#and very obviously been recovering from that since then

[narryffdreaming]

A TOAST TO THE FUTURE — FOUR (I)

Summary: Aurora and Harry used to be friends, but life happened and they grew apart. Now, 6 years later, they meet again.

Rating: +18

WARNINGS: The story contains explicit language and mentions a past abusive relationship (mostly the consequences of psychological/emotional abuse). Some chapters also contain explicit sexual content.

PART FOUR: 21,8k words (I) - 11,2k words (II) - 9,8k words

PART ONE || PART TWO || PART THREE

"Oh my God! Guys!" Lucy yells from the top of the yacht. "They're here!" 

"What?!"

"Oh my God!"

"Finally!" 

Their friends cheer and whistle at their arrival, and Aurora can't get rid of the smile on her face as half of the group screams her name at the same time the other half screams Harry's. There's music playing, each one of them holds some kind of drink, and the whole thing seems like a very intimate, messy, and fun summer party. 

"Just jump in and wait for me, okay?!" Lucy adds, already stepping out of sight. "I'm coming!"

"Okay…" Aurora murmurs and chuckles, although it's mostly out of nervousness, since Lucy obviously can't hear her. 

And, to be honest, she is too hypnotized to react in any other way. She has barely recovered from Harry's interaction, and now this gigantic, massive yacht in front of her isn't actually making things any less overwhelming. 

"Auri?" Harry calls.

She blinks and looks at him, then at his waiting hand. He's already inside the yacht, carrying their bags while he stretches out his arm to offer his help. 

Reality barely sinks in, but she shakes her head and walks forward, anyway. 

"Right, sorry."

She holds his palm and takes a leap, squeezing him as her feet touch the lowest deck of the yacht and her legs tremble onto the new ground.

And just like that, she goes back to staring at what will practically be her house — their house — for the next two days.

She counts three floors, and whilst she still can't see the ones from above, the one they just jumped into is enough to speak for the entire yacht. There is a pool with an infinity edge right by her feet, and on each side of it two steps that lead into a huge outdoor lounge area. Between a couple of sun loungers there's a massive white couch, and behind said couch more steps, leading to the insides of the yacht. 

"Fuck me," she murmurs, then bites her lip and shakes her head. She admires some more and, after a moment, she adds, "I need someone to pinch me right now." 

Next to her, Harry snorts, and Aurora turns her head to face him. 

He's already watching her, attentively and keenly. His stare never hesitating, never faltering. 

"It's not a dream," he murmurs back. "Trust me, I've been pinching myself for hours now." 

There's definitely something about the way he looks at her. Something that causes a little bit of everything to run through her body. 

It is good. Kind of exciting. But also overwhelming, and certainly unexpected. It makes her stomach flutter, but it also squeezes her chest. Almost as if suffocating her. 

So Aurora looks down, and tries to make sense of her thoughts. 

Although only then she notices she's still holding his hand, just like Harry's still holding hers. And then the feeling inside her only grows. The rush, the tingling, the trembling. The burning, the pounding, and the quivering. And she doesn't know what to do about it. She doesn't know how to make it stop. And she most certainly doesn't know what it means. 

Is she even supposed to do something about it? Is it even supposed to mean anything? Does she really need to make it stop? 

"Roryyy!" 

Aurora jolts, and she drops Harry's hand. 

"Hii!" 

Lucy's high-pitched voice echoes from her ear to her brain just as a body crashes against hers, two arms circling her neck. Aurora stumbles and laughs, and Harry's hand quickly lands on her lower back, keeping her in place. She glances at him over her friend's shoulder, finding him by their side with a genuine smile and affectionate gaze. 

"Hi, Lu…" She smiles, straight into his eyes.

"You're here!" Lucy says, pulling back and putting her hands on Aurora's shoulders. Forcing Aurora to look at her and finally getting full attention. Lucy's grin is contagious and sincere, and happiness seems to exhale through every cell of her skin. "I was panicking when Niall said your flight got delayed, but now you're here. You're actually here."

Aurora chuckles, grateful for such a heartfelt reaction, but also aware of the turmoil that's still happening inside her. "I am, yes. Well… We are."

She glances at Harry, and Lucy widens her eyes. 

"Oh my God, yes! Harry!" She turns to him, and a soft giggle falls through her lips. "Hiii! I'm sorry, I just got too excited seeing Rory." 

Harry laughs and embraces Lucy into a hug, holding the bags in place with one hand while circling her shoulders with the other. "It's okay. I know the feeling." 

The short interaction plus the hot weather are enough to burst Aurora's body into flames. She feels the sweat in the back of her neck, but mostly the warmth spreading through her cheeks, so she tilts her chin up and searches for their friends, desperate to find a distraction. 

Thankfully, Niall and Theo are leaning over the glass railing. Despite being up high and distant, their smiles are easy to see. Just like the sunglasses on their faces and the bottles in their hands. 

"Moonshine!" Niall shouts, waving towards himself. "Get your arse up here, c'mon!"

Aurora smiles. She raises her arm to wave at them, then uses her hand to block the sun from her eyes. "Hey guys! You look fancy up there." 

"I know!" Niall laughs. "And we'd look even fancier if we left the port, so c'mon!" 

Before she can come up with something to say, Lucy comes to a stop next to her, sighing before murmuring, "Oh my God he's insufferable." 

They both chuckle, and then Lucy places one hand by her mouth and shouts, "My engagement, my rules, Horan! So no leaving the port 'till I say so!" 

Niall gives her a thumbs up, then leans to say something to Theo — which none of them can hear, of course. Aurora shakes her head and lowers her eyes, glancing at Harry one more time. 

Unlike Lucy and Aurora, he isn't watching the boys, too focused on the view around them instead. With his head tilted up, he unintentionally gives her access to see his perfect jawline, the facial hair under his chin, and the way his muscles tense when he gulps down. A stunning sight, if one would ask her.

"Okay, so…" Lucy sighs and steps forward, and both Harry and Aurora look at her. She turns to them, she grinning from ear to ear and placing her hands on her hips. "Are you guys hungry? Did you get to eat something?"

"Oh my God, no," Aurora breathes out. "Please. I'm starving." 

"Good, 'cause so are we." Lucy giggles. "Is it okay if we grab something to eat before I show you around, then?"

"Of course." Harry nods.

"Yay!" She claps and twirls on her feet, leading the way as her hair moves along with the wind and her one shoulder floral dress. "To be honest, I really wanted to wait for you guys and do a tour for everyone at the same time, but, y'know, I couldn't hold myself… So we already did that… But we have plenty of time so it's okay… Also, apparently there are fancy names for every place, but I can't be bothered with any of that, so I'm in charge of the informal tour. If you want, Theo can take over and tell you a kitchen it's actually called a galley, or gallery, or whatever…"

Aurora blinks, processing her friends' rambling, and Harry chuckles. 

"You look really happy, Lu," he points out, beaming at their friend as they go up the steps. "More than usual, I mean."

"You think?" Lucy asks, looking over her shoulder and flickering her eyes between them two. 

Aurora smiles, and nods.

Harry's right. She's noticed that about Lucy, too. She can see the way her friend smiles, the way her eyes shine and her entire body trembles with joy. 

It isn't something rare to see, because Lucy has always naturally been a very bubbly, cheerful and energetic person. Always the mother of the group, and at the same time the little sister they all want to protect. Her movements always carried a sense of tenderness, of home and family, and at the same time her personality always exhaled sunshine, expensive champagne, and tight-dresses with high-heels. 

So, yes, Lucy's always been exactly like that. 

And yet, there's something different about her this time. 

If Aurora had to guess, she'd probably say it has something to do with the fact that she's about to spend the entire weekend with her friends, celebrating her own engagement to the love of her life.

"Thank you," Lucy says. "I think this is the happiest I've ever been, yeah."

Aurora follows them around the couch and up the steps, trying to remember if her own engagement ever made her feel this happy. Or if getting married to Zack ever made her shine like Lucy's shining right now. 

Did loving Zack ever made her feel the happiest she's ever been? 

And did Zack's love for her ever made her feel the happiest she could ever be?

She shakes her head, slightly fearing the answers to those questions. 

Besides, it doesn't matter, anyway. Not anymore. 

Lucy takes them through what she says it's the main living room, where Harry drops their bags on another fancy, white couch, and then through a dining room. All the furniture they walk past looks expensive and extravagant, yet minimalistic and simple at the same time. Once they get through a hallway, Lucy points to a staircase to her side and explains that all bedrooms are downstairs, except for hers and Theo's — of course, since they're taking the biggest suite. Then she points to the bathroom right across from the stairs, and finally takes them through a glass door that leads to the side of the boat. 

That's when Harry steps aside, raising one arm and encouraging Aurora to go first. She smiles and thanks him, following Lucy through the first flight of stairs, and through the second one. Watching and listening as her friend looks over her shoulder every two steps just to chat and giggle about the multiple areas of the yacht and how they could all hide from each other in different rooms if they wanted to. Or how they don't need to worry about anything the entire weekend because there's a crew ready to make them food and drinks, and also to help them with whatever they need.

Once they reach the highest part of the yacht, Lucy steps aside and demands everyone's attention, then everyone just focuses on them. 

Aurora's still overwhelmed by all the information, but Theo is already there, by the last step, ready to greet her and looking just as excited as Lucy. He pulls her into a hug and thanks her presence, then asks about the flight, and about Noah. She smiles and answers all of his questions, albeit shortly, and then he hugs her again and steps aside, quickly moving on. He turns to Harry, then, excessively shouting about how long it's been since they last saw each other and what the fuck happened to your head.

She laughs, because she figures it's the same kind of excitement she feels with the girls, and then she walks forward, finding Maddie and Ava next to a jacuzzi. 

"Oh my God?" she whispers, widening her eyes at Maddie and pointing to the bubbling water.

"I know!" Maddie mouths, chuckling and opening her arms to welcome her. "Welcome to heaven!" 

Aurora laughs, and hugs her. "I don't think I'll get used to this place."

"Me neither. I'm so happy you're here tho!"

Maddie squeezes her, and then they spend at least five minutes like that, just hugging and squealing about being together again. Which, considering she was at Aurora's place just days ago, quickly turns into jokes about how dramatic they are and oh my God get away from me now.

Next, her embrace with Ava also lasts another five minutes. However, they truly haven't been in the same room for a long time now, so it's also filled with remarks about how good it is to meet again and how excited they are for that weekend. Also, how they should do more things together and see each other more often.  

Jayden steps in next, and as he pulls her into a hug, he also jokes about how they need to think about some new reason to meet, because so far they've been only meeting at wedding ceremonies — first at her and Zack's wedding, then his and Ava's, and now Lucy and Theo's. 

That's when he puts Niall and Megan on the spot, throwing at them the responsibility to organize the next meeting — or, in Jayden's own words, the next wedding. 

Niall laughs and flips him off, pointing out that as far as he knows that's only Lucy and Theo's engagement party, so they still have the actual wedding to look forward to. 

They bicker for a while, and Aurora takes the opportunity to greet Daniel — Jayden's cousin and Niall's old roommate. He's standing by a large table (that is apparently being set up with food) along with Niall and Megan, and he smiles as soon as she gets closer. 

"Hey there," he says, placing one arm over her shoulders and giving her a polite, short squeeze into his side. 

She's a little bit more awkward with him, and even a little shy. Not really knowing what to say after hello and how are you and nice to see you. They aren't really close, and they probably wouldn't even see each other again if it weren't for the others, but she appreciates him deeply for being the string that tied all of them together in the first place. After all, if it weren't for Daniel, Aurora wouldn't have met Niall. And if she had never met Niall, she also wouldn't have met Harry. 

So, in the end, it would've really sucked.

"Ok c'mon," Niall says, tapping his hand on the side of his own leg. "'S my turn. C'mon. C'mon." 

She steps away from Daniel's polite half-hug and rolls her eyes, but her mouth is already curving into this excited and big grin. 

"Would you calm down for a minute?" she jokes.

"'Course not! Look who's here, huh?" Niall cheers, throwing one arm around her shoulders and pulling her to his side. "Ma moonshine!"

She chuckles, turning towards him and circling her arms around his waist. It's been a while since she's been longing for a proper Niall-bear-hug, so she makes sure to enjoy it the most she possibly can. 

"Hi Ni," she whispers, resting her chin on his shoulder and letting a long exhale out of her nose. It's like her entire body loosens up, and she doesn't make any effort to hide it. "I've missed you." 

His childish playfulness fades away, and he passes his cold beer to someone behind her before crossing both of his arms around her shoulders and locking her in.

Finally hugging her properly. 

Finally hugging her tightly. 

"I missed ya too, moonshine," he replies just as softly, rubbing one hand up and down her shoulder blades. "It's been a while, huh?"

She closes her eyes, and nods. "Mhmm." 

It's not like they haven't seen each other at all, but they definitely haven't seen each other as much as they could. Or as much as she would've liked to. And she knows she is the only one to blame for that. She knows that Niall tried his best along the years, but she also knows that, unfortunately, Zack didn't seem to understand why she needed to maintain friendships with the opposite sex, so unless Maddie and Lucy were involved, she ended up not meeting with him that much anymore. 

Things changed after the break up, though. Niall was one of the only five people — outside from her family — she reached out to. They started meeting up for coffees, and sometimes he and Megan would tag along with her and Noah to the park. So it got better, for sure. Still, it hurts to know she had put so much distance between them, just like it hurts she still struggles so much to let him back into her life.

"Sorry for not answering your calls the past few weeks," she says.

"'S okay… At least you texted, yeah? Would've knocked on your door if not."

She chuckles and pulls away, blinking to look at him. 

The knot she improvised earlier on the back of her head doesn't exist anymore, and the light breeze seems to take advantage of that. 

"Noah's been asking about you," she says, putting her hair behind her ear.

"Really?!"

The way he beams at the mention of her son's name warms Aurora's heart, and she nods, smiling even wider at him. "Yeah… He says uncle Ni promised to teach him how to play guitar, so… When is he going to come over?"

"Ha!" Niall laughs, dropping his head back for a moment before looking into Aurora's eyes again. His cheeks are pink, and his eyes are glowing. "I did say that, yeah! Said I was gonna buy one for him. We'll arrange one afternoon for me to take him, yeah?" 

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Course! Are you kidding? Me and Harry will take him, make it a lads afternoon."

"Oh." Aurora nods, and swallows. "Right."

She looks around, then. Only half aware that the mere mention of his name has her already searching for him. 

Harry is by the jacuzzi, chatting with Theo, Ava, and Jayden, moving his hands while sharing some story with them. He looks excited, and happy. He also looks like someone who's been sitting on a plane and inside of a car for too long. Someone who hasn't tamed his hair in a while. Someone who hasn't shaved in three or four days. And someone who clearly doesn't depend on any of that to still look freaking good. 

Daniel approaches them and interrupts him, and whatever he says it's enough to completely crack Harry up, because he bends his knees and drops his head back, laughing loudly while raking his fingers through his curls. And the sound coming out of him is so enthusiastic and charged that it almost makes Aurora laugh, too. 

Almost, though. 

Because, looking at him, she actually doesn't feel like laughing. 

She actually doesn't feel like laughing at all.

Can it be possible for her to already miss those moments between them two? Just by themselves? Or is she so needy and lonely that she has irresponsibly already gotten too attached to him? 

Harry stretches his body and shakes his head, the smile still huge on his face, then turns his head to where she is.

His eyes meet hers, and Aurora looks away.

Shit.

She blinks and focuses on Niall — again. 

"So…" Niall says, putting his hands inside the pockets of his shorts. There is a new look on his face. A look she can't understand, but also a look she doesn't have time to question, because he quickly speaks again. "Talked to him this morning." 

"Yeah." Aurora nods. "I know." 

She doesn't have to ask who he's talking about, because she already knows. For some very weird and strange reason, she knows. Not because Harry mentioned something about it earlier, but because she just… Knows. 

Harry's never been that person she doesn't have to name in a conversation. He's never been the implied subject, he's never even been someone she had something to discuss about. And yet there she is right now, after one failed marriage and a four-year-old waiting for her at home, trying to figure out how the hell Harry suddenly became all she can think about. 

"'S it ok that I told him about… Y'know."

"Yes. Don't worry about it."

"'Kay. Did you two have a good flight, then?"

"Mhm. I slept most of the time so… Yes." She nods and peeks over Niall's shoulder, then waves at the girl quietly standing behind him. Almost hiding. "Heyy Megan!"

"Oh, hi." She smiles and gets closer, then embraces her into a quick hug. When they're facing each other again, she asks, "How are you?"

"I'm good, tha—"

"Did Aurora tell you she goes by Mrs. Styles now?"

Aurora widens her eyes, and then turns around.

"Harry!"

He's standing next to Niall now, smirking while holding a bottle of beer. And then their eyes meet and he shrugs. As nonchalant and unworried as he could be. 

"What? They're our friends, they deserve to know."

"Know what?" Ava asks, approaching the table along with Jayden and Maddie.

"Nothing," Aurora says. 

Harry gasps, and places his hand on his chest. "Ouch. So our marriage means nothing to you?" 

Aurora rolls her eyes. 

So freaking dramatic.

"Wait, what?" Ava looks at her, then at Harry, then at her again. 

Maddie chuckles. "I'm confused."

"I'd say that was fast, but… Y'know," Jayden mumbles. 

And then Niall snorts, grabbing Megan by her waist and pulling her closer to him. "Took him fifty years, that's all."

Aurora is only half-listening to what they're saying, because, honestly? She just couldn't care less. She glares at Harry with a frown on her face, instead. Pursing her lips and biting her cheek to make sure her mouth won't turn into a grin. 

"Oops," he mouths, then tilts his head to take a sip of beer. Eyes never slipping away from hers.

She shakes her head and crosses her arms. Feeling a buzz of joy spread from her chest to all over her body. 

Harry's silly. He really is. Acting like a teenage-boy and making jokes that aren't even funny just to get a reaction out of her. Part of her doesn't understand him and doesn't see the point, but some other part — one that's deep inside and kind of forgotten — feels completely the opposite. Like she doesn't want him to stop being like that. Like she doesn't want him to stop making her happy, making her laugh. Going out of his way just to interact with her. Just to put a smile on her face. 

Even if it's just for a day. Even if it's just for this weekend. Even if it's just to make her feel the happiest she can be for the next two days. Before everything goes back to normal again. 

"I'm gonna kill you," she mouths back. 

Harry smirks, has another sip of beer, and winks. "I know you will."

And Aurora has no idea what he means by that, but she's pretty convinced it's the hottest thing she's seen so far.

It's official now: the crew is back together. 

Or that's what Daniel says, then minutes later Aurora catches herself thinking again as she looks around the table and smiles at her friends. 

Lucy, Theo, Maddie, Niall, Megan, Ava, Jayden, Daniel, and Harry. 

They're all there. 

Even she is there. 

And she's just so… Happy. 

To see everyone after so long feels amazing. It's like they have a lot to catch up on, but also like they can just pick up things exactly where they left them. No need for questions. No need for explanations. No need for apologies. Right now and right there, they all seem to have silently agreed there would be only room for excitement and celebration.

They are all eating and chatting, throwing questions around and making sure they know what's going on in everyone's lives. And they're all so mindful and careful of Aurora's feelings, leaving her out of certain topics and allowing her to stay in silence as much as she wants to. 

It's just… Perfect. It really is. She's happy, and she's carefree, and she's just so… Relaxed. 

And then Lucy, who's sitting right in front of her, gasps and calls Harry's name, as if she just remembered this huge thing she wanted to ask him about. 

Harry hums, acknowledging he's the new topic of the interrogation while chewing his food. 

"How's your dad doing?" she asks.

"Oh." He nods and gulps down, then takes a sip of water before answering her. "He's good, yeah. Not used to having the entire house to himself, but, y'know…" He shrugs. "He's alright." 

And that's when Aurora frowns, and when she finally feels the need to chime in.

"Wait, what?" She shuffles on her seat and leans in, trying to get a glimpse of Harry over Maddie, Megan and Niall's seats. "Why did your mum move out? Did your parents get divorce?" 

Now, if there's one thing that's already been established, it's that Aurora doesn't need any reminders of what a shitty friend she's been. By now, everyone already knows that it's something that constantly haunts her mind and that she's working as much as she can to fix.

Still, she doesn't think there was ever a moment when the truth hit her as loudly and painfully as right then and there. 

Because they all go silent. Awkwardly, uncomfortably, and painfully silent. It's like her questions reverberate through everyone around the table only to bounce back to her. 

Aurora falls back into her chair, hunching down as she feels her body shrink. 

"What?" she whispers, darting her eyes over the faces of those she can see. They avoid her just as much as she tries to reach them, though, and her heart speeds up. "What did I say, guys? What did I do?"

"Auri," Harry calls. 

"Babe," and Maddie whispers at the same time, placing her hand over her knee and leaning closer to her ear. "Harry's mum passed away." 

Aurora widens her eyes. "W-what? I—When? I didn't—" 

"I know." Maddie nods. "It was a few months ago."

Niall speaks next — Aurora knows because she recognizes his voice, but she doesn't catch what he says. And when everyone starts talking again, Aurora just tunes them out. 

"Oh my God," she breathes out. "Maddie… I just… I had no idea."

"I know. We all know. It's okay."

It isn't, though. 

"When was this? What… I mean… Did you all know about it?"

"I think so, yeah."

"And why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm sorry, it's just… It was around the time you were getting your divorce, y'know? And we just… I think we figured you had a lot going on already." 

"Well, yeah… But his mum passed away, Maddie. His mum." 

Aurora rubs her forehead.

God, it just… It just breaks her heart, to be honest. She knows how close they were, how highly he always spoke of her, so she knows it must've been a really tough time for him. Especially if he was living on the other side of the world and away from everyone. Away from his family, and away from his friends. 

Did he even have anyone in the US to help him get through that?

Was his ex there for him when it happened?

Aurora hopes she wasn't.

No! Wait—What?

Shit. 

No, that's not true. 

Of course not.

Hopefully he was still dating when it happened.

Hopefully he had someone by his side.

Hopefully his break up didn't happen around that same time. 

Is that the reason why he doesn't want to talk about relationships?

Is that the reason why he said he isn't in the mood for relationships? 

Holy shit. 

Why is she even thinking about this right now?!

"A little heads up would've been nice, that's all," Aurora says, shrugging while staring at the horizon. 

It's a little after four when the girls finally get a moment just for themselves. They're still on what Theo said it's called the sun deck — although Aurora still considers it to be just the top floor of the boat — sitting around the table whilst the boys have moved their conversation somewhere downstairs. 

"God, I know!" Maddie says, now sitting across from her. "I'm sorry. I literally only remembered once it was already happening."

"I'm sorry, too," Lucy says. "I kinda went into panic mode because I'm the one who brought it up."

"It's not a big deal, tho'." Ava shrugs, and smiles softly at her. As if she's trying to reassure her and apologize at the same time. "I mean, it's not like you just decided to ignore the information or forgot about it. You genuinely didn't know."

"Yeah." Maddie nods. "And he knows that."

"Besides," Ava adds, "it's Harry, so… You two will be fine, Rory." 

Aurora nods, and grabs her necklace between her fingers. She knows they'll be fine. And she knows Harry isn't mad at her. She also knows it wasn't the girls' fault, so she isn't mad at them. She isn't even mad, to begin with. She's just… Disappointed. And sad. 

She's disappointed in herself. And she's really sad that she wasn't there for Harry. But she's mostly sad that he spent all that time at the airport listening to her while she cried over her marriage, but didn't feel comfortable enough to tell her about his own mother passing away. Not even when he brought her up in the car. 

"Rory?" Maddie calls.

Aurora blinks, and turns her head. 

The girls are all watching her. Studying her with that same worried, careful, and wary look they've been sharing around her since she made a fool of herself. 

"It's fine," she says, pulling her mouth into a smile and fidgeting with the pendant of her necklace. "Can we just, y'know, change the subject now?"

Lucy and Maddie share a look, and then they share a look with Ava. Meanwhile Megan bites her nail and shifts her eyes between everyone.

Aurora sighs, and rolls her eyes. They're all just trying to protect her. She knows that. But they're trying so hard right now that she's starting to wonder if, perhaps, it's having the opposite effect, instead. 

"Guys, c'mon," Aurora says. "Look, it was awkward, okay? And embarrassing. So of course I'm feeling weird right now. But can we please move on? Like, I just… I just need things to be normal."

"We're just worried about you," Lucy murmurs next to her. 

"I know." Aurora nods. "And I know I gave you reasons to be worried, so I really appreciate that. But I… I don't know. This is the first time I'm hanging out with everyone in years, y'know? So I'm pretty sure there'll be more awkward moments 'till Sunday and I just… I don't know. I need things to be normal."

Aurora shrugs, unable to finish the reasoning inside her mind. She wants her friends to make things less awkward, that's all. Maybe it's selfish of her to ask that of them, but… It is what she wants. 

Ava clears her throat, and shifts on her chair. "Yeah. I get it. Let's not make a big deal out of it. I'm sure you'll feel better once you talk to him."

Aurora sighs and nods, brushing her thumb over the pendant of her necklace. "Exactly." 

Something she doesn't want to do in front of everyone, but she will do. She's just waiting for the right moment to approach him. That's all. 

"Great," Ava says, facing forwards and staring at Lucy, who's right across from her. "So, I have a question, what the bloody hell are we supposed to do with this much space, huh?" 

"Oh my God, I know!" Lucy squeals and giggles, and Aurora feels herself smiling again, too. 

Changing the subject is good, and exactly what she needs. Although it doesn't erase the fact that she still needs to talk to him, of course. Because she still needs to apologize. She wants to apologize. 

At first, she thought she'd get to do it right after lunch, but then Theo announced they were about to leave the port and Aurora didn't miss a beat before running downstairs to grab her phone. 

Eight hours had gone by and she still hadn't heard a word from Zack. A tiny part of her inevitably wondered if everything was okay, but to be honest the majority of her just hated him. She ended up, then, writing another message, this time with clenched teeth and rushed fingers. Letting him know she'd be probably out of reach from then on, but that she'd still try to call and say goodnight to Noah. Adding, at the end, if i call, please pick up. 

After that, when she met everyone again, they all got together to take pictures of the moment they left the city behind. And then Lucy opened a bottle of champagne, and they all shared a toast to their soon to be married friends. 

Amidst the happy emotions, one thing led to another, and before she got the chance to reach out to Harry and ask for a private minute of his time, he was already out of her sight and gone with the rest of the boys — which she didn't think it would be fair to interrupt. 

"This is actually Theo's grandparents gift, so we're still getting used to it," Lucy says, and for some reason it just brings Aurora back to the conversation.

"What?!" She lets go of her necklace, widening her eyes and sitting upright while turning to her side. "They gave you this yacht?!"

They all look at her, and Lucy laughs. 

"Wha—No! Not the entire thing, silly! Just a week on this yacht."

"Ohhh!" Aurora exhales through her mouth, then relaxes on the chair. She chuckles lightly, waving her own question off. "Okay, yeah, that makes sense now."

"To be fair," Megan says, so timidly and softly Aurora almost doesn't hear her, "from the little I've seen, coming from those two it wouldn't actually surprise me at all."

Lucy snorts. "Right?"

They all look at Megan and nod, a clear attempt of making her feel welcome in the conversation. 

It is nice to see her spontaneously joining in. She's been dating Niall for a little less than a year now, and even though she's previously met or at least talked to everyone so far, this is the first time she's actually hanging out with all of them at once. So she's still getting comfortable around them. And Aurora relates to that, even if for different reasons. 

"You still don't get along with them?" Ava asks.

"God, no." Lucy shakes her head, then takes a sip of her margarita. "So obnoxious. Hate them."

There's a beat of silence, until Maddie stretches her arms over her head and sighs loudly. 

"Well," she says, "for what it's worth, I'm really glad they spent all this money on you guys."

"Yeah!"

"Mhmm."

"Me too!"

"Ugh, yes!" Lucy says. "I'm so happy we are all here." 

"It doesn't feel real, to be honest," Aurora says, drifting her eyes around them. 

They didn't actually leave Amalfi, but they sailed enough to anchor where they'd be fully surrounded by crystal-clear waters and have a breathtaking view of the deep blue sea meeting the bright blue sky. 

There's no music playing anymore, the boys are laughing somewhere, and the sun shines brightly and warmly above them. Sometimes, a soft breeze surprises them, but Aurora always catches herself smiling at it. And sometimes even giggling at the shivering that runs through her arms. Because it's refreshing, and reassuring. And she can't remember a single moment in her life when she's felt like that. 

Like there's nothing but peacefulness surrounding them. 

Peacefulness. 

Quietness. 

Delight.

Bliss.

Joy.

.

Happiness. 

.

Aurora throws her head back and closes her eyes, giving more room for the sun to warm up her skin. Her face, her chest, her neck. 

So,

So relaxing.

.

.

"Girls," Ava murmurs, almost whispering.

"Hm?" someone says.

Aurora blinks, looking at her friend while trying to adjust her blurry sight. Maddie, Megan and Lucy are all looking at her, too.

So Ava leans into the table, and shares with them what feels like the biggest revelation. A secret that's only for them to hear, and only for them to know. "You know I'm banging my husband here tonight, right?" 

There's only a second of dead silence, and then they all burst into laughter. 

Aurora laughs, too, but she also rolls her eyes and looks away — not surprised at all with the revelation, but also not really sharing the sentiment. Or excited about it. 

It's been too long since she's had sex for the last time, and no matter how much she misses it, it's not something that's crossing her mind right now. Not when she knows it's so out of her reach. Not when she knows it won't happen anytime soon anyway.

"C'mon," Ava says, still whispering. "I can't be the only one thinking about it… Megan?"

"I mean…" Megan murmurs, and Aurora peeks to look at her. She's sitting next to Ava, looking down at the table almost as if she doesn't want to think about it. But then she shrugs, trying her best to keep a smile out of her face, and reveals quite the opposite. "Our suite is pretty tempting, so… There might've been some talking about it already."

"Yes!" Ava cheers. "I knew it!"

"Ohh I love this." Lucy giggles, drumming her hands on the table. "And you totally should go for it. We've been doing it for days now and it's just… Ugh."  

She rolls her eyes and drops her head back, causing Aurora to shake her head and laugh again. 

That's why she's so happy, then.  

"Speaking of which…" Ava turns to her side and points at Maddie. "Are you still going out with that girl from the gym?"

Maddie shakes her head, then grabs a grape from the table and throws it into her mouth. 

Aurora already knows the story, so although she keeps paying attention to the conversation, she closes her eyes and drops her head back. Once again comfortably enjoying the sun. 

"She ghosted me like… Two weeks ago," Maddie says.

"What?" Lucy gasps. "No! C'mon, I was rooting for her!" 

"It's fine." Maddie waves her off, then grabs another grape. "I'm too old for this, anyway. If she ghosted me then she's not good enough for me."

Ava whistles, and even with her eyes closed, Aurora smiles and nods. Maddie tends to suffer more than she lets people know, but her confidence and willingness to try again, and again, is something Aurora really admires from her.

"Damn," Lucy says, standing from her chair. "If you'll excuse me, I'll toast to that. Who wants another margarita?"

"I do," Megan says. "Please."

"Ava? Maddie?"

"Nope."

"I'll have a martini," Maddie says, batting her eyelashes. "Please."

"'Kay. Rory?"

"I'm good, thanks," Aurora blindly says, aware she didn't even finish the first one yet.

"Be back in a minute, then." 

"What about you, huh?" Ava asks. "Have you met anyone?"

There's silence around them. Only the sounds coming from the water and the boys talking and laughing somehow reach Aurora's ears. She tries to make out Harry's voice, but it's too muffled for her to point it out. 

"Rory?"

Aurora opens her eyes, and blinks. 

Ava, Maddie and Megan are all looking at her. Lucy isn't there anymore. 

"Wait, you're asking me that question?"

"Well, yes."

She lifts her eyebrows, and shifts on her seat. 

"Me. You are asking me if I've met anyone?"

"Yes," Ava chuckles. "I'm asking you, Aurora Fletcher."

"Actually," Maddie says, placing a hand on Ava's shoulder. "I heard it's Mrs. Sty—"

"Don't." Aurora jolts, pointing a finger at her. "Don't even say it."

Maddie chuckles, then raises her palms and leans back against her chair. "Ooookay then."

Aurora drops her hand to the table and shakes her head, unable to hide the smile. 

She's going to kill Harry for spreading that bullshit to everyone. 

"So," Ava insists. "Did you or did you not?"

"Ava, c'mon. Of course not."

"And do you want to meet anyone?"

"Not right now, no."

"Why not?"

"Plenty of reasons."

"Name one," Maddie says, and Aurora sighs.

She's already had that exact same conversation with Maddie days ago, so she knows where she's trying to get at — she wants Aurora to admit she's ready to date people. 

Which, of course, she isn't. 

"C'mon, I just got divorced."

Ava furrows her brows, then turns to Maddie. "Didn't she divorce like… Four months ago?"

"Six, actually," Maddie says. "But they broke up months before that."

"Hmm…" She turns back to Aurora, then. "And how long are you supposed to wait 'till the memory of your shitty husband releases you from its chains?"

Aurora gasps, and so do Maddie and Megan. 

And then they all laugh. 

"Oh I love you, Av," Maddie murmurs, grabbing another grape and shaking her head.

Ava shrugs. "I mean, I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna pretend I don't want you to put that asshole behind you, y'know."

Aurora rolls her eyes, then looks away. "Still, It's not just that." 

"What is it, then?"

"I have to focus on Noah right now."

"You can focus on Noah and still meet someone, tho," Megan says. 

Aurora turns to look at her, and so do Ava and Maddie.

"Oh my God." Megan widens her eyes, clearly speaking her mind when she didn't intend to. "Rory, I'm so sorry. I—"

"Don't apologize," Maddie says. "I told her the exact same thing the other day."

"Yeah, and it's exactly what I was thinking," Ava backs her up, too. 

Aurora laughs, and groans. "Girls, c'mon. Where am I even supposed to meet people? I don't… I never even leave the house."

"You left the house this weekend, didn't you?" Ava shrugs. 

"Well, yeah, but…" Aurora rolls her eyes. "Y'know." 

"But what?"

"But we are on a yacht?"

"And…?" 

"Oh c'mon!" She laughs. "I'm here with you guys. Unless you want me to, I don't know, meet the captain or something, I don't know who I'm supposed to meet this weekend."

"Mhmm… Ok then." Ava nods, and purses her lips. "So there's absolutely no-one, I mean no-one on this boat, that you could see yourself with?"

"What?" Aurora chuckles, drifting her eyes between her friends. "Of course not!"

Ava raises her eyebrows. "You sure?"

"Ava! Yes, I'm sure! What are you even—" 

"I'm back!" Lucy shouts, and Aurora shuts her mouth. 

All four of them turn to look at the stairs, waiting for their friend to come into sight. 

It takes Lucy a few seconds, but eventually she reaches the last step. Grinning, beaming, while holding a new glass in her hand. 

"Well, actually we are back." She giggles, walking past the jacuzzi and towards the table. "'Cause, y'know, I couldn't bring everything by myself so…"

And then, Harry comes into view, too.

He's holding a tray with four other glasses, biting his bottom lip while focusing on not spilling or dropping anything. Everything about him looks casual, and distracted. But apparently it is more than enough for Aurora's heart to stop for a second, and then speed up.

"Some might say it's a coincidence," Maddie whispers, and although she's looking at Ava, she's loud enough for Aurora to listen as well. "Others might say it's fate." 

"I know!" Ava gasps and chuckles, then shifts on her chair and straightens her back. She looks at Maddie over her shoulder, then at Aurora, then back at Maddie. "I say it's fate, by the way."

Aurora narrows her eyes. "What are you to—" 

"Harry, hi!" Ava says with a smile, intentionally cutting Aurora off while she faces him. The tone of her voice already suggests she's up to something (and that she isn't being subtle about it), but then she also crosses her arms on the table and leans into them, which seems to make it even worse. "How are you?"

Harry peeks at her, then furrows his brows. "Uhm… Good?"

Lucy takes her seat once again, then leans closer to Aurora and whispers, "I know you said no, but there's one for you anyway."

Aurora licks her lips. "Oh, okay. Thank—" 

"You're single, aren't you?"

Aurora shuts her mouth and looks at Ava, a slight sense of panic invading her soul. 

What is she doing?

Ava is still looking at Harry, though, so Aurora looks at him, too.

"What?" he asks, placing the tray on the table and narrowing his eyes. He shifts his gaze to Ava, then to Megan, and then across from them, to Lucy.

"Oh don't look at me," she says with a shrug. "I have no idea."

"It's just a question," Ava says, and shrugs. "Are you single or not?"

Harry looks back to Ava, then. 

"Yes. Why?"

"Mhmm…" Ava nods. "Interesting. And are you looking to meet anyone, or…?" 

Aurora's belly swirls. 

Fucking hell. She's going to kill Ava. 

Harry shifts on his feet, watching Ava with a look that's hard to understand, and then he darts his eyes straight into Aurora's gaze. 

And Aurora holds her breath. 

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Holy shit.

It's been only an hour or so since she got to stare into the green of his eyes, but it's like she's been missing it, because she doesn't want to let go of it. And she should let go of it. 

Right?

A moment of silence goes by, and Aurora's heart thumps loudly inside her chest. 

"Why?" he asks, right into her eyes. "Do you know someone?" 

Oh God. Why can't she let go of it?!

"Maybe…" Ava says, the hint of a hidden message loud and clear in her voice. 

And Aurora feels the shift in the air. How everything gets heavier somehow. How her ribcage gets smaller and her heart doesn't have enough space to beat as widely as it needs. 

So she looks down to her hands, not really wanting to be a part of that conversation anymore. Or not really knowing how to be a part of that conversation anymore. Because, honestly, what is going on?! 

Are her friends trying to set her up with Harry?

"Right." Harry clears his throat, then chuckles. "Well, let me know if that ever changes to a yes, then."

There's a beat of silence, but Aurora is too stunned to check what's happening.

"Oh we will," Maddie eventually says. "Don't worry."

Ava clears her throat. "Yes. But I think you'll know, tho."

Oh God…

Aurora's nauseous. And overheated. And breathless. Plus, she's pretty sure her heart is having an arrhythmia right now. 

She can't take her eyes off her hands, but she absorbs the seconds of silence as he seems to walk away, and also drinks in from his voice when he speaks again. 

"Oh, by the way, you're being summoned downstairs for a jump in the water." 

"Oh, yes! That's right!" Lucy says. "We'll be there in a minute."

"Ok." 

That's the last thing she hears from him, and then all the girls just stay in silence. As if watching him walk away. 

A few painful moments go by, until they all erupt into giggles and squeals — all but Aurora, of course. 

"Oh my God!" Ava breathes out. "What was that? The tension? You guys left me speechless! Me!"

"Rory, I'm begging you, please," Lucy says, grabbing her arm. "Please tell me you saw the way he looked at you." 

"I—What—" Aurora blinks. And shakes her head. And laughs. And mumbles. All at once. All at the same time. Confused. Dazzled. Puzzled. "Who—I mean, what?!"

"Oh my God!" Lucy squeals, and giggles. "Look at you! You're blushing!"

Aurora shakes her head, then covers her cheeks with her hands. "No I'm not!" 

"Girls," Maddie chuckles. "

She was looking right back at him

"And of course she saw the way he looked at her," Megan chuckles. "C'mon, she was looking right back at him!"

"What? No I wasn't." 

"Yes, oh my God! You totally were!" 

"What happened in that plane, huh?"

"Did you join the mile high club?"

"What?!" 

"Oh my goodness, did you really?"

"No!"

"Did your flight really get delayed?" 

"Because it's totally okay if it didn't!" 

"Totally, yes!"

"Oh my God! Girls!" 

"It's that why he's been calling you Mrs. Styles?"

Aurora laughs, rubs her forehead, and stands from her seat. "I—I can't… I need to—"

"This's so cute!"

Aurora shakes her head, walking towards the stairs. "I'm not doing this."

"Roryyy, come here!"

"Nope," she says, reaching the stairs. 

"Oh, c'mon!"

"I just… I need to use the bathroom."

"Bathroom. Mhmm…" Maddie shouts, her voice filled with teasingness and playfulness. "You go, babes. And say hello to Harry from me!" 

Aurora rolls her eyes and flips them off, then follows the same path Harry went through just minutes ago. And although she tries to keep a serious expression on her face, the truth is that she can't — she just can't — get rid of that foolish, silly, and incredibly stupidly huge smile that's creeping on her mouth. She just can't. 

So she doesn't.

The moment Aurora leaves the bathroom is the exact same moment Harry reaches the last step of the stairs, and they both bump into each other.

He places his hands on her shoulders, as if keeping her in place, but also maybe just holding himself. 

"Ops."

"Sorry."

Aurora chuckles, and Harry chuckles. 

He slides his hands off her shoulders, and she takes a step back, looking him up and down. And she doesn't mean to do that — she swears she doesn't mean to do it — but Harry changed his clothes and she just can't help herself. Because instead of being black with flamingos on it, his shirt is beige now. And instead of pants, now he's wearing black swimming shorts. And instead of those cute yellow shoes, now he's wearing white flip flops. And there's just so… 

Shit. 

Aurora swallows.

There's just so much new skin suddenly exposed. So much tanned skin. Inked skin. And also perfectly carved abs. And manly, dark body hair.

Shit.

She licks her lips. 

He's just so… 

You know…

So…

She closes her eyes. 

Fucking shit, he is just so fucking hot.

Harry clears his throat, and Aurora blinks.

The smirk is blatantly obvious on his face, and a wave of heat spreads from Aurora's chest to the back of her neck, and all over her cheeks. 

Thankfully, he doesn't say anything about the fact that she's been openly staring at his body. And that he clearly noticed it. Instead, he tilts his head towards the stairs, motioning to the floor — deck — where he was coming from when they bumped into each other.

"I left your bag in your bedroom," he says. "I hope that's okay."

"Oh, mhm, of course." She nods. "Thank you."

"Of course." 

He nods, too, then settles comfortably inside her eyes. 

Green irises holding her captive yet all over again. 

There's a beat of silence, and the distant voices of their friends are the only reminder she has that they aren't alone anymore. 

"I don't really know where my bedroom is, tho."

Harry chuckles.��

A beautiful sight that has her smiling, too.

"It's right next to mine," he says. "Theo said you're sharing with Maddie?"

"Oh." She nods. "Right."

She didn't know that, but it makes sense. Since they're the only two girls who don't have a boyfriend or husband to share a bed with. And all that. 

"Want me to take you there?"

"To my bedroom?"

"I mean, yes. To show you where it is."

"Oh…" Aurora bites the insides of her bottom lip, and nods. 

Does she want Harry to take her downstairs and show her the bedroom while all of their friends are upstairs? Ye— No!

Shit.

Aurora shakes her head. Vehemently. "I mean, no. Thanks. It's fine. I mean, I'm sure Lucy wants to show me around. Stuff like that. Y'know." 

"Right, yeah. That's true."

Another beat of silence. 

And another one.

"Are you girls coming outside with us?"

"Mhm…" Aurora nods. "We'll… Y'know… We'll probably have to change first, but… Yeah. Mhm. Change our clothes. Then we'll go."

Oh my God? Why the fuck is she suddenly acting like this? What's wrong with her?

"Oh, of course." 

Harry clears his throat and looks down at his feet, then another beat of silence echoes between them. 

A long one, by the way. 

"So…" He speaks again, and moves back into her eyes. "How are you doing? Everything good so far?"

"Mhm, thanks!" Aurora smiles, trying her best to keep herself together. "I'm having a really good time. Yeah."

Harry smiles, too. "Good. Glad to hear that."

Another beat of silence.

And another one.

And another one.

Harry lifts his arm, and points behind him. 

"Well, I should probably—"

"Wait!" 

Harry drops his arm back to his side, and tilts his head. "Yeah?" 

"I'm just…" Aurora closes her hands into fists, and presses her lips together for a moment. Making sure her voice is softer and calmer when she speaks next. And that her words will, at least, make sense. "I'm sorry… About your mum."

Harry blinks, then curves his mouth into a gentle and caring smile. "I know. Thank you, Auri."

Auri. 

Her heart skips a beat. She'd no idea she would suddenly miss a nickname that no-one but him ever used. A nickname that up until that morning she didn't even remember existed in the first place. 

"I'm also really sorry for not knowing, and for not being there for you when it happened."

Harry sighs. "I don't want you to apologize for that. I mean, I realized you didn't know when you asked about her in the car, so… It's fine. Really. I don't want you to stress over this."

"Okay… But I just…" She shakes her head. "Look, I just want to make sure you know I'm sorry, okay? Because I care about you and I don't want you to think I don't. So, I don't know, can you please just… Maybe just say okay? And thank you? And then we leave it at that?" 

The look on his face and the soft, timid smile reveal more than she needs to know, but it gets even better when he chuckles, and then when he still reassures her with his words. "Thank you Auri." 

"Good. Thank you." She smiles, too. "Now, can I just… I mean… Can I at least give you a hug? I know it's a late hug but, y'know…" 

She shrugs, and Harry grins at her. 

"You really think you need my permission to hug me?"

"I don't—I don't know!" Aurora chuckles. "What if I just go for it and you don't… Y'know. Don't want to, or… I don't know."

He rolls his eyes and steps closer, already reaching for her waist. 

"Just shut up and c'mere," he says, sliding his hands and arms around her back, then pulling her into his chest. 

Aurora smiles and stands on her tiptoes, circling his neck with both arms while resting her chin on his shoulder. 

And then, she sighs. Because that feels really nice. And really good. 

Harry squeezes her, gently but tightly, then pulls his head back slightly, just to be able to press a kiss to her cheek.

It's wet, and it's loud. And her skin tickles. 

She bites her lip, and he moves his mouth closer to her ear. Curls and stubble brushing over her.

"Thank you," he murmurs, slightly digging his fingertips into her back — almost, almost, pushing her closer to him. "Just so y'know tho, you should always go for it. And I always want to."

Her belly flutters, and she closes her eyes. 

He just keeps doing those things… Saying those things… You know? And it's just… It's just so… Confusing? Because, honestly, 'I always want to'? What does he even mean by that? Who says something like that? 

"Yesss!" Ava shouts, and it doesn't take a second for Aurora to pull away from their embrace. 

Blinking. Suddenly flushed. Suddenly dizzy. Suddenly out of breath. Suddenly feeling her heart thump so loudly inside her that she's convinced it'll burst out of her chest. 

"She's here!"

Harry's eyes are soft on her, though. Calm. As if he's completely unaware of what he's doing to her. Or maybe as if he's aware of it, but completely satisfied with her reaction. 

Either way, it's like he is… Reassuring her. Like he's trying to let her know that it's not a big deal. And that it's okay. Because it's him, y'know? And it's always been okay with him. So why wouldn't it also be okay now? Confusing, but still okay.

Or… 

Maybe it's none of that. Maybe she is just projecting, because maybe she is the one trying to reassure herself. 

Who knows. 

Either way, it somehow works. Because she takes a deep breath in, and her heartbeat slows down. 

"Yes, he's here too!" Ava shouts again. "You owe me five bucks!"

Aurora and Maddie's room it's simple, minimalistic and fancy — pretty much like the entire yacht. 

Her duffel bag is on top of the queen size bed she'll be sharing with Maddie, and there's a window allowing the daylight to brighten up the space. There are also two bedside tables, a wardrobe, and a tv. Plus enough room for all of them to comfortably hang out together while she rummages through her things to find a change of clothes. 

Ava, Lucy and Megan are comfortable on the bed, Maddie stands around the wardrobe while she puts her own stuff away, and Aurora sits on the floor, right by her bedside table. 

"Can you hand me my bag, please?" she asks.

"Sure." Megan grabs it from her feet and brings it closer to her reach.

"Thanks."

"I'll just ask one last question," Lucy says, sitting against the headboard and next to Megan. "And then I promise we won't touch the subject again, ok?"

Aurora drops her bag by her side, between her thigh and the bedside table, then nods. 

"'Kay," she says, bending her legs by the knees and looking at her. "One last question, then."

"How are things with Zack? Is he treating you better?"

She purses her lips and scratches her nose, mulling over the words to make sure she gives them the most honest answer she's able to. 

After Ava found her and Harry sharing a hug, the girls spent as much time as they could teasing the hell out of her — no matter how many times she told them it wasn't like that and it didn't mean anything more than a hug between two friends. 

The jokes only stopped when each moved to their own bedroom to change into swimsuits. Minutes later, when they met again in Aurora and Maddie's room, they kept laughing about the most random and insignificant things, not really putting her on the spot anymore. 

So it kind of felt natural that the conversation eventually ended up shifting back to Aurora's life, mostly because it was clear her friends still had questions to discuss. 

Which doesn't surprise her, but it also doesn't thrill her. 

"Sometimes, yes," Aurora says. "We still fight a lot over Noah, tho. Like, he doesn't like the fact that I signed him up for preschool, so he keeps messing up his routine, and then I'm the one who has to deal with Noah's tantrums. So, y'know, sometimes it's just really exhausting, but—" 

"Wait," Ava says, laying on her stomach and resting her chin on the palm of her hand. "He doesn't want Noah to go to preschool? Why?" 

Aurora shrugs — although she knows the answer pretty well. 

"Because I did it so I could go back to work, and Zack doesn't want me to."

"Sorry," Megan says. "He doesn't want you to work?"

Aurora shakes her head. "Nope. I mean, it's not going to stop me from doing it" — not anymore, at least — "but he definitely never planned for me to go back."

Ava shakes her head. "That's really fucked up."

"God I hate him so much," Maddie mumbles, her face hidden inside the wardrobe. 

"I know…" Aurora sighs, and shrugs. "And guys, I love Noah, ok? I really love him. It's not like I want to work because I don't want to take care of him. I swear. I just—"

"Rory, stop," Lucy says, pulling her hair into a bun on the top of her head. "We all know that." 

"Yeah," Ava says, sitting up in bed. "That's not something you need to clarify. Nobody would ever doubt how much you love Noah."

"You're such a great mum," Megan says. 

"Damn you are," Maddie says. She takes a step back from the wardrobe and turns around, holding a pair of earrings and white sunglasses. "Zack never did half of what you do, he never stopped one minute of his day to take care of Noah, or to be a decent husband to you, but he still expects your entire life to stop? C'mon!" 

The girls agree, murmuring yeah, and exactly, or nodding along. 

"The only reason why he thinks he's allowed to be a dick to you," Maddie adds, "it's 'cause he has one." 

"Totally, yeah," Ava says. "He doesn't even deserve to have a dick, in the first place." 

"Who's got a dick?" Niall asks, popping his head into the room and smirking at them. 

"Maddie," Ava jokes, sitting on the mattress and crossing her legs. 

Niall walks in and hums, tapping Aurora's head before sitting on the bed, next to his girlfriend. He kisses Megan's cheek and smiles, then turns to look at the girls and places his hand on Megan's thigh. Just like Zack used to do. 

Aurora looks away, then turns and kneels in front of her bag, facing all the clothes she doesn't feel comfortable enough to wear.

It's hard to stop the memories from taking over her mind, though. 

And she knows it's a really small gesture, but it's also one that Zack used to do to her a lot — albeit in a different way, or for different reasons. It happened usually at Zack's business dinners and under the tables, but sometimes he would do it when they were around family and friends, too. He never explained the code to her, but somehow Aurora still learned it — Zack would put his hand on her thigh and squeeze twice, and she would know it was time for her to shut up and stop embarrassing him. 

"Sometimes I wish I had," Maddie says, and Aurora scratches her nose. Then her temple. Then her forehead. Almost as if pushing her thoughts away. Pushing her memories away. "But right now we're actually talking about Zack's dick."

"Oh…" Niall clears out his throat, then chuckles. Sounding as awkward and uncomfortable as Aurora feels. "Right… Maybe we should keep his name out of this trip, yeah? Or at least his dick."

Aurora twists her fingers around the fabric of her swimsuit, listening to the conversation but not really engaging with it. 

She's the only one who isn't ready yet. The only one who still hasn't changed her clothes. The only one who still isn't comfortable enough to show off her body to all of her friends. 

"We were just saying having a dick doesn't allow him to question Aurora's decisions, babe," Megan says. 

"Ohhh," Niall said. 

"Especially as a mother," Ava added.

"Moonshine," Niall calls. He touches her shoulder, and Aurora peeks at him through the corner of her eyes. "Y'know I'll gladly cut his dick off, right? Anytime. Just gotta say the word."

Aurora laughs and shifts around, sitting on her heels as she looks at her friends taking over her bed — plus Maddie, now standing by the window on the opposite side. 

"Thanks guys. But I think—" She shakes her head. "No, I know I'm gonna be okay. So I agree with Ni, I think we should keep his name out of the conversation." 

"And his dick," Niall points out, raising a finger. 

Aurora chuckles. 

"Especially his dick. I mean, it wasn't even a good dick anyway."

She shrugs, but the loud laughter that erupts from everyone ends up making her grin, too. 

And just like that, as everyone tries to catch their breaths again and engage into different conversations, Aurora feels light and breeze again. So she pulls her swimsuit from her bag and gets up, finally getting enough courage to take the next step.

She turns around, then, and falls straight into Harry's eyes. 

Shit.

He's standing by the door, leaning on his shoulder and smirking at her. Watching her. Holding an expression she hasn't seen so far. It isn't an affectionate smile, it also isn't a sweet or careful smirk. And his gaze is so intense that she feels her body warming up — that she feels herself blushing. 

It seems as if he is holding himself from saying something cheeky. Or as if he's keeping a secret. As if he knows something that she doesn't, and as if he's enjoying it.

She breathes in, then holds the fabric tightly with both hands and steps forward.

"What?" she murmurs, getting closer to him and trying to keep their friends out of the conversation.

"Nothing." He shrugs, stepping aside to let her get through the door. "Just listening, that's all." 

Aurora nods. "Mhm. Okay, then."

When she walks past him, she notices how he follows the movement of her body and turns around. And also how he crosses his arms on his chest and leans his back against the narrow wall that separates their bedroom doors. 

Once again, a fluttery feeling settles in her belly. And as she moves towards the bathroom, she does her best to avoid it. And also to ignore the way his eyes keep burning into her. 

She can't, though. So when she grabs the doorknob of the bathroom door, she holds herself tightly, and turns her head as much as she can, watching him over her shoulder. 

He's still watching her, carefully, although now his sight seems to be too low to meet her eyes. 

"Harry?"

Harry drifts his eyes up, meeting her stare. 

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing." He shrugs. "Just… Watching. That's all."

She lifts her eyebrows. "Mhm. What were you just watching, then?"

He shrugs again, but he also smirks — and he smirks in such a way that, even before he opens his mouth, she knows he's about to lie.

"The back of your head?"

Aurora stares at him blankly for a second, and then she snorts. And laughs. She doesn't know what to say, though, so she faces forward and opens the door. As if she doesn't know Harry was just checking her out. And as if he didn't just playfully admit he was. Or as if she doesn't care about any of that.

And yet, as she steps forward and feels he's still watching, she maybe slows down a little. And maybe she makes sure to sway her hips. Maybe, though. And also just a little. Just in case. 

Because maybe, maybe, if Harry's watching, Aurora wants to make sure he's taking a good look. And maybe, she wants him to enjoy the view. And maybe she wants him to like what he sees when he looks at her.

Maybe, though.

Of course.

Hi! If you've made it here, thank you for reading. You have absolutely no idea how much it means to me.

PART 4 (II)

#harry styles fanfic #harry styles au

[danielnelsen]

family is out having a nice dinner and trying to convince me to come but i have way too much to do before i have to get up at the crack of dawn to get on a plane tomorrow, so dad's like "the food will be so nice, you're really missing out" then gives the phone to my sister who's like "the food will be so nice, you're really missing out," like........what part of "i have too much to do" says i can be convinced as if im just lazily deciding to stay home? all you've done is made me feel bad on top of being stressed about everything i have to do and how im not gonna get to have nice food today. cool thanks

#personal #if you know me i am CONSTANTLY complaining about how we never have any food at home #so i was gonna make some toast or something #but oh im so glad you're gonna be enjoying your nice restaurant food #do you think with everything ive said over the last few days that any of them realise that im having a TERRIBLE TIME RIGHT NOW??? #it's like when we were out on sunday and i started saying i was exhausted and wanted to go home after we'd been out for HOURS-- #--and everyone just shrugged and told me to deal with it for MORE HOURS while i was VERY VISIBLY HAVING A BAD TIME #and very obviously been recovering from that since then #AND BEING STRESSED OUT OF MY MIND ABOUT OUR PETS WHILE WE'RE GONNA BE AWAY #that's another thing. like late last week i said thing were really stressful #that was because my sister volunteered to look after my cat at her house while we're away like DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT CATS #terrible idea. and she suggested a trial run and i was so stressed for that but thought maybe it'd be fine and reassure me... #no. cat was at my sister's house for about 24 hrs and didnt eat AT ALL. just hid under the bed the WHOLE TIME #and like. my cat doesnt drink water at all; she only gets it through her food. so she DIDNT DRINK that whole time too #and i was so stressed beforehand and then so much more stressed when nobody seemed pressed about getting her back home with any haste????? #someone's gonna look after her at home while we're away now which will be fine but there's still a bit of background stress there #like i have been stressed out of my mind the last two weeks and ive been explaining why im stressed to people all through it #and NOBODY IS PAYING ANY ATTENTION. IM EXHAUSTED AND STRESSED AND I HATE TRAVELLING AND EVERYONE KNOWS THIS #i was looking forward to having a few days by myself because im coming home before everyone else (thank god) #but the person looking after the cat needs somewhere to stay for a bit so they'll be here for a few days after i get back #i'll still get a few days by myself after they've left but like. i need a break. we havent even left and i need a break. im gonna go cry no #but only briefly because I HAVE TOO MUCH TO DO #sorry this has just been building for weeks and so much of it has just been worse than i expected and im still just so fucking tired #this food thing isnt too big of a deal. im just gonna order something. but just on top of everything else................ #im just upset that everyone around me is just completely oblivious to me TELLING THEM THAT IM FEELING TERRIBLE #like i said on the phone just now 'why are you making me feel bad when ive said i cant go' and dad didnt really have an answer #AND THEN HE JUST GAVE ME A LIST OF OTHER THINGS HE WANTS ME TO DO BEFORE THEY GET BACK TONIGHT. HELLO??????? #sorry that part only just occurred to me. he literally just gave me more to do after i said i cant go out because i have too much to do. ok

[i-cant-sing]

Jason with baby reader whose very affectionate with him but a total menace with everyone else?

Platonic Yandere Batfam x reader

Yesss obviously 💖💖💖 okay but like imagine something with me:

Reader being the youngest addition to the batfam, could be Bruce's bio kid or not, doesn't really matter. The only reason she even ended up at the Wayne Manor was because perhaps Gordon kinda begged Bruce to take you in because he doesn't want you to end in the horrible foster system of Gotham, just asking Bruce to look after you for a couple of months until Gordon can find a good home and adopt you himself.

Anyways, that doesn't happen because Gordon dies. So what was supposed to be a few months, ended up being an indefinite stay.

Okay usually this would be the point when their yandere tendencies start to show but let's say this time- it don't happen.

Look Bruce and the batfam are like super busy with that crime fighting life, believe it or not, vigilant-y life takes a lot of their time. When their not busy saving Gotham, they're either at home resting and recovering, or at work/school. They simply do not have time for family bonding.

Or so you thought.

You've seen the boys going to the "secret" batcave (u found out soon about their hero identities, cause you're smart like that.) and they spend a lot of time training, so they're definitely bonding. While you don't reveal that you already know about their identities and continue to play the fool, it still kinda... hurts to be surrounded by so many people who are supposed to be "family" yet don't treat you as such. Damian snaps at you anytime you ask if you could join him and the others on anything theire doing- even something as simple as just playing video games.

(And then i found out about Damian and Dick being each others fav siblings) Dick tries to be amicable but even he'd turn down hanging with you in favour of taking Damian out to the carnival, saying something along the lines of "Oh Y/n, its just- I haven't seen Damian in a looong time, and it'd be unfair to him if I brought you along because he's just been lookin forward to this outing for so long. Maybe we can do something next time?" But next time doesn't come around, with Dick always prioritising Damian over you.

You thought that Tim would be easier to spend time with, since he's home a lot more than others, but he's a workaholic to the core, and even of you did swing by with a coffee, just to check up on him, he'd plain out tell you to leave, to bother someone else because he just doesn't have the time. And yet there he was, talking for hours on the phone with Conner.

Jason was nice to you even though you initially thought he'd hate you like he hated Damian and well... his other brothers and Bruce as well. But surprisingly, you got along with him. Probably because he thought of you as this sweet kid who didn't know any better about the world, who just needs to be shielded by Gotham and more importantly- Bruce. Maybe that's why Jason talked to you- you're the only one in the house who's not a hero. Maybe that's what he needed: a healthy relationship with someone normal. And it would've been great if he actually hung around more than an hour. No, he was far too busy with ending criminals, or as he liked to tell you "my job doesn't allow me any holidays. Also, I hate Bruce and would swallow a cactus than stay in his home." But at least he brought you souvenirs from the around the world! His "job" had him travelling the world.

Perhaps the boys are just too busy, or don't like spending time with girls, so you decided to go to Bruce. But he's always busy, either with work or with Gotham, or with one of his sons. He is aware of your presence, he just doesn't exactly know what to do about it. With you not being a vigilante or exhibiting any qualities that he would deem extraordinary or impressive, he doesn't know what to do with you. Sure, he's set you an account where he's given you more than enough money to cover all your expenses and everything else, but that's all he gives. Just financing you until you're independent. He doesn't check in with you, not really interested in your average life, and he won't say it out loud but sometimes, he may have even forgotten about you. A few times, he may have taken you along with him to some galas with his sons, and when you're alone with him, you can sense that he's not... pleased? Content? Happy? Sure, he puts an arm around your shoulder and smiles for the cameras, but you can see the way his eyes wander around the room to find something more interesting, more worthy of his attention. The way he taps his fingers with unease, giving you curt replies and dismissive smiles when you tried to talk about schoo or anything, it all made you realise that you are not a child in his eyes.

You are a burden.

No. No, that couldn't possibly be the case. I mean, he took you in. Bruce wouldn't do that if he didn't care about you, right?

Still, to test that theory, you left the gala, alone and without informing anyone. Surely, he or one of the boys would notice your absence. Surely.

They didn't, even as the gala ended, they all left in their own cars, no one even thought to stop and wonder if you were riding with any of them. Hurt and depressed, you made the stupid decision of walking home in your fancy gown. Of course you'd be pulled in the alleyway and be mugged. The low lives decided that they wanted more than just your money, and when you realised their vile intentions, you began thrashing in their arms to break free, resulting in one of them punching your face repeatedly. Just when you thought all was lost, suddenly those pervs were thrown off you and were shot dead. You looked up and were surprised to find out who was your saviour-

Red Hood.

"Jason?"

"Y/n? I mean, who?" Jason was shocked to see you here, more so when you recognised it was him under the mask.

You rolled your eyes. "You can drop the act, Jay. I've known for a while." You groaned in pain as he helped you up. "Shit, you okay?" He asked, helping you walk towards a nearby bench. "Yeah. I mean I got mugged, but yeah..."

"Wait, what are you even doing out here this late?" You told him about the gala. "Soooo... why didn't you go home with them?"

You shrugged. "Just needed to confirm something."

"Yeah? And what's that?"

You remained silent, not wanting to discuss the topic further. Jason sighed before pulling out his phone. "I'm gonna call, Alfred. Have him send a car so pick you up." You grabbed his hand before he could dial.

"I cant- I don't want to go home." He raised a brow. "Why? What's wrong? Did Bruce do something? I swear to god I'll beat-" you shook your head. "No, Jay- look, I just need a break. If it's not too much to ask, can I spend the night with you? Or you can lend me some money and I'll stay at a hotel or something. Promise I'll go back home tomorrow."

Jason stared at you, trying to figure what's bothering you, but he also didn't want to push you by asking. So he nodded. "Of course, you can stay with me tonight. But only if you promise to make me your delicious chocolate chip cookies tomorrow." You smiled, nodding.

Jason took you to his apartment, cleaned up your wounds, cooked you dinner, cracked some jokes and then tucked you in bed. He actually tucked you in bed. He'd never know, but that simple gesture had you crying until you finally fell asleep.

When you returned home the next day, you weren't really surprised that no one had noticed you didn't return home last night.

No one in that house even knew how you were almost rap-

"Miss Y/n?" Alfred called from the kitchen, eyes wide as he took in your bruised face. "What happened? Are you alright?"

You nodded. "Yeah. I fell on the concrete pavement, someone pushed me accidentally-"

"Alfred?!" Bruce called from the dining room.

"You better go. And Alfred-" He stopped. "-don't mention this to him. I don't want him to worry over nothing."

Alfred nodded, leaving to serve Bruce and the boys breakfast. You don't think he'd tell Bruce and even if he did, you don't think he'd actually worry-

"Y/n?" Bruce was standing at your door, eyes narrowing at your face. "Alfred told me you fell?" He walked upto you, inspecting your face. Wait, did he actually came to check up on-

"How many times did you fell? Face first? Because that's a lot of bruises."

"It was a concrete pavement."

"We don't have concrete pavements in the house."

"I was out leaving from a cafe when I fell. Just wanted to eat some bagels." You continued to lie.

Bruce narrowed his eye at you before sighing. "Look, I don't have time for this. If you're in trouble, just tell me."

"I'm not."

"Then do you really expect me to believe that you fell? Is this a desperate cry for attention?" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "If you really did fall in public, "multiple times" as you claim, did you at least get a cab? I don't want anyone taking pictures of you like this and make headlines tomorrow about one of the Wayne kids being abused. I won't have you tarnish the family name."

What? Did he just- did he really say that?

"No. Its not-" you were interrupted by his phone ringing, and Bruce left you to take the call.

You sat there on your bed, dumbfounded and even more heartbroken than before, mind replaying the words over and over again, trying to make sense, make EXCUSES for him, that perhaps you misunderstood him.

But you didn't.

That day, you had finally given up on the batfam. You refused to make a fool of yourself any longer by hoping that one day they'd accept you. You were and always will be an outsider to them. You won't depend on him any longer, even for your finances.

Years went by and you worked hard on yourself to get admission in a highly prestigious college with a fully funded scholarship, all while you worked to handle your expenses. When you got your admission letter, you didn't even bother telling anyone at home about it. Instead, you went out for lunch with Jason to celebrate (who had been dropping by more regularly ever since that night you were mugged), who was more than overjoyed, ruffling your hair and telling you how proud he was of "the only sibling smart enough to bust him out of jail and retirement homes." Jason truly did want this for you- to be normal and go to college like other normal people.

You moved out of the Wayne Manor quietly and moved into your college dorms in a different city, where you found an even better job on the side. The job that now helped you save up enough money to start paying Bruce back for all the years he had to spend housing, clothing and feeding you.

After a couple of months, you were able to wrote your first cheque to Bruce. And if it weren't for the large sum of money and your name attached to it, Bruce wouldn't have realised that he hadn't talked or even seen you for a while. He didn't allow himself to feel guilty for thinking that he may have forgotten about your existence for quite some time.

Picking up the phone, he called you and asked you about the cheque.

"I'm paying you back." Bruce was a little surprised to hear the monotonous tone.

"For?"

"The money you spent on me all these years?"

"Why? And how are you even paying?"

"I've got a job." What? When did this happen? "Look, I gotta go. I have class." You cut the call, and what class? As far as he remembers, Alfred had said something about attending your high-school graduation earlier this year.

Were you in college?

No, no. If you were attending college, he would know. Surely, you'd tell him. And even if you didn't or he forgot, he would remember paying for your tuition. Or maybe he already was, from the account in your name where he sent monthly payments.

Curious, he called the bank, only to be informed that you haven't used the account in years! They did inform him that you opened a separate account, and since Bruce owned the bank, they let him see the account and what you've using it for.

That's how he found out about your college.

You were just leaving your class to go home when you spotted him leaving the Dean's office. Apparently you were not the only one who spotted him, as your classmates all started talking about the famous Bruce Wayne. As Bruce's eyes met yours, you immediately turned and walked the opposite way until you had left the campus, and you went home.

You weren't surprised to see his car outside your apartment. But you were a little surprised to see him in sitting inside your apartment, sitting on the couch with an unamused expression.

"What do you want?" You asked, dropping your bag.

Bruce raised a brow at you. "What? No, hello?" He sighed. "Why did you leave the campus after seeing me?"

"I don't want to be associated with you."

His gaze turned stern. "Why? Are you embarrassed?"

No, I hate you. "No one will take me seriously if they knew I was related to you. I just want to be-"

"-independent? Is that why you sent me this cheque?" Bruce pulled out the piece of paper and dropped it on your coffee table. "Why are you doing this?"

"I told you, I just wanted to pay you off."

"You don't need to. You're family."

Only on paper. You thought.

You shrugged. "Doesnt matter. I'm paying you back every cent."

Bruce stood up, walking right in front of you and it was just then that he realised how much you'd grown up. You looked nothing like the scared little kid who was always peeking from around corners. You had matured, far too much for your age. He could see the little bags under your eyes, the wrinkles on your forehead, the disdain in your eyes.

"Why are you trying to cut me out of your life?" Before you could argue, he put a hand up. "I saw the documents. You didn't list "Wayne" as a surname on your college documents. You're trying to distance yourself from the Wayne name? Are you in trouble? Have you done something... dishonourable?"

You scoffed. All these years and all he cares about is his public image.

"Dont worry, I haven't done anything to bring down your family name." You spat. "Look, just take the cheque and leave. You'll never hear from me again, either in the media or otherwise."

Bruce glared at you, clearly slighted. "You're being difficult for no reason." You had to bite your tongue to stop yourself from going off on him.

He turned around to leave, not bothering to pick up the cheque.

"How'd you get inside?" You asked when he opened the door. You wanted to know, especially since you took all the right measures Jason taught you to stop anyone from breaking in.

He looked over his shoulder and smiled.

"I bought the building."

-

You moved to a new place the next day, after you found out that the landlord refused to accept payments from you, since "your father owns the building. You don't need to pay rent." You wish it was easier to change schools though because apparently the everyone now knows you're Bruce Wayne's kid, which everyone figured out when someone called "Y/n WAYNE, please report to the Dean's office", who showed you that he had the college administration fix the little mess up of "forgetting to add Wayne to your name in all the documents" and then told you that he's very grateful to your father for his very generous donation to the college.

Bruce didn't bother you much after that interaction, except for monthly cheques and cash he'd send you, but you're never using cashing them. He also sends you regular invites to galas and social gatherings or even family dinner at home. You don't go to Wayne Manor anymore, not unless absolutely necessary.

Like today, when Bruce called you to come home for a "family portrait" for a magazine or something because the article is covering about all the Wayne kids.

You could already feel your throat closing up as the Manor came into view. You were greeted at the door by Alfred, the man saying he missed your presence at the manor. You just smiled and nodded.

"No luggage?" He inquired, noting that you only brought backpack.

"No. I won't be staying long."

You started making your way towards your room when you passed Damian's room.

"Y/n?" Dick called out, surprised to see you after so long. Or at all? You'd wonder.

"Hey." You said, eyes darting from him to the room where Tim and Damian were, both just as stunned to see you there.

"So, um... how are you?" Dick asked, unsure how to proceed this conversation.

"Great." You replied before turning around and walking to your room, leaving the boys befuddled.

Luckily, the photographer came soon and started with the shoot, and if it weren't for the photographer continuing to tell you to scoot closer to your brothers until Dick just pulled you and you ended up being squished in between them. Had Jason been here, things would be way more comfortable. But since he's been declared dead to the world, he can't be a part of the family portrait.

And later on, its time for dinner and reader is leaving but Bruce calls her back, telling her to at least stay for dinner if not for the night, and you tell him "I can't, exams are coming up." And he replies "really? The schedule your Dean sent me doesn't show any exams coming up." And after some back and forth, you finally sit down at the dinner table, chewing your food silently while the others talked. You were almost finished and this miserable reunion was coming to an end when one of them started to talk about something that triggered you.

It could be anything, from badmouthing Jason to even telling you to get off your high horse and stop thinking that you're better than them just because you've been living on your own and shit.

That's when you just couldn't hold back your anger and went off on them. Everything you'd experienced, all the emotional abuse and neglect you'd been subjected to from them, you told it all.

With tears in your eyes, you left the manor, only to be kidnapped by the Joker. Bruce and his sons didnt say anything to each other that night, except for replaying your words over and over again, simmering in their own guilt silently. Well, that was until-

"She wouldn't know the sacrifices we had to make to keep her blissfully unaware and ignorant of all the crime outside!" Damian yelled. "Just to keep her wrapped up in this bubble, outside of which is a world where she wouldn't ever truly survive if it wasn't for us!"

"Damian-" Dick sighed frustratedly. "-she never asked us to do this all. We chose this life, long before she came along. It's unfair."

"Unfair??? Then how could she claim she didn't feel "protected" when all we've done is slave over making this hellhole safe! How can she say that from the comfort of this home? She's nothing but ungrateful to us and to father! I'm telling you Grayson, if the tables were turned, she wouldn't ever make the sacrifices to save us!" Damian yelled before slamming the door on his way out.

Dick pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes as he asked Tim. "Do you... think we've failed her?"

Tim was staring at the ceiling, keeping his thoughts to himself. He definitely felt guilty, he remembers the way he would dismiss you.

Tim's silence was enough answer for Dick, though the two didn't know what to do next.

Thankfully, Alfred did.

"Miss Y/n forgot her phone here last night. Should I parcel it-"

Tim was already out of his seat, grabbing it. "No, I'll take it to her." Turning around, he saw Dick also standing.

"We'll take it to her. Thanks Alfred."

-

10 hours later, the two brothers stood outside your apartment. They knocked, but you didn't answer.

"Maybe she's at college?" Dick wondered. "Wanna wait here or go- Tim, wait for me!" His younger brother was already down the stairs when they saw Jason outside.

"What are you two dimwits doing here?" Jason asked, actually surprised to see them there.

"Y/n forgot her phone." Tim said, pulling out your phone. "She's not home. We're going to her college."

Jason's brows furrowed. "Why? She doesn't have classes today. We were supposed to meet for breakfast."

Dick couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of your relationship with Jason. Were you always this close to him? And why Jason, he was home far less than any of them.

Jason moved past them to your apartment, a spare key in his hand. "Maybe she just doesn't want to see you two."

Again, Dick couldn't help the envy that creeped up on him at the sight of Jason using a spare key to let himself in, the feeling only intensifying when he spotted many frames with pictures of you and Jason together.

After checking the whole place, you weren't there. Now, it was time for Jason to start panicking, as he asked them what happened at the manor, and he blew up at them as well for pissing you off like that.

When they had confirmed that you weren't in college or had ever returned to the city yesterday, they all went into panic mode as they informed Bruce about you going missing.

They all rushed back to Gotham, where Bruce had already pulled up CCTV footage of the place where you were last seen, hearts dropping when they saw someone come up from behind and knock you out, before kidnapping you. But no matter how much they searched for you, how many goons they beat up, they couldn't find you.

It is during this time that their yandere tendencies start to develop.

And it wasn't until a week later when they received a hint about your whereabouts, and they finally found you, in a warehouse, chained to the ceiling, a shock collar around your neck, all bruised and beaten because come on, Joker ain't gonna go easy on you.

The torture he subjected you to, it was almost comparable to the one Jason had to suffer. You were unnervingly still, and they couldn't help but wonder whether you were... dead.

That was until the shock collar went off and you screamed as your body jolted, Joker's manically laughing in the shadows.

"She's a tough one, much better than the wannabe Robin! I've been shocking her, waterboarding her, whipping her all week but she refused to tell me your real identities! I was starting to believe her when she said she didn't know, but it's just fun seeing her writhe in pain-!"

They beat Joker up, while one of them takes the collar and chains off you. You'd passed out from pain and exhaustion, and when you woke up, you were back in your room at the manor. While you were unconscious, Jason did end up revealing about how you actually did know about them being vigilantes, further intensifying their guilt and increasing their yandere tendencies, after all they do realise how they've failed to protect you.

So the story from here progresses on to when reader is actually forced by the family to stay in the manor to heal, all while their need to protect you increases the more you refuse their help.

When your injuries have healed and you're ready to leave, but they don't let you. Bruce tries to approach you, gently telling you that you need to be at home with your family, where you're safe. He wants one more chance at righting all his wrongs, he won't shy away- he admits he's made mistakes in the past with you. You back away when he tries to come closer to you.

"You don't get to choose to make up for your mistakes when you feel guilty, not when I had to spend all those years learning to live with your horrible parenting."

Tim spoke up next, telling you to just listen to what he has to say, but you cut him off with a dismissive hand.

"This is how you used to brush me away whenever I came to you, like I was some sort of fly, always too busy, too much of a hassle to even reply to a simple hello. So, why should I give you my time of the day now?"

Dick tries the comforting approach too, surely you don't hate him as much since he wasn't even around that much in the first place to cause you any hurt, promising you that he will do better this time. But you shut him down quickly too.

"I was never a priority for you then. I used to sit on these stairs, waiting for you day and night to finally be able to spend time with you. I know better by now than to trust your false promises."

Damian had a melt down next because you insulted his favourite brother. He went off on you that you never had to suffer through the same trauma as he or any of them did. How it's unfair that you don't give them another chance, how you don't understand that the Wayne's aren't a perfect family because of all the horrible things they've had to and still do go through on a daily basis.

You stared at him for a few moments before replying.

"I was almost r*ped."

The room went deadly silent, Bruce's mouth agape, Damian's eyes widening, while Dick and Tim turned pale.

"The night we went to that gala, you guys all left without me. I was pulled in an alley, mugged and almost r*ped if it weren't for Jason." You chuckled dryly. "What's worse is that none of you even bothered to call me, or even noticed that I hadn't returned home that night. I could've been dead in a ditch and none of you would've noticed for months, if not years." You wiped the tear that escaped your eye. "None of you attended my graduation, none of you noticed I had left for college, not until I sent a cheque to Bruce. I've buried you all in my past, and if it helps you sleep at night, I have forgiven you as well but I will never forget."

You looked at Damian. "And just because you've gone through some shit Damian, doesn't mean I'm undeserving of love and respect. I've experienced traumatising incidents too but the difference between you and me is that I don't use them an excuse to be a fucking dickhead."

You heard a car honk from outside. "Jason's here to drive me home- my home."

But before you could take another step, Tim had injected you with something. You jumped back, holding the puncture wound on your neck.

"W-what did you do?!" You yelled at him, and Tim only shrugged. "What's necessary."

You heard another honk, and this time, you opened your mouth to yell for Jason, only to have a hand slap over your mouth, muffling your screams for help. It was Dick, as he quickly wrapped his arms around you and pulled you to his chest, dragging you away from the door as Bruce ordered Tim to put the whole house on lock down mode (essentially an impenetrable fortress), while Damian went outside to release his anger on Jason, both for failing as a brother to you (not that he'd ever admit it) and for Jason being clearly your favourite.

And from here on, you're being constantly coddled by the batfam (except for Jason since he does actually want to save u from the batfam). Bruce is always the first one to greet you every morning, and if you're still asleep when he comes, he might get away with patting your hair without you flinching away. He'd greet you, tell you he's expecting you to join him downstairs for breakfast. You simply turn your back to him, pulling the covers over your head, not bothering to reply to him, hoping to catch a break in this goddamn house.

You're only able to spare yourself for a few moments before the covers are yanked off you and you're greeted by the cheery voice of Dick. "Good morning, baby bird!" He'd yell before pulling you up and of the bed by your arms, and then to his chest, spinning you around as you try to escape his crushing grip. He's not fazed at all, mostly because he views you as a tiny little feral kitten who just needs a lot of love and snuggles. He drags you down for breakfast, everyone else already seated. You're seated between Dick and Bruce so that you can't run away, and also because Bruce makes it a habit of talking to you on various topics, usually about the book he'd leave on your bed. You would talk to him at first, but after a few weeks, you got bored with the silent treatment.

If its Dick's day with you, he spends most of the time trying to do anything and everything. No activity is off the table. Baking? Hell yes, but he's the only one who laughs after he intentionally throws flour at your face and fails at starting a food fight when you just leave. You wanna play board games? He's pulled out every board game in history and he very obviously let's you win. Movie night? He's build a fort (that he claims you two built together. You didn't, you just stood there while he built it.) And has all the classic films, pulls you close so that he can nuzzle his cheek with yours (again, not fazed by you trying to scratch his face off). Sometimes, he'd even bring you to the gymnasium (because Bruce can afford to build one in his house), where he lowkey forces you to learn about gymnastics, but at least he's a good spotter, cause you never get hurt.

If its Tim's day with you, he makes you spend the whole day just... with him. Look he's sleep deprived, he's lanky, he doesn't have a lot of energy like Dick or Damian, but what he does have is... perseverance. Tim will literally handcuff you to him if it means making sure you stay by his side. If he's getting coffee, youre getting coffee with him (he makes you a cup). If he's sleeping, you're right there, either get comfy and sleep next to him, or stay up and be bored because he's dead asleep. If he's in the batcave reviewing CCTV footage, you're there with him all day and even nights. He just wants to the remorse of dismissing you before to go, almost like he's trying to make up for all the time he wasn't there when you needed him, to now being in your business every second of the day.

If its Damian's turn with you, he's... weird. He doesn't actively make you do anything with him, it's more like having you observe him. He'd have you sit on the side and watch him train for hours on the end, rudely refusing to let you go do something else, or even train with him. He's playing with Titus? You're supposed to be watching him teach Titus tricks. He's going for a walk? No, you're the one who's walking while he's running laps past you. It's like he's trying to impress you to make up for his shitty words and behaviour.

As for Bruce, he likes to spend his time with you on a schedule. Have breakfast with him, then go on a jog around the estate, then accompany him to his home office where he works while you do college work (because obv, he shifted you to online education), and he definitely annoys you by standing over you while you study, not helping you until you ask for it but also not leaving so you feel intimidated under his stare and continue to make mistakes. Then have lunch at noon, followed by him giving you a puzzle or one of those fake crime files to solve, he likes to stimulate your brain and see how it works. This activity takes time so by the time you're done, Alfred has prepared supper. You both have dinner and then you both go to the library to read, because he wants to something less stimulating to the mind as your bedtime nears. Then he tucks you in bed, sits by your side and gives you a lot of positive affirmations (which he picked up from the parenting books in his library), before kissing the top of your head and leaving.

As for Jason, since he still insists on "saving" you, he's not allowed to see you. He can try breaking in all he want, he can't outsmart the Batman.

Or can he?

I had to type this on mobile with henna on my hands.

Yall better be grateful.

#yandere batman #yandere batfamily #yandere batfam #yandere batfam x reader #yandere jason todd x reader #yandere jason todd #yandere damian wayne #yandere tim drake #yandere dick grayson #yandere bruce wayne

[roanniom]

Sting

Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Warnings: NSFW, 18+ ONLY, slapping/spanking (consensual), PIV/unprotected sex, major switch energy from both parties here, dirty talk and light degradation

You know that thing at some wild bars where you can pay to take a shot and then get slapped by a hot bartender and then splashed with a cup of water?

Eddie Munson is the guy who rushes to the bar and slams a crumpled stack of bills down, a massive smile on his face as he hollers and asks for the “special.” When you climb onto the bar with the shot he steps between your thighs with a massive smirk. He’s been flirting with you for weeks outside of the bar and you’re more than happy for him to finally crowd your personal space (when he found out you do this at your part time job he’d insisted he was visiting that very night). The minute he shoots back the gulp of tequila, you rear back, wind up, and let loose a massive slap, cracking him right against his left cheek. He reels to the right with the force of the impact, but before he can recover, you empty the contents of a plastic cup of water across his stunned face.

Eddie’s soaked features expand into the biggest grin you’ve ever seen. He stares at you, a little dazed, heavy hands dropping to your thighs and fingers digging into your flesh bruisingly. You grin right back, leaning in with a hand on his neck so you can whisper.

“Looked like you liked that,” you tease. It’s a relatively empty bar. Pretty much an off night. So nobody hears when Eddie puts a hand on your neck and pulls you so he can whisper in your ear.

“I’m so fucking hard right now, it’s insane.”

You laugh at that, covering your face with your hands. The whole point of the gimmick is to play into guys’ fantasies - grown men had uttered wet, stuttering proposals to you before - but there’s something different here with Eddie. You’d been tiptoeing around your chemistry with one another ever since Robin had invited you to that party at Steve Harrington’s house. The heat between you was just waiting to finally ignite.

“Masochist,” you throw at him.

“Sadist,” he counters pointedly. His hand rubs into the softness of your inner thigh, moving dangerously close to your center. Especially for this being your place of work. Luckily there’s only a few drunks left in the both by the front door, so they can’t see.

“Who, me?” you play along.

Eddie’s finger dips under the hem of your cutoff shorts.

“You’re telling me you didn’t just get off on slapping me?”

“Well I know you got off on being slapped, so…” you trail off, winding your arms around his neck and interlocking your fingers over his nape. Eddie scoffs.

“Well obviously. Hence the whole me being ‘so fucking hard right now’ part.” His thumb glides a cheeky line down the center seem of your shorts. Right over your slit. “I’m not the one playing coy here, baby doll.”

“The bar is closed!” you call out abruptly. Startled by your sudden change in volume Eddie steps back from you, giving you space to hop down from the bar. You clap your hands to get the dull attention from the single occupied booth.

“You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here!”

Eddie chuckles behind you, resting his forehead against the smooth mahogany of the bar to keep from beaming his smugness throughout the rest of the establishment.

“But it’s not even—,” one of your regulars winds up to argue but you go over to the door and flip the sign, slapping the ‘closed’ sign against the glass.

“Stuart if you don’t get your ass out this minute I swear to god.”

~*~

With the bar empty of patrons, the only sounds left are the moans and heavy grunts issuing from you and Eddie respectively as he fucks you on the couch in the manager’s office. The one perk of having the shittiest closing shift with the worst manager is that you’re left to lock up and therefore are free to defile his furniture in piece.

Eddie’s got you on your hands and knees, ass on the air as he pummels into you with unforgiving thrusts.

“Holy fuck you are the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.” His hands are heavy on your hips, moving every few seconds to squeeze the dip of your waist or grope the round of your ass.

“Back at ya, pretty boy,” you manage to respond breathlessly.

“You’re teasing me, but I mean it. Your fucking attitude. This fuuuuhcking body. Shit.” He seems beside himself, overwhelmed with need even though he is literally in the middle of fucking you. In a moment of extreme stimulation he lands a sharp spank to your ass, mesmerized by the way it jiggles with the force.

“Eddie!” you cry out, though there’s a laugh in your tone.

“You liked that?” he asks gruffly. When you nod and moan, he spanks you again, this time on the other cheek. “Of course you do. You were ripped from my wettest fantasies, you’d have to love getting spanked.”

“Mmmm not as much as you loved getting slapped,” you tease, mouth half open against the ratty fabric of the couch, seconds from drooling over how great he’s making you feel.

Suddenly your world gets upended as Eddie rips you up from the couch, shifting and hoisting so that he is now sitting up against the back of the couch with you straddling his lap. You’re dazed by the change in position and you grab at him weakly to maintain your balance.

Eddie gazes back at you with a drunken grin on his face.

“Do it.”

“Wha–ahh…” You are distracted by him lowering you back down on his cock. This angle comes with gravity on your part, and sinking down on him means that you feel him deeper than before. Deeper than you’ve ever felt a lover before.

“Eyes on me, baby doll,” Eddie coos, placing one big hand on your neck. You’re suddenly pretty out of it. So Eddie gives you some time to adjust to the new fullness you’re experiencing, placing light kisses over your cheeks, jaw, and neck. When you begin trying to roll your hips, Eddie drops his hands heavy on your waist to stop you.

“Slap me.”

Your eyes go wide, and clarity seeps into your system.

“Yeah?” you ask. A grin tugs at the corner of your mouth. Eddie nods emphatically.

“Yeah. C’mon. Hit me.”

You lift your hand up and place it lightly on his cheek.

“I don’t know. I’ve never done it outside of the ‘special’ before,” you giggle. Eddie smiles at your hesitation but slaps lightly at your ass.

“C’mon. Do your worst, baby doll. I can take it.”

You take a deep breath before pulling your arm back and delivering a solid slap to his left cheek. Eddie lets out a massive moan, matched only the way his cock twitches inside you - hard.

You bring your hand back to his cheek to sooth over the pink spot forming where you struck him.

“Feels good, pretty boy?”

“Oh yeah,” he says gruffly, having the presence of mind to at least look a little sheepish.

“I could tell,” you laugh, rolling your hips against his. This time he doesn’t stop you, and you’re able to see park yourself up to a vigorous bounce. Your ass smacks against his thighs as you ride him, and eventually Eddie devolves into filthier and filthier dirty talk as he slowly loses his mind.

“Fuck. Closing the bar to get fucked in the back. So bad, baby doll. Such a bad girl.” He sucks at the swell of your breasts as you laugh. “Why are you laughing? Having fun being a little slut, huh? Of course you are.”

“Sooo much fun, Eddie,” you whine. You’ve been on the precipice of an orgasm for the past five minutes, and his words are working overtime to get you over the line. “Oh fuck, there. Right there!”

Eddie begins bucking his hips rapidly, taking over fucking up into you, all while continuing to prod at the same spot deep inside of you.

You cum in an eruption of moans and shakes, writhing in Eddie’s lap while he continues lifting you up and down his cock, fucking you through the sensation. Stars cloud your vision and it takes a while for you to get enough deep breaths into you to get your bearings again.

When you do, Eddie is still rutting up into you, somehow more desperate than before. A cute pinch in his features that has you aching for him, an aftershock quaking through your pussy.

“Look so…fuck….so pretty when you cum, baby doll,” he does his best to rasp. You ground your hands on his shoulders and continue to ride him. Letting him use you to hurtle towards his own end. You feel like you want it for him more than you even wanted your own.

“You’re so pretty, Eddie,” you hum, voice raw. Your hand slides up his sweaty neck to rest over his flushed cheek. “My pretty boy.”

“Mmmm yours,” he slurs, gazing up at you with eyes. A thrill of possession runs through you. No you haven’t known him long, but there’s something electric about the push and pull you have with Eddie. It’s hot and heavy and sick and sweet and you can’t help but feel a need to own him, as he seems to own you.

“You’re mine?” you ask, though he’s the one who just instigated that concept fully.

He nods, but his eyes slide closed as you bring him even closer to the edge. You slap lightly on his cheek for attention and he moans, eyelids rocketing up.

“Harder.”

You do as he says, slapping him on the other cheek this time. It is harder but Eddie grunts as he picks up the pace, fucking up into you.

“Harder.”

You slap him again, and he blinks before groaning, his hips beginning to stutter and lose their steady rhythm.

“Fuck me, harder! Please!”

The begging breaks you.

You slap him, hard, and then lurch forward to swallow his gasp as his jaw drops and eyes roll back. You kiss him while he stiffens in your arms, his hot spend spurting into you. Your hands close over his cheeks to cradle him to you, cooing against his lips and working him through his pleasure with steady, shallow rolls of your hips.

“That’s it, pretty boy. Came so good for me,” you whisper, open mouthed kisses raining down on his cheeks as you hold him.

After several minutes of shuddering breaths, Eddie let’s put a hoarse laugh.

“Fucking Christ. What was that?”

You laugh along with him, lifting his chin to look into his hazy eyes.

“That was you cumming your brains out to me slapping the shit out of you.”

“You’re a poet,” Eddie snorts. His hand traces lazy shapes into the bare expanse of your lower back.

“Oh I’m sorry is there a classy way of describing what just happened?” you counter with humor. Eddie shrugs.

“I found ecstasy on the knife’s edge of pleasure and pain with my woman in my arms.”

You dissolve into a fit of laughter than he can only suppress by dragging you against him in a hug and muffling your face against his chest.

After the struggle dissipates, you slump boneless in his arms, content to be held. You press a kiss to his chest.

“Your woman?” You quote back to him. Eddie huffs.

“Well I’d hope this ownership thing is a two way street if I’m gonna be yours, baby doll.”

For a second you don’t answer and his blood runs cold, worrying he may have been presumptuous, taking what you said in a moment of passion at face value. But then you’re looking up at him with a dazzling smile.

“You’re gonna regret this, Munson. I bet a collar would look really pretty on you.” You reach up and trace a finger around the circumference of his neck, watching the muscles and tendons work as he swallows, the skin there flushing a beautiful red.

You don’t get a chance to do anything else before you’re flipped again, suddenly on your back. You hiss at the sudden extraction of Eddie’s cock, but the hiss becomes a gasp when it’s slapped down on-top of your clit, suddenly hard and swollen again.

Eddie’s hand comes down to wrap lightly around your throat and your eyes light up, a big smile on your face.

The man above you stares down at you.

“Was thinking the same about you, baby doll.”

When he slaps your ass it stings.

Good.

~*~

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Thanks for reading! Please reblog and comment to let me know what you think!

#eddie munson smut #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #Eddie Munson thots #stranger things smut

[too-much-tma-stuff]

Finally Getting Help (pt 12)

Masterpost

“Ya, I have questions,” Jason confirmed, trying not to shift awkwardly in his seat. “I read the slideshow but I don’t seem to fit in either liminals or ghosts, and I have some issues that I think would have been mentioned if they were common?”

“Alright, what are they?” Danny asked tilting his head a little. 

“Well, it’s been better since meeting you, and I know increased aggression was one of the thing mentioned but mine isn’t like Damian’s, or even yours I think. We’ve been calling it Pit Madness. I’ve gotten better at managing it but especially when I got back it was really bad. I… killed a ton of people and I still have a lot of bloodlust that no one is comfortable with.”

“That is unusual, especially directed towards humans. Aside from revenge against whoever killed them dead usually don’t care very much about the living,” Danny said curiously, considering Jason. 

“And I do read as- as dead?” Jason asked, he had been worried about that.

“Well you’re obviously not Dead dead,” Danny said rolling his eyes before he reached across the table. “Here, with touch I can figure out a bit more.” He said and Jason hesitated for a moment before resting his hand in Danny’s.

A cool feeling quickly washed up his arm and over his chest like intangible water. Danny tilted his head to the other side, his brows coming together slowly as he gazed into the middle distance and considered what he was feeling. He let out a hiss and some sort of chitter that couldn’t come from a human throat, then clicked his tongue and the cool feeling dissipated, sinking under Jason’s skin and cooling heat he hadn’t been aware of feeling. 

“Okay, ya that’s weird,” Danny admitted and Jason’s heart dropped. “Best I can equate it to is, like a bone that healed wrong,” Danny said thoughtfully. “You did die before?” He asked, Jason nodded mutely. “Okay, I won’t ask why or how. But best I can tell your soul was shoved back into your body and not given time to get settled back in it’s proper position before whatever was done to bind it in place. So you’re alive but with some.. Spiritual nerve and brain damage. Would you be comfortable telling me how you were resurrected?”

“Well, I resurrected myself apparently. I don’t really remember it but apparently about six months after my death I dug myself out of my grave. Before I could get anywhere the League of Shadows found me and dunked me in the Lazarus pit which is this glowing green stuff that heals the dying and kills the healthy. I don’t remember any of it, it was almost a year before I recovered enough to be myself at all.”

“That actually makes a lot of sense,” Danny said, nodding thoughtfully. “My guess would be at first you came back as a revenant, which is basically when a ghost possesses their own corpse to get revenge, not truly a living being. But then this Lazarus pit resurrected your body and your soul got stuck in your living body again without being prepared or intending for that to happen. 

“That’s what I’m guessing happened but I can’t be sure, and I’m not a healer so I don’t really know what to do about it. I’m sure my ghost doctor Frostbite would be happy to take a look at you though! Looks like we’ll be making an appointment for you too,” He joked making Jason chuckle nervously. 

“Well that’s.. Totally fucked up,” Jason said and Danny nodded.

“Ya, dying is basically always fucked up, coming back Specifically for revenge and then getting stuck here long after that’s a motivating factor is messy. I mean, for a human that would be fine, but for people like us,” He gestured between the two of them. “Obsessions are everything so that’s hard. You’ve been cultivating more healthy obsessions I know but you’ll never be the same,” Danny said, and Jason nodded.

He knew as much, he could never go back. Not that he hadn’t always had these sorts of thoughts and inclinations. Once of the reasons Bruce had taken on him and Dick was their murderous inclinations needed to be curbed, for Dick it had work, for Jason… Well it was a combination of a lot of things, it wasn’t really Bruce’s fault it had failed. Other than the fact that he’d let the Joker live far longer than he should have, but that was bleeding-heart-Brucie for you. It was funny, to not really be mad at Bruce anymore, understanding there was nothing else he could have done, and still not be able to forgive him.

Danny must have noticed how Jason had gotten lost in his own head because he reached across the table and covered one of Jason’s clenched hands with his own, soft and cool. “You’re doing really well Jason. It’s a messed up situation but I don't think anyone could have handled it better then you are,” Danny said softly.

Jason didn’t believe it but it felt good to hear and it did settle him a little bit. “Thanks Danny, that means a lot,” he said, giving Danny’s hand a squeeze before pulling back. 

There was a natural break in conversation as the waitress brought their appetizers, and when she left again Jason didn’t know what to say. Thankfully Danny spoke. “Why don’t I tell you a bit about my doctor? Frostbite can be a lot, as much as it would probably be funny to spring him on you I should probably give you a heads up.”

“Ya, ya that sounds good,” Jason agreed, glad to let Danny do the talking for a bit. And when telling him about Frostbite turned into talking about the Yetis, to talking about the Infinite Realms, to Danny info-dumping about space. Well Jason really doesn’t mind, especially with the way it makes Danny light up. It was good to see him happy.

---------

The food was good but Jason didn’t taste much of it, and aside from going “Oh wow!” When he took his first bite of his food Danny didn’t seem to either. At a certain point Jason realized he was going to have to do some talking or Danny was going to keep talking and wouldn’t eat. So he took over, but he didn’t know much about space so he started talking about literature and poetry and Danny listened raptly and finally ate his food.

It was very nice to have someone listen to him like that, it was sort of funny, it looked like it was as fun for Danny to listen to him talk then it had been the other way. Jason thought about how supporting obsessions was important for ghosts to have their obsessions supported. Reading wasn’t Really his obsession, he didn’t think, but it sure was an interest and it felt really good to get to share with someone new. 

By the end of the dinner Jason has well and truly decided that this was a date. Danny was cute, good, and passionate, and a good listener, Oh and strong as Fuck which was always a turn on for Jason. Speaking of powerful…

“Can I ask you another sort of serious question?” Jason asked after they got their dessert. Danny looked up, mouth full and a little smear of chocolate on his top lip, Jason resisted the urge to reach across the table and wipe it off. Danny nodded. “When Damian gave me his little shovel talk he mentioned that you’re going to be a god some day?” He said, tilting his head. Maybe that was a third date sort of conversation but it seemed like it would be important to understanding Danny.

Danny choked a little and swallowed, sighing heavily. “That’s what I’ve been told,” Danny grumbled. “There’s a prophecy apparently, and with how my powers have been progressing even just in the first 2 years since I died, I can already go toe to toe with some Ancients and win so… Ya, I guess it’s probably inevitable, especially since I haven’t stagnated yet. I don’t want to be one really, I didn’t ask for this, but whatever. I probably can’t stop it.” He slumped back in the booth, looking tired. 

Shit Jason shouldn’t have brought that up. “Hey you’ve got time right? That won’t be for a while. Also, what’s an Ancient?” 

“Very old, very powerful spirits. They’re essentially their own pantheon, Ancient is basically just what ghosts call gods.” He said with a shrug.

“Makes sense, I mean gods usually are ancient. Even more reason you don’t have to worry about that right now. I mean you’re far from ancient,” Jason pointed out, earning himself a little smile from Danny. 

“Ya, you’re right,” He agreed and went back to eating his dessert, the conversation moved on to the music they liked.

When the bill came Jason put his card down without letting Danny see what the bill came to and passed it back to the waitress. They lingered in the booth for a while still chatting, unwilling to part ways yet. If Jason didn’t know his family would want Danny home before they went out on patrol he might have suggested they just go to a park and walk for a while. Talk, maybe each take one of his wireless earbuds and take turns picking songs. But he had a feeling Damian really would try to kill Jason if he didn’t get to see Danny home safe. 

Eventually they left, wandering back to Jason’s motorbike and Danny snuggled up to Jason’s back again as they drove back to the manor. The silence was companionable until Jason pulled up, propping the bike up to let Danny get off. He took off his helmet and handed it back to Jason, not letting go immediately when Jason took it so their hands were touching. 

“This was nice, I had fun,” Danny said, blushing a little and looking down.

“It was, we should do it again soon,” Jason agreed, “I’ll text you okay?” 

“You’d better,” Danny teased before walking back towards the manor. 

Damian opened the door for him, shooting Jason a glare before slamming it making him laugh. He was still a child no matter how much he pretended he wasn’t. Jason kicked off on his bike and zoomed off, heading home to get ready for patrol.

Next

#dc x dp #danny phantom #jason todd #dead on main #first date #danny is pregnant #trans!danny #revenant Jason todd #frostbite #Finally getting help AU

[florasvenus]

My Sweet Little Demon

Pairing : So’Lek x Na’vi (Avatar) Female!Reader

Warnings : Smut, Sexual/ Explicit Contents, Slight Fluff, Posessive attitude, So’lek and reader in Love, p in v Slight agressive behaviour, swearing and that should be it.

A/ N : Hello Everyone! I hope you’ll like this story. I originally come from AO3. Mostly surfing on there, but I decided to take a look here and found the vibe pretty nice. I decided to write this So’lek fic because I obviously got obsessed with him and I guess not having the game contributed to it even more for some reason? Plus I am very obsessed with Neteyam too as I just watched the movie again, so it all restarted lol. I hope I'll be forming a nice community here. For now this will be it. Smooch 💕💙

Index : Tawtute = Human/ SkyPerson | Nga yawne lu oer = I love you

Nga yawne lu oer...

Nga yawne lu oer~

You pronounce together, looking profoundly in eachothers irises. Each of them a pure yellow color. Dark pupils dancing in the golden sky. So’lek kisses with lust the slight swell of your stomach, slowling traiking up to suck on one of your hardened nipples. He quits it with a small pop, the humid glaze of left on it making them more enticing than they already were. He sits up on his heels, after your long make out session. As he leans back, his erected cock bobs and twitches in anticipation. Without any shame you glide the flat of your hand over his torso, down his abs until you grab his throbbing dick showing a delightful bead of pre-cum. You slowly caress him and he lets his head fall back, locks danfling down, waving down at his round ass contracting in need. With a swallow he recovers and adjust himself, ready to enter your beautiful flower.

So’lek pierces the breach of your dripping entrance with a low growl. Gritting his teeth to the point of grinding, he lets out a jerky breath at the sight of his pretty tawtute spread out for him beneath his thick, masculine frame. He tightens his grip around your thighs, whitening his knuckles even more, and spreads your legs with surprising grace, considering everything about him radiates strength, endurance and certainly not softness. He looks at you with hooded eyes and a snarl is blown to your nose, contrasting the care he's been laying on you since you both started to make out in the lushious Pandoran greens.

You’d been such a brat. Such a fucking bitch, with your human lips, pouring endless words of nonsense. Such a tawtute manner, he thinks bitterly, though he couldn’t contain how much he loved this about you. And this was one of the reasons he fell in love with you. Your vivid mind never ceased to impress himself, as he always believed humans had a weak and poor thinking brain. But this was not true for you. You were able of so much introspection and impressive deductions that you couldn't stop yourself from talking during the whole day, yet with wisdom. You had this way of speaking every thought. As beautiful as it was, it could seriously piss him off after a long day amongst the clan warriors. And today was one of these, were the strenght of his nerves weren't enough to mirror your sense of verbal connection, but just enough to pound the attitude out of you.

Sky Demon oh so delicate and gracious, that it was able to break the stiff wall of his long lasting beliefs. Sky Demon, oh so pure hearted, made him fucking feel what love was and felt the ground crumble under his feet since the day he met you. Sky Demon, oh so sincere and kind, able to knock the most harsh feelings he always felt towards any of your kind out of his lungs. And Sky Demon, so unbelievably true to herself, made him drool at the curious idea of how such a being could ressemble to one of his kind. You truly were the person proving him wrong on the fact that it wasn't your source, your race nor your home that should make you an enemy. But it was the hearts of those rejecting Eywas truth that had to be feared and chased.

As you were learning him to see the world through a different way and less darkened eyes without changing his aspects. He himself, showed you how much you deserved to be loved, even how far down you fell and how unalive you used to feel. Originally from earth, you arrived on Pandora by the mission to seek out new ways of life. Finding a way to save humanity without any harm. You then were attributed to your own avatar. Everything was fine until, the higher people, controlling the plan, lost their mind and you decided to flee into the forest and then you met So’lek. Luckily you had found a way to transfer your soul for good in your blue grand form and said goodbye to your human form without any regret, as you never felt any glimmer living this life of human roots. This amplified by the days you had the chance to live amongst them, as the tsahik saw something true and pure in your soul.

Back on earth, the world is destroyed and getting the chance to leave for Pandora, was like the four petal clove found in the endless pain field. A gift from the universe you never awaited and in distress needed. You smile everyday at this chaotic story and at how it somehow worked and shaped into the most beautiful story to share, with quite the amusing anecdotes. Like you loved to and it was utmost crazy to see that maybe yes. The universe always had a plan for you, by the way such uncompatible puzzle pieces still locked into place together. Or by the way two completely different souls managed to pull together easely. In the end, the only language is still love. And it will be the hymn of the universe forever.

His warm calloused and soothing palms craddle the little fat of your legs, calming your racing heart as he tries to penetrate deeper and deeper into your intimate warmth. Your labias spread evenly as his dick slides in you with difficulty. You two weren't having intercourses for long so it was only normal as you in addition were very tight to begin with. You're so damn tight, he thinks. But he regrets his thoughts, feeling how good your walls kiss the skin of his member. So tight, that he could even feel the rythmic beat of his heart down there. Deep pulse gaining speed with each second passed and as the most carnal needs grow. He sighs erotically, stopping his way inside for a second and taking his time admiring you. Everything in you radiates light and Love and he now couldn't even dare to imagine living without you. When he first met you, he had this irrepressible urge to cut of off your devil hands. Five fingers, the art of destruction, but today as knowing who you were inside, he only wants them to be feeled on evey inch of his skin.

Reaching down to hold one of your hands up, he put your small finger into his hot mouth, sucking on it hard while humming unintelligible sounds. Praising this part of you today was something important. Maybe was it out of guilt, but it wasn't something to ignore at how it just fueled desire powerfully by just a small actions as simple as this. The way it delivered trust and love around the air, was a drunk dizzying feeling. But you both loved to feel succumbed under such circumstances.

You look up in awe, squirming at his bold chest glistening with sweat and at the way his pecs contract with each fast inhale. As you move you can feel the resistance in your core, jolting at the way it sends electricity to your heart and you mewl at the way his warm tongue swirls around your slender petite finger. The rough surface of his tongue momentarely stops as you clench down on him, only to fully decontract yourself and finally letting his way easely in. Exactly how he planned to. You were so putty under his touch and he loved this. Loved to feel so masculine and viril in such a tender and yet feminine moment.

You moan, body wriggling at the size of his member resuming his ascencion down your belly, slowly forming a bulge without struggle. Given his posture, it's never been strange that he'd come away with such a large, long size and length. But as always, theory surpasses reality. And right now, it's the practitioner who's got the upper hand. An expert in the art, So’lek revels in your face as it contracts in innocent pleasure, and despite your pain, the oh so delectable stretch of his greatness evokes a sensation of intense well-being.

His voice breaks the silence only punctuated by heavy breaths. Pronounced accent and long vocal chords, and so on low growl, expressing their intention.

Look at you.... My beautiful Tawtute~ So ready and wet for me... He breathes in emotion with a smile while whispering just below your ear, his hot breath fanning over your sweet spot, before lapping at it like a starving man. You shiver, cold spikes travelling down your spine in an addicting way. Mouth long release of its favorite finger, he still caresses it with his own and pins it down just over your head, vanishing into the dark chocolate hair of yours splayed into the humid ground into a captivating canvas.

He enters slowly, letting your body adjust bit by bit. The vein of his dick slides through the membrane of your throbbing hole until it is stopped by the bump of your cervix. You moan in unison, ragged breaths escaping your luscious lips, coated with a thin film of saliva. Your eyes roll back into your skull, your mouth falling open as he maintains a steady rhythm. So'lek slides out of you, then gently in, testing the waters again and again. But as soon as your walls get wetter and the desired slick accumulates at the base of his stiffness, he begins a merciless rhythm that frees never heard harsh sounds from your mouth, vibrating on your tongue rarely, with each thrusts.

He lifts your hips, embracing the bulge of your bottom, and the new angle forces a long, desperate whimper out of him. The whole scene would have been obscene, between the dry tumults of his pubic bone slapping the soft down of your pussy and the grumbles escaping So’leks throat, it’s more than a mystery. Only you can bring him to do that. Be so free of his emotional restrains and that's what makes this moment so profound. And this is exactly what makes him angry too. Fortunately, you're hidden in a rocky alcove near a river that blocks out any auditory vibrations. And the headwaters of the waterfall muffle the voluminous muses of your companion, lost in an almost animal trance.

Your arms are now limp, framing your lulling face, enamoured with an expression of aggressively delicious pleasure. Your cheeks blaze with a new colour, a bright red, growing in intensity as the knot in the pit of your stomach becomes more and more oh so fucking good tensed. Noxiously more.

So’lek rises to his knees, lifting his bottom up, this new position much more within reach of an intoxicating act. Sinking deeper into the sweet warmth that has become a necessity at this stage of your shared passions, you can feel your body bounce with each stroke. Only your bobbing shoulder blades are connected to the sacred humid soil. Only witness next to the curious lifting leaves.

This goes on for minutes until the familiar sensation of orgasm approaches. Your face contorts in shock, letting out a melodious gasp as it arrives, and in a desperate gesture you reach out your arms, searching in vain for something to cling on, your eyes closed. Your upper limbs fall back onto the sumptuous floral carpet with a flat thud, convulsing with pleasure as the overstimulated nerves finally relax with a well-placed dip. Your first orgasm is like a firework exploding on your erect bud. Your second cuts you off from all air, arriving like an uncontrolled tsunami, and the last. Oh, the last one. You see it coming, but as it shoots its first gusts into the centre, it develops into a veritable firestorm. Burns your being up to the depths of your core, embrace you to the tips of your toes.

You see white as the last exhilarating breeze fades and you whine at the overstimulation. So’lek is still chasing his climax, frustrating shouts echoing off the stone walls that clatter in the suffocating atmosphere. All his muscles tense, his cock throbs and his balls contract unbelievably close to his crotch. He gives it all until the pulsation of his member points its knowing pump and in one last stroke he glues your two pelvises flush together and empties his seed directly into your womb, staying there.

You both semi-giggle in a transe, lost in your sensations. You feel his warm seed fill you to the brim, finally able to take a complete breath, whilst he lets his head fall down, groaning at the amazing way to claim you, that his to fuck you dumb until his cum paints your leaking walls.

Missions accomplished. You are exhausted, eyes fluttering in a way to try and keep them open. Long lashes shadowing the little of sight you are able to get. Wanting to watch the beauty of this man after he'd use you and worshipped you whole. Soul to Mind, to Body, to Spirit, to every inch of Life living inside of you. This always leads him in a charming sweet way to be and there is no way you'd miss it. To bad, turns out he fucked you too good. Now you can't even open your eyes the way you should...

You awake the second he pulls out though and exhale an annnoyed complain. He chuckles as he heavily lays down next to you, wrapping his big arms around your sweating body, trailing them along your curves and enjoying the after care time. So’lek loves to relish in the smell and sensitive skin of yours. Damp and buttery from the effort, your scent is stronger making the world around him satisfyingly disappear even more.

You sigh, happy to have him near you for once. It isn't often you get the time to succumb to your wants and it feels good when you can. You nuzzle your cheek against his, shiny orbs waiting for his owns to connect with. And when they do, your heart swells with love. So’lek can be seemed as a brute and careless man for the simple by walkers, as he is very dominant looking. But in truth he's the teddiest of all Teddy Bears. He smiles, showing off his sharp fangs, and cups your jaw with attention.

He prepars to lean in and kiss you, but the movement of your lips stop him. Look at you... My beautiful Na’vi~ You reflect his previous words with playfulness, ears flicking and fluttering. So ready and wet for me... You joke by reusing his words, looking down at his blue and oh so tempting lips. With a groan, he looks up unimpressed. You just can't stop youself and talk nonsense, do you, he thinks. He smiles at the thought, though he would never admit, that it is you, with you never ending blabber, that got him out of solitude.

You let him lean in and as he devours your mouth again, holding your neck, he lingers there until both of you are out of air for a second time.

Now. If you want to be this bratty again... He pauses and grins. What if I show the consequences of it? Again~

You cup his growing naked bulge and smirk. He gasps, amazed at how you caught his words and the implying behind them so rapidly.

Oh... I would love to. My beloved Teddy Bear~

©️ FlorasVenus

#avatar the way of water #avatar fics #avatar frontiers of pandora #avatar x reader #avatar smut #avatar #solek #so'lek #so'lek smut #avatar wow #neteyam x reader smut #neteyam sully smut #neteyam #neteyam x reader #neteyam smut #so'lek x reader #so'lek x you #so'lek frontiers of pandora

[smoft-demons]

hey hey! I really like your writing :) I have a request for the brothers:

gn!mc who has trouble sleeping alone bc of nightmares. they can very rarely sleep but are great at hiding it, because they don’t want to bother anybody. they never notice because mc always sleeps fine during sleepovers??? until eventually the lack of sleep gets to them too much and it becomes too noticeable. how do they respond when mc (reluctantly) reveals the truth?

thank you and have a lovely day ❤️

Good prompt! I like this one :)

(This one took a good few hours! Hope you like it!)

MC has nightmares when they sleep alone

_______

Lucifer:

‘…something’s amiss with our human.’ Lucifer thinks.

He’s been observing them lately. Since he cracked down on his brothers sneaking into their room at night—in order to give the poor human a break, so they may rest well and have time to study for the upcoming wave of tests—they’ve been… sluggish. More forgetful. Their assignments are coming back notably worse. He was irritated at first, but when he brought them into his office to confront them about it, he couldn’t ignore how… off they seemed.

Lucifer sets his irritation with their slipping standards aside, in favour of concern. He is above petty reactions, he decides. No, he is reasonable enough to see that there must be a cause for this.

“MC. I did not call you here to berate you. I am not angry with you. Something is obviously wrong. Please, I cannot help you until you tell me what it is.”

You’re not sure if it’s the jarringly unmasked concern in his eyes, or the rising feeling of guilt for stressing him out more than usual that finally cracks your resolve.

Whatever it is, you confide in him. You tell him that you’ve not been sleeping well. He pries the reason out of you, by pointing out his observations about the timing.

Begrudgingly, you admit to having nightmares when you try to sleep alone.

Outwardly, he remains businesslike and practical as always. In his mind, he’s facepalming. In retrospect, the signs are all there! How did he not notice??

He feels just a bit sorry, too. In his attempt to help you, he directly made everything worse. What a great job he’s done…

Then he snaps out of it and steels himself. There’s no use dwelling on that! He can fix this. Very, very easily!

“I see. Then, sleep in my room tonight. I will ensure no nightmares bother you. Once you’ve recovered enough to learn again, I will help you bring your grades back up to your usual standard. Is this satisfactory?”

He refuses to hear any guilt from you about imposing, or taking up his time, or being a burden.

“I am choosing to carry you, MC. There’s no burden.”

From that point on, you’re always welcome in his bed. On the rare occasion that he isn’t home and none of his brothers can sleep over with you, he lends you his coat to sleep under. The familiar scent of him that clings to it is better than nothing.

_______

Mammon:

…Okay, at this point, he HAS to pry. Mammon is one of the first to notice that you’ve not exactly been well lately. You’re being unusually scatterbrained, clumsy, and spacey. You don’t have any energy. It’s obvious to him that there’s a sleep issue! He’s more observant than he looks, ya know!

Now that he thinks of it, these traits are not THAT out of character for you. They’re not usually this bad though!

…shit, does that mean you’re usually sleep deprived? That’s not good. Well! You’re HIS human, and he loves you lots and takes your well being very seriously, as much as he hates to say it out loud. So, he commits himself to figuring this out!

Evening comes. Mammon follows you into the hall leading towards your room. You bash your hip against a wall corner and almost fall to the floor as you dizzily stumble, trying to catch yourself. Mammon grabs you to steady you. Yeah, at this point he has to pry.

“Be careful, human! Seriously, you’d break all your lil toothpick bones without the great Mammon around to protect ya! What’s up with that, huh?”

You trust him of course, but… you’re embarrassed. You don’t want to tell him.

He clicks his tongue impatiently. You don’t say anything. He grabs you by the shoulders and steers you into his room. He pushes you down to sit on his bed.

“C’mon, MC. Talk to me. Your first man is here to help!”

“…”

“…please?”

Now, that… almost does it. You feel bad for being stubborn. You know he’s worried, and chaotic as he can be, he’s proven himself as a very good guardian demon time and time again. You take a deep breath, gathering your resolve.

You take just a bit too long. Mammon groans.

“I’m very annoying, yknow. I’ll get it outta ya somehow!”

Mammon pokes your cheeks, gently shakes you, tugs lightly at your hair, as he demands that you talk to him.

“Tell me, tell me tell me tell me tell me, c’mooooon humaaan, tell me!”

‘Oh, fucking fine!’ You think. You confide in him.

He’s mildly tempted to be like, ‘was that really so hard,’ but he won’t. He’s far more concerned than annoyed with you. He feels bad about all the super late nights out he’s been having lately. He wants to always be there for you! Him having missed something like this has him mentally kicking his own ass.

Mammon puts all that aside for now, though. He roots around in a drawer to get two pairs of his old, worn and comfy sweatpants, plus an old tshirt, faded and worn soft from use. He throws the shirt and one of the sweatpants at you

“Go brush your teeth and change, then come right back. We’re having an early night.”

When you return, he locks his door, then puts you back in his bed. He’s changed into the other pair of sweatpants. Mammon wraps himself around you as much as he can, as if to bodily shield you from the nightmares, then pulls his blanket over both of you.

“Sleep, human. No nightmares’ll DARE mess with you now. Not while I’m here. I’ll protect ya.”

Having him so close to you feels like home. Nothing else has ever felt so safe. You sleep deeply, for hours longer than you have in a while.

(Mammon is never letting you sleep alone again)

_______

Levi:

As much as Levi doesn’t want to bother you, he’s getting worried. You’re performing WAY worse at your video games than usual! You’re missing so many inputs! He knows your usual skill level, this game should be a relaxing walk in the park for you! He’s too worried to even make fun of you!

“Ok, that’s it! I can’t take it anymore! What happened to you, normie?? Are you sick?? Do you… not want to play with me? What’s happening??”

He’s worked himself into a panic. You know he’s sensitive enough right now to take it personally if you don’t confide in him. So fine! You’ll talk!

You’ll talk… auuugh, you can’t get the words out! You’re too self conscious about it. Fuck it. You take your DDD out of your pocket and send him a text.

>not been sleeping well. Nightmares. So tired, can’t pretend anymore! >:( Nothing personal, promise!

Levi reads the text. He chews the inside of his cheek for a long moment, thinking. Then he snaps to attention, looking at you with intense determination.

“We can’t have that! I need my player two in optimal condition! There’s no other way for us to win at any games!”

Levi resorts to his old faithful: relaxing slice of life anime! He makes a big pile of pillows and blankets on the floor, arranging them into an MC-and-Levi sized nest. It’s late enough into the evening that it’s reasonable enough to try to put you to sleep.

If just the anime and the blankets and the being in his room isn’t enough to knock you out, he’ll shyly inch over to you to hold your hand. Blushing and looking away from you because he’s shy, but he’ll do it.

If you ask him—or just look sad and cute enough—he’ll even curl up behind you in the blanket-nest and hold you. Levi won’t have ANYTHING hurting his Henry, not if he can do anything about it!

He doesn’t mind holding you all night like this. The fact that you’re asleep helps, he’s not shy when you’re not perceiving him. The anime he’s still watching is helping too. It’s a good distraction.

_______

Satan:

As soon as he started to get the feeling something was wrong with you, he began watching you intently. He’s sharp, so he would have caught this very early on.

He can’t help but have a little fun with this investigation at first, thinking of it as detective work.

Soon though, he gets concerned. You’re irritable, you’re not retaining information or remembering small things as well, you’re clumsier and less generally aware… all dangerous things to be in this realm.

He doesn’t need you to tell him what’s wrong. He puts it together himself. He knows you sleep just fine with him, he knows you seem well rested after sleepovers with any of his brothers too. Clearly it’s not general insomnia. He also knows that the usual frequent sleepovers haven’t been happening for a while now.

When he confronts you, he doesn’t start with asking questions. He lays out all the evidence he’s collected and states his guesses as to the cause.

He tells you he has concluded it’s most likely to be any of these causes: loneliness, separation anxiety, touch deprivation, nightmares, stress-induced insomnia. He asks you to tell him which it is, if it’s more than one, if it’s something else?

He’s so clinical about it, you pretty much forget to be self conscious. All you have to do is confirm that it’s nightmares and they only happen when you sleep alone.

“Thank you for trusting me,” he says, regardless of how little you’ve actually told him. “You’re more than welcome to sleep over with me any time. You don’t even have to ask. Just tell me that you’re sleeping over.”

That evening, he leads you into his room. He lies on his back, book in hand, and beckons you to lie on top of him.

He guides your head to rest in the crook of his neck. He balances his book against your shoulders, holding it with one hand. The other wraps around your waist, his thumb rubbing your side soothingly, and he begins to read aloud to you.

His voice and his warmth soothe you to sleep. Not a single nightmare dares touch you.

Asmo:

The first thing Asmo notices is the darkened circles under your eyes.

“Oh, my darling! Your skin!” He gasps, genuinely horrified. “Come, we can do better than that. Let your Asmo take care of you~”

As he often does, Asmo brings you to his room for a spa day. Evening. Night. It’s late.

He smooths moisturizer into your skin, using all the appropriate human-safe products for revitalizing you when you’re tired. He gets a helpful mask on you, then one for him too. As you wait for it to dry, he asks you what’s up.

“Can’t sleep, lovely? You know, if you’re restless I can always tire you out~”

You roll your eyes and elbow him lightly. You expected nothing less from Asmo. Knowing him as well as you do, it’s more endearing than bothersome. You know he’s showing you that he cares.

“Offer’s always open, darling!” He giggles. “But, is there anything else I could do for you? Need to get something off your chest? Or just some good company, hmm?”

Asmo’s really sweet. It’s easy to open up to him—or, as easy as opening up gets. He massages your hand in silence as you gather your resolve to confide in him.

He listens sympathetically. Nodding and humming encouragingly at all the right points as you speak. Squeezing your hand when you need support. Just… being the emotionally intelligent sweetheart that Asmo always is with you.

“You’re welcome to sleep here, love. Nothing you don’t want will happen, of course. Now, let me wash that mask off you, then we can snuggle if you like.”

He washes off the mask, touching you very tenderly as he does. He takes his time gently washing the product off your face, stroking your cheek with his thumb affectionately. He gives you a little forehead kiss when your face is clean as his thanks for trusting him.

He lets you lead on how much contact you want. He really just wants to help. He’s happiest if you choose to cuddle with him, but he’s totally chill with just holding your hand, or even just lying next to you. He’s awesome like that.

No matter what you choose, the familiar perfume of Asmo’s room and the reassuring rhythm of his breathing lulls you to sleep. It feels safe.

You sleep really well. Asmo really is the best.

Beel:

Beel understands nightmares. He gets them too. He spots the signs easily, familiar as they are to him.

All he has to do is spot the haunted look in your eyes when he sees you before breakfast. Very distracted he usually is at that time, yes, but he loves you. He pays attention to you. He notices it pretty quick.

He can’t help but wonder why you haven’t approached him about it. Hasn’t he demonstrated to you that nightmares in particular are a thing he’s safe for you to confide in about? He’s not going to take it personally, but he IS going to worry.

He keeps an ear trained on your room whenever he goes into the kitchen at night. Carefully listening for any signs of distress.

After a few nights of this, he gives into his impulse and goes to check on you after his midnight snack. He brings you something he knows you like.

He’s not surprised to find you awake.

“Hey.” He says through a mouthful of his own food. “Want a snack?” He comes in to put it in your hands as soon as you acknowledge him.

The two of you eat together, sitting quietly on your bed side by side. Beel’s careful not to drop any crumbs.

You remain quiet even after all traces of snacks are eliminated.

“Nightmares?” Beel asks gently, looking at you with those irresistible soft worried puppy eyes he does. You can’t lie to him. You’re not a monster!

You nod. He hums sympathetically, looking genuinely saddened on your behalf. He gets it.

“Want a hug?” He offers

You press yourself into his side. He wraps one very big arm around you, and you melt into him like warm mozzarella. His solid presence is reassuring. You feel so safe with him. You’re already starting to drift as he rubs your shoulder with one large thumb.

“Would it help if I stay?” Beel murmurs to you.

You nod again.

So Beel picks you up, settling himself in your bed with you and arranging you comfortably in his arms.

He starts softly stroking your hair. Trying to help you relax more.

“Thanks for letting me help you.” Beel says earnestly. It’s obvious that he really means it. He’s grateful you’re trusting him with this. He’s very happy that you’re accepting his comfort, because he wants nothing more than to help you and protect you.

He’s good at that. Being comforting. Helpful and protective—that’s Beel.

You drift off peacefully, with nothing on your mind except the sleep-blurred sentiment of feeling grateful for him, too.

Belphie:

Without question, Belphie is the first one to notice that you’re having nightmares. Sleep is his main thing!

You only get to have one bad night before he steps in. He drags you up to the attic to nap with you right after school. No nightmares happen, of course, because you’re not sleeping alone. Belphie congratulates himself on a job well done!

…wait. Again?? He finds himself aware that you’re having another nightmare that night, hours later when you’re trying to sleep by yourself. Fuck sake.

He goes to your room. You snap awake at the disturbance. Without a word, he pours himself into your bed, draping across you like a clingy cat and going right back to sleep.

Bit rude. But this is helpful. You go back to sleep too, and have no nightmares. Good job, Belphie.

Then the next night, it happens again!! Mildly vexed at the persistent issue, he does the same thing as last night.

The next evening, he doesn’t let you go to bed alone to begin with. He goes with you, staying just aware enough that he can snipe your nightmares before they get a chance to terrorize you—but… none happen? Huh. Wild. Okay.

The next night, he finally asks you what the deal is. You hesitate to tell him. Belphie has no qualms about annoying the information out of you, if his initial blunt concern isn’t enough to get you to talk. If you don’t crack, he’ll try tickling you until you talk to him. If you STILL don’t crack, he’ll sic Beel and his concerned puppy eyes on you. No one can resist Beel’s concerned puppy eyes. Especially not when it’s BOTH twins looking at you like that!

Resistance is futile. You reluctantly tell him that you have nightmares only when you sleep alone.

He mentally slaps himself. Obviously!

He was prepared to use any of his avatar of sloth abilities necessary to cure you of your nightmares—and he still is—but he’s happy (and secretly endeared) to learn that the cure is nothing more than his presence. Less work for him! Less work, AND a good excuse to steal you away for naps all the time! Two of his favourite things!

Belphie is never letting you sleep alone again. No, you’ll either be together in your room, together in his and Beel’s room, or together in the attic.

He’ll make an exception for sleepovers with his other brothers too if you miss them. You’re so lucky he loves you.

#obey me #obey me! shall we date? #obey me fic #obey me requests #obey me headcanons #obey me scenarios #obey me imagines #obey me x reader #obey me x mc #reader insert #gender neutral mc #obey me lucifer #mammon obey me #levi obey me #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #satan obey me #obey me asmo #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me beel #obey me belphegor #obey me belphie #my writing #obey me platonic headcanons #obey me platonic #obey me fluff #obey me writing #obey me found family

[verysium]

some thought on us/reader/yn (i don’t know how to address it lol 😭) and seeing ex-boyfriend, who preferably myb cheated and now is dump struck how we got a new boyfriend/it’s been some time since last seeing ex)

um.....i'm assuming the bllk boys are the new boyfriend for this. hopefully, that's what you meant, but here you go anon:

kaiser absolutely thrives off this situation. this is the perfect chance to stroke his ego, so he's going to take full advantage of it. definitely notices your ex before you do and tugs you closer, arm wrapped around your waist, nose buried in your hair. obviously, you can't see his facial expression, but you can tell by the way he's smirking that he's definitely up to no good. when your ex finally realizes that your new boyfriend is THE michael kaiser, he's like... 😏 that's right bitch. keep ogling. y/n's doing so much better without you. even better if your ex is actually a fan of kaiser. his sadistic ass will not let that go. you want my autograph or something? oh wait...sorry i don't give out autographs to losers. deliberately sets out on a mission to make your ex's day an absolute hell, and he's smug about it too. once your ex is gone, he looks back and asks...so did i do good? no, you don't need to thank me. i'm already thanking myself. (he's so stupid....i love him.)

sae's reaction is encapsulated in one word. side-eye. he won't actually say anything, but the judgmental aura leeching off him is already enough to send your ex running in the opposite direction. i don't even think your interaction is going to last more than one minute because sae is just so intimidating. the entirety of japan already knows who he is, and compared to him, your ex is an absolute nobody. poor guy will probably never recover especially after seeing you and sae on the front of every tabloid, magazine, and news channel. his ego is broken, masculinity in ruins, reputation in tatters. and honestly.....serves him right.

rin holds an even stronger grudge than you do. he never lets any personal slight go without consequence. probably still holding every single mistake your ex has made in the past five years over his head. what did you even see in him? he's a lukewarm piece of shit. again....like sae, i don't think you would even need to say anything because rin's death glare already says enough.

shidou needs a restraining order because i don't think your ex is going to make it out alive. probably goes straight for the throat too. he genuinely enjoys seeing other people in pain whether physically or emotionally. will probably make out with you right in front of your ex just to fuck with his mind a little bit. hand placement is key. he places one hand behind your head and the other one grasps your ass. uses a lot of tongue. leaves you winded with starry eyes and swollen lips before he maniacally grins at your ex. he definitely enjoyed that a little too much.

barou has a quiet but menacing aura. he's very tall, so i think he would likely tower over your ex. and uh...have you seen his physique? he would probably cross his arms, and his biceps would bulge, and he would whisper in the lowest, most chilling tone: you got a fucking problem? and that's about all it takes because your ex may be a wimp but at least he has enough self-preservation to know you don't mess with someone like barou. probably kisses you on the forehead after that and his voice softens just tad...you okay, baby? (dfhkjsdhf i just blushed)

nagi wouldn't really care. nothing fazes him, especially not your ex because he's in the past now and that makes him irrelevant. but he definitely does not back down from subtly throwing some insults. oh...him? he's just y/n's ex. a weak guy not worth the hassle. don't bother. if your ex is stupid enough to actually confront him though....he's not going to hold back. shut up. you sure bark a lot for someone with no bite. pet store's two blocks away. maybe you should check out a new collar. lmao nagi can be painfully rude when he wants to be.

#asks #blue lock #blue lock x reader #bllk x reader #michael kaiser #michael kaiser x you #kaiser x reader #sae itoshi #sae itoshi x reader #rin itoshi #rin itoshi x reader #shidou x reader #shidou ryusei #shidou ryuusei x reader #barou shouei #barou shoei x reader #bllk fluff #nagi seishiro #nagi x reader #nagi x you #nagi x y/n #rin itoshi x y/n #rin itoshi x you #sae itoshi x y/n #sae itoshi x you #michael kaiser x reader #michael kaiser x y/n

[yes-i-exist-shutup]

Neil probably has very shitty hair because he has been dying his hair since he was a kid. Which would obviously damage his hair. But also I don’t think u can take time to keep ur hair neat while on the run. He probably washed that shit with bar soap.

Also since he buys cheap hair dye…. His hair dye probably doesn’t stay in for long and he has to dye it regularly. On top of dying his roots. He has to dye his hair like every few weeks.

So post Tkm, Neil’s hair is starting to recover from all that damage + Allison probably saw his monstrosity of hair and decided to help him. By obviously buying the most expensive hair products she can.

Andrew doesn’t really care EXCEPT HE DOES and when he notices Neil’s hair start to become shinnier and silkier, he has a solid panick attack. He’d ignore Neil the entire morning and then. Just stare at him during practice. Wymack is the only one that notices. Doesn’t even bother to ask Neil about it this time because he just gave up on asking Neil about anything involving Andrew

#aftg #all for the game #andrew minyard #neil josten #andriel #andreil #coach wymack #David wymack

[burnednotburied]

You're My People

AO3 Link

Pairing: Abby Anderson x fem!reader

Synopsis: You and Abby take refuge in an abandoned house to catch your breath and attempt to recover after the encounter with Ellie in the theater.

Tags: slight angst; hurt/comfort; mentions of death and blood; tending to injuries; (mostly) unspoken romantic feelings; reader is a young woman (same age as Abby)

Note: To be absolutely 100% clear, the reader is NOT meant to be Lev or Yara. Reader is a woman (about the same age as Abby) who met Abby on Seattle Day 1 when she was also meeting Lev and Yara. The four of them stuck together. None of this is super relevant for this story. (Just know that Yara was with them, but she was killed just as she was in the game, and Lev is around here somewhere.)

I have a lot of ideas for this character/storyline. It’s likely that I will continue to flesh things out in future fics, so I’ll leave the rest of the story to be explained later.

I put reader in many of the same scenarios as Lev was in the game, sometimes removing Lev altogether for the sake of the story. But reader obviously has a very different type of relationship with Abby than Lev ever would (or should) have.

----------------------------------------------------------------

“Don’t ever let me see you again.”

That’s what Abby had said to that girl – Ellie – before walking away without so much as a backwards glance.

You had quietly followed Abby out of the theater, because what else could you do, but you didn’t know how you were supposed to feel about what you just saw.

Watching Abby incapacitate one man and shoot another in the face without hesitating. Seeing her beat Ellie into the floor while she lay there motionless.

And the other woman. The one who was pregnant…

“Good,” Abby had seethed when Ellie told her. She almost seemed happy about it. Happy to repay the wrong that was done to Mel. An eye for an eye. A life for a life.

If you hadn’t called out Abby’s name when you did, dragging her from the haze that was her desire for retribution…

Well, you could guess what would’ve happened.

You were just glad the two of you had decided not to bring Lev with you. That he was somewhere safe.

Neither of you spoke a word as you navigated through the dark streets of Seattle, her leading the way with you following quietly behind, just as you had been doing since you met. Although now you may have allowed for a bit more space between the two of you than you did before, trailing further behind. Lost in thought.

It had been three days since you met, but it felt like so much longer. A nagging voice in your head insisted that you really didn’t know Abby very well, despite how it felt.

She hadn’t given you any reason not to trust her. She had never hurt you. In fact, she had fought so hard to keep you and (more importantly) Lev and Yara safe. She had even turned against her own people, killed her own people, for the sake of protecting you.

No, that wasn’t right.

Those weren’t Abby’s people anymore.

“You’re my people.”

Abby had looked so earnest when she said it back on the Seraphite island just hours before. And you had believed her.

The words left you with a feeling deep in your chest that was hard to describe. You thought it might’ve been… belonging. Something you’d been hoping for but never found. You’d always wanted to truly belong to something.

Or someone.

There hadn’t been any time to dwell on the feelings or what they meant.

And now all you feel is a pit in your stomach.

Why were you so shaken up? This is stupid. You’ve killed before, and you’ve watched Abby kill.

But this felt different. It wasn’t self-defense. It wasn’t necessary. It was dark and angry and honestly terrifying. She was honestly terrifying.

But it was justified, wasn’t it? You could argue that maybe it was necessary.

Ellie had been hunting Abby for days, killing her friends and seemingly anything else in her path.

Ellie killed Owen.

You weren’t sure of the exact history between him and Abby, but you did know how important he was to her. And you had seen the look on her face when she found him dead.

Who’s to say Ellie would’ve ever stopped coming after Abby and the people close to her? Who’s to say she’ll even stop now?

You’re just beginning to arrange your fractured, contradicting thoughts in a way that makes sense when Abby comes to a sudden stop in front of you. You would’ve run into her if she hadn’t stretched her hand out behind her in warning.

“We need to stop. Get out of the rain. Regroup.” Her voice is strained.

You hadn’t really even noticed that it started raining again, harder this time, but you can walk in the rain. Lev is alone, waiting for the two of you to return.

You open your mouth to protest, only to shut it again when Abby turns to face you fully. She’s balancing her weight unevenly, heavily favoring her right leg. A significant bloodstain runs all the way down to her left ankle. And her face…  

The pregnant girl had come from nowhere, attacking Abby from behind. She managed to slash across Abby’s cheek with a knife before you took her down with an arrow through the shoulder. It had been your only real contribution to the fighting in the theater, but it had been unavoidable. Abby had been in danger.

Now she’s standing in front of you, soaked from head to toe, from the rain and with blood, and you have no idea how much of that blood is hers, but there are definitely some significant injuries that need to be tended to.

Abby takes in your silence and your wide-eyed stare for a moment before shifting a little in place and clearing her throat. “Um… we can try in there. Yeah? The houses here should all be deserted.” She gestures weakly to the building closest to you.

You finally find your voice. “Yes, yeah. Let’s—let’s go in there.”

You pull your gaze away from Abby’s and walk past her, toward the small house, pulling your bow from where it rests over your shoulder and notching an arrow in the string. It suddenly occurs to you that you’ve walked all this way without your weapon drawn while Abby was injured and unarmed. For a moment, you’re glad that the Wolves and the Seraphites are too distracted fighting each other elsewhere to be roaming around in this area. Or else you and Abby would probably have been killed by now, both of you practically stumbling through the streets like a couple of vulnerable, mindless children.

You shake your head, silently scolding yourself and promising to be more alert, starting right now with sweeping the house.

The front door is mostly intact and slightly ajar. You approach carefully, painstakingly forcing it further open with your shoulder, fighting against rusted hinges and warped wood. The floorboards creak beneath your boots as you step inside, quickly scanning the entryway for anything or anyone that poses a threat. Abby follows behind you, trying not to visibly limp on her injured leg and holding up a small flashlight taken from the aquarium.

“Come on. You need to sit down,” you say over your shoulder, just loud enough to be heard over the pouring rain outside. For a moment, it looks like she might argue with you, maybe insist that she make sure the building’s clear first, but she seems to decide against it, giving you a quick nod of her head in response.

With your bow still drawn, you lead the way through the first floor of the building, passing a bathroom and a kitchen before arriving in what was once the living room. The room is filled with furniture in various levels of destruction and decay, somehow the most well-preserved among them being an old couch pressed against the back wall.

You point to it. “Sit,” you tell Abby. The fact that she listens and moves toward the couch without protest, albeit very slowly, is further proof of the extent of her injuries and her level of exhaustion. “I’m going to check the rest of the house, okay? I’ll be back. Don’t move.”

Abby lets out a scoff, immediately followed by a second, more pained noise. “I couldn’t go anywhere if I wanted to.” An attempt at a joke, made through gritted teeth. You give her a hesitant, worried look, long enough that she forces a small smile and attempts to reassure you with, “I’m fine. Go.”

She’s lying and you know that, but you don’t have much of a choice. You turn to go quickly search the house.

The second floor is clear of any discernible threats but also of anything that would be useful in helping Abby. On your way back to the living room, you rummage through the downstairs bathroom and a couple of mostly empty coat closets in hopes of finding something. Medical supplies. Even clean cloths.

You find nothing there and move on to your last hope, the kitchen. This room is even more ransacked than the rest of the house, and still, you don’t find what you’re looking for.

“Ugh,” you loudly groan, clasping your hands together on the back of your neck and casting your gaze upward in frustration.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Abby quickly asks from the other room, sounding ready to jump up off the couch and rush to your rescue even in her current condition. It makes you smile until you remember that this is no time to be smiling.

“It’s nothing. The house is clear. I was just looking for some medical supplies.”

“Who needs medical supplies?” she asks, trying her hand at a second joke. This time you let yourself smile for just a second.

“You do, Abby,” you say, “You need medical supplies. Urgently.” You’re still staring up like the answer will be written up there if you just look hard enough, when something in the space between the one of the top cabinets and the ceiling catches your eye. If you’re not mistaken, it looks like the corner of a first aid kit.

It’s too high for you to reach standing, and there’s nothing for you to stand on top of. The countertops are broken, the pieces scattered across the room, and the wood of the lower cabinets is rickety and unstable at best.

You’re grumbling under your breath about damn high ceilings and unnaturally tall cabinets as you reenter the living room to find Abby almost exactly where you left her, left leg now up on the couch and elevated, right foot still on the floor. Both of her hands are hovering over the gash in her thigh, like she’s not sure if she should touch it or not, her face tense and focused. She’s in pain.

You pull your eyes away and look for something sturdy enough for you to stand on, eventually deciding on a mostly intact, only slight wobbly small metal table.

“Do you really think now is the best time to rearrange the furniture, honey?” Abby asks, glancing at you in her periphery. She’s joking again, and you know that, but you can’t help the warmth that pools in your cheeks at her use of the affectionate pet-name.

“I--“ You clear your throat, “I need something to stand on. I think I found something in the kitchen.”

“Aww, you can’t reach the top shelf by yourself?” Abby asks, amused. She turns her attention from her leg to watch as you drag the table out of the room. It squeaks along the floor the entire way, making her laugh softly.

 The fact that she’s being playful with you starts to ease your lingering panic about her many ailments. If she’s cracking jokes, she can’t be that close to dying, right?

“Crazy how you’ve lost like half your blood supply, and yet you still have enough energy to tease me,” you say, your own teeth gritted now. The table is much heavier than you anticipated. “And, for your information, the thing that I’m trying to get is not on the top shelf. It is above the top shelf. On top of the cabinet.”

“Uh huh. Sure… Take your time. I’m just over here, casually bleeding out.”

“Well, I’m no doctor. But I’m pretty sure that if the knife had hit any major arteries, you would’ve bled out a long time ago. So you’ll be fine for another minute. Probably.” With one final shove, you manage to get the table where you want it.

You carefully step up on the table, hoping that some sadistic asshole didn’t throw an empty first aid kit all the way up there just to waste the time and energy of some poor, desperate fool in need of medical supplies. (You, of course, being that poor desperate fool.)

After brushing off a thick layer of dust, you grab the handle. The kit is full.

“Yes!” you shout, nearly stumbling off the table in your excitement.

Abby can tease you all she wants and try to make light of the situation, but she can’t hide the look of relief that washes over her features when she sees what you’re carrying.

And, if you were paying closer attention to her face, she also wouldn’t have been able to mask the way her eyes go wide and her cheek – the one that’s not covered in blood – gets visibly pink when you get on your knees in front of her. “Uhhh hey, you can—you can sit on the couch.”

You raise your eyebrows, confused by her sudden nervousness. “No, the angle will be better this way,” you insist. “Just bring your leg over here.” She concedes, avoiding eye contact as you help her maneuver her injured leg so that her foot is back on the floor, practically between your knees.

There’s already a tear in her pant leg where the gash is. So to avoid having Abby stand up and take her pants off or cutting all the way around at mid-thigh, leaving her with half a pair of pants for the foreseeable future, you opt to just rip the fabric a little more on either side of the tear.

But you have a bad habit of occasionally thinking about something and then doing it, forgetting the often necessary in-between step of alerting the people around you to what you’re going to do first. You take the already-ripped fabric of her pants in your hands and tear, successfully making a hole large enough for you to properly clean and dress the wound.

The sound Abby makes when you do this surprises you. It’s almost sounds like a whimper—a noise that you don’t think you’ve ever heard her make before. There’s a twisting heat in your gut that seems to be a recurring side effect of being close to Abby, which you choose to ignore in favor of focusing on the more urgent (and honestly less daunting and less complicated) task at hand.

She’s quiet as you get to work cleaning the gash. Wincing slightly but remaining still.

The cut is deep, but as you expected it missed the femoral artery. You would have to stitch it up, though, and you told Abby as such. She nodded and watched you carefully as you quickly prepared, hoping to get this part over with as quickly as possible.

You moved even closer to her. Abby’s shin gently pressed against your front as you leaned over her knee, bringing your face closer, your movements precise and intentional.

Abby brings her hands down on either side of her legs, bracing herself. Her shoulders tense, muscles engaged. You have to tear your eyes away. Focus. You look back down at her thigh.

As you work, a strand of your hair falls from where you had tucked it behind your ear and into your face. You let out a light, annoyed huff. Before you attempt to blow the strand out of your eyeline, Abby’s fingers gently brush it back behind your ear. You feel yourself blush deeply, saying a quiet thank you before going back to sewing her up.

When the last stitch is done and you’ve carefully wrapped the wound, you feel Abby’s fingers run through your hair again, this time for no other reason but to draw your eyes up to meet hers.

“Come up here,” she says, her voice low. You stand, bringing the first aid kit with you, and feel the springs in the cushions creak beneath you as you sit on the couch, facing her, closer than is probably necessary. Before either one of you says anything else, you begin gently wiping away the blood surrounding the cut on her cheek, cleaning around the wound.

It's clear to you now that her wounds weren’t quite as detrimental as you had feared. With her leg sown up, her face was the only other thing that required your attention. Most everything else was superficial and would heal on its own. The rain had done a poor job of washing away all the blood, but it seems that much less of that blood had come from her than you had anticipated anyway.

“I can do that,” Abby says in a whisper, watching your face as you carefully and meticulously clean hers.

“I know,” you reply, just as quiet. “I want to.”

A few moments go by in silence until Abby once again breaks it.

“I’m sorry about tonight,” she begins, quickly adding, “Not sorry that I did it, but sorry that you had to… see me that way.” Her eyes are downcast. You know it’s weighing on her. Not just everything that happened today, but the fear that what happened could have a lasting effect on this thing you two have only just started to build. Call it trust or friendship or maybe something else entirely.

You shake your head. “Don’t apologize. I’m glad I was there. You shouldn’t have had to do that alone.” Abby nods, but you know it doesn’t do much to assuage her worries.

You still don’t understand what happened back in the theater. Or why it happened. Part of you wants to ask for the history now. How she knows Ellie. Why she wants Abby dead.

Maybe in time she will tell you, but you’ve already decided to trust her. To lean into whatever this thing between you is, and whatever it might become.

So instead, you ask another question that’s been in the back of your mind.

“Did you mean what you said earlier?” You pull your hand away from her face, finished cleaning the cut there. It may form a scar, but it doesn’t seem deep enough to warrant stitches. (And you’re not brave enough to try, on her lovely face so close to her eye.)

Abby smiles softly, leaning forward just a bit to bring your faces closer together. “You’re going to have to be more specific, honey.”

That pet-name again. It makes your head spin. Makes you want to close the already shrinking distance between you and press your lips to hers. But you don’t do that. Instead, you explain, “On the island. When you said that… I’m your people.” You pause, hesitating over the last few words.

Abby stops for a moment, almost looking confused, and you start to spiral internally. You realize that it was probably just something she said in the heat of the moment. To calm you down and get you to keep moving, towards safety. You wish you could take your question back, retract your stupid words. Swallow them up and hide them inside you, along with your ever-growing feelings.

Abby finally answers. “Yeah. Of course I meant it. You’re my people.”

“Yeah?” You break out into a grin.

She nods, smiling and sincere. “Yeah.”

It’s that one, small word that makes you close the distance between you. Not to kiss her, but to gently rest your forehead against hers. Abby seems stunned, like maybe she was expecting the other thing, or hoping for it, but she recovers quickly, closing her eyes and maintaining the physical contact. You close your eyes too.

“You’re my people too, Abigail Anderson.” You can feel her laugh quietly and open your eyes, pulling away just enough to see her face again. “So… where do we go from here?”

“Santa Barbara, California,” she says. You remember overhearing part of a conversation about that between Abby and Owen yesterday. You figured that’s where she would be heading; you had just hoped to be given the chance to tag along. But you guess you didn’t have to worry about that anymore.

So you nod your head thoughtfully. “Sounds good… Sunny.”

“Hmm, yeah. That’s what I hear.” You’re both smiling. Happy, strangely enough, given the circumstances.

“Abby…”

“Hmmm?”

“We are going back to get Lev before we leave though, right?”

----------------------------------------------------------------

Note: If you read all of that, THANK YOU! This is the first fanfic I’ve written—and the first time I’ve written at all in a long time—so this is me dipping my toes in the water.

It definitely ended up being a lot longer and a lot less spicy than I anticipated, but I wrote what came naturally. I hope to continue this storyline, likely backtracking to when Abby and reader met, so we’ll be seeing more of these two. We’ll get to the fun stuff eventually!

#abby anderson #abby anderson x fem!reader #abby anderson x reader #abby x fem!reader #abby x reader #abby tlou #tlou2 #abby anderson fanfic #abby anderson fic #abby anderson angst

[wilcze-kudly]

The Gaang being 'bad parents' didn't ruin their characters.

I've seen this argument tossed around a couple times and it's honestly one of my least favourite criticisms of lok.

Katara (and Sokka but we have no confirmed kids for him, which seems unrealistic with how much game he had) lost their mother as children and their father was forced to abandon them when they were barely starting their teens. They were raised by their grandmother with little to no peers of their own age.

Aang did not know his parents and a huge chunk of his childhood was him being groomed into taking up the mantle of the avatar and mastering airbending. He also was isolated from other kids his age. His closest parental figure was Gyatso who was more of a teacher than a father. Also the Air Nomads were literally wiped out so that adds to the trauma pile.

I really don't think i have to talk about Zuko's family life here, but at least he had relatively positive parental figures in the form of Ursa (though i do have a burning personal dislike of ursa) and Iroh. Despite this his struggle around the subject of his family and his trauma relating to his upbringing was a focal point of his character arc.

Toph was raised in isolation by her asshole abelist parents who did not listen to her, sent people to capture and bring her back and then disowned her. (If my cursory understanding of 'the rift' is correct, I need to actually read it because i am unreasonably obsessed with the Beifong family.)

Where, pray tell, were they supposed to learn proper parenting skills? On their brief stint as child soldiers? While fighting a war as literal children?

There is the argument that they must've matured later in their lives, of course. But you can only recover so much from copious amounts of childhood trauma.

Being a bad parent doesn't necessarily make you a bad person. Sure it makes you a failure in an incredibly delicate and important aspect of human life but it doesn't make you a bad person. And saying that it does takes a lot of nuance out of the conversation.

Like, do you know how easy it is to fuck up a child?

Especially that the ways the members of the Gaang 'fucked up' as parents feel mostly in character.

Bumi was going to face some struggles with self worth due to being the firstborn child of the Avatar and arguably one of the most powerful waterbenders in history, while being a nonbender himself. That much was unavoidable, no matter how his parents approached the issue.

And Aang was obviously going to be over the moon when Tenzin was born. Think about it. He's literally the last of his people. He has no one else 'like him'. No one else to pass down the traditions, the teachings that Gyatso and everyone else he cared about and who were horrifically murdered to. Aang is getting older and he feels like his culture and history and his entire life before he got trapped in that damned iceberg will die along with him. And then Tenzin is born and Tenzin can take up the mantle that had been thrust upon Aang.

I'm going to withhold my judgement on Izumi and Zuko, since we barely know anything about them. She seems well adjusted but that's all i can say right now. But Zuko has also been shown to be extremely, painfully aware of how fucked up his family is and has clearly been putting in a lot of work to unscrew what his ancestors have screwed up.

Toph situation feels very tragic to me,because it's obvious that she thought she thought she was doing better than her parents. She gave her daughters the freedom to do what they want, to not feel opressed and trapped like she had. How was she supposed to know that she was making her girls feel like she didn't love them? (Here's another post of mine about the Beifong family and how they just feel like they're cursed or something at this point.)

TLDR; I get annoyed by people saying that the Gaang being 'bad parents' ruined their characters, because to me it felt like it actually enhanced them.

Neither Aang nor Toph acted out of malice or a lack of love. On the contrary, Toph was trying not to repeat her parents mistakes, accidentally committing a bunch of her own. While Aang probably didn't even realise that he was neglecting Kya and Bumi.

But just loving your children doesn't always make you a good parent.

I think these flaws only add to them as characters. It makes them feel more real.

It's unrealistic and, frankly, just plain boring to go 'oh the Gaang were all good people so they would be good parents too.'

The Gaang were a gaggle of traumatised children forced into saving the world, because the adults around them failed them, that then grew into traumatised adults who have no idea how to be good parents.

#badly voicing my thoughts #avatar legend of korra #i know i did not write this out correctly but it is like 3 am and i am tired and mad and stressed #avatar #avatar: the last airbender #the last airbender #legend of korra #aang #avatar aang #katara #sokka #toph #toph beifong #zuko #ursa #iroh #bumi ii #kya ii #tenzin #firelord izumi #lin beifong #suyin beifong #the beifong family #the beifongs #wow look at all these traumatised people

[astrumark]

── GIVE ME THAT LITTLE BIT OF SATISFACTION ★.

PAIRING: aemond targaryen x female reader.

SUMMARY: aemond needs your assistance after a battle, in more ways than one.

WARNINGS: blood, curse words, smut with plot, use of coconut oil as lube, hand-job, p in v, tits sucking, multiple orgasms, creampie, a hint of sub aemond? oops? :3

WC: 5.3K

NOTES: obviously this is my take on what happened after rook's rest. the show's approach next year will definitely be different. but it's fun working with the book's events and its lack of minor details (you can fill it in however you wish!).

Your eyes flutter open with a jump, a firm hand gripping your shoulder. You didn't remember when you had fallen asleep, or what hour it was, but certainly wasn't the time for your shift yet. It takes a few seconds for your cloudy vision to focus on where you were, now noticing the older servant in front of you, and you look at her dazedly.

"The prince has just arrived, and requests your presence," Annabel explains.

Aemond. Immediate relief washes over you as your face softens. "Very well."

You leave the servants' quarters as fast as you can after fixing your appearance, and as you walk through the halls, you notice the castle is way too agitated. Tension and seriousness ripple in the air, and you start to feel uneasy as well, mind fumbling with numberless possibilities.

It's one of the gold cloaks that finally speaks a little louder, talking fervently about the victory of the greens at the battle of Rook's Rest. It had been quite a few days since their army had marched, and news was often shared about their progression. Usually, you tend to avoid it, since most of it makes you feel sick in your stomach.

Besides the armored man, there is no more commemoration or sense of victory. Not on this side of the castle, at least. Lords were probably planning on throwing banquets, but people like you are too aware of the damages of the war, and how at the end of the day the smallfolk suffer the most. Countless common people would die in the name of greedy royalty that know no limits to their ambition, families ruined beyond repair, a ravaging hunger was plaguing the poorest, and the coffers would soon be emptied, money being spent on battles other than improving the realm and making life easier. It's obvious how no good could ever come regardless of the result of the war.

You find Annabel again, shouting order after order, the middle-aged woman was the one in charge of the servants for a good while now and was a reliable source of information.

"What happened?" You approach her.

"A lot happened, child." Her tone is somber.

"Did someone die?" What a foolish question. Not just someone, but hundreds.

"The queen who never was and her dragon."

You grimace, reminiscing about the princess back when she was visiting the Red Keep. Although such casualties are expected during the war, it is still difficult to grasp that the imposing woman is dead. It's fearful how one's life could be ripped from them so suddenly. A paralyzing concern floods you. Aemond being back does not mean he is unharmed.

"Has the prince been hurt?" Your voice falters, your heart pounding with fear.

Annabel's gaze flickers to your face, and you could see her disapproval, almost making you wish to recoil. But she would never say a thing about your unusual closeness with the prince, being unlike her to intrude in personal affairs. You are aware she doesn't like Aemond or any of the royals, but then again very few did. You have grown to understand it was not only because of his eye, or lack thereof, but because he simply did not inspire sympathy. Aemond is stoic, defensive, and difficult to relate to. You were only one of the very few lucky enough to know better.

"The prince is fine," Annabel says and you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding. "However, it is said the king is in critical condition, it is not known if he will recover, and his dragon is unable to fly, one of his wings was damaged during the fight."

You gasp, in your slumber you have forgotten about the man, not being concerned about him in the slightest. Anyhow, you feel your mind almost melting as you process the shocking news and the aftermath of it. If the king were to perish, that means Aemond would be regent until his nephew is of ideal age. Seven. "Poor Sunfyre."

Annabel tries to scold you, but the amusement behind her blue eyes is hard to conceal. "You are pitying the dragon, not the king?"

"Well, people have the free will of choice, and are aware of the consequences their actions might have… a dragon can only obey their rider's command, isn't it right?"

"We cannot say. These magical creatures are beyond our comprehension."

You ponder. "That is true."

After the quick conversation, you make your way to one of the huge kitchens, assuming the prince would probably fancy a bath. Warming up buckets of water, you carry them to Maegor's Holdfast with the help of three other servants.

A strong smell of blood and smoke fills your nose as you enter his quarters, and your eyes widen. The expensive rug is stained and marked by large boots, and even more astounding is the prince's appearance.

Aemond is lounging on a chair close to his study table. His face and hair are covered by blood, ash, and dirt, and splatters of dried blood stains his black and gold armor. His braids are loose, and you can even notice some twigs tangled in his silver strands. However, the prince's hands are the most distressing, gloves discarded at some point and almost fully covered by the red liquid. With a frown, you deduce it must be from his brother's injury. He looks haunting, almighty, and ruthless. There's a scowl on his face, though his eyes seem perturbed.

You notice how the servants' hands seem to tremble slightly as they pour the water into the bathtub in the next room, their eyes never daring to look up while adding some essential oils and chamomile herbs to the water as well, however, you cannot share their fear. All you wish to do is reach out and comfort him. Leaving one of the buckets outside the bathroom, you can see from the corner of your eyes the one-eyed man dismissing the other servants with a wave of a hand, and they seem eager to oblige. You kneel in front of him.

"I am glad you are well," You squeeze his knees. "And tremendously sorry for your brother."

Aemond does not respond, and his gaze is piercing as he stares at you as if memorizing each detail of your face. You don't look away either, a comfortable but powerful silence pairing between the two of you. His fingers slowly graze your cheek, and you do not mind the blood, eyes closing with the delicate caress.

"Help me undress, will you?"

You nod, aware he was never one to talk in deep about his emotions and thoughts, to allow himself to be vulnerable. Nonetheless, you've been noticing this quietness getting worse ever since Storm's End, and although concerned, you would not push him. Especially because you weren't even aware of the extent of your relationship. That he has a certain tenderness for you is clear, but the amount of liberties you could take with the royal is not as much.

Carefully undoing his heavy armor, the pieces fall to the ground with a whump, and the clothes underneath are a lot easier to deal with. His defined body slowly comes into view, a few goosebumps arising on his bare skin with the sudden lack of materials. Aemond's nakedness is of no surprise to you, though you could never help but admire him. Grabbing a cloth you wet it in the bucket nearby and start to clean his face first, hoping to get rid of the thicker layers of dirt before starting the bath.

Your touch is light, afraid to harshly rub any scratches, big or small. "Are you hurt in any way?"

Aemond shakes his head. "None of the blood is mine," He says. "It's from the princess and my brother, and their dragons. I believe some from Lord Staunton and his garrison as well."

You shudder with discomfort and drift your attention to cleaning his hands, the cloth immediately being painted red, you discard it for another as you move to the other hand. You've always enjoyed tending to him.

His hair comes next, and you take off his eyepatch. Undoing the braids is quick, long accustomed to it, though his strands are now sticking and smelling terribly, like a pan that spent too much time on fire, simply nose scrunching and suffocating. Aemond moves his head side to side with a growl after you are done, the bones of his neck cracking.

The prince sighs pleasantly as he enters the tub, and you grab a bowl to wet his hair. The silver strands get soaped quickly as you massage his scalp with both hands, his good eye close, and the sapphire twinkles.

After washing it, you fetch another soap bar, one that the merchant guaranteed you was special, something about adding more oils while making it. There was no harm in trying, and you were surprised by how such a thing made his hair healthier, not as dry which means fewer cuts, and more tamed and lustrous. His strands instantly become more emollient as you run the soap along the length.

Aemond seems completely unbothered as you get to scrub his body, the fine hairs covering his arms and legs so light it's barely visible. It's, in fact, a moment of relaxation and customariness, a routine for both of you. But the water is already dirty and gray by now, and you cannot help but recall it's not only ashes and dirt but also the mixed blood of people and beasts alike. Some perished.

You do not notice the silver-haired staring at you until he speaks. "You do not seem very pleased."

You raise your eyebrows. "Is there something to be pleased about?"

"Is there not?" He squints his eye. "We have just won a battle."

"Congratulations."

"Your sincerity is appreciated." His voice is dripping with sarcasm. "You know you can speak freely with me." He studies your face.

You bite your lips, focusing on the task at hand and adding more soap to the scrubber. The prince would never understand your point, so you would rather avoid a useless discussion. Especially today.

Unfortunately, he doesn't give up, cocking his head. "What is restraining you from doing so? Are you disgusted? Would you prefer me to not have killed all those cunty traitors?" His voice is low, dangerous. "Would you prefer to have that whore sitting on the throne? Is that the reason for your unpleasantness? Do you believe she's more suitable than my brother? Than me?"

You look at him sternly, the scrubber falling to the water with a splash. His face is now a lot closer to yours, but he does not intimidate you, never did, and probably never will. But he hits a nerve, and your mouth moves even before you could notice you were speaking.

"I would prefer your family to resolve the succession issue in another way other than submitting the kingdom to a devastating war with horrendous consequences, for all of you certainly, as proved by your nephew's death and older brother's injury now, but mostly, innocent people that have nothing to do with your schemes." Your voice holds a cold rage. "That is my opinion if it's of any importance to you, but I highly doubt it."

Aemond scoffs, shaking his head and averting his eye for a minute. His finger rests on top of his mouth, and there's still blood underneath his nails. He inhales to control his annoyance. He looks like he's going to say something, but then changes his mind, closing his lips and opting for another choice of words.

"You would not understand it, as a commoner." He looks at you up and down, not with the usual desire, but with a hint of superiority now, clear in how the corner of his lips twitches upward dismissively.

You are quick to respond. "Nor would you, as a prince."

Deafening silence. You have a good point, the drastic difference in your backgrounds would never let you completely understand one another's views and priorities. Aemond sighs.

"You are lucky I am fond of you." A truce.

You chuckle. "And I do not dislike you entirely."

The prince smiles, tight-lipped, but it is lovely, showing off his beautiful dimples. The rest of the bath goes calmly as you resume the chore. You wrap his hair in a cotton towel, and his body in a linen one. You leave the prince to dry himself while you make your way to the bedchamber, gathering loose mud green trousers and some shea butter.

The one-eyed stands in his full glory as you spread the product all over his lean body. Back, arms, chest, and stomach, then his legs. When you get up from your kneeling position, his hand wraps around your neck swiftly, bringing your body forward and kissing you.

You return it immediately, deep and eager. However, it's also contemplative and cozy, almost lazy as you taste one another. Your hand rests on his forearm, the softness and warmth of his lips never failing to get you weak on the knees, and he smells great now, fresh. Your eyes seem unable to open as you get lost in the small kisses and teases.

"Do not resent me, beauty." He says as you part.

You smile against his mouth, you thought it was precious when he got like this, clingy in his way. It was only on these rare occasions that he let his pride and loftiness aside, and would do everything to prevent you from being upset with him. Seeking your comfort in such an intense manner it was flattering.

A verbal answer doesn't leave your lips, you just kiss him again, and it's enough. "Get dressed and sit down." You motion to the dressing table, throwing the trousers at him.

You comb his hair delicately, adding some sunflower oil to his scalp before braiding his damp hair, he prefers it this way, claiming it was the only way it wouldn't get tangled up in the morning. You start from his very root, sectioning small amounts of silver hair and crossing them over in between your fingers, slowly but surely creating a beautiful and tight pattern. It's not a fast process, but you delight in it and you suspect so does the man in front of you, almost purring as you work. Tying the end of it, you rub his shoulders affectionately, his skin always warm beneath your palms.

"I am sore," Aemond complains. "A massage would be great."

You grin, pecking his cheek from behind. "As you wish, my Prince."

He is truly very tense, and you cannot fathom how distressing all that he witnessed is. You suppose it was a life-changing experience, in the worst way possible. It was clear how his eye hardened considerably in a short time. You would have surely run to the hills in his place, but he doesn't. He breathes and keeps his composure, hiding away all his fright, pretending to be indifferent, that he accepts his duty and the price of it gladly. But nobody would, less they lacked emotions.

Aemond lays down on his stomach, folding his arms above his head. Grabbing a bottle of coconut oil from the table, you take off your shoes and raise your dress to your knees before crawling on the bed to sit on top of his butt.

His body jolts as you drip a generous amount of oil on his large back, his muscles flexing. His body is so magnificent you could easily imagine a greater force meticulously creating each detail of it. Aemond moans the moment your hands start to caress his lower back. Your first touches are gentle, tracing circles up and down with your fingertips, mapping where you can feel some knots. Your hands move from his sides, to his shoulders, and up to the back of his neck, pinching it slightly.

"Fuck," Aemond grunts, voice muffled by the mattress. "This feels nice."

You add more pressure, stroking his back up and down, and after a few minutes back to tracing firm circles, this time with the heel of your hand. The prince is unable to contain noises of pleasure. Laying one of your hands on top of the other, you start the process of pushing his spine, once again beginning down and going up. A few cracks are heard.

Then, you add gentle pressure with your thumbs on his knots, his grunts are now a little bit more uncomfortable, but it's necessary. After you are done, you softly knead his back up and down, and then start switching between circling and stroking.

Aemond's moans along with the feel of his skin start to alight a desire in you, your lower stomach tingling in a known and annoying manner, womanhood pulsating with each new sound. It doesn't help how your filthy encounters had been becoming less frequent, the prince growing too busy with the war, and often you would feel bothered and insatiable.

It's unconscious the way you start rubbing on him, trying to relieve the ache you feel, and you do not realize what you are doing until he grips your thigh, halting your tentative movements at once.

"Stop teasing." He warns.

You stammer, a bit embarrassed. "I'm not, I–"

Suddenly you are pinned down by the prince, your positions switched as you utter your confusion by the suddenness. You should've been used to his strength and fast reflexes by now. "Do you deem your behavior acceptable?"

You swallow, trying not to smile, and feign innocence. "I have no clue what you are talking about."

"Oh, yes? You are unaware you were rubbing yourself on me like a bitch in heat?"

"I would never do that, my Prince."

"You would never…?" He chuckles, feeling amused.

"During my work? No." You shake your head in denial.

"So, if I touch your cunt right now, you would not be wet?" He cocks his head.

You bite your lips. "Not at all."

"Forgive me for not believing your words, but I shall need proof." Aemond's hand sneaks under your dress, fingers moving slowly from your shin to your thigh, his eye never leaving yours, daring.

You giggle when his finger parts your folds, rubbing the dampness between your legs. You buck your hips, in need of more friction.

"Liar." Aemond disregards with a click of his tongue, his pupil blown out as he circles your bud.

"Aemond." You gasp, eyes closing.

"Do you think you deserve it?"

"Yes, I've been taking care of you so well..." You try to negotiate.

"But I deserve so much more attention, don't you agree?" He kisses and licks your collarbone, finger never faltering, teasing.

"More?" Your breath is labored, and your voice is weak. His hand leaves your heat.

"I have killed a whole other dragon. It is not frequently one can say it. Yes, I believe I am due special treatment." He faces you again.

"I see," You grin. "You want me to do all the work?" Your lips brush his. "Such an idle prince." You provoke.

"Watch your mouth," He warns, pecking you. "I am merely tired. It's been eventful."

"Conveniently for you, I am feeling generous today." Your hands trail his bare waist.

"You are?" He smirks, nose touching yours.

"Uh-huh, and very happy you are unscathed."

"Show me, then," Aemond kisses your jaw. "Just how grateful you are."

The kiss you share is lecherous, wet, and rushed. Aemond does not fight you as you flip your bodies over and climb onto his lap, an evident bulge in the thin trousers that contours all of his cock tantalizingly. Even the clothed friction makes you both shudder, and you gather all of your strength to not start instantly grinding on his shaft.

You pull his trousers down, and his manhood springs free. Big, thick, veiny. Dripping coconut oil on your hands, you rub them together. Aemond wets his lips in anticipation.

Your hand slides through his length with no difficulty with the help of the oil, and the smell of it is delicious. You start jerking him off, and the prince hums in satisfaction.

Aemond wasn't the most vocal in bed, you realized it soon into your affair, but with time you had discovered the exceptions, the things that would make him forget all about his inhibitions and scream in pleasure.

After stroking him for a while, you cup one of your hands, very slowly circling his tip with the palm of your oily hand, fingertips dragging up and down his length while you do so. Aemond breathes sharply, his stomach twitching.

"Seven hells, love." He mutters with a tight hold on the sheets due to his sensitivity. You smile.

You focus on your fingertips, running them up and down his shaft lightly. Aemond adored the delicacy of the movement, the gentle yet torturous pressure, promising and unforgiving, kind and cruel. Then you circle his head again, again, and again. Careful to not hurt him. Aemond grunts, his eyebrows pinching together and face completely flushed as he bites his lips harshly, trying to hold back his moans, but you know it won't last long.

"Stop, it 's too much." He whines, but the delighted sound that escapes his mouth tells you to do anything but, his body trembling.

"Aw," You coo mockingly. "We know you can take it, my Prince."

You add more oil to your hands, holding his length and rotating your wrist as your palm rubs over his tip and shaft over and over. He completely let go as he closes his eye, his grunts being replaced by enchanting high-pitched and broken moans. It's quite pathetic the sight of him, the mighty and fearsome prince so supple on your hands, forehead glistening with sweat and breath erratic. Anyone outside could hear him.

"My love, please." He begs in the middle of whimpers, all of his body hair stirred up.

"Please what, my dear?" You ask innocently.

Aemond squirms. "I need to come," He gasps. "Please, please, please."

"Since you asked so nicely…"

You change the movement, keeping it only on his sensitive head, your other hand squeezing his balls. His voice gets louder, face twisted in pleasure as a tear falls down his gorgeous face, violet iris shining bright. You can feel your cunt soaked and throbbing achingly with the view.

He comes in a silent scream, hips bucking as hot loads of his spend fall into your hand and his shaft. You spread some of it around his length, still jerking him off as you help him ride out of his peak, the prince's body spasming.

"That's it," You praise him. "Good boy."

Aemond's breath is heavy as you find his lips, and he struggles to follow your pace, but he tries anyway, messy and urging. "Now you are going to be even nicer and let me use your cock, won't you?" You whisper.

His eye is lidded as he stares at you and nods, and you cannot resist the urge to press two sticky fingers to his curved lips, Aemond opens his mouth with no resistance, licking your hand clean. He's so compliant, somehow still lost in the void between the extraordinary bliss and the present moment.

"Anything for you." He mutters.

You grin. "That is what I like to hear."

Even if not necessarily frequent, happening mostly when he was worn-out or glum, it was rather obvious how letting someone of your position have control over him in bed, one of the very few situations in which you could be so blunt and disrespectful to a high-born, aroused the prince more than he would ever admit, a time in which he could forget about his obligations and just be good to you.

It doesn't take long into your kissing until you can feel him growing hard again, hands eagerly grabbing the hem of your dark red dress and pulling it up around your waist.

"Stupid dress." He complains in between lustful kisses, struggling to get rid of the clothing.

You laugh and help him take it off, throwing your apron and the dress somewhere around his quarters. Aemond instantly latches onto your right breast once you are fully naked, tongue hot and wet twirling around your nipple, and making you shiver and mewl as he sucks it into his mouth as if he is starved, your hand pulling at his braided hair.

Too impatient and greedy, you push him back on the mattress, positioning his member on your wet and tight entrance before lowering yourself down on it. You both moan at the stretch. It is spellbinding the way he watches you on top of him, making you feel like the most desired person in existence, his hands on your hips tightly.

You feel so full and excited you could almost see stars, the position has always been one of your favorites, his cock being able to reach just the right spots in this way.

"Seven, you feel perfect inside me." You gasp, grinding back and forward, your lungs clenching with the sudden and powerful wave of pleasure, so strong it is maddening.

Aemond growls, his body jolting with the motion. "You are a fucking witch, woman."

"For knowing exactly how to deal with you? I might as well be." You grin viciously, your hands resting on his chest.

Your eyes close as you rock your hips slowly and sensually, strained moans already leaving your mouth, and your bud brushing over his pubic bone makes you tremble. It's doubtless the best sensation you have ever felt, his cock dragging against your walls marvelously.

"Fuck, you fit me so well," You say out of breath, fastening your grinding. "Always so good for me, aren't you?"

You lean over slightly, pressing yourself more to him as you begin to bounce on his cock restlessly, the sinful noises echoing in the chamber only increasing your pleasure.

Aemond whimpers, both by the change of the movement and your words. "Always good for you, my love." He repeats, choking out.

Aemond's hands come to grip your ass desperately, certainly to leave bruises later, but now it's nothing but motivating for you.

He suddenly sits you both up, mouth finding one of your breasts again, saliva coating it as he plays with your nipple with tongue and teeth with no care. The sensitivity makes your eyes roll to the back of your head. Delightful yet torturous whimpers on your lips as you continue to ride him mercilessly.

Sweat covers almost all of your body, and you feel as if you were burning from the inside out, the prince not looking any different, his cheeks and nose terribly reddened. You don't even care about the slight throbbing of your legs getting tired, or for the man you were fucking anymore, simply focused on the building of that rapture that feels so close yet so far. Your hold on his shoulders is firm beyond pleasant, but you assume his mind is elsewhere, and not in how your nails are breaking his pale skin.

You needed this badly and you knew you wouldn't last long. The knot inside you tightens hazardously, and you furrow your eyebrows, your bouncing getting even more frenetic. However, as good as it feels, you are growing overwhelmed as you ache for a release that's taking too long to come, somewhat stuck in a sadic joy. You whine out of glee and anticipation, too fucking eager.

"Don't stop, love," Aemond says with a groan, letting go of your breast with a pop to give attention to the other, his sucking sloppy as you pull at his hair harshly. You moan.

Not even in a thousand years you would dare to. When the long-awaited white-hot pleasure slams your body, you feel like ascending to the seven heavens itself. It's astoundingly overpowering at first and then diminishes in ripples as your heart drums painfully inside your chest, cunt fluttering around his member.

Your breath is heavy as you slow down, shivering and a little weary. Aemond moans while watching you come on his cock, and fortunately, he seems disposed to help you as he lays down again, bringing your body flush against his. He seems very roused as he impales you with his cock from beneath, growling into your ears while his hands squeeze your ass possessively.

You whine due to overstimulation, his thrusts are relentless, and the squelching sounds more prominent with how much you soaked his cock not too long ago. You are unsure if you want him to finish already or just keep using your cunt as he wishes regardless of your comfort, and the sheer thought of it inflames you.

It's surprising how fast it comes back, that burning and expectation in your lower stomach, apparently even stronger now. All that was not him and his cock in your womanhood is long forgotten. Blood rushes hot in your veins, high-pitched mewls and low grunts blending.

"By the Seven, Aemond." You hide your face in the crook of his neck, drool dripping from the corner of your mouth.

"Can you give me another one?" Aemond pounds into you harder, the smell of the shea butter and coconut oil from earlier consuming you. "I want to give you another one, beauty. I want to make you feel exceptionally good, yes?"

You try to respond to him but you just babble, teeth biting into the conjecture of his neck and shoulder, painting it red and purple, too dumbfounded to think or to measure your strength. But it seems your bites only incite the silver-haired more, his shoves faster and his groans broken.

One of his hands circles your waist securely to lock you in place, no falter in his thrusts. The wave of elation that suddenly crashes down over you is potent, numbing all your senses for a few seconds, but you are certain you must be screaming as you squirm. Your legs shake tremendously and your eyelids feel heavier.

Your second peak and the clenching of your cunt send Aemond over the edge. He bucks his hips, stilling inside you as he comes with a prolonged and deep grunt, head tilted back and lips parted. You didn't know what good action guaranteed you the privilege to see such a beautiful thing. Getting off him as he tries to regain his breath, a good amount of his warm seed drips in between your thighs, walls spinning as you feel quite faint.

Your back hits the fluffy mattress, your heart pounding in your ears and black dots cover your vision, which is slightly blurry. Shutting your eyes, you could not say how much time has passed as you recompose yourself and wait for your skin to cool down, but when you do, you are shocked to see the prince already soundly asleep next to you, mouth hung open as exhaustion had finally caught up to him after the latest events and your passionate indulgence.

Chuckling, you roll to your side as you watch him, his expression for once serene and breath even. You trace your finger gently across his straight eyebrow while appreciating the details of his face. The concern comes back to torment you as you wonder what the future has reserved for him, but you try to brush it off. You could only pray for his safety.

You recall the first time you saw him sleeping, it was quite unnerving, only the sapphire shining brightly while his good eye rested, but now the gemstone staring back at you was not only usual but comforting, a unique and enchanting charm in your opinion.

After getting up, you grab a cloth to clean the two of you, and although with a drowsy complaint from him, you manage to tuck the one-eyed in warm sheets. You put on your servant robes again and organize the mess you could deal with at the moment, gathering his armor as quietly as you can to be cleaned later. Pecking his pinkish lips slowly, you exit his quarters, feeling completely satisfied.

TAGS: @godrakin @m1ndbrand ♡⋆˙

#aemond targaryen #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond x reader #aemond targaryen imagine #aemond targaryen x you #hotd imagine #hotd x reader #aemond smut #aemond targaryen fanfic #hotd fanfic

[auncyen]

Pre-incident Siffrin being actually a lot "stronger" than the other party members is a favorite pet theory of mine. ("Stronger" because they're not physically so, exactly, but there's a combination of experience and other things.)

Reasons:

Especially with Adrienne saying Sadnesses aren't ONLY due to the King and were around before (but the Curse is making things much worse) Siffrin has a strong case for having more practical fighting experience than the others due to scraps with wildlife and Sadnesses. Isabeau would probably be next closest but he even says himself that the worst Defenders see is burglary so Isabeau's experience would be mostly training/theoretical still.

They also might have given themself a slight "boost" by skirting Craft cooldowns at times. Like going off of above, pre-game Siffrin could have been that one post about classically trained wizard vs. self-taught wizard where the latter is terrifying for how much they've learned by practical experience while completely missing certain safety fundamentals (or. well. forgotten them). Since Craft cooldown has physical feedback, Siffrin probably never completely wrecked themself but like. I can imagine very early on Siffrin having a habit of pushing themself hard in fights to end them quickly and make sure everyone's safe and then at the campsite for the night they're just kind of. trying to keep going to at least get their share of chores done but ow ow ow. (They probably slowly learned to stop doing this with the combined experiences of 1) fighting with a team 2) fights with Sadnesses becoming much more common and thus making it worse to overextend themself every single fight 3) recovering from the incident probably forced them to respect cooldowns more which ties a bit into next reason--)

The incident with Bonnie is given a good amount of weight in narration but then doesn't seem to have kept Siffrin from being as strong a party member as the others in combat, which might seem slightly odd. ...Unless it was actually that he was stronger before and him being at the same level with them IS him having gotten weaker, which could also mesh well with him having seen three people fighting a Sadness and being like 'hey. obviously you need me to stab it.' (Counterpoint, I can easily believe Siffrin getting himself in a fight to help people even if he wasn't confident about the odds of winning. Like, I've written that. When he's not confident about fighting, he's confident in his ability to run like hell. But maybe he was confident about being able to kill the Sadness!)

Basically like. Pre-incident Siffrin in terms of party levels/gameplay coming off more as a overpowered guest NPC escorting your party and doing their own thing and skirting Craft cooldowns (I can just imagine part of Odile's 'assassin' suspicion being no normal person learns to fight like this? what the hell) and then the Incident happens and it's like oh they're a regular party member now. Okay.

#siffrin #in stars and time #in stars and time spoilers

[jsprnt]

a date at the local spring fair seems to bloom your situationship into a relationship

trent alexander-arnold x reader

A/N: based on this request! Also been dyinggg to go to my local fair, so I immediately came up with this idea!! 🫶🫶 (does this photo of trent not make you weak in the knees?? 😭)

W/C: 1.804

your eyes dart to your phone screen again, reading the last text message your date sent you. he said he’d be there in a minute, so you shove your phone back into your jacket.

the fair isn’t very busy today, most likely due to it being a weekday. the weather had started picking up these past few days. gloomy, rainy winter days replaced with sunny, warm spring days.

you’d missed seeing the blue sky and the pretty, colorful flowers in the park. you had noticed most people were much happier and of course, just like the little lambs being born, symbolizing a new life- your own life seemed to also flicker to another chapter.

you and trent have known each other for a couple of months now. first meeting through a mutual friend at a small, intimate party on a rainy november night. you hadn’t thought much of it at first. of course- he was handsome, and that wasn’t something you could look away from.

you knew who he was, as a football player for one of the world’s best clubs- you’d assumed he would be too busy interacting with other people to notice you.

obviously, you also were too busy speaking to the people you did know. until- one of your mutual friends had introduced him to you.

unbeknownst to you, he’d been eyeing you across the room since he’d caught sight of the pretty smile you’d flash your friend when they said something funny. at first glance, he had almost choked on his unnecessarily expensive tequila, it burning horribly in the back of his throat.

he barely recovered from the shock before one of his best mates had dragged him across the venue, insisting he’d talk to you. only, because he thought ‘you two would be a great couple’.

you were caught off guard at first, but the looks your friends were sending you- had given you enough courage to speak to him without being flustered.

you two only hung out more after that night, accepting frequent invites to his games, and random visits to each other’s place, which only increased when trent got injured.

you look up at the shout of your name, turning around to see trent walk up to you. he’s dressed nicely as usual, comfy enough for all the rides and games you’d planned to play.

“hi!” you beam, greeted by his pearly white smile. his lips turned up when he makes eye contact with you.

“hey, you alright?” he asks, his scouser accent familiar as he gives you a warm hug. you bury your face in the crook of his neck for a moment, smelling his signature cologne.

“I’m fine, how ‘bout you and your knee?” you question, knowing that he didn’t have to wear a brace anymore.

“better, I can walk properly- at least..” he replies, the both of you starting to walk past the various games and food trucks.

it doesn’t take long before you’re both immersed into the money-grabbing games available. from popping balloons with darts to a donut-eating contest. which you won, that left you with powdered sugar all over the corners of your mouth. prompting trent to gently wipe the sugary product off with his thumb and a raised heartbeat he had difficulty controlling.

“let’s try that roller coaster over there..” you suggest, pointing up to the least intimidating one.

“you don’t want to go in the one that goes upside down?” he asks, pressing the bunny plushie you had won into his chest. you hold back a chuckle at the sight, shaking your head.

“nope, don’t trust going upside down on a rollercoaster that’s practically been pulled out of a suitcase..��� you state, lining up with him so you can get on the attraction.

he chuckles at your explanation, glancing at your impatient expression. thankfully, it’s your turn after a few minutes. you both strap in safely, making sure the bars are as tight as possible against your chest and stomach.

“aren’t you scared?” he asks, looking at your giddy expression. you shake your head almost immediately, making sure your pockets are zipped so your phone won’t fall out.

soon, the cart you’re in slowly starts rolling up. your breath hitches in excitement, wind starting to blow into your faces. you glance at trent, who’s sporting a less excited expression, so you shout in excitement when the cart drops and goes up multiple times. hoping your happiness will be infectious and cheer him up.

it works! the couple of looks you sneak, tell you he was pretty satisfied, cheering and shouting along with you.

you take a deep breath when the cart stops. the both of you slightly dizzy when you step out.

“you liked that one?” you ask, fixing your jacket as you both start walking away, walking past other attractions.

“i did! i was nervous for a moment, won’t lie..” he replies, scouser accent thick and laced with excitement.

“good, I’m glad you liked it- oh look!” you suddenly exclaim. pointing to the haunted house, fake skeletons, and more ‘scary’ props used to decorate the entrance.

“you want to go inside?” trent asks, raising a brow at you. he wasn’t aware that you were such an adrenaline junkie, or were you?

“yes, let’s go!” you urge, paying the entrance fee, and stepping inside. the bunny plushie now pressed into your side as you both start walking into the dark maze.

“i can’t see anything..” you murmur, eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. your arm grazes trent’s, which in turn makes your breath hitch. your temperature rises, despite the coldness of the room you’re in.

“me neither..” you hear trent mutter, he glances at you in the dark. your arms touching each other every now and then. the numerous fake spiderwebs and bone-chilling moving skulls making you freeze up often.

entering another room, you’re immediately greeted by a zombie. the special effects props and makeup, too good not to jump and scream.

“shit!” you exclaim, back pressing against trent’s chest when you take a step back.

“what the fuck!” you hear the scouser shout against your ear. it hurts for a moment, but you’re too focused on the zombie trying to get close to you to care about it.

you feel strong hands grab at your jacket. instinctively you know it’s trent, so you keep scuffling forward. trying your best to ignore the groaning and gurgling sounds coming from the too-talented actor.

walking through the empty hall, you look at him, his grip on your jacket loosening.

“you’re such a coward..” you accuse, laughing when remembering how he shouted in fear.

“you’re the one who yelled first..” he retorts, and you can make out a smirk on his face.

“here, take my hand.” he offers, holding his hand out. which you can only see because of the green lights strung along the dusty hallway.

your heart skips a beat or two, stopping you in your tracks. you feel your face heat up, and you’re glad he can’t fully make out your dumbfounded expression in the dark. you quickly shove away that lovesick feeling, trying to compose yourself.

“that’s a really weird way to propose, but okay..” you tease, your fingers intertwining with trent’s. knowing you’d probably made him more dazzled than he made you flustered.

“wait, no- i meant-" he stutters, mind going totally foggy as he forgets how to form a proper sentence in his state. you hold back a smile, knowing his brain was probably running kilometers an hour.

“wait, did you say you’d marry me?” he suddenly questions, face contouring into confusion and a dumbstruck expression.

“uh, no?” you feign your upmost innocence, thumb grazing his knuckles. a sweet, comforting touch, but it only makes the short circuit in his brain worse.

you smirk to yourself, carefully dragging him along. mindful of his injury as your hearts beat in unison, like electric sparks flying off the pads of your fingers.

the hold on each other’s hands only gets tighter, until the last jumpscare. this time, your entire front is pressed against his back, it scaring you a bit too much. you thought the cackling clown was the end of the attraction.

you catch your breath when you finally step outside, trent’s hand on your back. soothing rubs helping you calm down faster.

“why- why would they think using a knife prop was a good idea?” you pant, questioning if the ten-pound entrance fee was worth it.

trent squeezes into your hand, reassuring you with his touch. “you’re good, it’s all fake- remember?” he rationalizes your thoughts, slowly pulling you away to the food trucks.

he sits you down on a small wooden bench and table, eyes roaming on your face to check up on you.

“are you alright?” he asks, face inching closer to yours. his breath hitting your lips.

“I’m fine, really..” you reassure, squeezing into the plushy for comfort.

“let’s have something to eat, then we’ll get on the ferris wheel. is that okay?” he asks, voice patient and sweet. the kindness in his expression and words cheers you up a bit. so, you smile, nodding in agreement.

“i’ve heard that they have really nice tacos. want to try?” he suggests, glancing up at the food truck in question.

“sure, let’s try them.” you answer, he nods walking away to order and collect your food. he comes back fairly quickly, placing the delicious and warm tacos on the table. not to forget, the extra cups of guacamole, lime and sour cream.

“eat up before they get cold..” he says, the both of you digging into your food and drink of choice. a comfortable silence ensues, with soft hums and small comments made in delight.

“i love fair food..” you hum, taking the last few sips of your drink. trent nods in agreement, leaning over to wipe some of the sour cream off your lip.

you pause your movements at the action, eyes darting to his brown ones. his touch is delicate and careful, and he folds the napkin after pulling away.

“there, all clean..” he mutters, cleaning the table off and coming back from the recycling bin.

“do you want to go on the ferris wheel now? it’s getting dark, and the view will be nice..” he asks, unconsciously holding his hand out for you to hold.

you nod excitedly, clutching onto his warm hand as you both make your way to the ferris wheel. your bodies touching as you lean them against each other, waiting in line for the last attraction of the night.

it’s imminent that a sweet first kiss will be shared, right? a flicker to the next chapter of your life. the city lights witnessing a love blooming like a patch of yellow daffodils in spring.

#trent alexander arnold #trent alexander arnold x reader #trent alexander imagines #trent alexander x you #trent x reader #liverpoolfc #football fanfic #football imagines #football #footballer x reader #liverpool fanfic #liverpoolimagines #taa #alexander arnold #football blurb #football imagine

[avocadoguru]

He was staring at her in a way no one had in her entire life. She couldn’t read anything in his eyes - not surprise, not fear, not malicious intent - nothing. (wolfrry, werewolf!harry, alpha!harry, ranger!y/n)

Lupus Noctis- Masterlist, Author’s Note & Warnings

Chapter 11 / alternatively, read on wattpad

Chapter 12 (word count: 9k) -updated September 6

“So… did you figure it out, yet?”

Harry didn’t even have time to find it funny, “Why wouldn’t you have said anything to me? This is… What do I do? Does she know? She wouldn’t know yet, would she? I don’t think she knows… Niall, I don’t know how to handle something like this!”

Harry’s emotions were high. And for good reason. What he’d just seen had him shaken. And it also meant that she’d been turned against her will by a psychopath. He was glad he’d murdered James but this would always be a reminder of what had happened and who had done it.

He had been curious about a few little things. The first was obviously the speed at which she’d recovered and then there was her sudden spunk. Her heightened sense of smell was peculiar when she picked out that he was to be making eggs benedict, which should have tipped him off right away. How had she guessed? The sauce wasn’t something that most humans could pick out from a small leak in a jar in a bag full of other more fragrant groceries. 

“What happened that made you realize?”

“I saw her eyes turn golden. Just wish you’d said something.”

Niall had a hunch about her sudden natural reparative abilities, but he couldn’t be 100% sure at the time.“Harry, you have to understand, man. I didn’t say anything because it was either I was wrong or I was right and you’d figure it out anyway. It was better not to say anything if by chance she was just recovering in a way that doesn’t normally happen in humans. Sometimes things do happen that don’t make sense medically. I figured it was better to just wait and see.”

Harry paced, all the way to the furthermost corner of his expansive garden, outside of Y/N’s earshot. His towel tied tight around his waist as he ran his hands through his damp hair, “You could have at least given me a heads up. What do I do?”

Niall breathed out a laugh, “How should I know? I’m a medical doctor! I’m not cut out for emotional therapy. I’ve never dealt with anything like this. But you’ll figure it out.”

“I know. I just… how do I tell her?”

“Harry, again, I don’t know. We’re talking about a human that has been turned and I’m not familiar with all of this. It’s very unconventional. This kind of thing only happens in extremely rare cases and never in my life have I met a human that’s been turned. I’ve heard about it, just never known someone that it happened to. How has she been acting? What caused her eyes to change?”

Harry cleared his throat and looked up at his house, remembering to keep his voice down, “She’s been… very ready to do stuff. Awake. Wants to go for a swim. Is hungry. Um… a little bit bossy with me even.”

Niall hummed into the receiver, “Bossy… and what happened to have her eyes change?”

Harry could almost hear the cheek in his voice, “She was… I think maybe just excited. She’s been in a really good mood since I came back with groceries a bit ago.”

“Right… a good mood. Well, it’s doctor’s orders to take it easy on her. She might be… well… able to tolerate more, but… she’s still recovering. And so are you.”

A scoff fell from Harry’s lips, “Fine. No advice for me then?”

“Sorry, man. Never dealt with anything like this before. As you know, it’s exceptional that anyone would survive being bitten and getting turned. I just think that’s remarkable… The way you’ve been adamant she’s your mate, all this time. She really is your mate. Only your true mate could’ve survived turning for you.”

*

Y/N was onto Harry. She knew that he wasn’t running out to his car just to get something. Sure he ran out the front door but the way he reacted to her standing so close to him was a little out of character. Perhaps, she decided, that he was trying to “behave” and not push her into anything intimate. That made sense. She was still recovering from what she was told were deadly injuries. But that in itself was a mystery to her. She felt fine for the most part. 

She’d unpacked the groceries and left out the ingredients to make the eggs benedict when Harry was in the shower. But getting interrupted by the way he had groaned and then, the thing that had started to become a big question at the front of her mind, was his scent. It was his natural musk but she could smell him from all the way downstairs in the kitchen while he was in the shower. It was his groan, however, that had her feet carrying her upstairs to check on him. Just to see. 

She didn’t know why he’d suddenly become so timid with her. Why he was shying away from her. It was subtle but she noticed it. 

When he came back inside, dawning only the towel he tucked around his waist he slowed his movements as he saw her standing there with a knowing look on her face.

“What happened?”

Harry tilted his chin up to feign more confidence than he was feeling in her presence suddenly. It was as if he was looking at her with new eyes. She was like him now and her senses would pick apart the subtlest changes, “I thought I’d left the butter in the car. Wouldn’t have wanted it to melt.”

Y/N narrowed her eyes at him as he walked past her into the kitchen, “But you didn’t go to your car.”

Harry clenched his jaw and stopped in his tracks. It was going to be difficult to pretend he didn’t know what was going on but he wanted to wait a little longer before telling her in hopes of her figuring it out herself. Or, in any case, he needed to figure out a way to ease her into this. He didn’t want her to freak out, or be by herself when she did figure it out. But he needed time to process it himself; all he knew was that he couldn’t just blurt it out to her out of nowhere. 

He hated to have to go right back to keeping secrets from her again, especially such a huge one, and especially something that affected her directly. By some miracle he didn’t lose her, she was still there with him by choice, he just couldn’t handle losing her for good if she took to the news badly. Which she had every right to… just as much as she’d had every right to be as upset with him as she’d been just a little while back. He thought back then that he’d lost her for good. And now he had to prepare himself for the possibility of having his heart broken all over again.

The way he handled this was crucial. A wrong move and he could fuck it all up forever. He needed to tread carefully.

He looked at her with squinted eyes, “How do you know I didn’t check the car?”

Y/N paused. She had been feeling like her senses were somehow heightened. Her hearing, her sense of smell… She pondered his question as he continued walking into the kitchen. Looking at his broad shoulders and his back had her wishing he hadn’t run off when he did. 

“It’s kind of weird, you know… I’ve been, like, experiencing these weird things. I can hear so clearly and my sense of smell is…” she thought back to the panties she found but decided to keep that bit of information until the time was right, for later, “and I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s all in my head? I feel like maybe I should call Niall…”

Harry watched her carefully as she mulled over everything and he pulled out two eggs from the carton before she continued, “So when I couldn’t hear the car door, I guess I just assumed…” She scoffed, hearing herself out loud. She sounded like a nutcase. Of course she wouldn’t be able to hear the car door all the way from upstairs. “Sorry. I’m being weird. But… right now I’m actually starving so if that butter made it alive let’s eat.”

Harry had Y/N heat the hollandaise while he prepared the rest of the ingredients. But she was clearly still mulling over their interaction upstairs. He noticed her eyes dragging down his bare chest and stopping at his crotch repeatedly. And he could tell she was not only hungry for food but she also had a bit of an appetite for something carnal as well. 

He cleared his throat when he turned to find her leaning on the island and watching him, “Gonna burn the sauce.”

Her grin was playful and Harry felt his blood heat up as she spoke, “Turned it off already. The lid will keep it warm.” She didn’t remove her gaze from him. She was making it very clear what she wanted and he wondered if she was aware of what she was doing or not. 

As much as he’d have loved to have bent her over the kitchen island and take care of his girl the way she needed he couldn’t allow that. Not until they at least had a real conversation. About what she’d seen. About how she was feeling. 

When she began to walk toward him she realized it was like something was just drawing her to him. She wanted to… what did she want? Breakfast was nearly ready and she was very hungry, and yeah, she wanted to eat but what she really wanted was to bite him. Just to nip his shoulder or his neck. His pecs. She didn’t know why her urge was so strong but the moment she was close enough to touch him Harry stood up straight and he looked away from her sultry gaze, “Uh, I’m just gonna go and get dressed and then we’ll eat.”

Breakfast was tasty. It was nourishing and filled her belly, mostly. She felt like she could eat more but Harry’s scent and his hands and his lips were distracting. And the way he kept keeping her at arm’s length had her feeling even more insatiable for him. She knew he was doing it because he was worried about hurting her but she was going to explode if he didn’t do something. 

Turning to face his pretty girl he nearly gave in right then and there, seeing the ravenous look in her eyes. He could practically read her mind, that’s how loud she was thinking those dirty thoughts. And he wanted to give in, he wanted to kiss her, hold her, feel her body against his. Taste her… He shook his head as he got off the stool and pulled himself away reluctantly, grabbing their dirty dishes.“Let’s go for a swim. Like you wanted. I think I know a great place. Secluded. Not in the preserve.” Harry rinsed the dishes as he spoke. He could feel her eyes burning into his back but he needed to keep moving, keep his thoughts from wandering too far. Distract her if he could. He felt he could use a swim himself. Get out some of his pent-up emotions and energy.

“That sounds great, actually,” she grinned and lifted herself up to sit on the counter next to where he was washing the dishes, “I feel like I need to move and exert some energy. A little exercise would be good I think. A swim.”

*

The drive to the new spot wasn’t as quick as it would have been if they’d driven to the preserve and parked and hiked up to their special hidden oasis. But they both knew they couldn’t go back there. Maybe ever. Y/N stopped herself from initiating conversation the whole drive there, and she could tell Harry was holding back, too. She just wasn’t quite ready to address all of that; she at least wanted to go for this swim first. That would hopefully make her feel a bit better. She felt absolutely fine apart from the fact she felt she didn’t fit into her own skin. She was aching to move, burn some energy off, and she suspected it was due to the fact that she was sexually frustrated.

Y/N decided to google her symptoms to pass the time quicker on their drive to this new, secluded place Harry had suggested. She was not quite understanding the way she was able to smell everything so clearly. She typed in sudden heightened sense of smell into the search bar. Scrolling through the various results and webmd articles she landed on something that might explain the strange phenomenon. 

Synesthesia could be the answer. It wasn’t uncommon for people that had gone through life-threatening injuries. She wasn’t 100% sure that was what was causing her to smell and hear things she would have never been able to before but at least it was some kind of answer. Something to ask Niall about when she did finally talk to him about all this.

Harry parked his car off the road and tucked away behind large pines and in the grass. It was miles from the preserve and in an area where the mountains were not protected or worked by the rangers. Some of it was privately owned land that hadn’t been touched in decades. 

“The swimming cove is a spot I used to come to when I had time to waste and wanted to venture away from the preserve.” Harry spoke as he grabbed her bag from her, putting it over his shoulder and began walking toward the fence that clearly meant the area was off limits. 

The overgrowth of vines and grass indicated that no one had been in these parts in a very long time. Which put Y/N at ease. She followed him, scaling the fence easily and trekking through the acreage close behind.

The upward hike was off trail and cumbersome but once they began making their way down into the valley from where they’d hiked Y/N saw the ridges of the mountain and a level area below with a ravine.

“Your sense of direction is astonishing,” she commented as they carefully trekked down toward where they could hear the water flowing, “But I guess that makes sense, doesn’t it? You’re a…” she stopped just before she could say the word. She still had to get used to that idea. That he was a werewolf. Part human, part beast. 

Harry turned to look at her, stopping his pace suddenly as he raised his brows at her, “A werewolf? Is that what you were going to say?”

Nodding her head she shrugged, “Yeah. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to be called that. Or… I don’t know. Is it okay to say it?”

The gentle smile that took over his features told her it was, though he didn’t respond to her question with words. 

Looking down to the sandy portion of the ravine Harry pointed, “Just there. It’s beautiful once you see it from the ground. Come on.”

Y/N was wearing her hiking boots while Harry was in his signature chelsea boots, making the descent to the cove look like child’s play. She was now hyper aware of why he was so good at hiking and trekking and staying steady even in such posh shoes. Everything that had suddenly come to light about what he really was had answered so many questions for her. 

But the moment they were standing in the wet sand before the cove where the ravine led, all her thoughts about what Harry was had vanished. Another breathtaking spot with not a single human soul to be seen.

Harry placed their bags on the rocks to keep them dry and began to take his boots off as he watched Y/N curiously. He had been careful not to allow her to over exert herself but she was easily keeping up with him and she seemed fine. She was fine. Her heartbeat was steady and strong, her body had barely broken out in a sweat and she had a wide smile on her face as she looked around.

“Harry, this is… it’s perfect!” She was eager to move her limbs in the cool water. Feel the weightlessness take over and play around with Harry.

She looked over at him as he was undressing, taking his clothes off, his boots already on the rocks next to the bags. So she followed suit. Taking her own boots off and peeling her pants down her legs. 

Harry was already jumping into the water by the time Y/N had stuffed her shirt onto the pile of clothes. Looking down over her body she did see the awful scar. The wound was healed but the remnants of what had happened was obvious. She hesitated to remove her bra as she brushed a hand over the raised skin.

“Everything okay?” Harry called to her. She looked out toward him, handsome with wet hair as he came in closer to her. 

“Yeah. Just… saw this and…” she ran her fingers from the top of her clavicle downward over the scar to under her breast, “I guess I feel lucky to even be alive. Here with you.”

She kept her eyes on his as she unhooked the back of her bra and removed it. 

Harry watched her as she bent down and took her panties off. He was already hard just seeing her bare body but the scar across her chest kept him in check. She was still recovering. Still figuring out what was going on. 

The somber moment was suddenly over the minute she jumped into the water next to Harry and began to laugh. The water was frigid but it felt fantastic. Normally she would feel discomfort but right now her body was adjusting to it just fine, feeling invigorated and alive.

Stretching her limbs in the water she ducked her head under to swim closer to Harry and grasped his wrist.

Harry pulled her up and she tugged his arm around herself. Both grinning ear to ear with the closeness. He was just glad she was feeling playful. That she wasn’t upset or hurt by what had happened. At least in that moment she wasn’t. He knew she’d have lots of questions for him. Knew they needed to have a conversation but for now the light hearted moment was the only thing he could focus on. And her warm skin against his.

She was more than just playful though. She was horny and Harry knew it. Having her naked in the cool water of a private cove in the mountains was risky. Because he was turned on too. And he knew he was asking for trouble with this scenario. It evoked memories of their time together at the oasis in the preserve.

He could resist her for only so long. She was laying it on thick in his house during breakfast and now with his clothes off and his obvious erection it would be even harder to resist her. 

Harry pulled his arm away and began to swim backwards, gliding through the water smoothly, putting some distance between himself and the girl. 

“Where are you going?” She laughed and began to swim toward him slowly.

Harry shook his head and feigned innocence, “What do you mean? Just swimming is all,” he bit the inside of his cheek to tamper the playful grin on his face.

Instead of continuing after him she decided she’d lure him to her. She ducked under the water again, kicking her feet out and splashing as she maneuvered under the water before surfacing, bouncing out just enough that her breasts were visible to him. 

She watched him closely as she pushed herself back and stretched her arms to float at the surface. The tranquility of having her ears tucked under the water, muffling all the sounds that surrounded them, and floating in the mountain chilled water on her back was just like being back at her oasis. She smiled to herself and peeked an eye at Harry. To her delight, he was already watching her closely.

His eyes were clearly taking in her soft breasts with tightened nipples perking above the water. She wouldn’t tease him too much but she wanted his hands on her. Wanted his attention. Wanted him to give in to her. She knew what he was doing. Knew he was trying to keep his distance because she needed to heal. But that just made her want him more. His gentlemanly and thoughtful attempts to keep her healthy and the way he was doing it because he cared for her. Denying himself something she knew he wanted as a way of protecting her. 

Harry decided to peel his eyes from her body and float on his back too. He needed to straighten out his thoughts and get his mind out of the gutter. He closed his eyes and tried to train his dirty thoughts away. He knew his body was calling him to take care of his natural urges with his mate. And now that she was like him… she was very likely made exactly for him in every way. 

But he couldn’t just act on his desires. He didn’t want to hurt her and he was sure if they did have sex she’d display even more evidence of being like him and that could scare her. If she somehow dropped her fangs in the middle of her orgasm or her claws came out while he was pounding into her – yeah, his thoughts weren’t helping. All of that sounded absolutely delightful and he’d love to feel her fangs puncture into his skin, or have her claw up his back and chest. 

“Harry,” he heard her voice speak his name and he popped his eyes open, dropping the lower half of his body back into the water and letting his toes scrape along the rocky sand.

She saw the way his erection was bobbing just above the water every time his chest inhaled and he floated upward the tiniest bit. And then his eyes on hers were dark. She could almost hear his heart pounding in his chest, not unlike her own wildly pumping heart.

Something in her decided to cut the shit. She was feeling bold. Feeling like he wanted exactly what she wanted and as nice as it was to be cared for and protected by him she wanted him to fuck her. She wanted him to hold her in his arms and to give himself to her once and for all. 

“Stop this,” she spoke matter-of-factly as she swam around his body. “I can see clearly how affected you are by me.” 

Touching his shoulder she moved her finger down over his tattoos and to his pecs, thumbing at his nipple and watching his eyes, “I’m okay. Really. You don’t have to keep holding off and denying yourself, Harry.” She moved herself in front of him and draped her arms over his shoulders.

Without another thought, Harry’s hands moved down to her waist as he pulled her in closer to him, “I want you healthy is all. And I think we have a lot to talk about.”

Nodding her head she agreed. That was true. They needed to talk. But something inside of her needed something physical. She needed it to uncloud her brain and give her some kind of clarity. She couldn’t explain it, she just knew she needed it. More than a talk. As important as that was, she was sure she wouldn’t ever be able to focus on anything he told her if he didn’t fuck her first.

“Yes. We will talk. But I don’t know how to explain the way I feel in this moment, how much I need you.” She bit her lip and pushed her hips to his, his cock firm on her thigh, “It’s kind of painful actually.”

Harry could feel her warm against his prick as he looked down to see her breasts grazing against his chest. Painful? Yes, perhaps she was feeling that natural physical urge to release just like he was. That’s how it was for his kind, though he was used to it. Used to the pain of holding off and not allowing himself to indulge right away. She was not used to the way it felt. The ache that wasn’t just from being horny. It was something deep and raw. A biological and natural instinct his kind, their kind possessed. 

He knew the pain well. Knew it could be pushed down and she’d be okay. But she was new to all this. And even with the water around them he could smell how intensely she needed him. Needed him to soothe her. And he was the only one that could provide that for her too. He knew that even if she masturbated she wouldn’t be fully comforted. It would pacify her for a bit. Maybe an hour but she wouldn’t be fulfilled. She wasn’t going to feel better until he took care of her. But he needed to be careful. 

“I think you need to recover first, kitten.” Harry let the little nickname he’d given her so long ago slip out. Or maybe he’d done it on purpose. There was something about her that was feeding into his own urges. She was drawing them out of him with just her eyes. The change in her was so deep and it tangled with his own impulses and senses that he could barely think straight. He was more drawn to her than he’d ever been and he knew it was because of the change. Because she was like him now. His perfect match. 

“Harry,” she spoke softly as she kept her eyes on his, a hand moving over his warm chest, “I trust you. I know you would never hurt me and I can tell you need it too. You need me just as much.”

She could just sense his need. And it wasn’t just the fact that he had an erection. She knew it before all that. She felt it back at his house. Something between them had shifted and it was as if she could anticipate his needs without him having to tell her or show her.

His teeth ached to kiss her and to bite her. A carnal and spiritual feeling overwhelmed him. His willpower was incredible but there was only so much he could take. He was as weak as any man and her wolf was luring his out to play. Perhaps he could be gentle. She needed him. She needed him. 

He grasped the back of her head and his lips found her mouth. The kiss was hot and electric  and wild. She lifted a thigh up to his hip and he used his free hand to keep it in place, pasting their hips together.

The whimper that fell from his mouth had her grinning and feeling powerful. She grasped onto his shoulders and let the weightlessness of the water aid her in lifting her other leg to wrap around his hips. Harry groaned and brought his other hand down to keep her thighs held up in place.

Their naked bodies were in sync as he began to walk her out of the water and to the small spot where the sand met the craggy rocks. He’d take care of her. Make love to her gently and soothe her ache. Soothe his own ache. 

Their mouths never parted as he walked out of the water and carefully placed her down into the sand, his knees falling into the granules as he put himself between her thighs. With her legs open he could smell her in a way that was overwhelming. He groaned and licked into her mouth before parting from the kiss with a gasp.

The scar on her chest and over her neck had him filled with jealousy and hatred. He was glad he’d killed James for even placing a finger on his girl. His lips pressed over her scar just above her breast and she ran her fingers into his long hair as he pecked wet kisses along the skin that had been forever marred. 

“I’m going to make it better,” he whispered between kisses, “Make you feel whole again. Give you everything you need. Show you what it means to be mine…”

She closed her eyes and threw her head back as his mouth worked upward slowly and over the skin on her neck. His tongue laved softly and his lips grazed over the sensitive spots that were still healing. She had never felt such need before in her life. Sure she’d been horny before and had never been more turned on by anyone the way she was with Harry. But this was different. Something else was at play and she didn’t have the mind to dwell on it. She only knew that she needed him.

“Please…” she breathed out her plea as his warm mouth soothed her flesh and his nose nudged at her jaw.

“Hurts doesn’t it?” He continued kissing every inch of her scar as he pushed her back down into the sand, “I’m the only one that can make it better.”

She knew it was true. Whatever was happening in her could only be quieted by him.

Nodding her head she spread her legs further, hoping he’d put her out of her misery and fuck her into oblivion, “Harry, please…”

He looked down over her soft body and the scars, and felt emotions rise in his heart. He hated James even in his death, but he was beyond grateful that she was still his. That she was alive. He would worry later about the guilt and the real issue at hand. His own urges and her excruciating need were beckoning to be dealt with immediately. He could practically feel the ache in her body. Her tummy was emanating heat and he felt bad that she was in such pain. She wasn’t used to this level of arousal and need yet. She would learn to deal with it eventually but for now he would give her relief.

Her cry of pleasure was loud, echoing off the rocks of the cove that surrounded them as he placed his mouth on her throbbing pussy, already pulsing and clenching and dripping. 

The sting of her fingers pulling at his hair had him growling into her with delight. He could tell she was urging him in harder but he was going to resist doing anything hard or painful. That would come later. When he was certain she was ready for it. 

His tongue was wide and flat as he tugged it up and down her slick cunt. She was so wet he was certain he couldn’t possibly lick it all up and the flavor was just like before but now it tasted truly nourishing to him. He held her thighs apart gently as he dove into her like she was a meal. Licking and sucking at her bits. 

She writhed and moaned, her hips lifting off the sand and bucking into his face making him nearly lose his grip on her thighs. She was strong. He shouldn’t have been surprised but he was still getting used to the notion that she was like him now. 

“Fuck… yes…” she cooed loudly as his scalp was on fire from the way she was yanking his hair.

Harry didn’t lift his mouth to chuckle or respond and taunt her like he wanted. He needed to make her come so he kept his lips at work on her pussy.

When he began to kiss her clit and pull at it with the smallest nip she squealed and cried out his name as her thighs attempted to close around his head. He held her down but he didn’t want to hurt her so he moved his palms up to grip the underside of her knees to keep her legs pressed down.

She continued bucking as her muscles tensed and her moans grew louder. His nose and mouth and chin were shiny and sticky with her as he rubbed his nose into her clit and stuck his tongue into the opening and past her little muscle, the slick gushing noises the only  background sound to her gasps and soft pants.

Harry was feeling his own cock leak and throb. Just tasting her and knowing how good he was making her feel was putting him on edge. He swallowed down her arousal and took a gasp of breath before putting his face back into her cunt for more.

She’d never felt it like this before. Something far more intense was happening in her body and she didn’t know if it was because it was her first orgasm since she nearly died or just knowing that Harry was a werewolf and he was probably enjoying the taste of her in a way she never realized before. That all those times he’d told her how much he liked her scent and her taste, he wasn’t just saying it to make her feel good, he actually meant it. Or just knowing that he was a werewolf in general… probably all of the above. 

When her orgasm snapped over her body she tightened her grip on his hair he grunted into her pussy in pain, but it didn’t stop him from lapping at her and sucking her clit. She was shaking so hard and pulling at his hair so tight that he was having a hard time moving his mouth over her the way he wanted. Instead, she was moving his face over her soft crease and clit the way she wanted. 

Her cries were loud. It almost sounded as if someone was hurting her. Like she was wailing in pain and anguish. Harry understood that this was because of her intense need to release. Her first release as a werewolf by the hands of her lover. Her mate. He rolled his eyes into the back of his head in ecstasy of his own. He’d not come but he could. His own cock was neglected and hot and if he allowed it, he’d come all over himself and the sand below. But he wanted to come inside of her. He wanted to feel her around him and he knew she was going to want it. 

The part of him that wanted to wait and to talk first was already a distant memory left back in his kitchen. His instincts and his wolf had taken over at that moment.

He felt her release his hair as she sighed, wiggling underneath him.

Y/N grabbed at him, pulling him up and over her, “Want you inside me, right now. Do it while I’m still pulsing around nothing.”

Harry was beyond trying to fight this, eating her out had driven him over the edge. He was determined to give her everything she wanted and luckily for him, it was exactly what he wanted as well. The way she’d clawed at him to get him on top of her made him feral, he wondered if she was realizing the amount of force she’d just exerted in doing so, but he couldn’t dwell on it for too long, not when he looked down at her and she looked like she was going to howl with how much she wanted it. 

She yanked him against her lips and devoured his mouth, licking her arousal off of him and humming profusely, and in turn, Harry didn’t waste a single moment longer before sinking himself into her juicy cunt. The cry she let out was akin to an injured wolf’s and he knew he wasn’t hurting her, she was just giving in to her natural instincts now. That of letting him dominate her completely. 

He pulled back a bit to watch her and when she opened her eyes and her golden irises flashed at him he groaned loudly, allowing his own to take over. Her mouth fell agape and she reached to push his hair out of his face to take him all in better while he slowly but steadily fucked into her. “Harry… your eyes. They’re beautiful. You’re beautiful. You’re exactly who and what you should be, I’m so damn lucky,” she rolled her eyes to the back of her head in ecstasy and Harry thought his heart was going to burst at the amount of love he felt for her. 

He didn’t know how it was possible he now loved her even more than before, but being wanted and loved for exactly who he was turned out to be a lot more important to him than he’d thought it would be. He thought he could hide this side of him from her forever and be fine with it, and he’d have done it gladly to keep her. But having it all out into the open and her so accepting of it was something he’d never even allowed himself to hope for. 

Well, almost everything out into the open. And god, was she beautiful too. She’d always been, of course, but now that she was like him it did things to him he couldn’t even explain. And it looked so right, so natural. Like she was always meant to be a werewolf. He couldn’t wait to watch her discover everything and come into her own completely. He only wished she’d accept it and embrace it fully.

He was snapped out of his reverie when she nipped at his neck and that only made him drive into her more urgently. Noting it had stung a bit too much, his eyes landed on her mouth and he could see her pointy canines pinching her plump lower lip, a bit of blood coating it.

The sight made him almost come then and there, making him moan and slow his pace a bit to regain focus. As much as he wanted to drag it out and go at it for hours, he needed to milk another orgasm from her and hopefully satiate her craving for a bit, because this was rapidly escalating and getting out of hand. She was completely giving into her natural instincts; and if she noticed any of the signs she was presenting she’d freak out and that was not the way he wanted her to find out.

He flipped her over as though she weighed nothing, not having to hide his natural strength from her anymore and began pounding into her in earnest. He was close, so close, and he knew she was too with how she moaned and whimpered and called out his name repeatedly. But he didn’t want to knot into her just yet, he first needed to explain that to her, plus this wasn’t really the setting for it, he wanted to be able to cuddle with her like that in his expensive bedding back at home, not on this rocky terrain that was sure to leave some bruises on her as it was. He knew she could take it now, he’d of course never have allowed it had she still been just human, but even so, she was recovering, and he didn’t want her feeling any discomfort. 

“Please come inside me, Harry. I don’t care. I need it... I can’t explain how much–fuck, how much I need it.”

She needn’t have worried, she wasn’t in heat (yet), so it wasn’t risky like that, but of course she’d worry about getting pregnant. Yet another reason why he needed to find a way to tell her, to avoid all the unnecessary worry on her part. For now, though, he was going to enjoy spilling into her warm cunt, because he needed it just as much. His eyes caught glimpse of her hands she’d rested her smushed cheek against, and her sharp nails were on display. Her much sharper nails. He couldn’t wait for her to claw at his back using them soon, but right now he needed to make sure she didn’t notice them. He grabbed her by her elbows and pulled her back against him, holding her hands behind her back with one arm and snaking the other to her front, finding her clit as he kept thrusting into her from this new angle.

She was already on edge and it only took her a few moments to reach her peak, crying out and letting her head fall back against his shoulder. The sight of the mark on her neck that she probably didn’t even notice wasn’t lost on him though, that was something that would always taunt him, knowing it was someone else’s bite that marked her. But he could claim it as his now, because she was, she was his. It was his cock she was pulsing around, his arms she was falling back into, his name she was whimpering- and so he allowed himself to bite over her mark as he finally gave in to his most primal urge- that of claiming her completely, while he let go and finally filled her up to the brim.

She didn’t even feel the sting of it, she was that far gone; if anything, it was pleasurable for her- as it should be. And for Harry? It was the hardest he’d ever come in his life. His fangs deep into her delicate neck and his cock even deeper into her perfect pussy, she was made just for him, and now she was his in every sense of the word.

With breaths heaving and soft gasps, Harry kept her tight against his chest. He wanted to tell her everything. Wanted so much for her to know what he was thinking. What had just happened to her. What she could expect and that it would only get better and better. If she thought that was intense…

And it was. She didn’t know how to describe the ecstasy, the relief… But it was more than just physical. Everything in and around her felt lighter and more lovely. She was happier than she’d ever been, she felt. She had a sudden urge to run and play; something she hadn’t felt in many years. It was as if being with Harry, everything just made more sense.

With a laugh she wiggled out of his arms and ran back into the water, diving in and swimming out toward the middle, only emerging with a sharp inhale for breath when her lungs needed air.

Harry couldn’t help but look at her in awe. His heart throbbed in his chest with love for her. 

“Come on! Get back in!” Y/N shouted and began to glide through the water.

Shaking his head with a laugh he walked back into the icy water and then dove under to meet her in the center of the small cove. 

She kept her eyes on the water, waiting for him to emerge but she felt his hand on her ankle before she saw him. With a yelp, she laughed and ducked under to pull at him.

Harry wrapped his arms around her body and pushed them both upward to the surface together. The lighthearted moment suddenly halted as they kept their gazes locked. Y/N moved her arms over his shoulders and drew her face in close to his, brushing their noses together, “I’m so glad I’m here with you. I’m glad I’m alive. I’m glad you’re alive. I don’t know what I would have done. I thought I lost you and that’s the last thing I remember before…” she paused, feeling herself get emotional she swallowed her tears, “It just feels like… destiny to be here with you.”

He could feel and hear her heart beating in her chest and he knew she could feel his do the same. It was as if his whole life had all been leading him to this moment. He knew that this woman was his mate. He’d always known it. Maybe ever since the first night he laid eyes on her in the woods all that time ago. Despite the fact that she had a gun pointed at him, there was just something about her. Something that he knew was different. He belonged to her before he ever met her. 

“I’m so glad you’re here too. That we’re here together,” he looked down at her beautiful face as he continued, “I was ready to kill everyone when I thought you weren’t going to make it. Niall said there was no hope. That it was… too late for you,” he inhaled a shaky breath remembering the state she was in just days ago.

“Tell me about what happened. Everything I don’t know about, before, and after the fight. I want to know what happened.”

Harry began to describe the day he was taken and how he’d been outnumbered. He told her why it’d come down to that, about James’ and Irina’s involvement, the way the elders didn’t listen to him having already made up their minds and weren’t going to give him a fair trial.

But with Y/N’s quick thinking and by her reaching out to Niall a chain of events was set off that actually helped matters. 

“Lester is a pack leader too, as you know now. The Pack of the Western Plains. He has connections all over. He’s very well respected. So, with his resources he made it so that there was a trial at the very least.”

“And Eddie too? He was there.” She said, remembering the events of that day. 

“Yes. He was finally able to shift back into his human form. Because of you,” Harry brought a hand up to her face and gently brushed his knuckles over her temple.“I expected that no matter how the trial ended there would be a fight to the death. And I was certain that no matter how many drugs they’d given me or that they’d left me without food and water that I would be able to do away with James rather easily. But I was weakened. Significantly. It’s the only reason he even had the chances he did. It’s why he got in a few good tears. Had I been in my normal shifted state he would have never been able to penetrate my skin and I would have killed him within the first thirty seconds. And he knew that. So did everyone else.”

“They all let you fight like that? Did your pack not respect you as their alpha?”

Harry sighed and nodded, “They never respected me. They were always very rigid in their beliefs. They preferred the old ways of doing things. Most packs nowadays are more open and lenient. There are still strict rules we have to follow but tolerance is practiced these days. Not my pack… my old pack.” 

“Are you worried they’ll come back and try to hurt you?” 

Putting his arms around her low back protectively he pressed his forehead to hers, “I am. I’m worried they’ll try to hurt you too.”

“Even though you’ve given up the pack? And you won the fight?”

“Yes. I wouldn’t put it past them. I’ll do anything I can to protect you,” Harry paused and leaned back to look at Y/N again, “Which is why I think it would be good for us to visit Lester and Alma at the farm for a while. Get away from here for a bit. Just until we can get our bearings and heal.”

The smile on her face gave Harry relief. He wasn’t sure she’d be up for it, but she’d been surprising him since she woke up from her coma. 

“That sounds like a really good idea. I’d love to spend more time with Eddie too.”

His heart continued to lob in his chest wildly. She was more than perfect for him in every way. He couldn’t contain his joy to have her in his arms, “He’d love that. Edward is very fond of you. And he was there, at Niall’s practice. With all of us while you were in that bed. He was devastated.”

Y/N nodded and felt awful about putting anyone through such distress. She knew it wasn’t her fault but she could imagine what it would have been like to watch a friend or lover unconscious in bed and not know if they’d come out of it or not.

“... And you? How did you deal with me being in that bed?”

Harry shook his head and let his eye contact falter for a moment as he thought back to how completely ruined he felt, “Felt like I would die if you didn’t make it. Like I couldn’t breathe or eat. I talked to you all day. Kept myself close by your side and encouraged you to wake up. Made sure you were comfortable in the bed even though I knew you couldn’t really feel anything. I didn’t know what to do. Niall kept telling me it was impossible–” Harry inhaled a sharp breath and tried to calm his emotions but his eyes began to fill with tears with just the memory of how utterly hopeless everything felt. 

“Hey,” Y/N moved her hands to cup Harry’s face, “I’m right here. And I’m very much alive. We both are. I’m not going anywhere. You saved me.” 

Swallowing his tears he blinked and forced the smallest smile, “And you saved me. If it weren’t for you I would be dead right now.”

Y/N leaned in to kiss the gorgeous werewolf. She couldn’t believe she’d gotten so lucky to have him in her life. That he wanted her. She only felt more connected, in tune with him. It was as if the accident had altered something in her soul. She was changed. She figured it was love.

Harry pinched her hip softly and pulled away from the kiss. He couldn’t help it. He needed to be honest with her. He’d told her his truth when she was asleep but now that she was wide awake and in his arms he knew he had to say it that very moment or he’d suffocate, “I love you, Y/N.”

Her lips parted at his admission and she was suddenly aware of her body against his and the way his heart was rapidly throbbing in his chest at the same pace as her own. She felt as if she’d heard him say it to her before. That this wasn’t the first time. 

She gripped his biceps tight and felt herself shiver at the intensity of his bright green eyes. He loved her. He truly did and she felt it deep in her spirit. Without a doubt, he loved her.

“Harry, I love you too. So much,” she gasped as he squeezed her tight to his chest and felt him purring against her own. The comfort that brought to her was consuming. She sighed and held him tight, her cheek smushed into his shoulder.

Everything around them was dizzy and soft. She was safe in his arms. She was safe with her lover. 

When he pulled back a bit and let his head fall back, inhaling sharply and then howling loudly, Y/N gasped in excitement and couldn’t hold back her tears of joy. She smiled widely looking at Harry in his element, expressing happiness freely and it made her own heart flutter. He looked back at her, his wide smile matching her own, the echo of his wolfish howl still resounding in the cove, and she’d never seen him look happier. 

She’d done that. Just by loving him. 

The sudden vibrating in her own chest startled her. She looked up at Harry whose eyes were wide as he looked down at her. 

“Harry– what…?” She looked down at her bare body, putting a small bit of distance between herself and Harry. The vibrating stopped suddenly as she put a hand up to her chest and looked into the crystal water surrounding them and reflecting the sky above and both their faces. 

But then she stilled completely, the ripples on the surface cleared away and she focused on the features of her face, being mostly drawn to the bright golden irises staring back at her in the reflection of the water.

In stunned silence she looked up at Harry before looking back into the water again.

He knew it was only a matter of time. He just hadn’t expected it to happen like this.

A/N: (@fkinavocado and @gurugirl here) The long awaited update is here! Thank you for sticking with us! 

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[drchucktingle]

mr. dr. chuck, i'm a few months ago i told a doc of mine that i believe i'm on the spectrum (after yeeeears of considering all the reasons why i thought so) and she agreed with me. then i came to some conclusions about members of my family. then i started melting down and haven't really recovered.

i'm in my 30's, but my life feels like it's been the mistake-addled 24th year for over a decade. people, choices, wants, they feel like things that were silly blips and not of much substance. i'm tired and my body hurts, so it feels harder to get to things i need. doctors don't seem like they can be trusted because of all the other ways i show up in the world.

i'm worried about my life and my future, and it feels like my magic is gone (or that i can't touch it right now). do you have any words of wisdom for someone who found out this really big thing about themselves kind of late?

thank you.

hello buckaroo thank you for writing. first of all i will say MOST IMPORTANT thing to remember is that it is okay and valid to FEEL the way that you feel. your reaction to this news or any news really is not wrong. that does not mean you cant wish for another reaction or WORK TOWARDS another reaction, but in grand cosmic sense this is just your way. YOUR TROT IS VALID and we all have our own unique way. sometimes that path is an easy path with sunny days and smiles and a glorious view, and sometimes it is through the darkness of shadows or crawling through the old bog. we can PREFER one path over the other, but neither is WRONG.

when giving advice old chuck tries to not PROJECT what i think YOU should do because that is not really the point. this is your trot to trot and i do not think it is my place to act like some authority of your way. what chuck can do is tell you MY story of diagnosis and how it made ME feel and maybe you can take little pieces of that for yourself.

chuck learned of way on autism spectrum when i was in early twenties by doctor who said 'yes this is your way'. when i learned of my spectrum way my reaction was: wow this is very very cool i am so lucky because all of my heroes are autistic and now i am in this RADICAL CLUB. we are special and unique and DANG what a treat wish i could have a membership card in my wallet to show all my buds.

now obviously this is not everyones reaction, but as starting off point i wonder what it would have meant to my future if the news would have HIT ME IN A BAD WAY. if i would have felt let a dang robot alien who didnt belong. maybe id be swimmin through the bog ever since.

thing is I LIKE ROBOT ALIENS they are very cool. doctor did not MAKE me different, i was different already, our talks just popped a nice little name on it for me to take or leave. i took the name proudly because DATA from stars trek (certified robot alien) is exactly how i already felt and dang what a cool character and dang what a great life. so was DAVID BYRNE. so was every cool buckaroo artist that i liked. cowboys are OUTSIDER HEROES and that is how my autism makes me feel.

so like i said, i do not know about YOUR way, but MY WAY of hearing this news was heaps of joy and excitement. i will also say that it is very DIFFICULT to find this reaction later if your first leap is feeling in a sad way about it. so maybe if you want to trot back in your mind to those first few steps it would be helpful. maybe mentally trot to where you were pushed off a dang cliff and think "well was i pushed off a cliff or was i just told 'hey bud youve been floating this whole time?"'

because if youve been floating then DANG thats a lot of power. thats not falling. you can float up, you can float down, you can float side to side.

the next thing i will say AS AND ARTIST is that years of toiling and feeling aimless are NEVER actually aimless when it comes to creation. and to LIVE in a human body is to be an artist, because you are CONSTANTLY CREATING the future. when i am writing and i dont have an idea for my next book that can be frustrating, but it is also PART of the process. if i walk to the store to rustle up my mind, or wander around the park, or spend a whole WEEK feeling weird because of writers block THAT IS ALL PART OF MAKING GREAT ART. that is not wasted time. in other words, your years of toiling are not wasted time, that is just the process we all have when we are creating a future masterpiece.

#love is real #autistic #tingleverse