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cannellee · 2 months

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TOKYO REVENGERS OMEGAVERSE (mythological au! #2) ☆

୨୧ medusa! alpha! tokyo rev x blind! omega! reader (pairing : chifuyu, mikey, mitsuya, baji, izana)

— you meet medusa, whose stare can turn people into statues of rock. but you're actually blind so it doesn't affect you! what are their reactions?

cw : yandere!izana, baji is sweet++ and probably not representative, SA (mitsuya's one, it's not him though), deaths

(they don't have snakes hair, just the curse) + (it's sooo badly written pls don't mind the quality) + (baji's one is criminally short even though it has sm potential sorryy)

my masterlist : ☆

ALPHA! CHIFUYU (love at first sight)

you really simply wanted to pick berries for the pie you planned to cook this afternoon. you would call for your friend to come with you as it's so much more amusing when you're not on your own, but she couldn't today.

still, you went to your usual spot, experienced feet strolling along the path you grew to recognise by heart. you bent down, gathered a few fruits and other sweet things while searching deeper into the forest until you heard the soft sound of water dripping down.

you walked closer, senses alert and nose breathing in the fresh air around you. once the lapping of the gentle waves hugged your ankles, you put away your basket and sat down on a rock you found while navigating through your surroundings.

you let the sun hit your skin and sooth your worries away, calmly closing your eyes.

when chifuyu was alerted that someone had crossed his territory thanks to the mouths of the tiny magical beings he took under his protection, he promptly made his way to you.

chifuyu valued his space, but most and foremost, he hated humans. he hated the way they would cower under his gaze, how they pleaded for their lives and tried to harm him any chance they had.

if his life was to be painful and lonely, he at least wanted some peace. foolish people who wandered into his forest didn't know their fate, or at least took it too lightly.

he first heard soft hums, and the unnatural splash of water you made with your feet immersed in the lake.

chifuyu was prepared to scare you into running away, to growl and yell at how impudent you had been for trespassing.

but upon witnessing your small frame and catching a taste of your sweet scent, chifuyu wasn't so sure anymore of what he had to do. although he was a huge hater of humans, hurting another soul bothered him. you looked harmless and defenceless, definitely not a threat.

you most likely lost your way, chifuyu thought. he expected a hunter or something among the lines, some gross alpha who came here to bring harm to the sacred place that was the forest.

but a peaceful omega like you surely would just go back to were she came from without any trouble. he sighed and turned around, already ready to leave. that was until his foot walked on a branche, making a loud "crack" sound for the both of you to hear.

"who's there ?", chifuyu hurriedly turned his head the other way, suddenly conscious about his eyes and what they could bring to you.

"you're alone and lost. you shouldn't be there", you laugh a bit at the man's answer, not feeling threatened one bit.

"how would you know whether I'm lost or not ?", he frowned when you kept your eyes shut, never sparing him a glance. when he didn't answer, you invited him to join your side.

"I can safely say you wouldn't want me to sit next to you if you knew who I am"

"you would've already hurt me if that was your intention. as you said, I'm alone", chifuyu eyed you up carefully before taking up on your offer, smelling the fresh berries you tempted him with.

"are you always this reckless that you would invite an alpha you don't even know to chat with you ?", he quickly took his place beside you, eyes locked on the floor and hands already digging inside the basket you put between the two of you.

you simply shrug, finally opening your eyes and turning your head his way before he could even react.

"I'm y/n", he looked in your eyes before realising and felt his heart drop upon doing so, fearing you would change into a statue in front of him.

but you didn't. your delicate scent he tried to ignore kept making him light-headed and feeling calm, your smile didn't freeze and only grew wider in a sweet way he found particularly cute.

he took his time scanning your features. a real flesh and blood person's face was looking at him. well not exactly, chifuyu now understood why you had seem so fearless despite aventuring yourself in a forest known for inhabiting a dangerous monster.

he couldn't recall the last time he looked at someone so intimately, without the disgusting feeling he had the first times he realised he no longer belonged with other humans. he didn't remember when he had the opportunity to admire such a pretty face like yours, without immediately changing them into marble.

chifuyu was deeply looking into your eyes and no parts of your body turned hard and grey.

he felt normal again as he introduced himself as well, his eyes never leaving your face, paying attention to the smallest details of your expressions, the way your eyes looked around and reacted to the sound of his voice.

you didn't fear him, you didn't beg him to spare your life and never once did you turn your head away from him, refusing to look at him as if he was the most horrendous thing in the world.

chifuyu didn't want to tear his gaze away from you, not even for a second. for the first time in years, he had someone he genuinely enjoyed being with, with no other emotions inhabiting hin than calmness, anticipation and a merry scent circling around the both of you.

he didn't believe someone he met a few minutes prior could make him have so much hope for the future, and such a growing urge to stay near you, the only one who would never ostracise him.

· · ୨୧ · ·

ALPHA! MIKEY (a sacrifice for the prophecy)

you were beyond scared shitless, tears running down your trembling jaw. you clutched your white gown in the biting cold, slowly walking up the hill with dreadful steps.

you relied on the men escorting you for guidance, eyes covered with a silky material which would have prevented you from seeing anything if it wasn't for your blind eyes.

they told you you were doing this for the greater good, to save another innocent and indefective soul from perishing to the hands of the beast who pressured your tiny village to send him a person each year. what their fate turned out to be was a mystery, but it was evident that it wasn't anything good as none of them ever returned.

the tradition was old from centuries ago, your ancestors carefully choosing a bride to send up the hill you were currently on. they never missed a year, scared of the wrath of the monster.

they did try rebelling some hundred years ago, refusing to send another one of their comrade to their fateful death. after this day, they never once disrespected the wish of the beast as they coldly remembered the terrified looks of the thousands of teenagers who were turned to stone in a single night. frozen by the gaze of the man they now obeyed without a fault.

after this came a prophecy ; upon hearing the sad news, an oracle visited them to deliver the truth from the gods above. they listened attentively as the woman spoke, affirming that they were to perpetrate the ritual if they wanted to keep their people alive, until someone with a similar curse came into this world. only then, will the circle of atrocities come to an end.

today was your turn, no reasons were given to you as you marched, the lack of familiar surroundings was enough to put you into such a distress state you didn't know what to do with yourself.

"we'll leave you here. enter the cave, you'll find your way if you follow the walls." they pushed you forward, promptly leaving you here after threatening you to keep going. you had no choice but to do so, unable to decipher where you even came from, the walk was long and tiring, you knew you wouldn't make it back.

so you followed the path, fingers running on the wet and rocky walls, silence engulfing you totally with only the soft sound of your footsteps around. the floor was soft though, almost inviting and comfortable and you soon understood you arrived to your destination.

your heartbeats accelerated, scared and disoriented when a new scent hit your nose, yours emitting a stressed one.

"an omega ? they usually keep them to themselves" you jumped at the foreign mumbling voice, deep and low. you said nothing and kept your right hand on the wall, for a semblance of control of your surroundings.

"it's not like I care anyways. you can keep the blindfold, I'll guide you to the garden" and with that, a cold hand grasped your shoulder, forcing you away from the wall which kept you steady.

you whimpered at the sudden touch, musky scent invading your privacy. he dragged you gently to an open area, you could tell it was with the way the wind caressed your skin and the shivers it sent you.

"stay here. you'll look perfect with the others. I never had such a pretty one being sent my way", his breathe fanned over your ear, you felt his face dangerously close to yours and you kept wondering how the beast could actually be an alpha and not some faceless furry thing, instead he smelled and seemed just like any villagers you met.

you were scared. you felt small and defenceless. but you remained there, unmoving and ready to undergo any treatment. what would a blind omega like you could even do against the terrible beast you've heard countless of atrocious stories about ?

"it'll be over quickly. just don't move", and with that, you felt his big hands leave your arms and instead reaching behind your head for the neat knot the other betas women of the village had done while preparing you.

your nails dug into your flesh and left red marks, you hoped nothing of it hurt. you knew you would be changed into a statue and you hoped it was as painless as he told you. you trusted his words, despite him being the one inflicting such a deplorable fate.

the blindfold fell off your face and you opened your eyes in a blink, looking up despite not seeing anything.

and he looked at you, right into your eyes, shocked and confused. "you're blind ?", he asked you with a voice void of any confidence he had earlier, it came in a whisper, almost as a vulnerable affirmation more than a true question.

you nodded, unsure of what was happening. "my curse only works if you can look at me in the eyes. but you're blind.", he repeated, as if trying to convince himself it was real, that you were real.

the man drops the blindfold to his feet, looking at your face, your eyes, impressed by how much cuter you looked when he could see your whole face.

"you're... I can't turn you into a statue then"

"what will you do then ? if the ritual doesn't work they'll have to send someone else ? are you going to hurt my people ?", your stressed out scent hit him in the gut ; he didn't want to make you feel distressed.

"don't worry about anything at all. this place is perfect. nobody will be coming here anymore, you can relax"

he was enjoying the pleasure of finding someone resistant to his curse, surely you weren't leaving at all. you were his new companion.

you're right, he hadn't felt a human touch in so long, but that's exactly why he will be extra careful with you. even after centuries he still knows how soft and fragile omegas are, he'll take great care of you. it'll be just the two of you and mikey's undefeated power. you're the only one immune, he'll scare people away like he always did, turn them into statues without even lifting a finger, keeping you in his arms while he only has to lift his gaze to erase the threat.

and he'll also get rid of all of the old statues in the garden! it's your garden now, so there's no need for such frightening decorations...

mikey is so ecstatic, he didn't feel such bliss in a while. he's already anticipating all the things you're both going to do together !

but despite his excitement, mikey still is an alpha born in such old times, so he's old-fashioned : he loves you, provides for you and protects you, and as such, he doesn't tolerate outbursts from you. he likes respect. he's an alpha, so you need to listen to him. he's doing that for the both of you! just keep making happy and he'll keep you away from those terrible people you call your family, who deliberately sent you here, even while knowing what would become of you...

but regardless, he's just so happy to be cured from his usual loneliness that he unknowingly becomes more and more lenient, accepting anything from his new omega. you're such a joy to his normally gloomy and silent day. keep talking to him, keep asking him to show you around, he loves it.

· · ୨୧ · ·

ALPHA! MITSUYA (a strange saviour)

you cursed yourself under your breath for being such a dumb person while gripping tighter a wicker basket filled to the brim with freshly picked flowers.

they only bloomed at night during the full moon and they just smelled so good you couldn't help yourself from going out once a month to snatch them from the tricky path where they grew.

it was risky and dangerous, not only because you were aventuring yourself in such a desolated area, but also because your sweet aroma seemed to get even softer the longer you walked to your house.

you hurried along, feet stumbling through the hard floor and occasional rocks all because of your precipitation. distinct voices and irregular steps were following you close behind, getting closer with each times you missed a step while scurrying down the stairs and met with a wall you didn't remember was there.

"y/n ! hurry and get your ass back there, you know I don't like chasing a blind omega around, just come here and stop making things harder for the both of us !", you shivered from the strong authoritative voice, calling you back in an annoyed growled while his friends snickered by his sides, enjoying way too much this little tantrum you were pulling.

your tears came running down your face, feeling so helpless with how little you knew your way and how merciless you knew your fiancé would be once he got his hands on you.

you never agreed to such proposal, but you came from a poor family and they were just too desperate to marry off their defective daughter. you were handed off to a same-age alpha, a spoiled idiot who liked to torment you even though you weren't still officially his wife.

if you knew you would've met him during your outing, you would've kept your basket neatly away in a closet and sat down near the fireplace.

when he caught you walking all alone at night, the alcohol in his brain and lack of respect for your dignity led him to a pervet shout your way.

he said he simply wanted to introduce you to his friends but with the way they were all looking at you was enough to tell you otherwise. so you ran, not sure where you were heading to.

in a second, you stopped abruptly in your tracks, a forceful hand grasping your arm and pushing you to the wall before you could even react. the force was such you felt light-headed, and the horny scents of the little pack of alphas made you nearly gag.

you pleaded and cried for him not to touch you, both being the only thing you could do. "oh come on, you're making me look like the bad guy here. isn't it my right to touch you as your fiancé?"

you cried harder, shaking your head and asking him to let you go. you felt such distress it was hard to control yourself. you were disoriented and lost, absolutely confused as to who exactly was before you excepted for your fiancé. would anyone save you if you screamed ? you doubted it, considering how his family was respected and felt sick in your head to know nobody would take the side of an omega like you.

you were wriggling again the grip he had on your neck when you felt it. cold and hard on your skin, rough to the touch and barely alive anymore. silence fell upon you before you could breathe again and a loud shattering noise was heard. tiny pieces of rocks hit your feet and your eyebrows furrowed when you heard the panicked pleads of the once so arrogant alphas.

you stayed put, unaware of the crime scene before you and the lavender-haired man who had just emerged from the next street upon catching your screams and sour scent.

you tried to catch your breathe, a serie of "please no!" escaping their throats, but you never relaxed, even when the deafening silence engulfed you once again after the similar shattering sounds were heard.

your eyes were wide open, frantically searching around in the obscurity. you gathered your hands to your chest in hope to make you appear smaller than you were, to appease whoever was pissed off.

"I'm sorry they did that to you", you jumped at the calm tone of his voice. you instinctively turned your head towards him, your pretty eyes catching his unknowingly.

he felt himself tense under your stare because of how unusual it was for him to be face to face with anyone.

"go home for tonight and don't wander alone like that again", there was some distance between the both of you, his voice was far away and let you relax a little at his warm and gentle intonation.

despite his initial excitement, his eyes softened when you seemed to trust him, taking slow and careful steps toward him, his voice guiding you.

he watched as you stumble on one of the statues and mitsuya approached you with cautious steps, alerting you that he was coming closer. "tell me if you want me to leave you"

you reassured him with a soar and soft voice, sounding oh so fragile. he offered you his hand in a silent reassurance and with a gentleness you didn't expect. you took it hesitantly and he guided you out of the dark alley you found yourself in.

"are you alright now ?", he asked after a while. none of you seemed to want to let go of each other's hand. he felt strangely scared to leave you alone and the foreign sense of security he gave you forced the two of you together.

"yes, thanks to you"

mitsuya was a sweet man despite the initial fear everyone seemed to arbour every time they met him. he took his sweet time getting to know you, and you didn't expect to have him by your door the next day, your basket of flowers put back together in one piece after being torn apart yesterday night.

you kept having little dates together, secretly hiding away in the deep forest mitsuya knew by heart. he made sure to take you to the best spots, while reassuring you with soft hums and a comforting scent every chance he got.

the connexion he felt with you was refreshing and sparked in him a protective instinct he didn't think he had in him.

he wanted to make sure you felt safe and would be willing to go on another date with him afterwards so he behaved correctly while assuring you nobody would be mean to you if you remained by his side.

· · ୨୧ · ·

ALPHA! KAZUTORA (a fateful kidnapping)

bloody screams and desperate attempts at escaping drove each one of you mad. you ran without knowing where, only trying to chase away the yelling of your people.

you tripped against the statues littered across the floor, scratching your knees and hurting your hands in the process. you tried not to think of your dead loved ones, only focusing on your survival.

he was mad, completely crazy and thirsty for revenge.

your people had failed to give him a satisfying enough offering like you always did and here were the consequences.

a real massacre.

you found your way to a deserted house and pushed the door open, you scurried under the small space of the stairs, not having enough strength to drag yourself anywhere farther.

you heard him not long after, slow steps as if teasing you. you both knew you weren't winning and it amused him.

"where are you hiding little one ? if only you could smell yourself, only a fool would walk pass such a sweet scent"

you tried to muffle your pitiful cries, eyes shutting themselves with force. you couldn't calm your breathing down when he came closer, knowing exactly where you went but wanting to see you give yourself to him willingly.

"so cute", he whispered that more to himself than you, a smirk stretching his lips.

he bent down right next to you, inhaling deeply your scent. he took a lock of your hair in his hands, a satisfied look in his eyes.

"oh come on omega, just open your pretty eyes for me to see. listen to me while I'm being nice"

when you refused he persisted, keen on to see you give in. "you're the only one left omega, better make this quick for yourself don't you think?", your breath was cut short at the revelation, growing more and more distressed at your predicament.

"calm down, just breathe for me okay. don't want you fainting on me, it would be no fun right?"

a strange fondness made his way inside kazutora's heart while he helped you reach a calmer state. your head was still kept low, and tears kept running. but you managed to slow down your heartbeats thanks to him spreading calming pheromones all around you, your instincts reacting to them without your consent.

"that's right, just like that. you're doing so well"

and slowly but surely, everything felt calm again. you reached for his hands now gently cradling your face and forced them away from you.

you felt desperate, his proximity kept your thoughts going as just how fucked up your situation was, how inescapable it was. so you took advantage of your more relaxed state to pry your eyes open, guiding them up to meet his.

he watched you silently, almost regretfully but did nothing to stop you. he was eager to see your whole face and in the mere second when you lifted your face, he swore your statue would be the only one he took with him. he wouldn't let you rot away with the others. such a scared and fragile little thing...

and yet, he fell silent as he took in your soft features.

"your eyes...", he trailed off, shocked.

you were just as confused. why wasn't he doing anything? why was it taking so long? he mirrored your confusion, was your blindness enough to stop his curse from working on you?

a wave of relief washed over him and for the first time in years, kazutora felt at peace.

he didn't have to carry with him your dead body, he could simply ask you to follow him, or even better! he was going to court you, just like he dreamed of doing. he could look at you in all the angles and you wouldn't be harmed !

how sweet life was to finally smile at him and gift him a precious omega.

· · ୨୧ · ·

ALPHA! BAJI (a gift from aphrodite)

desperately lonely. that's how baji felt for hundred of years now, since he was struck with his curse.

he ostracised himself from society, scared of bringing harm to anyone who would do just as much as look at him. he was feared and hated, despite never wishing anything bad on anyone.

one night, he found himself on the temple of aphrodite, the goddess of love, and begged all he could to grant him his only wish. the only desire he ever had.

upon hearing his cries, the goddess sent her child, cupidon, and charged him with a mission to bring her faithful devotee the perfect match for him.

you didn't know how you found yourself here, laying down on that same altar baji was praying on just about a few minutes ago.

all your senses were alert, trying to catch any familiar scent that would indicate where you were.

but you didn't smell anything, except for the cold marble floor and the strong and intimidating scent of what could be nothing else, if not an alpha.

"w-where am I? and who are you?" your voice bounced on the walls of the immense temple, and it sounded just like honey to baji's ears.

he couldn't believe his own eyes. had his prayers finally been answered? after a hundred years all but begging for the deity to let him find a precious omega who would come to love him and who wouldn't be harmed by his deadly curse.

and there you were! from the way your doe-eyes were looking around you, never settling on anything, he knew he had nothing to be scared about.

you won't crumble under his gaze, and baji could keep and love you to himself, just like he always dreamt.

he carefully went up to you, sweet words and kind purrs. and as if you were destined, you felt nothing but comfort emitting from the stranger, trusting him fully after just a few minutes.

"hey there, that's it I'm right here. you can stay up there while I come to help you down, okay?"

baji's instincts were screaming, blissfully looking at his adorable omega. he didn't know how to thank aphrodite, but one thing was for sure, he was going to cherish you to show just how grateful he was.

ALPHA! IZANA (sick love)

izana couldn't believe it and he'll keep spending his whole life trying to ignore the deadly weapon he has in his eyes.

it wasn't always like that, it was only the result of a deity's punishment after he had accidentally profaned his temple.

and the day he witnessed the first ever person falling to his death for simply looking at him was a nightmare burned inside his memory.

he hated the curse and hated how isolated he became afterwards, how his village, his friends and even his family chased him from his hometown, refusing to even take one last look at him.

but luckily he had you. his sweet childhood friend who stayed with him through thick and thin while never feeding the thought of abandoning him like all the others.

you were blind and resistant to his curse, so your relationship never changed. at first.

the usually kind alpha you knew quickly turned bitter and tried to drive away anybody trying to come to you, just like they all avoided him.

if they thought his curse was going to make it easier for them to court you, they were dead wrong.

izana developed a growing obsession for you and a sick jealousy which ruled your entire life now. you thought it would pass once he recognised your loyalty and eventually came to terms with his own cursed eyes. but he never did and only worsened with the time, growling at you to never leave him, that you would lose your way without his guidance, that people would try to steal you because of how naive and innocent you were. he wanted to force this codependency on you and break you down to make it sure you would always need him.

none of it made sense and you tried to reason him. even when people started to yell at him to get away from here, only you stood by his side, knowing that the charming boy you once knew wasn't all gone.

but this situation only made it easier for him to keep you for himself, your people not caring if you left alongside him as long as he left the village immediately.

he comforted himself at seeing your similar treatment and grew overly possessive, only allowing you to breathe and stay pretty next to him, occasionally patching up his wounds if he had to fight someone for your safety.

"y/n, you know how much I love you right ? those people only wish the worst for us, that's why I had to do that, you understand? I just need you, my sweet omega, you'll stay with me, right?"

and you don't have a choice but to mutter a kind "of course!" with a fake enthusiasm, knowing full well that even though he can't force you to stay put by turning you into stone, he can and will physically restrain you enough that you'll never even foster the idea of running away and leave him alone.

you're the only flawless being he ever met, izana wishes for things to stay that way. you offer him stability and if you were to be gone, he'd completely lose it.

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byunpum · 10 months

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Ghost girl | part 3

Pairing: Neteyam x Albino na'vi!fem x Sully family

Warning: All the characters are aged up 20’s, bad relationships, teyam is a shy babygurl, soft & crush moments.

Note:Sorry for the late update, I've had a lot of work to do and I'm finally on vacation. I will try to catch up. But thank you so much for all the love you have given to this series. BTW… I'll keep answering requests. I have a lot of them in my inbox, so please be patient.

AVATAR MASTERLIST | Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 , Part 4,Part 5(final)

3 weeks had passed since the Sully family took you into their home. Your injury had healed, and little by little you had started to help more in the family home. Because the camp was a rather uncomfortable and small place. Neytiri convinced you to live completely in the family hut, in a way she felt responsible for you. After all she was the one who had found you in the jungle. She also felt that you needed her, so she promised herself to take care of you. Jake didn't mind this, he thought it was adorable… to see neytiri so worried about a girl totally different from them. But he supported his mate's decision, you were a girl who had lost her entire clan. They should help you and make you feel like part of the new clan. Or so they were trying.

The Omaticaya had never interacted with the Na'vi of the cold mountains. They had heard stories, and only a few had seen a few. Your clan was known to be very polite, a bit of a hermit and not very sociable. They were not aggressive, but they did not like to mix with other clans. Besides the physical and social differences. Your clan was different in their way of living. In the last few weeks you could see how everyone did their chores, how the clan lived together. Of course, all this from the door of the hut. You were still a little afraid to go out, you had walked around the hut. But no more than that. You were curious, how you were going to help them. You had to learn to do something. You hadn't noticed, but Kiri had already come closer to you. Sitting down next to you. "Hey…what are you looking at? Are you looking at tarsem?" kiri teased a little. This comment caught the attention of neteyam, who was getting his things ready to go fishing. "Oh no" you laugh nervously, yes you had noticed this guy's presence, but that wasn't what you were looking at.

Neteyam clears his throat, coming over to where you two were sitting. "What are you two talking about?" the boy asks, playing dumb. "mmm nothing…about Y/N. She's spying tarsem, that's bad" kiri continues teasing. "Stop!!!" you push her a little. As your eyes meet neteyam's, he had a forced smile on his face. The last few weeks, ever since you had arrived at the hut. Neteyam has been silently close to you and your baby. Watching you from afar, or sitting closer to you at meal times. Helping you take care of him, or just holding him while you did other things. Making sure everything was okay, of course…all with a low profile. Everyone thought neteyam was being nice and wanted you to feel at home. So did the other members of the family, but you… you knew this was not the case. Neteyam was forgetting that your gift as a seer allowed you to feel and see things that others did not. You didn't know exactly what that feeling was that neteyam radiated when he was around you. But you knew it wasn't something normal…it was something very intense.

"Tarsem is a guy…quite interesting" neteyam speaks with a hint of annoyance in his tone of voice. Playing with your baby, which was in your lap. Kiri laughs again, nudging his brother on the shoulder. "He's interesting…and he's very cute" kiri looks at you, watching you roll your eyes back. "I'm not looking at him…I'm looking at that" you point to the group of women who were separating some fruit. Others were making baskets. "Ahh they're just picking fruit" speaks neteyam.

"They didn't do that in my clan…in the cold there are no fruit trees" you say, while still looking at the group of women. Kiri and neteyam stand silently looking at each other. "No fruit? So what did you eat?" asks Kiri. "Meat…and some berries and herbs" you smile awkwardly. You watch the look on kiri's face turn to one of sadness. "It must be very sad," says Kiri. You laugh and settle closer to neteyam. "It's no big deal… my clan was located in the area where there are many storms. So these foods are perfect for survival" you try to explain to them, but you could still see the anguish in their eyes. If it could be a bit depressing, you could occasionally enjoy some fruits that survived in the cold snow. But you were used to it. "But… I'm glad to be here, I've eaten a lot of fruits and I love them" you smile shyly. Noticing how neteyam was literally glued to your side. Your arm was bumping against his. After a short silence, neteyam had an idea.

"Why don't you come with me to get some fruits?" asks neteyam, placing his hand on your thigh. You bristle under his touch, he doesn't know what he's doing to you. Of course, he couldn't feel what you could, it was all too intense. "I'd like to…but" you lower your gaze, watching as your baby played with one of your braids. Braids that Neytiri had made for you the night before. Kiri steps up, and takes the baby in her arms. "I'll take care of him…it will be good for you to go for a walk" says Kiri. You think about it for a moment, but agree. Herwì had just turned 2 months old, so he was a little easier to take care the baby. You stare at Kiri for a moment, you swear you can hear a voice saying "he'll be fine". You panic a little, they turn your head. "Everything okay?" kiri asks, you try to laugh. "Yeah, yeah….esta fine, if anything happens you look me for me" you agree. Watching as neteyam gets up from the floor, going to get some baskets.

"So what are we waiting for….let's go" neteyam says, placing his hand on your back guiding you. You give a last to kiri and then walk out of the hut. The further you walked, the more surprised you became. Not only by the differences between the na'vi. But by the amount of humans walking normally, it made you a little nervous. You knew that everyone got along well, and that these humans were not dangerous, even your instinct told you that you shouldn't be afraid. But still… you felt fear. "How about we go to my ikran, what do you think?" neteyam asks you, trying to distract you. "Really?" you sound excited, ever since you had seen the ikran you wanted to ride them. A couple more minutes and you are ahead of the ikran. You grab the creature's head. Neteyam is silent, watching his ikran go calm under your touch.

"You are precious" you whisper, closing your eyes. Neteyam's ikran becomes even quieter, just as you touch it. You could feel its heartbeat, you look up, staring into the animal's eyes. "You haven't named it, why?" you look at neteyam, who had already walked beside you. "Ahh I don't know… I didn't think he wanted a name" says neteyam laughing a little. Holding up the baskets. "Well yes…you should" you speak. "I should" there is a small pause between the two of you. "Ok…all set" neteyam climbs into his ikran, inviting you. You take his hand, and he helps you get comfortable. "Hold me tight" neteyam says, as you wrap your arms around his waist. Holding you tightly, so that the ikran begins to fly.

The view was so beautiful. The mountains, the wildlife. The clouds that adorned the tops of the trees. Neteyam was silent, noticing how you were relaxing. Just as you were gaining altitude, in the distance you could see what had once been your home, Neteyam's eyes opened wide. You could see the large area that had been burned. As smoke billowed from the burned trees and floated up to the heights. Neteyam can feel your grip getting tighter. He moves one of his hands, to touch yours. Which was now on his chest, giving it a squeeze. "That was my home" you speak, laying your head on his back. Neteyam holds your hand tighter. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry" neteyam feels you settle more on his back hugging him, he knew you were looking for some comfort. Neteyam has never seen first-hand what the brutal loss of his clan was like. Neytiri and Jake only talked superficially about it. Sure, he had seen destruction. But the destruction of this magnitude never. And that you had experienced it firsthand, it broke his heart. He felt bad…knowing that his mother had to suffer as much as you did. Or worse.

Neteyam diverts his ikran a bit, to take another route, and so get away from the area. After flying for a while, you both land on a branch. You cautiously climb down from the beast, while Neteyam begins to place several baskets on his shoulder. "I told you that I'm not very good at climbing?" you say, looking down at the ground. "No? Why?" neteyam comes to your side, looking at your worried face. "Well… I didn't have the need to climb trees. I was just…walking" you feel yourself getting a little dizzy, seeing the height of the tree to the ground. Neteyam holds you by the arm. "Oh I understand…mmm climb on my back" says neteyam, bending down to be more below your height. You move closer, hugging his neck. Feeling neteyam's hands wrap around your thighs, pulling you up onto his back in one swift movement. "Hold on tight," neteyam says.

"You're not going to let go…are you?" neteyam can feel how nervous you are, you're shaking a little. And your tail was thumping his hands. "No…but if you want me to release you to the ground" neteyam jokes with you loosening his grip a little. You scream and hug him tighter. "Just kidding… calm down" neteyam starts to climb down the tree carefully, it wasn't very tall. So you reached the ground quickly. Carefully releasing you on the ground, making sure you were okay.

"Well…that wasn't so bad" you speak, adjusting several pieces of your top. You were still getting used to how revealing these clothes felt. Neteyam comes over, and adjusts a piece. Carefully, checking to make sure it was in the right place. You stand still, noticing how carefully he touched you and cared for you. So different…so kind. Making your heart clench. "If we follow this path…there are some trees that have the best fruits" neteyam speaks, he was so close to you. You could see all his expressions, and how his little ears moved as he tried to find his way through the jungle. Taking your hand, to start walking. You don't complain, you let him guide you. After walking for a while, about 6 minutes. You get to where the trees were. They were all full of yellow and red fruits.

"It's harvest time…I know you're going to love them," says neteyam, watching you walk away. To get closer and investigate the fruits further. They were so strange to you, Neytiri was bringing another type of fruit to eat..this one was bigger and brighter. "These days are supposed to start picking this fruit…look" neteyam plucks a fruit from the tree, and offers it to you. He gestures with his mouth for you to bite into the fruit. You laugh a little, it looked funny. You take it, and take a bite. Enjoying the new texture, taste and smell you were experiencing. Your ears perk up, and your tail starts wagging fast. "You like it, don't you? It tastes wonderful" neteyam asks, munching on a fruit. "This…is delicious" you speak with your mouth full. Neteyam laughs, he thought it was adorable to see you discovering something new for the first time. You both sit on the ground, laying your back on a log. Eating more fruit, while Neteyam told you all about the fruit. He told you that this was not the only fruit there was, that there were hundreds of them and how they should be harvested and cared from them. You listened to him very attentively, surprised that there was such a variety of fruit.

After a while, the two of you started talking about anything and everything. Until the subject of your baby came up. Neteyam was curious. Since you didn't talk about your mate, usually couples talked about their mates. Even if they had died, they still remembered their memory. You had barely mentioned it once. Now you were sitting, eating another piece of fruit. Neteyam cleared his throat and spoke. "Y/N…I have a question?" you could tell the nervousness in his tone of voice. You respond with a "Hmm?" but continue eating your fruit. "I wanted to ask you something about …. the father of your baby" speaks neteyam. He notices how you have stopped eating, and you put the fruit in your lap. You look up, to see neteyam. "I've noticed that you hardly talk about him, and…" you interrupt neteyam.

"seyey was one of the strongest hunters in the whole clan, at such a young age he had a lot of experience. He had earned the respect of the entire clan. Including my father…the clan chief" you pause. So you were the clan chief's daughter, now it all made sense. "I guess…he wanted you to be with him," says neteyam. You nod your head in agreement. "He thought seyey was the perfect mate. Our clan thinks about preserving our lineage, it must be pure. So as soon as we came of age, we united before eywa" you spoke with your eyes on the ground. Neteyam didn't want to say anything, he could see how uncomfortable this topic made you. "The only thing that came out enjoyable, was my son herwì… we were unhappy together". "I'm sorry for everything…" neteyam put his hand on your back. "My father only wanted the clan lineage to stay intact…no matter what I really wanted. He wasn't a bad father, but he didn't listen to me" you speak.

"And what did you want to do?" asks Neteyam, trying to cheer you up a bit. You blush a little, a little embarrassed. "I wanted to be a slinth rider" you speak, neteyam is a little shocked. The slinth were dangerous creatures. "Those creatures are not from the jungle?… they are also very dangerous" neteyam notices how you laugh. "Yes…but the ones found in the cold mountains are another type of slinth…they are just like me" you laugh, taking a bite of fruit. "You can still be a rider…if that's what you want" speaks neteyam. You let out a sigh. "Well…what's done is done. There's nothing I can do about it. Besides…I think I know why I'm here" you tap neteyam on the shoulder.

"Really? And what's that reason?" neteyam moves closer to you. Wiggling playfully. "mmm I can't tell you" you change your face, laughing a little. "Come on…tell me!" speaks neteyam in a soft but at the same time playful tone. The atmosphere had become more peaceful, you both started to laugh. You knew what the reason was, you had a feeling that the reason why he had come to this clan. It was because of neteyam…because of the dream you had of him. Now you just had to find out what was the reason for your encounter with him. You two were so wrapped up in your own world that you didn't hear someone approaching. Neteyam was the first to notice the noises, there wasn't supposed to be anyone in the harvest area yet. Rising to stand in front of you, you carefully stand up.

Neteyam pulls out his knife, ready to strike at anything. But he immediately relaxed when he heard his brother's voice. What the hell is lo'ak doing here, Neteyam thinks. "Don't worry…it's lo'ak" neteyam lowers his weapon, watching as the voice continues to get closer. Out of the bushes comes lo'ak who was talking carelessly next to spider. You let out a low cry, and move quickly behind neteyam. Hugging his arm. "What's that 'thing' doing here?" you sound scared, you had seen the humans. But from far away. You had never seen one so close. "This 'thing' is spider…it's good" lo'ak says trying to calm you down. "Yeah…I don't bite" says spider, laughing a little. Everyone knew what you had been through, so this was a very normal reaction. "I see you" spider gestures with his hands, and you copy his greeting. Looking at neteyam, but not taking off from him. "I promise I won't hurt you…I'm good" spider felt somewhat responsible, even though he hadn't done anything to you.

Lo'ak had talked about you, the last few days. And he was fascinated to meet you. An albino na'vi and from the cold mountains. That sounded wonderful. "You've met norm?…you'd blow his head off" spider jokes a little. But your face turns to horror again. "no…I don't want to blow anyone up" you yell a little, whining. The three boys laugh out loud. "Babe..no. He says norm would be impressed with you. He just said a human quote" neteyam explains to you. "I'm sorry" spider apologizes. He doesn't want to scare you. "And you were doing here?" neteyam asks. Lo'ak points to the fruit in his hand. "Same as you guys…but without the romantic atmosphere" lo'ak scoffs. Neteyam laughs uncomfortably. "Why don't we go back to camp?" neteyam looks at you, and can see that she was still frightened by spider's presence. "Yes…I want to go back" you squeeze neteyam's arm tighter. You two begin your walk back to neteyam's ikran. Hearing the giggles of the boys. "Ignore them…yes?" neteyam takes your hand. You take another look and follow neteyam. "She's…she's very impressive" says spider. "I know…I've never seen anyone like that" says lo'ak.

Near the cold mountains…

"Sir…we've looked everywhere and nothing" says one of the warriors. The man clears his throat, holding back tears from his eyes. He could not look weak in front of his warriors. "Make a scan in the southern area, closer to the village" says the man. The warriors quickly look at each other with concern. "But sir… the humans may be nearby and" the man slaps the ground. "I gave an order!!!" the man shouts, all the young warriors get up and leave the cave.

"Father…I don't think we're going to find her" says a younger boy. The man strokes the back of his neck, letting a tear come out of his eye. This situation was killing him, he had to find her. "tekxe…we have to find your sister. I have a feeling she's still alive" says your father. Eywa always protects his chosen ones.

Teyam babygurls: symptoms-of-moonlight , tru-blubelle, mashiromochi, ducks118, @butterfly-ibuki, @innercreationflower, @ok-boke, @lovelyygirl8, @sandaltoesocks, @he110hon, @inlovewithpandora, @sussybaka10, @mommyneytiri, @daughterofjakesully, @symptoms-of-moonlight @ilostmyaccounf

If there is any problem with the tags, let me know and I will try to fix it as quickly as possible. tag list is open, just let me know *3*//

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heyiwrotesomethings · 11 months

Note

a part 2 of Absolutely Not! thanks

Absolutely Not! Prt II

Shinobu Kochou x She/Her Demon Reader

A/N: Prt1 Really didn’t know what to do for another part so just a little catnip cop out. Hope you still enjoy it! Word Count: 1,436

Uzui couldn’t believe what buzzkills the other Hashiras were.

“Come on, it’ll be funny! Don’t you wanna see what’ll happen?”

It’s inappropriate, it’s in bad taste, that’s dumb, not worth my time, I’m an unflashy unfun loser blah blah blah. Not even Rengoku would join in, although that should not have been that surprising.

Well, Uzui would have fun on his own then. He wasn’t sure if it would work… but he was down for a little experiment. Kochou couldn’t be mad at him for a little joke if it was for science, right?

He smirked at the small potted plant in his hands. All he had to do was sneak this to the cat demon and watch the chaos unfold. How could no one else be curious if catnip would be effective on a cat demon?

Uzui silently navigated the halls, snooping around for the demon. The demonic presence she had was weak, so it was difficult to pinpoint exactly where she was. But he could feel that he was getting closer. He smiled, got ready to put on the charm, and turned the corner, running right into… Shinobu.

“Uzui-san,” she blinked, mildly surprised, “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, Kochou, hey!” He kind of wanted to avoid her if he could help it, but given that she kind of had a demonic aura about her at the moment, he never stood a chance, “Do you know that you’re giving off a demonic energy? Kinda weird.”

Shinobu sighed, “No, I didn’t know that, but given how many head bumps (Y/n) insists on giving me, I am not surprised. Now why are you here? You look perfectly healthy.”

“What? Can’t a Hashira pay a fellow Hashira a visit?”

“They can, but you never visit me unless you need something. What do you have behind your back?”

“Oh, what? This?” Uzui presented the plant as if it was the most unassuming thing in the world, “My wives picked it out. Just a little thank you for when you took care of Hinatsuru when she was sick. I told ‘em I thought it was kinda unflashy but they thought the little purple flowers were cute so, here you go! Put it somewhere everyone can enjoy, yeah?” He put the pot into Shinobu’s hands.

“Uzui-san,” Shinobu twirled the potted plant in her hands, “do you think I’m an idiot?”

“Huh?”

“I know what you’re doing. This is nepetalactone, catnip.“ Shinobu was still all smiles, but an unmistakable shadow seemed to fall over her eyes. “Just what were you hoping to accomplish here?”

“H-hey— I didn’t know!” Uzui waved in hands defensively, “Like I said, my wives—“

“Your wives had already gifted me a lovely fruit basket a few days ago.”

“Well would you look at the time! I better go home, nice talking with you, Kochou!” And in a puff of smoke he was gone, leaving Shinobu alone with the catnip.

“He is much too old to be acting like such a child.” Shinobu shook her head in disbelief.

She looked back down at the plant and sighed. Now what was she going to do with this? Tea might be good, but she really didn’t want to risk exposing (Y/n) to the catnip in any form… no matter how curious she was about how she would react.

“To the woods with you then.” She decided, making her way through the mansion to the nearest door to the outside. As long as she didn’t run into (Y/n) along the way, all would be fi—

“Get out of Shinobu-sama’s house!” (Y/n) hissed as she skidded around the corner.

“Ah!” Shinobu hopped from one foot to the other as a chipmunk scurried between her legs and zoomed down the hall.

Having not seen Shinobu, (Y/n) ran into her before she could stop herself and they both fell to the ground. The pot upturned in the fall, covering them both in plant debris and soil.

“Oh no, Shinobu-sama, are you okay? I’m sorry! Someone left a door open somewhere and a chipmunk got in, but don’t worry I’ll… I’ll… oh, what is this?” She asked almost sluggishly rolling a leaf between her fingers. Shinobu snatched her wrist to make her stop.

“(Y/n), we must wash this off immediately, do you understand? Oof!”

(Y/n) face planted into Shinobu’s chest and the loudest purr Shinobu had ever heard from the demon began to rumble through her.

“(Y/n), are you okay? We should really get up.”

Slowly, (Y/n) rose her head and all Shinobu could see was a black abyss, her irises had been completely swallowed up by her pupils, something Shinobu had never seen to this severity. Sometimes when (Y/n) saw a bird through the window or she got the zoomies, her pupils would round out, but never to this extent.

“(Y/n)?” Shinobu tested again.

(Y/n) didn’t answer her, but her purring did get louder. She flopped back down and began rolling around nuzzling Shinobu every other roll across her body, further smushing the catnip as well.

Shinobu wanted to be serious, they were in the middle of the hall and covered in dirt, but she couldn’t help but chuckle as the cuddle attack persisted, (Y/n) leapt on top of her and attached to her back when she tried to get up.

Suddenly (Y/n) stiffened, alerting Shinobu to look ahead down the hall. The chipmunk was back.

“Kekekekeke!” (Y/n) clicked, bracing herself against Shinobu’s back in a hunting stance.

“Don’t you dare use me as a starting block. If you are going to act more cat than demon, then you had better shift before you cause any real damage.” Shinobu warned.

But (Y/n) wasn’t in a very rational state of mind to heed that warning. She sprung off of Shinobu’s back and chased after the chipmunk on all fours, slipping and tumbling multiple times because of the restrictiveness of her kimono.

“Oh no,” Shinobu got to her feet as well, mentally apologizing to whoever would have to clean the mess on her behalf, “(Y/n), come back! You better not eat it!”

With how hepped up she was in catnip, Shinobu was worried she’d hurt herself or someone else on accident so she couldn’t leave her alone. She ran after (Y/n) and it was thankfully not to hard to catch up to her. With her terrible coordination at the moment, she kept banging into walls and slipping on the floor. Shinobu tackled her and pinned her to the ground, trying to block the fleeing chipmunk from (Y/n)’s view. She really hoped someone else would take care of the little pest.

(Y/n) struggled and wiggled against Shinobu for a moment, but another hit of that sweet, sweet catnip had her docile as a lamb again before long and the purring started up again.

“There we go… just relax.” Shinobu lightly scratched behind (Y/n)’s ears, a known favorite spot, she smiled when (Y/n) snuggled into her hand and closed her eyes.

Then the cat demon began to shrink, but having seen the process on multiple occasions, Shinobu didn’t flinch. With an amused breath, she untangled the cat from the bundle of clothes and neatly folded said clothes before setting the cat on top of the pile and taking the whole thing in her arms.

“Let’s get you to bed so you’ll have a safe place to rest while this wears off.”

Shinobu placed (Y/n) on the bed and then got to work, placing all the contaminated clothes into the wash and putting on something fresh. She laid out a new kimono for (Y/n) as well to wear once she awoke. Then she took a moment to watch her sleep, all curled up in a ball.

Part of Shinobu really wanted to go to Uzui’s house and put laxatives in his afternoon tea, but in the other hand, a dusting of blush highlighted Shinobu’s cheeks, the over-excited cuddling had been rather sweet, pleasant even. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad to grow a little catnip in the herb garden from now on. In smaller doses she could probably get the cuddly ratio she would like best.

Of course (Y/n) was rather cuddly normally, but Shinobu had felt a little jealous since Mitsuri came to visit a few days ago. Mitsuri was a cat whisperer and that extended to cat demons as well apparently. Shinobu would have liked more reassurance that (Y/n) liked her more, but of course she was too stubborn to tell the demon as much. The next time Mitsuri came to visit, Shinobu would have a secret weapon up her sleeve to keep the cuddles to herself.

#demon slayer x reader #kny x reader #shinobu x reader #shinobu kocho x reader #shinobu kochou x reader #requests #anonymous

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howaboutcastiel · 1 year

Text

And Also With You

Apostate! Din Djarin x Ex-Jedi! Reader (afab)

(After season 2, canon divergence from bobf and season 3)

Word Count: 7.4k

Content: plot with porn? Or porn with plot, not sure which one is more accurate. Reader has a vagina, gender-neutral language otherwise. I know that I’m probably not using the force the totally correct way but reality can be whatever I want. Force-touching? Lots of sensual touching and foreplay, fingering, talking Din through sex (he’s somewhat inexperienced), PiV, Creampie? Idk kinda. This is so, so slow-burn while also being everything in one night.

Din couldn’t remember a time when his life had been so directionless. He was teetering on the edge of two lives, both dreadfully out of reach. He knew that he couldn’t face his fellow mandalorians again, couldn’t stand before The Armorer and her followers. Maybe nobody would tell her that he’d removed his helmet. Maybe the only people who’d seen his face were dead, or on the other side of the galaxy with no intent of ever seeing him again. Maybe nobody knew of his sacrilege, of his betrayal of the Creed.

But he knew.

Din knew what he’d done—what he’d become—and it was eating away at him.

You, on the other hand, had come to terms with what you were. You’d gotten past the phase of being unbearably ashamed and angry at yourself. Now, you were mad at something else. The institution that cast you out—that wouldn’t accept you the way that you were. At just 14 years old, the Jedi had abandoned you as unteachable, as unable to forgo attachments and live the life of a Padawan, let alone a Jedi. In a fit of rage, you had run away from your master, cursing the Jedi and everything they stood for. That had been years ago, though. You weren’t fourteen years old anymore.

A few months after you left, any chance of returning to the Jedi Order was lost. Order 66 destroyed everything and everyone that you had known, and after that, you were on the run from imperials as they sought to rid the galaxy of anyone force-sensitive that wasn’t on their side.

So you had found a place to hide in the outer rim. You went on with your life, continuing your training alone and in secret while you managed to build connections to people in your village. Sorgan was a quiet, beautiful planet with wonderful people. The work was honest, the food was abundant, and life was comfortable. Peaceful.

That is, until a certain Mandalorian found himself back on the planet with nowhere to go.

You had heard of him once before, a year or so ago when he helped save a village on the other side of the planet. You hadn’t thought twice about it, truthfully, but you feared now that his arrival would bring imperials to Sorgan, just as it brought bounty hunters before.

You certainly weren’t very cheerful when he approached your stand at the market.

“How much for a basket?” He inquired. To be fair, he didn’t sound any more cheery than you. Still, you hadn’t expected his voice to sound so… nice. The mandalorian gestured vaguely at a basket of fruit, which you sold alongside jams, jellies, and syrups. Other than krill and spotchka, there wasn’t much else on Sorgan in the way of food.

“Three credits,” you responded flatly. “But they’re two for five.”

He sighed, thinking it over. “I’ll take two, then.”

The mandalorian fished some credits out of his pocket, placing them delicately on the table across from you. As he leaned closer, something struck you—a feeling you couldn’t quite comprehend at first. It wasn’t just a feeling, it was something more. Something only a person trained in the force might pick up on. Your mouth was moving before you could think about what to say.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

He paused, raising his helmet to look up at you. You felt heat spread across your face as the mandalorian stared at you. He straightened his back, grabbing the two baskets of food and methodically placing one in each hand. Without a word, he turned to walk away from you. About ten paces away, though, he glanced back again, making you blush even deeper.

Your stomach dropped. It wasn’t that you were afraid of the mandalorian ratting you out. He didn’t seem like the type to meddle in others’ business—he certainly wasn’t going to alert the empire of a force-sensitive fruit farmer on Sorgan. Somehow, though, you felt that you’d done something wrong. You’d overstepped your bounds, for sure, but he didn’t seem offended by your comment. The best explanation you could muster, as he walked away and your connection to him faded, was that you had seen something he didn’t want you to see. His pain? His loss?

There were other things you saw, too. Other things you felt from him. But you certainly wouldn’t bring those up to him, and now, you’d probably never get the chance anyway. Even if the elusive mandalorian happened to stick around—which you doubted, knowing he was a bounty hunter—you were sure he would be avoiding your stand at the produce market from now on.

That wouldn’t stop you from thinking about him.

Sure enough, the next time that the mandalorian showed up at the market, he avoided your shop at all costs. You took the opportunity to get a good look at him, though. It was shameless, but you couldn’t deny the deep connection you felt with him in that moment before. Maybe the force was trying to tell you something? Or maybe he was the first new face you’d seen in a while and you were simply excited by the change.

You couldn’t deny that you liked what you saw. He was broad, even under the bulky armor, and on the taller side. His body moved elegantly with the beskar as if it was simply an extension of himself. You got the feeling that he had been wearing it for a long time, used to the feeling of the metal encasing him. His helmet hid his face, but his body language was almost expressive enough to make up for that fact. If there wasn’t metal covering his skin, it was the clothes underneath. He was entirely covered from head to toe.

And… you had been ogling him for a few minutes now. He’d noticed. Shame burned across your face as he made his way over to you, agitation in his step. You were half-prepared for him to threaten you, or otherwise lecture you on your unwanted attention. He did neither, and his voice was nearly a whisper as he leaned across your table once again.

“How did you know?”

You blinked at him. “What do you mean?”

He only stared back. There was that feeling again, and the longer he stood there, inches from your face, the stronger it felt. You had to restrain yourself from reaching out and touching him. It was as if you could feel his soul resonating from his chest. As if it was calling out to you, beckoning you in. Your whole body was on fire.

“What you said before,” he interrupted your thoughts. He seemed just as flustered as you, despite the dominance in his stance. “About how I’ve lost… something. How did you know that?”

You shook your head. You couldn’t bring yourself to lie to him, but how could you explain the truth? “I don’t know. I just…I—I felt it.”

His voice dipped even lower, barely audible through his modulator. He glanced behind him quickly, making sure no one else was tuned in to the conversation.

“Are you a Jedi?”

You didn’t know whether to laugh or to gasp with terror, but that feeling assured you that he meant you no harm. He even sounded a bit hopeful. “Not technically, no.”

“What does that mean?” The mandalorian only leaned in closer, drawn to you as much as you were to him, it seemed. You felt from him that he was directionless, that he had just ended a chapter of his life and didn’t know what to do next. You also felt the way his heart leaped at the prospect of a Jedi. He was looking for one, perhaps. He was also searching for something to fill the hole in his heart. One that ached now more than ever, as far as you could tell.

“We shouldn’t talk about this here,” you warned. You felt well-hidden from the remnants of the empire here, but you could never be too safe. “Come back when the market closes at dusk, then we’ll talk.”

He clenched his fists, nodded curtly, and stepped back from your table. His cape fluttered as he turned around, then the mandalorian was out of sight. The feeling faded again, but you managed to identify it. To use the force and focus on it. And now you were sure that the mandalorian was in need of something, of purpose, and you were sure that you were going to help him find it.

And, when he disappeared from your view, you couldn’t deny that you missed him.

How crazy it must be, you thought, for you to long for the company of a man you’d spoken to for a total of five minutes. Whom you knew nothing about—not his name, not his face, not any part of his story. All you knew was that he was hurting, and that the force was drawing you to him. Drawing you to take away the pain.

So, when he reappeared at your table after the suns had set, you didn’t hesitate to give him honesty. “I was trained by the Jedi… a long time ago. I haven’t practiced the ways of the Jedi Order since I was a kid.”

He tilted his helmet at you while he helped you close shop. “But you still wield the force?”

“Yes,” you explained. “I’ve been teaching myself, training my powers. I still use some of the teachings of my old Jedi masters, but…sometimes I’ve found that doing things my own way works better.”

He followed behind you closely as you carried your merchandise back to your lodging, insisting on helping you transport it all. When you paused your explanation, he seemed to be turning it over in his head. “Hmm.”

“What about you?” You inquired. Surely, if you were so drawn to him, he must be force-sensitive too. “As I understand it, mandalorians and Jedi don’t normally get along.”

“I know almost nothing about the force,” he admitted. You were halfway to your cabin now. “My… traveling companion wielded the force. He’s young, still in need of training, so we searched for a Jedi willing to teach him.”

That feeling again. “And did you find one?”

“We did,” he breathed, and you could tell it hurt.

“He’s the one you lost,” you guessed. His silence confirmed your assumption and, again, you found yourself talking before you could think. “I understand why that must be hard. The foregoing of all attachment was what made me question the Jedi Order all those years ago. It’s still my biggest disagreement with the whole thing.”

You sat your merchandise on the front step of your cabin as you pulled your keys from your pocket. The mandalorian waited patiently as you unlocked your door. He hummed quietly as you beckoned him inside. “Is this where you live?”

“It is. When the suns come up, I have a great view of the forest surrounding our village.”

He put the remaining boxes where you instructed him to, and before he had a chance to excuse himself and bid you a goodnight, you heard yourself ask, “would you like to stay for a cup of spotchka?”

The mandalorian fidgeted where he stood, and you felt your face heat up again. Maybe the force was telling you to reach out to this man, but you had never been so forward. Perhaps you were being too forward. You started to feel from him again, and he was conflicted. Too conflicted, you thought, for a simple invitation to have a drink.

“I wouldn’t want to intrude on your night. I’m sure you must be getting up early to harvest your fruit.”

You shook your head. “You wouldn’t be intruding. I’m inviting you for a reason. The company would be nice, actually.”

He sighed.

“Yes, I suppose it would.”

He stood awkwardly in the doorway while you turned on the lights in your quaint living space. The sleeping bunks were separate from the main room, but the space was still awkwardly small. You opted to give the mandalorian your couch while you sat in the matching chair across from it. You offered him a mug of spotchka, which he politely declined.

After a beat, he cleared his throat. “The way that you… felt what I was feeling. Do you do that with everyone? Can you—can you hear people’s thoughts?”

“Just you,” you blurted. Dank Ferrik, you really should’ve been thinking harder about your choice of words. You backtracked. “I can’t hear people’s thoughts. The force just allows me to feel certain things that others cannot. I’ve never had a connection through the force with a stranger before, but when you stood close to me at the market, I could feel that you were mourning.”

“That’s…” his voice trailed. His mesmerizing voice. “I don’t know how to feel about that.”

“I don’t either, if I am being honest.”

He leaned forward on the couch, leaned closer to you. He was doing that a lot today. “Is there anything else you can feel from me?”

You closed your eyes and breathed in deep. There was more you could feel, but how could you put it into words? If you could explain it, would he even want to hear it? Would he want to know that you could see so much of his soul?

Surely not.

But he spoke up again. “If you’re…feeling something you don’t like, I understand. I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“Uncomfortable?” You chuckled at him, puzzled. “I think I am the one who should be saying that to you. I am certainly invading your privacy, looking into your mind with the force.”

“I want to know what you see,” he countered. His hand came up to fidget with the cape around his neck. “No one has ever…”

You didn’t need the force to finish that sentence for him. No one has ever seen my soul before. I’ve never shown it to anyone. You knew that’s what he meant, because the same was true for you.

“This companion that you have parted with, he meant a great deal to you. You love him…like family. Like a child of your own.”

His helmet dipped a little, almost imperceptible. “I don’t want to think about that right now.”

“Of course,” you nodded. You continued on with a change of subject. “I can feel that there’s more to it, though. You’re not just missing your… Grogu. Something else has been lost. Something that goes back even further than your relationship with the child. Something that leaves almost as big of a hole in your heart.”

The mandalorian stopped his fidgeting. You swore he was so still that he must have stopped breathing, too.

“But you cannot accept that you’ve lost it.”

He didn’t seem able to respond, but you felt that he wanted you to continue. You tried to focus on what the force guided you to, but you had no idea what it was. “You’re yearning for something. For some kind of purpose, some kind of connection. You’ve never had that before, but you won’t let yourself seek it out now. You’re holding onto something else. You’re terrified to let go of it.”

The mandalorian was visibly shaking now. He whispered, “I would like you to stop looking now.”

“That’s understandable,” you assured him. “I’m sorry if I overstepped.”

“You only did what I asked you to,” he offered. You supposed that was true. “I’m sure that you can also see… or feel… or…”

The mandalorian stumbled over his words. You didn’t know why, but you felt your body run hot again.

“You must know that I am unsure of what I’m supposed to do next.”

You nodded at him. Finally, you seemed to hone in on what the force was trying to get you to see.

“What do you want to do next?”

To that, he replied solemnly.

“Something I haven’t been allowed to do in a long time. But I don’t know where to start, and…”

You felt it. “And you’re frightened.”

“Yes.”

The force was clear now.

“Would you like some help with that?” You smiled.

He whimpered. “Yes.”

“We should get started, then. Like you said, I must get up early in the morning.”

A shaky breath hissed through his modulator. Slowly, you rose from your seat and made your way over to him. He stared up at you and you reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. You figured now would be a good time to introduce yourself. You gave him your name, prompting him to do the same.

“It’s Din.” He seemed amused by his own introduction. He scoffed, “I haven’t told anyone my name since… since I swore the creed. I wasn’t allowed to. I haven’t gone by that name since I put on this helmet.”

Helmet. Alarm bells rung in your head, and a distant memory emerged that finally made you understand. Ancient mandalorians never removed their helmets. The practice was legend now, but there were always rumors.

“You’ve never removed your helmet in front of anyone.”

Din lowered his head to stare at your chest. You could feel his shame radiating off of him. Oh.

“You weren’t supposed to remove it, but you did.”

His voice was strained. “According to the creed, I was never supposed to put it back on.”

You pondered for a minute. Slowly, your hands worked their way across his shoulders and neck and arms. You felt the fabric underneath his armor, the way his cape was tucked around his neck, and Din’s hands ventured out to your stomach. You weighed your options, until you finally elected to provide them both and let him decide.

“Do you want to work up to it?” You asked. His head snapped back up to look at you. “Taking the helmet off, I mean. Do you want to start with other clothes first? Or do you want to bite the bullet, Din?”

He shuddered as he heard his name come out of your mouth. Din squeezed the skin at your hips, his fingers digging in almost desperately.

“If it takes too long, I’m afraid that I might back out.”

You placed your hands at the base of his helmet on either side. His hands moved from your waist to cup your wrists. “You’re sure you’re ready to accept what you’ve lost?”

“I am,” he breathed decidedly.

You deactivated his modulator and lifted the beskar over his head, not daring to let yourself look at him until the helmet was all the way off. You turned away from him, setting the helmet gently on the table beside the couch. Before you even faced him, Din’s terrified excitement encompassed you. That, or perhaps you were also scared and excited.

The image in front of you was captivating. Not only could you feel the fear that Din felt, but now you could see it on his face. His face. Dark, messy hair framed the face of a man not quite as old as you, but not particularly young. His skin flushed bright pink, only drawing more attention to his eyes, which were bright and deep and soft. A full, hooked nose sat above plump and cracked lips—the man had an obvious habit of biting them, it appeared.

You were ogling him, for the second time today. After a few moments, he turned his gaze to the floor, too vulnerable to look straight at you. Then a few more moments passed, and his eyes flickered up to meet yours again. You were enamored with how bright they were. Such a deep chocolate brown, but piercing and wide.

“Can I touch you?” You asked. He swallowed hard, then nodded. You ran your thumb across his cheek and he shivered at the contact, still studying your face. Your hand followed his jawline, tucking stray curls behind his ears and feeling his stubble with the pads of your fingers. When your index finger grazed the arch of his upper lip, his eyes fluttered shut.

You tilted his head back and leaned down, touching your lips to his.

Din froze again and, when you pulled away, he stared at you with nothing short of bewilderment. An apology was already forming on your lips when his still-gloved hand shot up to the back of your head, closing the gap between you. He wasn’t a particularly agile kisser—which wasn’t his fault, you reminded yourself, and was frankly endearing—but Din was wise enough to restrain himself and let you lead him through it. A sweet, simple rhythm arose pretty quickly, and you let him continue to kiss you for as long as he wanted. He pulled you onto his lap and wrapped his arm gingerly around your back. All the while, familiar heat was pooling in your belly. You tried your best to ignore it, figuring you would need to set your pace excruciatingly slow for Din to warm up to it.

And perhaps he was unsure of himself, but Din was also eager. He didn’t need to warm up.

He was white-hot already.

His mouth was still on yours when you felt something drop on your face. A tear rolled off of his skin and onto yours, and you realized that Din was crying. You could feel that he was embarrassed, too, but he didn’t need to be. Bringing your hand to his face, you swiped a tear off of his cheek with your thumb. You smiled against him before leaning away and pressing your forehead to his. His breath shook as he tried to compose himself.

“Tell me what you’re feeling,” you prompted him.

Amusement tugged at the corners of his lips, even as the tears continued to fall.

His voice was shaky. “I thought you could already tell. Isn’t that how we got here?”

You smiled at him, shaking your head lightly.

“I’m not a mind-reader, baby. I still need you to use your words.”

His eyes flickered at the word baby. You wondered when the last time was that Din was treated with any kind of tenderness. Something told you it had been a long, long time.

Din cleared his throat, blushing as he struggled to look you in the eye. “I didn’t know that it could be like this.”

“Is it too much? Do you want to stop?” You leaned away. He held the back of your neck, keeping you close.

“No! Don’t stop,” he blurted. Din was flustered, stumbling over his words. “I don’t want to stop. I’m just… surprised. In a good way, I think. No, I know it’s a good way, just—just don’t stop.”

“Okay, I won’t.” You moved your hands to the base of his neck, fumbling with his cape. “I’m gonna take this off, alright?”

He nodded, mumbling a barely-audible affirmation as you untucked the fabric and let it fall down past his shoulders. Din threw his head back as the cool air hit his throat. Slowly, you moved your mouth down until your lips brushed against his Adam's apple. He winced at the contact, one hand darting up into your hair while the other held the small of your back. Din continued to choke on his breath until the gasps and hitches morphed into longer groans and whines. The noise went straight between your thighs, but again you ignored it. That is, until Din’s hands moved together and made you pause.

Two soft plats rang in your ears as Din dropped his gloves to the ground, one after the other.

You didn’t even have to move. Almost instantly, his hands returned to their respective places. His fingertips dug experimentally into your skin, hesitant and soft. Another whine escaped his throat. “Fuck.”

It was only then that you felt it—what you should have noticed by now. With Din’s hand pressed into the small of your back, tugging you ever-so-gently closer to him, you could plainly feel it. The outline of him through the front of his pants, poking against your thigh and no doubt straining against the tight fabric. His cock had grown hard some time ago, but he’d been ignoring it just as you’d been brushing off your own feelings of arousal. Now, though, it was simply begging for attention. His hips bucked involuntarily. You smirked.

“Would you like some help with that?” You teased.

Din’s face lit up red. “I—yes, I do—just give me a second—”

He squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating on something. While his left hand stayed behind your head, his right was slowly venturing further upward underneath the fabric of your shirt. When his hips jerked again, he shuddered underneath you. His cock had gained the smallest bit of friction from the movement against your thigh, and he was trying desperately to stop himself from bucking up to get more. You felt a bit of panic flowing off of him.

“Din?” His big, brown eyes flickered open and up to your face. “Are you a virgin, baby?”

“No,” he blurted. He scoffed, as if the suggestion was so far from the truth that it was amusing. “It’s just… never happened like this. There’s rules, normally. Mandalorians, we’re not celibate by any means, but I wouldn’t exactly say that intimacy is our strong suit. Before, no one was allowed to see my skin. Not even a little. I’m just… I’m trying to decide…”

You tilted your head, lifting his chin with your fingertip. “Trying to decide how much to show me?”

“Yes,” he breathed.

“What does your instinct tell you?” You inquired, already knowing the answer.

His eyes fluttered down to your chest. Din swallowed hard and dropped his hands to his sides, propping himself against them. He sucked in a breath.

“To take it all off.”

The beskar came first. Din disconnected his chest plate while you tore his shoulder guards off of him. The armor on his arms was equipped with weapons and electronics you couldn’t work, so you took the opportunity to shed your own clothing while he dealt with the rest of the metal pieces. You were down to your underwear by the time he was finished, a heap of beskar resting behind your couch when you sat down again. His hands didn’t hesitate to grab your waist. Din felt your bare chest and belly while you toyed with the buttons on his pants.

When you paused to let him pull his shirt over his head, he took a moment to understand what he was supposed to do next. After a beat, Din reached between his shoulder blades, tugging the fabric up and off his body.

Even as big and strong as he appeared in the armor, you weren’t quite expecting the toned body underneath his clothes. Din’s body was lean, but bulked at his chest and arms—you supposed from the physical nature of his work. A toned set of abs no doubt lied under a soft belly that was jerking from nerves and restraint.

Your fingers danced along his biceps, across his chest and down his stomach before settling at the waist of his pants. He arched his back to give you room to tug them past his hips. When you did, the length of his cock became plainly visible, outlined by boxer briefs barely capable of containing it. Your fingers ghosted across the fabric, causing him to shudder and whine.

“I wanna—” Din started, cut off by flick of your thumb over the tip, where a tiny wet spot was beginning to form. “I want to touch you first. Make sure you’re—you’re ready.”

You groaned at the thought of him needing to get you ready. Of the perfect, almost-unimaginable stretch that would hurt so good that you would be drunk on it. You thought of his fingers dancing along your entrance, as gentle and tentative as the rest of his touch, only to retreat and make way for what you could already tell would leave you feeling sore tomorrow.

“Go ahead, baby.”

Din’s hand ventured down to the band of your underwear. He dipped below the elastic and he groaned deep from his chest when he felt your slick touch the pads of his fingers. It must have been the first time he’d gotten to touch someone without the gloves coming between you. His fingers dipped lower, brushing past your clit and to the top of your entrance. He shuddered and groaned again and you were half-convinced he would come undone right then. His cock twitched underneath his boxers, desperate for friction.

First a single finger dipped hesitantly into your entrance, hooking upward against your walls as it searched for that spongy place that was most sensitive. As much as he tried—and as much as you were sure he knew how to draw an orgasm from you—he was too distracted by the feeling of you to focus. He pulled out the digit, gathering more of your slick and circling your folds, then pushed two back inside.

“Dank—fucking—ferrik—” Din muttered under his breath. “So tight… so wet for me—”

“I think you’re getting a little distracted, baby,” you joked.

He mumbled, “You just feel so good.”

His fingers moved lazily, directionless. You could tell he was getting lost in the sensation of fucking you with his hand. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to cum before you’d even touched him.

You were starting to get desperate. Grinding into his hand, you leaned to his ear. “I think I can help you, baby. Will you let me do that?”

“Please,” he whispered.

Your hand moved to cup his over your underwear, the other arm holding your weight. You pressed his fingers further inside you, rolling your hips until they hit that perfect spot. Pleasure shot through you and you groaned. The sound and the feeling of you bucking into his hand made Din whine again.

He shook his head. “I’m not gonna—I can’t—It’s too much—”

You didn’t want this to be over so soon, though. In a split-second decision, you squeezed your eyes shut and focused hard, calling on the force. You felt yourself constricting the base of his shaft, holding his orgasm off while he hissed and bucked upward. It took a second for him to realize what you were doing—how you were doing it—and he eyed you with shock and brief panic.

“Din,” you cooed at him slowly, “take a deep breath and focus for me, okay? I know you know how to use those fingers.”

After a few panicked huffs evolved into slow, shaky breaths, Din nodded up at you. His fingers danced across that spot, pausing to hone in when you whined and clenched around them. He set a pattern of twisting and curling and parting his fingers, brushing across that spot every few movements. It was just enough to make you frustrated. Enough to make you crave the tiniest bit more. A sly grin moved across his face when you whimpered and tried to move your hips to take him deeper.

“Please, Din,” you begged, your thrusts barely missing your sweet spot. “I need more. You’re right there, just more—”

“I can’t help but want to savor this,” he breathed. He tilted his head so his mouth was at your ear. You couldn’t tell if it was more teasing or truthful. Either way, he didn’t change his pace.

He kept going for another short while until you simply couldn’t stand it anymore. Your hand parted from his and hovered above your core. Din realized a little too late what you were about to do. Without his permission, Din’s fingers curved upward until they perfectly pressed against your bundle of nerves. His thumb moved up to press against your clit, drawing tiny circles as his hand moved faster, harder than before. He grunted frustratedly after a few moments, not fond of the feeling, and he didn’t hesitate to continue the rhythm you’d set when you released him.

“Keep going,” you instructed.

He nodded.

The pleasure was steadily building. Quickly building. Din could hardly handle it all and he elected to distract himself by sinking his teeth into your shoulder. He managed to keep his hand steady—and keep from spilling in his boxers—as his tongue collected the sweat from your skin. When you were nearly at your peak you began to tighten around him, moving your hips to match his pace. The climax stole your breath from you and your body shook in his tight, strong grasp. Din threw his head back as you gushed around his hand.

When you finally came down, your entire weight resting against him as you gasped for breath, he hummed a noise of amusement.

“Do you think you’re ready now?”

You chuckled into his neck. “Only if you are.”

“I can’t believe I get to feel you like this,” he exalted, almost to himself. Din tilted your head to face him, making the most confident eye contact he’d made with you all night. “I can’t explain it, but I’m glad that it’s you. Thank you.”

You buried your face back in his neck, flustered. It was barely audible when you muttered, “Me too.”

“And yes,” he added. “I’m ready.”

He dipped his hands to your backside, pulling your underwear down as you shimmied off of his lap just enough to free them. Slowly, Din pushed the two of you forward until you were on your back. He planted a quick kiss on your lips before pulling off of you. You watched as he swiftly removed his last remaining clothing.

And now that there was nothing left to the imagination, you were absolutely sure.

You were going to be sore tomorrow.

Din moved back on top of you, guiding your legs around his hips and running the head of his cock through your slick, coating himself with it. Your hands shot up to clutch at his chest and his eyelids dropped as he fell into the more familiar feeling of his dick against your entrance. Juxtaposed with all the new sensations and the connection the two of you seemed to have, Din felt a kind of euphoria he couldn’t describe. Confidence overrode the uncertainty until all that was left was a deep, carnal hunger for you. You could feel it.

Then he slowly pushed himself inside, only an inch or so, and your mind and body were consumed by the stretch of it. Your fingers dug into his biceps and your head fell back against the cushion. He stilled his movements, not even halfway inside and struggling with all his might to stay still.

“Are you alright?” He asked, a tinge of worry in his voice.

Breathlessly, you laughed up at him. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

His expression didn’t change. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes,” you smiled.

“I need you to tell me if I’m hurting you,” he warned. You nodded up at him. “And just so you’re aware, I do have the implant.”

“That’s good,” you noted. “Because we both know you’re not gonna last very long.”

Din closed his eyes. “I would be offended by that if you weren’t squeezing me so tight right now.”

“It’s okay,” you shrugged. He started to move again, and your voice wavered. “We’ll work you up to it.”

When he was seated almost all the way in, beads of sweat had formed in a line across your forehead. He grunted and took a breath to steady himself. You almost felt bad for adding the quip.

“We can always go for round two, if you’re up for it.”

He started to drag himself out of you, angling his hips just right. “We’ll see if you’re up to it, sweetheart.”

Din stopped with just the tip seated in your walls. He seemed to take your words as a challenge, and you did the same with his retort. The fire in your gaze gave Din some kind of reassurance. He grabbed your hand in his and snapped his hips forward, swiftly burying himself all the way inside you. You gasped and moaned, your whole body jolting from the strength of it. Squeezing his hand, you arched your back just the tiniest bit, inviting him in to set whatever pace and force he wanted.

Which he did.��

The rhythm he set was slow, but deep. The head of his cock bumped hard against your sweet spot with each thrust and you held onto him for dear life. He gripped you just as tightly, your waist encased in his sturdy grasp. Din’s head dipped until his mouth latched to your jaw. His lips brushed against your skin, more interested in simply feeling you than drinking you in. Tiny whimpers fell through them on every other jerk of his hips.

Your orgasm built just a bit slower than before and you were almost delirious in your pleasure. One of his hands moved between your legs, grazing the bud of nerves above your entrance as he felt himself sliding in and out of you. An unfettered, grumbling moan escaped his throat. Din’s hips began to sputter and falter in their pace.

“Keep going,” you instructed, placing your hand over his. There was no threat this time of you using the force to move him, but Din complied with your request nonetheless. He drew smooth circles with his hand, matching the pace of the snapping of his pelvis into you. “Like that. Yes, Din.”

“I don’t know—how long I can.” He dipped his head, concentrating on his thrusts. “You’re too good, you feel too good.”

“It’s alright.” You cupped his cheek in your hand. You were almost there. Right at the edge. As you climbed to that high point and pleasure began to crash down around you, through you, your body went rigid and your back arched until you were pressed as closely to his chest as you could possibly get.

Your stilling and squeezing around him is what pushed Din over the edge. He buried himself as deep as he could inside you, filling you with his spend and utterly gasping for air. His chest heaved and shuddered against yours and you held onto him tight. After a moment of collecting himself, Din slowly pulled out of you while you whined at the loss of his touch.

The two of you sat together on the couch, fatigued and satisfied. Your fingers danced in Din’s hair while he absentmindedly ran his hands along your thighs and belly. When you finally had to excuse yourself to the fresher—the sticky feeling between your legs had turned cold and bothersome—Din began to collect his armor and throw his clothes on haphazardly. Something felt wrong about it.

“Going somewhere, baby?” You hummed at him in the doorway. His eyes gazed at you innocently as he pulled on his boxers.

“Well, it’s like you said…” he stumbled over his words. “You have to be up early. I should probably get out of your hair.”

You could feel that he didn’t want to leave, but this was what Din was used to. A quick fuck, impersonal and needy, and then parting ways without a second thought. That was what was normal for him.

You weren’t having it.

“I don’t want you to leave,” you explained solemnly. He slowed his attempt to tug his pants up around his thighs. Din was unsure of what to do. “…do you want to leave?”

He shook his head. “I don’t.”

“Then stay.” You smiled.

He nodded at you and leaned back against the couch cushions. You were almost ready to close the door behind you when a thought struck. You cleared your throat.

“Would you want to join me?”

You gestures toward the shower and Din’s eyes blew even wider. He glanced at you, then the fresher, then back at you. Again, he nodded, and you smiled as you turned to press the buttons for the shower settings. It was a lucky thing you weren’t on Jakku or Tatooine—you loved the water too much. Here, you had an abundance of it, which you certainly took for granted.

Din’s eyes were so lidded that he could hardly keep them open. He was anxious, you could feel, and the anticipation of touching you again was pulling him out of his head. His heart was racing and you moved your hand up to press against it. Absently, his hand ghosted behind yours. The mandalorian looked to be lost in his own mind, staring off into space.

“Are you okay?” You spoke gently. He hummed a noise of general content, but didn’t look down at you. When you pulled him into the stream of hot water, his knees nearly buckled underneath him. You held the sides of his face. “Hey, baby. Talk to me.”

He barely registered your voice, it seemed. Din sank further into the warmth of the shower and his arms danced unceremoniously on your skin. His breath still shook even as the water helped him decompress. His eyes didn’t focus when he spoke, his voice cracked and whispering.

“Why are you taking such good care of me?”

“What do you mean?” You asked. He finally looked at you, fear clouding his eyes and making his brows furrow in a grimace.

Din gritted his teeth. “I mean nothing to you. I’m just a traveler you met at the market. Haven’t been in your life for more than a few days. What makes me deserve all this?”

“You don’t have to earn my affection, Din.” Your hands were still on his face. He leaned into the touch. “You deserve to be taken care of just like anyone does after sex. Just like anyone does in general.”

He looked skeptical, and you added, “and you’re not ‘nothing’ to me.”

“What, because the force ‘drew you’ to me? Because you can peer into my head and see my whole life if you want to?” He scoffed.

Din saw the hurt on your face and he softened a bit. You cleared your throat. “I don’t just care about you because of what the force showed me, and I can’t see your whole life. I care about you because of the night that I’ve spent with you. I want to spend more time with you, too.”

“But why?”

You smiled and turned away from him, leaning back against his chest and pulling his arms around you. You grabbed the bar of soap from the rack and folded it into his hand. “Maybe because you give me so much credit for doing normal-people things.”

His hands were more confident this time as they traveled your chest and shoulders and waist. Din massaged the soap across your skin in a steady, calming rhythm. You leaned back against his shoulder, allowing him to hold your weight. He didn’t mind.

“Or maybe I want to see those things that the force can’t show me about you. Maybe your reputation precedes you and I want to see what all of the fuss is about.”

He hummed in your ear. “I have a reputation?”

You scoffed.

“For someone who’s traveled so much of the galaxy, you really don’t know anything, do you?”

You felt him smile against your skin. Sleep tugged at you both as you finished getting clean, and Din could barely keep his hands off of you when you turned off the water. You tossed him a towel, noting with a chuckle, “I thought my touch would be too overwhelming by now. We’ve done a lot tonight.”

He grinned lazily and wrapped the towel around his waist. “Overwhelming? Are you kidding? I can’t get enough of it.”

“That’s good,” you noted, tugging him toward your bunk. “Because my bed is only a single.”

You weren’t surprised at all when the two of you settled underneath the sheets and Din elected to hold you to his chest, his head nuzzled into your neck. For the first time since you’d met him, his mind was quiet. Soon enough, his breathing slowed and steadied, and you figured he must be asleep.

“May the force be with you, Din,” you cooed. It was meant to be a blessing that he wouldn’t hear. Still, he replied.

“And also with you.”

-----

Author's Notes: first of all, idk why writing has been an ordeal recently. I want this to be its own fic universe but not a series per se. I love the idea of a Jedi reader and Din. My other note is that I have not proofread this and I forgot how sex works so... you know. Do what you will.

No tags because idk who to tag.

#the mandalorian #Mando #din Djarin #din dijarin fanfiction #din djarin x reader #the helmet comes off #Star Wars #pedro pascal #masterlist

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fanfiction-blep · 1 year

Note

I just binged your woks and need to ask,

I was wondering if I could request Jake x Na’vi reader and it’s her giving him aftercare thanks to a fantastic session of just pure lust and sure he is a dom but he also has those days where he just needs taken care of.

I don’t know but do with this what you will, Thank youuu!!

Hey! I’m so glad you enjoy my works enough to make your own request!! This is such a good idea (aftercare for both parties is so important!) and I had so much fun writing it! Hope it’s not too short for your liking. Enjoy! 💙

Aftercare~ Jake X Na’vi Reader

Warnings: smut, fluff, slight pain/injury.

“Fuck, you feel soo good Princess” Jake had his hands firmly on your hips fingers pressing into the flesh of your ass, pulling you roughly down on his cock. You were a whimpering mess above him hands placed on his shoulders trying your best to support your frame bouncing yourself a little to try and return the pleasure your mate was giving you. Jake planted his feet on the ground pushing his knees up to give him a better angle allowing him to thrust into you at a harsher pace.

“Fuck daddy I’m close” you pushed the words out of your mouth in between the moans Jake was pulling from your body.

“Oh yeah?” A wicked smirk was plastered on his face his long fingers reaching down to your centre rubbing harsh circles on your clit “you’ve gotta hold it” a whimper of protest left your mouth

“Daddy please-”

“Hold it” he bit back. Baring his teeth at you in dominance, nodding you began to litter kisses down his neck and collar bone leaving your mark. Returning the favour as Jake had covered you, claiming you as his own. You only stoped when he began thrusting into you fatster matching the pace with his fingers that were still on your clit. “I’m close, you gonna cum for daddy?” Grunting the words between his thrust bringing himself closer to an orgasm.

“Yes” the words caught, in your throat barely able to talk through the pleasure. Mouth hovering over his skin.

“Okay, your gonna cum in 5…” the words leaving his mouth caused electricity to shoot directly to your core, your walls clenching around him “4, fuck you feel so good princess 3” a cry of pleasure left your mouth as you could feel your orgasm leering over you “2 you gonna be a good girl for daddy?” Nodded eagerly and braced your forehead against his shoulder. “1. Cum for me baby girl” his hips rutted against you at a rapid pace his fingers pushing over the edge. Sobs left your mouth as you came hard around him, biting onto his shoulder your fangs breaking the skin. “Fuuuuuck” the growl that left Jakes mouth was sinful a mixture of pleasure and pain consuming his body as he came down from his high. “Shit.” He groaned as you rolled off of him. You had known jake long enough to know when something was wrong.

“What’s wrong?” You asked placing your hands on his chest, concern etched on your feature.

“I’m in a bit of pain”

“Let me help you”

"Baby you don't have to-" you cut him off by gently hushing him, you could see he was in pain every muscle in his body was tense. Placing the palm of your hand under his knee and the other on his ankle lowering the limb to the floor, massaging your fingers into his muscles. humming softly leaving soft kisses against his skin. You repeated the same process with his other leg reliving his back of the pressure. You (attempted) to walk over to a basket the two of you had close to the bed for moments like these. Grabbing a fresh fruit, some healing herbs and medical supplies. You tried to make you way back to him without your legs collapsing on you. "Thank you sweetheart-" His tone was low and soft his eyes filled with compassion and awe at the care you were taking with him. Once you had kneeled next to him you placed the items down and helped him lean up kissing his bicep and placing the fruit in his hands. He smiled the corners of his lips pulling upwards and biting into the fruit. You took a cloth and rubbed it against the wound on his shoulder left by your teeth, once the blood had been removed you smeared a paste against the area causing him to wince and flinch at your actions.

"I'm sorry Daddy, let me help you" You leaned up and kissed him on the cheek "where else does it hurt?"

"hmm, back" You hummed and moved your body behind him.

"You take such good care me, let me take care of you. You deserve it" You pushed you're thumbs and fingers into his muscles the digits moving them around to relieve the muscles of pressure. moving from his shoulders to his upper back and finishing on his lower back. focusing on the source of his pain. Groans of pain and relief leaving his mouth. You smiled knowing you were helping him tail lightly swaying side to side. Once you were satisfied you added another layer of paste on his shoulder kissing the surrounding skin. Jake leaned towards you pulling you into his chest laying down. You positioned yourself away from from his injured shoulder resting your head against the his healthy one. He pulled you flush against him placing one of your legs over his waist with his hand.

"Thank you Princess, are you okay?" He looked down at you kissing your forehead. You nodded against him smiling.

"I am perfect, i enjoy taking care of you." He hummed running his hand through your hair staring down at you in awe.

"You did such a good job for me, always such a good girl" His words made you giddy. You two stayed like that laying in each others arm, sharing praise and affection.

#smut #avatar 2 #avatar #jake sully x reader smut #jake sully x reader #jake sully x y/n #na’vi jake sully #jake sully smut #jake sully

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snoopy333 · 11 months

Text

Be Mine

Tsu’tey x dreamwalker reader

same thing with word count haha😂

pt.2 to ‘come back to me’

Warnings: smut 18+, swearing , Mentions of anxiety

NOT PROOFREAD

Overview: After Tsu’tey heals from the war, Y/n and Tsutey become closer than before…

His healing journey was one of a true warrior. One day he could barely eat and the next he was forcing himself to stand. You stayed by his side, jumping into his arms with every achievement inevitably apologizing as you forgot his injuries.

After the war you and Jake were truly accepted into the Omaticaya. You both crossed over into your Avatar bodies becoming a true navi. You were both showered with love and acceptance feeling a warmth you never truly felt. You became an official healer studying non stop to truly become the best you could be .

The weeks pasted and you and Tsu’tey grew closer together. His gestures became more apparent in public. His arm always around your waist. Kisses planted on your forehead whenever he greets you. And then the proper courting began.

Each morning a basket was left in front of your hut. Filled with different greenery and sometimes supplies you needed to make your pastes,Sometimes fruit to get you through your day. Regardless he never failed to keep a smile on your face. “goodmorning yawne.” He said reaching his arm around you as you arrived at breakfast. “ What does the day look like for you today?” He said sitting with you. “I have some gathering to do and then i should be free later tonight.” His smile brightened tail swinging a bit. “I will come to get you after!”

It was like everyone could tell what was going to happen but you. Neytiri watched holding in her giggles as she nudged jake who nudged the rest of your friends. You knew how mating worked and you were aware you were being courted but you had no idea what was to come.

The day had passed and the tasks of the day tired you out. As you began to walk to your hut that’s familiar voice graced your ears again, “finally y/n , you work too hard.” He said waiting for you leaning against a tree ahead of you. You smile sleepily “I work to hard?”, you laughed “look whos talking.” He smiled reaching a hand out to you , “you still up for tonight..?”he asked almost nervously. “Of course!” You said happily wrapping your fingers in his.

“I wanted to take you to a place i think could truly soothe you, and connect us.” He looked down to you a smile tugging at his lips . Through all of his gestures and his courting you always remember how he would scowl at you in the beginning. Remembering the look of distaste that always painted his face, and you remember how no matter how angry he looked you always thought he was so cute. “Tsu’tey im so happy i met you.” Your grip tightened on him as you walked.

You noticed where you were going. The place you first bonded. You had sat alone after leaving home tree wanting to get away from the noise of the festival that was happening. You had never felt more alone then ever, Jake had bonded with Neytiri, spending most of his time with her and you were left alone. Though you were acquainted with a few people in big gatherings your anxiety still surfaced. You sat on a rock that was more like a small ledge. It was over a hot spring and you sat with yourself humming and watching the water. “What are you doing alone this late?” Tsu’tey huffed shocking you from your daze.

You remember this day like yesterday. You remember how he sat next to you and let you speak all of your feelings. You two shared stories your sure no one else had heard. “And then Jake got mad at everyone else because he fell !” you two laughed holding youre stomachs. One of the only genuine laughs you had shared since you were on pandora

Now you walked together again. Climbing to that ledge. He helped you up his large hand on your waist making your stomach flutter. He watched your figure above him, helping himself up after. You sat on the ledge swinging your feet looking up to him. “I am forever grateful to have met you y/n, you are a true gift.” His eyes looked into yours with a deeper anticipation painting his face. You had never seen him nervous before, it was cute in a way. You turned to him moving to sit on your knees, “ i am grateful as well tsu’tey, you mean so much to me. I dont think you have any idea how it felt to almost lose you. Your hand held his cheek. “That is the thing..” he started “I know exactly the fear you felt. I face it every day that i dont make you mine.” He placed his hands onto your waist. “Y/n you have become my world, The last thing i see when i close my eyes. And the first thing i think of when i awake. You cared for me endlessly in my worse time. When i was half a man.Please be my mate, I promise to take care of you. I promise to provide all i can for you and the family we create, Please be mine” He said his eyebrows furrowed doing his best to get his words out.

His hands held onto you almost helplessly as you smiled and nodded over and over. Your smile brighter than the first star. “Ive been yours since the day i laid eyes on you.” His eyes lit up pulling you into a bear hug. His large frame engulfing your smaller one. You let your legs fall over his sitting in his lap for the first time. “I am yours, forever”. His hold on you tight like a longing that has finally been filled. You pulled his braid to the front of him , pulling yours over your shoulder as well. “Are you ready?” he asked holding his queue.

Just then you made tsaheylu. You felt and seen all of him. Almost like you truly became one. All you could do was look into his eyes. Holding onto his face as you began to fill dizzy with love. His lips grazed over yours, noses touching together before you both engulfed each other in a fiery kiss. You felt his warm lips press against yours, His sweet tongue exploring the cavern of your mouth. The way his hands traveled your waist. It was all too much.

His hands dipped lower until he was guiding your hips to rock over his. “Is this okay yawne?” He said almost breathless leaving kisses down your neck as your cunt started to flutter. “y-yes yesss.” You let yourself rut against him. “F-fuckk, yawnetu i gotta take us home”.He said as he felt his loincloth tighten. He stood carrying you. You could swear you had never seen him move so fast. He rushed through the village ignoring all the funny looks until you two reached his hut.

The next thing you knew you were sitting on his cot, lips attacking each others. He undid your top leaving kisses down your neck. “Youre so beautiful y/n..” he places kiss over your chest “my beautiful girl.” Your lips met each others again. You reached up undoing his neck piece, pulling it from his neck.

He laid you down the correct way. Situating himself between your legs and kissing over your collar bones. He reached for your loincloth untying it. And you untied his , the both of you scanned each others bodies almost desperately.

“My girl..” Was all he could utter.Kissing down your stomach slowly,repeating “you’re my girl..”.. “all mine..” He kissed over your cunt rubbing over your thighs. He pushed one of your legs over letting his tongue lick between your sopping folds. “Tsu’tey ahh~” You whimper letting your hands fall to his hair. “Thats right yawne say my name.” Before another whine could leave your mouth he was eating you out like a starved man. His tongue swirling around your clit, Soft lips sucking just right. It drove you crazy.

He let one finger sink into you. He wanted to do everything to you. But he wanted you comfortable more. “Hows this ma y/n ?” he asked thrusting his finger in slowly curling it up a bit. “G-good~ F-fuck!” He smirked at the state you were in adding another finger.

Before you could cum he made sure to pull away. He wanted to see you in a desperate state. He held your hips pulling away. He flipped you onto your hands and knees all too well. “Poke it out for me yawne, i know you know how.” He said stroking himself. You got into position arching your back well for him letting your chest touch the covers. You rocked your hips a bit for him. “Like this ma Tsu’tey?”. You knew using little pet names got him going so this was just the cherry on top to your cunt leaking in front of him.

“Oh y/n, im gonna fuck a baby into you girl.” It was the last thing you heard before you back was being beat in. His hard cock thrashing against your walls making your body shutter. His hand gripping your waist tightly pulling your small frame back onto his cock. His mind went crazy watching your ass bounce against him. Feeling your slick coat his balls. “Fuck~ this is all mine, Youre all mine.”

You had never been fucked so good. You made sure to fuck him back,bouncing back on each thrust. “Aah!! Tsu’tey !!” You felt him deeper once he pushed your knees apart a bit more, earning a new angle. Once you got closer your noises became incoherent. You babbled on in on trying to tell him how close you were.

“Yeah my love, Youre gonna cum for me?” he said making sure to let his tip rub against that gummy spot in your deep walls. “Come on yawne, let it all out”. Your moans were loud enough you’re sure the whole village could hear. You let yourself unravel and he did the same letting incoherent navi mutters slip from his tongue. “F-fuck.. my girl..my pussy~”.

Once you both finished it definitely wasn’t over. It went on like this, every position you could think of all night. You never thought he could do you like this but thank god you were finally his…

“Shanite!! Yousa!! Enough!!!” You shouted at your children. They were preteens now but still bickered like small children. “But mom he always tries to steal my things !” Yousa shouted which Shanite came back with a louder comeback. “Enough!” Your mate shouted over your shoulder. “Your mother asked you to stop all this yelling, youll stress her.” He placed a hand on your baby bump “Take it outside!” He leant down to kiss your head. “Goodmorning yawne, im sorry the boys awoke you this way again.” he chuckled lightly “It is time for me to go do morning trainings are you gonna be okay, You know i dont like to leave you alone…

//this was soo longgg🥱… i was typing this all dayy i hope you guys liked it though♥️\\

#tsutey smut #tsutey x reader #jake sully #jake sully x reader #avatar fics #avatar writing #avatar smut #snoopywrites

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aonungyou-shit · 1 year

Text

Ma Rotxo [Part 2]

DNI/BYF

Ma Rotxo Masterlist

Pairing: Roxto x Lo'ak Twin Sister! Reader

Synopsis: You are running a little sick. But all that gets overshadowed when you talk about feelings.

( So sorry for the Delay! )

You Had gone closer to the tree’s today. Truthfully you had been so bored of being near the water. Also you were running really cold today so you figured it would be okay to skip today's lessons. And you Let Tsireya know.

You were covering yourself in the shawl that your grandmother had weaved for you when you were but a little younger. And in this moment it made you feel safe and warm.

“Y/N?”

You jolted! Turning around to see Rotxo who had a basket on his head and one at his side.

“My bad i didnt mean to startle you!”

“Rotxo? Oh do you need help with one of those?”

Rotxo smiled. Letting out a small huff before nodding. “Yes please”

Smiling you took the basket on his head and looked inside. Small Rocks, Tree Roots and some bark was there. “What are you collecting?”

“Some Herbs for some quick medicine. Roots and Rocks to mix em and all. I also have to gather some fruit farther into the trees”

“Want me to help with that? Im Good with Tree’s”

He let out a shy smile towards you looking at his empty basket before nodding. “Yes please”

“Let’s go then!”

Silently you two walked. Before it was you who made conversation

“How are your sisters”

“Well. They actually really want to meet tuk soon”

“That’s great! Tuk need a new bundle of friends to play with!” You spoke excited as you let him lead you away.

“They seem to really like you too. Constantly asking me if you’d come over after lessons”

You laughed a little before looking at him “what, you never brought a girl to your house?”

You watched as he turned into himself. His shy demeanor didn't go unnoticed by you. “No… not really”

“Oh! Sorry. I figured you may have”

“Why?”

“Well why not? Your very kind. Gentle on the eyes. And i think of you as a very mighty man”

Rotxo rose a brow at this. Never had someone thought of him as such. “Really?”

“Yes. Its a real shame if no one’s looked at you that way”

Rotxo paused now watching as you got ahead of him before he asks “why?”

“What do you mean why?”

“I mean im sure someone as you had many mighty warriors seeking to court you, What makes me .. special?”

You stopped. Now turning to look at him.

“Yeah i had a few suitors. All of which were mighty warriors. Always hunting, always helping take out the sky people. But they aren’t my type at all”

“Really? What is your type?”

You purse your lips together. Bitting the inner cheek before turning to look at him head on “you”

Eywa, you swore it may have been the cold or how loopy your mind felt. But you also weren’t a coward. You faced far scarier creatures, you’ve taken out the demons before and yet admitting to liking a boy was terrifying.

“Me?”

“Sure! You’re not only kind but you don’t Have an ego as most of them did. You’re very sweet and i saw the way you looked after your sisters. You’re an ideal man in my book”

Rotxo had a sudden rush of excitement run up his spine. As he came up next to you looking at you eye to eye. “So im really worth looking at?”

“Of course you are. You are strong, yes. You're Wonderful. I dont mind that you dont go out to hunt. But i find it so charming that you take care of your family when needed” You said smiling , stopping in front of a tree that he had guided you too.

“I think i should like you too meet my family” Rotxo asked.

You are smiling. The dull ache of your head was still there but it subsided and it left you at ease while you were talking to him.

“So you want me to get that fruit?”

“Yes please!”

“Wait down here and stick the basket up. Ill bring down many” You said gripping down on the tree. Its unfamiliar bark prickling at your hands as you kept climbing up and on.

You noticed that it wasn’t at its ripe stage. Its color is a clear indicator. No doubt this being the only fruit that was safe enough for a metkayina to reach.

You decided to head up to the sky where the air was clear and you could see as far as your eyes could reach. You missed feeling the wind this high. But you wasted no time throwing fruit down as much as you could before taking some down with your tail and your available hand.

Roxto looked at the basket as you dropped it. Questioning if you in fact came back with the right thing. But offering your already bitten fruit he had no doubt. It was sweet with a savory taste.

It was good, Eywa how thankful was he for you

“Come Let us deliver this to your family! Id be happy to see it to meet your family” You said, taking the basket you had previously in your hands. Waited for him to lead you to his home.

======================

Taglist: 32/34

@azaleaniath / @alana69s

Perma Taglist: 13/15

@fanboyluvr / @oasis-balli

#atwow imagines #atwow #avatar the way of water #rotxo x reader #atwow rotxo #rotxo x y/n #rotxo imagine #rotxo fanfiction

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inkymagpie · 2 years

Text

The Star in the Field Pt.2

Chapter Rating: General

Overall Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings: Slight Angst, minimal descriptions of y/n, reader uses they/them/she/her pronouns.

Chapter Synopsis: Morpheus lets out a surprised scoff and looks at the raven with mild amusement.

“Is that what you think, that I’m making a mountain out of a molehill.” Matthew hops closer and the Dream Lord comes to sit on the edge of the fountain.

“I mean maybe? Maybe not. All I’m saying is maybe you should take a day to just I don’t know, relax, go for a walk or something?”

The Endless looks up at the murky skies that had been bright and clear not a few minutes ago.“Perhaps you are right.”

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part4

One of the things that you absolutely adored about humans was their markets; from food to odd trinkets, you could spend your whole day wandering the streets of south London. Initially Hob had to guide you through the narrow streets and bustling stalls, assuring you wouldn’t get lost or heckled (which happened only once and ended quick enough when the merchant found out you had no money). But now you move through the throngs of people with ease, finding great joy in experiencing the day to day life of humanity.

When you had first arrived at the New Inn you had nothing but the dress on your body (having been ruined in the fall), no money and no clue as to what you were going to do now bound to live on Earth. Hob had been more than generous, welcoming you into his home, giving you one of the spare rooms above the Inn and offering you a job of sorts helping him with general management. And considering he had started his adjunct professorship and had to teach two days out of the week he definitely needed an extra set of hands.

You had been nervous of course at first, cautious of the seemingly overly friendly human, especially after hearing of what the last falling star had to endure during her time on earth. However your companion that had dropped you off ensured you that Hob was nothing but trustworthy, and since he had some experience of what lies beyond the veil of mortality he would be one of the few ‘humans’ that would be able to suspend his disbelief of your origins.

That had been a month ago nearly to the day, and you found yourself finally beginning to settle in …well aside from your sleep patterns, but it was getting there.

“Getting another peck of apples today y/n?” The fruit stall vendor smiles as you walk up to the table brimming with ripe fruits.

“Yes sir!” You hand him your basket before adjusting your sunhat, the sunlight glinting warmly in the balmy September air. “The apple pies have been a big hit it seems.”

“That’s one thing I think everyone can agree on.” He nods as he carefully selects the ruby red fruits; he always gives you the best ones.

“What’s that?” You ask as he hands you one to snack on while you shop.

“I don’t think anyone could pass up a good slice of apple pie.” He chuckles.

You grin, apple pie is one of your favorite human treats so you couldn’t agree more.

“If you stop by the Inn on Friday I’ll be sure to have the cook save you a big slice!” He hands you back your basket, now filled nearly to the brim; you hand him a few notes, to which he returns half of them. “What? No, I know they are worth this much.” You try and hand him back the returned money but he raises his hands up with a soft chuckle.

“I’ll take the rest of that payment in that slice of pie.” He replies smiling.

You blink at him for a moment, money still in your outstretched hand. Your arm lowers and you smile brightly, tamping down the urge to shine outwardly.

“I’ll accept that deal good sir.” You put the saved money in the pocket of your dress and do a little half curtsy, he laughs heartily and does a theatrical bow back at you.

“Until next time m’lady.”

There were a few more stops along the way, and even though your arms were now overburdened with items from the market you still stop on the way back to the New Inn to pick up an earl grey tea with milk for yourself and a black coffee for Hob.

“Whooooaaa! Training for a powerlifting competition now I see!” Hob shuffles around a few patrons as you shoulder the door open with a huff. “I don’t know how you managed to carry all this stuff back here in one trip… is that coffee for me?” He takes a few bags from you arms and grabs the drink tray from you as well.

“There is one important thing that I’ve learned while spending time amongst mortals Hod Galding.” You say, tone serious as you follow him to the small but cozy work kitchen.

He eyes you curiously as he sets the bags in his arms down on the kitchen bench.

“One must never make two trips with groceries.” You reply matter of factly, setting your own bags down and reaching for your tea in the tray that Hob now held.

He blinks at you and then barks out a peel of laughter so sharp that you are certain the customers in the bar area can hear him.

You sip your tea looking rather pleased with yourself; knowing that Hob took delight in your humor had become one of your favorite things.

“That I believe is the most important lesson any being, this plane or otherwise could ever learn.” He says wiping his watering eyes when he finally settles down enough to speak without pausing to have a little giggle.

You laugh at that and start to put some of your purchases away.

“Guenevere comes in in an hour, you don’t have to put anything away; not like you bought anything that would spoil sitting out?” Hob leans against the bench and sips at his coffee watching as you organize your purchases.

“I know but I don’t mind helping.” You shrug and continue on, you know that Guenevere would be more than happy to put away the ingredients you had bought for her but honestly… you still felt like you had so much you had to repay Hob for that you pick up any slack around the Inn.

He leaves for a moment to check with the bartender ‘something about Mad Hettie stopping by and drinking the last of the thirty year old whiskey scotch.’

You finish up your prep and store the basket and bags away, taking a moment to lean against the bench and enjoy your tea…except… your mind keeps drifting to the man in your dreams.

You hadn’t told Hob about him just that you had dreamt… it’s not like it meant anything, just a weird figment of your imagination, a creation of your own mind after years and years never dreaming.

It isn’t until you hear Hob greeting Guenevere from the front of the house that you realize you had drifted off into thought again and your tea was now unpleasantly cool.

“So a new Star, huh… I always thought they were like giant balls of gas…” Matthew comments as he watches Lucienne leaf through a few pages from another book. There was a picture of what looked like a sun on the cover so he assumes it must be about space…or something?

“Not all Stars are immortal beings, some are in fact, as you put it…giant balls of gas.” Lucienne replies, examining a line of text with more scrutiny.

“Ya but most of the ones that aren’t balls of gas are balls of hot air.” Mervyn huffs as he works to clean some melted wax off the book ladened table.

“Mervyn…” Lucienne sighs and eyes him over her spectacles.

“What? Thinking they’re too good for the Dreaming and all that.”

“Too good for the Dreaming?” Matthew asks, curiosity more than piqued at this point.

Lucienne lowers the book in her hand, careful to keep her spot as she eyes the two men chidingly, before turning her attention to Matthew, gaze softening a bit.

“Most Stars are ancient beings, older than some of the gods themselves. Since they have existed for so long and do not require rest in the same way mortals do, many of them do not visit the Dreaming anymore.” She replies.

“They don’t sleep?“ The raven cocks his head.

“Oh they sleep.” Merv butts in.

“Stars can sleep, but they don’t require it.” Lucienne ignores the comment from their pumpkin headed companion. “But when they sleep they often bypass the Dreaming.”

“Why would they do that?” Matthew questions, why would anyone want to circumvent the Dreaming?

“As I’ve said they’ve been around for a long time I suppose when you live for that long you sometimes…lose interest after a few millennia.” She shrugs.

Matthew is quiet for a moment, contemplating. Lucienne goes back to her book.

“I didn’t think anyone would ever get tired of the Dreaming, I don’t think I ever would.” He says matter-of-factly.

“Oh they come to visit every thousand years or so; have a little vacation.” Merv says having finally gotten the stubborn wax off the table.

“Merv I’m sure there are other tables that might need your attention.” The Librarian says pointedly and everyone knows it’s her way of telling him ‘that’s enough.’

“Ya, ya …” he waves her off nonplussed, but moves to go about his business. “Maybe you guys should start putting’ I don’t know tea cozies' under your candle fixtures, save me some of the trouble of scrapin’ wax.” He says nonchalantly as he stalks off into another corner of the Library.

Lucienne sighs and shakes her head, the library now finally quiet again.

Matthew decides to give the librarian some air and goes to find Morpheus, maybe he had found out something interesting (though he doubts it, Lucienne seems to always be a step ahead when it comes to sleuthing.)

He finds him in the castle gardens, the great stone pillars and statues once again in all their former glory, the plethora of flora which he is fairly certain didn’t exist on earth beginning to flourish once more.

“Making good progress boss.” He comments as he lands on the grand fountain, which still has a few cracks but no longer a ruin and ruffles his feathers from the mist of water it produces.

“Yes… so it would seem.” Morpheus comments without zeal. “The dreams and nightmares are beginning to return as well.”

“It’ll be an interesting place when it’s all full again.”

“The Dreaming is never full, its expanse is ever growing, shifting.” Morpheus comments, his focus still drawn to the landscape before him.

Matthew watches as the Dream Lord waves his hand and a branching hydra of ivy twists and turns its way up one of the archways that lines the cobblestone path that winds through the garden. A burst of shifting iridescent flowers blooming across its tendrils. Then all of the archways that follow repeat the process until the garden pathway is an ever changing cornucopia of colors.

“You have a question, do you not Matthew?” The raven is sure he sees a small quirk on his master's lips.

“Well I didn’t want to interrupt your hard work.” He huffs, Morpheus can be so smug with his foresight.

Morpheus waits, knowing that his patience will out last Matthews need to find answers.

“Did you find anything out about the Star?” He finally asks, this catches Morpheus’ attention, and he turns towards the raven, a frown drawing his face tight.

“I have not.” he pauses for a moment, weighing if he should ask or not. “Has Lucinenne…” he lets the question hang in the air, hoping Matthew will pick up on it and not make him stoop to asking outright.

“No, not yet.” This causes the frown on Morpheus’ face to deepen.

The air grows a bit chillier and Matthew is quite certain those rain clouds weren’t there a moment again. Ah his boss is brooding again.

“Hey, have you thought about taking a little break, you’ve had a lot on your plate recently.” Matthew says after a lengthy silence where Morpheus stewed in his thoughts.

“What?”

“What if you’re making this whole Star thing into a bigger thing than it is? You just got all your stolen stuff back and the Dreaming isn’t falling apart anymore. Maybe you just need a you day instead of acting like the world is ending.” Matthew shrugs or as best he can with wings.

Morpheus lets out a surprised scoff and looks at the raven with mild amusement.

“Is that what you think, that I’m making a mountain out of a molehill.” Matthew hops closer and the Dream Lord comes to sit on the edge of the fountain.

“I mean maybe? Maybe not. All I’m saying is maybe you should take a day to just I don’t know, relax, go for a walk or something?”

The Endless looks up at the murky skies that had been bright and clear not a few minutes ago.

“Perhaps you are right.”

It isn’t quite cold enough for the fire to be lit in the parlor but the small room is cozy nonetheless and it has become one of you favorite places to end the day; when most of the patrons had gone home and Hob had completed his not so subtle nightly flirting with Guenevere before she too had left for the evening.

You gaze up from your book, and give him a smug little smile as he enters the room, a small tray of biscuits and two teacups balanced in his grasp.

“What’s that look for, hmmm?” He questions as he settles down in the armchair across from you, pulling some papers from the messenger bag beside the chair.

“Oh nothing… How is Guenevere?” You ask, reaching for a biscuit and one of the cups, your nose scrunching up as you catch the scent of coffee wafting from the saucer. “It’s past 10pm, Hob.” But you still take the offered drink anyway.

He sputters theatrically at your gentle teasing.

“I’ll have you know she is doing very well and I am very charming.” He looks rather pleased with himself as he stuffs a biscuit in his mouth. “And it’s decaf, we are out of the Sleepytime tea.”

You click your tongue as you examine the biscuit between your fingers, you wonder if it will taste good if you dip it in the coffee like you did your nightly tea. You decide to try.

“I can stop off at the cafe near the market and pick up some more tomorrow.” You say, trying your new biscuit coffee creation which you decide is acceptable.

“I don’t mind doing that, you already went out today, I don’t want you making another trip just because I was lazy and didn’t check.” He says, neatly stacking the papers he pulled from his bag and clicking his pen.

You wave him off taking a big gulp from your coffee oh! The sugar from the biscuit was a delightful little surprise. “You know I don’t mind going out at all, I actually wanted to do a little window shopping anyway, I keep hearing about ‘fall fashion’ and I don’t want to miss out on what sounds like such an important human custom.”

Hob laughs before settling down and looking over the paperwork in his lap; papers from his students you presume. You settle back in as well going back to your reading.

It’s quiet for a time, save for the sound of Hobs occasionally scribbling.

“I worry about you sometimes.” You look up frowning.

“About me?” Your companion gives you a small glance but quickly focuses back on his writing.

“About what you said, with the last…Star that fell to earth. That people tried to cut out her heart?” You still find it hard to fathom that he believed everything that you had told him so far about Stars… but Hob was a strange man and not exactly…human himself.

“I mean that was years ago, well over a century. I doubt I’ll run into anyone like that.” You hum thinking back to the story that was told to you upon the return of Yvaine. “Are there even witches like that anymore?”

Hob looks at you with raised brows.

“If there is one thing I’ve grown certain of over the years is that you can never be sure of what’s out there.”

You sit back in your chair with a sigh.

“I suppose you’re right…thank you for thinking about me, it means a lot, truly.” You give him a genuine smile which he returns before looking back to his paperwork.

“Just let me know if I have to beat anyone off with a stick.” He chuckles.

You snort and shake your head.

You turn over in your bed for what must be the hundredth time that night, the alarm clock glowing mockingly in the dark.

1am

You had told yourself the night before that you would finally be getting your routine down tonight… but every time you close your eyes, your mind drifts off. The brief mention of Yvaine weighing heavily on your mind.

She had been the only other fallen Star that you had ever known… and certainly the only one to ever return to the heavens and with her beloved husband no less. Maybe, maybe you could return? If you could just somehow find a candle.

A Babylonian Candle; the relic that had allowed her to return… an artifact so rare that it was a shock she had found it amongst mortals at all, a very gift from the Presence himself.

You sign and turn over once again, now facing the window that you had once again refused to curtain.

The next morning you’re up before Hob, well having been up all night you're not sure if it really counts that you ‘got up’ before him. You split a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast with jam with him before letting him know that you planned to stop by the cafe by the market before going window shopping.

“At least buy yourself a few things, warm things, weathers going to be changing here soon.” He comments and hands you some notes.

“You don’t have to give me money.” You frown and push it back over to him across the table.

“You’re getting your ‘paycheck’ on Friday anyway, just take it a little early.” He has been giving you a weekly paycheck of sorts, a stipend really, since you started helping him around the Inn. You had initially told him no but when he asked you how you intended to pay for things you had been stumped…and begrudgingly accepted.

You sigh as he pushes the money back to you and you accept it, though you do hand him back the extra fifty pounds he tried to sneak you; he laughs and rolls his eyes accepting the truce.

You head out once you are sure the stores would be open and oh Hob was right, there is a chill in the air and you run back inside and ask to borrow a jacket.

Your first stop is the cafe, they do their own blends of tea there and both you and Hob are quite fond of their ‘Sleepytime’ tea. You’re not sure if it actually makes you sleepy but he swears by it and it tastes delightful. You purchase a bag of freshly blended loose leaf tea along with a charming little teaspoon that has a silver sleeping cat on the handle.

Walking back out into the crisp morning air you make your way down to the historic shopping district; a lovely little area with narrow cobblestone streets and shopfronts in brick buildings that had stood for centuries.

You decide that you can’t borrow one of Hobs jackets every time the weather has a nip in the air so you pop into a little clothing store you had walked past a few times while out and about. The mannequins in the window display all wearing cute, warm looking clothing and accessories.

You end up with a darling jacket, one that fits you much better than your borrowed one as well as a push scarf and heavy knit socks with foxes on them.

You stop in a few more shops but nothing catches your fancy enough to purchase; you decide to grab lunch at a small cafe before heading back.

You notice a dessert menu as you finish up your meal and settle on getting a to-go dessert for Hob as a little thank you for giving you your paycheck early. You select a slice of chocolate cake and thank the waitress for her recommendations and pack up to head back to the Inn.

You didn’t really have anything else planned for the day so you take your time enjoying the weather as you walk, taking the long way back past the park. You avoid what looks like a car accident by the park entrance; though you curiously eye a number of ambulances, before giving a quick once over of the crowd before continuing on.

It’s 3pm by the time you arrive back at the Inn, fumbling with the door as you try to balance your bags as well as the dessert for Hob. Finally you manage to scoot the door open and you shuffle inside, you can see Hob on the far side of the Inn speaking with a man in all black who’s back is facing you.

Hob spots you over the man’s shoulder and grins waving you over; you return his smile but before you can take a step further his guest slowly turns to look at you…

It feels as though time stands still, or perhaps it’s your heart… you distantly hear the sound of the bags that were once in your hands falling to the floor.

It’s the man from your dream.

Taglist: @boofy1998 @gnnnne @deniixlovezelda @oo0lady-mad0oo

#the sandman #netflix sandman #neil gaiman sandman #sandman #morpheus x reader #reader x morpheus #f!reader x dream of the endless #morpheus x f!reader #dream of the endless x f!reader #f!reader X morpheus #fallen star reader #stardust #star reader #the Star in the field #hob gadling #dream of the endless #morpheus #lucienne #mervyn pumpkinhead

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ironychan · 4 months

Text

Scary Monsters

@dysphoria-sweatshirt @30spiders @sweatersexual @angrylittlesliceofpizza @writer652

Part 1/? - Rocco’s Closet

Part 2/? - School for Monsters

Part 3/? - The Waternoose Family

Part 4/? - The Terrifying Humans

Part 5/? - Hiding Places

Part 6/? - Nobody’s Fault

Part 7/? - Edge of Disaster

Part 8/? - Caged Monsters

Part 9/? - The Journey Home

Part 10/? - Portorosso

Harry didn't want to get back in the pram, so he scurried along the cobbled street with the rest of the group as they made their way downhill to the Pescheria and harbour. Luca and Alberto were busy telling their families about the monster world, but they did their best to keep an eye on their unwanted companion. This was not easy. Harry was like a curious puppy on its first walk, dashing back and forth across the street to take a closer look at everything.

“Mamma mia!” the woman who ran the laundromat exclaimed, dropping a pile of sheets as Harry dashed past her to look in the window. She stared for a moment with one hand over her heart, then took in the presence of Luca and Alberto and made herself calm down. “I'm sorry, young... man,” she managed. “You startled me.”

“I'm a monster,” said Harry smugly. “I'm supposed to be scary.”

“You certainly are,” she agreed, gathering up her sheets again – these had been clean, and were now covered with dust and would need to be done again. “Lovely to have met you. I'm sure I'll see you again.” She hurried back inside and shut the door.

A minute or so later, a man driving a truck loaded with boxes of fruit stopped to watch them go by. Harry grinned and waved to him. The man waved back halfheartedly, and waited until they rounded a corner to start his truck again.

“It looks like the humans here are scared of me,” Harry said suspiciously. “You said they wouldn't be.”

“They're not screaming and running away,” Alberto pointed out. “They're just not used to you yet.” Humans in Portorosso had mostly accepted the idea that just because something looked frightening didn't mean it necessarily was, but that didn't mean they liked scary things, even ordinary sea monsters.

“I think they're a little scared of monsters,” Harry said. “If they weren't, we wouldn't even have any doors to this town.”

“It depends on the monster,” said Luca. He glanced back over his shoulder at Rocco, who was still scowling into his gelato.

They arrived at the piazza. As usual there was a gaggle of children here, kicking an old volleyball in order to get around the local legislation that forbid playing football in the streets. Harry watched for a minute, bouncing up and down in excitement, then ran up to them.

“Can I play?” he asked eagerly.

The boy who had the ball snatched it off the ground and backed towards his friends, who gasped in horror.

Luca quickly reassured them. “It's okay! This is Harry. He's with us.”

Harry smiled hopefully.

One of the taller kids, a girl, spoke up. “You can't,” she said. “You've got... too many legs. Rules say only two is allowed.”

“Oh,” said Harry, though he looked at them suspiciously.

“Come on, Alberto lives over here,” Luca said, gesturing towards the Pescheria.

One of the teenagers in the town, a boy called Amerigo, had been hired to mind the shop while Massimo and Giulia were waiting at the train station. He smiled as the group approached, then his eyes widened when he saw Harry among them. Like the others, though, he reasoned that if this strange creature were with Luca and Alberto, then it must be all right, and that was enough to keep him from panicking.

“You've got a new friend,” he observed.

“This is the Pescheria,” Alberto told Harry. “Massimo catches fish, and Giulia and I sell them here or deliver them to people's houses.”

Harry examined a basket of bream on ice. “Weird fish,” he said. “They all look the same. Where are the ones with two heads?”

“We don't have any two-headed fish,” Luca said.

Harry moved on down the length of the shop, while Amerigo watched cautiously from behind the counter. “Oh, these look more normal,” said Harry, pointing at another creature. “What's that?”

“Those are squid,” Alberto said. “We cut them into rings and fry them. It's called calamari. Much nicer than eating them raw and getting ink all over you!”

“What about that?” Harry pointed to a black-and-white photograph of a group of people posing with an immensely long silvery fish, at least four metres, in the piazza.

“That's a regaleco,” said Giulia. “Papà caught it by accident. See, there's me.” She pointed to herself in the photo, a very small child of four or five standing by Massimo's side.

Harry continued to scuttle around the shop, examining the merchandise and decor, while people from the piazza began to gather in the doorway to stare at this new and bizarre arrival. Nobody said anything, as they did not want to be rude, but there was a general feeling of unease in the air. Luca and Alberto could feel it keenly, but Harry seemed oblivious, and upon noticing the crowd, he went up to greet them.

“Hi, everybody!” he said. “Wow, I didn't know there were so many humans. Kids' rooms only have maybe one or two at a time. Hi,” he said to one kid. “How are you doing?”

The girl gave him a sideways look and did not reply.

Not at all discouraged, Harry looked up at Old Tomasso, who was staring back down at him. “Hi! Do you need a son?” he asked.

“Ah, I'm a little old to be raising children,” Old Tomasso replied. “You might ask my daughter, Viola, though she and Giacomo already have a couple kids of their own...”

“Is she here?” Harry asked eagerly.

“Well, I'm starving!”s aid Alberto loudly. He grabbed Harry by the shoulders and steered him towards the interior door. “Time for you to try some human food! We'll treat you to the most delicious thing our world has to offer – trenette al pesto!”

They dragged Harry up the stairs to the living spaces above the shop, leaving Amerigo to deal with the curious onlookers. There, Massimo and Alberto got to work on dinner, while Daniela, who'd been learning some human cooking, declared that she would make dessert. Harry had looked exciting as they climbed the narrow stairs, but the kitchen itself was obviously a disappointment to him. He looked around the cramped little room dubiously as people got to work.

“Do you live here?” he asked. “Or are you the servants?”

“This is our house,” Giulia said, insulted. “We don't have servants.”

Harry frowned. “Well, who cleans up after you cook?” he asked. “Who scrubs the floor and cleans the windows?”

“We do,” she told him. “We do everything ourselves.”

“Where do you sleep?” he asked next.

“Upstairs – there's one room for me and Alberto and one for Papà, and the bathroom.”

Harry examined her face, trying to figure out if she were joking.

“Nobody has servants,” Giulia added. “That's from, I don't know, medieval times.”

“Farmhands might count as servants,” Lorenzo Paguro mused. “Like those two boys Atinnia Trota has working at her place since her husband died.”

“Are all humans this poor?” asked Harry. “Where are the normal people?”

“We're not poor!” Giulia huffed. “This is normal! If you want rich people, the richest ones in town are the Visconti family, and even they don't have servants. They've got some employees who work in their vineyards, but that's not the same. Signora Visconti does her own cooking.”

Harry sat down on the bench below the stairs, where he watched thoughtfully as everybody else pitched in to get food on the table. He appeared to be re-thinking this whole expedition, as if he didn't want a new family if that were necessarily going to come with work. Luca kind of hoped that was true. Harry's father wasn't very nice, but Harry belonged in his own world and they needed to get him back there as fast as they could.

There was no room for so many people to sit down around the tiny kitchen table, so they headed out to the yard to eat as the sun set and the first stars began to come out. Daniela and Luca set the table, and Massimo brought out the extra-large pot that could hold enough pasta for everybody. Seeing all this made Luca so happy to be home he nearly cried – it reminded him of the evening after the race last year, when the sea monsters had first been welcomed to Portorosso. Even Alberto was getting a bit misty-eyed, although he'd never admit it. The two boys dug into their favourite dish with gusto.

Harry didn't look so excited about it. He tried the trenette al pesto, but just shrugged.

“We need to figure out how we're going to get back into the monster world,” Luca announced. That was a problem he wasn't sure how to solve. Any door they might go through was just going to lead into the factory, and that was the last place they wanted to arrive. He frowned, chewing on a mouthful as he considered it. “What happens to the doors when the kids get too old to be scared anymore?”

“They go to storage,” said Harry. “They check them out every couple of years, but you can't open them from this end. You need the equipment.”

“So we'll have to find somebody else who's got a monster and wait there... but then when we get into the monster world they'll grab us right away,” said Luca. That wouldn't work at all. Mr. Waternoose might even have a special watch on doors from Liguria in case they tried to come back.

“Aren't there any doors anywhere else?” asked Alberto. “I mean... there's other scare companies, right?”

“Yeah,” said Harry, mouth full. “And there's a few at universities and stuff for research purposes, but they don't lead to kids' rooms.”

That sounded promising. Luca seized on it. “What doors are those? How do you find them?”

“I dunno, they're closet doors,” said Harry.

“There are other kinds of closets besides bedroom ones,” Helena observed thoughtfully. “There's linen closets, storage closets, broom closets...”

“Signora Marsigliese has a storage closet in her grocery store,” Giulia offered. “It's where she keeps stuff when there's no room for it on the shelves yet.”

“Oh, they won't use one in a shop,” said Harry, “especially if somebody lives there. The researchers don't actually want to meet any humans. They just want to find ways to stabilize the link, make it more energy-efficient, improve door matching, that kind of thing.”

“So nowhere there's people at night,” said Luca. “Where's got a closet that's closed at night?”

“Somewhere like a museum?” asked Helena.

“There's no museums in Portorosso,” said Alberto.

“No, but they've got lots of them in Genova,” said Giulia. “There's the Museum of Natural History, and the Maritime Museum, and Mamma does work sometimes at the Palazzo Spinola, which is going to be a museum someday but they have to restore it first because it got damaged during the war.”

“That's the one I'm thinking of,” Helena said. “There's one of the former bedrooms where I've helped touch up the frescoes, and I've never seen anything myself but there people working there full-time who swear it's haunted. They hear footsteps and see lights in the middle of the night.”

Luca did not believe in ghosts, but if closet monsters were a real thing then they might well be the explanation. “That's gotta be it!” he exclaimed. “There's a closet in there, right?”

“There's one where they keep paint and tools,” Helena agreed. “It's got a big sign on it that says solo personale autorizzato.”

“A lot of the ones the researchers use have signs like that,” Harry confirmed.

“Perfect!” Luca grinned. “So we just have to go back to Genova!”

“Now wait a moment, young man,” said Daniela. “I'm not sure I like the idea of you going back there, no matter how you get in. This monster world is obviously dangerous. Back me up, Lorenzo,” she said to her husband.

Lorenzo nodded. “Your mother is right, Luca. This really isn't your problem.”

“Yes, it is!” Luca insisted. “Louise and the others need our help. We're the ones who got them in trouble in the first place. Right, Alberto?”

“Right!” said Alberto through a mouthful of pasta.

“Well, you certainly can't go by yourselves,” Daniela said. “You have to at least take a grownup with you.”

“Oh, that's a good idea,” Giulia put in. “Like I said, Luca, your Mom's scary. The monsters will respect her.”

It was hard to say whether Daniela had really meant herself when she'd said a grownup, but that didn't seem to have been the part of the suggestion that startled her. “I'm not that scary!”

“Yes, you are,” chorused Alberto and Luca.

“No, you're not,” Harry scoffed.

“You haven't seen her get mad,” Luca told him.

Feeling like they had at least an approximation of a plan made Luca feel much better, and although he wouldn't have said it he was very reassured by the idea of taking his mother along. They wouldn't feel nearly so adrift and terrified in that strange world if they had a proper grownup with them.

After supper it was time for the kids to get into their pyjamas. Harry didn't have any with him, and nobody else's would have fit him, so he was given one of Massimo's extra shirts. It was as huge and awkward on him as Louise's monster-sized nightshirts had been on Alberto and Luca, but he didn't seem to mind.

The person who did mind was Giulia. Although she was too polite to say so, she was clearly uncomfortable with the idea of Harry sleeping in her room, so the boys offered to also sleep over so it wouldn't just be the two of them. Luca had hoped this would avoid any arguments. It did not.

“You don't like me,” said Harry accusingly, as they rolled out sleeping bags on the floor.

“No, you're fine,” said Giulia, without looking at him.

“Alberto and Luca said you'd be cool.”

“I am cool,” Giulia insisted, annoyed. “It's just that I haven't known you very long yet.”

Harry wasn't at all impressed. “You're scared of me. They said you'd be fine, but you're scared of monsters. I bet you're scared of them, too. Everybody here is, even if they try to be nice about it.” He smiled to himself. “I bet I could be in charge of this place in no time.”

“Giulia isn't scared of anything,” Luca said loyally.

“Sure,” Harry said, “so why doesn't she have a closet, then?”

“Because there isn't room for one,” said Giulia. “This house is very small.”

“I noticed.”

“And I don't need one anyway,” she added. “I keep all my stuff on my shelves, and my clothes go in the drawers. My school stuff mostly stays at Mamma's house in Genova, because that's where I use it.”

Harry considered that as he built a little nest for himself out of blankets. “What do human kids learn at school? Do you learn about monsters?”

“No,” said Luca, “because humans mostly don't believe in monsters, not even sea monsters like us. Nobody knows about us except the people in Portorosso and some of the ones at school.”

“And a lot of them think it's a joke,” Giulia added. “I didn't even believe in sea monsters until I met Luca and Alberto, and I didn't believe in closet monsters until I met you today.”

Harry frowned. “See, that's what Dad says – he says humans shouldn't know about us, because what you don't know is always scarier than what you do.”

“That's probably true,” Giulia observed. “Now that I know about sea monsters, they're not scary at all.” She looked at Alberto and grinned. “In fact, Alberto is the least scary monster I've ever met.”

Alberto stuck his tongue out at her.

“I think he's scarier than I am,” Luca said.

“Now, I think if humans knew about us, they'd be even more scared,” Harry went on, “because then they'd know we could be lurking there, waiting to jump out at any moment.”

“Or we'd just take the doors off all our closets,” said Giulia.

That clearly hadn't occurred to Harry. He blinked, then scowled, annoyed at being outwitted.

Harry couldn't lie down flat like a human or a sea monster, so while the other kids bedded down, he nestled into the pile of blankets he'd built, looking rather like an egg in an Easter basket. Everybody else began to drift off, only to discover that Harry snored. It wasn't loud, but it was a whistling sort of noise that was impossible to ignore. Giulia had to stuff her head under her pillow in order to block it out.

Halfway through the night, Giulia woke up again, as she sometimes did, and rolled over to get more comfortable – whereupon she found herself looking into multiple glowing eyes that blinked in unison. She inhaled sharply and sat up, clutching at the covers.

Harry started laughing. “Boo!” he said.

“Harry!” groaned Luca from his bed on the floor.

“I knew it! I knew you were scared of me!” Harry cackled.

“It's the middle of the night,” Alberto scolded. “Go back to sleep!”

Harry continued to giggle to himself as he settled down in his little nest again. Luca gave him a disapproving frown and looked at Alberto, who wasn't going to stop at frowning and had gone all the way to a nasty scowl. The two silently agreed that the first thing they were going to do when that haunted closet at the museum opened was to shove Harry in, and after that they wouldn't take any more help from him.

In the morning, Giulia got up first, and noticed that Harry was still asleep. She crept over and knelt next to him, leaning in so her nose was only an inch from his face. It took him a moment to realize she was there, and then a couple of his eyes flickered open, and he screamed like Signora Brugnole did when she saw a mouse.

“Now who's scared?” asked Giulia, and got up to go brush her teeth while Harry sat there panting.

Luca and Alberto had already been half awake, but were jolted to full alertness by Harry's cry. They yawned and rubbed their eyes and looked at him, then both lay down and pretended to go back to sleep. He'd deserved that.

Helena had crespelle ready when they came downstairs for breakfast. They were thinner than Louise's pancakes but were served with ricotta and nutella, and she'd also sliced some bananas to put on top. The kids sat down and dug in, and Massimo came to sit with them and sip his espresso.

“Giulietta,” he said, as his daughter put bananas on her breakfast. “Your mother and I have been talking about money.”

“Uh-huh,” Giulia said, then whacked Alberto's wrist with her butter knife as he reached across the table. “How about pass the nutella?” she suggested to him, as he shook the stinging joint.

Harry, meanwhile, looked down at his own plate dubiously. “Is this it?” he asked.

“What more did you want?” asked Giulia. She passed the nutella and knife to Alberto, and gave him a plate for Luca.

“How about bacon?” asked Harry. “Or eggs? Or waffles? It's just tiny pancakes with cheese, and some coffee?”

“You don't want to eat heavily first thing in the morning,” said Helena firmly. “It's not good for your stomach.” She poured her espresso into milk, and added a little bit of cocoa. “As we were saying, kids, I didn't think we'd all be heading back to Genova. I have enough money to pay for my own ticket, but not for the boys or Signora Paguro.”

That wasn't what any of the kids had expected to hear, least of all Harry. “How can you not have money for train tickets?” he asked. “They cost nothing.”

“Obviously they cost something,” Giulia told him, “if they were free we wouldn't be worried about it.”

Luca was not discouraged. “We'll have to earn the money, then,” he said.

“How?” asked Massimo. “I cannot hire all three of you for extra besides your pocket money.”

“I've got some I've saved,” said Alberto. “And we can do odd jobs around the town. I've done that before!” Sometimes he'd even managed not to break anything.

“So have I,” Giulia agreed.

“And I can help,” said Luca.

“How much money will we need for the tickets?” Giulia asked her mother.

Helena did a brief bit of math for one adult and three youths, assuming Harry would go in the pram again. The figure she came up with wasn't too daunting, so after they were done eating, the kids got dressed and set out to do some work.

“I'm gonna head up the hill to where the older people live, and ask if they need anything done in their gardens,” Alberto announced. They almost always did, and while pulling weeds and turning over soil were tedious, there were very few ways he'd found to do them wrong.

“I'll do deliveries, and keep the tips,” Giulia said.

“I'll go with Alberto,” Luca said.

“Great!” Alberto nodded. “You can do your big eyes thing, and they'll pay us extra.”

“How about me?” Harry asked, scuttling out into the yard to join them. Helena had decided to wash his little sailor suit while the kids were out, but that left the problem of what he would wear in the mean time. Massimo had gone through some old things and found a shirt he'd worn as a child and had kept to use as rags someday. It was a bit too big on Harry and had to be pinned so he wouldn't step on the hem, but it was clean.

“You want to help earn money?” Alberto asked, a bit suspicious. Harry clearly wasn't interested in work – he seemed to think money was just something people had in infinite quantities.

“No,” said Harry. “I need to find a new Dad, remember? Where are these Visconti people you mentioned?” He had evidently decided that he wanted not just a new family, but a new family with money.

“They live over the hill in the vineyards,” said Giulia. She checked her list of deliveries. “They've ordered some naselli... they must be having visitors because it's quite a few. Signor Visconti likes to schmooze people who are thinking about buying his wine.”

“I'll go with you, then,” Harry decided.

Giulia tried not to groan. “All right,” she said, “but you have to help. Do what I tell you to do, and don't wander off, you got it?”

“You're not my mother,” Harry told her.

“Do you want to stay at our house, or not?” Giulia asked. “Because if you do, you have to do what I say, got it?”

Harry snorted. “Fine.”

The boys headed up the hill to find some work to do, and Giulia attached the cart to her bike while Harry, under her direction, brought out boxes of ice and fish for delivery. He made a face as he handed her the first one.

“It smells,” he said.

“It's fish,” she told him. “Don't fish smell in your world?”

“I dunno, I've only seen them when they're already cooked,” Harry said. “And the ones in the pond at the zoo, that you can feed. Those don't smell.”

“They're not dead,” Giulia said. She climbed onto the bicycle. “Keep up, I'm not slowing down for you.”

She wasn't training for the race yet, not so early in the summer, so despite her words Giulia didn't hurry as she cycled up the hill to the first of her day's deliveries. Harry scuttled after her, looking around at the town and the people as they went. His many legs seemed able to carry him quite quickly, so she sped up a little.

Their first stop was the home of Signora Tarasco, where Giulia knocked on the door with a box of fish in her hands. The door opened, and Giulia proudly held out her merchandise. “Sardines, as ordered!” she announced. “Fresh from Papà's nets!”

“Ah, thank you, Giulia,” Signora Tarasco said. She took the box from Giulia, and then her eyes went to the waiting bicycle and cart, and she saw Harry standing next to it. For a split-second she just blinked at him, trying to figure out what she was seeing, then she screamed. She almost dropped the box, but grabbed it at the last moment, only for it to tip and pour dead sardines all over herself. Giulia dived to catch the fish, but could not grab them all, and ended up with two in her hand while the rest splattered on the pavement.

“Oh, my goodness!” the woman exclaimed, with a nervous giggle as she clutched the now-empty box. “You gave me a start! Wha... um... is that another of your friends, Giulia?”

“That's Harry,” said Giulia, picking herself up. “He's the monster from Rocco Marsigliese's closet.”

“No, the monster from Rocco's closet used to work for my Dad, but he fired her,” Harry corrected. “But he's a jerk, so now I'm looking for a new Dad, like Alberto.

“I saved these,” Giulia added, offering the fish she'd managed to grab.

“Oh... oh yes.” Signora Tarasco reached out and took them, her eyes locked on Harry. “I just... oh, dear, I ruined the rest of them. Let me... let me pay you for those.” She fumbled for her coin purse.

“You don't have to do that,” said Giulia, looking at the rest of the order, scattered on the cobblestones.

“No, no, it's only fair,” Signora Tarasco said distractedly. She gave Giulia a handful of coins without bothering to look at or count them. “Keep the change, dear,” she added, and shut the door, her only objective being to put something between herself and Harry as quickly as possible.

Giulia scowled and shoved the coins in her pocket. “Okay,” she told Harry, “you're going to have to stay behind the cart while people answer doors.”

“Luca and Alberto said the humans here would be fine,” Harry said, arms folded. “I'm starting to think they lied to me.”

“People will be fine once they get to know you,” Giulia told him. “Until then, you're scaring them. You're never gonna find a new family like that.”

Harry just sniffed. Evidently he thought if the humans were scared, that was their own fault.

They moved on to the next house. Harry would stay back with the cart while Giulia handed over the deliveries, but he refused to hide behind it. In fact, he seemed quite interested in people's reactions to him. Giulia explained who and what he was over and over, and people were polite but clearly uncomfortable with his presence. At least he didn't go around asking people if they wanted a child, like Luca and Alberto said he'd done in Genova, but she suspect that was merely because he'd already decided who his first choice was. If so, he was destined for bitter disappointment.

Giulia saved the Visconti family's fish for last, partly because it was furthest from home, and partly because she dreaded what Harry might do. She was sure it would be embarrassing at best and catastrophic at worse.

Harry himself perked up considerably when he realized there was only one box left. “Are we going to the Visconti house now?” he asked.

“Yeah,” said Giulia. “Although... how would you feel about having an older brother?” Maybe she could discourage him in advance.

“An older brother?” he asked.

“Yeah, they already have a son,” Giulia said.

Harry thought about that a little. “What is he like?”

“He's the biggest jerk in the world,” said Giulia. “Even worse than your Dad, I'm sure. He kept this town under his evil empire of injustice for years.”

“He did? How?” Harry wanted to know.

“Because everybody was scared of him!” Giulia said. “You never knew when he was going to show up and make your life miserable, just because he could! We finally kicked his butt last summer, and nobody takes him seriously anymore.”

They crested the hill and coasted back down it into the valley, where the vineyards were spread out around the big house where the Visconti family lived and ran their business. The villa had originally been built in the 18th century by their wealthy ancestors, with yellow walls and big cypress trees out front. It was now in rather poor repair, with the plaster flaking and cracks in the wall from the earthquake that had happened before Giulia was born, but still imposing. Harry grinned when he saw it, and would have gone right up the double staircase leading to the front door, but Giulia shook her head.

“Deliveries go around the back,” she said.

She led the way around the gravel path to the back garden, where the kitchens were. Harry frowned.

“This looks like a servants' entrance,” he said.

“It used to be,” Giulia said, “but I told you, nobody has servants anymore.”

“Why not?”

“Because it's snooty. It's like you're saying you're better than anyone else. The Viscontis don't need servants – they do that anyway.”

They passed the garage. Giulia had been hoping Ercole wouldn't be there, just because she didn't want to see him, but he was, checking the air pressure on his Vespa's tyres. He looked up as she passed, then did a double-take.

“Porca paletta! What is that?”

“Is that him?” Harry asked excitedly. “Their son?”

“Yes. Ignore him,” Giulia instructed.

But Harry scuttled right into the open garage. Ercole crab-walked backwards, then scrambled to his feet as if to flee. If that were his intention, he changed his mind when Harry got too close to his precious Vespa. “Hey!” he exclaimed. “Don't touch that!”

“Are you the one who used to have the whole town under an evil empire?” Harry asked eagerly.

Ercole knew exactly where he'd heard that. “For your information,” he said, moving his Vespa aside so that it wasn't too close to this odd little creature. “People in this town used to love me until those sea monsters came along. Now it's sea monster this and sea monster that, and nobody has time for real people anymore.” He peered suspiciously at his visitor. “What are you?”

“Aren't you scared of me?” Harry asked.

“You can't be scary if you hang out with Spewlia,” Ercole replied. “You're just a little bug. You should mind you don't get squashed like one.”

Giulia rolled her eyes, but on the whole this wasn't as bad as she'd feared. She knocked on the kitchen door. “Signora Visconti!” she called out. “I've got your fish!”

#fanfic #pixar luca #luca 2021 #monsters inc #monsters university #luca paguro #alberto scorfano #giulia marcovaldo #ercole visconti #scary monsters

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