jed for me- even if you can't do anything about it." Her tone turns sincere, and her eyes flutter everywhere but Steph's face, Alex's dead giveaway that she was trying to hold something back.

"Oh please, I'll rip his mustache off." Steph jokes, because it's her default strategy when she doesn't quite know what to do, "You have lost your right to upstanding citizen facial hair, sir!"

"Fuck, Steph, don't make me laugh." Alex says as a few stolen giggles escape her lips, creating ripples across her shattered chest that made her hiss with pain.

"Shit, I'm sorry." Steph apologizes, and on instinct, she leans closer to run her hands over Alex's arm in reassurance, holding the weight of her body above Alex with her elbow.

From this angle, they were even closer, and Steph was staring at her from above, watching Alex smile at her, head on the pillow and a half-lidded, humorous expression on her face.

"Oh, this is nothing. Just a few cuts compared to my fighting days." She jokes, and Steph's heart is filled with so much concern, so much love for this girl she can't help but fluster with anger.

"Shut up. You're gonna hurt yourself if you don't take it seriously." Steph says, "you're like, seriously hurt, Alex, you could have died."

Steph wants to ask, but Alex's free hand reaches forward and pulls her closer, fist tightening around the collar of her button-up shirt, and suddenly they are so close her hand shakes with the itch to touch her, "See? Protective Steph is so hot."

"I know. I'm sorry." Alex has the decency to look reprimanded, smoothing one hand over Steph's shoulder in a simple act that sends calming waves over Steph's flushed skin, "I'm okay. I promise" she's being sincere, Steph knows she is by the way she frowns slightly in concern. However, there's a quiet, teasing smile spreading across her face.

And Steph honestly used to think she was smooth.

She made girls blush by the minute. Awoke the bisexuality in at least a few of her drunk makeouts on the way from California to here. She used to be a real flirt, ready for anything a pretty girl could throw her way. But sitting here, with her torso half hovering over Alex Chen's body, her tongue feels heavy, and her brain can't conjure a single thing to offer in response.

It's at least a relief that she doesn't say anything, because a second later, Alex is smiling at her with her coy, knowing little smirk, and pulling her in for a kiss.

Steph is far too focused on not crushing her further, very deliberately placing her hands on both sides of her head to better hold her weight, but she still feels the strong, dizzying zap of electricity as Alex's lips touch hers, her lungs filling with liquid, warm waves of emotion.

And maybe, Steph thinks, it'd be fine if she never breathed air again.

#chenrich fanfic #send me chenrich prompts #i dare you #chenrich #alex chen #alex chen × steph gingrich #steph gingrich

[neonacity]

LUCID | NCT DREAM ‘00 LINE X READER | CH.3

LUCID DREAMS - A TYPE OF DREAM WHEREIN THE PERSON IS AWARE THAT THEY ARE CAUGHT IN A DREAM WORLD.

Summary: It was supposed to be a harmless, professional transaction. You were to tutor a group of boys, get your pay at the end of the day, and go home to your loving fiance. Kids aren’t supposed to be dangerous, right? So why, then, are you caught up in a web of madness that slowly makes you feel like you’re in a living nightmare?

A/N: Third chapter is here! Again, thank you to all those who are supporting the story. Once again, this is a yandere plot featuring NCT Dream ‘00 line which means there will be mature themes in the story as well as obsessive, toxic behavior. If you’re a minor, please refrain from interacting. If this isn’t your thing, then just scroll and skip. In no way am I condoning anything written here— this is not love, this is obsession—nor do I think that any of the people mentioned here will act any way like in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

Genre: yandere, horror, suspense

TW: abuse, obsessive behavior, toxic relationships, suggestive scenes, stalking, possible kidnapping, mental health. Age gap–though nothing dramatic. Everyone is of legal age. Creepy, creepy, creepy! This will be updated as the story goes along.

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

“Insane madness of the living can be more, more terrible than the bloody hunger of the undead...”

― Silvia Liam

The rules of hunting down prey are simple. First, you observe to take note of their weakness, then you stalk...waiting for the right opportunity to take your shot. Hunting is more often about a game of time than aim sometimes. You jump too soon and you risk scaring your target to a successful escape, or you do it too late that you let them fully slip through your grasp. Hunting... has always been about perfect timing.

"You already know the rules of the game, right boy?"

The frail form of a seven year old child cowered against the foot of a dead tree, eyes shaking as it regarded the man leering at him. The sky was a deep dark velvet above them, and the only source of light came from the full moon that dipped in and out between the passing clouds. A bell dingled from the tight chain strapped around his left ankle when he moved, the sound causing the smile on the man's face twist into a wicked grin.

The hum of a gun being cocked sent the boy to give a choked sob. He shakily tried to stand up from his spot and pressed his palm against the rough bark of the tree to support himself, his wide eyes set on the looming form that has taken a step closer to where he stood.

"It's the first sturgeon moon tonight, so we are going to change the rules a little bit, okay?" Those words only made the child shake harder, the thin shirt he had now clinging to him like second skin due to the cold sweats gripping him.

"You run. And if I catch you, you die," the man cooed as he craned his face a bit to the side, causing the light from the moon to illuminate his features briefly. He looked handsome, inhuman, like he was one of the fallen souls exiled to earth at the beginning of times.

The man moved the arm holding his hunting gun and used it to lift the chin of the boy still cowering in front of him. He smiled—a smile so beautiful and dangerous it can make angels weep.

"But if you die, then your brothers will be the one running in this forest to take your place. So...make sure I don't catch you, hmm?"

Tears finally streamed down the bruised cheeks of the child as he realized what he was up to tonight. Eyes wide with fear, he pushed himself off the tree he was leaning on and started making a run for it.

He could still hear his words even as he dove deep into the woods, the bell on his feet masking his thundering footsteps.

"Seven bullets! You have one minute to hide, son~!"

Gunshots pierced the night air like a wailing scream.

------

Bang!

Jeno lowered his hunting rifle and let go of his breath slowly. Despite the shadows cast by the towering trees surrounding him, his eyes could still clearly see the slight flailing of the fawn he just shot before it went completely still. Above him, a flock of crows looked down on the fallen prey with their beady eyes, as if gauging the best time to dive for their feast.

He slowly picked himself up from his hiding spot, a wide oak tree with overarching branches that hid him from sight. He's been crouched there for a good half hour or so, just waiting for the fawn to finally circle the area. He's been observing it for the past week or so, taking note of its routes, and today he decided to make the kill.

Unlike other hunters, Jeno prefers the thrill that comes with stalking his prey over simply making a successful game. For him, the fun of hunting is in the process and not in its ending—a kill , after all, means nothing if you didn't work hard for it.

He looked down on the small fawn now as it lay lifeless on the mossy forest ground with its glassy eyes still open. Leaning over, he lightly pressed his hand over it to feel its heartbeat just to check if he killed it properly.

It was so beautiful and graceful just prancing in the forest a few days ago….it would be a shame if it suffers now.

"Hey, you got it?" A voice from the edge of the clearing made him look around. Haechan emerged from between the trees, his own hunting rifle slung over his shoulder.

"Yup. What did you get?"

The other boy lifted a brown sack and gave it a light shake.

"Got three rabbits. I'm too lazy to skin them here so I'll just ask Taeyong-hyung to do it. Want to go back now?"

Jeno turned to look back at the fawn in front of him briefly before finally shaking his head. He didn't really want to go back to the mansion yet, so he decided to just throw an excuse to the other for now.

"You go ahead. I'll just skin it right here," he said casually over his shoulder at his brother. Haechan, too cold and too bored to stay another minute in the humid woods, gave a wave of his hand before turning back. Unlike Jeno, he prefers the comforts and luxuries of the manor over anything else.

"I'll go ahead then. Try to get back before nightfall, the forest can be a dangerous place~" he said in a sing-song voice, knowing full well it was a useless warning he just gave.

Jeno simply ignored him and silently pulled his skinning knife from his belt so he could get to work. Nights in the forest have never scared him, he knew it like the back of his hand.

If anything, it is the creatures there who should be terrified of him.

------

You glanced over at Jisung and Chenle who were currently immersed in their readings over the page you’ve been scanning. The sun is about to set in just a few minutes and you have the last session of the day scheduled for the pair before you could pack up and go home. Your lips slightly quirked into a smile as you watched Jisung lean over slightly into the other to silently ask about something, Chenle looking up from his pages to roll his eyes before patiently answering. The two have such different personalities from each other, which adorably and ironically, makes them work so well together.

If you're going to be honest with yourself now, you'd say it is your time with the two youngest that you enjoy the most as Rosewood's tutor. Chenle and Jisung were withdrawn and shy at first, but the pair slowly started warming up to you as time went by. Maybe it's because they are younger, but you prefer the innocent air around them every time you would have your lessons. Chenle is the chattier and the more confident of the two, but with his help, even the shy Jisung also started lightly joking around with you on his best days.

That's not to say that you hate your time with the rest of the brothers. You've only ever had one session with Mark—which went so well as expected from the eldest—while the rest have always been polite and casual. There isn’t really anything about your job and connection with any of the boys that should put you on edge and yet... you have to admit that there are still those rare moments when you just feel as if something is out of place. You couldn't really place your finger on it, nor have you blatantly caught anything suspicious, but sometimes you just feel odd whenever you are around any of the four middle children. It’s something similar to being watched...like there is an imaginary pair of eyes always pinned to the back of your head, or the ghost feeling of hands hovering around your throat.

Your eyes flickered now to the grand clock on the far side of the room which finally struck five. Closing your own book which you have been scouring over, you called out towards the two who quickly looked up from their work.

"Alright, time's up. Have you answered the first two questions at least?" You asked with a smile. Chenle groaned and pointed at Jisung accusingly.

"I only got three questions because he kept disturbing me, noona."

Jisung frowned and you had to keep your laugh back with how offended he looked.

"Hey, I wasn't disturbing you. I was just asking questions."

"Okay, okay. Don't fight now. Do you want an extension for the chapter quiz? We do have our next lesson the day after tomorrow."

Their faces simultaneously lit up.

"Can we do that?" Chenle asked.

"Yes, but I'll have to leave you the assignment of reading another chapter and finishing the questionnaire for that as well. That'll be your homework, okay?" You tried your best to put on your best impression of a stern look, which only made the two giggle.

"Okay, noona."

"You promise you'll do it?"

Jisung put up his right hand and placed his left one over his heart.

"We promise."

That made you chuckle. "Well then, that will be all for today. I'll see you again tomorrow, okay? I'll have lessons with your brothers but just come to me if you have any questions." You gathered the rest of the papers that you have sprawled on the desk you were using before waving the two goodbye.

You were in the middle of trying to fit in a rather stubborn pile of files on your bag that you didn't really notice the tall figure that entered from the front door. When you finally looked up, it was already too late for you to stop crashing straight first into someone's chest, if not for the strong hands that held you steady. You felt an arm settle on your waist, and another on your back as you almost toppled when you hastily stepped back.

"Oh! I am so sorr—" you looked up with wide eyes to see Jeno looking down on you. Your words died in your throat when your eyes caught the red stain on his neck and you gasped.

"Jeno, what happened?!" Your voice raised in panic as you stared wide eyed at the blood running down the side of his neck. He gave you a slight look of confusion before raising a hand to touch the area you've been staring at.

"Ah… this…"

You didn't wait for him to finish. Quickly, you grabbed his hand and turned on your heels to drag him to the opposite direction. You didn't look back to see his surprised expression, and before he could even say anything, you had already pushed him into one of the expansive bathrooms down the nearest hallway.

"Sit there."

You pushed him urgently on the closed toilet seat before you proceeded to rummage on the hidden compartment behind the mirror that Taeyong showed you before. You quickly grabbed the box of first aid kit there and hastily opened an antiseptic wipe.

"Uhm...noona…"

You didn't pay him any attention, too focused on what you needed to do. You quickly kneeled in front of him so that you were more eye-level with each other before finally pressing the damp wipe against his injury.

"Shh. This might sting a little. We have to see how deep your wound is and stop the bleeding," you said, a small frown creasing your brows as your fingers gently dabbed at his skin. You were so focused on what you were doing that you didn't notice the light in his eyes shift as he looked at you closely. 

His gaze dropped to your slightly parted lips, then at the look of concentration on your features.

Are you...worried about him?

Your frown deepened as you finally managed to wipe most of the blood away from his skin. The antiseptic sheet you were using has already turned dark red from the liquid, but still you haven't—

"It's not my blood," Jeno said plainly, his voice suddenly sounding too close to you. You looked up to him in confusion, and for the first time you realized how close the two of you were. His gaze didn't waver from your face, pinning you into the spot where you are kneeling in front of him.

"Not your…"

"I was hunting. I was skinning the game I caught but my hand slipped and I hit a major vein. This is deer blood."

If your face wasn't burning after realizing how close the two of you were at the moment, it is definitely on fire now. You opened your mouth to say something, then closed it again in embarrassment. Jeno continued staring at you and you watched as his lips ever so slightly curled into a smirk.

That made you suddenly stand up from your crouch. He calmly followed you with his gaze, a mix of curiosity and amusement in his brown eyes.

"I-I'm so sorry. I thought you were injured so I panicked," you stuttered as your eyes fell on the bloody wipe that is still on your hands. You quickly ducked to throw it away just so you could avoid his gaze.

Jeno followed your every move closely before slightly leaning his head to the side. He seems to be mulling over something, face now devoid of any telling emotions.

"Were you concerned about me?" He asked, tone curious. You glanced at him in surprise, stunned that he would ask such a question. It was bad enough that you stumbled over your words when you finally managed a reply.

"Of course I was concerned. Anyone would be."

Jeno slowly stood up from where he sat and for the first time, you realized just how much he towered over you. It didn't help that the two of you were in a much smaller space than usual which sent a wave of claustrophobia to wash you over briefly. You involuntarily took a step back, eyes only high enough to meet the base of his neck.

"Why though?" He asked again, and you could genuinely hear the curiosity in his tone. You frowned. He was asking...as if he isn't used to such a level of care. As if things like this are so foreign to him.

"Because you are my student. And I wouldn't want to see anyone hurt."

For a moment, Jeno didn't say anything else. He simply looked at you while you tried so hard not to flinch under his heavy gaze.

Then, as if a switch had been turned, he took a step to the side to free some space between the two of you. Your eyes shot to his face when he did that, and you were met by his boyish smile that crinkled his eyes into half moons.

That made you blink. You see it on him whenever he is with the rest of his brothers, but it was the first time he ever smiled that way to you.

"Thank you, noona. I appreciate it."

It was as if a blockage in your throat dissolved all of a sudden. You smiled back, a sense of relief overtaking you.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry I panicked, too."

"It's cute. Nobody has ever…" he trailed off before shrugging. "I guess, it's because we're all men here. So none of us are used to that kind of care."

You nodded slowly at that. It really must be hard...being in this kind of household. Now that you think about it, the boys are technically orphans.

"Anyway, I have to go. I need to get back before dark. I'm not really a big fan of night drives," you said as you picked up the bag you had haphazardly thrown into the sink in your panic earlier. Jeno simply watched you silently from where he stood.

"Make sure to be careful next time alright? Don't give anyone a heart attack again," you smiled before finally excusing yourself out. He smiled back and gave a nod of goodbye as you closed the door.

Jeno turned to the mirror in front of him and slowly touched the part of his neck where your fingers grazed earlier. It was cold now from the antiseptic you had rubbed, but he could still remember how good the warmth of your touch felt against his skin when you were trying to wash the blood away. He curled his fingers slightly over the area now, leaving half moon marks as his nails dug there.

Oh what he would do to have you touch him again.

-------

"Pretty neat, huh?" You grinned at Jaehyun as he parked the car in front of the manor. You watched as your boyfriend's eyes moved over the impressive facade of the structure in front of him, knowing full well that his architect training is kicking in.

"Not bad. Victorian-era, probably. The stones look old but the place looks pretty well-kept…"

You grinned to yourself now as you leaned back on your seat. Of course you have absolutely no reason to be proud of something you don't own, but you can't help but boast a little at your boyfriend. It is your workplace after all.

Jaehyun turned to his seat now to give you a slightly guilty smile. He sighed before reaching out for your hand.

"Are you sure you will be okay though? I'm sorry about borrowing your car all of a sudden, the timing is just so bad."

You gave his hand a squeeze before patting it with your other. He was supposed to go on a three day business trip away from the city when his car, all of a sudden, just wouldn't start this morning. He wouldn't make it if he waits for the shop to fix it so the both of you decided to just have him use yours for now. At least he has enough time to drive you to work, which is why the two of you now are parked outside the manor, 10 minutes before your first lesson has to start.

"Don't worry about it. I'll make sure to pick up your car later. I'll have the taxi drive me there."

Jaehyun glanced back at the mansion briefly.

"Are you sure you can get a taxi here though? This is pretty far off the main road…"

Well...to be honest, you weren't even really sure about that yourself but he didn't have to worry about it right now. You nodded and reached over for your bag with a smile.

"Yes. Or I'll just ask Taeyong for help if I can't get one. I'm pretty sure they have some taxi companies in contact."

Jaehyun still didn't look convinced but gave you a small nod nevertheless. His eyes were back to studying the house again which made you chuckle.

"Jae, I'll be fine. You have to go now or you'll be late to your conference. Thanks for driving me here," picking up the last of your things, you leaned over to give him a quick peck on the cheeks. He responded by pulling you over for a slightly longer kiss when you tried to move away.

"Yah, Jung Jaehyun. We'll both be late if you don't stop," you whispered softly with an amused tone. He laughed before finally letting you pull back.

"Just getting my fill of it since I won't see you in three days. Call me once you get home later, okay?"

"Mmn. Take care, too. Go get that deal closed," you gave him a wink before finally opening the passenger seat. You watched as he finally pulled away from the driveway and waited until he disappeared again on the long winding road before turning towards the manor again. You were almost at the front steps when the doors finally opened, spilling Haechan, Renjun, and Jaemin out of them. You frowned slightly as you took notice of the canvases they were carrying as you approached the group.

"Hey...are you going somewhere? Class is about to start." You asked curiously, eyes landing finally on the small leather bag that Renjun was carrying. It seems to be full of art supplies.

"We're doing a free art class today, right noona?" The eldest of the trio asked. You nodded, still a bit confused.

"Renjun suggested we do it in the garden since the weather is nice today," Jaemin finally said. "We think it'll be a nice change from the stuffy rooms inside," he slightly jerked his head back at the wide windows of the manor which are currently shut back with thick curtains. You glanced at them briefly too before nodding slowly in understanding.

"Oh… I mean… It's not a bad idea. We can have the first session outside while the sun is still bearable, I guess."

That made Jaemin, and most especially Renjun smile. The boy can be withdrawn most of the time, but you did notice that he looks happiest whenever you do creative classes.

"Thank you, noona."

"No problem. I'll just put my bag inside and then I'll follow you. Why don't you set up your things first?"

You've taken a couple of steps towards the front door already when Haechan suddenly spoke up.

"Who was with you, noona?"

That froze you on your tracks. Slowly, you turned to face the trio again. They saw Jaehyun drive off?

"Oh, that was my boyfriend. He dropped me off today," you said casually with a smile. Haechan leaned his head a little bit to the side in curiosity.

"But he took your car…"

"Yes, he did. His broke down so he had to borrow mine. He's leaving for a three-day trip so—" you stopped all of a sudden, realizing that you're explaining things too much. There's nothing wrong about what you said but there was still a part of you that made you feel a little...exposed. Jaemin, Haechan, and Renjun, fortunately, didn't seem to notice and continued to politely look at you.

"Anyway, I'll just grab a cab to go home," you continued with a smile. "There are some who stop by here, right?"

"Yes. Or we can just ask Taeyong-hyung to drive you. He is the only one who has a license among us," Jaemin offered with a casual shrug.

"Ah, maybe I'll have to bother him this one time if I can't get a cab," you said with a sheepish smile. "Okay, I do have to bring my things inside. I'll see you."

You have already reached the top of the steps before the double doors when you finally realized something. Quickly you turned to the three boys who were just about to disappear to the side of the house leading to the manicured gardens.

"Wait, where's Jeno?"

It was Jaemin who answered.

"Oh yeah. He can't come. He is on bed rest."

You frowned.

"What happened?"

Haechan snickered which caused Renjun to shoot him a reprimanding look.

"He got into a hunting accident," the boy explained as he barely tried to keep his lips from twitching with amusement. "He was foolish enough to get stabbed in the chest by a stag."

-----

You gave the oak wood door a few light taps before drawing your hand back to yourself. You still weren't sure if this is a good idea, and yet here you are standing outside Jeno's room, the expansive hallway making you feel too small and out of place. This is the first time you've been in this part of the mansion since you only ever roamed the lower floors for your classes, and you couldn't help but feel a little strange at the heaviness of the air clinging around you now.

Maybe it's because it is where the private quarters of the boys are, but the corridor was only slightly illuminated by dimmed lighting from the lamps on the walls. Everything was silent, and for a moment you wondered if you got the wrong door that Taeyong gave directions to when you told him you wanted to check on Jeno. You have already taken a step back and was about to turn away when you heard some rustling from inside the room. It was followed by a voice muffled by the thick wood separating you from the other side of the door.

"Come in."

You froze on your spot for a few seconds before finally managing to shake yourself to open the door before you slowly. Peering around it, the first thing you noticed was how big the room was—it looked more like a smaller section of a house than a private quarters. It was dark, but a quick look at it told you that it was mostly bare if you don't count the essentials, which is a simple desk by the side, a long couch, and, in the middle, a four poster bed.

Your eyes landed on Jeno who was looking at you with equal mild surprise. He was propped against the headboard of his bed, the light from the laptop on his lap illuminating his face. You noticed that he didn't have a shirt on, but most of his skin from the right shoulder down to his chest was covered by bandages.

"Hi," you smiled, suddenly feeling conscious now as you stepped into his room.

"Um. Hi. What are you…"

"I heard that you were injured so I just dropped by to check on you," you quickly answered to diffuse any awkwardness that is in danger of settling between the two of you. Jeno blinked, as if processing what you just said.

"Uh… sorry, I didn't realize that I might be disturbing you. I can also just go back another time and—"

"No," He said all of a sudden before you could excuse yourself. Quickly, he closed his laptop and put it away on his side. "You can stay for a bit."

"Oh...great. I uh…" your eyes roamed around his room once again, hoping to find a chair that is closer to his bed. There was none. You figured the couch was the only place you could go to so you started walking towards it, Jeno's eyes on you.

"You can sit here," he suddenly said and you looked up to see him pointing at the foot of his bed. That made you stop before glancing again at the couch at the farther side of his room, something which he immediately noticed.

"It's too far away. It'll be awkward for us to talk if you sit there,” he said, as if he read your mind. 

That...makes sense. With a slight nod, you closed the distance between you and the bed instead and chose to sit by its far end.

Jeno was back to watching you as you settled down, his expression curious. You softly cleared your throat.

"How are you feeling?"

He glanced down his chest briefly. "Oh, I'm fine. It didn't hurt as much during the weekend, but I was still told to stay in bed. I can't really move that much yet."

"What happened anyway?"

He scratched the back of his head almost sheepishly and looked away.

"I was trying to hunt a deer. I didn't know its mate was just around the area when I approached it so...yeah."

You winced as your eyes fell on his bandaged chest. You know next to nothing about hunting, but you know enough that an angry stag doesn't spell good news for anyone. Things could have been more serious for him.

"Are you sure that you shouldn't be in the hospital though?"

"Yes. We have a private doctor anyway. I just need to make sure I don't move too much to keep my wound from opening. And I also hate hospitals so I prefer to stay here…"

"You have to be more careful next time, okay Jeno? The forest is such a dangerous place…" you sighed before shifting your attention towards the window at the far wall of his room. He only had his curtains partially open but you could still see a sliver of the woods from where you sat.

Something about what you said shifted something in him. You missed it entirely thanks to the shadows from the room's dim lighting that masked his features, but it was there, hiding in plain sight.

"You take care of us so well."

You turned to him again as you heard him whisper something.

"What?"

Jeno simply smiled. He leaned back against the headboard, as if mulling over something.

"Since noona is worried about me, can you help me change my bandages?"

You blinked. That wasn't something you expected him to ask at all. Before, you figured Jeno to be one of the more withdrawn among the brothers, always with this air of intimidation about him, but lately, he has been throwing you off with these kinds of moments. He isn't flirty like Jaemin or sly and playful like Haechan, but he’s just so...direct. Almost pushy, sometimes. 

"I uhm… I don't know. I wouldn't know how to do it, maybe I can call someone and—"

You watched as he already started to undo the bandages on his torso, your eyes growing wide as he started to expose more skin.

"Jeno wait, I think we should call Taeyong for thi—oh my god."

Your words were cut off when he finally let the last of the bandages fall to reveal the cut on his torso. It started from his right chest, a few inches above the collarbone, and ran sideways to the middle where it cut off. Stitches held the skin together, and you could see the darkening sides of the flesh where it broke.

Yet it wasn't only that which caught your attention. Despite the dimness of the room, you could see other marks in his body, old scars that adorned his pale skin here and there. They varied in length and thickness, and you couldn't figure out what might have caused them. Were they from hunting accidents too…?

You immediately turned to look away. You didn't want to seem rude for staring. Jeno, however, seemed unbothered, if not mildly amused. Watching you through hooded eyes, he let you squirm for a little bit first before finally calling for your attention once more.

"Noona."

"Yes?"

"Help me, please?"

The tone he used on you finally made you turn with a slight wince, which only made him chuckle.

"You're not used to seeing injuries?"

"I'm not fond of them. I don't think anyone is."

“So let's get this over with then. I just need you to hold one side of the bandage for me while I wrap it again. It's hard when I do it alone."

You were about to open your mouth to say something again but chose to purse your lips after in the end. With a soft sigh, you finally picked yourself up from your spot by the foot of the bed to move closer to him. Jeno had already uncapped what looked to be a bottle of antiseptic at this point and had started to dab gently at his cut. You tried to watch without wincing too much as he tried to do the job, but it was probably too painful for him to move too much because he was missing a lot of it.

"Hey, just give me that. I'll do it," you asked as you gently took the cotton pad from him. Jeno wordlessly let you take it, eyes closely watching you as you ducked a little to clean his wound. You tried your best to keep your eyes on target, not allowing them to move anywhere else…

"It looks so bad… I'm surprised you can still move…" you whispered, more to yourself than to him as you frowned over it. You completely missed the way the corners of Jeno's lips ever so slightly tilted as your fingers brushed against his skin.

"Your fiance must have never gotten injured before, noona."

Your hand froze at what he said. Slowly, you looked up at him, only to see him smile at you.

"How did you…"

"Oh, Taeyong-hyung told us. He just reminded us to be nice to you or else you might quit. He said you are saving up for your wedding."

You didn't say anything at first after his explanation. There's nothing wrong about it, and it seems very in-character for Taeyong to say that since he seems to be the most worried about the possibility of you quitting. Still, you couldn't help the odd feeling that tugged at your chest, one you tried to shove back as you turned your attention again to what you were doing just so you could escape Jeno's gaze.

"Well… yes. I am saving up for it. But I also enjoy my time here… so far…"

Jeno smiled to himself as he looked down on you, eyes watching your every move.

"We'll behave too, we promise," he said softly that you almost didn't catch it.

"Until then, I'm sure your boyfriend wouldn't mind us borrowing you from him."  

----

"Jisung! Chenle! Don't run too far into the forest, okay?" Taeyong called out to the two boys who have already turned on their tails and have started running towards the woods. You watched as the two laughed and pushed at each other playfully before finally disappearing into the forest edge.

Taeyong sighed beside you and let the hands he had on his hips fall to his sides. You turned to him and he gave you an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry for suddenly asking you to watch over them. I totally forgot that I had to drive the rest to their dentist appointment today," he said with a scratch of his head. You simply shook a hand at him to wave him off.

"Don't worry about it. I don't have any other classes today anyway so I'll just wait here for them. But... uh... are you sure that it is safe for them to play there?"

"Yes. As long as they stay in the right zones. There are parts there where some wild animals might roam around this season but Jisung and Chenle already know that, don't worry. It won't be the first time they'll be going there too. They've been playing there since they were kids."

You nodded slowly, still a little bit unsure as your gaze floated over to the woods once more. If it were you, you wouldn't let them go near it, especially after what happened to Jeno.

"I'll have to go then. I promise I'll be back by 5. Then I can drive you back to town after."

You turned to look at Taeyong once more and gave him a grateful smile. You usually would have declined the offer under normal circumstances, but you honestly think it will be easier and safer for you to just have him take you back later.

"Thank you. I appreciate that."

The other nodded before giving you one last smile. Turning around, you watched him go to the car where Haechan, Renjun, and Jaemin were already waiting. Jeno was still in bed rest, so he is skipping the impromptu trip this time.

You only turned back to look at the woods ahead when you finally saw the black sedan disappear down the road. The forest looked foreboding in front of you, one look at it and you know there is no way you'll venture there in your own free will. With a sigh, you picked up the book you've brought with you and let yourself take a seat by the grass as you wait for Jisung and Chenle to return.

A sudden sharp caw that tore the air made you look up in surprise from the current chapter you were reading. You didn't have any idea how much time had already passed after you lost yourself in your book, but you were surprised to see that the sky had gone red over the horizon as a flock of crows soared from the depths of the forest. You watched as they circled just above the trees before finally disappearing far into the sky. That was when you realized it; it's been a while since Jisung and Chenle left.

With panic slowly creeping into your chest, you glanced at your watch then back at the mansion behind you. Taeyong didn't say anything about a curfew for the two kids, but your own sense told you that the pair should be back before night falls. Your gut told you that you should start looking for them, but the problem is that there is still more than half an hour left before Taeyong said they will return and the only other person left in the manor was Jeno—who can't even get out of bed. 

You swallowed. Before you could make any decision, however, a bone-chilling sound floated into the air that made your blood turn cold. It was faint at first, making you wonder if it was just your imagination playing tricks on you, but then it called out again, and you felt your heart drop to your stomach.

It was Chenle. Screaming.

You broke into a run without a second thought.

It took you everything you have not to topple over the uneven forest floor as you wove through the trees. You have no idea where you were going, your mind and vision reeling as you tried to follow the voice. Your skirt have caught countless times on shrubberies and wayward tree barks as you tore through the woods but you kept going, not minding the tears on the fabric and the skin of your legs.

"Chenle! Jisung! Where are you!"

You called out desperately when the cries suddenly stopped. You were only barely aware of your heart thundering in your chest and your lungs burning from overexertion.

No. No. Don't stop screaming. I can't find you if you do.

"Chenle! Jisung!" You called out again desperately as you stopped at the edge of what seemed to be a small patch of land that dropped off to a ravine. The trees beyond were denser than the ones at the edge of the forest and the already fading light of the day wasn't helping the thick canopies above you that rained shadows on where you stood. You looked around and swallowed thickly. Something inside of you told you to turn around and run again but you stayed frozen on your spot, waiting for any sound from the kids.

It took you a few more heartbeats to pick up something again. Jisung's voice sounded far off to your right, maybe about 15 meters from where you currently are.

"Noona! Help! Chenle fell down!"

Your adrenaline jumped into action again.

"Jisung?! Jisung! Wait—Is Chenle with you?” A soft voice called out and you breathed in as you recognized the latter's tone. “I'm coming! Don't stop calling for me, okay, so I can find you!"

You were about to turn away from the edge of the steep ravine you were still standing on when you felt your back hit something hard. Before you could even turn around to look at it, however, a blunt force hitting the middle of your shoulder blades sent you toppling forward, straight into the sharp fall beyond.

You screamed, before everything went quiet as your head hit the bedrock below.

---

A.N. GOD THIS WAS SO LONG IM SO GLAD IT IS FINALLY DONE.

Taglist:  @negincho,  @jhornytrash, @jaeminhyuckiii, @jungwoosswhore, @jsturkey​, @aj--7, @pukupukupawpau​, @tomiesgirlfren​, @vsszn

CHAPTER 4

#ugh tags are not working again T.T #WHY #nct dream #nct dream yandere #nct dream fic #nct dream yandere au #nct dream 00 line #nct dream 00 line x reader #renjun x reader #jeno x reader #haechan x reader #jaemin x reader #nct!yandere #nct-writers #nct horror au #nct taeyong #nct jisung #nct chenle #nct renjun #nct jeno #nct haechan #nct jaemin #nct jaehyun

[rumblelibrary]

Okay one last one for now, but I offer a mix of age gap and breeding kink with modern Laszlo 👀

Basic Needs (Modern! Laszlo Kreizler x Fem!Reader)

(You know how to keep me happy and horny, thank you for sending this amazing request <3)

Smutty Smut ahead!

Laszlo looked at you as you talked to him, your hands slightly moving as your eyes were drifting every now and then to remember details.

This was supposed to be serious, you were an active collaborator of the institute. Even worse, a volunteer, somebody there for free just to help with the kids. You were young. Too young, amazingly, intoxicatingly young and even too good with the kids.

You were talking about some boy with an aggressive behaviour toward other kids, you were being serious and passionate, yet he was only thinking about what you mean for him.

“I don’t know how to help about him”

You admitted it a bit defeated as you looked down, you come often to talk, to unleash, sometimes hurting too much of yourself in the process.

“You do love kids don’t you?" He couldn’t help by ask.

You looked up and smiled widely

“Yes, I mean, I am applying to study child welfare, I just love to see them grow and express themselves and their little quirks”

He smiled as his eyes fell on your hips, imagining them shift to welcome a baby bump “And what about your own? Are you afraid? Many women are afraid of pregnancies and delivery”

You were surprised but shrugged “no, I mean, a little but it is supposed to be natural, no?”

He smirked “Completely natural”

You looked down as he saw some bitterness in you, some shadow over you.

“What is on your mind?”

“I don’t have the money to pay your fee doctor” you joked and he smirked 

“I will think of some payment, now tell me”

His answer was so well balanced and you giggled softly leaning your head on side as your toyed with a little hole on your jeans, he couldn’t help but notice you looked ravishing in the white shirt with the logo of the institute on it.

“I broke up with my boyfriend” you said it, it was quite dry the way it came out, but only because you couldn’t help it anymore, you probably cried too much about it already, you rolled over the thought over and over.

“I am sorry” he said even though he wasn’t sorry at all “there’s a reason?”

He looked at you as you frowned visibly and let out a sad chuckle while you tried to hide the pain “He said he is not ready for a serous relationship, that he is not ready and he wants to…to enjoy life and not settle down yet”

“He wasn’t for you then, you deserve somebody that would appreciate your gifts”

His answer was easy, like it was clear as sunlight, but you chuckled as it seemed a bit of a common thing to say “And what are my gifts then?”

Laszlo smiled without wincing at that incredulity from you “You’re what somebody would call a serious girl, a safe one, somebody faithful, family oriented, made for a long term relationship, responsibility, commitment. All qualities that I find remarkable, if not attractive”

You blushed as he said so and smiled a bit

“Am I?”

He nodded “Very remarkable”

He pushed his chair back and waited, he stared at you from behind his desk waiting, a soft smile playing over him.

Was he implying that?

You licked your lips slowly standing up, it wan’t a gesture meant to seduce, only due by tension. You always liked him, you couldn’t speak in front of him before because of the amount of emotion it caused you, how his darling attitude with kids moved something inside you that you couldn’t explain.

Innocent.

He just realised that little adjective escaped him when he enlisted those for you, but that was probably for the better.

He watched you moved around the desk standing in front of him, he left you there for a moment, he knew the effect he had on you, he saw you and he took pleasure from being your little fantasy. He got it form the little side looks and soft smirks, the eyeing up, the way you reacted to the smallest mention of sexual topics.

You stood there as his eyes seemed to scan your soul, he stood slowly up not breaking eye contact and he did what predators do best: he waited.

You didn’t last long, your hands not knowing how to behave slowly rested on his chest as you leaned on your toes for a kiss.

He kissed you and pulled back, you seemed disoriented as he lowered himself again kissing you one more time. His hand moved onto your clothing tugging onto the belt that secured your jeans on your waist, his fingers undoing it one handedly showing a skill he had to learn for himself but that felt incredibly hot for you.

“Look at you, you can’t wait”

He smirked as his lips moved onto your neck “You can touch me” he assured as you begun undoing his shirt.

It wasn’t your first time, you had clear in your mind how it worked, but something in him pulled something different inside you, another level of excitement.

Excitement that he didn’t miss when his hand slipped into your open jeans and panties earning a moan faster than he expected.

“You’re so ready for me”

He smirked as the notion pleased him, his fingers started tracing your little bud nicely and you could barely focus onto his shirt so you moved down to his pants. “You don’t have to”

He murmured it as you stopped not understanding and it was really hard to understand anything with his hand playing tricks on you like that.

“I want to please you, it is not a give and take” he assured as he knows how young boys act, like if they have to put the effort to touch you before fucking you then you should at least do the same in some way.

He kissed onto your lips slowly as you parted them finding his tongue, he was so apparently calm but completely overbearing, he could control you without even attempting for it.

“I-I..”

You couldn’t speak, his fingers massaging you so good until his thumb rested over your clit while his index and middle finger buried themselves in your soaked pussy, the jeans still tangled to your ankles making you hate them as you wiggled your hips , the pleasure frantically running behind you, catching up with you and Doctor Kreizler with no intention to let you go unpleased.

You jerked against his touch, you moaned messily as your legs trembled and you his your face against his shoulder, your backbone resting against the desk.

He gave you few moments, he let you go down your height as it washed over you like that, his lips slowly resting on top of your forehead.

“Help me now darling, you want to get naked for me?”

You nodded immediately as you pulled your clothes off, jeans finally off your figure, that tempting white shirt too.

You were soaked and still a bit dizzy, he waited for you expectedly, he stared with an adoring look.

“You want me, Liebing?”

You nodded at him”I do, I do”

He smirked as he finished your job of undoing his pants and setting free his hard on, you raised onto his desk as you parted your legs feeling his tip brush against your entrance teasingly.

“I don’t know about your ex, but this will hurt a little, I will fill you up so good”

In the mouth of anyone else this phrase would be laughable, but not coming from him. You believed him and you whined in pain as his large cock pushed inside you like that. The wetness of your previous orgasm helping but your sensitiveness making everything even better.

A soft curse left your lips, you shivered as he caressed your cheek kissing you again, he gave you a moment, he waited, never you felt like your pleasure and safeness came first like this.

“Now, le me show you”

You blinked at him as he started to thrust inside you, his left hand around your waist while the right one rested onto you thigh, his hips snapping deliciously inside you while his lips grazed onto your neck.

You grabbed onto his shoulders moaning, you were a proper moaning mess, he was feeling safe but also powerful.

You soon realised, among your pleasure, how you could never deny him anything, ever.

His left hand slowly leaving your waist pressing onto your lower abdomen, you whined as it was almost painful but bringing you a weird kind of pleasure.

“Look at you, so young, so flexible” he smirked as you just realised how your legs tangled around his waist brought by pleasure.

“I am going to fill you up, you’ll be so full of me” He murmured at you as a shiver came over you, the times you argued your boyfriend every time he was careless about cumming inside you or you had to do a night trip to a pharmacy.

“Will you knock me up?”

His smirk grew wider “I will my little liebing, I will make you round with my kids, you’ll a young mommy, so good, do not expect me to stop after one, I will give you many many more”

You couldn’t help it but think how this was such an amazing idea.

“Yes, please Laszlo”

“Call my name, what do you want?” “I want to have your children Laszlo”

He never stopped thrusting inside you, he hovered you, his presence overbearing as your pleasure was around the corner once more, your moans erratic as he begun to trust order in you.

You lost yourself into that orgasm once more, you shivered resting against him as another moan escaped you when he came in your body, he filled you up as he promised.

You looked at him blinking softly as your legs fell off his hips.

“You’re so beautiful”

You blushed as you shifted lightly

“Don’t move” he murmured and you blinked at him surprised “Let’s make sure it will work”

His hand on your clit once more, your hands holding tight the desk.

The night was still young.

#modern!laszlo kreizler #modern!laszlokreizler #modern laszlo kreizler #the alienist au #laszlo kreizler #doctor laszlo kreizler

[lustbile]

Xiaojun wanted nothing more than to listen to what you were saying, and with his friends drunk bodies scattered pass out around the living room, you’d think he’d had nothing to distract him now. But unfortunately for you both, he had gotten a little dizzy so he had chosen to sit on the floor, and after you had taken your pants off while complaining that it should be a crime to be forced to wear pants after drinking, you perched yourself on the edge of the kitchen table with a soft peach stuck between your teeth.

Which should be fine, he had no issue having to strain to hear your happy rambling, but the placements had given him a perfect view of the soft space between your legs.

Your relationship with him had always been a little different, you’re not sure when it happened, but one day you and him started exchanging flirty glances. Flirty glances turned to flirty words, and eventually even suggestive jokes and taunts. And once that threshold was crossed, Xiaojun couldn’t get making the jokes a reality out of his head. His current view, wasn’t helping.

“Are you even listening Dejun?” you ask, the addition of his name pulling him out of his trance and making him jump. Even through your rambling about how you’ve been thinking about finally getting a puppy, the sweet fruit filling your belly had sobered you up enough to notice that his eyes had gone blank right in the middle of your sentence about where you’d be able to fit a dog crate in your apartment.

“Huh what? Yes!” he shakes his head as the words tumble out, his sudden raise in volume making a body that’s laying close by turn. Whoever it was, the darkness of the room making it only a shadow but based on the size maybe Lucas?, only shifted a bit before settling back down.

“Yeah right. I can tell when I’ve lost you,” you state so matter of factly it through a mouthful of peach that it throws him off. He didn’t think you’d be able to tell something like that, “so what is so important on your mind that you don’t wanna listen to me talk about puppies?”

“No no it’s.... it’s nothing,” he shakes his head again before his eyes shift down, the idea that whatever it was would make him not want to look at you making your chest tighten a bit.

“Bull, it’s not nothing. Tell me what’s up.”

‘Easy for you to say,’ he thinks to himself, the idea of having this conversation getting even more stressful when he chances a peak up and sees you had your lips wrapped tightly around the pit of your once existing fruit, your tongue working the get any remaining pulp.

“Do you know how distracting you are,” the breathless what he speaks tells you that the words weren’t said with total intention.

“How am I distracting you, from myself?” you ask with a soft laugh, you hand lifting and your tongue peaking out to lick at the left over juice left on your skin.

“Do you know how pretty you are?” he asks, his voice falling soft again as he sits upon his knees, the skin of his cheek brushing against the knee of your leg that hangs off the edge of the table.

“You can tell me to stop,” he locks his eyes onto yours as his hand begins to trail up your other leg, the gentleness of his touch making a shiver wrack up your spine, “but I don’t think that you’d want me to.”

“Dejun...” you trail off, not interested in telling him to stop in the slightest, but still unaware of what you should say.

“So pretty” he mutters to himself, his lips brushing your skin as his fingers get closer and closer to the warming space between your legs.

Your breathing is shallow, your brain doing leaps as it tries to catch up to its surroundings. Your hand moves without you even thinking, and it only clicks that your brushing the tips of your middle and ring finger over his bottom lip when, at the same moment his middle finger pushes against the wet spot forming on your underwear, he take the digits between his lips and laves his tongue over them.

“So um, ... is this what was distracting you?” you want to kick yourself for asking, but it was hard to get the words structured out in your brain when you have a boy you’ve been smitten with for so long sucking on your fingers and petting at you through your underwear.

“Everything you do is distracting,” he says blatantly and without thought after letting your dampened fingers fall from his lips, “do you think you taste as sweet at the peach on your hand?”

His question makes your heart race, you almost feel like you’re not even still on planet earth as everything happens so fast, the only thing that pulls you back down to earth is a quiet cough from the living room and his teeth gently nipping at your palm.

“I dunno,” you want desperately to play along, be as naturally alluring as the boy knelt between your thighs, but instead your flustered and hot, your ability to keep up with the flirting being thrown in the trash now that your being hit with a reality check.

“Will you let me find out?”

“Yes, please,” you nod eagerly as your hips start to tilt towards him, the stuttering motions making the fabric catch on the wood below you and start to tug them down.

“So sweet asking so politely,” his praises make your face warm even more, your nails digging into the table as he curls his middle finger around the fabric and pull the garment down your thighs, “but promise you’ll be nice and quiet cause wasted or not, their ears still work.”

“I promise,” you squeak quietly before you tuck your bottom lip between your teeth, your legs falling apart and bruising against the edge after he shoves the fabric into the pocket of his pants.

With a teasing glint in his eyes, he looks at you with a soft smile. His hand pulls away from his pocket to push his index finger against his lips in a shushing motion, before he leans in a places a soft kiss against your skin.

The muscles of your thighs twitch, a sharp gasp pulling into your lungs at the tingling brush of stimulation. He immediately looks up, a faux look of disappointment on his face at the noise you make, and with a pouting smile, you mirror his shushing motion in hopes to get him to continue.

He only shakes his head in endearment in response before he’s back to the task at hand, his hands grabbing and pushing your thighs open before the flat of his tongue is pushing against you and dragging against your dripping entrance.

“Fuck Jun,” your brain feels like it melts, as well as the muscles winding up your back, but your still aware enough to keep your words quiet so he won’t pull away. But the way he licks slowly over you clit before pulling the flesh into his mouth and sucking, makes holding back even a squeak almost impossible.

The soft wet noises that raise from below you makes you incredibly aware of how quiet the house had gotten since everyone had passed out. You had turned the music down to only a rumble, hoping the soft rhythm would help the guys sleep better regardless of their bed for the night being couches, recliners, and the floor. There was also a soft uneven rumbling of a few of their snores and grunts here and there, but without the whispers of your and Xiaojun’s conversation, it felt like the universe could hear him indulging in your arousal if it would only strain its ear.

The moan you let out is comparable to a purr, and as you rock you hips against his face, your fingers sink into his hair and you slowly lean back until your laying flush on the wooden surface.

He follows your movements with ease, his shoulders raising as he puts his whole body into lavishing every inch of your sensitive skin.

His hands tickle at the skin of your stomach as they trail up your sides, the sensation making your breathing pick up and your body start to squirm. He doesn’t seem effected by any of your moving though, as he welcomes you squeezing his head gently with your thighs with a deep groan and his hands squeezing roughly at your swelled chest.

You whine into the thick air of the room, bordering on breaking your promise to be quiet when he continues to groan into you and scrape his blunt nails down your skin and against your stiffening nipples.

Your eyes begin to roll back as you feel the promise of an orgasm start to crawl up your spine, the flat of your foot pressing into the table top while the other pushes against his back with your toes curling into and tugging at his shirt.

“Please, please,” it’s only a whisper, but it’s enough for him to pinch at your side in warning. Though his disappointment is obviously faux, when you meet his eyes and they sparkle playfully as he silently begs you to let go.

He knows you staying silent is lost cause, and he’s come to embrace it, when you back starts to curve away from the table. A grumbly moan shakes your chest and he only laps at you faster and you start to shiver against him.

Your head is still a bit fuzzy from the night that now lived behind you, but it only adds to the overwhelming amount of pleasure that takes a hold of you. His tongue feels like heaven and the orgasm that rocks through you is one of best you’ve ever had. You can’t help but scold yourself for taking so long to let him take his claim between your legs.

It’s not until you harshly pull at his hair, his thick eyebrows scrunching together in response to the dull pain, does he finally pull his lips and tongue from your skin, a lewd popping noise following as he detaches from your sensitive clit.

You don’t let him speak before your pressing your still glossy lips against his, the taste of your arousal mixing from his mouth with the still lingering taste of the peach in yours as your tongues brush one another’s, and the flavor makes you both happily groan.

“Let me take you to my room,” it’s not a question but a plead that he lets out against your lips. A plead you answer with a fast nod of the head and desperate hands that grab at his clothes.

And with clumsy feet and groping fingers, you run with him to the room, the scattered drunken bodies of your friend tripped over, but mostly forgotten.

#xiaojun smut #nct smut #wayv smut #nct imagines #wayv imagines #xiaojun imagines #kpop smut #xiaojun blurbs #nct blurbs #wayv blurbs #spp

[peachsayshi]

Chapter 4 - Domain

Gojo Satoru x Female Reader

Tags: Friends with Benefits, Smut, Teasing and a little bit of Fluff. 

Summary: Gojo returns from his trip, and while the two of you are hanging out you ask him to show you some of his powers. Unable to resist himself, he breaks a rule along the way.

A/N: Thank you so much for the likes and reblogs! I pretty much only have this updated on AO3 but am slowly trying to add all the chapters onto my Tumblr.

- - - 

When Gojo texted you to let you know that he was at his apartment, he did it with a devious prank in his mind. He informed you that you could let yourself in as the door was unlocked but chose to turn off all the lights and hid in one of the closets.

Then he waited.

He heard the patter of your footsteps and a soft “hello”, before creeping out from his hiding place and lightly approaching you. He was quiet enough for you not to hear him, the shadow of your frame slowing down and he could tell you were getting nervous.

She’s going to kill me, he thought to himself but refused to back out now that he had already set things in motion.

He towered behind you, noticing you freeze in place by the unknown and proceeded to wrap his long arms around your waist before pulling you into his body.

“ Boo !” he exclaimed in your ear, earning a well deserved shriek on your part.

“GOJO, YOU IDIOT!”

You elbowed him in the stomach, forcing him to let go of you as a fit of giggles escaped his lips.

You marched over to the light switches, flicking them to illuminate his large penthouse apartment and you furrowed your brows at the six-foot-three goofball who was covering his mouth to hold in his laughter.

“This is how you greet your friends after coming back from a trip?! By scaring the shit out of them?! Who the hell does that?!!”

Gojo tried to contain himself but the image of your jump scare was perfectly etched in his brain, replaying over and over again. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry …” he said in between laughs, breathing in to regain control of himself. “I couldn’t help myself but you should see your face!”

“Ugh, you immature , asshole!” you grumbled, throwing the bag that you were holding in your hands in his direction.

Gojo had superior reflexes and caught it before it flew over his shoulder. He took a minute to calm himself down, extremely pleased that his plan went accordingly.

Meanwhile, you tossed your purse onto his coffee table, huffing to yourself as you plopped down on his black sofa. You folded your arms across your chest, unable to even look at him because of how irritated you were.

Gojo glanced down at the bag in his hand, the clear plastic enclosing a number of rainbow colored candies on the inside.

He bit his bottom lip out of guilt. “Okay, I’m sorry …I mean it this time…”

You scoffed, “are you? Because you still seem pretty content with what you just did.”

“I’m not going to lie, seeing you react like that was worth it…”

You scooted away from him as he took his seat next to you.

“What if you were some kind of murderer?!”

“Now why would you think a murderer would be in this apartment when I  invited you over in the first place? You’re smart, use a little logic…” he teased as he tapped your temple lightly before proceeding to open the bag of sweets.

“That’s it, you don’t deserve Rina’s candies...”

Gojo clasped his chest in disbelief, “ you don’t mean that… ”

You snatched the bag away from him, a satisfied smile spreading across your lips as Gojo frowned.

Deep down inside he was really happy to see you. Playful banter and all, your presence was the recharge he needed after his trip.

The two of you met eight years ago at Rina’s candy shop. At the time, your best friend was just starting her own confectionary business which you were helping her with by working part time while you were still studying at university. Gojo couldn’t get enough of her sweets, earning himself a reputation as a repeat customer. You and Rina constantly joke that he practically kept the business afloat during the early days.What you didn’t know is that he also had his eyes on Rina’s pretty friend. Unfortunately for Gojo, you were taken and oblivious to his advances.

He didn’t care; just because you weren’t interested in him in a physical sense, didn’t mean that you both couldn’t be friends. Gojo is the type of guy who would confidently socialise with anyone around him. He knew not everybody took to his personality, especially when the words “narcissist”, “egotistical” and “arrogant” were constantly used to describe him. You knew all this about him but still chose to maintain your friendship. How you put up with his petty behavior and childish ways often had him wondering why you stuck around but he was grateful that you did.  

After all, you were his closest friend - the only person he relied on after Suguru died.

Gojo pouted his lips, singing your name as he leaned forward to you and softening his tone. “If I get down on my knees and apologise will you forgive me?”

“Hmmm…” you pondered, “I think that’s a fair punishment and you’re buying dinner tonight, which I’ll be choosing so you can’t make a fuss about it.”

Gojo nodded his head and shifted his position to plant his knees onto the floor. He placed one hand on his chest, his other lifting up his blindfold so he was peeping at you with just one eye.

“I sincerely apologize for the hurt I caused you. Will you please, with a cherry on top , forgive this idiot who is on his knees?”

He noticed your lovely smile, amused that he was the reason behind this reaction.

“Okay, you're forgiven,” you replied, as you extended the bag of sweets back to him, offering him to take his pick.

Gojo returned to his sit next to you, his fingers dipping into the candy mix before pulling out a ruby colored square and popping it into his mouth.

“Mmmm…” he moaned, as the flavor burst along his tongue, “ this is good.. .”

“It’s a fresh batch. She made it this morning,” you replied, picking up a piece of candy for yourself. “Now that we can be civilized. Tell me how your trip went…”

The two of you spoke briefly about his trip but Gojo wasn’t eager to disclose the headache he is currently going through trying to uncover the fingers of a one-thousand year old curse. Instead he shifted the conversation back to you, asking how your morning with Rina went instead. He was only back for twelve hours before he had to leave again. The two of you wanted to see each other but agreed that you would hold off on “grabbing drinks” until he returned three days from now.

However, Gojo noted how good you looked seated right in front of him. Before all this started, you would usually show up at his place in casual clothes, paying no attention about how you looked but tonight he realized that you made an effort.  

You made an effort to look nice for him.  

He appreciated it, because the pair of denim jeans you had on fit in all the right places that he loved paying attention to. Your white t-shirt revealed a hint of the lace bralette you were wearing underneath and the man wondered if that was a deliberate fashion choice on your part just to tease him. Your lips were painted in crimson, practically forcing him to focus on your mouth. He had to remember that the rules were there for a reason. The rules ensured that the two of you maintained the boundaries of your friendship. The rules were there because you two needed to make sure that this didn’t influence your existing relationship in any way.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah, but I can’t promise an answer…” Gojo cheekily replied, popping another sweet in his mouth as he grinned at you.

“Can I see your… domain ?”

“Is that supposed to be a code for my dick or something?”

You rolled your eyes at him, “you keep telling me about all these powers you have but I’ve never seen any of it.”

Gojo squinted his eyes at you, “why are you so curious about me all of a sudden?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you were asking me a lot of questions about work just now, which you usually don’t do, and now you want me to show you my skill set…”

You fidgeted in place, your fingers tapping nervously against the fabric of your jeans. “I don’t know, I think it’s weird that we have been friends for so long but I still don’t know the real you…”

Gojo paused, taken aback by your statement, “of course you know the real me.”

“Not the parts of you that you keep hiding from me.”

It’s for your own good, he thought to himself.

Gojo pressed his lips together to stop himself from saying those words.

“You already know about my Six Eyes…” he light heartedly replied.  

“There’s more to you than that! I guess I’m just curious to see what else you can do. Besides, I’m starting to come up with theories about your powers. Starting with the fact that you have to wear this blindfold at all times otherwise you’re going to start shooting blue laser beams at people.”

“No laser beams, I can promise that,” Gojo replied with a nervous chuckle.

“Then show me the you that “claims” to be the strongest jujutsu sorcerer…” you said, poking him gently on the shoulder. “I just…want to see something …”

Gojo pondered for a moment, sighing to himself as he was not quite sure what he could possibly do that wouldn’t risk putting you in danger. A few seconds passed before he stood up, taking the bag of sweets from your hand and placing it near your purse.

“I want you to stand in front of me,” he requested as he walked around the sofa and found a spot in the middle of the room.

You did as he asked and motioned your way to the position that he had requested. Gojo extended his arm out, ensuring that you were a good distance away.

“Alright, now give me a hug.”

You arched your brow, “seriously?”

“Just do it…” he insisted.

“If this is another stupid prank…”

“I swear it isn’t. Now give me a hug, I’m trying to make a point.”

You walked over towards him, taking your time until you were a few inches away from him. Your arms looped around his waist as you embraced him, but you stared up at him in confusion waiting to see what Gojo was planning next.

“Now what?”

“Okay…” Gojo placed both his hands on your shoulders, before motioning you back until you were an arms length away from him again. “Now I want you to try and push me,” he commanded.

“Push you?”

“Yes. Try to knock me down.”

You scoffed and he could tell that you probably thought he was messing around with you again. Just to play along you nonchalantly placed both your hands up and moved over to shove him, only this time Gojo did something that he’s never done in your presence.

Your eyes widened, your hands pressing into the air that was separating your touch from his body. The force like iron poured over concrete, incredibly powerful and completely protecting Gojo from you.  

“Wait… why…” you voice shook, as your frustration got the better of you. Your hands started to tremble and Gojo noticed you increasing your force as you tried to fight the barrier of his infinity technique.

“ Why can’t I touch you?…”

You were using your legs to push now, every ounce of energy going into fighting the invisible cloak that shielded him.

Gojo smirked before dropping his infinity.

You felt the barrier lift, the pressure giving way as you hurled into him. Your body collided into his, all that pent up energy crashing into the sorcerer as you fell onto the ground. Gojo braced your fall but your face was planted into his chest and your arms lay flat on the ground besides him.

“Are you okay?” he asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

You gathered your senses, pushing yourself until you were sitting upright to face him. A puzzled look masked your face as you patted Gojo’s chest lightly before clutching shoulders and massaging your hands down his arms. “I can touch you now!  How…how did you do that?…”  

Your gaze lifted to meet his own both shocked and amazed by what just happened.

With his blindfold on you couldn’t tell that he was looking at you with wonderment.

Gojo straightened his back so that the two of you were facing each other. You shifted your legs, adjusting your position so you were straddling him. Your hands were still pressing his arms, gripping onto them as if you were trying to prove to yourself that you were indeed touching him.

“You asked me to show you something. So I did...” he said with a shrug.  

“Was that your domain? Are…are you the domain?!”

Your innocent question made his heart swell, and a laugh escaped him.  

“That’s not how it works! It's more complicated than that but this is just one of my techniques that I use to defend myself.”

“That’s… pretty cool …”

“Does it satisfy your curiosity?”

“A little.”

Gojo felt you finally let go of him. He glanced down to stare at your hands which were slightly red. He winced at the sight, bringing his fingers to wrap around your wrist as his thumb circled the center of your palm.

“Did I hurt you?”

“No, this is from smacking the floor when I tripped.”

“Technically still my fault, I should have warned you that I was going to drop my infinity…”

“When I tried to push you it was the weirdest sensation. Like, I was touching something but feeling absolutely nothing at the same time. Has anyone ever broken it? Your infinity?”

“You forget I’m the strongest,” Gojo smugly replied, “nobody can touch me unless I want them to.”

You hummed to yourself but Gojo could see that you were lost in your own thoughts. You took his statement into consideration but he could tell you still had more questions you wanted to ask.

“Thank you for showing me,” you replied softly, choosing to let it go for now.

Your eyes locked onto his, your cheeks a little flushed when you realized how close your faces were to each other. Gojo could sense your pulse increasing, your chest rising and falling as seconds passed between you both.

Right now, all he could think about is kissing you.

His lips brushed yours, a breathless sigh escaping you as you broke the silence that hung in the air.

“ Maybe, we should order some dinner…” you suggested, your eyes shimmering with anticipation.

“That’s an idea,” Gojo murmured, his eyes from beneath his blindfold dropping to your lips.

“I was thinking maybe we can take away from that place-“

His lips locked onto yours, interrupting your thoughts as he gave in to his desire. His hands moved to your hips, tugging you forward against him so he was holding you closer. He bit your bottom lip, before licking it and sliding his tongue into your mouth. Completely entranced by what he was doing, he didn’t notice your hands trailing up his chest until it circled around his neck. This kiss was different, slow and passionate as Gojo took the time to explore your mouth. The taste of sugar dance across your tongues as he deepened the kiss, and he could feel himself getting hard as your chest rubbed against his. One of his hands snaked it’s way up behind your back, tangling his fingers in your hair. His other hand began lifting your tee from the front, sliding underneath it as he slowly began rubbing the flesh of your midriff. You broke away from him, taking a second to catch your breath as you pressed your forehead into his and hoping to calm things down before they escalate.

“We shouldn’t…we said we weren’t going too…”

“You’re right, we probably should stop…” Gojo agreed, but his lips spoke otherwise as he returned a kiss instead.

“ Satoru… ” you whined, but he could sense the heat between your legs as your hips naturally bucked into him. “We said we wouldn’t…not tonight..”

“Then tell me to stop.”

“What about the rules…”

“Tell me that you want me to stop, and we can go back to what we were doing.”

His lips trailed to your neck, where he nipped and sucked at your skin with every intention of leaving a mark.

You whimpered, tilting your head instead and giving Gojo better access to continue what he was doing. Your silence spoke volumes and gave him the consent he needed to continue.

“Rules were meant to be broken,” he whispered in your ear. “And tonight, sweet girl, you’re all mine …”

- CHAPTER 5: EDGE - 

#Gojo Satoru #Gojo Satoru x reader #Gojo Satoru x ofc #Gojo Satoru x you #Gojo Satoru smut #Gojo Satoru fluff #Gojo Satoru angst #jjk fan fiction #jjk smut #jjk x reader #gojo jjk #Gojo jujutsu kaisen

[bluejayblueskies]

for the kiss prompts series? 67+jontim (or really Tim+anyone?) 🥺

67 - When One Stops The Kiss To Whisper “I’m Sorry, Are You Sure You-” And They Answer By Kissing Them More

i stuck with jontim! takes place pre-canon when jon and tim worked together in research, featuring mutual pining <3

cw for alcohol

.

“Okay, that was hands down the worst holiday party I’ve ever been to,” Tim says as soon as they’re outside the Institute, tugging on the tie around his neck to loosen it. It’s adorned with little reindeer and it lights up. As Tim had so eagerly demonstrated the moment he’d met up with Sasha and Jon.

 Jon doesn’t like parties in general, so he doesn’t think he’s the best judge of what makes a party good or bad. He takes a guess. “Because of the alcohol?”

 “More like the lack thereof,” Tim grumbles as they start toward the tube station. “I know it’s a work party, but come on. Not even spiked eggnog? Not even wine? What kind of person has a party without wine?”

 “Elias, apparently.”

 Tim groans. “Don’t know what I was expecting, really. The man looks like he’s never had fun in his life, ever.” Tim slings an arm around Jon’s shoulder and pulls him into his side as he walks, and Jon tries to pretend like his heart rate doesn’t skyrocket at the contact. He’s just glad it’s dark enough out that Tim can’t see the flush of heat across his cheeks. “So, then. Back to mine?”

 Jon’s heart rate has, apparently, not yet reached maximum speed. “What?” he manages to say, his pulse hammering in his ears. He’s just glad that the word comes out mostly normal, if a bit choked.

 “The night’s still young,” Tim says, oblivious to Jon’s internal turmoil, “and I’m still in need of a drink or three, especially after all of that. I’ve got a batch of eggnog in the fridge. I’ve also got a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon—that fancy brand you like.”

 Tim knows what brand of wine you like, one part of Jon’s mind supplies. The other part says, Of course he knows what you like; you’ve been friends for a year and a half. It doesn’t mean anything.

 “Oh,” Jon says. “Yes, I’d love to- er, that- that sounds… nice?”

 He barely holds back a wince. Very smooth, Jonathan.

 “Great!” Tim says, unbothered. He pulls Jon a little tighter against his side, and when Jon shivers, it’s not just from the chill of the night air.

 In the time it takes them to get to Tim’s house, Jon has relaxed a bit, settling into a comfortable rhythm of laughing at Tim’s jokes, offering his own awkward attempts in return, and letting the warmth of Tim’s laughter soak into him like the summer sun. It’s fine, he tells himself as Tim puts a hand on his shoulder, lingering just long enough that Jon can still feel the weight of it when Tim pulls away. It’s the same as always, he tells himself as Tim grabs his hand on their way off the tube, gently guiding him through the late-night crowds and into the bite of the open air. (Tim doesn’t let go until they get to his house, which Jon tries very hard not to have a minor crisis about.) It’s just Tim, he tells himself as Tim places a hand on the small of his back as he reaches around him to grab the glasses from his kitchen cabinet. (Jon almost drops the bottle of wine he’s holding. Which would have been quite embarrassing.)

 It’s not even like this is new. This tightness in his chest, the way his breath catches a bit every time Tim smiles at him, the way he sometimes finds himself staring at Tim’s lips and wondering if they’re as soft as they look. And Jon’s not naïve. As much as he despises the word itself, he knows that at some point, he’d developed quite a potent crush. He just tries very, very hard to ignore it.

 Because, well. He hasn’t been in a relationship since Georgie, and while their breakup had been unspectacular by most standards, it still ate a hole in his chest filled with a nagging certainty that if they’d remained just friends, he wouldn’t have had to go through the pain of falling slowly out of contact with her. And he doesn’t want that to happen with Tim. So it doesn’t matter how badly Jon wants to hold Tim’s hand and curl up into his side and kiss him. He’ll ignore it like he’s been doing for the past three months, and it’ll be fine.

 But it’s getting harder and harder. Especially at moments like this one, with Tim pressed up against Jon’s side on the couch and his voice right next to Jon’s ear as he points out his favorite parts in the movie they’d put on. Jon’s unsure if the heat in his cheeks is from the proximity or from the three glasses of wine he’s consumed, and he’s fairly certain that Tim’s on his fourth glass of eggnog. Tim’s glass is shaped like a little reindeer head, which he thinks Tim had said is a reference to something. He’d been too busy looking at the way Tim’s rolled-up shirt sleeves showed his forearms to process what, exactly, it was a reference to.

 “You know,” Tim says, cutting through Jon’s train of thought, “I never really understood the whole ‘love at first sight’ thing.”

 Jon’s heart jumps into his throat. “Sorry, what?”

 “You know,” Tim says, shifting from his position against Jon’s side so he can set his glass on the table before propping his feet up next to it. His socks have felt reindeer antlers on the sides of them. Jon’s beginning to notice a theme. “One person lays eyes on the other and boom. They’re in love.” He gestures toward the screen, which is currently displaying a quite detailed kissing scene. Jon looks away, face burning. “Do people really do that? Just know that they love someone with- without knowing anything about them? Feels a bit shallow, if you ask me. You’ve got to just go based on- on physical appearance or something.”

 At a loss, Jon says, slowly, “Yes, I… I suppose?”

 “Right.” Tim nods once, like he’s settled something. “Me, though, I need to know somebody first, you know? Always used to get me in a bit of trouble in uni, falling in love with my best friends and all that. But isn’t that how it’s supposed to be? Your partner is your partner, yeah, but they’re also your friend.”

 “Right,” Jon says faintly. His heartbeat is hummingbird-fast, and he thinks his hands might be shaking just a bit. “Tim, what—?”

 “It just- it doesn’t make any sense!” Tim turns to face Jon then, his cheeks flushed and his hair a bit messy from where he’d tugged some of it free from its bun. “It’s like- like, I love the way you look, yeah, but also- also the way you laugh and the way you take your tea and the types of books you read as a child. You know, the things that make you you. I fall in love with all of the little things, piece by piece, and then I’m just- just in love. Full stop.”

 Jon thinks he might actually be dreaming right now. Or dying. One of the two. “Um,” he says, the word choked by the lump in his throat. “Are- are you using the universal ‘you,’ or…?”

 Tim is quiet for a moment. His eyes are heavy on Jon’s face, as if searching for something. Then, sounding very much like a man who’s just decided to jump off a cliff and hope that there’s something below to catch him, he says, “You, Jon. And I promise that it’s not the rum talking.”

 “Oh,” Jon says quietly. “I… I see.”

 He realizes a beat later, when Tim’s face has folded ever so slightly inward and he’s begun to move away, how dismissive that had sounded. Quickly, and a bit panicked, Jon reaches out and wraps a hand firmly around Tim’s upper arm, like if he doesn’t hold on tightly enough Tim will slip away. “No, it’s- I’m, sorry, I just- I didn’t—”

 Jon makes a noise of frustration, because of course, now that he needs them, the words won’t come easily. His eyes find Tim’s face—the gentle slope of his nose, the small birthmark by the corner of his eye, the five o’clock shadow across his jaw—before settling on his lips. And before Jon makes the conscious decision to do so, he leans forward and kisses him.

 Tim makes a surprised noise against Jon’s mouth, something low and breathy. After a moment, Tim pulls back, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry,” he says, more hesitantly than Jon’s ever heard him before. “Are- are you sure you—?”

 Yes, Jon wants to say. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I’m sure about this. I’m sure about you.

 Instead, he leans forward and captures the rest of Tim’s sentence with his lips. After a moment, Tim’s hands go to Jon’s waist, pulling him close, and Jon slips his hands up to the sides of Tim’s face, feeling the heat of Tim’s skin against his as he kisses him and kisses him and kisses him.

 At some point, weeks later, Tim will joke that they have Elias to thank for them finally putting an end to the mutual pining, and Jon will give a full-body shudder and say that he would rather not think of Elias when remembering their first kiss, thank you very much. But for now, Jon holds Tim close and kisses him and lets the light, giddy feeling in his chest overtake him until it feels like he’s weightless and floating, grounded only by the feeling of Tim’s hands on his hips and the way Tim smiles against his lips and whispers, softly and reverently, I love you.

 I love you too, Jon says, resting his head against Tim’s shoulder to hide his smile and to try to breathe around the affection blossoming in his chest. I love you, I love you, I love you.

#tma #the magnus archives #jonathan sims #tim stoker #jontim #my writing #my fic #ft. some demiromantic tim! #anyone who guesses what the glasses reference is gets a gold star #on that note: this is my last kiss prompt!!! i've done it lads

[is-it-art-tho]

Excerpt: When Jason turned back, he found two steady streams of tears running down Damian’s face, dripping from his chin. He had never seen the kid cry before.

As Jason slipped in through the window, a shadow moving through the night, a chill swept in behind him, and the form in the bed groaned and shifted in response.

He cringed, closing the window and navigating his way to a chair. And he'd all but sat down when a low voice from just behind him said, “Taken.”

Jason choked back a full-throated scream, wrangling it into a string of curses as he staggered backwards and squinted into the low light.

Bruce leaned forward in the chair so that his face was illuminated beside the window, his eyes as tired as ever, hair mussed and flattened on one side in a way that made Jason suspect he’d been sleeping he might’ve just been sleeping.

“Didn’t know you were here,” the younger man, hating how he felt himself shrinking, making himself smaller in Bruce’s presence. He made a conscious effort to lift his chin, square his shoulders. “I’ll just go.”

“Wait. Don’t.” Bruce rose, so stiff Jason could practically hear his joints creaking. “I’ve been here for”—he checked his watch—“I don’t even know how long.”

“Better things to do?”

Though Bruce’s face was once again in shadow, Jason could still feel his resignation and frustration rippling in the silence and heightened by sheer exhaustion.

“If you can’t or won’t stay,” Bruce said flatly, “it’s fine. I can figure something else out.”

“I’m sure you could. But don’t even worry about it.” Jason marched to the chair, forcing Bruce to sidestep out of his way as he practically threw himself into the seat. “Unlike you, I tend to find a way to squeeze family into my schedule.”

In the darkness, only the whites of Bruce’s eyes were visible, peering down at Jason and looking strikingly like the lenses of the cowl. To anyone else, this might have felt eerie, almost menacing.

To Jason, it felt like a Tuesday.

“Go. Run along to wherever it is you go at times like these," Jason said, wagging his fingers in a shoo motion. "We’ll be here when you decide to start caring again.”

Bruce left without another word, closing the door behind him just a tad softer than necessary. It was an overcorrection, a conscious effort not to slam it. And that’s how Jason knew he had gotten to him.

He always got to him.

Several minutes after Jason had begun scrolling through his phone, halfway between sleep and consciousness, the trill of a heart monitor caught his attention.

He looked up. Damian was still asleep, but the machine he was attached to was going crazy, spiking as if he were in a dead sprint. Jason rose to get a closer look and found Damian drenched in sweat and panting, his face contorted in terror.

“Hey,” Jason whispered, placing a hand on his narrow chest and shaking him. “Hey, whoa. Damian. Damian, calm down.”

The kid gasped, his eyes flying open and darting around the room as if still seeing the ghost of whatever nightmare he had been trapped in.

Jason waited for his gaze to finally find him before asking, “They gone?”

Damian looked around the room again, a quick check of all the shadows and dark corners, before offering a quick nod.

“Good.”

Damian sucked in a shaky breath as he adjusted himself on the pillows so that he was sitting mostly upright, and Jason couldn’t help but notice how small he looked with his massive t-shirt hanging like drapes from his shoulders. It must have been one of Bruce’s.

“If you need more sedatives—" Jason began, reaching for the pill bottle, but Damian stopped him with a curt,

“Don’t.” His voice was somewhat frail despite how hard Jason knew he was likely working to sound indifferent. ”Where is Father?”

“Had some stuff to take care of,” Jason answered, finding a closer chair to pull up to the side of the bed.

“Hm.” Damian wasn’t looking at him, instead restlessly adjusting the sheets on the bed. The heart monitor’s incessant trilling was the ultimate betrayal of his forced calm—a canary in the coal mine.

“I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” the older boy added a little lamely.

“Only if he’s as idiotic as all the others.” At Jason’s confused frown, Damian continued, “I’m not some child who needs to be looked after at all hours. And it’s an insult for them to act as if I am. Not to mention a waste of time and resources.”

Jason leaned back in the plush seat, already exhausted by the direction of the conversation. “Time and resources?”

“If they’re babysitting me here that means they’re not out there doing something useful. The world doesn’t stop needing Batman and all the others simply because I’m temporarily incapacitated.”

“Right,” Jason sighed. “But here’s the thing: I get the whole ‘I don’t need help from anyone’ thing. I practically invented it. But I’ve also been on the receiving end of fear toxin, and that stuff is no joke. Especially if you have to deal with it solo. There’s no shame in needing a little backup.”

“Perhaps it is difficult for you, but I’m fine. I’ve trained for this.”

“You’ve trained to be trapped alone with your worst nightmares? What the hell kind of training—”

Damian leveled an outright bone-chilling stare on him, and the following silence was as much an explanation as it was a warning.

Jason cleared his throat. “Well, then let me put it this way: just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you have to. Gotham won’t fall just because a couple bats take a few days off to look after one of their own.”

“You—” And whatever Damian was about to say—and Jason was sure it was going to be insulting—shriveled in a quick gasp as the boy’s eyes flicked just over Jason’s shoulder. The heart monitor picked back up again, and Jason watched as Damian struggled to control his breathing, trembling hands clutching at the sheets.

“Where?” Jason asked quietly.

“By the door…”

The older boy turned to scan the dark walls, the corner, the dresser. He saw nothing.

“Make it go away,” Damian begged. “Please…”

When Jason turned back, he found two steady streams of tears running down Damian’s face, dripping from his chin. He had never seen the kid cry before.

“Damian,” he began, but the younger boy was screaming now, railing against whatever specter was lurking in shadows.

“You’re lying!” he wailed, starting to get up. Jason leapt out of his chair and pinned Damian’s small shoulders to the bed as the kid continued to scream at something—or someone—over Jason’s shoulder. “You’re lying! You’re lying! I’ll kill you!”

“It’s not real!” Jason shouted back, knowing that this wouldn’t work. It never did. “There’s nothing there! Just look at me! Look at me!”

But even as Jason forced himself directly into Damian’s eye-line, he could see that the kid was looking through him, seeing and unseeing at the same time. The boy was inconsolable now, weeping and screaming at the top of his lungs in a language Jason didn’t even recognize.

He continued to thrash against the older boy’s grip, much stronger than the average kid his age but still no match for Jason’s mass, until slowly he started to come back down. Whether the episode was passing, or he had simply exhausted himself, Jason couldn’t be sure, but after a few minutes the heart monitor started to settle back into a less agitated rhythm, and Damian managed to find and focus on Jason’s eyes again.

“They gone?” Jason asked, his hands still gripping Damian’s shoulders.

“Please,” he whispered, his eyes never straying from the older boy’s, “don’t make me look.”

“I won’t. You don’t have to look anywhere but this handsome mug, alright? I’m right here. All night if you want.”

Damian nodded, and Jason could see how hard he was trying not to look anywhere else in the room. He could see how petrified this kid was and how tired he was and God since when was this little brat so young?

“Move over,” Jason ordered softly, and to his surprise Damian obeyed and watched without protest as the older boy shed his boots and jacket and climbed into the massive bed with him.

Jason lifted his arm and pulled Damian into his side, gently guiding his face so that it was buried in his shirt to physically block out the rest of the world. He felt Damian shove his face even deeper into Jason’s ribs, and a moment later he felt Damian’s shoulders quivering again, little hiccupping breaths against his side.

“I can still see it,” he whispered.

“I know.” Jason squeezed him harder, glaring around the room and wishing for something to beat the crap out of. He would suck up a couple lungfuls of fear toxin himself right now if it meant he’d be able to stand between Damian and whatever it was that was tormenting him. “But I’ve got you.”

“Thank you, Father,” Damian mumbled, sounding already mostly asleep.

Jason tensed, but forced himself to breathe through it. And when the door finally cracked open nearly an hour later, spilling light into the room, they were in much the same position, Jason having been too scared to move a muscle even after his shoulder had begun to cramp up.

Bruce poked his head in and hesitated.

“It’s alright,” Jason assured him. “You won’t wake him up.”

The older man entered, a silhouette gliding noiselessly across the floor. “I’m sorry for being away for so long. There were some…complications. But we’ve got a promising lead on a new anti-toxin formula. It should help.”

Jason nodded. “I figured Scarecrow must have cooked up something new. I’ve never seen it linger like this before.”

“Hn.” He leaned across Jason to glide his fingers along Damian’s brow and gently cup his cheek. Jason wondered if Bruce could see the dried tear tracks there. “How was he?”

“About how you’d expect. He’s strong, though. Maybe too strong for his own good.”

Bruce chuckled, a quick exhale through his nose, before pulling away. “I can take over from here if you want to go.”

Jason looked at Damian still curled into his side then back at Bruce. Suddenly, he was grateful not to be the one hooked up to the heart monitor. “Actually, think I might hang around for a little while longer. If you’re okay with that.”

Bruce blinked. “Of course. Absolutely.” And taking the seat Jason had moved near the bed, he added, “I always have time for you, by the way. All of you. There’s never anything more important.”

“I know.” And though there were many memories Jason could use to poke holes in this notion, for now at least, he decided not to. Because deep down, he knew how desperately they both wanted it to be true.

And maybe tonight that could be enough.

#batman fanfic #damian wayne #damian wayne whump #jason todd #bruce wayne #batman fanfiction #batfam fanfiction #batfam fanfic #at least for tonight #whump #mild hurt/comfort

[unmaskedagain]

Remember You Young

I answered this ask because I thought it was adorable. I loved the show they wanted me to do, and I want to see who could guess it before it became obvious. Its a one-shot . 

She was being followed. At first it had been daunting when she realized it, and Marinette had done everything she could to shake them off her trail. Then she realized she was being stalked by kids. Literally kids. None older than ten or eleven at best.

           They had been terrible at hiding, rarely ever whispered, argued constantly, had the most outrageous costumes but somehow managed to keep up with Marinette’s every move... most of the time. They ran around with toy guns and pretend walky talkies.

           It either said the best thing about the kids’ skills, or the worst thing about Marinette’s.

           There was a husky boy who ran around in a blue shirt and goggles. He never took off the old pilot’s hat he wore. He was also… always eating cheese. Or candy. He liked puns that caused his friends to groan constantly.

           There was an Asian little girl who wore an adorable green sweater that was too big for her and the arms of the sweater went well past her hands. She was girly and seemed to be the sweetest of the bunch. Honestly, she was the happiest girl Marinette had ever seen in her entire life. The only time the kid had gotten upset was when she had cried when couldn’t find the stuffed animal she wanted in any of the stores. Marinette had been heartbroken for her. The bluenette didn’t know what a “Rainbow Monkey” was or why it had to be French but she was going to get it for the girl if it was the last thing she did it.

           A bald British boy seemed to be the leader as everyone took direction from him. Marinette had never seen his eyes due to the black glasses he wore. The kid seemed to believe himself to be some sort of superspy. He had a fierce take-charge attitude and barked orders like a pro and preferred to a treehouse their hung out at as headquarters. He didn’t smile often.

           A pretty black girl seemed to be the one with the most sense of the much, and the most style. She wore her hair in a long braid, a blue shirt-dress and an old red cap. The girl had a natural charisma and coolness to her that made Marinette feel awkward in comparison. She seemed to second-in-command .

           The smallest of the bunch was a blond boy with an unfortunate bowl cut and a bright orange hoody. He was loud, brash, and was the “tough guy” of the bunch. He picked a fight with nearly everyone. A fierce little guy that called Marinette a “Ruddy Teenager.”

           However all the kids seemed to dislike adults and teens to some degree. They cast suspicious glances at everyone thirteen and older no matter how nice they were. None of them ever called each other by their names, always opting to follow the rules of whatever game they were playing and called each other by numbers. And always mispronounced the word: number.

           Numbuh 1. Numbuh 2. Numbuh 3. Numbuh 4. Numbuh 5. Marinette hadn’t gotten close enough to figure out who was who but she did suspect the numbers were ranking order or anything. They were probably just random.

           After over two weeks of being stalked, Marinette still hadn’t been able to figure out what they wanted from her. Only that they didn’t know she was Ladybug. It was frustrating.

           She finally got answers one day while walking home from school when she got attacked by an evil cat lady who weaponized her pets, a deranged dentist who put braces on everyone, and a man dressed like toilet. They attempted to kidnap Marinette and raise all out heck on everyone around them. They weren’t Akumas. They were just crazy people.

           The kids fought them back. They saved the day. They saved Marinette. The villains ran with their tails between their legs.

           …Suddenly everything the kids had been doing didn’t seem like a game anymore.

           …Then the kids kidnapped Marinette. The kids jumped her, hogtied her, gagged her, and carried her back to their tree house… which Marinette now realized was way more advanced than any tree house should be. EVER.

           As soon as they got to there, and Marinette was uncharitably tossed on to the couch, the kids panicked.

“We shouldn’tve done this!” Goggles boy chimed. “We weren’t supposed to make contact. Moonbase will decommission us for sure.”

“And let the adults have her, Numbah 2,” The bald boy said. “I think not! We can never let the adults win. Its against everything the Kids Next Door stand for.”

The black girl nodded, “Numbah One’s right, we can’t let Father have what’s in her brain,” She said. “It could destroy the KND!”

“But that’s not possible, Numbah five, we all know that!” The girl in green said. “She got decommissioned. Her brain got all wishy-washy. Right, Numbah Four?”

           The blond boy huffed, “Yeah! Numbah Three’s got a point. And what’s so important about some ruddy teenager anyway? Tell you what! We should drop her artic ocean and never look back.”

           Numbah five groaned, “Are you stupid, boy? They sent Numbuh 274, I mean Chad, after her. And CREE! They wouldn’t have done that if she wasn’t important. The supreme leader wouldn’tve sent us to stop them from getting her! Ya moron.”

           Marinette frowned at that. Chad, the handsome foreign exchange student that came to Marinette’s class a few weeks ago. All the girls in school thought he was so dreamy. Even Marinette, even though she had been perplexed at the sad, almost wistful looks he would shoot her when he thought he wasn’t looking. And at the stories he told about his childhood, and woud look at Marinette like he was waiting for her to jump in and finish them. Almost like he knew her. Or expected her to suddenly remember him.

           The same with Cree, a foreign exchange student in a grade above Marinette’s, but to a lesser extent than Chad. The older girl liked to make sly remarks about what being a teen meant where she came from. She cracked what seemed to be inside jokes at Marinette and looked crestfallen when it was clear the bluenette didn’t understand what she meant. Then Cree would grumble about stupid kids ruining everything.

“But WHHHHYYY?” Numbah Four whined. “We got sent a like bajillion miles away to         a city where they force kids to eat bugs and smelly cheese all to protect a teenager. A TEENAGER! And they don’t even tell us why.”

           Numbah Two frowned, “It is kind of strange. I mean we hate teenagers! They’re the worse. Why save this one?” He looked at Marinette like she was specimen in a jar.

“Because team,” Numbah One announced loudly, pausing for, what Marinette knew was, dramatic effect.  “She is Numbah Seventy-Two.”

           Gasps rang through the room. The kids reared back as if struck. Their eyes went wide and they started at Marinette in awe.

“…Or at least she used to be,” Numbah One added.

“Woah,” Numbah Four said, looking at Marinette with newfound respect.

           Numbah Two sqeauled, “This is the best day ever. You have to sign my Yipper card.” He told Marinette. “It’s an ultra-rare collectable. Only three still exists. The rest were destroyed.”

“But, but, but how?” Numbah Five asked, removing her hat. “All records of Numbah Seventy-Two was struck from the history of the KND. Only the supreme leader and her team ever knew what happened to her.”

“They pinky-swore not to tell anyone what happened!” Numbah Three added. “No one would ever break a pinky promise.”

“That’s true,” Numbah five nodded. “No kid ever would. Expecially not her team. She saved us. She saved the KND. She saved the world and made it better for kids everywhere.”

           Numbah One nodded. “Exactly. No kid would ever break the solemn oath. But do you remember just who was one her team?”

           Looks of realization appeared on the kids’ faces, and then anger.

“Numbah Two Hundred and Seventy-Four,” Numbah Five said bitterly. “He was Number Seventy-Two’s second in command for years. And He betrayed her. Why am I not surprised?”

“But why?” Numbah Two asked. “I mean if she was still Numbah Seventy-Two I’d understand. She stopped Principle Boutface from ending summer vacation forever. She stopped Father from making Halloween adults only forever and ever. Name a bad guy, and I can guarantee she kicked their butts! And most importantly she even beat…” Numbah Two paused, clearly afraid. “well you know. She’s done loads of cool things. But She can’t remember anything. So why? Why come get her now?”

“She beat who?” Numbah Four asked. “I don’t know. Who’d she else did she beat? Why were they so important?”

           Numbah One and Five looked away. Both remembered but neither wanted to say anything.

“We were still just little babies when it happened,” Numbah Three answered seriously. “Still finishing training. We never really knew what was going on. Too little for anyone to tell us. We just knew it was bad. Kids were always scared, always hurting…”

“It was a dark time,” Numbah One agreed. “Before Father took over, there was another in charge of the evil adults in the world. But he worse than Father could’ve ever dreamed of being. Kids were scared to go to sleep. They were afraid of their closets and what was under their beds. OF every shadow. No kid would be caught out after dark. They were too scared. Nowhere was safe. No one was safe. Not from him. Not from…”

“The Boogieguy,” Numbah Five finished. “The most powerful leader the adults ever had. The strongest, most evil villain you can imagine. But Numbah Seventy-Two refused to back down. She was the only who could stand up to him. The only one to ever beat him.”

           Numbah Two nodded, “Legend says the Boogieguy had a nasty plan to open a portal to unleash meanest, nastiest monsters another world to get kids to behave better. But Numbah Seventy-Two heard and went to beat him once and for all. And she did too. She trapped him in his own trap. He’s been there ever since!”

Numbah Three added, “Numbah Seventy-Two finally defeated the Boogieguy, she locked him away in a place so scary, so terrifying not even the adults would be willing to go near it. Which it means it has to be really, really, REALLY, scary. Only she knew how to get him out. She used a super-secret password that only she knew. And then, and then she, she!” Numbah Three burst into tears.

Numbah One placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, “To stop the Boogieguy for good, and to make sure no kid ever had to suffer his wrath again, she decommissioned herself. She was only eleven.”

“It was a hard sacrifice, but one kids everywhere will never forget,” Numbah One vowed. “And the Global KND didn’t let it be in vain. We fought back harder than ever before. Her team-”

“But, but,” Numbah Four look around, “She wasn’t even a teenager, why’d she go and do a stupid thing like that for?”

“To save us,” Numbah Five answered, and put her hat back on. She looked at Marinette with hard eyes. “To save the KND, and protect kids everywhere. Because of her, the KND finally turned the tables on adults. We weren’t scared of the dark anymore.”

“Was never the same!” Numbah Five snapped at him. “None of them were ever the same after fighting Boogieguy, after what happened to Numbah Seventy-Two. They couldn’t handle being around each other anymore. They are transferred to different teams. Their entire sector was retired. Number Three Hundred and Sixty-Two. Numbuh Sixty. My sister- Cree! Numbah Two Hundred and Seventy-Four, UGH! Look what they became. Ya don’t need to be decommissioned to not recognize them anymore.”

           It went quiet. The kids not knowing what to say. Marinette had never been so confused in her life. Had she been some sort of Spy kid? Had her memories been erased? What was going on?

           And if everything, the kids were saying was real, and Marinette decided that it was, then she was a little peeved at Chad and Cree, her old teammates apparently, for going against everything this KND had accomplished… That Marinette had apparently sacrificed herself for. And what for? To side with some evil adults?

“…The KND have figured out a way to destroy Boogieguy forever,” Numbah one said. “Unfortunately the adults have also become aware of the Boogieguy’s location and want release him. In order for either side to succeed in their mission, we need Numbah Seventy-Two.”

           All eyes turned back to Marinette.

Numbah Five cast a sad look at Numbah Seventy-Two, Marinette, “Chad and Cree will come for her.” Of that Numbah five was certain. The lone picture of ABC that sat next to Cree’s bedside nightstand was proof enough of that. It was the only thing her big sister ever kept of her KND days, apart from her memories. The only “little kid” thing she didn’t scorn. “They won’t stop until they get her. I don’t think Cree or Chad ever forgave the KND agreeing that Numbah Seventy-Two should erase her memories.”

           They never forgave themselves for letting her, Abby didn’t add.

“She was decommissioned, hello!” Numbah Two reminded them. “She can’t remember anything.”

           Number One took off his glasses and looked at the teenager who, in another life, had been everything he ever dreamed of being in the KND. She was a legend. A hero. She had, once, been the best of them all. “She will.”

#marinette dupain cheng #ml fic #codename knd

[the-night-writer1]

your last fic with wukong not knowing he was pregnant was really good! can we get a sequel? one where macaque helps take care of him and take care of the baby while he's tired and tries to figure out how wukong got to the point he didn't know he was with a kid?

Got it my dude)

"easy easy it's just some water"Macaque said gently as he washed the newborn monkey. He had a clone helping Wukong since Wukong could instruct them where as this little one couldn't. The baby squirmed as much as a newborn could which wasn't much but the boy clearly didn't like the water. Macaque chuckled softly as he added,"we're almost done bud I promise. Then it's a diaper and towel for you."

The baby started to whine as they finished up, most likely cold. Macaque quickly put him in a diaper and wrapped him up, holding the baby closed.Macaque couldn't help but be smitten by the baby, though it did bring up some questions. Was he the baby's other father? Why didn't peaches realize he was pregnant? What did peaches was going on during his pregnancy? Questions he probably wouldn't get an answer to if he didn't take action now while Wukong was in a daze.

He got up, then gently shushed and calmed down the baby in his arms. Macaque walked over to where Wukong was getting bathed carefully by the clone.

"Hey" Macaque said softly as he sat down on the opposite from the clone," how are you feeling right now."

"...sore is an understatement..." Wukong weakly mumbled as the shadow clone carefully rubbed some soap into his shoulder fur. He looked over at the little with tired eyes filled with a mix of emotions. Macaque pulled the towel down a little bit so Wukong could get a better look.

"he's a healthy little baby" Macaque said as he rubbed the baby's back," I think he's about 10 pounds."

"he's a chubby little guy" Wukong said with a weak chuckle. He was still somewhat taking it in that he had given birth to a baby not to long ago. That he could have really messed them up with his attempted diet or with the mountain monkeys jumping on his stomach. Gods he could have lost them if he hadn't been lucky as he was. They were a tough little guy for sure.

"he is. Also doesn't seem to like baths" Macaque lightly joked as he watched Wukong. Peaches didn't seem to notice they were crying. He got why this had to be more for Wukong to take in than it was for him. As Wukong was realizing he'd been growing a life inside him that he didn't know about.

"heh I wonder who he got that from" Wukong joked with a wet chuckle as he wiped his eyes. The shadow clone started dumping some warm water on his shoulders as he continued try and chuckle through tears. He didn't want to cry, he shouldn't be crying. He just had a baby, a baby with his formly beloved friend. Happy was it, he should be happy why was he crying damn it. Was this good? He had a baby. Gods he'd had a baby that he didn't even know was there. He dug his face into his hands.

"here you hold the baby I'll take it from here" Macaque said to the shadow clone who nodded and took the baby and traded places. He carefully put a hand on Wukong's cheek and gently turned the monkey king's face towards him. Wukong was more than just sore from the birth clearly. He looked mentally drained as well. Macaque chose his words carefully, he couldn't stand seeing Wukong destroyed like this," You're not alone Wukong"

"thank you Macaque" Wukong said softy as he rubbed his eyes again.

---------

The other shadow clones Macaque had summoned had cleaned up and rebuilt the nest while he got Wukong and the baby cleaned up. He carried Wukong back to the nest in some soft pajamas with the clone bringing in the babe who at this point had fallen asleep. He laid the monkey king down then took the baby from the clone.

"here he is" Macaque said as he laid down next to Wukong with the baby on his chest.

"the little bud I thought was stress" Wukong said with a soft chuckle as he put a hand on the baby's back ," now I gotta make baby clothes."

"you though he was stress?"

"I tend to bottle my stress up sometimes, just because I'm unbeatable doesn't mean I don't feel stress" Wukong said as he rubbed the baby's back as they gripped macaque's shirt.

"Fair point. His name isn't going to be stress though right?"

"of course not. I'm just not sure what yet" Wukong said tiredly as macaque kissed his forehead. He blinked and looked at Macaque .

"like I said you're not alone. I plan on helping with this little fella" Macaque said as he got a smile from the exhausted monkey king.

#shadowpeach #lego monkie kid #monkie kid #lego monkie kid au #lmk macaque #lmk wukong

[hufflautia]

The Boyfriend

Dedicated to the anon who came up w this idea and to @eatacrackerandstop <3. There's a small Shadow and Bone reference; if you find it, you get a high five✨

Summary: Slytherin and Hufflepuff meet their daughter’s boyfriend for the first time, and Slytherin has a few concerns.

~

Hufflepuff closes the door behind her daughter, who stepped out to privately wish her boyfriend goodbye on the front stoop, and turns to Slytherin.

“He seems like a sweet kid,” she smiles. Slytherin follows her into the kitchen with a disgruntled expression. He leans against the countertop as she begins washing the dishes.

“What’s taking her so long,” he eyes the door. “It only takes a couple of seconds to say goodbye to someone.”

“They spent the entire night with us. They probably just want a little alone time,” Hufflepuff replies. She glances at him when he sighs and crosses his arms. “Do I sense a little disdain for our daughter’s boyfriend?”

Slytherin scowls.

“I don’t like him,” he states plainly. “He gives me...bad boy vibes.” His scowl deepens when she laughs incredulously.

“Bad boy vibes?”

“Yes,” he says indignantly. “Bad boy vibes! Did you see his smirk when she laughed at his joke?"

"You smirk a lot,” she points out, to which he grudgingly admits. “Besides, is it bad that he can make her laugh?"

"'Course not," he huffs. "But did you see how he put his arms around her?”

"I'm pretty sure that's called a hug, honey."

Slytherin steps between her and the sink. She shoots him a look as water drips on the floor.

“Please get out of my way, Slytherin. You’re acting like a child.”

He takes her hands into his own, not caring that they’re wet. “Honey, you’re not listening to me.”

“I am! I just don’t agree with you.” She continues before Slytherin can object. “You’re worrying over nothing. Our daughter is old enough to make her own decisions on who she hangs out with and what she does with her time."

“She’s only in her seventh year—”

“Slytherin," she says sternly. “Our baby is grown now, believe it or not. I trust her judgment. You should too.”

His brows furrow, and he doesn’t respond right away.

"It's not that I don't trust her," he finally says. "I just don't want her to get hurt."

Hufflepuff softens in this rare moment of vulnerability—his grumpiness and frustration often mask his fears.

"We can't control what happens," she says gently. "We can't control who does what or who hurts who. But what we can control is what we do and how we act." Slytherin remains silent as he considers her words. "I think the best thing we can do is support our daughter. And if things don't end well in their relationship, she will know who to come to: the people who have always been there for her."

Her words sink in, and Slytherin nods.

"You're right."

"'Course I'm right."

He smiles somberly. "I’ve only ever wanted to protect her."

"You will," she assures, pulling him into an embrace. "But you will do so at a healthy and reasonable distance. No threatening the boy."

Slytherin snorts and says, "I'm not that type of dad." He rests his chin on top of her head. "But if he breaks her heart, I keep no promises."

"Good," she murmurs into his shirt. “I'll be right behind you.”

Their moment of peace is interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and closing. They see their daughter, Giselle, standing by the doorway with a flushed grin.

"Hey kiddo," Slytherin smiles.

She makes a face. “I'm 18, Dad. I'm not a kid anymore."

"Alright." Hufflepuff notices a familiar gleam in his eye and tries not to smile as he continues. "Do you prefer muffin? Sweet pea? Or perhaps cupcake—"

Giselle covers her ears. "Dad!" she groans. "Eat a cracker and stop."

He holds his hands up in defeat as he chuckles. "Okay, okay."

"So," Hufflepuff says once things settle down. "What did Dorian think? Did he like us? What about the food? Was my cooking okay?" A look of horror washes over her face. "Oh shoot, should we have given him some leftovers to take back to his family? He probably didn't get too far, I'll go get the food from the fridge and—"

"Honey," Slytherin laughs, resting his hand on the small of her back before she can scurry off in search of tin foil and plastic containers. "It's fine."

"Yeah," Giselle assures. "The food was great, and he loved meeting you guys."

"And we loved meeting him,” Hufflepuff says warmly. “Tell Dorian he's welcome to come back at any time."

"Okay," she grins. "Can we start our movie night now?"

Slytherin nods. "I believe it's Mom's turn to choose the movie."

"I know exactly what we should watch tonight," Hufflepuff beams. They pile onto the couch, and when she puts the disc into the DVD player, everyone but Hufflepuff's face falls when they see the title.

"Aw, not this movie," Giselle complains. "We watched the trailer last week, and you said it yourself that it looked like trash."

"Wha—I didn't say trash!"

"I think you did," Slytherin interjects. He stifles a laugh when she shoots him a look.

Hufflepuff purses her lips. "Ravenclaw and I watched it at the movie theaters a few days ago, and it was a cinematic masterpiece!"

He arches an eyebrow. "So you're gonna watch it again?"

"Yes! Because it’s that good. And I want you guys to watch it with me. The movie has adventure and plot twists and romance—I mean, what hurts more than a broken heart?"

"A severed head," Giselle replies, to which Slytherin snorts a laugh.

Hufflepuff scoffs and shakes her head, but a smile tugs at her lips. “You’ll see what I’m talking about after we watch it, but I need to use the bathroom first. I’ll bring back some popcorn.”

“Can you also get some Sprite?” Giselle calls after her.

“Okay.” Hufflepuff lingers by the doorway. “Do you want anything, sweetie pie?” she says to Slytherin.

“No thanks, snuggle bunny.” He snickers when Giselle visibly cringes. He and Hufflepuff liked to call each other outrageously sweet pet names in front of their daughter for the sole purpose of grossing her out.

“Yes,” Giselle says in a deadpan voice. “This is the exact spot I want to be in right now.”

Hufflepuff laughs and winks at Slytherin before leaving. He watches her walk away before whispering to Giselle, “How likely is it that she’ll accidentally trap herself in the bathroom and we get to pick another movie?”

“Extremely likely,” she replies. “If we put a rubber item underneath the door to act as a door stopper, she won’t be able to open it from the inside…” Slytherin is looking at her weirdly, and she swallows her words. “...I mean, I don’t know.”

Slytherin smiles but doesn’t say anything. Giselle may have inherited her mother’s looks, but she has her father’s mischief.

While they wait for Hufflepuff, Slytherin speaks. “Can I ask you something personal?”

“Sure,” she says cautiously.

“Do you love him?”

Her eyebrows rise—she didn’t expect this question. She takes a moment to think.

"Not yet.”

He nods. "But you're happy?"

"I am," she smiles.

His eyes crinkle. If she was happy…well, that was good enough for him.

“I’m glad, kiddo.”

This time, Giselle doesn’t roll her eyes at the term of endearment. Instead, she takes his hand and squeezes it three times. Slytherin, who taught her the gesture, squeezes her hand four times in response.

“Who’s ready to start the movie?” Hufflepuff walks in with popcorn and sprite, unaware of the father-daughter moment she just missed.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Slytherin sighs, scooting over to make space for her. She plops down beside him and settles the bowl between them.

“Oh,” she perks up. “Before I forget. Accio tissue boxes!”

Slytherin looks bewildered as tissue boxes come flying their way. “Do we really need tissues?”

“Absolutely,” she scatters the boxes over their laps. Slytherin raises an eyebrow and glances over at Giselle, who also looks perplexed.

“My teen angst bullshit is about to have a body count,” she whispers as the movie begins playing.

A/N: This fic is somewhat connected to Different Love Languages, another one of my fics. Is the slytherpuff couple in that fic the same couple in this one? That's up to you, dear reader😌

I lowkey hate the title, but I couldn't come up w a better one. Also, this fic was longer than I planned. I originally decided to write something like this:

“Why don’t you like him?”

“Because I used to be a bad boy, which is exactly why I don’t trust him.”

Basic dialogue, plain and simple. But the darling anon who told me their idea deserves a full-length story <3

Let me know what you thought of this one-shot. Feedback makes me happy <3 If you prefer to stay anonymous, the anon option for asks is available! Be safe and well, everyone.

Tag lists are open✨ Let me know via ask/messages/comments if you want to be added or removed.

@slytherpuff-shenanigans @axieleration @sunnniiee @just--another--bean @determinedpines @zenobiagrace @asterinflower @cinnamon-roll-unicorn @mossy-axolotl @dumbbitch11 @hitchhiker-of-the-galaxy @notsowiseravenclaw @arianatorpotterhead @eatacrackerandstop @luciferswife16 @walkinganomaly @asunshinepuff @lewispoolerpayton @adreameratdawn @thewitcheswords @oncergleekpotterhead @princessstoopid @stardustzainy @flvrqnce @multi-fandom-nutjob @eunnieah @iamahufflepuff @1hufflepuff @introvertedrae @princessstoopid @jasminedayz @magnoliamermaid @HOPEFUL-HUFFLEPUFF-PEEVES @peanut-in-the-goal @pufflehuff929 @sophiexteresa @da-fox-rangerrr @dawinehouse @shipping-book-keeper @xxavaloraxx @silverhetdanes @im-a-solanum-lycopersicum @elegantcroissantplaidpony @theoriginaljohnwatsonsblog @theoriginalsherlockholmesblog @vickeyunicorn @arianatorpotterhead @hmilkwhoney @simpering-simpleton @grandcyclecreation @sweetinvisiblewriter @marvelenthusiast10 @mvlpksvthisht @qiaopa @beardedhumanoid @jadefox05 @justanotherperson @inkedintothepaper @minty-malfoy @trippy-morgan @fangirlgeekandfreak @boilyourteeth @absentmindeduniverse @colettedelaurel @halfelven1 @happy-puff @coloring-bud @in-love-with-remus-lupin @autumnpleaves @crakencc @flyme--tothemoon @hedgepuffgirl @littleemotionalpanda @pancakes-and-sugar @korra4321 @aquietkindofthunder @qixnsriess @porksoba @thatfann @hellounicorn @i-have-a-bad-feeling @aasa2102 @zuko-28 @annie-mcl @clementines-x @writtenfoxscreams @randomwriter23 @cryingabtwandavision @coolninjavoid @urfaveslytherin @malfoys-demigod @tumlbr-trasher @violayaxley @wolfpack-arts-industries99 @zainieees-stuff @blueberry-9-pancakes @stressy-depressy @royalelusts

#Hogwarts #harry potter #slytherpuff #hufferin #hufflepuff x slytherin #hufflepuff and slytherin relationship #hufflepuff #hogwarts houses #slytherin #hufflepuff-x-slytherin #slytherin x hufflepuff #slytherin-x-hufflepuff #slytherin and hufflepuff #hufflepuff and slytherin #harry potter oneshot #slytherpuff oneshot #slytherin and hufflepuff relationship #slytherpuff friendship #slytherin and hufflepuff friendship #harry potter fanfiction

[cosmiclatte28]

Nightmare (Mark x reader)

Angst, major character is terminally ill (no need to proceed if you’re not comfortable with this, head to masterlist and see other works instead)

a/n : I swear this started as just a fluff or comfort for mark with a bad dream, but it took a toll and I ended up with an angst.. but ofc the end is not sad. I tortured you enough with the storyline. 

warning : language and illness

Prepare to slap me with keyboard smash as I once again tried to make an angst but it’s not enough to make you cry...

tagging @neopalette 

-- here we go --

“Shh, it was just a bad dream. Just a dream,” you shush your first and last as he shakes under the moonlight clinging into your shirt for dear life. “None of it was real Mark.” You run a hand on his hair while the other rubs soothing circles on his back.

His shoulder stops shaking but he’s still sobbing and controlling his breath.

“Sorry, I am so sorry.” He buries his head into his palm and sobs louder. You feel your heart aches as you see your love just cries there because of another bad dream for the fourth time this week but you cannot help him other than calming him down.

You’ve known Mark for six years, lived with him for three years and this is something you’ve never seen before.

“Calm down, follow me breathe Mark,” you squeeze his hand to get his attention to start copying your breathing.

“There, there.” You pull him to your hug and he leans into your shoulder like he really is afraid something will just snatch him away from you.

“Drink first?” you bring him a glass of water you kept on your bedside and Mark slowly gulps the water down.

“Thank you-“ he whispers with his croaky voice hoarse from crying.

You want to ask him what is it about, four consecutive nights with Mark just waking up in the middle of the night crying because of his dream. You know better not to ask for he will answer you and that will make him harder to sleep.

“I am messed  up, sorry (y/n),” he looks up to you with his red eyes and you see fear in them.

“It’s just another nightmare Mark, don’t give it a damn.” You smile and half lay down your body on the pillow before pulling him to rest his head on your chest so he can listen to your steady heartbeat. His eyes are open, piercing to the ceiling. Your fingers still run over his hair as you calm him down.

“I am afraid,” he murmurs after some time of silence.

You hum, so he knows you’re still awake and attentive.

“Afraid of what? You prepared a lot for your comeback, you’ll do great.” You smile feeling proud whenever you remember how hard he works for the coming project.

Mark’s lips tremble, for the last four days he always sees the same scene playing in his head. Something that makes him cry and jumps up awake lately.

There in his dream he vividly remembers you being snatched by a white light while he is forced to leave with a black shadow dragging him away from you even when he tries to take himself off and hold on to you, he can’t. He feels himself dragged into a dark pit where he can’t see you and before he knows what happens next, he always wakes up crying and panting. Then you would wake up and do the same cycle, calm him down, give him water, and stay up with him until he sleeps.

“Let’s get married.” Mark impulsively says and you shoot your eyes open, before giggling “What kind of joke is this again? Is this April fools?” you stop playing with his hair and instead runs your hand slowly to hug his waist.

Mark shakes  his head as he moves his body so he is facing you and your eyes. He scoots closer and you can see his eyes glassy “I said, let’s get married.”

You shake your head “We can’t,”

“Why?” he cuts you in before you can say anything.

“Because-“ you bite your lips. No, you cannot tell him why. He won’t like it. You look down to the sheets between you.

“Why? Why (y/n)? We’ve been wanting this since forever!” Mark frantically touches your face so you can keep your eyes on him.

“You just woke up from a bad dream Mark, we’re not talking about this now. Please go to bed. You’re not in your right mind. I’ll see you tomorrow.” You break your eye contact and turn your back on him

Mark freezes on his spot when he sees how your small shoulder looks weak and starts to shake slightly. Did he make you cry? His hand longs to touch your hair and rakes them like you did to him, but he remembers the day you told him you don’t feel comfortable with it. So he pulls his hand back.

He tries to reach for you but you pull the blanket to cover your body more before he had the chance.

Mark finally falls back to sleep after trying to figure out his dream which he gives up after ten minutes.

You cry in silence, afraid that Mark will see you sobbing alone. No, Mark should never know how much time you have left.

--

“Doctor, can I skip today’s session?” you quietly make a call to someone early in the morning on the kitchen before Mark wakes up.

“I have something more important to do.” You lied. Well you have no plan, you just don’t feel like taking in more chemicals into your body despite the experts saying it will saves you by some months.

“Please, I’ll be back for the next session. Promise.” You close your eyes as you feel your head spins again.

“Thank you-“ you say before quickly pushing the phone off and taking several pills into your mouth and pushing them with water.

“Honey? You okay?” Mark asks when he sees you gripping on the sink in the toilet with your phone on the floor.

You shake your head and fake a smile and look at Mark from your blurry vision full of tears “I am okay. Just washing my face.” You quickly pretend to splash water to your face.

“Oh, okay. Just let me know if you need anything.” He gives a small smile before leaving you alone.

Mark glances one more time to the pillow you slept on tonight, that’s an unusual amount of hair loss. Are you stressed? Why did he find a lot of hair falling on your side of the bed?

“I’ll be home for dinner.” Mark says before tucking on his shoes.

You nod “What do you want to eat? I don’t really want to cook maybe we can go out?” you ask, hoping he has the time.

Mark thinks for a while “Sure, I can do that. Where do you want to eat?”

You smile “Our first date place?”

Mark giggles “Sushi? You love that so much! Okay book a place for two for seven?” Mark asks and you nod. He presses a kiss on your lips before raising his hand to ruffle your hair only to pause mid-air when he remembers you also asking him to not play with your hair.

“See you, love you!” Mark kisses you one last time and then disappearing behind the door.

You finish your breakfast and gulp some more pills. “For Mark,” you whisper to yourself as you refill your medicine box with pills.

--

“It’s the same nightmare hyung-“ Mark shares his thought again to Taeyong today when the leader notices something off with their Mark.

“Have you tried asking her? Maybe she knows something about the dream?” Taeyong tries his best to help his brother. Seeing Mark sad and frustrated is hurting him.

“I can’t, she is also weird lately. Look, she doesn’t even want to answer my invitation to get married.” Mark suddenly changes topic and their leader is shocked about this.

“Woah that was fast. Maybe she wants a romantic one, not an impulsive one like what you did.” Taeyong shrugs his shoulder.

Mark nods “Maybe, you’re right. I’ll do it rightly. Thanks hyung.”

“Anytime Mark.” Taeyong forces a smile before burying his face to his palm after the guy is out. Did you really not tell him about your condition?

“(Y/n), as much as I love to cover up for you. You have to tell him. He’s your lover, he deserves to know it” Taeyong calls you the second he assures himself Mark is not around to eavesdrop.

“I will hyung, thank you just wait for some more time.” You bargain.

“Okay, just… I am sure he will be sad if you never tell him the truth.”

--

“Where is Mark?” Taeyong asks when he gathers the member to evaluate today’s practice.

“Gone to buy a ring.” Johnny shrugs his shoulder and Taeyong just lets him be.

Meanwhile Mark is rushing through the mall to get a diamond ring you’ve once mentioned to him. Taeyong’s right, he thought. You’re not answering him because he is not holding a ring. How silly of him.

You put on your first date dress, style your hair slowly and you put on your smile before finally taking a cab to the sushi place you first met Mark.

He was already seated in your reserved place. He looks stylish in his light blue shirt and his hair styled nicely.

“Hey, sorry for waiting.” You take your seat across him.

He doesn’t mind waiting for you. Both of you start talking about what happened today. Mark tells you about the practice and you just tell him you’re staying at home enjoying your day.

“I have something to say-“ both of you confess at the same time and stop at the same time “You first-“ both of you say that again and chuckle in embarrassment.

“You go first-“ Mark lets you have the chance and you contemplate. Should you tell him the truth? But if not now, when? What if time is cruel to you?

You take a deep breather and open your eyes “Mark, I am so sorry.” You start off.

He looks at you with a questioning face, “Sorry? What for?” he suddenly feels nervous, is this the part where you’ll confess you don’t love him anymore or maybe you cheated on him? Or he sees you walk with someone else and accuse him of cheating and then breaking up? Is this it? Mark has so many in his head but he’s nervous as he sees you also nervous to confess.

“What for sweetie, tell me..” Mark tries to reach for your hand but you hide them in your lap.

You close your eyes and spit the truth, (here goes nothing, you thought) “I am dying Mark.”

He opens his eyes wide, mouth shutting and opening like a fish, are you joking right now, is this a payback

“What? No- you’re-“ he stutters when you pull out your medicine box and show him your arm you’ve been hiding under long sleeves shirts.

Mark reaches out for your hand and examine the traces of needles on your skin. He shakes his head, is this what he is seeing in his dream? Is this the answer to the nightmares?

“I am so sorry-“ you weep, trying your best to not break down in front of him, but you can’t… not when you see how broken he looks like right now.

“Why? Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks softly, still remembering how you don’t like to get yelled at.

You feel tears falling, “I knew them too late Mark, stadium 4.” You try to smile from your pain but you can’t stop crying not when Mark starts to cry too.

“No baby, no  no you-“ He squeezes your palm when he sees you cry louder

“You can get treated, come on we’ll find the best doctor.” Mark already stands to your side and sits on your empty spot and hugging you close and tight.

He feels how skinny you’ve changed and his hand brushes your hair before noticing them falling down. He curses at himself for not noticing this sooner. You suddenly avoiding foods, not wanting him to touch your hairs, the fallen hairs on your bed side, your morning routine in the toilet. Your constant disappearance when he has tight schedules or tours. You must’ve been on the hospital when he has tours. That’s how you are always homed when he is home.

Mark feels his world falls apart. How come he did not know this. How come he lets you walk through this alone.

“How long baby?” he asks and you whisper “Last year I was diagnosed.”

He curses in his heart “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? You were fighting alone? If I know, I’d fight with you honey.” He tries to stop his crying but his tears can’t stop falling down.

“Sorry. I am so sorry Mark. I love you, I don’t want you to worry.” You hug him tighter.

Mark pats your back “Hey, you not telling me just makes me worry more. I even got bad dreams about this.” He shakes his head “Honey, tell me you’re doing something to cure this?”

You nod “I did, but they can’t. I just have months Mark.” You cry louder and that hurts Mark’s heart more than getting scolded by his trainer.

“Hey, don’t say that. Miracles happen. We’ll get through this. You’ll have more than months. I am here for you always.” Mark squeezes your shoulder as he sucks his tears in. No come on mark you got to be strong.

“I am not going to lose you honey. Tell me what we can do, I’ll do it with you.” He pulls back to see your face.

“Stop crying, we’ll get through this okay?” he wipes a tear that falls from your eyes.

You nod, though you know there’s not much left and nothing else can be done… you nod so Mark lee can be happy again.

“Now, as a promise. I will give you this.” He pulls out the box of ring he bought earlier, and you gasp “No way,” you close your mouth.

Mark smiles “Come on, I got the ring.” He pulls out the perfect diamond ring and slip it into your finger “I promise to be by your side as we both fight together.” He kisses you knuckles, and you cry louder. He pulls you to another hug “I heard people survive this when they have hope, faith and supports from their loved ones. Let me be in your survival story, I want to cross out our bucket list we made together.” He squeezes your hand, and you force a smile to your face. Mark totally makes you feel better. You will be ready even if you have to die now.

“I don’t deserve you, Mark.” You murmur.

He shakes his head “You deserve me, I deserve you. We are made for each other. Now, we will promise each other to walk together through storms and rainbows side by side. Don’t leave me and I won’t ever leave you, my first and last.” Mark kisses your temple, and you melt into his touch.

He is indeed something you’d never trade for in this world. Even if someone offers you a longer life, you will not ever trade it if Mark is not there.

end.

epilogue??

#multifandomnet #mark x reader #mark x you #mark lee x you #mark lee x y/n #mark lee x reader #mark angst #mark lee imagines #mark lee scenarios #mark lee oneshot #mark oneshots #mark imagines #mark scenarios #mark lee angst #mark lee fluff #mark lee fanart #mark fanart #nct angst #nct fanfic #nct scenarios #nct imagines #nct soft imagines

[littlestarofthewest]

*chants softly* Do it - write that modern AU uno fic that the fandom doesn't realise that they desperately need 👿😏😘

Remember this? This came up between Christmas and New Year’s 2019 xD And now I finally did it.

Pairing: Arthur x gn reader | Words: 2325 | Rating: mildly nsft | Tags: strip Uno (yes, you’re reading this right), modern AU

The party is in full swing around you, but you have no desire to join in. It's been a while since a new year made you hopeful, and all the happiness and well wishes for another promising year sound forced and wrong in your ears.

It's too loud, and it smells like alcohol and too many people in a small space. You can barely breathe, so you head along the corridor to the rooms that are off-limits to the other guests. You don't feel like crashing in John's and Abigail's bedroom, so you take the next room that's part office, part storage room. In the past, you sometimes crashed here for the night.

You close the door behind you with a sigh and are about to head for the couch, but then you spot someone sitting in front of it on the ground. He's hunched over a little and looks up when you stop dead in your tracks.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know somebody was in here."

"It's alright," the guy says, offering you a kind smile.

A little lamp next to the sofa throws a soft shadow on his face, and you recognize the beard and nice features. You've seen him many times in photos around the apartment.

"You're Arthur, right?" you ask. "John's friend slash brother?"

Arthur chuckles. "Yeah, I guess you could call me that."

"I'm Y/N, Abigail's friend."

Recognition shows in Arthur's face, and he nods. "Friend slash soul mate slash the only person who understands Abigail whenever John acts like … well, John."

"So you have heard of me."

"A little, here and there," Arthur says, "mostly good."

"Mostly?"

Arthur grins a little one-sided, and something warm rises up in your stomach. You always thought that Arthur was handsome based on the pictures. It's way worse in person.

"I didn't mean to crush your party-" you start, but Arthur interrupts you.

"It's alright. I understand the urge for some peace and quiet. Please stay."

"Thanks." You move closer and sit down on the ground, putting your first and only drink down on the table next to the lamp. "What you got there?"

"Uno cards, if you believe it," Arthur says, and you both look at each other and speak at the same time. "John."

Arthur laughs, and you take a sip from your drink, enjoying the view. You definitely prefer Arthur's company to all the fake happy people outside.

"You gonna shuffle those all night, or are you ready to lose?" you ask.

"Lose?" Arthur measures you with a raised brow. "Around here, nobody takes me on."

You wave your fingers at him. "Come on then. Deal."

Arthur shuffles the cards for real now before setting up the first game, and you try to figure out if you've ever had a stranger New Year's Eve. Sitting in a friend's apartment playing Uno with a stranger is not a plan you would have made.

About two minutes later, Arthur puts his last card on the pile. "See?" he teases, but you just shrug.

"Beginner's luck."

You go back and forth with dealing the cards, and although Arthur wins the first three games, you soon catch up, making you both even again.

"So, why are you in here?" you ask, sorting your cards.

"I only came because John and Abigail wanted to set me up, but she didn't show," Arthur says with a shrug. "Didn't feel like partying after that."

"That sucks. Did her plans change?"

"More her perspective, I guess," Arthur says, something defeated in his voice. "Saw my profile picture, and suddenly she changed her mind."

"Nah, that can't be it."

"Why not?"

"Because you're gorgeous."

"I- What?" Arthur stumbles.

"I'm telling you that you're a very attractive man," you say while watching your cards. "And Uno, by the way."

"Oh, well, thank you, I guess," Arthur says. He puts another card on the pile, his cheeks now sporting a red tinge. "You're very nice."

"Just honest. And I win."

You grin at Arthur as he collects the cards to shuffle again. "You really are a worthy foe. We should make this more interesting."

"What, like strip poker?" you joke and Arthur laughs.

"We only have Uno cards." He's about to deal, but then he looks at you with a mischievous spark in his eyes. "Although it doesn't make much difference, really."

You look at each other and there's a sudden tension as if both of you wait for the other to chicken out or laugh. You wish you could, but the idea of getting Arthur naked is too tempting, even if you might lose some of your clothes yourself.

"We should probably lock the door," you say as casually as you can.

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

You get up to lock the door, and when you come back, Arthur deals, both of you acting as if nothing changed, but you feel a constant wave of heat running up and down your body. Before, you didn't really care much for your cards, but now every move counts. 

Arthur's the first one to win, but the second he puts down the card, he looks like he'd rather take it back. "Look, you don't have to-"

You interrupt him by taking off one of your shoes. "You're just worried you're going to lose."

 "Fine, you're asking for it."

Arthur wins again, getting your second shoe, followed by you winning for the first time. Like you, Arthur loses his shoes first, and then you agree to count both socks as one item. That's how Arthur ends up shirtless pretty soon after. You tell yourself that a naked torso is really nothing special, but for some reason, you play your worst round.

"You seem to have a hard time concentrating," Arthur teases, and you hate that he actually noticed.

"Shut up," you grunt, focusing on the cards. Still, you can't help but peek at Arthur once in a while.

"How did you end up here then tonight?" Arthur asks.

"My ex is back in town and hung around in front of my apartment, so Abigail suggested I hang out here."

"Something to be concerned about?" Arthur asks, his voice making clear how he thinks about a stalker-y ex.

"It's not that bad, really. They're not dangerous or anything, just annoying," you explain. "It's probably just a desperate 'alone on New Year's Eve' thing. Like I'd do that again."

You roll your eyes, and Arthur chuckles. "One of those, huh? Just gotta wait them out then. And this is your shirt gone."

He puts down his last card, and you get to your feet. "I'll go with the pants first if you don't mind. I'm hot anyway."

"Suit yourself," Arthur says nonchalantly, but you can feel his eyes on you as you slide the fabric down your legs. 

Arthur looks away again when you sit, but your skin still prickles, and you wonder how much more of this you can take. Playing freaking Uno shouldn't be this hot.

Lucky for you, you get a good hand, and despite your lack of concentration, Arthur's the one who has to get rid of his pants next. You try your best not to stare at his junk but fail miserably. Suddenly you're very concerned about what could happen next. Arthur must think the same.

"Glad we locked the door," Arthur grunts, "I don't need strangers looking at my junk."

"I'm a stranger, too, aren't I?" 

"You called me gorgeous; you can do whatever you want," Arthur says.

You know he's joking, but that doesn't stop your brain from imagining things you could do to or with him. That very pleasing but also distracting train of thought loses you your shirt in the next round. Still, Arthur's the one who has to get rid of his underwear first.

This time, you have the decency to look away until he sits down again, and the red on Arthur's cheeks is back. 

"So, what now?" he asks. "Can't exactly take off more if I lose."

After what you just thought about, your brain seems to have lost all sensible ideas, and you blurt out the first thing on your mind. "Truth or dare."

Arthur chuckles. "Really? And next up is 'spin the bottle?'" 

"Hey, we're playing strip Uno," you huff, "you really want to get judgemental on me now?"

"Alright, alright, 'truth or dare' it is. Just deal."

You deal the cards with butterflies taking flight in your stomach. You don't even know what to ask or dare Arthur, but the alternative is to get naked yourself. Either way, you're in trouble.

The round goes on and on, both of you putting on more cards rather than losing them, but then the game turns in Arthur's favor until he forgets to say Uno. You have better luck then, finally winning the round. 

This time, it's you who tries to offer a way out. "Look, you don't have-"

"No, no, that's what we agreed on," Arthur says, waving his fingers at you. "Come on, ask."

"Alright, truth, or dare?"

Arthur studies you for a moment, his gaze so intense that a cold shiver runs down your spine. "Dare."

All kinds of stupid things run through your mind, but you don't want to make Arthur look foolish, especially in front of anybody else. You want to keep him all to yourself.

"I dare you not to move, no matter what."

Arthur raises his eyebrows in surprise but stays deliberately still. You take all your courage and crawl over to him, scattering the cards without a second thought. 

When you reach Arthur, you run your cheek along his one like a cat before placing soft kisses along his neck. You hear him take in a sharp breath, but he doesn't move. 

You look up to him, and he keeps still as you move closer, your lips hovering so close to his that you can feel his breath. It takes all your willpower not to kiss him, but you're still playing after all.

"Your turn," you say, looking right into Arthur's eyes. They're a nice shade of blue but with an almost golden circle in the middle.

"Truth or dare?" Arthur asks.

"Dare," you say way too fast.

Arthur's lip twitches into a smile, but he still doesn't move. "I dare you to come closer."

You crawl into Arthur's lap, very aware of the fact that only a tiny piece of fabric keeps you apart. With your arms around Arthur's neck, you make yourself comfortable, but your faces are still inches apart. 

"Truth or dare?" you ask.

"The truth is that I didn't say Uno on purpose," Arthur says. You believe him, which means that he wanted for this little game to start. 

"Trickery," you say, running your fingers through his hair, "how very naughty of you. I think that entitles me to dare you again."

"Sounds fair."

You move even closer, your fingers teasing Arthur's neck. "I dare you to touch me."

Arthur places his hands on your knees before running them up to your thighs. You get goosebumps all over your skin and can't help that you fidget a little. The friction takes its toll on Arthur. You can feel him pressing up against you while he runs his hands up along your body.

"Truth or dare?" he asks, his fingers dancing over your back.

"Truth. I want you to kiss me."

Arthur caresses your shoulders while he looks at you, his fingers climbing your neck in slow motion. The touch makes you shiver, but you stay right where you are, letting Arthur cup your face with his hands. Only when there's a barely-there pull, you move, finally closing the gap between you and Arthur.

You can't remember the last time someone kissed you this gently, and you melt against Arthur, promising yourself to stay in his lap for as long as you possibly can.

Arthur deepens the kiss, the taste, and warmth of him making you forget where you are until there's a harsh knock on the door.

"Hey, Y/N? You in there? It's me."

You feel like being doused with ice water, and your fingers dig harshly into Arthur's shoulders.

"Who's that?" he whispers, worry in his expression.

"My ex," you whisper back.

"Come on, let's talk," comes the voice from outside.

Arthur raises his eyebrows in question, and you immediately shake your head, so he tilts his head to face the door. "Do you mind? We're trying to hook up in here."

There's silence, and you bite your lip so you won't laugh. Sadly, your ex doesn't give up that easily. "Who is this?"

"It's Arthur; you might want to remember that name the next time you skulk around somebody's apartment."

It's silent again, then your ex clears their throat. "Just call me, okay? We can talk about this?"

You look at Arthur, slightly shaking your head, so you both stay quiet until you're sure your ex is gone. Arthur leans back with a sigh, resting his head against the couch. "That was not a turn on."

"I'm sorry," you say, running your fingers over his beard. "Like I said - annoying."

Arthur watches the ceiling for a bit before he takes your hands, threading your fingers together. "You know, I have an apartment, too. No exes hanging around that one."

You laugh. "Getting me naked here doesn't mean you can get me naked over there."

"I just borrow these cards, and we'll see what happens."

He kisses you again, and you have to admit to yourself that you'd rip your clothes off in an instant if he asked you to. You still act like you need to be persuaded. "Fine, you may take me there and try again. You might lose, though."

Arthur smiles. "I'll take that risk."

Getting dressed has never been such a thrill for you. Maybe the new year wasn't so bad after all.

#arthur morgan x reader #rdr2 fanfic #my writing #rdr2 modern au #fulfilled requests #fangirl-ramblings

[melanielocke]

Lost in the Shadows - Chapter 13

AO3

Taglist: @nott-the-best @foxglove-airmid @alastair-esfandiyar-carstairs1 @justanormaldemon @styxdrawings @ipromiseiwillwrite

Cordelia and Lucie carried the Lightwood’s bag of groceries with them as they walked back to the manor. Sophie had promised she would cook for everyone, as Cordelia and Lucie had to be exhausted after such a day, and Gideon had promised they would all have a free evening and wouldn’t need to help beyond carrying the groceries.

Cordelia wasn’t sure free evenings existed though, not with everything going on. A werewolf of all things. Her father had killed one once. It had been one of Cordelia’s favorite stories, of the werewolf in the forest in Dartmoor. But as far as she knew werewolves were extremely rare nowadays. She wondered who the beast had been before. Werewolves were born human. Those kind of creatures had always seemed the scariest to her, those who had been human once. Some transformed out of their own free will, sometimes it was a cruel joke by another entity. No one knew exactly why Benedict Lightwood had turned into a giant worm either, though they all suspected it was a part repaying his debt, something he must not have anticipated. It made Cordelia wonder, had he willingly signed over the life of his wife, her soul even? And his grandson too? Or had that been an accident? Cordelia wasn’t sure if it could have been accidental.

Perhaps a grandson had been abstract at the time, like the fairytales of someone offering up a firstborn, because he didn’t have any grandchildren when he offered one’s life. Benedict died before Gideon and Sophie had had their first child. But a wife?

Lucie was still holding the dagger Cordelia had given her. She’d clutched at it, and Cordelia hoped she would have stabbed the wolf had it come too close, but it wasn’t silver. It wouldn’t have worked. Still, Cordelia was far more comfortable with Lucie carrying a dagger over nothing. She would have to ask Alastair though. Considering the emergency, Cordelia had figured she could borrow it, but Alastair wouldn’t appreciate Lucie holding onto his dagger without asking him. He could be possessive of his collection, and would probably have his own ideas of which one he was willing to lend to Lucie.

They entered the manor and delivered the food to the kitchen, where Tessa had started cutting up some onions and garlic.

‘Hey there Jessamine,’ Lucie said.

She listened for a while. Cordelia found it frustrating sometimes, to be present for Lucie’s conversations with ghosts while missing half the conversation. Her eyes lit up.

‘I knew it,’ she said. ‘No, it isn’t scandalous. This is the twenty first century, Jess.’

Cordelia wondered what Jessamine thought was scandalous but her question was answered when the two of them entered the living room. Alastair, shirtless and his shoulder bandaged, was sitting in Thomas’ lap, the two of them locked in a passionate embrace.

She cleared her throat, to make their presence known and Thomas quickly let go of Alastair, who wrapped the Lilo and Stitch blanket around himself again to hide his bare chest. Cordelia was just going to assume he was shirtless because of his injury. His shoulder was bandaged, at least, and Cordelia didn’t think her brother was the type to start taking his clothes off somewhere other people might come in.

Lucie entered the living room, a smile on her face. ‘I knew this would work out. You can thank me now.’

Alastair frowned. ‘For what?’

‘Thomas was far too scared to ask you to spend time with him, so I figured I’d give him no other choice,’ Lucie explained.

Thomas turned a deep shade of red. He blushed a lot, Cordelia noticed, and often when he was in Alastair’s presence. She wondered how she’d missed his affection. It was obvious now.

‘Yes, that’s true,’ Thomas admitted. ‘Thank you for your encouragement, Lu.’

‘There’s blood on your skirt,’ Alastair told Lucie. ‘Perhaps you should wash it before you can’t remove the stain anymore.’

Lucie looked horrified at her own skirt and disappeared upstairs. Alastair leaned back into Thomas, wincing in pain. His shoulder had to hurt, right? Cordelia suspected he was downplaying the injury, but he seemed at peace so close to Thomas.

Another pair of footsteps entered the living room. Gideon and Sophie both stared at their son, who was sitting too close to Alastair for it to be considered friendly. Thomas smiled awkwardly, both his cheeks and ears a bright red.

‘Oh, hey. I’d been meaning to tell you, but I’m gay.’

Gideon walked over to his son, and pulled him into a hug. This kind of affection from a father to his son still surprised Cordelia, and she realized her father had never been like that. At times he could be affectionate, more so than Alastair or her mother who both struggled with showing people how they felt, but it had always been about him and what he needed from her. Her father had never been like Gideon was now, gentle and caring, reassuring his son that he loved him.

‘I’m so proud of you. Make him happy, alright?’

Cordelia knew Alastair had been spending a lot of time with Gideon lately, mostly for the memories, but from what Gideon said, Cordelia suspected he cared about Alastair as well. Had Alastair opened up to him a bit? She hoped so. She knew Alastair struggled opening up to her, she knew he still had this idea that he needed to protect her from their father, that telling her just how much he’d broken Alastair’s heart would break hers too. Perhaps with Gideon, he had an adult he could trust. Someone, who perhaps, understood his situation a bit better than most.

Cordelia walked over to her brother. He looked adorable, wrapped up in the Lilo and Stitch blanket, innocent and peaceful in a way she hadn’t seen him in a long time.

‘I’m so happy for you, dâdâsh,’ she said.

‘Thank you,’ Alastair said.

‘How is your shoulder?’

‘The painkillers work decently. Tessa thinks I should get a rabies shot soon. Do werewolves have rabies? You can’t become a werewolf from scratches, can you?’

‘No, nor do bites transform people despite popular myth,’ Cordelia said. ‘You’re going to be fine. I’m not so sure about rabies, getting a shot couldn’t hurt.’ She paused. ‘You’re not scared of needles right?’

‘No, it’s more that I am currently unmotivated to get up from this couch, much less travel to a hospital. Besides, Tessa used to be an ER doctor, she knows what she’s doing.’

Alastair grabbed his shirt from the ground. It was bloody and torn and Cordelia didn’t think putting it back on was a good idea. ‘I can’t really wear this, can I?’

‘I can get you something else if you want,’ Cordelia said.

She wasn’t sure Alastair would allow her into his bedroom when he wasn’t there. Sharing a room the past month at Risa’s apartment had been difficult for both of them considering how obsessively he kept everything neat and clean. Not to mention Alastair’s frequent nightmares which kept her up too, and the general lack of personal space. Cordelia wasn’t yet sure what they would do after the summer.

‘Sure. Shirts are on the left side of the closet. Just pick the one on top.’

Cordelia followed his instructions, careful not to disturb anything. The past month while sharing a room they’d fought over made up beds (Cordelia didn’t see the point, at night she’d be sleeping there anyway), cookie crumbs on the floor (Alastair had ultimately forbidden her from eating in the bedroom, admittedly he had a point there) and Alastair losing his stuffed hedgehog (it had fallen under his bed but he’d been convinced she’d touched it). She loved her brother but she hoped she’d never have to share a bedroom with him again.

She found a shirt, a black short sleeved blouse, and figured it would do. Most of Alastair’s wardrobe was black, with some brown, dark purple and grey here and there. She returned downstairs and handed Alastair the shirt. He put it on, and retreated back underneath the Lilo and Stitch blanket, cuddled close against Thomas.

‘You look very cute,’ Cordelia told her brother.

Alastair made an annoyed sound.

‘It’s true,’ she added. ‘I should get you a nice Disney themed blanket for your birthday.’

Dinner was a bit uncomfortable. Lucie’s and Thomas’ parents were both upset, even if it wasn’t their fault the woods were playing tricks on them. What was going on there? Cordelia had been there just in time to rescue them from that werewolf. Was it there because of Thomas?

‘I don’t think you two should be going for walks into the woods again,’ Gideon said.

Cordelia agreed with him, but it worried her too. Alastair had a habit of taking long walks as a coping method, it was something he’d done for several years and helped him calm down. She wasn’t sure what feeling trapped would do to him. She would keep a close eye on him. She knew Alastair didn’t always know what to do with her protecting him, he was so used to being the older brother, to keeping her safe at all times. It was her turn to protect him now, and she would.

Lucie came downstairs a little late for dinner, announcing she’d gotten the stain out her skirt but it was drying now. She had changed into a purple summer dress with a tie around her waist and a wide, flowy skirt reaching just above her knees. She looked beautiful. Lucie had a fondness for dresses, she claimed they were more comfortable and she hated the feeling of tight jeans.

Cordelia had also seen her in oversized sweatshirts that she must have stolen from Thomas considering how big they were. Lucie managed to make even that work. Some people were lucky, she guessed, and could look good in anything. Cordelia always struggled to find clothes she liked on her body and that fit her well. She’d never been the type to steal hoodies from her brother or male friends. Not only would Alastair not appreciate her stealing his clothes, but she’d just feel ridiculous. Cordelia preferred to have her clothes tied in at the waist, emphasizing her shape, without it being too revealing. Oversized shirts made her feel huge whereas more fitted clothes often weren’t made to fit her body type or drew more attention to her chest than she liked. After years of either being overly sexualized for her big breasts and wide hips or shamed for being bigger than other girls her age, Cordelia was still trying to find out what clothes would make her feel comfortable in her body again.

‘That goes for you too, Lucie, no more walks in the woods,’ Will said when Lucie sat down and started eating.

‘Wasn’t planning to,’ Lucie said with a mouth full of pasta.

‘I’m not sure staying out of the woods is going to help us,’ Alastair said. ‘We know it’s worse there, but we can’t run. So while I agree we shouldn’t run towards danger unprepared, simply staying here won’t do anything either.’

‘You’re right, Alastair,’ Gideon said. ‘If you don’t mind, I think we should go over what you saw today. Tomorrow, maybe. I think it may point us towards the creature we seek. I called my brother several days ago, and he is doing his own research.’

‘Does he remember anything you don’t?’ Thomas asked. ‘Uncle Gabriel stayed with his father longer than you did, didn’t he?’

‘Yes, but I have been unable to reach him the past few days. It is not unlike Gabriel to not answer his phone for several days, but I am starting to worry.’

After dinner, Thomas, Lucie and Alastair chose to play a video game. Alastair was terrible at it, just like Cordelia, and gave up after a few rounds of Mario Kart, instead going upstairs to his bedroom after kissing Thomas one more time. Alastair had always been a bit of a sore loser, she hadn’t expected him to last that long at the game. Cordelia went after him, hoping they could talk.

‘I’m sorry for taking this dagger without asking,’ Cordelia said, returning the dagger she’d given Lucie. ‘I figured it would be best she had something to defend herself with.’

Alastair tilted his head, taking the dagger back. ‘I understand. But I’m glad this one didn’t get dirty, I am rather fond of it.’

He retreated into his bedroom, and Cordelia waited at the entrance. This was his private space and Alastair didn’t always like it when she entered unannounced. ‘You can come in.’

Cordelia entered Alastair’s bedroom. It hardly looked like anyone was living there, she thought. Where he found the time and the motivation to keep everything so neat, she couldn’t imagine. She sat down in the armchair.

Alastair handed her another dagger. ‘You can give this one to Lucie. It was a gift from Charles. I never knew what to do with it.’

Cordelia imagined he didn’t want to keep such bad memories around, even if it was a beautiful dagger, decorated with small gemstones. She suspected this dagger must have been expensive, but then Charles was rich and he used to have a habit of buying Alastair expensive gifts. She suspected it was another manipulation tactic, by giving Alastair things he liked but could never afford himself he made Alastair feel like he owed Charles something. Perhaps it also made him feel loved and special, to receive something like that.

‘I considered giving it back after we broke up,’ Alastair added. ‘But then I’d have to face him. And this dagger is far too beautiful for him.’

Cordelia laughed. Alastair was right, of course, the dagger was beautiful and Charles didn’t deserve it back.

‘It’s perfect for Lucie, you should give it to her,’ Alastair said.

‘I will. Can I ask you something?’

Alastair sat down in the second armchair, relaxing his posture a little. ‘What did you want to ask?’

‘How did you find out you’re gay?’

Alastair didn’t say anything for a moment. ‘I think I began questioning my sexuality very young, around twelve or thirteen. I started feeling attracted to boys, but with everything else going on and me not fitting in and being bullied at school, I didn’t need something else to set me apart. I tried to deny these feelings, even if I could never quite convince myself I was straight. When Charles told me he was gay, I thought I had someone I could trust and I started working it out. Back then he acted like a mentor figure, someone who could assure me I wasn’t alone and help me figure out what I was feeling. I think it helps, to have an older queer person to talk to, as long as they don’t want to have sex with you.’

Cordelia hadn’t wanted to bring up memories of Charles, but she wanted to know how people discovered these things about themselves, because Cordelia couldn’t seem to figure it out. How did she even recognize if what she was feeling was attraction, or something else?

‘And did you always know how to tell apart romantic attraction and friendship?’ Cordelia asked.

Alastair smiled bitterly. ‘You should know by now, Layla, that I’ve never had friends. But yes, I could tell what I was feeling was romantic attraction. It’s hard not to when you start fantasizing about kissing boys. Why do you ask?’

‘I find it difficult,’ Cordelia admitted. ‘To tell those feelings apart. I guess Lucie did too for some time. I do think I like boys, I liked James at some point. But I’m also not opposed to kissing girls, or dating them. I think, at least. The idea seems rather normal and maybe appealing to me, but I have no clue if that’s normal and I’m just straight or if I actually like girls too.’

‘Maybe you’re bi or pan,’ Alastair said.

‘But how do I know for sure?’ Cordelia asked.

Alastair frowned. ‘I don’t know. When I stopped trying to deny it, it was pretty obvious to me that I’m gay. But there’s no shame in identifying as one thing but later realizing it wasn’t quite right. You could always start with bi or pan and see if it fits. Or you can even go with questioning until you’re sure.’

Cordelia guessed Alastair had a good point. She wasn’t sure which of these two she liked better, or what exactly the difference was, but it was something she could figure out.

‘Was that everything?’ Alastair asked. ‘Despite my day being only half as long as yours, I’m very tired and I want to go to sleep.’

‘I don’t have any more questions. But I’m very happy for you and Thomas. He’s a very sweet guy and you deserve that.’

Alastair smiled a little. ‘Thank you, Layla. I am happy too. I never imagined he’d like me. Or confess to it like he did. It was very sweet.’

‘I hope you will be happy with him. Good night, dâdâsh,’ Cordelia said, kissing his cheek.

She left Alastair in his room and returned downstairs, where Thomas and Lucie were still playing Mario Kart.

‘Is Alastair alright?’ Thomas asked.

‘Yes, just tired,’ Cordelia said. ‘He’s going to sleep.’

‘Oh, then I’m going to speak with him before he’s asleep,’ Thomas said. ‘Good night to both of you, in case I don’t see you anymore.’

Thomas went upstairs, and Lucie shut down her game and went upstairs too, inviting Cordelia along to her bedroom.

‘I gave Alastair his dagger back,’ Cordelia said. ‘He said you can have this one instead.’

Cordelia gave Lucie the dagger, who turned it around in her hand.

‘Are those real jewels? This looks expensive.’

‘It was a gift from Alastair��s ex,’ Cordelia said. ‘Best not to bring it up around him.’

‘Of course,’ Lucie said, putting the dagger on her desk. ‘I’ll have to start practicing with it.’

‘I’ll help you,’ Cordelia promised.

There was a small shelf of books in Lucie’s bedroom. At home, she had much more. Cordelia had always thought her family owned a lot of books, but the Herondale house could be mistaken for a bookstore, and Lucie’s bedroom was no exception. Lucie read a lot of modern YA fantasy novels, and drew inspiration from them. Cordelia borrowed Lucie’s books sometimes, even if her father used to tell her they were childish and not real literature. Lucie’s father was a literature teacher and he didn’t criticize his daughter’s tastes.

‘I’ve been wanting to read this one,’ Cordelia said, picking one of the books on the shelf.

‘You can. Careful with this one though, the spine is a bit fragile.’

Lucie could be obsessive when it came to the condition of her books, and Cordelia had learnt to handle them with care. She treated her books like Alastair treated pretty much everything in his possession.

Cordelia picked up a book. It had a pretty cover with a winged blonde girl holding a sword. A Dark and Hollow Star. Lucie had told her about it, and had finished it this week. She was a fast reader.

Cordelia settled in Lucie’s armchair with the book while Lucie took out her laptop to write. Some might say it wasn’t very social to both engage in different solitary activities together, but Cordelia didn’t mind and she knew Lucie liked having someone around when she was writing.

‘Do you think the third chapter is too soon to introduce the love interest?’ Lucie asked after typing for a while. ‘First chapter is the ball, second chapter she goes home and it ends with her falling asleep. Maybe there should be more before the falling asleep?’

Lucie often asked for advice on her stories, claiming Cordelia was not only her hero but also her muse.

‘Most of the story is set in the dreamland, right?’ Cordelia asked.

‘Yes. I have to work on my descriptions of the surroundings for sure, because much of it will be Eloise traveling through the land, running across various obstacles.’

‘So if you use the first chapter to introduce the family, maybe the evil aunt, then using the third chapter to start her dream sequence and introduce Mabel makes sense.’

Lucie’s eyes lit up. ‘Of course, I’ll introduce the evil aunt at the ball. Eloise will have a conversation with her but won’t recognize her, although meeting her will be rather unsettling. Later she’ll realize who she really was, but for the reader it’ll be enough to hint that the woman is at the very least important.’

Lucie went back to her writing, and Cordelia was glad to be of help. She tried to focus on her book, but kept watching Lucie. She could go into a very deep focus on her work. Lucie absently tugged strands of hair behind her ears. Cordelia loved Lucie’s shorter hair. It reminded her of the 1920s bob style, and Cordelia figured Lucie would look good in the fashion of that time period.

Cordelia slept restlessly that night. She’d trained all her life with cortana, but had never actually killed anything with it. It wasn’t quite what she’d expected and although the fight had been easy with the beast focused on Alastair, she hadn’t felt in control exactly. Fortunately, cortana did not need to be cleaned, since turning it into her necklace and back returned it to its default state. She didn’t feel like scrubbing werewolf blood of it, like Alastair had to do with one of his daggers.

When she woke up in the middle of the night, Cordelia shot up when she noticed a human shaped shadow. Part of her thought, no, it was simply a pile of clothes. But when she turned on the light to make sure, she was wrong. There was a person sitting in her armchair. A blonde girl, the one who’d been following Tatiana around. She was sitting with a straight back, wearing the same white dress Cordelia had seen her in the night Lucie had gone after her. Cordelia grabbed cortana and held it up in defense. What was her name again?

‘Careful there,’ the girl said in a smooth voice that reminded her of the sea. ‘You’ll just hurt yourself with that sword. There’s not a thing I could not make you do.’

‘Why are you here,’ Cordelia hissed.

‘Because I need your help,’ she said. ‘My name is Grace.’

‘What are you doing in my bedroom?’

Grace glared at her. ‘I believe it is polite to introduce yourself. Your name is?’

Cordelia wasn’t sure where Grace had found the nerve to insult her manners when she was the one who’d broken into the house in the middle of the night, but she also wanted to know what Grace wanted.

‘Cordelia Carstairs.’

‘The bearer of cortana,’ Grace said. ‘I have something to ask of you.’

‘You work for Tatiana,’ Cordelia said. ‘Why should I ever help you?’

‘Because if you don’t, you will not stand a chance against her,’ Grace said.

‘What is she doing? What are her plans?’

Grace gestured impatiently. ‘I cannot tell you.’

‘Then why should I trust you, if you won’t even tell me her plans?’

Grace made an annoyed sound. ‘No, I can’t. I cannot tell you what her plans are, or who she works with, because I have been ordered not to. There is not a thing she cannot make me do. And even if your little sword could defeat me… Being killed while I don’t have my skin and I cannot control myself is not what I want for my future, if you don’t mind.’

Cordelia put cortana down and sat down on her bed, facing Grace. What was she? ‘Your skin?’ she asked.

‘There are all sorts of myths of women that roam the seas,’ Grace said. ‘I am sure you know of them.’

Cordelia frowned. ‘Are you a mermaid?’

‘Something like it. The lovely ladies of the sea have become a bit muddled, modern adaptations tend to mash everything a bit together, use elements from one species and combine it with another. So many different myths, and some of us, like me, are somewhat in between.’

‘A siren, then,’ Cordelia guessed. ‘You said you could make me do anything.’

‘Precisely,’ Grace said. ‘Although that is not all. When I enter the sea, I am not a fish. Like many women in these parts, I am half seal. A selkie. What do you know of the selkie, Cordelia Carstairs?’

Cordelia had to think. Grace was right, there were many different myths of mermaids and many cultures had their own stories of the lovely ladies of the sea. Selkie did ring a bell.

‘Selkies are seals, who can transform into unearthly beautiful women when they come to shore,’ Cordelia said.

‘Precisely,’ Grace said. ‘You must have noticed, that I do not much look like a normal sixteen year old girl. Most selkies do not have the voice of a siren like I do, and that is why she wants me. I can make anyone do anything, and she controls me.’

‘How?’ Cordelia asked. ‘How does she control you?’

‘My skin, of course,’ Grace said with another impatient wave of her hand. ‘When I come to shore, I shed my skin, without it I cannot return to the sea. I loved the shore, I always have. I love to come and sing, and I was careless. Tatiana stole my skin and used a spell on it to bind me to her. She keeps my skin locked somewhere, hidden deep in the forest in the land in between. I do not know where it is, nor can I stray from her for long. So that’s why I’m asking you, champion of cortana. Find my skin and return it to me. I shall be free, and I shall tell you everything I know of Tatiana. But if you fail, there’s nothing I can do for you, I will have no choice to obey Tatiana when she asks me to destroy you.’

Cordelia frowned. ‘What is the land inbetween?’

‘I cannot explain it to you,’ Grace said. ‘It is tied too closely to Tatiana’s secrets. But you’ve been there today. When we found out who slayed that werewolf, I knew you were the one I should ask for help.’

‘And when I find your skin, what then?’

Grace handed her a seashell. ‘Crush this shell and I will come for you,’ she said. ‘But be careful. If you do not have my skin when you do, I cannot say what I will do to you.’

#Cordelia Carstairs #Lucie Herondale #Alastair Carstairs #Thomas Lightwood #Lucelia #Thomastair #the last hours #tlh #fic #fanfiction

[badwithten]

〉jungwoo x fem!reader

〉word count 1k

〉warnings murder, missing persons, brief description of dead body

〉from my 500 follower event

〉for @neonun-au​ mads,,, this was my favourite one to write so far bless you for requesting horror. i am also now very inspired to write more jungwoo horror and i semi have an idea for a fic

Your town was quiet and empty. It always had been, since the day of your birth and long before that. Nothing interesting ever happened. You, your parents and everyone else who lived there thought it would be that way. That was until last week when a girl from your school suddenly went missing without a trace.

At first, the police said it was a runaway. Teenagers do that all the time. But her parents said otherwise. And honestly, if the police had asked you, you would say the same. It just wasn’t her. It wouldn’t make sense for her to run away. Something was definitely wrong.

School was different with something different going on, especially something so close to home. The hallways were quiet, teachers not knowing how to comfort and the students scared shitless. Fear was in everyone’s eyes. Was she ok? And if not are we going to be ok? Who’s next?

But life goes on and school couldn’t be put on hold forever. So just like every Monday first period, you grabbed your biology textbook and headed into class, taking your seat in the back corner. Although she wasn’t in this class with you, it still felt less now that she was gone.

A boy you had talked to only a handful of times sat down next to you, as he did every Monday first period. But even he seemed off. You tried not to think about it, tried not to think about her either. It proved more difficult than you thought to try and concentrate on the teachers’ words. He must have picked up on your odd behaviour as well.

“You ok?” He lent over and whispered in your general direction, taking you by surprise. You turned your head at the tall boy, his focus was still on the teacher but you knew he was waiting for a reply.

“Yeah” You did the same, not wanting to be told off for talking in class. “I mean as ok as I can be right now”

“Right” He nodded and truly went back to taking down his notes, you wish you could do the same. The whole class felt like a blur, in fact, the whole day felt like a blur. All it felt like was getting up, walking to school and then walking out the front gates.

On your way home a familiar voice called out once again. “Wait Y/N!” Your head flicked around, catching sight of him slowly rising from the picnic table outside of the shop, his school blazer off the side and white shirt slightly unbuttoned. “I don’t mean to intrude, again, but you really don’t seem ok”

“Oh” You didn’t know where he wanted you to go with this, it was a statement that, although partly true, was a bit awkward for you to respond to. “I guess not”

He cleared his throat and sat down again, nudging his container of hot chips forward for you to come join. “Did you want to talk about it? I know we don’t really know each other but I’d hate for my bio buddy to be sad on me”

“Bio buddy?” You laughed and walked back to him, throwing your bag off of your shoulder and joining him at the old rotted table.

“What?”

“Nothing” You took a deep breath of air, moving your eyes away from his and picking at the mushy wedge of potato. Although you didn’t end up talking about your feelings with your self proclaimed ‘bio buddy’. You managed to waste a few hours talking to him. For someone you had sat next to for a whole year, you thought you would know more about him. He was surprisingly funny, his jokes making you forget about the aching missing part of the town.

Until you looked up and saw the sun hiding behind some clouds, the darkness reminding you of what is out there behind a wall of laughter. “Jungwoo?”

“Hm?”

“Aren’t you more worried about all of this? I mean a girl has gone missing”

“I don’t know, I didn’t know her so...” He shrugged his shoulders, seeming too calm about this all but you didn’t want to push. “Did you?”

“No, not really. But it’s more the fear of it all, I mean it could be anyone you know?”

“Oh Y/N” He looked down at laughed, taking you by surprise once more.

“What?”

“You’re too scared, it was probably just another runaway, girls run away all the time” Before you have a chance to rebuttal his statement, he stands, interrupting you with a question. “Can I show you something? I promise it will make you feel better”

Hesitantly, you say yes. Grabbing your bag and following him through your quiet country town. It doesn’t take long till you reach the edge of a field and although you’re sure its private property, he jumps over the fence with ease. You once again don’t question it, following him blindly. He walks you to the forest, taking you in deeper until you stop at a clearing of trees. A large swamp sat in the middle of it.

“Y/N, you know why I’m not worried?” He throws his bag onto the ground, trudging round the swamp with familiarity and comfort while you’re frozen in fear. You don’t say anything but he gestures you over as he picks up a large stick. Continuing when you join him by his side. “Because I know where she is, safe with me”

Before you have time to process his words, he flips over a log in the swamp with the stick, a bloated and deformed corpse of an unidentifiable girl floating to the top. Your heart rate increasing as you fall to the ground, eyes unable to leave the horrible sight as you try your hardest to get away with weak limbs.

When you finally look at Jungwoo again, he’s standing over you, eyes dark in the shadows and smile evil. He fiddles with a shiny silver knife in his hand, enjoying the way you cower under him in fear. “Come on Y/N,” He crouches, holding the blade against your cheek to collect the tear that managed to escape. “Don’t want to keep her waiting do you?”

#unfortunatus: inferno #NCTmentary.net #nct #nct x reader #nct imagines #nct scenarios #nct reactions #nct timestamps #nct horror #nct 127 #jungwoo #jungwoo x reader #jungwoo imagines #jungwoo scenarios #jungwoo reactions