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serpentandlily · 8 months

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Wicked Games II

Dark!BatBoys x Reader (modern au!)

Summary: Desperate to pay off a debt, you decide to break into the penthouse of one of Prythian’s richest males, one rumored to make his money in a less than legal way. But after witnessing something you weren’t supposed to, you find yourself caught in a wicked game of cat and mouse with three of the most dangerous males in Prythian.

Warnings: smut (minors dni pls), dubcon, drugging, violence, dark themes (if you would like more in depth warnings before reading, feel free to message me!)

a/n: thank you guys for the love on part I! Hope you enjoy this one just as much <3

➻❥ Part I

༺♥༻

Part II

༺♥༻

As soon as the shock of seeing Rhysand in your tiny studio apartment wore off, you quickly grabbed your phone off the floor and started to dial 911. Before you could hit the last digit, a large hand yanked your wrist forward and snatched the phone right out of your own hand.

You gaped up at Rhysand as he cruelly smiled at you, snapping the phone into two pieces right in front of your face. He released the broken phone, letting it fall to the floor.

“I don’t think so, darling,” he purred.

You let out a yelp and turned for the door to make your escape but Rhysand grabbed you by the back of the neck and pulled you back into his hard chest. Your heart skipped a beat, panic now setting in. You were fucked. So fucked.

“Don’t even think about running, little mouse.” His breath ghosted the tip of your ear. “Do you remember my two friends?”

You said nothing, your body freezing subconsciously, as if it knew you were now in the hands of a predator. And a sick, twisted part of you liked it.

“I asked you a question,” he snarled, his hand that was holding you by the back of your neck moved until it wrapped around the front of your throat. He squeezed and you let out a whimper, finding it in you to nod finally.

“Good,” he said, easing up on the pressure. You choked some air in, gasping. “Well, they’re waiting out there for you. So run and you’ll find yourself in their hands, instead. And let me tell you something. I think you’ll find I’m a lot more merciful than they are, darling.”

He twisted you until faced your own apartment and then pushed you forward onto your bed. You crashed into the mattress face first, letting out a curse. You flipped yourself over to see him staring down at you, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised in amusement.

“I’ll scream,” you threatened, brushing the hair out of your face.

“Go ahead, darling. I don’t think anyone will care.”

You hated that he was right. No one would care. Not in this neighborhood. Screams, shouts, cries for help. Those all went ignored. You narrowed your eyes at him.

“What do you want?” Your voice was a near growl.

Rhysand raised a single eyebrow at your tone. “You break into my apartment, steal my money, and have the audacity to have an attitude with me? Oh, little mouse, you are more than I expected.”

“If you’re looking for your money back, it's no use. It’s gone already. And you won’t find any cash lying around here.”

Rhysand’s flickered around your pathetic apartment. “I’m not here for my money.”

“Then what do you want, asshole?”

Rhysand’s lips ticked upwards, a small challenge flashing in his eyes. “I want to know who you’re working for, little mouse.”

“I’m not working for anyone,” you scoffed and went to stand but Rhysand’s eyes darkened.

“Sit down,” he ordered, his tone lethal.

You swallowed nervously and sat back down, suddenly realizing the most dangerous male in Prythian was here, in your apartment.

“Tell me who sent you to my apartment. Tell me who you’re working for.”

You shook your head. “No one, I’m not working for anyone. No one sent me to your apartment. It wasn’t personal. I just needed to pay off a debt and I figured you’d hardly notice six grand missing from your stacks of money.”

“And who do you owe money to?”

You looked away from him, debating if you should tell him. Rhysand probably didn’t even know who Tamlin was. Tamlin was a small-time criminal, nothing like Rhysand.

“Tamlin,” you murmured.

Rhysands’s grin turned feral and you wondered if you had made a mistake in telling him that.

“What kind of debt do you owe Tamlin?”

Shit, maybe he did know who Tamlin was. “None of your business.”

Rhysand studied you. “Well, little mouse, it seems that you owe me a debt now.”

Your mouth went dry. “I-I thought you weren’t here for money.”

“I’m not,” he chimed, stroking his well-defined jaw. You tensed as his eyes roamed your figure from head to toe, his gaze darkening as he met your stare again. “It's you I’m here for, little mouse.”

“M-me?” you stuttered. “I don’t…what do you mean?”

Rhysand lurched forward, grabbing your chin in his hand to force you to keep looking up at him. You winced at the pain of his fingers digging into your skin and that only seemed to rile him up more, his pupils dilating.

“What I mean, darling,” he purred, “is that I own you now. You are mine.”

“What–What does that even mean?” You tried to pull out of his grasp but he only tightened his grip further until tears lined your eyes at the pain. “You can’t just own someone!”

“Oh I can and I do,” he smirked. “You’ll soon come to find there are many people in Prythian that I own.”

“I’ll go to the police,” you snapped. “I’ll tell them everything I saw at your apartment.”

“No, darling, you won’t.” A stray tear fell from the corner of your eye and you watched Rhys track it down with his unusual eyes. “Gods, you are so pretty when you cry. The second I saw you, I knew you had to be mine. I guess I can thank you for that, for putting yourself on my radar, little mouse.”

“I’m not yours. I don’t belong to anyone,” you argued. You tried to rip yourself from his grip again and this time, he let you. He stood back to his full height, straightening out the ends of his sleeves.

“Think what you want but you are mine now, darling. I own you, remember that,” Rhysand said and turned to make his way across your shitty apartment to the door. You huffed, pissed that he had dismissed you like that.

“I don’t know what you mean,” you yelled at him, standing and following him to the door. “Do you think you have some sort of blackmail on me? What are you going to do? Tell the police I stole some of your dirty cash?”

His hand twisted the door knob but he paused for a second, turning to stare at you over his shoulder. “I’ll be in touch, little mouse.”

Your lips pressed together in a flat line, angry that he wouldn’t answer.

He left out the door and you rushed forward, sticking your head out to watch him leave.

“How are you going to do that? You broke my phone, asshole!” you shouted at his back.

You heard him chuckle before he disappeared around the corner.

༺♥༻

“So let me get this straight,” Vivianne, your friend, shouted over the booming music of the club. She and Valerie were sitting in the private booth across from you. “You stole from the Rhysand.”

You nodded, sipping on your gin and tonic bitterly. You were still perturbed by your visit from Rhysand yesterday. Still had no idea what he wanted or what he had meant by anything he had said.

“And you managed to get away only for him to figure out where you live and show up at your apartment?”

You groaned, resting your head against the cushion behind you. “He broke into my apartment. He was already there when I got home from dealing with Tam.”

Both of them made a face at the name of your ex. “And all he did was break your phone, threaten you a bit, and then left? Do you…Do you realize how lucky you are to still be alive, y/n?!”

“Yes, I’m aware,” you replied with a sigh. “Turns out even Rhysand is more forgiving than my ex. How depressing is that?”

“Sorry to interrupt, ladies,” a waiter cut in, stopping at your table. You glanced up to see him holding a small tray in his hand, a cocktail sitting on it. “That gentleman over there sent this for you, miss.”

He was looking at you as he said that, setting the drink down in front of you. You looked over to where he had gestured to see a fairly handsome man staring back.

“Thank you,” you said to the waiter who took his leave.

Your two friends giggled. “Well, are you going to go talk to that gentleman?”

You snorted. There were no gentlemen in this club. He had bought that drink hoping to get in your pants. But it had been awhile since you had sex and the male was attractive. You shrugged, tossing back your old drink and picking up the new one.

“I think I am,” you said, standing.

Vivianne winked at you, knowing exactly what you planned on doing with that man. “We expect all the details tomorrow morning.”

“You know I never disappoint,” you purred, with a wink back, before saying good-bye to your friends and making your way over to the male at the bar.

༺♥༻

You groaned, rubbing your eyes, as you sat up in your bed. You blinked awake, struggling to reach for the glass of water on your nightstand. You went to reach for your phone to check the time before remembering that Rhysand had broken it. You cursed him and looked at the small alarm clock you had, realizing it was already one in the afternoon.

You had gotten home in the early hours of the morning after leaving that male’s apartment. The sex hadn’t even been that good. Definitely not worth this headache.

You made your way to your bathroom, going through the motions of showering and getting ready for the day. You had a shift tonight at the diner you worked for as a waitress.

You went to the kitchen, squinting your eyes at the sun’s light streaming through the window. You filled up your glass of water before fishing in one of the drawers for some advil. You tossed two back and turned towards the counter.

A scream escaped your lips and the glass you were holding slipped, crashing to the floor and splintering into a million pieces. You backed up until you hit the cupboards behind you, gasping with a hand over your mouth.

Sitting on your counter was the decapitated head of the male you had gone home with last night. His face was frozen in a scream, his eyes glazed over. Blood was still dripping from the hole where his neck once was, making a huge mess all over your counter. Pinned to his forehead was a note.

You inched forward and ripped it from the head with shaky hands.

To My Little Mouse,

I don’t like my belongings tampered with. Let another male touch you again and there will be hell to pay. And don’t bother calling the cops, darling. I think you’ve realized now that you are being watched. They won’t help you anyways.

Rhysand

Fuck. This…This had to be some joke. Some fucked up joke. The head probably wasn’t real. It was probably from one of the Halloween stores that had popped up last week, at the start of October. You glanced back at the head and vomited all over the floor. It was real. It was fucking real.

On the counter next to the head, but far away enough not to be sitting in the pile of blood that had accumulated, was a big black box with a red bow on top. When you finally composed yourself, you scooted out of the kitchen, trying your hardest not to look at the human head on the counter, and grabbed the box from the other side.

You brought the box into the living space, trying to get as far from the head as possible before you opened it. You tossed aside the black tissue paper inside to see a brand new iphone sitting on top of something folded. Another note was on top of the phone.

Sorry for breaking your phone, little mouse, but I’m sure you’ll like this one much better.

Rhysand

You frowned, setting the phone and letter to the side before pulling out the other thing in the box. It was a little black dress. You set it aside, confused.

You picked up the phone, pressing the side button to turn it on. It seemed the phone had already been set-up, going to the home screen instead. A picture of Rhysand was the wallpaper and you rolled your eyes at his arrogance.

Before you could even look through the apps and stuff, a text message came through from an unknown number.

Unknown: I see you’ve received my gift, little mouse. Hope you enjoyed the other one, as well. Consider it your first lesson.

You: What the fuck is wrong with you? I’m calling the police. Now.

Unknown: You won’t. We both know you won’t. And you wouldn’t want to make your punishment any worse than it already will be, darling.

You wanted to chuck the phone at the wall, to snap it in half. You were certain this was just another way for him to track you. But if he already had people watching you, did it matter? You groaned, looking down at the phone again to see another text.

Unknown: Did you see what else was in the box, little mouse?

You: A dress?

Unknown: Yes, that is what you will be wearing when I pick you up tomorrow at 9pm. I’ll be sending over two girls to help you get ready at 8:30pm. Be home or else.

You: I’m not going anywhere with you. And I certainly won’t be letting two random strangers into my apartment! FUCK OFF

Unknown: Such naughty words, little mouse. Maybe you want to be punished more. I will see you tomorrow night. Don’t worry about your other little gift. Someone will be by to take care of it when you leave for work.

How the hell did he know your work schedule? Gods, he wasn’t lying when he said he was having you watched. You were in deep waters now. Truly.

And you had no idea how you were going to get yourself out of it.

You clicked out of the messages and pulled up the dial pad, hitting 911. You held the phone up to your ear as it rang, both fear and anger rushing through you. Fuck him. You were calling the cops. You didn’t care if you would get in trouble for stealing from him. There was a fucking head of a dead male in your apartment.

“911, what is your emergency?”

“I need to report a murder,” you said quickly, whispering as if Rhysand was in the apartment with you. “There is a… head of a dead male in my apartment.”

“What is your location, ma’am?”

“1962 Alis Ct, Hewn City. Apartment number 333.”

There was a pause before the operator spoke again. “Okay, the cops are on their way. Stay on the phone with me until they arrive, okay?”

“Okay,” you said, the phone shaking in your hand.

“Do you know the identity of the male?”

“Yes and I know who killed him too,” you answered quickly.

“Okay, ma’am, I’m going to need you to speak slower. You said you know the person who killed him? Who? Can you give me a name?”

You squeezed your eyes shut, still shaking. “Yes, his name is Rhysand. He’s the owner—”

“Excuse me, ma’am. Did you say his name is Rhysand?”

“Yes! H-he’s stalking me! He showed up at my apartment two days ago and I know he’s the one who put the…head here.”

Another pause.

“Ma’am, do you know it's illegal to make prank calls to the police emergency line?”

“I–I…what?! I’m not…I’m not making a fucking prank call. There is a real, fucking head in my apartment! I have text messages. I can prove it was Rhysand!”

“Do you know what the penalty is for prank calling the police? Up to ten thousand dollars in fines and a year in prison. That is what you’re looking at. It is in your best interest to end this call now, ma’am. Or the cops that were on the way to your apartment can come arrest you instead. What will it be?”

“You–You’ve got to be kidding! This isn’t a fucking prank call! Please, I need the cops. I need help! There—”

“I’ll give you one more chance, ma’am. End the call now or be arrested.”

“Fuck!” You cursed before hitting the red button to end the call. You let out a scream of frustration. What the fuck? Why the fuck did she think you were lying? Or did Rhysand have more sway over this godforsaken city than you thought?

The phone dinged again, a message popping up on the screen.

Unknown: Naughty little mouse. I told you not to bother with the police.

This time you really did throw the phone across the room.

༺♥༻

You didn’t even have to let the two girls in at 6:30pm the next day. Apparently, Rhysand also had made keys to your apartment. You had nearly peed yourself in fright when the door to your apartment swung open. Two women sauntered in dressed in all black. They were beautiful with long dark hair and onyx eyes. Twins, it seemed.

They didn’t even say anything to you, didn’t answer any question you asked them. Instead one of them wrestled you to sit at your clean counter and began to unpack a whole traincase full of make-up and hair products.

The other one grabbed the black dress from the floor and hung it, smoothing out the winkles.

They proceeded to do your make-up, giving you a black smokey eye and a red lip to compliment it. They also curled your hair and then pushed the black dress in your hands, gesturing at you to change. You made your way into the bathroom, not wanting to get naked in front of them, and put the dress on.

It was strapless and clung to your body. It was fairly plain except for the bottom of the right side where the dress was cut in an arch and rhinestones dangled from the edge to fill in the spot. You had also been given matching earrings to wear along with a thin, silver bracelet. A pair of black heels had been included as well. All of it seemed expensive, you even recognized some of the luxury brand names. This outfit alone was probably worth more than your monthly rent here.

By the time you got dressed and made your way out of the bathroom, the two girls were gone and you were alone again in your apartment. A knock on your door had you jumping in place, your heart accelerating even more than it already was. You hesitantly walked over to the door and opened it.

You were surprised to see not Rhysand, but one of the other males that had been present that day you had snuck into his apartment. It was the beautiful one, with his elegant bone structure and hypnotizing cold, hazel eyes. He gave you a once over, a muscle ticking in his jaw, before he held out an arm towards you.

You stared at it.

“You are to come with me,” he said, his voice as dark as his presence. You remembered Rhysand’s remark about his friends and decided not to test the male.

A shiver ran down your spine and you placed your hand in the crevice of his elbow. He guided you out of your apartment like a true gentleman. You gulped, staring up at him as he led you down the stairs.

“Who are you?” You finally worked up the courage to ask. He glanced at you again, his eyes darkening as they drifted down your face.

“Azriel.”

Your heart nearly stopped. “A-Azriel? As in…the Shadow of Death?”

He said nothing else but his lips ticked up for a second, an answer in itself. You found yourself shaking the rest of the way down the stairs now knowing who you were walking with. Azriel. That name was known in the criminal world, though most people called him the Shadow of Death. Because wherever he was, death normally followed.

Of course, nothing could ever be proven, no evidence ever tied back to him. Which is why he was here with you and not in prison.

Waiting outside for you two was a black limo, all the windows tinted so you couldn’t see in. The door swung open as you approached and Rhysand was there, sticking out a hand to help you in.

He grinned as he looked you over. “You look just as I hoped you would.”

You gritted your teeth, sliding into the limo. Azriel followed behind you and the other male from that day was already seated inside. He gave you a small smirk, his eyes also unabashedly trailing over your body and face.

Rhysand pulled you to his side but you pushed him away with a hiss. “Where the fuck are you taking me, asshole?”

“Oh, the kitty cat has claws,” the taller and more muscular male chuckled. The other two laughed at his remark, causing your cheeks to turn hot with embarrassment.

“I told you she had a filthy mouth, Cassian,” Rhysand said, stroking your arm. You grimaced at his touch, pushing his hand away.

“Do you want to try asking that question again?” You gasped, not even noticing how close Azriel had slid in behind you. You could feel his hot breath against the back of your neck. You shivered again at his dark, sensual voice. Your hands clenched into fists.

“Where are you taking me?” you asked again, through gritted teeth.

“Where are you taking me, sir,” Azriel cut in. “Try again.”

You glanced at him over your shoulder with a glare but he only stared down at you with that icy expression. You turned to see Rhysand watching you with amusement.

“Where are you taking me, sir?” you spat.

“I needed an escort for tonight.” Rhysand shrugged.

“I’m not a prostitute,” you hissed.

“Of course not, darling,” Rhysand said with a flick of his hand. “You are my date.”

You couldn’t stop your cheeks from turning a bit pink at his words. Couldn’t stop the coiling in your stomach. You bit your lip, looking away from him and his stupid, hot, smug face.

Rhysand shot forward, plucking your bottom lip free from your teeth. You wanted to back away from him but Azriel was still behind you and you found yourself pushed against his hard chest, now squeezed between the two males.

“Don’t touch me,” you breathed out, your chest rising and falling rapidly.

“You won’t be saying that by the end of the night,” Rhysand purred. “I can promise you that.”

“You’re delusional if you think I’ll ever want any part of you,” you managed to choke out.

“I don’t think, darling, I know,” he replied, gripping your chin in his hand like he had the other day to force you to look up at him. “Besides, you are mine. I own you, little mouse. I will do whatever I want with you.”

“You’re sick,” you spat, trying to ignore the heat that just blazed through your skin at his words. You were just as sick as him for even being slightly turned on right now.

Rhysand sat back, tossing his arm over the back of the bench seat with a shrug. “I am. But so are you, little mouse.”

His violet gaze apparently saw right through you.

He reached forward and plucked a champagne bottle from the ice tray on the other side of the limo. He filled up a glass for himself before handing the bottle off to Cassian.

“You have a very important role tonight, little mouse,” he said, twirling his glass in his hand. “I expect you to play it well.”

“And what role am I supposed to be playing?”

“You are going to sit there and look pretty.” Rhysand turned to look at you again with a smirk. “Should be easy enough for you.”

“And how is that supposed to help with whatever the fuck you’re doing tonight?”

“Because, darling, you are going to be quite the distraction.”

You said nothing else during the car ride while the three males talked with each other. You were surprised by how they were acting, like they were truly best friends and not just partners. You had never seen anything like it. Tamlin had never been like that with his two guards.

The limo finally stopped and you realized you were at Velaris, the nightclub owned by Rhysand. You were also far away from your apartment, from your neighborhood in Hewn City. And this area was entirely different. Clean and filled with rich people.

“Come, little mouse,” Rhysand said, holding out a hand to you to help you from the limo. You took it, remembering that you’re supposed to be his date, and let him lead you into the club, right past the long line of people waiting to be let in.

It wasn’t the first time you had been here, so you were familiar enough with the place once you were inside. The music was blaring, lights so dimmed and different colors, creating a dark atmosphere.

You held his hand as he maneuvered your group through the crowd until you made it to the vip section. The guard standing at the roped off section let you guys through as soon as he saw Rhysand.

You were pulled into a far corner, into a private lounge area secluded from the rest.

The three men filled the booth and you stood awkwardly, wondering where the hell you’d fit.

Rhysand patted his lap with a feline grin. “Come here, darling.”

“You’re joking,” you muttered but he didn’t falter.

“He’s not, little mouse,” Cassian said. His voice was as masculine as his appearance was and you found yourself feeling slightly warm at the sound of it. “Better get comfortable. It’s going to be a long night.”

You sighed but obliged, perching yourself on Rhysand’s lap. Rhysand was quick to wrap an arm around you, his hand spreading out on your stomach as he pulled you back even more so you were resting against his chest.

Your legs dangled off the side of his thighs, making you face Cassian. The male ran a hand through his long hair, sending you a wink which you scoffed at, looking away. But your cheeks still turned pink and you were certain he noticed.

A table girl came by a second later, dropping off four drinks at the table, already apparently knowing their orders. Rhysand slid a clear one in front of you and the smell of vodka reached your nose.

He pulled something out of his pocket with his free hand. It was a little baggy filled with white powder. He tore it open with his teeth and poured half of it into the drink in front of you. It disappeared into the liquid.

“Drink that,” he ordered.

You snorted. “You literally just put who knows what into that and you really think I’m going to drink it?”

“You are,” he said smoothly, bringing his own drug-free drink up to his lips. His was whiskey, you figured out by the smell of it.

“Like I said,” you replied, crossing your arms. “You’re delusional and sick in the head.”

He ignored you, looking over your head at Azriel. Before you noticed the look they shared, Azriel fisted your hair and yanked your head back. You let out a cry of both surprise and pain.

Rhys took advantage of the moment, pouring the drugged drink into your mouth before you could react. He slammed your mouth shut with his hand and held it closed as you looked at him with wide, panicked eyes.

“Swallow,” he commanded. You shook your head, desperately trying to pry your mouth open but he was too strong. “Swallow it. Now.”

A bit of the minty tasting liquid slid down your throat and you choked on it, unintentionally letting the rest of it follow. Rhysand let go of your jaw and you gasped for air, glaring at him.

“What the fuck did you just give me?”

“Just something to help you relax, little mouse,” he purred. “Calm down. It’ll make you feel good, I promise.”

“You’re a fucking asshole,” you spat him. “If you rape me, I swear to the gods—”

Rhysand’s eyes darkened as he met your stare. “No one is going to rape you. I would never let that happen, little mouse.”

You wanted to spit something back at him but the genuine look on his face made you falter. You swallowed back your retort just as a slinky looking male walked over to the table. Rhysand’s persona flipped in an instant, that cocky, smooth look back on his face. You tuned out the men as they started to talk, focusing on the alcohol that was now spreading through you as well as whatever fucking drug Rhysand had put in it.

More people came up, only ever one by one. He was dealing with some sort of business thing but you didn’t bother listening. The more you knew, the more trouble you’d be in when this all eventually got shut down.

The table girl came back a few times, bringing new drinks. Rhysand had slid another drink in front of you, not putting anything in it this time. You decided to drink it. You were already drugged, what more could possibly happen? You had wanted to keep a sober, attentive mind tonight. But Rhysand clearly had other plans.

The alcohol hit its mark, or maybe it was the drug, because you finally relaxed into Rhysand’s hold, the feeling of warmth spreading throughout your body. He seemed to notice, grinning down at you, satisfied. You continued to sip on your drink while Rhysand did his business, perched on his lap just like he wanted.

His hands were all over you. Part of you wanted to protest, but a dark side of you liked how his hands felt on your body. His hand rubbed circles on your waist, his thumb rising up high enough to brush against the underside of your breast, occasionally causing you to suck in a breath. His other hand was resting on your thigh, petting your exposed skin.

There was a break in people coming to the table, the three males just talking amongst themselves. You leaned forward to grab your drink, taking another sip. A bit of liquid dribbled out of the corner of your mouth. You went to wipe it by Rhysand grabbed your hand before you could.

“Cassian, our little mouse is making a mess out of herself. Clean her up,” he ordered.

Your eyes went wide as you looked at the other male. He smirked, his own eyes flashing with both amusement and hunger. He leaned towards you, swiping your lip with his thumb before bringing up to his mouth and sucking the spilled alcohol off of it. His devilish grin had your pulse spiking. Fuck. Why were these males so attractive? It wasn’t fair.

You released the breath you were holding in as Rhysand let your arm drop. You looked up at him through your lashes. “I thought you didn’t want other males to touch me.”

Rhysand leaned down to whisper in your ear, “They are the only ones allowed to touch you. And I think you want them to, little mouse. They are like my brothers. We share everything.”

He pulled back winking at you and you looked away, your cheeks turning bright red as the image of you squished between the three men popped up in your head. Rhysand seemed to read your mind, chuckling as he took a sip from his glass.

Whatever drug he had given you was working now. You felt fire pulsing through your veins. Your skin was warm but you wanted to be touched. Rhysand went back to stroking you and you couldn’t stop yourself from arching into his touch. Not when it felt so good.

This feeling only grew and grew the longer you sat there in his lap. You shifted again, crossing your legs to try and ease the tension between them. Rhysand growled, his hands tightening their hold on you.

“Stop moving around so much,” he hissed into your ear. “Or I’ll take you right here in front of everyone. Unless, that is what you want, darling.”

Fuck yes, it was what you wanted right in this moment.

“No,” you huffed, feeling shame and embarrassment at how much his words had affected you. You squeezed your thighs together, blaming it on the drug he had given you. Asshole.

“Then be a good girl and sit still.”

Fuck, that only turned you on more. What the fuck was wrong with you? You were seriously fucked in the head. No. It was that fucking drug he had put in your drink. It had to be. Your skin felt so hot now, the ache inside of you impossible to ignore. What the hell did he give you?

His hands went back to touching you all over and you bit down on your lip, trying to ignore the feeling. It's like he was doing it on purpose. You glanced up at him to see him smirking to himself as the male in front of him talked. Scratch that. He was absolutely doing it on purpose.

Another hand brushed against your thigh under the table and your eyes widened, looking up at Cassian. He gave you a wolfish grin before his attention went back to the male across from them. You looked back up at Rhysand but he didn’t give any indication that he knew what Cassian was doing.

Cassian’s hand traveled further up your thigh and you held back a groan as his calloused fingers brushed against your soft skin. You debated pushing his hand off of you but it felt so good to be touched right now. You glanced at him again but he was still paying attention to the other male, even as his hand began moving again.

Fuck, you should stop this. But gods, your skin sang at Cassian’s touch. You felt heat pooling in your stomach, your core pulsed in need.

No, stop. It was the fucking drug. You didn’t want this. Did you?

This time you did try to push away Cassian’s hand, but Rhysand grabbed your hand instead, stopping you. So he did know Cassian was touching you. Your nails bit into his skin.

Cassian’s fingers traveled higher and higher, your core tightening along with it. Fuck. Your skin was impossibly hot now. You bit your lip harder, drawing a bit of blood as his fingers brushed against your underwear, tracing the lining against the junction of your thigh. Your nails were still digging into Rhys’s hand and you let out a small whimper, unable to stop yourself.

“Darling,” Rhys purred. “We’re trying to have a conversation. Be a good girl and keep quiet.”

You could understand the double meaning behind his words. He looked down at you with a wicked glint in his eyes. He let go of your hand as Cassian’s fingers brushed against your underwear again and you realized he was giving you a choice now. Push Cassian’s hand away. Or not.

You should. You really fucking should. But gods, you were on fire. Blazing hot with the feeling of their hands all over you. You glanced around. You were out of sight from the rest of the club but that other male was still here talking to Rhys.

You needed their touch. Your skin was singing for it, electricity sparking at every touch of Cassian’s fingers. You were craving it now, feeling hot and flushed. The pressure inside of you wouldn’t let up. You chewed on your lip, your hand fisted on your thigh. That was apparently the sign both of them were waiting for.

Cassian pushed your underwear to the side quickly before his fingers stroked against your core. This time the moan slipped free from your lips and you arched in Rhysand’s arms. Your face turned hot as the conversation stopped again at the noise.

Rhysand leaned back down to whisper in your ear so the others couldn’t hear. “Keep yourself composed or there will be trouble. You wouldn’t want that, would you, darling?”

How the fuck were you supposed to stay composed? Was this your fucking punishment for calling the cops? Did he purposely give you a drug that would make you so fucking horny, you wouldn’t be able to resist their touches in the middle of a club? Be forced to keep quiet and sit still?

Cassian’s fingers circled around your clit and a spark of electricity roared through your body. You bit your lip harder but couldn’t stop from wiggling a bit on Rhysand’s lap. He held you tightly, pulling you higher up on his lap until you could feel his hard length beneath you. You held back a gasp at the feeling, at the proof that he was just as turned on by this as you were.

You took a peek at the stranger across the table to see his eyes trained on you, full of lust. So this is the distraction Rhysand wanted you to create. You should be more embarrassed, put a stop to this. But Cassian’s fingers circled around your clit again and all reasonable thought left your mind.

“Don’t look at her,” Azriel growled at the male.

The male swallowed audibly and forced his eyes back on Rhysand.

This was so fucked up. So, so fucked up.

Cassian’s fingers quickened and so did your breathing. You were nearly tearing apart your own lip now, swallowing your moans as he caressed you. Fuck you needed more. More and more and more. Heat was pooling in your stomach, between your legs where his fingers were.

It was Azriel who leaned in to whisper to you this time, his hand traveling up your shoulders to the back of your neck to hold you there. “Don’t you dare come without our permission, sweetheart.”

His deep voice caused your heart to jump in your chest. You wanted to give into Cassian’s touches. Wanted to unravel right there. But Rhysand was still talking to the male who looked like he was almost sweating with the effort of not looking at you.

Your chest was rising and falling rapidly as Cassian’s fingers continued their assault. Fuck, you could hardly breath. Sweet, hot pleasure was sweeping away every thought.

You were beginning to tremble as Cassian continued to rub his fingers around your clit. Rhysand held onto you tighter and tighter, his hard length pressing into you from behind.

The embarrassment of having them do this to you, especially in public and in front of a stranger should be overriding everything else. But the pleasure kept you locked in place. You licked your lips, tasting blood. You knew you had split it open with your own teeth, trying to keep your cries in.

Cassian’s fingers moved down, to circle around your entrance and you almost bucked in Rhysand’s lap if it wasn’t for his tight hold on you. You squeezed your eyes shut, not wanting them to see how his touch made them roll to the back of your head.

You whimpered as he slid in one finger, slowly pulling it back out and thrusting it back in. This time you did moan. It was too much, the feeling was too much to keep yourself quiet.

Rhysand grabbed you by the jaw, forcing you to look up at him. “What did I tell you, little mouse?”

You opened your mouth but no words came out, not as Cassian pushed another finger into you. Another whimper escaped from your mouth and Rhysand’s eyes darkened. His thumb brushed against your bottom lip.

“Answer me. Now.”

With Rhysand’s grip on your chin, Azriel still holding you by the back of the neck and Cassian sliding his fingers in and out, quickening his pace as you flushed red with pleasure, you almost unraveled right then and there.

“Y-you said to keep q-quiet.” Gods, it was torture getting those words out without a bunch of moans coming with them. Cassian was still thrusting his fingers in and out of you, his thumb circling your clit. Fuck. You were close now, that warm feeling spreading all the way down to your toes.

You were panting now. You wanted more. So much more. Fuck.

“And you disobeyed me,” Rhysand purred. He still held you by your chin, now forcing you to look at the male across the way who was staring at you with desire. “So this is your fault, little mouse. Don’t forget that.”

You were confused but Azriel stood as quick as lightning, pulling his dagger free and stabbing the man across from you in the neck. Rhysand wrapped a hand around your mouth before you could scream. The man gurgled before slumping over. Dead.

Your eyes went wide, tears building up.

Cassian yanked his fingers from you and you would’ve cried in protest if it wasn’t for the dead body across from you. He smirked at his brothers as he licked his fingers clean, groaning at the taste. “Gods, she tastes so good.”

“Are you pleased with yourself, little mouse?” Rhysand growled into your ear, keeping your face towards the dead man. “It's your fault he’s dead. Do you want to know why?”

You shook your head no, unable to talk with his other hand still wrapped around your mouth.

Rhysand continued anyway. “He’s dead because he got to hear your moans, your cries. And you know why that upsets me?”

You shook your head again as he turned your face back to him. You stared up into those devastating violet eyes. He let go of you finally.

“You are mine, little mouse,” he snarled. “No one should ever be able to hear those cries of pleasure except us. Just like no one should ever touch you again except us. Do you understand?”

Gods, this was your punishment for sleeping with that guy the other night. Had killing him not been enough of a message?

“He asked you a question, sweetheart,” Azriel growled, squeezing the back of your neck. “Answer him.”

“Y-yes. I understand,” you stuttered out. Azriel squeezed your neck again, a little harder this time. You yelped in pain before giving him what he wanted. “Yes I understand, sir.”

“Good,” Rhysand said with a pleased smile.

“But I—this wasn’t my fault! I didn’t want this. You drugged me! You made me want this.”

His smile stayed as he pulled that baggy out of his pocket and tossed it into your lap. You looked up at him in confusion. “You were never drugged, darling. Those are just crushed up mints. You’re just as sick as we are, aren’t you, little mouse?”

You grabbed the baggie with shaky hands, bringing it up to your nose to smell it, to see if he was telling you the truth. You sniffed and the scent of mint hit you. He really had never drugged you so…so all of that, all of the pleasure and want you felt, all of the desire, that had all been real.

Rhysand, Cassian and Azriel were all grinning now and you knew it that moment that you were completely, utterly fucked.

༺♥༻

Tag list: @justdreamstars @minakay @f4iry-bell @godletmebeanf1wag @judig92 @a-frog-with-a-laptop @peaceandcrackers @glitterypirateduck @gorlillaglue25 @the-lake-is-calling @danikamariemain

#acotar #azriel #fanfic #acotar fanfiction #acotar x you #acotar x reader #azriel x reader #azriel x you #cassian x you #cassian x reader #cassian #rhysand x reader #rhysand x you #rhysand #poly!batboys x reader #batboys x you #batboys x reader #cassian x azriel x rhysand x you #reverse harem

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pochicore · 6 days

Text

♡ i love you cake!

» han jisung x gn!reader blurb.

wc: 662 genre: fluff

a/n: based on that little incorrect quote that's like person a gives person b a cake that says "i love you!" and person b responds with "i love you too cake!" // also a part of my skz, i love u! blurb series

“So I was trying to share my feelings with Y/N the other day,” Jisung begins. He can hardly believe he’s telling his friends this, but he has no one else to turn to. Hopefully they’re actually listening to him this time and not paying all their attention to the Mario Kart game in front of them. “I got them a cake and everything, right? So the cake says 'I love you' on it and it’s decorated with tiny spirnkles and all that good stuff.”

“Aww, that’s super cute, Ji,” felix says. he would give Jisung a thumbs up, but he’s too busy trying to keep his first place position. “That’s so romantic. What did they say?”

“So they smiled at me, with heart eyes as per usual, then the cake. And then they said 'aww, I love you too, cake!' and then they took pictures of it and then they ate the cake with me. Then they posted the cake on instagram,” Jisung finishes. He frowns at the thought of you telling the cake you love it and not him.

"Oh, is that the post they made yesterday? With the caption 'When your cake loves you!'” Hyunjin asks. He tries to stifle a laugh, but it still comes out. “Dude, I hate to say this, but you know how dense Y/N is.”

Jisung throws himself back onto the couch, taking a throw pillow and pressing his face into it in the process. “I'm so sad. They didn’t say it back,” he whines.

Felix pauses the game, reaching back to rub jisung’s belly. “It’s okay, Ji. They’ll say it back eventually.”

“I hope so.”

—

“I got you something!” you grin as you make your way into the dorm. Noticing Felix and Hyunjin about to leave upon your arrival, you attempt to motion for them to stay. “Stay! I’m sure you guys will like this as well.”

They’re quick to take notice of the take out box you’re holding and they decide it’s maybe a better idea to stay and see what’ll happen. They’re totally not trying to score some free food.

You set the box down on the kitchen table, then open your arms excitedly as Jisung throws himself into your arms. “I got you cake!” you exclaim.

“What’s the occasion, baby?” Jisung asks, confused. There’s really nothing to celebrate right now, besides your love for cake.

“You’ll just have to see!” you grin at him, beginning to open the box carefully. You take the cake out and the 3 boys marvel at the sight.

The cake is about 10 inches in diameter, covered in yellow icing and cherries. It says 'I love you too!' on top in fancy cursive red frosting. Jisung thinks it looks way better than the grocery store cake he decorated for you.

“Isn’t that cute? The 'cake' loves you too!” you giggle at Jisung. He can feel his ears begin to burn as realization sinks in. Jisung was the cake before. You are the cake now. Jisung purses his lips in thought as he debates whether he should say something or not.

However, Hyunjin beats him to it, muttering, “Gee, wonder what that means, Jisung? Felix, take pictures of the cake so we can post about how sad and pathetic we are as single guys on Instagram.”

Felix and Hyunjin leave you and Jisung in the kitchen and he clears his throat awkwardly, “I thought I would be waiting a while before you said it back. I was kinda scared, to be honest. Like what if you didn't— I’m kinda stupid.”

You make your way to him and wrap your arms around him tightly. After a while, you reach up for his face and squish his cheeks between your palms. You smile at his pouted lips before you lean in for a kiss. “You know I love you! I love you so much! Also you’re not stupid, silly, you’re just as dense as I am!”

“That’s even worse!”

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ultralightpoe · 7 months

Text

Carried Me With You - Jake Seresin

Authors Note: I am back, but as we all know I will probably disappear in another 3 days. Enjoy.

Word Count: 3,000 (UH HUH, EVEN BABY EVENNNNNN)

Warnings: Sad, a little family angst for y'all.

Description: Hello! The wonderful @fangirlvibez tagged me in this challenge back on September 9th and I saw it when I logged in today so you know I had to do it lovies. Thank you so much @fangirlvibez for tagging me, I am so sorry for the late reply but I hope you like it. And feel free to tag me for any more little challenges or prompts you had because I absolutely loved this one. <3

(Psst..... The song of this imagine is - Carried Me With You)

Enjoy! (pssst, song choice is -Carried Me With You- Listen and read for a top tier experience lovies.)

The Build A Bear employee looks extremely suspicious when Jake brings the empty coat of a bear up to her, a fake smile plastered from ear to ear as he holds it out as if he just ran into the woods to hunt it himself.

Honestly he was sure he looked like a massive freak, from the 20 minutes he spent looking at all the display bears to choose and up to now where he probably looked like he had been one of Jokers goons in Batman. But he couldn’t help it, he was doing his very best not to breakdown and cry in front of this poor teen.

She blinks up at him, back to the bear, and then back to him.

“This is the bear you’ve chosen?” That one question has him debating everything, eyes widening as he pulls it back to himself quickly.

“No. Yes. I have no clue.”

“Okay, cool.” The worker, a young girl decked out in the most goth punk outfit he had ever seen, smiles and moves to grab it from him. Her long black acrylic nails snag the poor pelt from his hands and she pulls it to the stuffing machine. “We have multiple hearts that you can choose from for your little buddy here. We have classic, plaid and then a beating heart. Go ahead and take a look.”

Jake nods, moving to grab one slowly before turning back to her. “You guys have sounds, right?”

“We do indeed.” She smiles, nodding her head to show him the sound station. “Go ahead and pick or make a sound.”

She turns back to fix one of the spikes on her boots as he does so, rushing over to start recording the sound. The little script he wrote that morning on a sticky note was hard to read but he managed it, making sure to use that southern drawl he knew his baby girl loved before coming back to the stuffing station and handing it to her.

“Alright, do we want our little buddy to be firm or plush?”

“I think…. How about firm?”

“Sounds great, and let’s go ahead and bless the heart while I’m doing this. First I’m going to have you rub your head so our buddy is smart. Perfect, now lets rub our belly so our buddy always has a good appetite. Awesome. Don’t forget to rub your knees so your furry friend always kneeds you. Jump up and down to get the heart beating and rub it against your heart so they always know how much you love them. And lastly close your eyes, make a wish and give it a kiss.”

Jake follows her word for word, going with the ceremony even though he knows it’s for kids. And when he closes his eyes he wishes ‘Keep my babies safe and happy’ before kissing the heart and handing it to her. She ties the bear up and hands him off, the teddy looking straight into Jake’s eyes as he walks off to find it a cute little outfit.

By the time he makes it to the register Jake has the bear in a little naval outfit, hat and all, and the worker is grabbing the birth certificate from the printer with narrowed eyes.

As she rings out the clothes he watches her closely, heart beating against his rib cage each step of the way. She was very goth, from the badass makeup to the spiky hair and spiky collar, not to mention the huge boots. It was like wednesday adams went punk and then got a job as Build A Bear as a joke.

Then she turned to expose the backpack holding the pink stuffed animal decked out in rainbow and he couldn’t help but laugh. “What’s her name?”

“Cannibal, but when the kids ask Cami.”

“Cami the Cannibal, I love it.”

She finishes ringing everything up, raising an eyebrow. “Bugs?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s for my darlin’. You see I call her mom ‘Bubs’ and I call her ‘Bugs’.” Jake explains, whipping out his card as she begins dressing the bear.

“This is for your daughter? How old is she turning?”

“Oh, it’s not for her birthday. I’m being deployed so this is my….. Something she has of me while I am gone.”

Her face goes slack and she blinks at him before shaking her head. “How old is your daughter?”

“Four.”

“Then I’m saying this is a birthday bear. You only have to pay how old you’re turning for the bear.”

He thanks her, and before he knows it he is buckling Bugs into the backseat and driving home to see his two girls.

Bugs sits at the top of your closet for the next 5 weeks, you both break the news to your daughter four weeks out. She begs him not to leave and you let her sleep in your bed to try and soothe her tears.

She sleeps in your bed every night after that.

2 weeks out Jake’s mother throws a going away party for him, your daughter cries the entire time.

Then the time came.

Jake woke earlier than you, desperate to let you both get a little more sleep as he shuffled into the shared closet and reached up to find the box that held bugs. Dusting the bear off and making sure he looked good before moving to set it in the living room by his deployment bags.

He kisses both your foreheads before jumping in the shower and getting dressed into his uniform. His throat is tight and his eyes burn but he does his best to keep it together, by the time he is dressed and ready to go he finds both of you sitting in the living room crying softly.

You are doing your best to stop the tears, and Jake feels something shatter in his chest at the sight before the blur of the four year old is dashing to him.

“Please don’t go.” She sobs, hands gathering the fabric of his uniform as he swipes the tears from her cheeks.

“Easy now, Bugs. I’ll be back. It’ll be okay.”

“Please don’t go daddy! Tell them you can’t go!” From the corner of his eyes he sees you shuffling closer with the box, and he nods, reaching a hand out for the bear.

“Daddy needs you to do something for me, okay bugs?” The tears are falling freely now as she shoves her forehead into his chest. He has to pull her back a bit so she sees the bear. “This? This is my friend Bugs, and Bugs is very very important to me. You wanna know why?”

“Why?”

“Because Bugs promised to take care of you for me. And he is gonna do a great job of it. But I need you to keep Bugs with you so he can do that. Yeah?”

She shakes her head at first, sobbing loudly as he kisses at her forehead, before her hands reach out to pull the bear to her.

12 minutes later you are holding her in your arms, crying as Jake gives you both one more kiss and heads out to the truck, waving as he pulls the car out even if he feels his heart shattering in his own chest.

You keep y/d home for the day, making her mac and cheese for lunch ans trying to play all her favorite movies in an attempt to cheer her up a bit. Nothing seems to work and she sobs all day, not that you were much better.

By the time you are ready to tuck her in your eyes hurt from the amount of crying you had done and you felt drained and dehydrated. But nonetheless you hold your daughters hand as she shuffles into her room where Bugs now sat on the bed.

You dress her in one of Jakes soft shirts for pajamas, tucking her into the blanket softly and rubbing her cheek.

“Daddy always is here to say goodnight too.” She cries and you nod slowly, reaching for the bear.

“You really think he would forget?” You smile softly, pinching the bear's paw.

Jake’s southern voice rings out, a little frazzled out but there nonetheless.

“The sun is setting in the sky.

Let's light the moon and bring it high.

The shimmering stars sparkle and twinkle.

I work out my wiggles as stardust I sprinkle.

The tree stands tall as the owl hoots.

I send all my worries right down through my roots.

A moonlit lake, as I sit on the shore.

Reflects three things that I am grateful for.

With my hands on my heart, love is swirling around me.

So I send it out to my friends and family.

As I lie down I breathe one, two, three.

And feel the love come back to me.

Goodnight Bugs.”

She curls around the bear, sobbing loudly as you kiss her head. Truly not knowing how to fix this.

Three months later, you are holding her hand as she leads you through the mall, Bugs wrapped tightly in her other arm.

She had played the sound so much that it sort of stopped working and instead of the entire poem all the bear truly said now was ‘Goodnight Bugs’. But that would have to do for now.

You had done so many emergency surgeries on the bear since she refused to leave him behind. The poor thing had barely survived the kindergarten recess debacle before her teacher had to cut in and take the bear from her and the kid who had been wrestling to steal it.

She had come home that day a blubbering mess until you sewed the arm back on and she kissed it better.

She had taken Bugs to the daddy donut day her school ran, and though she still her her grandpa there that day you were eternally grateful she had that bear.

But Jake’s birthday was coming up, and you knew it would be rough on her no matter how many facetime calls he managed to sneak in. So you had asked what she wanted to do for his birthday.

Which leads you here, staring at all the bear options in front of you as she tries to figure out which one she wants..

There was a goth girl waiting at the stuffing station, and you couldn’t figure out if she was glaring or trying to recognize you.

“How about this one, bugs?” You ask, showing her the stitch before she shakes her head and snatches a brown bear.

“It’s got to look cool mom.” Another milestone that you were positive Jake was devastated about. While he was away it had gone from daddy and mommy to dad and mom. It wasn’t much of a difference but it still made your chest ache every time she called you it.

Before you know it she has snatched a bear and dashed to the sound station, not bothering to see if you would follow.

By the time you make it to the stuffing station you are doing your best not to cry, handing the girl the sound and the bear as she smiles.

“I see we have a bear, is this going to be his buddy?”

“YES!” Your daughter smiles, bouncing on her feet as you move to grab Bugs.

“How about I hold this so you can create him. Yeah?”

She reluctantly lets go, moving to pick a heart as the girl asks about the pressure.

“I want him so soft that you can squeeze all the love!” Y/d giggles and you can’t help but smile at that. The worker smiles to, her black lipstick making it all more of a victory. “I like your bear, what’s her name?”

“Cami.” The worker smiles and y/d shakes her head. “No?”

“No, how about….destroyer?”

“Oh, I like the way you think. Okay now touch the heart to your toes so your furry friend is ‘toe’tally awesome. Great job. Touch the heart to your knees so he always ‘knee’ds you. Good good. Now rub the heart between your hands so he always stays warm, don’t forget to rub your ears so he always hears you. And Now your eyes so he always sees you. Now rub your heart so he always has love and jump up and down three times to get that heart beating.”

Y/d does everything with a huge smile lathered on her face, and the worker has the same excited smile on her own.

“Now I need you to close you eyes and make a wish before you kiss the heart.”

She does as told, squeezing her eyes shut before saying ‘Make sure my dad is happy.”

And then the workers face falls into one of recognition, her eyes casting to the bear now held in your hand and back to the one she had been stuffing.

By the time you have an outfit picked out she already has the certificate in her hands, nodding.

“Bubs. I like it.”

“Thank you. It’s what my dad and mom call each other.” Your daughter smiles, standing on her tiptoes to look up to the worker.

“Let me guess, your bugs.”

“I AM!” And just like that a wide smile is splitting across her cheeks as she slides the bear across the counter to your side.

“It’s your lucky day. This bear is a part of the lonely hearts foundation. Which means so long as he is adopted into a happy and loving home he comes with no charge. Are you happy, bugs?”

“Yes.”

“Are you healthy, bugs?”

“I eat my broccoli, yeah.” You try not to snort, remembering that you had to bribe her with 6 oreos after a 2 hour dinner table stand off.

“Then Bubs has found the perfect home.” You mouth a thank you to the girl as you leave, giving your daughter bugs back so you can carry the box.

Jake Seresin was absolutely miserable the day he got his birthday package.

He was sweaty from the jets, irritated by his team. But most importantly he was completely lost without his girls.

It had been four months since he last got to hold them and he was beginning to lose it. Sure, he got to facetime them which was a lot more then some of the other guys but he missed them terribly and he wanted nothing more than to be with them.

He had gotten an extra thirty minutes of call time on his birthday a week ago, to which you had promised him you sent something out before y/d interrupted with a sassy tone “don’t ruin the surprise for dad, mom.”

He tried not to get upset at the dad part, but he couldn’t help it. He left while his bug called him daddy and stil had the chubbiest baby cheeks in town and now his little darlin’ was growing up and he couldn’t actually see it.

But you had told him to expect the package and he did, finally a week later it was mail day and he sat on his bunk surrounded by his squad as they tore through letters. He sliced the tape of the box open, lifting the lid to reveal the cutest bear dressed in a texan jersey with glasses that reminded him of BOB.

A laugh slips from his lips as he reaches to pull the bear to his chest, noting the cotton candy scent before his eyes snag on the letter.

“Dear Bubs,

This bear was sent out with a promise to keep. He promised both me and your daughter that he would keep you happy and healthy and bring you home to us. We made him knowing that only the bravest of bears could do this task and we made sure he was stocked up for the flight over. In the box he took your favorite candies. A stack of photos and a really cool beaded bracelet your daughter made at school. He was given a cotton candy scent to help block off the stuffy scent from the box but most importantly, he carries a top secret message that not even I was allowed to listen to.

We hope Bubs takes care of you until you are allowed back into our arms, until then stay safe and don’t forget we love you.

Love, Your bubs.”:

There is a little monster drawn on the paper in crayon that makes his heart swell as he traces his fingers over the words and drawing before reaching to the bear.

He lays with it as a pillow, pressing his cheek to the chest as he presses the hand to reveal the sound.

His daughter's voice fills his ears, in the cheesiest southern accent he had ever heard. “I breathe one two three and feel the love come back to me. Good night daddy.”

The next set of photos you receive in the mail are all photos of Jake and Bubs on journeys, and Y/D’s favorite was the one of the entire squad posing with bubs. Bob and the bear having switched glasses.

You, of course, begin sending adventures back. One of Bugs and your daughter baking, another of the two on a swing set.

Jake sends back a photo of Bubs ‘flying’ a plane.

Over and over you both send the photos back and forth, everything is a little bit better when you carry a piece of each other with them.

Your daughter asks you at dinner one night, between shoving her chicken in her face and avoiding the broccoli, if you had wanted a bug and bubs bear.

All you can do is smile, booping her nose as you mumble. “You were my bear last time he was deployed.”

“What did you send him?”

“A pee stick.” She doesn’t find it as funny as you did, but she makes sure to have bugs kiss your cheek goodnight before dashing to bed.

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lightyagamiis · 1 year

Text

not your boyfriend, not your girlfriend

Pairing: reader x soobin Genre: college au!, friends to lovers Warnings: some smut <3 Word Count: 4.1k

you ain't my boyfriend and I ain't your girlfriend but you don't want me to see nobody else and I don't want you to see nobody...

He’s not your boyfriend. You’re not his girlfriend. But the thought of someone else touching you angers him. The thought of another female even looking at him throws you into a spiral.

Yet there’s nothing either of you can do about it. You two aren’t together after all.

You lean against the wall twirling the red solo cup in your hand, glancing around the room at the sea of drunk college kids. Watching as they play party games and sing so off-key to the music blasting out of the speakers.

You take a sip from your drink, debating whether or not to leave right after this cup was empty. Parties weren’t really your thing after all. You only come with your best friend, who ended up ditching you the moment you walked in the door.

You finished the drink, turning to leave when someone bumps into you.

“There you were babe!” he wraps his arm around your shoulders, planting a kiss on your forehead, “been looking everywhere for you.”

You sign, knowing now that you’re trapped.

“Come on, babe don’t look so disappointed to see me.”

“I was fixing to leave, Soobin.” you scoffed, finally breaking free from his arms.

His dimple smile melts your heart, sending tingles down your spine, “I noticed you seemed like you wanted to leave,” he said looking down at your empty cup, “but the guy standing by the window was giving you a look and decided to step in to protect you.”

You raised your brow at him, “Protect me? Soobin?”

He nodded, “Of course. Mans looks like a whole dick and a half.”

You chuckle, dropping your head into your palm, “Probably because he HAS a dick, Choi Soobin.”

Soobin tucks his bottom lip between his teeth. He wants to shout at you his feelings so you could finally understand why he’s so protective over you.

Soobin grabs your empty cup and sets it against the counter then places his hands on your shoulders, softly pressing you against the wall.

You look up at him, seeing the want in his eyes. Your whole body heats up.

“Just spend some extra time with me, ya? Before you decide to head out?” He whispered.

How quickly you nodded your head in agreement should scare you, you didn’t want him to know how badly you wanted him. He’s not your boyfriend, after all.

Soobin smirks, sliding his hands down to your hands. Pulling you away from the wall and leading you up the stairs in this dance you’ve both done many times before.

It started out like this.

Two lonely people at a party were ditched by their friends and had nothing else better to do than each other.

You knew who he was. He sat two rows behind you in class. He was quiet, and only spoke to his friends he had in class. Was five minutes early every day and for the most part kept to himself unless spoken to by the professor or another classmate.

It surprised you when he first walked into the party. Barely even recognized him. He went from this innocent boy who hid his face with his hair, wearing sweatpants and a hoodie to class, into this sexy man in tight light blue skinny jeans with holes in them, Nike air forces, and a long sleeve black shirt with his hair parted.

If you didn’t know him from before, you would assume he was one of the popular party boys all the girls drool over.

And damn, he was catching looks from the girls at the party.

Your best friend looped her arm with yours, “Earth to Y/N!! Did you hear me?”

You snapped your eyes away from Choi Soobin, giving your best friend your full attention, “I’m sorry I was daydreaming, what did you say?”

She side-eyes the area you were just staring at, “were you looking at Soobin?”

You blink at her, “You know him? And calling him by his first name?”

She smiles brightly, “Yep! we have chem lab together and I’m SOOOO into one of his friends.”

You nodded at her, “I should’ve known,” You looked back over in Soobin’s direction, noticing his dog pack behind him, “which one are you here for?” you asked her.

She giggles and squeezes your arm tighter, “Taehyun! We met at the campus coffee shop and totally hit it off right away!”

You nodded again, “I’m sure you did.”

“We did! And he told me about this party tonight.”

“Is that why you canceled our stay indoors and watch horror movies best friend date and dragged me to this party instead? To hook up with Kang Taehyun?” you raised a brow at her.

“When you put it that way you make me seem like a bad guy,” she pouted at you, “plus he told me his friends would be coming with him, sooooo I figured you could ya know.” she nudged your arm.

You scoff at her, “Nope! absolutely not. I’m going home!”

“Y/N! Please, you need to get out there!”

Before you could protest, Soobin and his four friends were right beside you guys.

“Wow you made it Hanna,” Taehyun says basically stealing my best friend from me, “who's this?” he asked giving me a small smile.

“I’m Y/N, nice to meet you.”

Taehyung nodded, “Nice to put a face to the name. Hanna talks about you all the time.”

You glance over at her. She gives you her normal apologetic smile.

“Anyways how rude, these are my best friends, Choi Yeonjun, Huening kai, Choi Beomgyu and that’s—“

“Choi Soobin.” you said, giving all five of them a small smile.

The boys all looked at Soobin, waiting for an explanation.

“W-we have a class together.” Soobin says, shoving his hands into his pockets.

After that awkward conversation, you slowly walked away to grab yourself a drink, because god knows you need it now.

“Grab me a drink too please!” Hanna calls after you.

When you returned to the same spot the six of them were, only Soobin remained.��

You shook your head, “where did they go?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “Your guess is as good as mine.” He folded his arms against his chest and leaned against the wall.

You stood beside him, “well you can have this I guess.” you said, handing him the cup.

“I didn’t picture you as a partygoer, Y/N.” Soobin softly smiles while taking a sip of the drink.

“You neither, you completely look different than you do in class.”

He chuckles, “Yeah I don’t really try for college. No need to impress anyone. Go in, get your education, get out, and go back home.”

“Then why are you here tonight?” you asked.

He glances at you, “Everyone else was coming, and Yeonjun Hyung basically pulled me by my ear out of the dorm.”

You nodded with a sigh, “Hanna basically did the same to me.”

“Guess we’re in this together then.” Soobin held out his cup towards you in a way of cheers.

You mimicked the action, then you both chugged down the drinks.

You don’t remember much of the conversations after that. Just that you both continued to drink and drink.

“Okay okay, truth time.” Soobin drunkenly giggles.

“What is this? Truth or dare? Are we five?” you giggle back at him.

“Never too old for it,” he defends, “anyways truth.”

“Okay, I’m listening.” You smile, taking another sip of your drink.

Soobin tucks his lip between his teeth, glancing across the room, “Have you met Yeonjun hyung before?”

Your smile drops, “Choi Yeonjun? I mean we have a couple of other classes together and I pass him in the halls sometimes,” you look in the same direction as Soobin, noticing Yeonjun is looking back, “why? Is something wrong?”

Soobin sighs and looks back at you, “I am very observant and noticed the moment we walked in and he looked at you that…well.”

You look into Soobin’s eyes, “are you implying he’s interested in me?”

Soobin shrugged, “he could be. Either that or like I asked if the two of you knew each other beforehand. But he’s been looking at you the entire night.”

You laughed, “Soobin, you’re acting jealous right now.”

He rolls his eyes, “I barely know you, how could I be jealous?” he shakes his head chuckling, “I just know hyung, and wanted to just give ya a heads up is all.”

You tilted your head, “That’s really sweet, but you’re not my boyfriend so you don’t need to look after me like that.”

Soobin rolled his eyes again, “noted.”

“How about you then? Hmm?”

He takes a sip, “What about me?”

“With how you walked in here you must have girls begging for your attention. Do you dress like this outside of school too?”

He nodded, “I do. That doesn’t mean girls are making passes at me.”

You glanced around the room and noticed at least two girls blushing over him.

“There are two girls right over there who would love your attention right now.”

Soobin looks in the direction you pointed at, then shook his head, then looked back at you, “Not interested.”

“What? Are you nervous or something?” you teased him.

He gives you a confused look, “what would I have to be nervous about?”

“I dunno, maybe you’ve never hooked up with a girl at a party before.” you continued to tease him.

Soobin raised his brow at you, “You’re making these assumptions as if you know me personally.”

“Well truth time then, have you ever hooked up with someone before?”

Soobin’s face turned a shade of pink, looking away from you he answered, “I have.”

You slapped your hands on your cheeks, “Omg really!? the shy Choi Soobin from class actually pulled girls!?”

He glances at you, “Of course I have. you act like sex is such an uncommon thing for shy people like me.” He finished his cup and tossed it onto the counter, then made direct eye contact with you, “do you not believe me?”

You shook your head, “Nope.”

Soobin smirked, chewing on his bottom lips.

You could see the gears in his head turning, “what are you thinking about?”

“I could prove it to you.”

You weren’t expecting his response. Your whole body started to tingle, “prove it to me?” you nervously giggled, looking away from him.

You weren’t expecting the next turn of events to happen either, Soobin had you against the wall, one hand above your head, the other was on your hip, and his body was pressed against yours.

“I didn’t stutter.” he whispered, connecting his forehead against yours.

You stared up at him, “where did this confidence come from?” you whispered back.

“Always been here, I just don’t show it.”

You could feel the heat radiating from his body. Your knees started to feel weak and your hands trembled at your sides.

Soobin pressed himself even closer to you, his arm completely wrapping around behind your back, “I’ve honestly been wanting to hook up with you since the moment I met you in class.”

You bit your lip, his confession turned you on more than you wanted to attempt to yourself. It was so hot seeing this once-shy boy you normally see in class act this sexy. Was it the alcohol? or is he really this confident? Either way, it was killing you.

“Are you going to kiss me or continue to just look at me?” you asked, testing your own confidence.

His lips connected with yours, the taste of cherry and alcohol filled your senses from his chapstick and the drink he just finished. You had a better smell of his cologne and oh man it was sending you into a frenzy.

You were melting against his touch with the way his hands were on your body. His tongue sent chills down your spine every time it brushed against your own.

You didn’t care that you two were making out in the middle of the kitchen at some random party with many people around.

All you cared about was him.

He led you up the stairs and into an empty room, quickly closing and locking the door behind him.

His hands and lips were back on you in an instant as if those short couple minutes were too long.

He pulled his shirt over his head, his body leaving you even more breathless.

You tossed your tank top over your head and somewhere in the room.

His body was back against yours, the skin-to-skin contact made your head spin.

Soobin played with the button of your jeans, silently asking for permission.

You let him, your hands going to the button of his jeans immediately after.

It’s been so long since you’ve been naked in front of someone and you figured the first time having sex again would make you nervous and hide like a child, but it was different with Soobin. He brought out this confidence in you that you never knew you had. The rest of your clothes came off quickly, and the same did his.

You could have sworn Soobin’s body was crafted by the gods. He’s so beautiful.

His hands cupped your breasts, his thumbs slowly gliding over your nipples. You moaned against his mouth.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling you to straddle him.

Soobin looked you up and down, “You’re so beautiful, every inch of you.” his hands squeezed your hips.

Your fingers played in his hair, “is this something you want?” you asked.

Soobin tucks his lip between his teeth, slowly nodding, positioning his member for you, “I will literally lose it if you don’t slide down onto me right now.” he whispered.

Sex with Soobin was pure bliss. You felt that bliss with every inch of your body as you rode him. His lips and hands never left your body and your hands never left his hair until you both finished.

You two returned to the party like nothing ever happened. The two girls who were drooling over Soobin earlier seemed to only be even more interested in him now that sex was literally written all over his face.

You scoff, “Those two still want you.”

Soobin wrapped his arm around your waist, “Hmm jealous are we?”

You chuckled, “Of course not. You're not my boyfriend.”

Soobin laughed with you, “And you’re not my girlfriend.”

It’s been almost a year since then.

You and Soobin have had sex multiple times since then, and he still made you lose your breath every single time.

The two of you grew to even become friends in a way. Or even best friends some would say. The two of you started hanging out outside of the classroom and at parties. He got to know you so well and the same with you towards him. He became someone you didn’t want to have a life without.

But the feelings you started to build up for him over that year were growing too strong for you to contain.

Little did you know the feeling was mutual for Soobin.

He hated it when he knew you were going to parties or anywhere alone. He hated the thought of another man putting his hands on you. The thought of another man kissing you, touching you, making you feel the way only he wants you to feel. And the thought of you dating another man…

Soobin understood how your relationship was: two classmates that had sex and turned into friends who have sex. That’s all it was supposed to be until the night he realized he had feelings and realized he hated any man that looked in your direction.

You also secretly felt that way about any woman who looked at Soobin.

The two of you had this secret unspoken thing that you both didn’t want the other to see anyone else. You both just didn’t know it.

Soobin was running late and was never late. It wasn’t him to be late.

Tonight’s party was being held on campus for the school winning some kinda sports event. Soobin walked into the courtyard, immediately being met by Huening Kai and Beomgyu.

“you’re late!” Kai said looking at his watch.

“Yeah yeah I know,” Soobin sighed, “where are Taehyun and Yeonjun?”

“Taehyun is with Hanna…” Beomgyu shrugged.

“Should have known, and Yeonjun?” Soobin asked.

Kai and Beomgyu went quiet.

Soobin looked between the both of them, confusion showing on his face.

“Where is Yeonjun?” Soobin asked again.

“He’s well…he’s with someone.” Kai said, trying to smile.

“Okay…?” Soobin raised a brow.

“He’s with—“ Beomgyu started, but Kai quickly covered his mouth.

“He’s not with anyone! hahaha.” Kai nervously laughed.

Soobin continued to look between his juniors, still confused about what was even going on between the two of them.

Until it clicked in his head.

Soobin quickly moved past them, “where is he?”

“Soobin Hyung, wait!” They called out for him.

Soobin knew Yeonjun secretly had a thing for you, it was written all over his face from the beginning.

Soobin made his way inside the campus and asked people left and right if they’d seen both of you, none knew until someone pointed him in the direction of the gymnasium where they were handing out food, punch, and alcohol.

He found the both of you standing on the far side of the gym. Yeonjun was standing too close to you for his liking.

Soobin quickly walked up, wrapping his arm around Yeonjun, “There you guys are! I was looking for you!”

“You’re late!” You said checking the time on your phone, “Yeonjun and I almost started drinking without you. Where’s everyone else?”

Soobin shrugged his shoulders, “Huening Kai and Beomgyu were in the courtyard. Apparently Taehyun—“

“Is with Hanna, of course.” you sigh, “I’m happy for them so I’ll let it slide.” You started to walk away, “I’m going to the courtyard and I’ll call Hanna to meet us there.”

Soobin nodded, “grab me a drink on the way out okay?” he asked you.

You gave him a thumbs up, walking away. You could tell something was bothering Soobin but didn’t want to press the conversation in front of Yeonjun.

Once you were out of the gym, Soobin let go of Yeonjun facing him.

“What is that look for?” Yeonjun asked.

“It’s nothing. Ready to meet with the others?” Soobin asked, starting to walk away.

“Hey, is Y/N talking to anyone by chance?” Yeonjun asked.

Soobin stops walking, “Uhh not that I know of…why?”

“Because I'm interested in her. She’s your best friend besides me of course, and I think she’s funny and I want to get to know her a little more than I already do.”

Soobin looked at his hyung, trying everything in him to not shout at him to leave you alone. But he knows he can’t. He’s not your boyfriend.

“Soobin say something,” Yeonjun said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I uhh…I can ask if she’s talking to someone.”

“That’s now why I meant.” Yeonjun tried to make eye contact with Soobin, wanting him to tell the truth.

“What do you mean then?”

Yeonjun sighs, “What I'm trying to say is, if you’re not going to make a pass at her, I'm going to.”

Soobin’s heart dropped, and his body filled up with heat, it took everything in him to say what he did next, “I’m not her boyfriend, do whatever you want.”

Yeonjun rolled his eyes, “I can’t man!” Soobin looked at his hyung confused, “You’re having sex with her and it’s so obvious that the two of you are pining for each other and just won’t say anything. I’m tired of hearing the “She’s not my girlfriend, I’m not her boyfriend” bullshit. I would feel terrible if I went after Y/N, knowing you damn well want her for yourself.”

Soobin looked away, “We made it clear to each other the first time we hooked up that we weren’t together, it was all about the sex and that’s it.”

“Yeah, and it’s been a year since then man,” Yeonjun walked closer to Soobin, putting his hands on his friends' shoulders, “I can see it in the way you look at her dude, it’s not just about the sex anymore and with the way you dart across the room when another man looks at her? or how when she notices any other girl looks at you? have you not noticed how jealous she gets? how will she stand closer to you?”

Soobin shook his head, “She doesn’t want me in that way.”

Yeonjun nodded, “I still think you need to tell her, and I’m giving you until tomorrow night to say something, or else I’ll try and make a pass to her.”

Yeonjun patted his back and then finally walked away.

Soobin knew he was right, it’s time to say something.

You stood outside their dorm building, the summer breeze felt warm against your skin.

You checked the time on your phone, Soobin said to meet him here before returning back to the party but he’s once again running late. This isn’t like him.

You finally catch Soobin walking over towards you but with another girl hooked up on his arm.

Jealousy filled you. You looked away, shoving your hands into your jeans pockets, trying to shove down the feeling. “he’s not your boyfriend…Y/N…” You repeated the words in your head over and over again. You don’t have a right to be jealous. You’re not his girlfriend.

“Soobinnie!” oh god you wanted to throw up, “my dorm is across the street there!”

You glanced over at them, this girl was drunk and clearly trying to get Soobin in her bed.

Soobin looked at you, and you quickly looked away.

“Can you make it back there on your own?” He asked.

You rolled your eyes. You knew how good Soobin was in bed, it shouldn’t surprise you he probably has been in other beds besides yours.

“I may need some help…” you wanted to barf.

“Hey,” you shouted, “you clearly aren’t drunk enough to try and get him in your room so you can obviously walk up there alone, okay?”

Soobin’s eyes widen, he’s never seen you act like that before.

“Is that your girlfriend or something?” the girl asked, “I knew you were too gorgeous to be single.”

“He's single all right,” you mumbled to yourself.

Soobin sighed, “I can’t go any further with you, I apologize.”

The girl scoffs but eventually walks away.

“What was with that attitude?” Soobin asked, giving you a sassy look.

“She clearly was trying way too hard.” you softly snap, “it was way too obvious.”

“Are you jealous?” Soobin teased, standing in front of you.

You rolled your eyes, “no reason to be jealous, you’re not my—“

“Boyfriend, I know,” he said. You looked up at him and noticed the hurt in your eyes, “but maybe I should be.”

“Wait, what?” you asked.

Soobin looked away, “I want to be your boyfriend, Y/N. It’s not just about the sex anymore, I want all of you. My heart can’t take it anymore. If I see one more man try to make a pass at you, I'm going to lose it.”

“Soobin…” you softly said his name.

“God, I love the way you say my name…but I already know your response to this, that our relationship is strictly sex. We made that agreement a year ago and—“

“Soobin shut up and kiss me right now.”

He looks deeply into your eyes and all you can see is the spark that lights up his entire being.

His hands are on the sides of your face in an instant and his lips connected to yours.

You’ve kissed him millions of times, but never like this. The last kisses have always been filled with lust, want, desire, temptation, and need. But this one was filled with…well, love.

It was filled with so much love.

“I’m in love with you, Soobin.” you whispered in between kisses, “and if one more damn woman looks at you with the desire that I have for you, I’ll commit murder.”

He giggles against your lips, “You’re so cute when you’re jealous.”

“As your girlfriend, I have a right to be.”

“And as your boyfriend, I’ll allow you to be.”

You smiled against his lips, “I love you.”

“I’ve loved you since the moment you let me lead you up those stairs, my heart has been yours since the beginning.”

#tomorrow x together #choi soobin #choi soobin x reader #reader x choi soobin #choi yeonjun #choi beomgyu #kang taehyun #huening kai #txt fanfiction #txt fanfic #txt x reader #reader x txt #fluff #smutt #mywriting

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4pfsukuna · 2 months

Note

Love love LOVE the asexual drabbles and headcannons! Could you do one with Gojo & black asexual woman? Like she teases him ‘i’ll only mess around if you give me a dollar’ as a snarky joke and he’s like ‘i’m rich baby hell yes’ and keeps the joke running🤭 I know i’ll enjoy anything you write! Thank you in advance!

OMG, thank you im glad you love them because i actually love writing them.

• You met him at the mall…the prada store to be exact, you weren’t necessarily shopping more so just debating on a purse or a pair of boots.

•You were a stylist in japan and your clients loved your American style although they had way cooler clothes. Safe to say business was flourishing.

•Yet here you are trying not to blow through money too fast so you were Legit window shopping.

.•The last thing you expect is a white haired man to stand next to you and startle you, you assume he’s going to say something about your hair as most people had done i mean you were a black person in japan.

• He’s holding a few bags and a cup you initially assume he’s blind because of the blindfold but when he begins to talk about the shoe, your slightly confused but you have decorum so you don’t say anything.

• “I’ve had my eye on the bag for a few weeks but they just dropped the new boots so I’m debating” you say and what’s $950 To any normal person its like a penny to him.

• “How about i buy both and you wear them on our first date” he says smoothly leaning up against the glass window and you laugh at first until you realize hes dead serious. You weren’t use to men here flirting with you and it makes you nervous.

• “Usually people start off with their names” you tell him before introducing yourself as you hold out your hand which he places a kiss on.

• “Gojo Satoru” lifting his blindfold revealing the brightest blue eyes you’ve ever seen

• You also notice he has a tag hanging off his shirt and it cost $1500.

• You decline him buying the stuff for you but accept his offer for a date. What’s the worst that could happen?

• He doesn’t know what he’s expecting when he sees you, he thought you were already gorgeous at the mall but looking at you right now it makes something… stir.

• He told you to dress cute but casual he was taking you sight seeing— he never mentioned it would be in a helicopter over the city.

• It’s obvious this man has money to blow and you contemplate looking him up to figure out just who he is.

• He also brings the shoes and bag as a gift, he couldn’t resist! Plus he likes loves the way your face initially lights up before trying to be humble and give it back.

• He lies and tells you its rude to not accept gifts.

• “Gojo i cant accept this without you knowing all about me…” you speak pouting knowing the good time was coming to an end and while the shoes and bag looked perfect you had to confess.

• “Its the wrong size?” He asked looking at your foot and back at the box on the table.

•“What? No strangely enough you got the right size…im asexual”

•“…thats… cool. I can write with both hands too”

“Gojo thats ambidextrous! Asexual means—“

• “Im just kidding sweetheart, of course i know what it means”

•He definitely did not and googled it under the table.

• You know the meme “we hung out once and weve been together ever since” that was you two.

• The next few weeks he finds time to either take you to breakfast, lunch or dinner and on days hes completely free he’ll take you on some one of a kind date experience.

• Hes a kid at heart so when you take him to a virtual reality place and literally fight to pay, you have to distract him by kissing him and biting gently on his lower lip.

•He loved it nobodys every paid for anything for him and the fact that you planned the date, paid and had a great experience hes lovestruck.

• He ended up paying since he put a hole in the wall fighting demons in the game mentioning something about it feeling to real.

•Its when 3 of his students run into you two and their shocked he’s not harassing you and actually enjoying voluntarily spending time with him, mainly because he has no idea who you are.

• Nobara follows all of your socials loving your day in the life videos, style advice videos even when you have your celebrity clients in the videos.

•Its megumi knowing who you are and thinking you’re cool that seals the deal for him.

•Gojo loves your cooking so the day you pack him leftovers with a cute smiley face and a note hes literally on the desk kicking his feet in the air… weirding out his students. This was next level even for him.

•They beg to bring you around loving seeing him happy with you.

•Its a collective though and nobara who wants to enjoy regular teen things breaks the ice officially by asking

“Take this dollar or have sex with Gojo-sensei?”

“Give me the dollar” at the same time he shouts her name. Hes also taken aback cause what do you mean youre going to take the dollar.

“No babe i dont think you heard the question take a dollar or—“

“Give me the dollar”

•For the rest of the day Gojo chooses to be dramatic from the grocery store to the hair supply store where guess whos short $1 of buying hair supplies. You turn to him seeing hes fascinated with the hair clips and different color edge controls.

•“Hey sweetheart i think you should get all of these” he suggest ready to pick them all up waiting on your command.

•“Hey babe im short” you tell him and he scoffs not paying you any mind looking at the conditioners catagorized by hair type.

“I knew that when i first seen you… what’s your hair type? Does 4b mean 4 everyone? Like your down for interracial dating… how do they know that by hair type? Like hard wig soft life?” He rambles and you almost lose it.

“No im short $1” and he sends you the most devious smirk as he holds open his wallet repeating the question Nobara asked.

“Give me the dollar” you smirk back watching his smile be taken over by a glare as he gives the cashier his card to pay for everything instead.

“Dont give me that look baby, im rich now come on i ordered a package for you” he loves to buy you things he jokingly ask siri how much the world cost one time.

“Satoru it better not be another pair of prada shoes” you scold as he carries the bags, his silence tells you everything you need to know though.

“Babe I’m running out of space to put all the stuff you bought me, please” you pout loving that this was a problem in your relationship and not anything else.

“I have enough space… You can live with me instead”

#gojo x black reader #gojo x black y/n #jjk smut #megumi x black reader #gojo satoru #asexuakual x black girl #Gojo x asexual reader #jjk x reader #asexual #jjk x asexual

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nicksbestie · 11 months

Note

can I request Luke taking care of you when you’re sick? Being super gentle when you throw up and loving on you? Thanks 😊🩷

yes!! <3

All-Nighter

word count : 1029

warnings : mention of sickness and vomiting

Being sick is the absolute worst. There’s nothing that sucks more to you than being stuck in bed, sniffling, feeling terrible, and not being able to do anything about it.

And on top of that, you felt like a burden to your boyfriend. You loved Luke, and he loved you, but you always would feel like he was tired of taking care of you. He always reassured you that this was not true, but anxiety is a very powerful thing.

But that brings you to right now, curled up in bed with multiple tissues, a water bottle, a Gatorade, some painkillers, and your phone littering your nightstand. Luke was at the studio, working on a closing deadline for a song, and he had left before you woke up. He didn’t know that you were sick, and right now you had no plans to call and tell him. You fully believed that you could handle it, knowing that you were a grown adult and no longer needed to be waited on hand and foot just because you didn’t feel well.

You gagged as you attempted to take a drink of water, and leaned over to spit it back into the trash can sitting next to your bed. You’d felt nauseous for the entire morning, but had yet to throw up. In your opinion, this was arguably worse than actually throwing up, because now you just feel anxious about doing it, and that was making the nausea worse. You’d dry heaved, gagged, everything except actual vomit. You weren’t sure which was worse, but right now, you’d rather just throw up and get it over with.

You blearily reached for your phone, scrubbing your eyes with your free hand as you debated calling Luke. You didn’t want to make him rush home, but at the same time, you felt horrible, and he always knew how to make you feel better. Before you could second guess yourself again, you clicked the small phone icon and tapped on Luke’s name, listening to the droning ring. As it continued for a minute, you were worried he wouldn’t pick up. You were also slightly relieved, you thought, because he wouldn’t be bothered. But then, on the last ring before hearing Luke’s voicemail, the phone picked up.

“Hey, baby!”

The cheer in his voice made you regret calling as you choked down another wave of nausea and mumbled out a response.

“Hi.”

It was just one word, but Luke knew you well enough to know when you weren’t okay, and he quickly picked up on it.

“Love, what’s wrong?”

The immediate concern and sincerity replacing the cheer in his voice made your heart break, because now he was worried. But you couldn’t lie to him.

“I woke up sick. Its okay, I’ll be fi-”

“I’m on my way home now, angel.”

You could hear him shouting over and talking to the guys, announcing his early departure, and as soon as he said what was wrong, you received a chorus of “feel better!”s from all three men. He quickly left and slipped into his car, plugging his phone in and flipping the call to facetime.

“Oh, sweetheart, you look miserable.”

You were strong enough to make out a small laugh.

“Thanks, babe, I love you too.”

He pouted, clearly breaking multiple speed limits and rushing home. He hung up the phone as he pulled into the driveway, and you could hear his key turn in the lock. You were still attempting to sleep, not really reacting when Luke walked into your room and immediately pressed a kiss to your forehead. He gently rested the back of his hand against the same spot he had just kissed, frowning when he felt a burning fever.

Your water had run out, and Luke quickly grabbed it and walked back to the kitchen to refill it. He brought it back within a minute, but when he got back, you were sitting on the edge of the bed, hand over your mouth, and leaning over the trash can. He quickly set the water bottle on the nightstand, gently helping you to the bathroom and laying one of your softer towels on the ground.

“Here, baby. Kneel on this, it’ll make it easier to clean up, too.”

You nodded, not being able to do much else. You’d been fighting vomit for hours, and it was finally coming. Luke softly combed his fingers through your hair, making sure to hold it out of the way when you finally threw up into the toilet. After you were done, for now, you were holding the toilet bowl and taking heaving breaths. Luke grabbed a washcloth and dampened it under the sink water, softly running it across your forehead to help cool you down, and then gently wiping it under your nose and around your mouth, the cool temperature helping soothe your anxiety and panic. That was, until you threw up again, and the process repeated.

After you were done throwing up, finally, Luke gently helped you back to bed and you were able to keep some water down. He praised you, telling you he was so proud of you and you would be getting better so quickly. You tried to smile at him to show him that you believe him, but you couldn’t think of much else except how absolutely shitty you were feeling at the moment.

“It’s gonna be okay, angel. I love you.”

The next twenty four hours were spent with Luke cuddling you, gently cooling your face down, encouraging you to drink water every ten or so minutes, and changing the trash bin full of vomit every hour or two. He was literally the perfect boyfriend throughout all of it. He was always a good sport, truly caring about your wellbeing and not anything more than that. He never showed more than a tiny wince at the bile, and he held your hair out of your face for the whole thing. You finally fell asleep after being able to eat a small dinner, and if Luke held you close to him the whole time, and you loved it, then nobody had to know.

#5sos #5sos fic #5sos fluff #5sos x reader #5sos angst #5sosfam #luke hemmings x reader #ashton irwin x reader #calum hood x reader #michael clifford x reader #luke hemmings sickfic

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tiredfemboy · 8 months

Text

Bio Time

I figured I should maybe do this so my silly little followers can know me a bit better :3

Quick Facts:

Age: 18

Height: 5’7”/170cm

Country: Canada

Time Zone: PST

Sexuality: Bisexual (leaning towards boys a bit :3)

Gender: idk, probably slightly nonbiney but i still like being a boy. Trying out the idea of being a demiboy rn :3 (he/they)

Areas of Study: Majoring in Computer Science, likely going to specialize in computer graphics and gaming. Planning a minor in history, also very into gender studies

Interests: Computers and technology, video games, history (almost any period/topic), social and political theory/ideas, boykissing, nature

Favourite Game: Hearts of Iron 4 (not in a nazi way ofc)

Favourite Drink: pipeline punch monstr :3

Detailed Bio Time Babey

Hi, I am tiredfemboy. I am a bisexual femboy (as you’ve probably noticed already) majoring in compsci, and I am truly always tired. The only way for me to stay awake all day is multiple monsters :3. I am always looking to make new friends and talk to interesting people. Feel free to message me about almost anything, I will respond to most asks and dms. I would love to discuss any of the topics that I’m interested in at anytime (provided that you come to me in good faith), I will not debate people on the topic of things such as human rights and the validity of queer people as those are not up for debate and a discussion cannot be had in good faith. I would love to share my ideas and provide advice to people on those topics, but I will not give my time to bigots. Anyway, always feel free to send asks or dms I truly love interacting with the little gay people in my phone :3

horny blog: @tinedfemboy hehe :3

Edit: definitely need to clarify a few things. i largely do not interact with NSFW blogs, but this heavily depends on the content of the blog. i do not consider my identity to be a fetish, i do not consider myself to be a cross-dresser and definitely NOT a sissy. if you are an NSFW blog of that type or you message me with fetishistic intent, you can expect to be blocked. :3

Edit 2: I want to put in my steam so that all you little gay people can connect with me off of tumblr :3 my username is TinedFemboy :3 also the same name as my discord, if you want to talk on there :3

#introduction #pinned post #femboyposting #hungryposting

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thetriplets3 · 11 months

Note

hello, my friend. from the prompts list, may i please request "tell me about your day" where the reader asks Matt about his day?

or, maybe Matt makes a gluten-free pizza for the reader 😉 tysm ♡

how about both? this makes my little celiac heart happy. thank you for the request <3

ease my mind

Chaotic. That’s one way to describe the day I’ve had at work. People demanding more that one person can do at a time, getting berated for doing my job, being pulled in every direction I feel myself slowly falling apart. As soon as I shut my car door, my head meets the headrest as I let out a loud groan, before heading home.

I’m used to driving the same route home everyday. It's automatic for me at this point. Tonight however my overwhelmed brain has led me to your house. I stood aimlessly at your front door for a few minutes debating if I should just go, considering it is pretty late and you yourself have been busy lately. Before I can let myself think any longer I press your contact, calling you, not wanting to wake anyone else up.

“Hi honey what’s up?” You pick up at the first ring.

“Hi, could you please unlock the door for me?” I weakly say, not having much energy to talk.

“Of course I’ll be right there” you say. I can hear you rushing off your bed before hanging up.

Opening the door you immediately pull me into your arms, which is exactly what I needed. The smell of freshly baked food fills my nose, comforting me.

“Smells great in here” I compliment.

“I made pizza from scratch, it took a while” you chuckled.

Unconsciously let out a sigh and frown, homemade pizza and I can’t have any. Things got so crazy at work I haven’t had a chance to stop and eat anything since 11am. It’s hitting me now smelling this pizza just how hungry I am.

Since being diagnosed celiac, you’ve been more aware of how difficult it is for me to find food I can eat while we’re out, having to check every label and how much I hate not being able to just eat what everyone else does. You’ve started carrying snacks for me in your bag so I always have something to eat. I love how thoughtful you are. It makes me feel like a burden having to ask places to take extra precautions when preparing my food and limiting the amount of places we can eat.

“I made it just for you, it’s gluten free. It took a while because I wanted to make sure everything was safe and cleaned properly before making it. I double checked everything and even made Nick and Chris check too” you said proudly.

“Matt” my lips form a pout. “You did all that for me? Oh thank you my love, you didn’t have to” I gush, my heart doubling in size.

“Of course I did. I know how much you despise baking so you won’t make any gluten free stuff for yourself so I thought I would try. I tried a piece it’s pretty good. I was gonna bring it to you tomorrow but since you’re here now let’s eat” you say.

Each grabbing a few slices of pizza we made our way to your room getting comfy in bed. “How was work tonight?’ You ask.

“Wasn’t a good night. I’d rather not talk about it” I sigh, not wanting to remember the events. “Tell me about your day” I ask, wanting to be distracted and hearing you talk puts me at ease.

“I’m sorry honey, but hey look on the bright side you have the next 2 days off and you’ll be spending it with me, taking it easy because you deserve it” you softly say. “My day, hmm. I didn’t do much. I went to the store to get all the stuff to make the pizza which took up a good portion of the day because I’m not used to baking. Oh and I got some of your favorite snacks to keep over here so you have food when you stay over. Other than that we spent a few hours at the warehouse planning out some video ideas” You tell me, while your thumb rubs soothingly over the back of my hand.

“I can’t thank you enough for everything you do for me. You know how much I love that you carry snacks around for me but let me pay you back. I feel bad, gluten free food is pricey, I can’t let you spend your money on that for me” I plead.

“Oh zip it I don’t mind buying you things. I don’t want you to have to buy or pack food for when you come to stay over. I should have things you can eat here. I love having you here and being able to take care of you. I love you sweetheart” you say.

“I love you more. You made my day so much better. Can you keep talking, I don’t care what it’s about. I just wanna listen to you talk, you put my mind at ease” I ask, moving my now empty plate to the bedside table and get myself comfy in your arms.

“I’ll do anything for you honey” you promise me.

Taglist:

@d0wnt0wnstu4n1ol0 @im-a-matt-girl @iluvmatt @stxrniqlo @antisocialties

#matt sturniolo #matt sturniolo x reader #sturniolo triplets #unedited

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jjkeverlast · 11 months

Note

hi !! congrats on your milestone :DD i wanted to take the opportunity to request especially since i saw that your reqs are open ^____^

if it’s fine with you, i’d love to have a mafia jjk au with the “who did this to you?” trope !! one of my favorite tropes everrr !! however you wanna write it would be fine by me hehe

thank you so much in advance !! congratulations again 🤍

lost in the dark | jjk

>> pairing jungkook x fem!reader

>> genre/au's mafia!au | est. relationship

>> summary jungkook never expected for bangtan's rival to know about you, or more likely find you.

>> word count 1.0k

>> author's note hii anonie!! i hope you enjoy this lil drabble with mafia jk <3 i just wanna quickly thank you for sending such a good plot in another ask!! it helped me write this drabble so easily :) have a great day hun!

[keep in mind that i do not have taglists for request, and prompts are marked in bold! thank you.]

“Now, I’m going to ask again.” The man speaks roughly. Jungkook has a hard time seeing him, the harsh light blinding him and the view around him. He sucks in a breath, ready to take another punch to the jaw, because he knows himself and he wouldn’t think twice about answering.

The man moves closer, the shadow turning into a familiar face. It’s their rival's boss. He’s carrying a sharp knife in his hand as he takes a chair and sits in front of Jungkook who’s strapped to his.

“Where is Bangtan hiding? Hmm?” He leans closer, Jungkook holding his gaze on him, not scared of whatever he’s planning to do to him. Jungkook doesn’t answer, instead he seems to look around, acting as if he’s debating whether to answer the question or not. It peaks an interest in the man in front of him, causing him to lean in and when Jungkook blinks once, he spits on his face. The spit is mostly blood, due to the earlier punches.

The man gasps, chuckling in shock as he grabs a napkin from his pants and wipes it off.

“Is that a good enough answer for you, sir?” Jungkook smiles, despite his whole body aching from head to toe.

He doesn’t speak, still wiping Jungkook’s trace on his face.

“Okay, fine. One thing I do know is…” Jungkook starts off, the man snapping his eyes forward towards him. “Your tie is crooked.” He whispers, smirking at the man’s reaction before a hard slap is received. The sting burns, Jungkook biting back a groan. He’ll never give in.

“All right, if you can’t answer that, I’m sure this question will be easy enough for you.” The rival smiles like the Devil himself, and for once Jungkook’s heart drops.

“How’s your little girlfriend? Hmm? Is she doing well?” Jungkook can’t even process the words coming out of his mouth, desperately wanting for this to not be real. How does he know? How did he know that Jungkook had someone?

“How…” Jungkook whispers, trying to fight back his anger to withhold his composure.

“She sounds so helpless when she’s crying. Here, take a listen.” He moves forward, propping his phone right in Jungkook’s face. The voice recording isn’t long, only a few seconds but all he hears is you crying, begging for your life.

Jungkook sucks in a breath, moving his body in the chair, anger seeping through him completely. “If you fucking touch her—” He begins to threat, but it’s shut down by a fake laugh.

“That’s funny, Jeon.”

Jungkook feels his veins popping harshly in his neck, as he tries to pull on the restraints, wanting nothing more than to punch the fucker in the face for hurting you. To his luck, a loud gunshot erupts in the room, chaos suddenly surges forward and Jungkook wishes he could see, still blinded by that stupid bright light.

All while he hears men fighting, groans and painful whines, he tries to loosen the rope on him, the need to find you growing. After a bit, he manages to get his hands behind his back free, tugging the rest off.

He steps out, finally seeing what the lamp has been hiding from him. It’s Bangtan, all strapped up, fighting and shooting everyone around them. Jungkook is determined to find the boss, having to find out where you are.

He catches a glimpse of him behind some cardboard boxes, trying to keep himself alive but Jungkook is having none of it. He walks straight to him, pulling him by the collar of his white pressed shirt. He’s met with wide eyes, until Jungkook gives him a taste of his own medicine, punching him harshly so he lands flatly on the floor. He’s coughing blood, trying to stand back up but Jungkook holds him down.

“Where is she?!” He screams in his face.

“Ha.” Jungkook punches him again, his face turning another color.

“I’ll fucking kill you.” He whispers, threatening with no mercy.

“Good luck.” He shoots back and Jungkook has it. He punches him until he can’t feel his own hand, determined to end his life right in this moment but stops when he’s pulled back by someone.

“Enough. Jungkook, enough.” It’s Yoongi, holding him back with both arms while Jungkook tries to fight back, wanting to see life flash before this person’s eyes for what they did to you.

“They have Y/N. I need to go.” Jungkook walks out, while the rest of Bangtan fight off the rest. He feels helpless walking around their property, no sign of you. Jungkook feels like he’s been walking for ages, until he finds an opening in the left building. He runs in, being met with pitch black. He’s almost about to walk out, determined you aren’t in here when he hears a muffled scream.

“Y/N!?” He calls out your name, the muffled scream turning louder and louder when Jungkook steps further in and finally he crouches down, able to feel you. Out of instinct he hugs you, comforting you with all he has, all while his own body is aching, trying its best to hold itself up.

“I’m here, I got you. It’s okay. I got you.” Jungkook keeps repeating, feeling you shake against his bruised skin. With every last power he has, Jungkook lifts you up, dragging you outside.

It’s then that he notices your forehead bleeding, arms covered in bruises. It breaks his heart to see you like this. He removes the restraints behind your back, ripping off the duct tape from your lips.

“Jungkook.” His name falls out of your lips, as you fall in his embrace, crying out the shock you’ve been met with.

“Who did this to you?!” He whisper-yells, wanting to hurt that person badly.

“It’s okay, Jungkook. I’m just glad you’re here.” You manage to say, your voice a bit broken from being restrained. Somehow your words calm him. You’re right, he’s here, he’s with you now. Everything is going to be okay.

“I love you.” Jungkook whispers, grabbing your face gently as he embraces it. He was so scared of losing you, forever. He’d never be able to live with himself.

“I love you.” You repeat, meaning every word as hug him again, inhaling the familiar scent that feels like home.

#jungkook fic #jungkook fanfic #bts jungkook fic #bts jungkook fanfic #jungkook imagine #bts jungkook drabble #bts fan fic #bts fanfiction #bts fanfic

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anerdinallherglory · 11 months

Text

Approaching Sun (34)

Author’s Note: Hi! Me again! Life is consistently a wild ride. I have OCD when it comes to raising my child and want to be as emotionally and physically available as I can as a mom, so my free time is limited. I completely underestimated the SAHM gig; it’s a 24 hour job. It also takes me twice as long to knock out a chapter because I can only find the time to write during nap time. As mentioned before, I am also trying to find time to work on my own novel, so between it and AS, the time is split. For those of you who have been reading AS for a long time, thank you for your patience and dedication to the story. You guys rock. This ship will reach shore eventually. For the landlubbers, this sea is a long one. Beware the journey. P.S. I usually write around 6,000 words per chapter and this one is over 10,000! Hope that helps the wait!

Pairing: SasuSaku

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33

Chapter 34: All Wars, Theirs.

After performing her rounds at the hospital the next morning, Sakura found herself staring into Mako’s cell again as the man who betrayed her looked at her dejectedly through the bars. His head was rested back against the wall and his chin jutted forward as he watched her. Ironically, Sakura came carrying a cup of tea in her palms, debating on whether to drink it herself or offer it to Mako.

When she placed the steaming cup through the bars and onto the ground, sliding it forward carefully to refrain from sloshing it over the porcelain rim, Mako raised an eyebrow and snorted a dubious laugh. “You can’t be serious, right?”

Sakura shrugged her shoulders innocently in response. “I thought we agreed to be close colleagues again.”

He sat up straight as he responded. “I don’t remember agreeing to that. Second, we were never really close to begin with; I only ever gave you the tea to lull you into a sense of trust.”

Sakura dismissed the confession because it was already common knowledge between them anyway, and said, “Yes, yes. I’m aware.”

“Then you have a distressing sense of humor,” Mako breathed, gesturing to the tea between them as he stood from his lonely, reclined spot against the sand-constructed wall at the back of his cell. Stooping, Mako reached for the tea and cradled it in his hands all the way down as he replaced its spot on the floor with his cross-legged figure.

Sakura mirrored Mako’s sitting position on the other side of the bars strategically, a tactic she often used when talking with someone she wanted to make feel at ease.

Seeing straight through the method, Mako sipped the tea before asking sarcastically, “Am I due for another therapy session now, Doc?”

Sakura shrugged off his sardonic comment and decided to move straight to the point. “Where is the heart of your organization? Are they based in Tanigakure?”

Mako shot his eyebrows up, swallowing the tea thickly at the abrupt question. He replied with another patronizing question. “Doesn’t your Kazekage know that? Why don’t you go and ask him?”

Sakura said bluntly, “He more than likely does. But I don’t. I want you to tell me yourself.”

Mako set his tea down, suspicion darkening his gaze. “There’s a reason you don’t want to ask him, then. Tell me and I’ll consider sharing what I know with you.”

Sakura was either extremely transparent today, or Mako had truly spent their time together as physicians studying her so thoroughly that he was able to see straight through to some of her thoughts, and it gave Sakura a slithering sensation of uncertainty in her gut.

Sakura frowned back at Mako for his intuitive guess, because in all honesty, Sakura had spent the morning tending to a countless number of patients, recalling familiar faces and learning new names, and had recoiled once again at Gaara’s plans of an inevitable confrontation within Sunagakure.

Even though none of this was Sakura’s fault, she couldn’t help but feel like her presence in the Sand Village endangered the citizens here. She had wanted to believe that Gaara had everything under control, especially since Kakashi, Shikamaru, and the rest of Team 7 were here and ready to go through with plans of Gaara’s design. Sakura, too, had convinced Sasuke last night to trust in Gaara’s approach, saying: “It’s the best option we have.” To which, Sasuke had interjected with the idea of going to Tanigakure to intercept the enemy himself, saying, “A covert operation with one person wouldn’t involve Konoha and Suna. It would be discreet.”

And at first, Sakura had rejected this idea because it didn’t make sense. Sasuke had his mission. To tangle himself up in this now when he had just had a breakthrough would delay his progress and distract him from a far superior threat to Konoha. And Gaara was more than capable of handling this, but then again, Sakura believed that so was she. And so, Sakura had contemplated Sasuke’s “covert operation with one person” idea throughout the night, wondering if it wasn’t an entirely preposterous plan if only it didn’t involve the Uchiha, but her instead.

As Mako blinked at her, expecting her response, Sakura covered for herself by saying, “I just want to confirm his suspicions.”

“Liar,” he accused, and Sakura frowned again at Mako’s own forthrightness. He had stopped hiding himself, Sakura realized. He was allowing her to see who he truly was, and Sakura felt somewhat sad knowing that the kind and exceedingly thoughtful version who had fooled her truly had just been a ruse. This Mako was abrasive and it kind of reminded Sakura of the sensation of having just a little too much salt, not enough to deter you from the food, but more than enough to make you blanch and investigate the dish more carefully.

“What can I possibly do in here?” he asked as he motioned around him at Gaara’s impenetrable sand, no longer humming in the air, but solid and unyielding in its shape of the tunnels and countless cells. Sand that Sakura was sometimes wary around simply because of its desire to do its master’s bidding. As if specks of it could whisp away to speak into the Kazekage’s ear whenever it wished. Sakura knew she was being too paranoid simply because she was harboring a secret plan of her own, one that Mako was beginning to discern. Could she tell him? Should she tell him?

As if he could sense her hesitation, he added, “I did promise to spend the rest of my life—however short it may be—atoning for my actions, you know. And it’s not like I can run off and tell your secrets now, can I?”

Not entirely ready to believe him or trust in him again, Sakura sighed and told him a half-truth instead. “I want to know that, because I want to talk to the organization myself.”

Mako’s eyebrows raised and he laughed sharply. “You want to talk to them?”

Sakura nodded.

All of his false humor instantly died away at her confirmation. “Listen, if Leaf shinobi just show up there, on their turf, things are not going to go your way. They certainly aren’t going to talk to you about anything.”

“And why is that?” Sakura questioned.

“Because you are not their only target.”

Sakura’s stomach dropped at his sudden revelation. “What do you mean? I thought—”

“You are a target,” Mako interrupted, “A very big target—their most important one—but not their only one. You are at the top of the list. But after you, there will be others.”

“Like whom?” she probed.

“Anyone with power and influence whose ideals align with yours. People responsible with healing the next generation directly. Doctors, missionaries, leaders, teachers. The list goes on.”

“How many members,” Sakura asked, leaning toward the bars. “And is the Shade not the leader?”

“Not many, actually, but growing by the day.” Mako confessed easily and quickly, and Sakura could see that it was the truth. “Kasek, the man of shadow you refer to as a Shade, is one of the leaders. But there are others. He is not the mastermind.”

“Then who is?”

“I was new and never made it that far into the organization to find out. Hisa didn’t even know, and she has been involved much longer. They operate on a need-to-know basis, and she only ever consulted Kasek.”

“I see,” Sakura sighed, hoping for more intel than that.

“They are based in Tani as the Kazekage expects, but they are spread out. Or were. As they looked for you and the others. They might be dispersed and not all at the central location. From what I could gather from my conversations with the others, finding them all will be like searching for one cockroach at a time in a growing infestation.”

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek as she listened to this last bit, not entirely sure what she was expecting in the sense of her enemies’ locations. Sakura hadn’t been so naïve to hope that she could locate a singular location with all the bees inside their hive, but she had hoped for something more positive than the dismal reality that they might not be located at their base at all. This group and their teams and separation reminded Sakura, eerily of the Akatsuki. And if all of this was true (it was wise to only take Mako’s advice with a grain of salt), this brought Sakura full-circle to Gaara’s plan which was to lure them into Sunagakure. She hated to throw a wrench in any plans, but Sasuke was right. She needed to do something else, something less dangerous for everyone.

She had learned what she needed, so Sakura stood, dusting the sand off her pants.

Mako jumped up at her sudden indication of departure and blurted, “What’s your plan? I only told you this so you would think twice about whatever schemes you have. Even with your friends’ help, it’s dangerous. They will kill you.”

Sakura wanted to laugh at the preposterous idea of Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke being taken down by any enemy at this point. The three of them would die from old age, she was sure of it. She even had confidence in her own abilities despite how aware she was of the fact that this newly formed organization had no hesitancy to take her life. She vividly recalled how Mako had tried to convince Hisa to spare her life, arguing that she was too useful to kill. But she had bested them, hadn’t she? Even the shade who had corpsified her arms.

“Would I have really learned my lesson if I told you my plan?” Sakura asked him as she placed a hand on her hip and smiled pointedly at him. But Mako grabbed the bars between them, eyes narrowing once again.

“Listen, I know you have no reason to trust me, but take me with you.”

Sakura laughed out loud this time, unable to help herself as she covered her mouth with the soft side of her curved hand. Mako only glared. “Take you? Why on earth would I do that?”

“Because,” he hissed, “I could help you. You could use my affiliation with the group in whatever way you thought was best. They will more than likely kill me, but I could come up with something to get us in.”

Sakura’s smile disappeared. “The only help I need from you is for you to stay in this cell where you can’t stab me in the back again. I may have extended a hand of collaboration to you, but that doesn’t mean I’m dumb enough to trust you completely.”

Mako instantly responded with a frown, “You’re making a mistake.”

Sakura turned her back to him, ordering, “Start planning for your future here while I am away. The clinic needs you.”

As she began walking down the dark corridor of the underground tunnel toward the exit, she heard Mako yell after. “I? You’re going by yourself?!”

But she didn’t respond. The sand door that had fallen away before, floated back into form behind her, solidifying into a solid, soundproof barrier once more.

Despite his words last night, Sasuke was the one who was distracted. Distracted from his mission by so many different things, all of them pertaining to a certain pink-haired kunoichi whose cherry-blossom color bled into every crevice of his mind. Pale fingers tracing his back in the dark privacy of a shared room, Mako’s declaration of incoming enemies with the purpose of killing her, and Gaara’s various plans for their arrival were at the top of his thought list—right up there along with how much he wanted to throttle his blonde best friend for his incessant slurping.

Sasuke was trying to explain to Kakashi the development of his mission regarding the foodpill’s ability to lengthen his span of jump between Kaguya’s dimensions. At the mention of foodpills, however, Naruto had insisted he was going to resort to eating some of Sakura’s disgusting ‘mudballs’ himself very soon if they didn’t make a food stop and continue this discussion over a meal.

And so, this is where Sasuke currently found himself: sitting annoyingly squished in a small corner of a crowded food market stall located in the busiest section of the market square, closing his eyes tightly as Naruto shoved another bite of seasoned rice and meat stew loudly down his oversized gullet.

And now Kakashi had just brought up the very topic Sasuke had been brooding over since Gaara had announced to the group his plans on dealing with Sakura’s newfound enemies. The very topic that had Sasuke so distracted. Sasuke had been fantasizing ways to take out that lazy, spiky-haired strategist for even suggesting that Sakura be used as a lure in the first place. Shikamaru did not sit amongst them at the moment because he had “better things to do” in Suna at the moment, which thankfully kept him out of Sasuke’s sight.

“Let’s convene again with Sakura and the Kazekage this evening,” Kakashi suggested, somehow managing to eat without revealing the face behind the mask. “We need to consider the next steps carefully.”

“Gaara can handle it,” Naruto said, almost unintelligibly through a humongous bite of rice. “Whatever he says, we can trust him with it.”

“Or we could handle it,” Sasuke put out there, seeing an opportunity to change the situation and going for it instantly. “Quietly and effectively. Just us. No Sand Village.”

Naruto choked in his excitement at such a notion, agreeing with Sasuke immediately. “I like that idea better!”

“Hn,” Sasuke voiced in agreement with Naruto, whom technically had just agreed with him, but Sasuke didn’t care, because he wasn’t past emphasizing his own statement at this point.

Kakashi tapped his chopsticks thoughtfully against the table. “The situation is delicate because Tanigakure is a mostly neutral country between two shinobi villages. We can’t just go in there and start fighting a multitude of ninja who don’t represent the country as a whole. Even discreetly, the battle ensued would potentially cause too much damage. Gaara’s presence alone in Tanigakure for a few days caused some strain. Needing this fight to happen elsewhere is imperative.”

Naruto’s face had scrunched up the longer that Kakashi spoke, and the blonde knucklehead let out a thoughtful “hmmm” as he nodded his head like he had actually understood any of that. Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes and sigh.

“The Shade refuses to speak,” Kakashi continued his remarks. “We need intel, or we will be going into this blind. The Kazekage has that intel and is in the works of acquiring more information. Trusting Gaara is our best option.”

Sasuke wanted to say more, to argue, to persuade if only it weren’t so unlike him to do so. The Sasuke everyone was expecting was the uncaring one. The one who couldn’t be too bothered with any of this at all because it didn’t directly involve The Uchiha or his mission to investigate the Otsusuki. And part of Sasuke told himself to get a grip and to reign in the worry and trust the others. Sasuke knew he was being unreasonable, knew that he needed to focus on his own mission and goals. That’s what Sakura wanted, too. But Sasuke didn’t know how to wash his hands clean of this anymore, to eradicate the presence of Sakura in his mind, the feel of her skin, the embraces, smiles, and promises between them. Sasuke didn’t want to and therein lied his problem.

Kakashi was giving him that knowing sidelong look that had Sasuke glaring back at him.

“First things first, then,” The Sixth Hokage stated as he made to stand. “Let’s go find Sakura and then we can meet up with Gaara this evening.” And as Kakashi stood, the sensei suddenly realized that his former students no longer occupied the table but were making a break for the entrance, leaving Kakashi with a table full of Naruto’s dishes and an expectant storeowner smiling at him with the bill.

Sasuke heard their sensei sigh, murmur something about how he was supposed to be saving for retirement, but then handing over a wad of change to the giddy and grateful older woman.

When they located Sakura soon after in one of the medicine preparation rooms, she was bending over a mortar and pestle again, gloved hands moving deftly, and her hair pulled tightly behind her and Sasuke realized for the first time how long it had grown since they had left Konoha. The time had seemed to have passed them so quickly, and yet more than a couple months had transpired since he had returned home that day at dawn back in the Leaf. Her attire had changed overnight, and Sasuke instantly noticed that she no longer wore any of the clothes he had bought for her but had taken the liberty of finding something more fitting her previous style: red, short sleeved, and tantalizing short around the midriff. The very stomach he had ran his fingers across in the darkness of their shared room last night.

Sasuke pointedly looked away from her exposed skin as they advanced upon her position, and he decided to hang back against the entrance as Naruto and Kakashi greeted her enthusiastically. He settled into a comfortably uninterested position in typical Uchiha fashion against the wall and peeked over when Sakura elbowed Naruto’s arm when the blonde idiot shouted, “You’re making more puke pills?”

Sasuke felt a weight settle in his stomach as he made the connection that she was handling the ingredients required to make him more food pills for his mission. And from the trays set out before her, Sakura was making a lot of them. Even Kakashi glanced back Sasuke’s way as his former sensei realized Sakura’s purpose, as well.

Although somewhat touched by her effort, Sasuke feigned disinterest in the lot of them.

“Let’s have a taste!” Naruto exclaimed. “Surely, they aren’t as bad as they used to be!”

But before Naruto could touch one, Sakura pushed him away with her body. “Naruto! You need to stop that greedy habit of yours! They are made with Ashuwa, a plant that many people have severe allergic reactions to!”

Sasuke smirked silently to himself as Sakura chastised their gluttonous friend and Sasuke wanted to say something like, “Should have just let him eat it. That would teach him a lesson,” but Sasuke remained silent as Naruto shrieked at Sakura’s revelation.

The idiot jerked his entire body away from the food pills, eyes turning into round circles as he pointed at them, “Now you’re cooking can KILL people?!”

“Na-ru-tooo,” Sakura seethed in that drawn-out warning of his name she often used while considering to pommel their friend, and they all knew if she weren’t holding her gloved, Ashuwa-tainted hands up and away from everyone, Sakura would have hit him.

“They won’t kill you unless you are allergic,” Kakashi explained, motioning Naruto to take a few steps away. “How did you learn it was a common allergen?” he asked Sakura.

Her anger instantly forgotten, Sakura turned red from embarrassment and her eyes darted to the Uchiha. “After Mako told me about the plant, I tested it myself to assess the taste. I might have had a little reaction—”

Sasuke scoffed at the half-truth and spit out what she didn’t want to say. “It wasn’t little. Mako didn’t stop her from trying it, knowing how toxic it was. He was trying to kill her.” Feeling merciful, Sasuke left out the part about Sakura’s anaphylactic reaction, her face and mouth swelling up like a balloon that had left her bumbling through an explanation to a half-annoyed, half-concerned Sasuke.

Naruto instantly reddened after learning of Mako’s involvement, “THAT GUY!”

Kakashi didn’t give Naruto’s exclamation any attention, skipping over his statement immediately as he leaned curiously over the large array of food pills. “But Sasuke isn’t allergic, so these are the food pills you made for his mission? Are all of these for him, then?”

“Yes,” Sakura stated and she proceeded to relay the properties of the foodpills, their various side-effects and so on. Apparently, she had made modifications to these. They had less of a physical toll on the body and a greater number could be taken in a single dosage. They all raised their brows and glanced at one another in silent admiration; Sasuke didn’t bother to hide the small smirk of pride spreading across his face at his female companion’s astounding ability to make advancement upon advancement on something she had only just created days ago. Where had she even found the time?

“It’s not foolproof yet,” Sakura disclaimed as she hoisted a large container of compacted food pills from the counter and took slow and careful steps to Sasuke.

They both froze when her fingers bumped against his during the transfer; they also both instantly looked away from one another as the small physical contact brought memories of the more intimate touches of last night. The first physical anything other than kissing that had transpired between them had progressed so quickly and now Sasuke was back-peddling, silently berating himself for the first time about his weak willpower. They had only ever exchanged a couple kisses, something that Sasuke thought would be manageable, safe, and just enough to take that edge off, satiate that desire that suddenly choked all his stoic sense out of him. And yet, things had heated so much last night that Sakura had felt compelled to mention it. Sasuke just hadn’t expected the cravings something like running his fingers along her bare back would evoke in him. Her touching him was wonderful, but when he had touched her in return, his hand starting with her shirt and finding her skin underneath… it was erotic. And typical for Sasuke, he had balked, realizing the trajectory of their course. Because the truth was, they needed clear heads. Just as he had told her. And Sasuke’s head had been anything but clear since Sakura had joined him on his mission.

“I still need you to test them,” Sakura stated quietly, and Sasuke’s attention snapped back to his pink-haired teammate, who was still avoiding his eyes shyly. “I can make adjustments from there.”

Sasuke didn’t know what to say or do other than nod silently as he withdrew a summoning scroll and performed the justsu that would seal the foodpills within it. “Naruto could go with you, now. Go train and test one out and come back before nightfall so I can modify the recipe if I need to.”

“Great idea!” Naruto exclaimed and he ran over to Sakura’s workstation and plucked a loose pill off the counter, gulping it greedily before saying, “They still taste like mudballs, Sakura.”

“You IDIOT!” Sakura gasped, storming over to him and checking his face. “You don’t even know if you’re allergic!!!”

“I can’t let Sasuke have an unfair advantage!” Naruto announced with that stupid face-breaking grin. “I’m fine! See? If Sasuke can handle the Ass-ingredient than so can I!”

All three of them rolled their eyes at Naruto’s sense of competitiveness against his lifelong rival—Sasuke would never admit that neither of them still couldn’t stand to be outdone by the other in any way—as he stomped out the door, yelling, “Come on, Sasuke! Time to kick your ass!”

Sakura sighed, turning once again to Sasuke. “If he has a reaction, teleport him back immediately.”

Sasuke nodded, then hesitated, glancing back between Sakura and Kakashi, whom had been leaning against the counter with an amused sort of expression. “What about the Kazekage—”

“Oh,” Sakura smiled innocently as Kakashi briefly explained their intentions of visiting with her and the Kazekage about the situation at hand. “He won’t be finished until later this evening. That’s when we are supposed to all meet up.”

Sasuke nodded, already being aware of this fact. When neither of his remaining members of Team 7 said anything more to detain him, Sasuke followed his blonde rival out the door, not being able to shake the suspicious feeling that he was purposefully being sent away.

Sakura admired Kakashi for his perceptiveness because as her sensei leaned out the window to watch his two chakra pill-dosed disciples navigate through an intricate web of sand-constructed and adobe houses, he asked, “What are you planning?”

Sakura’s eyes widened when he found hers and she suddenly knew that she had been caught. Sakura sighed. “How did you guess?”

Kakashi moved away from the window to lean against the counter beside her as she finished working, whipping out his favorite scandalous Icha Icha book. “Your behavior is off. At first, I thought it was because of the evolution of your relationship with Sasuke, but…”

Sakura’s eyes grew even wider as his words registered in her mind, and she blushed furiously as she defended, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Kakashi raised his hands, saying, “I won’t mention anything again. It’s between the both of you.”

Sakura turned her back to him to hide her face, not believing him for a second. He would stick his nose where it didn’t belong for the rest of their lives.

Kakashi continued, “However, I’ve known the both of you for a long time and I just want to say that I am happy for you. It looks good on you both…being in love.”

Sakura stilled her panicked faux-work movements at Kakashi’s words and turned back to face him. Even with half his face concealed by the black mask, Sakura saw the upturn of his lips and the crease of a smile beneath his exposed right-eye. She had never wanted to hug someone so tightly in her life because his words, his approval, meant so much to her. “Thank you,” she whispered, her eyes threatening to water and Kakashi nodded.

But the feeling of happiness eroded when Kakashi finished the rest of what he was trying to say before getting side-tracked. “Seeing all these food pills you’ve made in advance suggests to me that you’re not planning on being here to make more of them. Am I wrong to assume this?”

And Sakura sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she dropped her shoulders in silent defeat. “No,” she admitted. “You’re not wrong. I wanted to talk to you. As a leaf shinobi talks to their Hokage.”

Kakashi raised his eyebrow but waited for her to continue.

And she confessed to him her feelings about Gaara’s plans, Sasuke’s valid suggestion for a single-person mission to infiltrate the organization, her own plans to deal with the situation, along with the details of Mako’s information, and her carefully constructed counterplans. She told Kakashi everything she planned to do and exactly how she would do it.

Kakashi listened with a grim face, simultaneously intrigued, and sighing at each step of Sakura’s points of reasoning. When she finally finished, Kakashi stared down at his feet for a moment before lifting his eyes to her. “As your Sensei, I want to say no. To put the responsibility on Gaara as he suggested. It’s too dangerous to do this alone.”

Sakura nodded. She was aware of this, had prepared herself for this.

“The boys won’t hear of it,” Kakashi pointed out, “they’ll insist on joining you.”

“I don’t plan on telling them,” Sakura confessed. “I’ll leave immediately. When they learn of it, I’ll need you to convince them to stay behind. And persuade Gaara, too. Strategically, it is the safest route for everyone.”

Kakashi sighed. “I don’t foresee this part of your plan going well. Even the Kazekage won’t be pleased that you’ve gone against the plan. He feels responsible.”

“Do what you must. Play the Hokage card if you have to. Isn’t that your favorite?” she smiled teasingly.

Kakashi looked affronted at her statement and Sakura laughed good-naturedly despite the stressful topic.

“Do I have your official permission, then?” she asked.

“As your Hokage, I say go. Bring them to the light or bring them down, whichever of the two options prevents them from threatening your life again. Are you sure that you’re ready?”

“I was ready the very moment they laid their hands on Isao. It’s my turn to protect the ones I love, now.”

Sasuke scowled deeply at Naruto who had just taken his third chakra pill before funneling Kurama’s chakra into his limbs and body once again. “Let’s go again!” he yelled across the sandfield at Sasuke, shaking sweat from his hair like Kiba’s white-furred mutt.

Sasuke sighed, feeling thoroughly exhausted, not having entirely recovered from overexerting himself on chakra pills just days ago. As he watched Naruto take his third dose, Sasuke found himself wishing his blonde companion had been just slightly allergic to the Ashu—just enough where they had an excuse to go back—but of course, Naruto had no reaction; certainly would have saved him from having to walk into the desert and rile himself up with Naruto’s challenges.

There was a part of Sasuke that loved to challenge Naruto, to spar until his limbs were heavy, mottled with bruising, and he could lay on his back that night and feel released from his thoughts—just feel the soreness of his body and the satisfying memories of getting a few ones in on his bijuu friend. But today, Sasuke felt half-in the fight and often found himself tossing distracted glances back toward to the Sand Village.

“Enough Naruto. I think we’ve tested them enough. Let’s head back.”

Powering down, Naruto shouted, “You tired, Sasuke? You’re off your game today.”

And even though Sasuke told himself not to react to Naruto’s goading statement, he still found himself scoffing. “Unlike you loser, I haven’t just been sitting around doing nothing.”

Naruto pointed an annoyed finger in his direction. “Flirting with Sakura doesn’t count!”

Sasuke whipped his head in his friend’s direction and narrowed his deadly purple and red glare at the knucklehead, who was grinning and laughing at Sasuke’s reaction. “You should see your face!”

Sasuke scowled, half-tempted to shoot another fireball in the obnoxious jinchuriki’s direction, but he would need another chakra pill to do so, and Sasuke didn’t want to risk consuming three in a row, despite Sakura’s claim of reduced side-effects. He was completely spent. Anymore and Sasuke might really overdo it and he couldn’t risk being completely bedridden. Not with Sakura’s attackers out there somewhere still organizing a retaliation.

Sasuke struck with his words. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And I’m NOT tired. Don’t you see the sun setting? We need to head back to meet with the Kazekage.”

Naruto turned to appraise the sun for the first time, and the vibrant red of the sunset cast a crimson glow on their skin and clothes, projecting lengthy shadows of their stooped, heavily-breathing figures on the ruby sand beneath them.

“Alright fine. Just to save your Uchiha pride.” Naruto exclaimed, rolling his purpling jaw and stiff shoulders. “I’ll definitely be stealing some of those pills for future use.”

Sasuke scoffed again and joined his friend as they trudged back through the red-tinted sand at a slower pace, the both of them trying to disguise limping. Naruto even stumbled once in the deep sand and instead of catching himself, he purposefully sprawled out onto his back and Sasuke came to stand over him.

“Don’t make me drag you back,” he hissed threateningly. But Naruto just raised his hand and said, “Five-minute break.”

Sasuke didn’t even argue, grateful for the rest, but he was also simultaneously anxious to be back. Unlike Naruto, he didn’t allow himself to sit. He was afraid he might not be able to get back up.

“You know,” Naruto wheezed between heavy breaths. “I may be oblivious the majority of the time, but not when it comes to you two. Things are different between you, aren’t they?”

Sasuke released a sigh into his hand, not because he was annoyed—although he was very much tempted to disguise it as annoyance—but because the weight of no one knowing and keeping it a secret from Naruto was no longer a burden; he had already guessed it. And so, Sasuke nodded with a confirmatory “hn.”

And then Naruto was grinning, larger than Sasuke had ever seen the knucklehead grin. There was even a tear that slid down the right side of his friend’s sand-dusted cheek as he gazed up into the darkening sky. Naruto covered his eyes to disguise the tears with the crook of his arm as he grinned and whispered, “Finally.”

Sasuke’s first reaction was to insult him for the crying, but he was honestly genuinely affected by this ninja’s emotion, and Sasuke for once in his life wanted to confide in someone who knew Sasuke’s entire history, his past, his everything.

“I’m afraid.” Sasuke confessed. “How do you love someone without spending every waking second worrying about them?”

Naruto sat up at that, leaning on one elbow as his body rotated in Sasuke’s direction. “You’re still concerned that something will happen to her?”

Sasuke just nodded again, giving voice to one of his inner-most thoughts. “Yes. Because of me. Because of who I am.”

“Haven’t you already realized that Sakura is going to be a target because of who she is? Look at the current situation. She’s a medic ninja out there changing the world and one of the most capable shinobi we know. If you’re going to be with anyone, Sasuke, Sakura is the only one who can handle all that come with it.”

Sasuke found himself nodding because he had realized this recently. Everything Naruto just said, Sasuke had thought himself. He could now fully appreciate the fact that Sakura’s life would be threatened regardless of her association with him. But he needed to hear someone say it, the confirmation he was looking for from the universe that set his heart at ease.

“If anything,” Naruto began, standing and dusting the sand from his clothes. “Her association with all of us keeps her protected.”

Sasuke raised a brow in confusion, but Naruto continued. “She may be hunted for her connection to us: the Kazekage’s student, the jinchuriki’s friend, and the last surviving Uchiha’s…” he trailed off, and Sasuke narrowed his eyes dangerously, daring him to say the word. But Naruto chose to finish that sentence with,”partner” and Sasuke found that he and Sakura had even referred to one other as such, so the word felt appropriate.

“But,” Naruto continued, “her particular connections to us protect her, too. Who’s going to risk the wrath of us in order to get to her?”

“This damn anti-peace organization,” Sasuke answered, immediately finding a hole in Naruto’s explanation. He wanted to mention Kido, that madman who had tried to use Sakura to get his sharingan, but Sasuke decided against that one.

Naruto waved away that answer, stating, “Tanigakure was neutral in the war. If this organization truly originates there, they didn’t witness our abilities. There will always be instances that Sakura is targeted, but we will remind them every time who she is and who she belongs to.”

“If she doesn’t remind them herself, first.” Sasuke added.

“Exactly,” Naruto agreed, clapping Sasuke on the shoulder.

Kakashi and Shikamaru were the only two waiting in the Kazekage’s office when Gaara and his two accompanying siblings entered. Kakashi and Shikamaru glanced between one another tensely, aware of the news they would soon share with the Kazekage.

Immediately after Sakura’s conversation and departure, Kakashi had found the lazy ninja strolling the streets carefree with Temari. Wrestling him away with the “official business” excuse, Shikamaru had sighed, “This early? I thought I had until this evening. What a drag.” Once Kakashi had confidentially reported Sakura’s plans for an independent mission, Shikamaru had initially argued with him about her decision, stating it was unnecessary for her to take the risk. That was, until Kakashi had told him everything. The plan. The details. Everything Sakura had confessed to Kakashi as a ninja would to their Kazekage.

“I don’t like it,” Shikamaru sighed with his head in his hand, “but it might just work. We need to meet with her and discuss strategy—”

“She’s already left,” Kakashi interrupted and Shikamaru dropped his hands from his face in shock.

“Already?!”

“Leaving immediately was imperative,” Kakashi explained and by the look on Shikamaru’s face, he had already made the connection that it had to do with the other two members of Team 7. Kakashi continued with: “We can send her your advice by hawk.”

Shikamaru groaned, “Telling Naruto and Sasuke is going to be such a drag.”

That was definitely going to be a mountain that Kakashi was not looking forward to. But before facing that mountain, he had a bridge to cross, and that bridge was none other than telling the Kazekage he had made a decision as the Hokage despite the Kazekage’s careful planning.

As the Kazekage sat cordially behind his desk, ready to scheme and discuss tactics, Kakashi sat across from him, grateful that Gaara was usually a level-headed and understanding leader and was typically easy to work with. But just before Kakashi could blurt out Sakura’s plan, a blue-haired sand shinobi entered the room, pushing a rather drab-looking ninja medic whom Kakashi instantly recognized as the man responsible for betraying Sakura to a group of vigilantes. Kakashi raised a curious eyebrow at Mako’s sudden presence, and Kakashi assumed it had something to do with information garnished from his interrogation.

“The prisoner who keeps asking for you, Lord Kazekage,” the ninja stated respectfully as he pushed Mako to his knees on the floor before Gaara who seemed slightly annoyed with his unexpected appearance.

“Yes, thank you.” The Kazekage gestured for the shinobi to leave.

Mako strained his arms against a pair of sand shackles and Kakashi noticed for the first time that the former Sunagakure medic was trying to speak past a gag of sand as it rained from his mouth. Not only was he struggling to speak, but Mako was glancing around the room into each of their faces and Kakashi witnessed the medic’s eyes widen in alarm, a panicked look Kakashi had become very familiar with from his time as a shinobi: fear.

“Excuse the interruption,” Gaara pardoned and Shikamaru and Kakashi were both a little too eager in shaking their hands in dismissal, both of them more than happy for a delay in delivering their news.

“Make it quick,” Gaara said emotionlessly, snapping his fingers to disintegrate the manacles and gag from his mouth. “What is it you want?”

Mako choked on some of the remnants of grit on his tongue and he wiped furiously from his mouth. Finally, Mako began to breath evenly, blurting, “She—” he choked again. “You have to stop her.”

“Stop who?” The Kazekage interrogated, a furrowed brow of confusion passing across Gaara’s usual emotionless expressions.

Kakashi’s stomach dropped when Mako cried out, “Sakura! She left the prison this morning, asking for information. I got the impression that she was going to go looking for the enemy on her own! You can’t let her—”

Gaara silenced the noisy vomit of words spilling out of Mako’s mouth with a raised hand. He turned to Kakashi and raised an eyebrow. “Where is Sakura?” the sand-wielder questioned. “Why exactly is she not here right now?”

Kakashi rubbed his neck half-humoredly. “Well, about that,” he began and he heard Shikamaru sigh at his right. And so Kakashi found himself explaining the current situation, at which Gaara’s eye grew wide in surprise. Just as Sakura had explained to him, and Kakashi had relayed to Shikamaru, the Hokage now recounted a censored version of Sakura’s goals (he wasn’t naïve enough to reveal anything essential in Mako’s presence).

Even Temari and Kankuro exchanged worried glances between one another as Kakashi reported, and Gaara placed his fisted hand on his mouth to think.

“I had thought we were on the same page, her and I.” Gaara voiced. “If she goes into Tanigakure, discretion is a must. Are you sure she can handle this without our help?”

Kakashi nodded. “If anyone can do this, she can.” Kakashi was relieved to see him nod curtly before whispering an instruction silently to Kankuro, who dashed quickly from the room, sending a small hateful glare in Mako’s direction as he exited.

Mako took turns exasperatedly gaping between all of them. “You are all too confident.” Mako seethed. “I should have just kept my mouth shut. She hasn’t been on the battlefield since the war. She’s too inexperienced for the numbers, especially going alone.”

“Why are you working so hard to prevent her from going? Are you disappointed that her plan might not work?” Shikamaru drawled, the annoyed tone very much like his character. “She handled your team well enough.”

Mako laughed derisively. “Of course, her plan won’t work! She said she just wants to talk to them! You’re sending their target, a martyr in the name of mental health, into a nest designed for her death!”

“Then tell us what you know.” Gaara’s rasping voice sounded and Kakashi witnessed Mako tense at the legendary jinchuriki’s question. “You’ve chosen a second life here, correct? In exchange for your information, I’ll offer you protection as long as you reside here.”

Mako’s eyes widened at the offer and then he sighed; Kakashi saw the internal struggle still within his eyes as if the young man truly was trying to recall everything he could remember. “I’ll tell you what I told her,” the prisoner exhaled as he rubbed his sore blistered wrists. “I don’t know much. I didn’t get that far in, but I will tell you everything I do know.”

“Better make that quick,” Kakashi announced, walking to one of the windows across the room. The descending sunlight illuminated the sand ground in orange, striped by the shadows of all the buildings within the village, and two smaller shadows shuffled their way slowly towards the Kazekage’s tower.

“You’re late,” Shikamaru drawled when Sasuke practically hauled Naruto’s limp body through the door of the Kazekage’s office. Stupid idiot had walked the entire way back, but the stairs, the stairs, had been too much for him. Sasuke practically dropped him on his back to the floor.

“Coming from you, Shikamaru?” Naruto laughed, pointing an accusing finger and upside-down jeer at the lazy Hokage’s assistant. “You and Kakashi Sensei are always late to everything.”

“It’s Lord Hokage, Naruto…” Kakashi corrected, covering his eyes with his hand, and Sasuke thought he looked like a parent who was embarrassed of his two humiliating children.

“You can blame Naruto,” Sasuke stated bluntly as he side-stepped Naruto, already feigning disinterest in the present company. That was until his narrowed eyes met an unlikely visitor that Sasuke would have rather never seen again. Mako sat with his hands bound and mouth gagged with what appeared to be whirring sand. His silent figure observed Sasuke, blatantly staring at him in forced silence, and Sasuke could have kicked in his teeth. Sasuke didn’t question Mako’s presence too much; Gaara probably had him brought from the cells to testify for insider information.

Moving along with a threatening glare in Mako’s direction, the Uchiha positioned himself casually against the wall the farthest away from everyone and instantly became aware that Sakura had not made it to the Kazekage’s office, yet. Sasuke mentally scolded his pink-haired teammate for her overachieving work ethic, and that kernel of uneasiness from earlier that came from Sakura’s absence was back again. Maybe he should go and retrieve her.

“Were the chakra pills effective?” Kakashi suddenly inquired, and Naruto enthusiastically answered as he sat upright once more, crossing his legs and arms simultaneously; the very same squat he often took as a genin.

“Yes! I took four in a row!” he praised. “Wish she could improve that terrible taste though,” he mumbled lowly to himself, taking a dramatic swipe at his tongue with the pad of his right thumb and then inspecting it for a residue. Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes.

As Naruto rambled on about the effects that he personally experienced from the new food pills, explaining that the results and consequences were as expected, but less serious, and how it took much longer to get there, Shikamaru laughed to himself and shook his head in disbelief. This laugh pricked Sasuke’s ears and his attention switched to Kakashi, and Sasuke witnessed the Hokage and Kazekage exchange a quiet look, the type of glance that was charged with a silent conversation. Sasuke then turned to find Mako’s heavy gaze on him, staring directly into his eyes as if he no longer feared them. The Uchiha narrowed his eyes at the man, trying his best to not let the behavior provoke him in this uncomfortable atmosphere. God, Sasuke was tired of this meeting already.

“Where is Sakura, by the way?” Naruto glanced around, the first to address her absence since they had arrived. It may have been the only time today Sasuke wasn’t annoyed at the blonde idiot.

Naruto’s question was interrupted and ignored when the puppet-wielding ninja appeared through the entrance, signaled Gaara with a nod, and the Kazekage announced, “All right then, let’s get started.”

Sasuke had rarely felt so skeptical in his life as he did now when the sand-wielder engulfed the room with sand, creating a soundproof barrier that Sasuke had witnessed him do several times. It hardened within seconds, encasing them all in one un-impenetrable room. Sasuke glanced at Naruto as his question was skipped over, and Sasuke noticed that the knucklehead, too, had a confused frown on his face. And Sasuke suddenly had a gut-wrenching feeling, because it was obvious that if Gaara was sealing the room already, it was because everyone who was expected to be there, already was. Which meant that Sakura wasn’t coming.

And Sasuke’s gaze suddenly locked on the sand-muffled Mako, whose eyes still bore into the Uchiha’s as if he had been trying to communicate with him all along—eyes that had been so cautious to meet the Sharingan and Rinnegan before, but now volunteered themselves for Sasuke’s inspection. And as it finally clicked in Sasuke’s brain, he called on his reduced supply of chakra and his eyes instantly morphed into the deadly purple and red.

Mako slumped forward as Sasuke plowed into the ninja’s memories, frantically searching for Sakura’s face, reversing time so quickly that he struck through Mako’s memories like electricity, faster than the streaks of lightning of his chidori. Finally, his charged consciousness of his lightning style chakra illuminated the memories containing her. Finally, Sasuke witnessed her sitting before Mako’s cell, eye-to-eye on the other side of the bars crafted from sand. Sasuke paused and played out her questions to Mako:

Where is the heart of your organization?

Are they based in Tanigakure?

How many members?

When Sasuke stumbled through the rest of their conversation, hearing Mako ask Sakura to take him with her to help her with her plan, and then experiencing Mako’s panic at realizing that Sakura planned to go alone, Sasuke felt the same fear again. That same fear he had felt many times in the past, and now found himself feeling again. Everything suddenly made dreadful sense: Gaara surrounding the room with sand—an action that Sasuke had misunderstood to be sound-proofing, the exchanged glances, and even Sakura asking he and Naruto to test the food pills so they would both be too physically drained to pursue her. Damn it. Sasuke felt like a fool; he felt betrayed, afraid, and so cross with everyone for their part in Salura’s self-sacrificing mission.

Too late, a veil of sand came before Mako’s eyes, the sand creating an impassable window to stop Sasuke’s genjutsu. But Sasuke had already learned what he needed to know and he withdrew from Mako’s head like a snake that had bitten him. Mako gasped from the shock of it and the entire room turned to watch the medic slump forward onto the ground, not having witnessed the silent exchange, but realizing something had just happened.

Gaara’s efforts to stop the genjutstu said a lot to Sasuke about how the Kazekage wanted to handle this confrontation: slowly, easily, and as emotionless as possible. But as Sasuke met the Kazekage’s eyes and Sasuke didn’t retract his emotional prowess, everyone in the room suddenly realized that Sasuke had discovered their closely guarded secret, and the Uchiha didn’t plan on calmly playing along with their plans.

“Naruto,” Sasuke drawled, his voice as low and heavy as the rumble that resounded when the ground shook on a war-torn battlefield. His next words had sharpened to accusatory ice. “Sakura’s not coming. She left Sunagakure on her own.”

Naruto shot up from the ground as if he hadn’t just crawled his way up the steps moments ago. “What?” he questioned the others, his gaze coming to rest on Kakashi who was putting a hand up already in an attempt to calm the Uzumaki.

“Why don’t you both sit down, so I can explain the situation to you—” their Sensei began, but his words only registered in Naruto’s head as a confirmation of Sasuke’s sudden declaration.

“WHAT?!” Naruto screeched, pointing a finger at all of them. “You let her go by herself? To do what? Fight? ALONE!?”

Sasuke’s immediate desire was to jump through space and time, directly through the portal of his choosing, bypassing everything altogether: the explanations, the defensive behavior, the justification of Sakura’s choices. But he was drained, just as Sakura had planned, damn her, and that only left Sasuke able to move to the door, instead. When he found the sand thickening around it, he turned and flashed his red and purple glare at Gaara.

“Even your sand will burn in the fires of Amaterasu,” Sasuke threatened dangerously. “You can’t hold me here.”

In the next moment, Kakashi had his hand on Sasuke’s shoulder and the Uchiha turned his glare back on him. “This is her plan, Sasuke. A covert operation with one person is discreet. She can handle this. Hear us out.”

Sasuke sucked in a sharp breath at the words that just came out of Kakashi’s mouth, the very words Sasuke had used to try and persuade Sakura to let him handle the situation himself. Sakura had listened, told Sasuke it was irrational, but had really gone and decided to take his idea and do it herself. His hand found his painful eyes. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. And they had agreed. Kakashi had agreed. Sasuke was so furious at himself for giving her the idea, but not as enraged at the Hokage for sending her.

“You think she can kill them?” he suddenly hissed in Kakashi’s face. “I watched her spare the life of that bastard who betrayed her,” Sasuke spat in Mako’s unconscious direction. “I’ve watched her spare the life of the monster who almost took the use of her arm away. There are countless others.”

“She killed one of them,” Shikamaru defended, “because it became necessary.” And Sasuke hated the strategist ninja once again, for his entitlement to a say. He didn’t know her. None of them knew Sakura the way that her own teammates did, including Sasuke, himself.

“She only killed the one who hurt that kid,” Sasuke retorted, cursing his own damn depleted state of chakra that was forcing him to sit and reason with these idiots. “None of the ones who touched her suffered any sort of consequence.”

“How many times?” Kakashi asked lowly, but loud enough for them all to hear. “How many times must she prove herself to you, Sasuke?”

Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration, his blood pulsing in his head from the chakra-depletion induced headache forming there. The truth was, that this wasn’t an issue to him anymore. He believed in her abilities. He had witnessed them, himself. And as he had explained to Sakura as he had wrapped his arms around her in the moonlight of last night, his faith in her didn’t change the fact that Sasuke would worry. That Sasuke would go after her. Every. Single. Time. Why? Because he loved Sakura, and a man in love with someone didn’t need an excuse to make sure she never faced anything alone, not as Sasuke had for years. Sakura’s enemies were his enemies. Her battles, his battles. All wars, theirs.

“Tell us where she’s gone, Kakashi!” Naruto interrupted, derailing both Sasuke’s thoughts and their sensei’s attempt to convince him completely. “Sakura is our teammate. I don’t care what her plan is! We fight as a team!”

Sasuke saw it in their faces, the wavering. Naruto always had that effect on people when he spoke, altering their thinking and changing their minds, easily.

Kakashi remained on course, however. “You can’t follow her, Naruto. Everyone in the shinobi world knows who you are. They would recognize you instantly. Remember what I said earlier? Leaf shinobi can’t enter into Tanigakure without consequence. It’s neutral. You’ll be starting something—”

“And the world doesn’t know Sakura?!” Naruto shouted in disbelief. “She’s just as recognizable as any of us! Is just as important to the Leaf!”

“Sakura has many different strengths she can draw from,” Kakashi continued. “She doesn’t have to rely on a ninjutsu that could give her away. Not like your Rasengan, beast modes, sage art, and more. She has another plan.”

Naruto began to protest again, but Sasuke interjected. “Fine, Naruto can stay here.”

“WHAT?!” his friend screeched, rounding on him instantly, but Sasuke ignored him.

“The idea was mine originally,” Sasuke explained to Kakashi. “Sakura just stole it. I will go and I will be as discreet as I have for the last couple of years on Konoha’s behalf.”

Kakashi sighed. “Sasuke, you’re involvement is not a good idea. You have your own mission.”

And as Kakashi began to deny him once more, Sasuke felt a sense of dread and panic as more time was slipping away from him. Each minute that passed, took Sakura further away from them and toward those who wanted to kill her.

Desperation wasn’t like Sasuke and he had never resorted to begging before, always being able to rely on his strength and jutsu to carry him through life, taking what he wanted, doing as he pleased, and needing permission from few. But he was growing more and more irate and more and more frantic, and so he risked being vulnerable in front of all these ninja who had often judged him.

“If I have to watch someone who I love die, sacrificing themselves for the sake of the Leaf Village, again, the person who I am now won’t survive it. What’s left of the shinobi world will either fall to the Otsusuki race in my absence, or it will fall to the person I will become.”

He watched the fear flash across each of their faces as Sasuke’s words registered throughout the room. Sasuke had been too young to help his brother bear the weight of such terrible orders from his village, but Sasuke wouldn’t sit by and do nothing when Sakura was given such a mission.

“Is that a threat, Uchiha?” Gaara grumbled and Sasuke felt the very ground, the entire sand-constructed village, shift in response to the Kazekage’s wrath. Sasuke felt no fear. He didn’t fear such things anymore.

“Sasuke,” Naruto whispered as his friend placed a supportive palm on his shoulder, but Sasuke shrugged it off and stepped up to Kakashi, so close that Sasuke could see the red and purple of his own gaze in Kakashi’s irises.

“That will be its fate if you keep me here and she dies, Kakashi. Don’t make the wrong choice.”

He saw it in Kakashi’s face. The realization that Sasuke was more dangerous to Konoha than any repercussions from Tanigakure, or any unnamed organization. Sasuke was also essential because he was the only one who could use the Rinnegan to get an edge on the Otsusuki race. He watched the risks shift in the Hokage’s mind as he weighed this new danger to the Leaf. And so Kakashi didn’t stop him. The sand rained down around him. They let him go.

Sasuke fisted the pink hair that had been cut and placed upon a note on the foot of his bed. He had almost missed it in the darkness, but the moon as always, caught Sakura’s hair in a way that nothing else could. The sight of her slashed hair, a pre-battle ritual of Sakura’s, instantly caught his eye and it panicked the Uchiha even more; he wished he would have returned to their shared room earlier in the day, because Sasuke would have realized what exactly Sakura had intended to do, and he could just have avoided the Kage meeting all together and gone straight after her.

He had returned now to make sure Sakura wasn’t there waiting for him. Sasuke knew better, but he had still hoped. All their conversations about partnership, communication and goodbyes, and all their small promises to one another these past couple of months had given him that hope. But it was all nothing, now. Empty words because none of it prevented her from leaving him. Sasuke Uchiha had been left behind. And for the first time, he realized just how lonely and horrendously painful it was to be left behind.

In the darkness, the hair fell from his hands onto the bed like Sasuke’s slashed headband had once descended from his forehead. He snatched the note from the bed and separated the two pages with the pad of his thumb. Sasuke activated his Sharingan in the dark and forced himself to read it slowly and carefully, instead of skipping over lines in his urgency.

Sasuke, it read.

Sasuke,

I am sorry. If you have found this letter, know that I write it because we promised one another a goodbye. This is my goodbye, for now. I thought a lot about your suggestion on how to handle this situation, and I decided to do this on my own, since I was going to be involved regardless. I have thought it through, put extensive research into how I will achieve my goal, and decided a solo mission was the best option after all. Forgive me for being a distraction to you and I hope that the time apart will give us ‘clear heads’ as you suggested last night. Focus on your mission and I will focus on mine. Keep Naruto from following. He can be impulsive, and I need to do this alone. If you don’t find this until later, and I do not return, know that I love you. You have always been worthy of that love, even the darkest version of you. Save the shinobi world and remember who you are.

She did not sign it. As soon as his eyes scanned the last line of pen scrawl, Sasuke was half-tempted to crumble it in his hand. But his eyes found the most important words on the page: I love you…you have always been worthy of that love…remember who you are. And Sasuke realized he needed this letter as much as he needed chakra or oxygen. Because if she died, Sasuke would have to stare at it every day for the rest of his lonely existence and let it be the tether that kept him from falling apart.

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