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mint-yooxgi · 9 months

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{14} - Paradise Gardens - Yandere!Demonic Entities!Ateez X Reader

Yandere AU & Demon AU - Book Two to Hotel California

Genre: Mature, Horror, Angst, Fluff, Slight Humour, Smut

Pairing: Ateez X Reader (Focus on Seonghwa near the end, Slight Hongjoong)

Words: 16,125

Warnings: Brief mentions of anxiety and PTSD (not OC), mentions of blood, weapons. Smut: Oral (m. rec.), subby!Hwa, minor knife play and begging, I think that's it. This is a Yandere story, it will contain themes such as stalking, violence, obsession, possessive natures, and just general overall creepiness and swearing. You have been warned.

A/n: I'm glad I split this into two parts. I knew it was going to be long! And boy oh boy, who's excited for the next chapter? I'm excited for the next chapter! iykyk ;)) As always, feedback is greatly appreciated! Enjoy~

Also, gentle reminder that I don’t do tag lists.

Mini Masterlist - Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four - Part Five - Part Six - Part Seven - Part Eight - Part Nine - Part Ten - Part Eleven - Part Twelve - Part Thirteen

There’s an eager spring to your step as Yeosang leads you over to a side door, of which he’s just made materialize in front of your eyes. Not even the grumbling of the other seven males behind you can bring down your mood, excitement coursing through your veins as he opens the door, holding it open for you to step through in the next second.

“I’m still not used to you all being able to do that.” You comment, smiling at Yeosang in thanks as you step into the new room.

It’s a bit dark, so you can’t quite see much, but you can feel them all stepping in behind you.

“It’s great for hiding things in plain sight.” San comments, attempting to step in beside you, only for Yeosang to take his place in an instant.

“I can imagine- holy shit!” The moment the lights come on, you’re greeted by a room full of bows and arrows of various shapes and sizes.

Your jaw drops, eyes going wide as you take in the grand space before you. It’s a simple room in all aspects, square in design with mounts and racks to hold all of the various weapons that you can just tell all belong to Yeosang. Not that you would doubt that for even a minute.

Softly, you hear the sound of the door shutting behind you.

Pure excitement thrums through your veins, your body practically vibrating as you take in the space around you. Still, you keep your distance, not wanting to touch anything and risk damaging or breaking any of the various weapons lining the room. The urge to touch everything in sight is quite strong, and you cannot help the way your fingers twitch, almost subconsciously, at your sides.

“Go ahead, Dearest,” Yeosang smiles gently at you, a small nod to his head. “Don’t hold back.”

You do not need to be told twice.

Almost as soon as the words have left his mouth, you’re zipping over to the wall in front of you and inspecting all the different styles of bows. There’s a giddiness to your movements as you look over some more traditional, simplistic bows made of various materials such as metal and wood, to more intricately designed ones. Each weapon varies in colour, some curving in a singular arch, while others curve like stereotypical ‘m’ shaped birds in children’s drawings. Even the strings vary in colour, some being a pure white, while others are a dark red.

One bow in particular catches your eyes, and before you realize what you’re doing, you reach out to it. However, before you can so much as lay a single finger on the intricate carvings, you catch yourself.

Slowly, almost reluctantly, you retract your hand.

A low chuckle sounds right behind you.

“It’s okay, Dearest,” Yeosang steps up to you, pressing himself against your back so that he can lean into you. His breath ghosts over the shell of your ear as his hands settle against your waist. “What’s mine is yours.”

A shiver caresses your spine, and you can practically feel him smirk against the skin of your neck.

“I just don’t want to damage anything,” you mutter, still unsure of if you should reach out and touch the gorgeous bow resting before you.

“Believe us, Darling,” Jongho comments, and you can just hear the affectionate smile that he wears in his voice as he speaks. “You don’t have to worry about damaging anything. Our weapons are made with the strongest materials available to us. You couldn’t put a scratch on them, even if you tried.”

“Not to mention the magic we imbue them with for extra protection,” Yunho hums.

Understanding flashes across your features, nodding your head almost subconsciously. Still, your eyes briefly dart over to Yeosang one last time, who’s head rests just beside your own. As soon as you see him smile and nod, you take that intricately carved bow into your hands.

Vines appear to wrap themselves around the shaft of the bow, leaves branching out in intricate designs over the wood. The string is a solid white, while the colour of the bow itself is an almost faded grey, appearing a misty green in the light. It’s not very heavy by any means, but just from merely looking at the bow, you can tell that it’s strong.

Carefully, your fingers trace over the carvings, nothing but pure wonder shining in your eyes. “Did you carve this yourself?”

You feel Yeosang nod against your shoulder, and your lips part in awe as a low gasp escapes you.

“Wow.”

“We make all of our own weapons, My Divine.” Seonghwa makes sure to keep his tone soft as he informs you of this, not wanting to disturb the moment that’s settled around you all. “Have been since the beginning.”

“That’s incredible.” You breathe out, turning to face the other seven males with that bow still in your hands. “You’re all incredible!”

The way they all smile shyly in response says it all.

“Seriously, is there anything you all can’t do?” You turn your attention back to the bow in your hands, heart thundering as you stroke a hand down the shaft of the bow.

Mingi’s lips part in response, but at the quick jab of San’s elbow to his ribs, he’s closing it.

You quirk a brow in amusement, not needing to be able to read his mind to know he was about to remind you all that he can’t cook once again.

Sparing another glance around the room, your eyes catch on another intricately carved bow. Another gasp is escaping your lips as you waddle over to it excitedly, noticing how the two tips seem to be shaped like serpents which appear to intertwine intricately with one another to make the body of the bow.

“Literally, these are so beautiful.” You say, eyes scanning over every detail that you can.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, My Dear,” Yeosang chuckles, his one hand settling onto the small of your back as you walk around the room.

“This is one of the best days of my life,” you reply honestly, walking over to the wall of arrows across from you.

In no time at all, Yeosang launches into an explanation of all the different types of arrows he uses. The majority, he’s made himself, while others have been a collaboration between him and his brothers. Wooyoung more than happily chimes in when the different poison arrows are mentioned, the two of them detailing how each poison is administered depending on the arrow. Some are injected through the shaft, while other arrows are coated in the poison which gets administered through point of contact.

The whole time, you listen intently. Your eyes never lose that shine of wonder, lips pulling upwards in a radiant smile as they all observe you taking this all in. The fact that you appear so interested, and ecstatic to learn about all of this is making their hearts sing, and their souls come alight.

Finally, they can share this with you, too.

“So,” you turn back to Yeosang after he’s finished describing how his shattering arrows work. “Which one is your favourite?”

The way his eyes light up even further at your inquiry says it all.

“Design wise,” immediately, he’s pointing at the bow carved to resemble those two intertwined snakes. “Functionality, though, is a different story.”

Leading you back over to the main wall that you had grabbed the intricately carved bow with the vines from, he’s quick to grab another off of a hook. It’s quite simplistic in design, smooth black edges greeting your vision. The bow appears to be made out of some sort of thin metal, the edges sharp in the light of the room.

Ever so carefully, Yeosang trades the bow in your hand which you have yet to let go of with this new one. He’s quick to place the wooden one back on the wall as you marvel at how light this new bow is, holding it in the air slightly beside your head.

“The edges can cut through steel.” He comments casually.

“More like anything that you can imagine.” San chuckles, crossing his arms lightly.

Anticipation claws at his chest. Really, anticipation claws at all of their chests. If this is how you’re reacting to Yeosang’s weapons, then they each cannot wait for you to see their own collections. The wonder and awe alone is enough to satiate their original burning jealousy that had arisen at the fact that it was Yeosang who managed to both get you to use his weapon with him first, as well as show you his collection.

“What’s it made out of?” You ask, nothing but curiosity to your tone as you inspect the bow. You know better than to run your fingers along the sharp edges, but that does not stop you from turning it over slightly in your hands while gripping the handle.

“It’s a special kind of metal found only in our realm.” Mingi tells you. “Most of our weapons are made out of it, since it’s the lightest material we have, while also being the most durable.”

“So, it’s like vibranium from the marvel universe?” You quirk a brow at all of them, somewhat knowingly.

“You could say that.” Seonghwa chuckles, nodding his head lightly in response to your words.

“We call it Sage Metal,” Hongjoong says. “It’s the only thing strong enough to cut itself.”

“Wow,” you repeat your awe filled exhalation from earlier. “Can it be worked like any other metal, or is there a special process you have to use while forging it?”

“It can be worked like any other metal.” Seonghwa confirms, a sort of pride shining in his eyes as he watches you with a smile. “It’s got an insanely high boiling point though, so San and Mingi have the easiest time out of all of us working with it.”

At this, your brow quirks.

“We each have materials we work best with.” Mingi shrugs. “Just like we have preferred weapons we like to use.”

“That’s really cool!” You say, handing Yeosang back his bow.

“You should have seen the amount of times our workshops caught fire in the early days.” San jokes, the slightest of upturns to the corner of his lips. “Good thing we’re quick learners.”

“Yeah, that, and you didn’t want to singe all of your hair off again.” Wooyoung laughs, leading to him soon being chased around the small space by the elder male.

You laugh, “I take it that that happened more than once?”

“To all of us.” Seonghwa confirms, voice suddenly a bit strained as he seems to be recalling the memories right this very instant. Subconsciously, he runs his fingers through his hair. “Multiple times.”

A snort of laughter escapes you this time, and you quickly slap a hand over your mouth to stifle your giggles.

Amused quirks of their brows greet you in response, and you find yourself waving your free hand in front of yourself. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just really funny to imagine. I like knowing you guys weren’t always this composed.”

This time, it’s Wooyoung’s turn to snort out a laugh, “Angel, when have you ever known us to be composed around you?”

You take a moment to consider his words, even going so far as to lift a finger in protest as your lips part. Then, you’re nodding, eyebrows raising in agreement, “A good point.”

“Speak for yourself,” Jongho rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest as a huff escapes him.

You simply quirk a brow in amusement at him, your one hand coming up to rub almost teasingly at the side of your neck where he bit you all those weeks ago.

Subtly, red begins to creep up his neck.

“Right, well,” he clears his throat, “Shall we move on to the next room?”

A few side-eyed looks are sent the youngest’s way in response, and you swear you see both Mingi’s and Hongjoong’s eyes flash black for the briefest of moments. However, before you can think too much on it, San is practically grabbing your hand and dragging you away from Yeosang. All too eagerly, the younger male leads you back over to the door you entered into the room from. A second later, he’s opening it and guiding you through.

Your eyes immediately light up at seeing all of the different spears, tridents, and javelins lining the walls, amongst other pole based weapons. Again, they’re all made form a range of materials in a variety of colours, and each design manages to take your breath away.

“Go wild,” San leans in to whisper in your ear, just as you hear the door fall shut behind you.

A large, giddy smile pulls onto your lips as you immediately race over to the one wall. There’s a specific spear that’s caught your eye, and the closer you get to the tip, the more detail work you can see carved into it. There seems to be a pattern of sorts etched into the metal, unfamiliar to you with all its swirls and shapes, but beautiful nonetheless.

The entire room is silent as you stand there, observing the intricate detailing of the spear’s tip. Each male watches you fondly, enjoying this moment for as long as they possibly can. Seeing your wonder and marvel at all of the designs makes their hearts race, and knowing that you’re enjoying yourself currently means the world to each and every single one of them.

Finally, you begin to move around the room, San right beside you the whole time.

“I feel like I’m in an art museum or something.” You admit lowly, voice airy and full of awe.

“Well, designing and forging weapons is simply another form of art.” Yunho nods his agreement.

“And you’ve all been making these your whole lives?” You turn to glance at the others from over your shoulder.

Small nods of confirmation greet you in response, subtle smiles pulling at all of their features.

“It’s why we take such great lengths to store them.” Yeosang adds. “Only we can access these rooms, for they are intricately linked, and can only be entered through this one door.”

Nothing but awe shines in your eyes as your lips part. A breathless ‘wow’ escapes you once more, turning lightly in a circle as you take in the whole room.

“Then, there are eight rooms?” You turn back to face them.

“Eight main ones, yes.” San says. “We have many storage rooms, and way too many weapons we no longer use.”

“That’s not to mention each of our own forges which are connected to our storehouses.” Seonghwa comments casually, leaning against the wall right beside the door.

“So, the rooms are almost like a labyrinth of sorts?” You tilt your head slightly in inquiry.

“You could say that.” Hongjoong chuckles. “It’s more of individual blocks of rooms floating in limbo within our domain until we summon the rooms to this door.”

“Ah,” you nod slowly in understanding. “I see.” The corner of your lips quirk upwards. “That’s still really cool.”

Little do you see the small, bashful smiles that tug at their features as you look away for the moment.

Turning back to face the tridents, you take in the various styles lining the wall. Some are placed vertically, while others sit horizontally, displaying the many pikes on each.

Two in particular - one silver with five prongs, and one gold with three prongs - catch your eye. Both are shiny, appearing as if they might be the newest to his collection as they are displayed side by side on a slight angle. It’s as if he purposely hung them like this; to emphasize the set they seem to make together. They’re quite familiar, and as you get closer, you realize why.

The silver one is a perfect replica of Queen Atlanna’s trident from the Aquaman film, while the gold is a perfect replica of Arthur’s own.

The way San is staring at you, his eyes shining with nothing but affection with just a hint of nervousness, says it all.

You smile, grabbing his hand in your own. Softly, you squeeze, warmth flooding your chest as you understand exactly what his intentions are. He made these for you, and him. He means for the two of you to use these together. The set never meant to be separated, or be without the other in battle.

For a brief moment, you allow him passed your void.

My Aquaman. You hum, squeezing his hand once more. Thank you.

My Queen, He mirrors your smile, his shoulders relaxing the slightest bit as he squeezes your hand back. I’m just glad you like them.

Like them? You reply, rather eagerly. Sannie, I love them.

The soft giggle he lets out fills the room, his eyes crinkling in the corners with the weight of his happiness. I’m glad.

Softly, you wiggle your intertwined hands in the space between your bodies. Not even a moment later, you’re turning back to the wall of tridents, lifting your gaze to take in the ones near the top of the wall. That’s when another, near the corner of the room, catches your attention.

A gasp escapes you. “No way.”

Rushing over to the trident, you end up half dragging, half pulling San along with you. You’ve closed your void to him now, so he cannot get a sense of what it truly is that’s caught your attention. That is, until you’re speaking once more.

“So, when were you going to tell me that you have an exact replica of Finnick’s trident from Catching Fire?” You quirk a brow, glancing at him briefly.

San grins, lifting said object off of the wall. “I figured it would be a nice surprise.”

“You seem to be full of nice surprises today, Pretty Boy.” You grin right back, watching as he handles that trident carefully before you.

“So, that’s what you ran off to make that one day,” Jongho mumbles, understanding painting his features. “I was wondering why you were asking me all those questions about her favourite book series.”

“I do love The Hunger Games.” You nod, eyes widening in excitement as San hands you the trident. “Finnick is my favourite character.” Then, a moment’s pause as you look over the weapon in your hands. “Him and Annie deserved better.”

Out of the corner of your eyes, you notice Jongho nodding solemnly along with your words.

“I thought it was that set he made that day,” Hongjoong motions back to the Aquaman tridents proudly on display.

“I had to start with something easier,” San replies, sparing a look at all of his brothers.

“You count this design as easy?” You voice, incredulously, as the fingers of your one hand come up to trace the pole gently.

San only chuckles in response, offering you a small shrug of his shoulders.

“I don’t blame him.” Mingi hums, glancing from Jongho to Seonghwa. “There seems to be a recurring theme of making replicas of weapons belonging to your favourite characters and series, Starlight.”

“Speaking from experience, Min?” You place the trident back in its spot, moving over to where the others are standing after having your fill of looking around.

“You’ll see.” He chuckles, moving to wrap his arm around your shoulders.

Only, the youngest placing his hand onto the small of your back beats him to it. You nearly shiver from the contact, the tips of his fingers pressing lightly into your bare skin.

That’s when you remember: you’re still only in your sport’s bra for the moment.

A glare is sent Jongho’s way, not just from Mingi, but from San as well. Your time in his weapon’s hold was far too short for his liking, but at least you enjoyed yourself. A bonus? You’re still beaming as Jongho leads you back through the door.

The moment you step through the threshold to be surrounded by axes of every size, shape, and colour, your lips part in a gasp, “Oh my.”

On one wall, throwing axes and hatchets are displayed. The opposite, everything ranging from a typical fireman’s axe, to the most intricately designed single bladed axes reside. On the final wall, double bladed axes reside, one sticking out more than the rest.

Your eyes widen, practically running out of Jongho’s hold as you see the axe resting in the centre display. It’s dual blades are familiar to you, the metal smooth before giving way to two sets of three triangles hollowed out on either side of the shaft. There, detailed rune work resides, and you find you can only place your hand over your heart in attempts to quell its beating.

“I see what you mean.” You swallow thickly, nearly jumping as you feel Jongho’s hand return to the small of your back.

“It’s quite effective in battle,” Jongho mentions casually, leading you over to the wall of hatches to show you the two other small axes that Gimli has in his arsenal that he’s also taken the liberty to make.

“You’ve already used Gimli’s axe in battle?” There’s nothing but wonder in your voice as you look at him, your whole body practically vibrating in excitement.

“Not yet, technically.” He chuckles at your enthusiasm. “But the simulations have all run smoothly.”

You turn back to the weapons before you, nothing but wonder in your eyes, “Wow.”

You’re starting to notice a slight pattern to the rooms now. All of them seem to be about the same size, with their weapons all lining the walls. Some of them even have a few extra racks to hold certain designs, but for the most part, the main wall houses what you assume to be the favourites, while the other side walls hold the smaller designs. They’re all organized quite well, and from the gleam you can see coming from each polished weapon, you can tell that they are all well taken care of, and maintained regularly.

Something they seem to have in common for all of the things that they care for - a great sense of both responsibility, and attention to detail when looking after them.

“Come, there’s another one I want to show you.” Jongho gently guides you to the opposite wall.

Sticking out his hand, an axe comes flying off of the wall from higher up. It spins in the air as it travels the short distance to his hand, the dark silver of the single edged blade glinting in the light. There seems to be a smaller blade protruding from the opposite side of the handle, acting as a continuation of the main blade on the other side.

The instant it touches Jongho’s hand, your eyes are widening as another gasp escapes you. The veins of gold carved into the blade stand out starkly against the darkness of the silver. The wooden handle is slightly curved, the blade itself covering almost half of the length of the wood.

“No way you made Kratos’ Leviathan Axe.” Your voice holds nothing but awed disbelief as you look over every inch of that axe Jongho holds out for you. “And you can summon it to your hands like he can in the game?”

“We can summon all of our weapons to our hands like that, My Love.” Hongjoong chuckles, eyebrows raising in amusement as he sees the glare Jongho sends him for stealing his thunder.

“How does it work?” You spare a glance at all of them around the room.

“Usually just requires a drop of our blood and a binding spell.” Seonghwa explains.

“So, that’s how you can make your weapons appear out of thin air?” You ask, wonderstruck. “Not cause you’re doing something like reaching through realms, or into a pocket of space?”

Yunho chuckles, along with Wooyoung, Seonghwa, and Mingi.

“No, Petal,” he grins fondly at your curious expression. “Unfortunately we cannot do that, but it is how we are able to summon our weapons to us instantly.”

“Does it work on other things, too?” You inquire, nearly dropping the axe in your excitement as Jongho hands it to you.

“It works on anything we bind ourselves to in that way.” Mingi confirms.

“So, if you wanted to summon each other?” You tilt your head slightly as you finally get a good grip on the handle of the axe. “It’d be different than your transportation thingy?”

“Slightly.” Hongjoong confirms. “Think of it as a mere aspect of our teleportation.”

“But still different than a proper summoning spell.” Yeosang adds.

You nod, spinning that axe slowly in your hands as you look over the detail work.

“Would it work in battle?” You glance upwards. “If you ever needed to save each other from a killing blow? Or if one of you needed back up?”

“Normally, we’d just use our teleportation for that.” Mingi shrugs, leaning against an open part of the wall.

“That’s fair,” you hum, eyes shifting their focus back to the axe in your hands.

Where the gems would normally reside, you’ve noticed two other small jewels in their place. One is an opal, and the other is your own birthstone. A fact of which makes you smile, for you know both are meant to represent you and Jongho.

“With this summoning thing, is it automatic if you think of the item?” You hand Jongho the axe back, not wanting to risk damaging it right now as your curiosity is getting the better of you.

“It’s practically second nature to us now.” Wooyoung confirms with a nod. “The closer the object, the easier it is to summon it.”

“That makes sense.” You nod, eyes catching on another intricately carved axe for the moment. “Oh!”

The blade is hollowed in some areas, giving a sort of skeleton design to the metal. It’s intricately carved, the design looking more for style than functionality. However, you know that it’s more than likely made out of that Sage Metal that they told you about earlier. The axe is more than durable, and certainly functional.

“This is beautiful,” you breathe, tracing the spaces in the metal lightly with your index finger. Of course, you make sure not to touch the edges of the metal, not wanting to cut yourself on accident. Who knows how they would react to that.

“Not as beautiful as you.” Jongho whispers lowly into your ear as he steps up behind you, wrapping you in his arms.

A snort of laughter escapes you, lips parting in disbelief.

“Oh, Baby Bear,” you chuckle lowly, shaking your head. “Please don’t say such cringy things to me. You’re more suave than that.”

You don’t have to look at him to see the giant pout Jongho now wears on his features, only deepened by the laughter of his brothers.

“Oh, can it.” He turns to them, a frown on his features. “You were all thinking it, too.”

Again, you shake your head, lovingly this time. “What am I going to do with all of you?”

Wooyoung slides right up to your side, pulling you out of Jongho’s embrace and into his own. Carefully, he begins leading you back to the door.

“Love us unconditionally for all eternity?” There’s a hint of hope in his eyes, swirling within that all too familiar admiration and adoration you’ve become so used to from him.

From all of them.

You hum, pretending to think about it for a moment. You stop just before the closed door, sparing a glance around at all of them briefly.

You smile lovingly, “That can be arranged.”

Low hums of content greet your ears as you reach forward to open the door. You do not need to look at them to know that they are gazing at you with nothing but a tender fondness in their eyes right now. You can feel it surrounding you as you step through the door, flooding your veins and comforting you right down to your very core.

Their unspoken response rings loud and clear through your mind, despite your void still being up. There is no doubt in your mind that they will do the same: love you unconditionally for all eternity. They’ve already proven, in more ways than one, that they do.

The moment you refocus in on the room surrounding you, your eyes catch on bottles upon bottles lining the shelves built into every free inch of the walls of this room. Various colourful liquids reside inside, some even appearing to glow with how vibrantly they shine beneath the lights. Small vials rest beside them, and you think you know what rests inside those.

Understanding flashes across your features and you turn to Wooyoung who practically shakes in excitement beside you.

“So, which one is the deadliest?” You quirk a brow, the corner of your lips twitching upwards.

A giddy smile stretches across his features, which then slowly morphs into a sly smirk, “No hesitation, huh, Angel?”

“I’m curious,” You shrug, nonchalantly.

He hums, “It’s just over here.”

Leading you over to a wall with the darkest liquids residing on the shelves, Wooyoung lifts his free hand. Instantly, a bottle of the blackest void comes rushing to his fingers, thick in texture and hardly sloshing around inside its container. Faintly, you swear you can hear hissing coming from his hand.

“There is no toxin more deadly than my own creations.” He tells you. “This one, though, is the worst.”

“Are you immune?” You glance up at him, a curious glint in your eyes.

“I’m immune to every poison you can imagine, and then some.” He hums, that grin still tugging at his features as he hands you the bottle of that thick black liquid. “But I always have antidotes close at hand.”

He motions around him to the small vials resting beside the bottles.

“We’re not as immune as he is to some of his creations.” Jongho grumbles, his arms crossed over his chest.

“But most of them, you are?” You spare a glance at the rest of them standing over by the door.

“That would be correct, My Love.” Hongjoong nods. “His most deadly, he’s made sure we’re immune to.”

“It’s considerate, considering the amount of times he’s used us as guinea pigs for new concoctions.” San grumbles, narrowing his eyes pointedly at Wooyoung.

You turn your head back to the aforementioned male who seemingly shrinks slightly in his spot.

“You guys volunteer.” He mumbles.

“Yeah,” Yunho rolls his eyes playfully. “That’s cause we never actually know what we’re signing up for.”

“It’s not my fault you all have different side effects than what I intend sometimes!” Wooyoung counters, a large pout pulling at his features. “It’s not like it’s intentional.”

“Sometimes, I feel like it is.” Yeosang states, rather pointedly.

“I don’t know,” you hum. “Isn’t the point of vaccines to inject some of the original virus or disease into your body so you know how to fight off the living cells, were they to enter your system?”

“See. At least My Angel understands my methods!” Wooyoung perks back up, tightening the hold of his one arm that rests around your waist. “There’s a whole process! You can’t just be immune. It’s not in your blood!”

“And it’s in yours?” San’s brow quirks knowingly.

“Actually, yes. It is.” Wooyoung states, rather proudly. “Most of my poisons contain some aspect of my blood in them, whether diluted or pure. That’s why they can be so toxic.”

“That’s really cool!” You chime in, having way too much fun watching the thick liquid slide around in the bottle every time you tip it upside down.

“So, there!” Wooyoung sticks his tongue out playfully at his brothers.

“Are there any kinds of toxins you’ve made that have a different effect than just poisoning the victim?” You turn your attention back to Wooyoung. “You know, like paralysis, or something?”

“Do I ever!” Wooyoung practically bounces on his feet as he leads you to the opposite wall. “This one-“ he points to a bright pink liquid, “is similar to a sleeping drought, but too much will cause the heart to stop for any living thing.”

You nod, staring intently at the bottle in front of you.

“This one-“ he points to an almost transparent green liquid, “causes your muscles to seize and inflicts unbearable pain throughout the body. Great for immobilizing people, but not quite paralysis in it’s literal sense.”

“Oh, wow.” You observe said liquid carefully.

“I also have certain tonics that effect emotions, a person’s state of mind or being, as well as ones that can essentially put people into either a comatose state, or loosen their tongue if we need a ‘physical’ way to gather information for assassinations.” He explains.

“So, you have truth telling serums?” Your brow quirks, the corner of your lips twitching upwards.

“I have any and every type of tonic you can think of.” Wooyoung nods, quite proudly at that.

You nod, eyes never leaving that shelf in front of you.

“So, then,” you begin. “Which is a stronger aphrodisiac? Your blood, or one of your tonics?”

The sound of shattering glass sounds behind you, and you turn to see Seonghwa and Mingi both cursing to themselves. Bottles, or what’s left of them, lay broken at their feet, the sound of hissing greeting your ears as liquid seeps over the ground.

“Careful with those,” Wooyoung waves his hand, cleaning the mess in an instant. “Some mixtures are deadly, even to us, if cross contaminated with each other.”

“We’ll just make sure to knock into the non-fragile glass bottles, next time.” Seonghwa grumbles, wiping off the front of his shirt rather harshly.

“Glass bottles are the most effective containers for acidic poisons, especially if reinforced by magic.” Wooyoung states, matter of factly.

“But they can still shatter on impact with the floor.” Jongho quirks a brow, matter of factly.

“You win some, you lose some.” Wooyoung shrugs, before turning his attention back to you for the moment. “To answer your question, Angel, it would be this one right here.” A bottle with a liquid as clear as day is instantly in his one hand. “This is the strongest aphrodisiac we own, besides our blood.”

“Oh?” Your lips twitch upwards in the corner, brow quirking. “So, they’re on par with one another, then?”

“Not quite,” Wooyoung’s eyes begin to swirl with that all too familiar darkness. “This is just a little stronger, since it’s undiluted in that sense.”

You hum, “Interesting.”

“Why?” San’s voice, low and gravelly reaches your ears as his hooded gaze meets your own. “Want to give it a try?”

All eight sets of eyes are on you in an instant, darkness swirling within.

You smirk, “Perhaps some other time.”

Eight low growls reach your ears as you walk back over to the door. You can feel the weight of their heated stares on you, even as you glance towards them from over your shoulder.

“Shall we?” You drawl out, a teasing flick to your brows.

Yunho seems to be the first to recompose himself, quickly moving over to you and placing his hand onto the skin of your upper back. Gently, he guides you through the door, clearing his throat all the while.

“I don’t tend to use many weapons, so my storehouse is a bit of the miscellaneous designs we keep for the occasional use.” He explains. “I do tend to like shredding things, whether physical, or mental, though.”

Again, your eyes light up as you take in the various unconventional designs around you. You can tell they’ve experimented with multiple angles and materials, each weapon given certain liberties over the rest. Everything from large hammers to thin whips with metal spikes attached to them line the walls, allowing you to see the various techniques they all know how to use in battle depending on the weapon.

Serrated blades, tools, saws, and even some scythes and rifles also line the walls.

Your brow quirks at the cage of guns off to the side.

“For our assassinations, mainly.” Yunho is quick to tell you, to which you’re immediately nodding your head in understanding.

“Who’s the best sniper?” You turn to them, looking over each male individually.

“Seonghwa and Hongjoong are amazing.” Wooyoung immediately boasts, a proud smile tugging at his lips.

“Really, we’ve got nothing on Mingi, though.” Hongjoong says, averting his gaze somewhat bashfully as red creeps up his neck.

At Seonghwa’s nod in agreement, you turn to the aforementioned male. Lightly, a grin pulls at the corner of your lips.

You let Mingi in.

I always knew you were way cooler than James Bond. You meet his gaze with an affectionate look of your own. Definitely proves it.

Mingi giggles, brushing tenderly against your mind with his own as his eyes crinkle at the sides.

You turn back to the main wall of weapons. “You all contribute to this stockade, or is it more trial and error?”

“A little bit of both.” San says, the others nodding in agreement. “Sometimes we even get certain materials from our friends that we play around with when creating weapons.”

At this, your brow quirks.

“Well, sometimes we aren’t simply given things.” Wooyoung chuckles. “Like when Jongho used the teeth from the snakes of the last gorgon leader to make a tiny mace.”

Jongho simply glares at Wooyoung in response.

“Not going to lie, that’s pretty cool.” You reply, nonchalantly. “Do you guys have any transforming weapons?”

“Mingi made the Beastcutter from Bloodborne.” Seonghwa comments casually.

Your jaw drops. “You did not.”

The second Mingi sticks his hand out, a weapon flies off of the wall. Sure enough, holding it out to you reveals it to be a life-size replica of the Beastcutter from Bloodborne.

“Holy shit.” There is no hiding the awe in your eyes as he passes it to you, you giggling like a maniac soon after.

“If I recall, Mingi’s made a lot of replicas of From Soft weapons.” Yeosang adds, humming lightly to himself.

“You have?” That awe filled gaze of yours is back on Mingi, who’s neck begins to turn bright red as he nods. “That’s incredible!”

He lifts a hand up to scratch at the back of his neck. “It’s nothing.”

“Moonlight, I wish you wouldn’t downplay your skills sometimes.” You comment, patting his arm affectionately. Then, you’re practically bouncing on your feet as the Beastcutter is returned to its original spot. “Now, show me, show me, show me!”

Mingi chuckles lowly, “Of course, Starlight.” He leads you back to the door, his arm gently finding purchase around your waist. “Right this way.”

Carefully, Mingi guides you through the door and into his own storehouse of weapons, his brothers following closely behind. The sound of the door shutting is synonymous with your gasp, your eyes practically shining as you take in the sets of weapons lining the walls, mainly consisting of dual blades.

At one particular set that is bright red, the edges of the blades artfully chipped, a dramatic gasp escapes you.

“No way!” You point at the blades, scurrying over to them while hopping around on your feet. “You made the Rivers of Blood from Elden Ring into a two sword set?”

“I had to compromise a bit on length, but the design is the same.” He shrugs, plucking them off of the wall and giving them each a spin in his hands.

You practically swoon as a result. “Somebody pinch me, I’m in heaven.”

Low chuckles resound around the room, each male loving how your excitement never seems to cease for even one moment. The fact that Mingi continues to captivate you currently by performing small tricks with the blades has them beaming. Though, a few, such as Hongjoong, Jongho, and Seonghwa, all wish it were them that were impressing you in such a way instead.

Again, Mingi chuckles, placing the Rivers of Blood back in their spot before pulling two other katanas off of the wall. They also seem familiar to you, though you can’t seem to figure out why.

“I dubbed these ones my Deadpool set.” Mingi explains with a grin, giving them each a spin in his hands.

“I was wondering why they looked so familiar,” You hum, nodding slightly. “If you pull out the Blades of Chaos next, I might need to sit down.”

The grin Mingi wears is nothing short of gleeful as he replaces the katanas on the wall. In a blink, he holds out his hands, chains wrapping around his forearms before a dual set of particularly carved blades appear held in his grip.

You physically feel your legs give out beneath you, a hand coming up to press against your forehead as you fall backwards.

Luckily, Yunho appears just in time to catch you.

“I’m dreaming.” You mutter lowly, nothing but awe in your voice. “This is a dream, and I’m in heaven.”

More fond chuckles greet your ears.

“It’s a shame the blades are more for show than anything,” Mingi somewhat pouts. “Still worth seeing every one of your reactions, though, Starlight.”

“Oh, yeah, I heard something about them being impractical in real life cause of the chains or something.” You manage to right yourself on your feet, affectionately patting Yunho’s hands which he keeps wrapped around your waist. “The blades could still be effective on their own, though. Can they not?”

The grin that stretches across Mingi’s face says it all.

“Now, if you go around bathing them in fire as you use them, I might faint for real.” You comment casually.

His eyebrow quirks, “Promise?”

“You want me to faint?” You snort out a laugh.

“If it’s from something cool that I’ve done,” Mingi shrugs, storing the blades back in their place. “Why not?”

“Touché.” You hum, sparing another glance around the room. Your eyes catch briefly on a set of blades, curved to resemble human spines. You smile. “Seriously guys, this is incredible.”

“We’re just glad you’re enjoying yourself, Dearest.” Yeosang smiles, nothing but tender fondness reflected in his eyes.

“Like I said, this is one of the best days of my life.” You breathe out. “I’ve always had a fascination with different types of weapons since I was small. It’s nice not having to hide my excitement about them anymore. Especially about ones that I long since thought could only be used in fictional settings, or for cosplay.”

“Hearing you rant and rave about certain styles of weapons when we watch those…” Jongho grimaces slightly, irritation shining briefly on his features, “Let’s Players, sticks with us, you know.”

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous of Jacksepticeye, Baby Bear.” You quirk a brow.

At the few grumbles you hear, you begin to laugh.

“You seem to be overtly fond of him.” Hongjoong mutters lowly.

You shrug. “He’s funny.”

Low growls sound from Yeosang, Mingi, San, and Seonghwa.

“Again, just because you don’t like him, doesn’t mean I don’t.” You remind them.

“That’s the problem, Angel.” Wooyoung mumbles, crossing his arms over his chest.

“The fact I find him entertaining?” You quirk a brow, noticing how they remain quiet for the most part. “Wait, is this why you all started playing God of War and Bloodborne? So, I wouldn’t watch his play-throughs anymore?”

“No.” Jongho answers, much too quickly.

“We also needed to get better insight of the weapons when making them.” Mingi says, matter of factly.

A smack is given to the elder male from the youngest as you stare at them knowingly. Then, your eyes seemingly glaze over, deep in thought.

“You said you make weapons out of materials sometimes gifted to you from others, right?” Your brow is furrowed as you step out of Yunho’s embrace, much to the male’s discontent.

“That’s correct.” Yeosang confirms.

You hum to yourself, beginning to pace back and forth as your mind reels.

“How strong are dragon teeth?” You pause, lifting your head to spare a glance at all of them.

Understanding flashes behind their eyes.

“They are extremely durable and versatile, My Divine.” Seonghwa replies, a knowing glint in his eyes. “Some of the strongest bones in all the realms. Other than their horns, of course.”

“And baby dragon’s teeth?” You quirk a brow.

“Not as durable, but strong all the same.” Yunho confirms.

Again, you hum, shifting to face Hongjoong. “Can I see Mon’s teeth for a moment?”

By the time you’ve extended your hands, Hongjoong has that green cloth placed upon your palms. You turn just in time to see a wooden table appear beside you, the guys all moving in to stand around it as you work.

Carefully, you unwrap the package that is Mon’s baby teeth. Once you have that cloth covering the main portion of the table, you begin arranging them in a particular pattern. Slowly, a triangle begins to form, Mon’s teeth outlining the shape.

“Our conversation just now gave me an idea,” you begin, righting yourself so you’re no longer hunched over the table. “A bit literal for serrated teeth, but I think it works well.”

A gentle hand is placed onto your lower spine curtesy of Mingi. Sparing a glance at him reveals his lips to be tugging upwards into a proud smile.

“I don’t know how the logistics will work, but if you can make the Beastcutter, then I’m sure you can make a Saw Spear,” You meet Mingi’s gaze. “No?”

A pride swirls behind his gaze, his chest puffing out the slightest bit. “I think that can be arranged.”

The smile that takes over your features lights up the entire room, excitement pouring off of you in waves. “Really?”

“Most definitely.” San confirms with a nod. “We can all help with this one.”

“You’d all really do this for me?” You spare a glance at all of them, noticing how tenderly they look at you.

“Of course!” Wooyoung confirms eagerly. “It’s not every day Our Queen asks us to make her her own weapon.”

You share an excited giggle.

“Listen, I want to be able to have something to call my own,” you grin. “Preferably not just a bat. I’m not sure how intimidating our enemies will find me only wielding a weapon like that.”

“Believe me, Baby,” San chuckles. “You’re plenty intimidating with a bat.”

“So I’ve heard.” You smile slyly.

“We could make you a personalized bat, too, Dearest.” Yeosang offers. “Anything and everything your heart desires, know that it’s yours.”

Lifting your head to meet his gaze, your eyes crinkle as your smile morphs into a loving one.

“How about we start with this for now?” You say softly. “I’m sure I’ll think of more when the time comes. Believe me when I say there’s no shortages of weapon’s designs in my mind. But for now, there’s still two more main storehouses to see, and I’d also love to see a forge if there’s time. I am getting hungry.”

“Well then,” Yunho nods, noticing how his brothers all wear the same look of affection spreading across his face in this moment. “What are we waiting for?”

Leaving Mon’s teeth laid out on the table at their request, you walk back over to the door. This time, it’s Hongjoong that opens it, stepping through to hold it as you follow shortly behind.

If you’re being honest with yourself, his and Seonghwa’s rooms are the ones you’re most anticipating. Long since have you fantasized about what their own blades will look like, and now, you find your whole body shaking with excitement as you step through the threshold.

The instant you see the wall of daggers before you, a loud gasp escapes you. Your hands come up to cover your mouth, eyes flitting all over the weapons on display before you. Everything from ceremonial daggers, to jewelled blades rest before you in an array of designs. There even seems to be a small display case in front of the main wall with a dagger inside, resting upon a cushion. It looks familiar to you, and as you get closer, you realize why.

There seems to be a blade missing from the set, but you say nothing. Still, you cannot help but to zero in on that cushion, noting the slight indent where the second dagger should reside.

Out of the corner of your eyes, you notice Hongjoong stiffen, but you opt to say nothing for now.

Sets of throwing knives line the one wall, some collections housing upwards of twenty blades. You take the time to observe everything, walking slowly around the room and taking it all in. Each blade manages to take your breath away, your heart racing erratically in your chest as excitement courses through your veins.

Hongjoong, you notice, still remains unusually quiet. In fact, if you didn’t know any better, you’d say he looks nervous, especially when you glance towards that display case in front of the main wall every now and again.

Turning to the others, you smile lightly, “Do you mind giving us a minute?”

A few quirked brows are sent your way in response, but they comply, nonetheless.

“We’ll meet you in your storeroom, okay, Mars?” You catch his gaze, noticing how he nods in understanding as soon as the words escape you.

Slowly, you watch as they all step through the door, and only once you see it fall shut, the small click resounding throughout the room, do you turn back to face Hongjoong.

There’s an almost reserved look in his eyes as he avoids your gaze. Slowly, he shifts from foot to foot, his hands clasped in front of himself.

Your expression falls.

Silently, you approach him, gently lifting his hands into your own.

“What’s wrong, My Love?” Your inquiry is soft, giving his hands a small squeeze in order to coax him to meet your eyes.

He’s unusually silent as he shakes his head, staring intently at your intertwined hands.

Normally, this room is a huge sense of pride for him. However, as soon as he saw you glance the display case with only the one dagger inside, his heart plummeted. Selfishly, he kept it there in its spot because he could not bring himself to get rid of it. Now though, he fears he made the wrong call, for that pillar acts as a stark reminder of every misdeed he’s ever performed. That case stands almost mockingly; a tombstone that could have been yours.

“Hongjoong,” Worry pulls at your brow as you lift a hand up to guide his gaze to yours. Tenderly, your thumb brushes against his cheek. “You’re unusually quiet right now, and I’m extremely concerned. I thought you’d be ecstatic to show me your collection today.”

He purses his lips, and you can see a hint of fear flash behind his eyes.

“Is this about the set of daggers in that case?” Your tone is nothing but gentle.

The way he stiffens beneath your touch says it all.

The way that you can tell that this is affecting him negatively has your heart squeezing painfully in your chest. It’s clear to you that Miyeon still has her claws buried deep within his guilt, and all you want to do is reassure him as best you can in this moment. Only, you’re not quite sure how.

“They were-“ he clears his throat of the roughness that resides in his voice, “They were meant to be ours.”

Your gaze shifts to the small display case where that lone blade sits.

“The daggers,” You breathe.

He nods. “I made them for us.”

You squeeze his one hand once more, gently guiding him over to the display case so you can get a closer look.

Still, he refuses to so much as glance at that singular dagger.

“I wanted that one to be yours, and the other to be mine, but she-“ his voice hitches, and he squeezes his eyes shut. “I don’t think I could ever look at my dagger the same way again. Not after what she did to you with it. Yet, I can’t bring myself to destroy the set. It held so much meaning to me when I made them, that I just-”

He doesn’t finish his thought. Instead, his shoulders droop and he turns the slightest bit away from you.

Shame weighs heavy on his shoulders, regret adding its toll.

You take a moment to observe the dagger in the case. It’s certainly familiar, but you notice slight discrepancies to the one you’ve already seen. This dagger’s blade is slightly thinner, the handle carved in the opposite direction to its matching pair. You can tell that they’re meant to be put together. A set, never to be separated.

“I’m glad you didn’t.” You turn to him, and your words finally draw a reaction from him. “Destroy them, I mean.”

“My Love?” There’s clear surprise on his features, not having expected you to say anything along those lines.

If Hongjoong is being honest with himself, he expected you to start cursing him out for not getting rid of the very weapon that caused you such harm. He was certain that you’d be screaming at him, asking him why he would keep such vile weapons around after what they did to you.

To say your tender look of affection shocks him would be a great understatement.

“You still have the other dagger, then?” You ask him softly, rubbing your thumb tenderly over the back of his hand.

Slowly, albeit hesitantly, he nods.

“May I see it?” The question is gentle in all meaning of the sense, making sure to keep your voice low as you look at him with kind eyes.

A moment’s hesitation before he nods. Then, he has the other dagger in his free hand, holding the handle out for you to take.

Meeting his gaze, you smile assuringly at him. Maintaining eye contact, you gently slip that dagger out of his hold, gripping it firmly in your one hand. Only then do you spare a glance down at one of the weapons that had caused you such pain all those long weeks ago.

Just as you thought, this one is slightly bigger, the blade both a little thicker and longer in length.

“This one was meant to be yours?” You lift your gaze to his, noticing how intently he watches you in this very moment.

He nods.

You let your intertwined hands fall to rest in the space between your bodies, letting them sway gently back and forth.

“Will you hold onto mine?” There’s nothing but a hopeful gleam to your eyes as you watch him nod.

Slowly, he unlocks the case. Once the glass is opened, he lifts your dagger out with the utmost of care, holding it delicately in his hand. The way that he’s standing perfectly mirrors you in every way, and you cannot help the small upturn of your lips at that fact.

“Hongjoong, I wish to keep these daggers together,” you begin. At the way you see his lips part in protest, you’re quick to continue, “She was the one who used it to hurt me, not you. I know for a fact that you would rather carve out your own heart than bring me any harm. Your dagger didn’t hurt me. She did.”

The hitch in his breath is audible, even to you.

“I know you may not have intended it this way, but I wish to keep this one as my own.” You lift the dagger in your hand slightly. “And I wish for you to use that one. Let me reclaim the weapon that was used to hurt me, and know that it is meant to symbolize your undying loyalty and protection. Let me wield you in battle, just as you will wield me when the time comes.”

The way your eyes flash over to that dagger held in his hand as you speak those words says it all.

“These daggers are for us, meant to protect each other.” You state, rather firmly. “I think it’s time we allow them the proper use. Don’t you?”

He swallows thickly, his lips parting as tears line his eyes. He squeezes your hand.

“Yes,” he breathes, nodding his head once quite firmly. He blinks, and the first of his tears begin to fall down his cheeks. “Yes, My Queen. Always.”

Softly, you smile at him, guiding him into your embrace as he buries his face into the side of your neck. You can feel his sobs wracking his body as he holds onto you tightly, clinging to you both for dear life, but also in gratitude for what this moment means to the both of you. No longer will you allow Miyeon to control either of you. It’s time to reclaim that which has been stolen. All of it.

Pulling away from him slightly, you stare deeply into his eyes. The corners of your lips tug upwards in a loving smile, and you manage to brush some stray hairs out of his eyes.

“I am so deeply in love with you, My King.” There is no waver in your voice as you say this, pouring every ounce of sincerity that you can into your words. “Know that nothing will ever change that.”

“My Queen,” The words are but a whisper on his lips as he pulls you tighter against him. “Thank you, for believing in me.”

The smile you offer him says it all, nothing but tender love and affection shining within your gaze as you lean forward to kiss him gently. A kiss which he is all too eager to reciprocate, letting the movement of his lips over your own tell you of all the ways in which he loves you. The ways in which he will always love you, and appreciate all that you mean to him.

All too soon, you’re pulling away in order to rest your forehead on his.

“The daggers are beautiful, My Love,” Your words are but a soft caress against his lips. “Thank you for keeping them as one.”

Hongjoong manages a small smile in response. “I am simply happy you like them, My Queen.”

“I love them, Joongie.” Your reply is immediate, pulling the slightest bit back from him to admire the detailing on the handles once more. “It means a lot to me that you made them for us.”

“Of course, My Love,” Gently, he returns them both to their spots on top of the cushion inside the display. He’s quiet for a moment before he speaks again. In a soft voice, he admits, “I made them the day I knew I wanted you to become Our Queen.” He turns to you, eyes holding nothing but love for you swirling within that familiar darkness. “My Queen.”

Your expression softens, “All the more reason to keep them, and use them as you’ve always intended.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” He chuckles lowly, offering you his hand as he steps in beside you.

Without any hesitation, you place your hand in his.

“I am curious, though,” you hum. “Did you keep the other one? The jewelled one from David’s shop?”

A blink, and that familiar dagger is in his free hand.

Your eyes go wide, a thrum of excitement going through you.

“I think it’s time it was given back to the woman who always deserved it,” He grins, a knowing glint in his eyes as he holds out the handle for you to take. “Don’t you?”

Eagerly, you nod your head, reaching out to take that dagger into your free hand.

You take a moment to look it over, twirling that blade in your grip lightly. A small smile rests on your features, eyes sparkling as you finally grasp the handle firmly in your hand.

Little do you see how fondly Hongjoong watches over you in this very moment. Though, from the way you lift your head to meet his gaze, you manage to catch the very look resting on his features.

“Thank you, Joongie,” You lean in to place an affectionate kiss upon his cheek. “This truly means a lot to me.”

“Your happiness means the world to me, My Love.” Hongjoong smiles, giving your one hand still held in his a small squeeze. “I’m simply glad you can finally have everything you’ve always desired.”

“It’s because of you, you know.” You turn to face him just as you reach the door. “I’ve only been able to achieve this because of you. Because of all of you.”

Hongjoong’s heart warms, and he leans in to place a lingering kiss upon your forehead. “Then, how wonderful it will be to spend the rest of eternity with one another.”

Your own heart swells with nothing but happiness, “How wonderful indeed.”

With a final squeeze of your intwined hands, you exit the room.

The moment you step into Seonghwa’s own weapon’s hold, you’re greeted by chaos. Both him and Mingi appear to be sparring with some of his swords, while Yeosang chases both San and Wooyoung around with a sword of his own. Yunho stands off to the side with Jongho, both males shaking their heads with their arms crossed over their chests.

“Did I miss something?” You quirk a brow playfully, successfully drawing their attention to both you and Hongjoong standing just inside the threshold of the door.

“Wooyoung and San were being smartasses, as usual.” Jongho shakes his head once more.

“Hey!” Said males whine at the same time.

“Then, why was Yeosang chasing you with- oh my god, is that Major General Armstrong’s sword?” You practically shove Wooyoung out of the way to take the sword from Yeosang’s grip.

Unfortunately, you fail to miss the large pout that now pulls onto Hongjoong’s features as you essentially leave him in the dust in order to observe this new sword. Nor do you see the pout that Wooyoung wears as he looks to you with large, pleading eyes.

With your dagger held in your one hand, and the sword in the other, you take in the detailing of the metal. The floral design engraved on the length of the blade takes your breath away, and you begin shaking in excitement once more.

Then, you’re nodding to yourself almost subconsciously, “Very beautiful. Very powerful.”

“I’m glad you like it, My Divine.” Seonghwa chuckles affectionately, coming to stand beside you as the others return to their respective spots near the door. “Come, there’s plenty more where that came from.”

Lifting your gaze, Seonghwa cannot deny the hitch in his breath as he sees your wondrous expression light up your features. The awe alone he can see says it all.

He swallows thickly.

Handing him the sword back, you finally take in the other blades residing on the surrounding walls.

“No way you have a wall full of just katanas- are those Zoro’s?” Another squeal leaves you as you rush over, gazing intently at the multiple swords lined up in a row.

Sure enough, upon closer inspection, the katanas in front of you correspond to the multiple ones Zoro has used throughout the course of One Piece.

“Seriously, I’m in heaven.” You sigh, dreamily.

Low chuckles sound from behind you, and you can feel all of their fond gaze on you as you dart around the room.

“No way!” A dramatic gasp escapes you as a particular blade catches your eye from across the room. “You made Sting?”

Just as you did with Yeosang’s bow in the first room, you go to reach out for it. Only, you hesitate, not sure if you should actually touch these weapons or not.

“Go ahead, My Divine,” Seonghwa chuckles, stepping in right beside you and placing a loving hand onto the skin of your lower back. “Please, don’t hold back.”

Practically shoving the dagger in your hands in his direction, you silently tell him to hold onto the jewelled blade while you lift Sting carefully off its display. Nothing but wonder resides in your gaze as you take in the detail work of the craftsmanship. The blade is unusually light, too, just as described in the book.

“If you tell me that this blade can also glow blue, I can and will faint right now.” You lift your gaze to his own, excitement pouring off of you in waves.

A soft chuckle falls from Seonghwa’s lips, “We’ll have to go visit some orcs, then.”

Your lips part, eyes widening as you visibly begin to shake. Not even a moment later, you’re zooming around the room, muttering to yourself about this being the best day of your life once more.

Hopping around the storehouse, you take in the rest of the swords lining the walls. You cannot keep the smile off of your face, almost subconsciously muttering a tune to yourself as you browse the selection of weapons before you.

“Oh, the wonders of weapons,” you hum, no longer paying any mind to the eight other males in the room, of whom watch you fondly. “The wonders of weapons of Kings.” You giggle. “My Lovely Kings.”

They smile.

“My lovers are eight powerful, demonic Kings.” Your voice is low, but they still hear you loud and clear. A fact of which sets their hearts racing inside of their chests. “And I’m their One and Only Queen.”

Eight low growls of approval sound from behind you. Sparingly, you glance over your shoulder, offering them each a blissful smile.

“Today is a most wonderful day.” You continue to hum to yourself, bouncing around on the soles of your feet from one spot to another. “Spending it with the people I love.”

Rumbles of content fill the room, and you bound over to the eight of them with a vibrant smile lighting up your face. You take the time to give each one of them a kiss on the cheek, muttering how much you love them each time you do. A sentiment which is immediately echoed by each male as soon as you address them individually.

Still, you cannot prevent yourself from rocking excitedly on your feet as you see the large, dopey grins they offer you in return.

“Thank you.” You take the time to meet all of their gazes. “For today. For everything.” Your heart swells in your chest. “You all seriously don’t know how happy you make me.”

“The feeling is very much mutual, Petal.” Yunho hums, the same warmth that is currently flooding his chest heard clearly in his voice as he addresses you.

“We’re just glad you’re enjoying yourself, Dearest.” Yeosang adds, clasping his hands almost lovingly in front of himself as he gazes at you fondly.

You nod, vigorously at that. “Can I see one of your forges, now?”

“Of course, My Divine.” Seonghwa extends his free hand out to you, your dagger still held tightly in his opposite hand.

“Oh, thanks for holding onto that for me, Mars.” You reach over, taking your dagger back from him as he walks you both over to the door. “I-“

Your words die in your throat as the door opens to reveal a grandiose space. There’s a large wooden table that lines the one wall, the forge worked into the opposite corner. A floor to ceiling window resides near the forge itself, displaying a beautiful field with mountains in the distance. Hardly any clouds line the sky, the sun shining and illuminating the space all around.

Various weapons line the room, stacked on top of each other or resting against the wall where various tools and materials hang. There even seems to be a closet off to the side, which you would bet anything houses even more weapons that are currently being worked on, or have even been finished.

“Wow,” You breathe out, nothing but wonder on your features as you take it all in.

Carefully, you place your dagger onto the top of the wooden table off to the side, spinning around a few times to take in the full room around you. Seonghwa, of course, gives you enough space to do so, watching you with such a tender look in his eyes.

“Do all of your workshops look the same?” You turn to face them.

“More, or less.” Jongho tilts his head slightly from side to side. “Some of our tools vary due to the types of weapons we forge, but the setup is pretty much identical.”

“That’s so cool!” You say, awe clear in your voice.

“If you peek through the window, you can actually see the outlines of all of our forges in the hills.” Yunho motions with his head for you to take a look.

Instantly, you’re at the window, eyes scanning the area to see multiple windows buried seemingly inside the hills just outside.

“Woah,” You turn back around to face them. “That must come in handy when you need to borrow things from each other while welding.”

“It is quite convenient.” Mingi nods in confirmation. “Especially if one of the others has a material you need while crafting.”

“I can imagine.” You hum, eyes flitting over the table and taking in all of the little trinkets scattered about.

There seems to be a whetting stone placed near the corner, some scraps of black leather cut into pieces along the top. Some tools rest here and there, but for the most part, the space is clean.

Out of the corner of your eyes, you see Hongjoong nudge Seonghwa with his elbow.

You quirk a brow.

Seonghwa clears his throat.,“Actually, I have two things I wish to give you, My Divine.”

“You do?” There’s nothing but wonder in your tone as you watch him move around his workspace.

For a brief moment, Seonghwa enters that little closet at the side of the room. When he comes back, both of his hands are held behind his back.

You blink, curiosity getting the better of you as you attempt to see what he could be hiding.

“This one, we all agreed on a long time ago.” He says, sharing a brief look around the room at his brothers who all smile softly at you in response. “I reinforced it, so it no longer has to be simply decorative. Unless you desire it to be.”

In one swift movement, Seonghwa pulls his right hand out from behind his back. A familiar silver sword rests there, jewels glinting in the light.

The gasp that escapes you is immediate as you see the matching sword to that dagger you had placed on his work table resting in his hand.

Ever so carefully, you reach forward, taking that sword from his grip as your eyes shine with nothing but love.

“My Kings?” You glance around at all of them, noticing how they all stare at you the exact same way you’re looking at them.

“Anything and everything your heart could ever desire, Angel,” Wooyoung whispers. “It’s yours.”

“I-“ you swallow thickly, admiring that sword now held in your hands. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything, My Love,” Hongjoong smiles assuringly at you. “Know that we will always provide for you, in whatever ways that we can.”

“We love spoiling you, Baby,” San adds softly. “Knowing these are things that you’ve always wanted… well… it means a lot to us to see you happy; to make you happy.”

Your lips part, but no words escape you.

“Just let us take care of you.” Yeosang voices lowly, all seven of them nodding along to his words.

Again, you swallow the emotions building in your throat. Your grip tightens on that pommel in your hands, and you manage to blink away your building tears of joy.

“Thank you.” You take your time to meet each of their gazes. “I mean it. You all never fail to go above and beyond for me, and I will always cherish these moments, these gifts, more than you’ll ever know.”

Their smiles widen, hearts beating erratically in their chests.

“We’re just love seeing you happy, Starlight.” Mingi repeats San’s words from only moments ago, nothing but sincerity shining within all of their eyes.

“I still have one more sword to gift you, today, My Divine.” Suddenly, Seonghwa looks the slightest bit more nervous as he stands before you. “That is, if you’ll have it.”

“My Mars,” you hum, affection dripping from your gaze, “You could gift me a wooden sword, and I would cherish it until the end of time.”

Teasingly, Seonghwa’s eyes narrow as he spares a glance around the room. “Alright, who told?”

Almost instantly, Jongho starts whistling inconspicuously while San, Wooyoung, and Mingi all avoid Seonghwa’s gaze.

You giggle, and like every time before, it is music to every single one of their ears.

“It took me quite a few tries,” he begins, keeping his voice low and tone steady, “But I had to make sure it was perfect.”

In the blink of an eye, Seonghwa presents you with the other sword he had been holding behind his back this whole time. He rests it carefully over his palms, holding it out to you with loving eyes as he watches your every reaction carefully.

The sheath is easily recognizable to you, the leather strap wrapped meticulously around it just as it is when the sword gets presented in the movie. The handle is every bit as gorgeous as you remember, the black leather wrapping around the pommel perfectly placed as the worked silver glints in the light.

Without taking your eyes off of that sword, you pass the one currently in your hands to the closest person beside you. Easily, Mingi takes it from you as you step in closer to Seonghwa.

You swallow your building emotions.

With shaking hands, you reach out to grasp that sword. You take one small step back before you’re unsheathing it in one fluid movement, the etchings in the metal bringing tears to your eyes.

Before you, held in your very grip, is an exact replica of Andúril.

“You made this for me?” Your voice comes out small, your overwhelming emotions threatening to choke you out at any second.

Briefly, your gaze flits from the markings on the blade to Seonghwa’s face, noting how he nods softly.

The whole time, his gaze never leaves you for a moment. Never does he want to miss even a single second of the wondrous expression you wear on your face. The fact that he can hear your heart racing says it all.

“Seonghwa, I-“ Your grip tightens around the handle of the sword, meeting his gaze once more. “When?”

He shuffles slightly from foot to foot, the others remaining silent out of respect for the moment being shared between the both of you right now.

“I started that day we got back from the mall.” His honest reply nearly sends you to your knees.

Again, your eyes trail over every inch of that sword before you. Your heart swells with nothing but love, feeling as if it’s close to bursting as you take in every minuscule detail of the blade. You can tell that he put in a tremendous amount of effort into forging this weapon for you, and given its meaning to you in its entirety, you know that he spoke true when he said that he wanted to make it perfect.

For you.

He made this for you.

Something within your eyes flash, and you’re quick to sheathe that sword. The whole time, you never break eye contact with the male across from you, and despite the pounding of your heart that you can hear in your ears, a sense of complete calm washes over you.

“You seven,” you don’t even spare them so much as a glance of acknowledgement. “Out. Now.”

Words of protest die on Wooyoung’s lips as he gets pushed out of the room by both Jongho and Yeosang. Of course, just before the door closes, Seonghwa does not fail to miss the wink Yunho sends his way.

The sound of the door clicking shut is synonymous with the movement of Seonghwa’s Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows.

“You made this for me,” you begin lowly. “After hearing me say once that I have long since desired a replica of my own.”

He nods. Slowly.

“You didn’t hesitate for one moment to make this for me, did you?” Your inquiry is soft, despite the heated stare you wear.

He shakes his head.

You motion for him to come forward with your finger, backing yourself towards that wooden table as he begins stalking towards you. Not once does he break eye contact, obeying your every command without hesitation.

“Of all of the grandiose gesture you could make for me, this is the one that means the most.” You tell him honestly, your voice near breathless as you finally hit that table. Resting the sword against its side, you motion him closer. “There are no words to describe what this means to me; no gift more significant than that which you have just given.”

The moment he steps into you, your arms are around his shoulders, pulling him in closer. Softly, your fingers thread through the hair at the base of his neck, and you notice how his suddenly hooded eyes continuously spare fleeting glances down to your lips. You smirk.

“A simple ‘thank you’ is not enough to convey what this means to me.” You whisper lowly, surprising him by flipping your positions so that he’s the one pressed against the table. “What you mean to me, Seonghwa.”

One of your hands sneaks down his torso, sending a shiver up his spine as he feels you caressing his side. Then, you pull him even closer, hoisting his thigh up so that his leg wraps around your waist.

“How about it, My King?” You hum, voice nothing but sultry as your lips barely ghost over the skin of his own. “Will you allow me to demonstrate my gratitude for you?”

“Yes,” The nod of his head is immediate as he all but whimpers out a response. “Please.”

The corner of your lips twitches faintly upwards before you’re closing the rest of the distance between your two bodies. The way you hold onto him, and he to you, is nothing short of desperate, kissing one another like you are the very air you both need to breathe.

Carefully, you help him sit on top of the table, allowing for him to fully wrap his legs around your waist. Unashamedly, his hands roam over your body, pulling you in closer as his fingers dance across your skin.

The moan he lets out as you take his bottom lip between your teeth sets your heart fluttering inside of your chest.

“You are incredible, Seonghwa,” you mumble out against the skin of his lips. “And so, unbelievably beautiful.”

He moans, legs tightening around your waist as his stomach twists pleasantly.

“Shouldn’t-“ he gasps as you begin trailing your lips over his jaw, soon moving to bite at the skin of his neck, “Shouldn’t I be telling you this.”

“Some other time,” you promise, placing a lingering kiss over his racing pulse. “Right now, I want to worship you.”

The shudder that wracks his entire body does not go unnoticed by you. The fact that you can physically feel his skin heating beneath your touch says it all.

“My Queen-“

“Shhh,” you’re quick to cut him off with a peck to his lips. “Just let me take care of you.”

You pull away only the slightest bit to stare deeply into his eyes. Silently, you check in with him, brushing against that familiar blue string in your mind to make sure that he’s okay.

“Please,” he swallows. “Don’t stop.”

The tender smile that pulls at your lips says it all.

Instantly, you move back in to continue biting and sucking at his neck, your hands sneaking up his shirt and eliciting another moan from his lips. The desperate way he clings to you has a pleasant feeling building within your core, spreading outwards and warming your entire body.

To know that he wants you, that he needs you in this moment means the world to you.

You wouldn’t have it any any other way.

Bringing your lips back to his, you swallow all of his sounds, enjoying every small whimper and moan he gives you. The way he gasps as your one hand slides up his thigh to pull him flush against you by his ass is like music to your ears.

“My Seonghwa,” you hum, slowly grinding your hips against his own.

A choked moan of your name slips passed his lips, “Yours.”

“That’s right, My Dove,” you nip lightly at his ear, feeling how he shudders once more in your hold. “You’re mine.”

“All yours,” he whimpers, burying his face into the side of your neck.

Slowly, you bring your one hand between your two bodies, beginning to palm his semi-hard cock over his jeans. The fact that he seems to desperately grind against your hand in time with your movements makes you smirk.

“My Beautiful Dove,” you hum, adding the slightest bit more pressure to your palm as you move over his clothed cock. “Do you have any idea what you mean to me?”

Softly, he shakes his head against the skin of your shoulder.

“No?” The corner of your lips tug upwards in a small grin as you pull away to meet his wide eyes. “Then, I guess I’ll have to show you.”

Your lips are back on his in an instant, pulling him flush against you. Carefully, you begin to lean him back, hovering over him as you lay him down on that table. His hands cling desperately to your back, tilting his head to give you better access to his neck every time you move to bite your marks into his skin. Marks which you know he will wear proudly for as long as he can.

“My Divine,” the whimper that escapes him goes straight to your core, feeling yourself clench around nothing.

“My Beautiful Seonghwa,” you rest your forehead gently against his own. “As if you didn’t know that forging me Andúril would be considered the grandest romantic gesture you could ever make for me.”

His chest is heaving, hips desperately seeking your own. Only, you pin him to that table, retracting your hand from over his cock and eliciting the sweetest of whines from his throat.

“As if you wouldn’t have known that I would immediately have to satisfy My King as a reward for always taking such good care of His Queen.” You continue, reaching out slightly to the side to grasp a particular object in your hand. Once you feel that cool metal of the dagger against your palm, you smirk. “Since My King has shown me nothing but a loving patience and dedication to his craft, I shall show him the same.”

Again, you lean over him, pecking his lips tenderly.

“I wish to take my time savouring you right now, Seonghwa,” you tell him gently. “As long as you’ll let me.”

At the vigorous nod of his head, along with the breathless ‘yes’ that falls from his lips, you have your answer.

You smile, eyes crinkling at the sides as your heart warms.

Slowly, carefully, you bring that dagger up his body. Gently, you tug his shirt forward, the tip of the blade kissing the material. Cautiously, you hook the blade beneath the neckline of his shirt, watching him carefully for any signs of discomfort.

You find none.

The sound of tearing fabric reaches your ears, the dagger getting tossed beside you on that table as you help him sit up once more. His lips are on yours as you strip Seonghwa of his now cut shirt, the planes of his chest on full display. The way he shivers beneath your touch as your hands roam down his bare chest has you smiling into the kiss.

Without wasting another moment, you part from him only to begin trailing your lips down his chest. You take your time, biting and sucking marks into his skin as your hands grip his waist firmly. The fact that Seonghwa arches into your touch, eyes fluttering as he feels your tongue come out to lave over his burning skin says it all.

Another moan of your name slips passed his lips.

“That’s it, My Dove,” you coo, sliding him the slightest bit forward, and back onto the edge of the table. “I want to hear how good I’m making you feel.”

Slowly, you begin to sink to your knees, allowing your fingers to trail over his thighs as you do so.

Seonghwa’s head is spinning, and with each breath, his chest heaves. He can hardly believe that this is happening right now, his hands desperately gripping at the side of his work table for dear life. The image alone of you on top of him like that, and now, with you resting on your knees between his legs, is making his cock ache for your touch once more. He needs you, and he’s sure to tell you that.

The smirk that pulls at your lips is nothing short of devious, “Patience, My Dove. I told you that I wish to take my time with you right now.”

A small whimper escapes him.

“You’re not the only one who wants my lips wrapped around you cock right now, Seonghwa.” Your eyes flash dangerously as you look up at him through your lashes. “Be patient, and I will reward you, My King.”

Seonghwa’s breath hitches in his throat, whole body stilling as your words settle over him. He can feel his cock throbbing, becoming almost painful the longer he goes with you no longer touching him.

The second you begin to undo his belt, his thighs begin to shake.

Soothingly, you rub your hands over his upper thighs, staring up at him with wide eyes. As you meet his gaze, your hands still, finger sinking into the material of his jeans as his lips part with another moan.

“Look at you,” you hum, a soft chuckle escaping your lips. “I’ve barely even done anything to you yet, and you’re ready to fall apart.”

“I’m surprised I haven’t come yet from your touches alone,” he admits lowly, voice a little rough as he clears his throat.

Your eyebrow quirks, “Oh?”

“My Divine, the feeling of your hands on me is one of the greatest sensations I’ve ever felt in my entire life.” He breathes, thighs tensing as you begin to undo the zipper of his jeans. “You already know how little self-control I seem to have around you.”

Slowly, you begin to slide the material of his jeans down his thighs as you chuckle once more. A moment later, you help him step out of them, tossing both his jeans and his boxers off to the side.

“That, I do know,” you smile knowingly. “And yet, you’re being such a good boy for me.”

His cock visibly twitches from your words, and you smirk.

“Oh?” Your brow quirks, a devious look shining behind your eyes as you look up at him. “You like it when I call you My Good Boy, don’t you.”

His grip tightens on the edges of the table, and you wonder at how the wood hasn’t cracked beneath the pressure yet.

“Yes,” he moans, eyes fluttering shut for the briefest of moments. “Fuck- I love it, My Queen.”

The giggle you let out is music to his ears.

You meet his gaze through your lashes once more, “Good boy.”

Again, his cock visibly twitches from your words. You can see how desperately he restrains himself from reaching out to you right now, his hands tense as he grips the table for dear life.

Teasingly, you trail your hands back up his thighs. Only, when you get close to his hips, you stop, dragging them back down and ensuring your nails scratch lightly over his skin.

He shudders.

The whole time you rest before him, Seonghwa keeps his gaze locked on you. Not once does he allow his eyes to fall shut, and he swears to himself that he’ll do whatever he can to engrain this memory in his mind for as long as possible. He’ll be damned if he misses even one second of you pleasing him, for you appear just as eager as he does in this moment.

He wouldn’t want it any other way.

Trailing your hands back up his thighs, you give them both another appreciative squeeze. Then, finally, you lean into him, bringing your lips to the skin of his inner thigh as your one hand wraps delicately around his cock.

The moment your fingers close around him, he moans. His lips remain parted, breaths coming in uneven pants as he feels you gently nipping at the skin of his inner thigh. The way your hand begins to move over him has his whole body twitching beneath your touch.

The closer your lips get to his aching cock, the harder it becomes for him to control himself. Desperately, Seonghwa clings onto whatever shreds of his sanity that he has left, taking in the beautiful sight that is you, on your knees, pleasing him right now.

Just when he thinks you’ll free him from your teasing licks and kisses on his one thigh, you move to the other, repeating the same actions over his skin almost lovingly.

At one particularly firm bite against his thigh, his stomach clenches. He can feel himself twitch in your hand, a low groan escaping him as he leans further back on the table for support.

You chuckle, looking up at him innocently from between his spread legs.

“My King?”

He hums, almost absentmindedly.

“One more thing,” A devious gleam is shining behind your eyes. One which his blissed out state manages to ignore for the moment.

“Anything, My Queen.” He breathes out, breath hitching in his throat as he sees you lick your lips.

“Hands to yourself until I say so.”

As soon as those words escape you, your lips are around him. Gently, you suckle on the tip, tongue flicking over his slit a few times as you maintain eye contact with him.

A choked moan escapes him, his right hand automatically reaching out to you. Only, he catches himself, fingers twitching in midair right by your head. Slowly, reluctantly, he retracts his hand, gripping onto that table desperately for support.

The chuckle you let out reverberates along his cock, sending pleasant shivers up his spine and causing his stomach to clench. The way your tongue feels, beginning to swirl around his head as you take more of him into your mouth is making his head spin. Never before has Seonghwa been this hard in his life, and the fact that it’s all because of you is only adding to the intensity of the pleasure that he’s currently feeling.

Low, guttural groans escape him as he watches you sink further down on his cock. Languidly, your tongue strokes along his shaft, pleasant hums escaping you as you watch his every reaction carefully. The fact that his whole body trembles, fingers digging into the wood of the table has you chuckling lowly once more.

Slowly, you begin bobbing your head. What you can’t fit into your mouth, you use your one hand to stroke over, squeezing at his base a few times as you hollow your cheeks over him.

Seonghwa nearly collapses right then and there. As much as he tries, he cannot prevent the way his eyes flutter closed, tossing his head back as a moan of your name slips passed his lips.

“Just like that, My Divine,” he smiles, blinking his vision open once more to see the glorious sight that is you, on your knees before him, with his cock in your mouth. A low growl escapes him, eyes flashing black. “Fuck- just like that.”

Desperately, he does whatever he can to keep his hips from bucking further into your mouth. The wet heat of your mouth is overwhelming, nothing but pure pleasure coursing through his veins as he feels you suckling at the tip of his cock once more.

Pulling away from him for just a moment, you let your hand pump over his length a few times. Again, you lick your lips, gaze darting up to meet his own as you move in closer.

Another growl escapes him as he watches you suck one of his balls into your mouth. His whole body shudders as you slowly let it pop back out of your mouth only for you to begin placing wet, open mouthed kisses up along the bottom of his shaft. The way your tongue comes out to trace along the path shortly afterwards has him twitching in your hand.

“Oh, fuck-“ His breath catches in his throat, eyes bleeding black once more. “Again. Please, do that again.”

The way your lips are currently pressed against his cock lets Seonghwa feel every inch of the smile that pulls at your features. To his utmost pleasure, you’re almost instantly repeating your actions, taking even more time to caress your tongue along the underside of his shaft, tracing over a prominent vein.

“My Divine, please-“ he chokes out, every breath escaping him now but a mere whimper on his lips.

You spare a glance upwards and into his eyes as you tighten your hold around the base of his cock.

“I love you, My Seonghwa.”

Your lips are around him as soon as the words finish escaping you, moving over him with a newfound vigour. You barely even begin to lave your tongue over his cock when you feel him twitching within your mouth, the sound of shattering wood greeting your ears.

Whimpers and whines escape him, along with desperate cries of your name as his orgasm washes over him. His body hunches the slightest bit forward, releasing down your throat as you help to ride him through his high.

Every last drop he offers you, you swallow, humming contently around him as you lick him clean.

Your name falls like a mantra from his lips, whole body shaking as he leans against the table for support. Two chunks seem to have been torn from the wood where his hands had been gripping the table so firmly, the shattered remains littering the ground around you.

Slowly, you release him from your mouth, hearing as another guttural groan escapes him as you do so. When you spare a glance up, you notice his chest heaving, his lips parted as he stares down at you with nothing but love and pure, unfiltered awe in his gaze.

Tenderly, your hands come up to stroke over his thighs. “Good?”

“Good?” He smiles, voice deep and rough. A soft chuckle falls from his lips as he runs a hand through his disheveled hair. “I’m great. Never been better, in fact.”

You giggle, standing carefully back to your feet with a little help from him. His one hand comes up to cup the side of your face, kissing you deeply as he flips your positions so that he can push you back against his worktable now.

“Seonghwa,” you giggle against his lips. “What are you doing?”

“Returning the favour,” he growls lowly, pressing you a bit firmer into the wood behind you.

Softly, your fingers begin to thread through the hair at the back of his neck. “Some other time, yeah?”

A whine of protest escapes him, pulling away from you to look into your eyes with round, pleading ones of his own.

“Later. I promise.” You bring your hands around to cup his face tenderly in your palms. “For now, let’s go get something to eat.”

The playful quirk of his brow informs you of what it is, exactly, that he intends to eat.

“Next time.” You say, a little more firmly.

He pouts, but listens nonetheless as he begins to pull his pants back on.

“Come on, Mars.” You smile lovingly at him, grabbing his hand in yours after he’s finished putting on his belt.

You lick your lips, taking the time to admire him for the nth time this day as he stands before you.

“My Divine, if you keep staring at me like that…” He lets his words trail off, but the darkness you see swirling behind his eyes says it all.

“What?” You chuckle, a playful smirk pulling at your lips. “I said I was hungry.”

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exhuastedpigeon · 2 months

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Buddie Hiatus Fic Rec - Month 8 Nov 16 - Dec 15

Previous lists under the cut at the bottom

0-5k

merle said mama tried, but the prison still won by oklahoma / @sunshinediaz Teen | 2.9k Eddie goes to (mall) jail.

do you love me? all you gotta do is say yes by fleetinghearts / @shitouttabuck Teen | 3.1k two boy best friends and an ex lover walk into a grocery store. everyone is on their normalest behaviour.

drawstrings by browney3dgirl6 / @hoodie-buck Mature | 3.7k Eddie helps Buck fix his drawstrings. How was he supposed to know it’d lead to him sitting in Bucks lap?

Here Comes the Jackpot Question In Advance by lamardeuse / @lamardeuse Teen | 4.1k Buck is determined to start the new year right.

5k-10k

I'm still standing in the same place where you left me standing by trysetmeonfire / @try-set-me-on-fire Teen | 8.3k Bobby deals with the ramifications of a misplaced confession

10k-20k

Don't Push Me So Far Away I Can't Reach You by giselleslash. / @gigi-gigi Mature | 12k the one where Buck thinks he and Eddie are just friends with benefits so he pushes Eddie to date other people because he’s an idiot.

give it to someone special by rainbow_nerds / @rainbow-nerdss Mature | 12.3k Buck and Eddie meet at the airport after their respective girlfriends live their Hallmark movie dreams and dump them right before Christmas.

into thirty separate parts by hammersmiths / @henswilsons Teen | 12.6k Taylor’s book comes out.

sang to the sea for feelings deep blue by Tizniz / @tizniz General audiences | 14k The 118 responds to a cruise ship emergency.

20k - 30k

say (don't) go by bccalling / @fiona-fififi Teen | 20.4k Eddie starts dropping hints he wants more kids. Buck assumes he means with Marisol. Buck spirals about it. Eddie does not mean with Marisol.

deck the halls (and your in-laws) by oklahoma / @sunshinediaz Mature | 29.6k Eddie and Buck, recently married and moved into their new house, have the (dis)pleasure of unexpectedly hosting their parents through the holiday season. It’s not what either of them want or need, but they can get through it because they’re in this together. Right?

30k +

Facets of a Diamond by countrygirlsfun / @acountrygirlsfun Teen | 35.1k Southern California is where Buck has spent the most time since leaving Pennsylvania. Of all the places he’s lived and worked over the last few years, this place is where he decided to stay. It’s why he picked LAFD: to put down some roots. It’s warm, has the ocean, and it’s the opposite coast of his parents. So if he’s going to be here for a while, he thinks he’ll need to make an effort to let people in.

Sweet Nothing by LongConvolutedSimiles Teen | 37.8k Buck and Eddie go on dates, fall in love and get together. Yes in that order.

Maybe More Than I Should by Leslie_Knope Mature | 51.5k Eddie caught sight of the man leaning against the side of his desk and immediately wanted to retreat to the relative safety of the hallway, back in time when he lived happily not knowing that Mr. Buckley was apparently some kind of male model masquerading as a third-grade teacher.

it walks with my legs (to fall at your feet) by Underhung_Aura / @eddiebabygirldiaz Explicit | 61.8k a buddie summer sons au where buck and eddie get caught up in something bigger than themselves and awaken a power that haunts them for the rest of their lives; however, the unspoken truths and love between them haunts them more than any ghost ever could.

a blaze in the dark by woodchoc_magnum / @woodchoc-magnum Explicit | 117k Set post-Season 6, where Buck has inadvertently sacrificed his friendship with Eddie in order to focus on his new relationship with Natalia, and is shocked when Eddie comes out to the team and subsequently reveals that he is dating a guy.

All My Shattered Oaths by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels / @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels Explicit | 120k Eddie wants to stay away from his family’s legacy and give his son a normal life. Buck’s desperate to find a way to get over the love he lost. Fate has other plans for both of them.

Month 1 (May 15 - June 15) Month 2 (June 16 - July 15) Month 3 (July 16 - August 15) Month 4 (August 16 - September 15) Month 5 (September 16 - October 15) Month 6 (October 16 - November 15) Month 7 (November 16 - December 15)

#buddie #rec list #buddie rec list #911 #only a couple more lists to go #AND ONLY FOUR MORE SLEEPS UNTIL THE SEASON PREMIER

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equallyshaw · 5 months

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star crossed lovers, pt 2 | connor bedard

↳ oc hughes sister x connor bedard x brendan brisson + blurb + tiny insta post

↳ au masterlist!

takes place in 2026 with a connor sighting!

warnings: swearing

word count: 4.7K

Two households, both alike in dignity...

oh that love story that was too good to be true, so beautiful and soft and wholesome; was never meant to last. romeo and juliet had truly run their course it seemed. though originally, weren't they destined to be together forever, and never see the fate that the original story predicted?

maybe her brothers were right, kailey thought as soon as it happened. he dug the sword deep into her heart, twisted, and then pulled away. it was if they'd never been together. as if they hadn't spent the last three years together.

but was it the end for miss hughes? was it the end of her journey in finding love with a powerful and notable name within the world of hockey?

◦

These violent delights have violent ends

And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, Which as they kiss consume.

kailey pushed jack a bit as soon as entered the kitchen in the townhouse her two brothers shared in jersey. she quickly made her way over to the coffee machine and put a nespresso pod in, smiling once the humming of the machine began. she pulled out her phone and opened connor's message that popped up, and she wished she hadn't. she stared at the screen, allowing it to fade to black. "kails!" jack said hurrying over and putting a towel down, as the expresso spilled over the too small cup. she didn't move. he looked down at her, not understanding why she wasn't moving. he sighed, wiping the counter in front of her, before he heard her whisper. "he broke up with me." jack thought his mind was playing tricks on him, "funny kails." he said turning around to finish making his breakfast. "he br-broke up with me." she said again, louder and more clear. he looked back at her before taking two steps to catch her as she fell backwards, out of shock. he quickly brought her to the ground, holding her closely as she sobbed.

24 hours ago, the two were planning on what they wanted to do for their almost 1 year anniversary.

how could things change in 24 hours?

luke rushed in as soon as he heard sobs, and the look that jack gave him was more than he needed, he knew exactly what happened. the three brothers couldn't have seen this coming from a mile away, they didn't see this happening. ever. they thought that connor was the one, that one that made it past their hard exteriors. the one that had made his way into all of the hughes hearts.

oh how the universe and shakespeare could be so cruel.

◦

thankfully, kailey was finished with school and had graduated a few weeks before the breakup. so she thought long and hard on where she wanted to be, and who she wanted to be. dawning a new hair color and a will to pull herself out of heartbreak, she settled on sunny california. she moved to redondo beach in los angeles county, moving in with her cousin maya - a longtime family friend of the hughes that dated back to her mom's hockey days at college. the three brothers were crushed to see her leaving so early in the summer, and forgoing the lake house in michigan but she knew she needed to go. or else she'd never leave.

it was around 3 months later, late july when kailey reunited with a very old family friend. brendan brisson, out of the blue showed up at her and maya's apartment for a sunday brunch they were throwing. he came with his brother, and at first they did not recognize her because of her new hair color. since she'd been in california, she hadn't had the inkling or draw to post anything on social media. hence, people were relatively concerned as to what she was up to. sure, her family knew through text messages and private snapchats, but other than that- she'd ghosted the world. she also got off Instagram and twitter, not relishing in the fact that connor was off seeing other people. mere carbon copies of the girl, pre brunette. she hated seeing people tag her in things, hated seeing it come up naturally because of how much she used to look up his name; for shits and giggles she used to say.

that sunday morning though, after grabbing a cup of coffee from redondo beach pier, and a walk up and down it- she retweeted something. which let me tell you, alerted the hockey world and hockey twitter. i mean, the sheer power they held when they were together was out of this world. two great hockey names - connected in a magical way, how could they not? people adored seeing them together and that retweet cemented the breakup, which people had been suspecting for some time. she redownloaded Instagram, archiving her pictures with connor, not able to part with them just yet. she then opened up her groupchat with the boys, ripping the canadian boy to shreds. she'd simply put him into an early grave, by her word choice. she woke up with a vengeance this morning, her brothers thought as 6 messages - paragraphs - came in. her brothers agreed with every last word she sent, they were absolutely dumbfounded and out of this world angry when connor broke up with her via text. and without cause. their original thoughts about guys came back in an instant. they would do everything in their power to steer away boys, if luck would have it. nobody would ever be good enough. though she was a california gal now, they couldn't protect her. though - as much as quinn hated to ask for a favor - the boys had asked trevor and alex keep tabs on her on that side of the coast. the two without hesitation agreed, with trevor making a joke at quinns expense.

they were hoping they could sleep a little easier at night.

but as soon as brendan saw her, he quickly pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. "oh my god - blondie! wait no." and kailey giggled, "you're good! i haven't really updated social media so you wouldn't have known." she smiled widely, before hugging jordan. "how do you know maya?" she asked, "new hampshire, remember?" jordan said and kailey grinned. "should have known. those were...uh the good days." she hummed, drinking her iced expresso. "let me show you to the kitchen." she said motioning for them to follow. they walked into the kitchen, the two looking at the buffet of food. "any coffee? i can make it right now." she smiled, and the two smiled. "im good, im gonna go find maya real quickly." he said walking away so now it was just jordan and the girl.

"how's school?" he asked, pulling her out of her trance. "great! i just graduated" she smiled, and he mirrored it. "congratulations, kails! what did you major in again?" he asked and she smiled, "child psychology." she hummed. his smile never faltered, "that would be you. i remember as kids how much you cared for kids on the lake, and they just flocked to you." he said and it was as if they were both brought back to that time when the days never seemed to end, and sunburns were a regular occurrence. "yeah..im very fortunate things worked out the way they did. gave me this wonderful opportunity to start fresh out here." she said sipping some more of her drink. "oh..yeah. totally understandable." he said picking up her drift, "you knew?" she asked and he nodded. "yeah...jack said something in the group chat when it happened. im sorry about everything, that was real shitty of him. you didnt deserve that." he said sweetly. she shrugged chugging down the rest of the coffee, "good thing I've got nobody watching my every move, anymore." she smirked, leaning closely towards brendan before sliding over the his cup of coffee.

◦

“Then I defy you, stars!”

jordan ended up leaving at some point in the afternoon, while brendan and kailey spent the day together catching up. the two had always been easy to get on with and used to be thick as thieves during the lake days. she'd never told any of her brothers - because god forbid if she did so - but she had had a crush on him for a few summers. it absolutely crushed her, when he got his first girlfriend in 8th grade and then they never came back to the lake house, so her crush disappeared. she'd never known this nor her brothers, but brendan too had had a crush on the girl.

the two sat on the white plush couch in the living room, as the sun was setting. maya had left some time ago to hang out with a friend and do some errands while kailey opted to stay in for the day. kailey and brendan were in the process of laughing, as kailey got a text message. she pulled up her phone from where it was laying on her thigh, and her demeanor visibly changed. it was a text from connor, asking why she retweeted the tweet this morning. brendan saw her eyebrows crease in confusion, before she shook her head and locked her phone. "let me guess..connor?" he questioned and she nodded. "the fucking nerve.." she sighed, pinching her nose. she stood up grabbing the two empty glasses from the coffee table, and made her way over to the kitchen. brendan followed, "the nerve he has! we've been broken up for three months already and he's upset i tweeted something about being respected by a significant other? whats so wrong about that? he's just upset because im calling him out for it, publicly at that." she said setting the cups in the sink. "don't i deserve respect?" she asked turning around to face the boy. he nodded, walking over to her and leaned against the counter. "you deserve that and so much more. he's got a stick up his ass, that's for sure." he began, "don't ever lower your standards because of him. he's an idiot. he's the one who did that, the one who double crossed you for no reason." he finished as kailey met his eye. "wish i heard that sooner." she hummed, crossing her arms over her chest. she looked down at the ground, "well...im saying it now. and i mean it." he said softly taking a step closer and lifted up her chin just a bit with his hand. she looked into his brown eyes. one's she adored as a kid, and now looking into his- something sparked within. a spark she hadn't felt for some time, long before connor. he took this as an invitation to close the gap between them.

oh, how the universe laughs. or hockey gods.

◦

it was now two weeks later, and brendan had kailey in his arms this early morning. the two had stayed up talking about anything and everything that came to their minds. they talked about their childhood, laughing over the fact that they both had crushes on one another but never suspected it. they smiled as the other one brought up conversations and significant memories, both happy that the other hadn't forgotten. this morning, she was savoring the warmth and comfort his body oozed, because he'd be starting back up early morning training again. he'd taken two weeks off due to a stress sprain, and now that it was fixed he would be resuming his schedule. "wanna see my parents today?" he softly asked, as he felt her beginning to hum from tiredness. she nodded her head, against his chest and he smiled. "they've been asking about you since i told them i was going to brunch." he hummed, and she slowly pulled her head up from his chest to look at him, "still the favorite hughes, eh?" she grinned before he leaned down to kiss her. his hand found the base of her neck, and the other found the base of her back. she wrapped her hands around his neck, getting as close as possible. they broke the kiss, resting their foreheads against one another.

kailey had a wave of deja vu, pass over her. making her nauseous.

she pulled away from brendan, pulling her phone to her chest, and saw a missed facetime from each of her brothers, and she sighed pressing quinns contact. she sat up, and inched away from brendan so he wouldn't be in the shot. "hey q, whats up?" she questioned, pulling him from whatever jack was saying. "hey uh, i take it you didn't see yet.." he said and that's when he heard jack yelling on the other end. "what do you mean q? why is jack yelling?" she said rubbing her eye, and quinn sighed sending her a screenshot of the instagram post. she clicked on his text and swallowed, anger seething from her. how could she betray her? her friend lisa from college in chicago was in connor's instagram post, somewhere in toronto. she quickly opened up instagram to lisa's page and she was even more angrier. she had been soft launching for almost 3 months already...that traitor. lisa was the one all along, the one that had been seen in pictures but kailey had never paid too much attention to the fact it was the same girl! she hung up on quinn, quickly locked her phone and turning on dnd. "whats wrong?" brendan asked, setting his phone down and pulling her into his chest as he sat up. "he-he's been seeing my friend from school." she said but she didn't cry. she was just angry, and disappointed. how naive she'd been. "im sorry kails." brendan said softly. he felt terrible for kailey, somebody he cared deeply about. and he knew she cared about him just as deeply. but maybe not in the way that he believed.

"lets just uh, lets get going. we should head over so were not late." she said pulling away and getting up to shower. she quickly took a body shower, hopping out to brush her teeth and moisturize before heading into her closet to find an outfit. brendan came up and wrapped his arms around her, as she inspected her outfit. they looked at one another in the mirror, as she finished inspecting, and she smiled once they found each other's gaze. "you ok?" he whispered, and she nodded giving him a small smile. "yes. thankyou for uh, being here with me these past two weeks. it means more than you'll ever know." she hummed, turning around in his arms. he grinned, leaning down and kissing her. deeply. she melted into his arms just a bit before pulling away. "lets get going b." she said pulling him out of her small walk in closet.

"kailey!" kim cheered, as the two walked through the doors of the brisson's manhattan beach mansion. "kim!" she smiled, disconnecting the twos hand as kim pulled her into a hug. kim swayed her just a bit, "oh my goodness! we've missed you so much sweetie, congratulations on graduating! i saw the pictures, they were just perfect." she said pulling back a bit and kailey smiled. "thankyou! had the best photographer." she hummed and kim smiled. "your mom has always been a fucking gem when it comes to pictures. they were just to die for and chicago being the backdrop? timeless." she fawned and kailey giggled. "thankyou!" she smiled, seeing mr brisson walk from the kitchen. "kiwi!" he yelled with a huge grin on his face, and kim let go of the girl. "pat! so good to see you." she smiled as he pulled her in for a hug. "you too! congrats on graduating, heard you finished with honors." he said pulling away, and kailey nodded. "yep! perfect 4.0. to which jack sent 4 dollars exactly, as his gift." she joked, causing the family to laugh. pat shook his head as he could just picture jack doing it, and so could kim. "your hair! oh my god! i love it, it looks so good." kim smiled, looking over the girl. kailey smiled, "thankyou! thought a little change could be good." she hummed and the brissons nodded. "well, breakfast just finished lets go eat!" pat offered and the three nodded. "good, im starvin!" kailey said rubbing her hands together, "good, we made your favorite!" kim said wrapping an arm around the girls shoulders, making her feel right at home. again.

Kailey and brendan ended up staying the full day at the brissons, catching up and reminiscing over the lake days. it was around 7 when jordan and brisson begged kailey to go get froyo and walk the pier at santa monica. "go! have fun, we'll get together soon." kim smiled, and kailey nodded hugging the two goodbye and then they were off. kailey got in the passenger side, and jordan got in the back. kailey quickly leaned into brendans shoulder, and there hands found each others as well. she looked back at jordan, and he quickly snapped a picture. she rolled her eyes with a small grin on her face. the three sat through traffic, singing loudly to whatever music she put on shuffle. a little bit of everything, which the boys loved. they finally made their way to santa monica and parked right in front of the frozen yogurt place. after that, they walked down to the pier and she stopped at one of the shops that was selling books and other knickknacks, getting a book to read at some point. they walked down the pier for the next hour, with brendan taking a sunset pic of the girl with her book who had the biggest smile of her face, at whatever dumb joke jordan had just said. on their way back to her apartment in redondo beach, she posted that sunset picture on her instagram story.

it broke hockey twitter.

"im gonna walk her in and then ill be out." brendan said to jordan who nodded, and the two got out. he walked her up to the townhouse, two blocks over from the pier. "thanks for today brendan, i had a lot of fun." she smiled, turning towards him at the door. "me too, thanks for being a trooper. i thought my parents would never stop talking." he joked, and she grinned. "no i loved it, it felt like home. like old times. it was comforting. with my parents being far, it's nice knowing that they are out here." she hummed and he nodded. "im glad." he smiled. she could tell he wanted to say more to her, but was fighting himself on how to begin. "just say whatever it is you want to say." she said grinning, pulling her free hand in his. he blushed, looking at the ground. "these past two weeks have been...everything i'd wanted since we were little younglings. and i don't want to go back to vegas in a few weeks, not knowing what we are or if we might have missed an opportunity....to see where things might go." he said looking up at her with hopeful eyes. she bit her lip, thinking hard. she liked brendan, and always had secretly; but was she ready to date again? she didn't want to become the laughingstock of the NHL family sphere. going from one player to the next, but shouldn't she at least attempt to move on? even if it was with another player?

brendan saw the hesitation in her features, and accepted defeat. he was about to say something but kailey spoke up. "i want nothing more than to say yes but what will my brothers say? what will the hockey world say? going from one guy to the next? i don't want to become the laughingstock, besides- my brothers don't deserve that. they don't deserve to take any heat from or about me. besides..i don't want to ruin our years-long friendship b." she said hoping he understood, and he did. "give me a few days, let me go take some time in chicago and ill let you know. ok?" she said with a pleading look. he nodded softly, "thankyou." she said pulling him in for a hug. her arms found his neck, his arms found her back; drawing her in as close as possible. incase, he'd never have her in his arms again.

◦

she arrived in chicago two days later, her best friend becca from college and lukas reichels' fiance, as well as alex vlasics wife tessa were waiting for her at the pickup area. she strolled her suitcase and carry on towards the arrivals area, and smiled widely when she saw the two holding a small bouquet of peonies and a dunkin coffee. they jumped up and down, as they saw her. she began to jog over towards them before they wrapped their arms around one another. "oh my god!!" kailey shrieked when they held out her iced americano and flowers towards her, while tessa took her bag and suitcase. "guyssss im gonna cry." she said with tears in her eyes. "we couldn't come empty handed." tessa cooed, as she wrapped an arm around the girl, with kailey taking the gifts from becca. the three girls walked out to the car that was waiting at the curb, that sat alex and lukas. "oh my god!" she said smiling widely when she saw the two leaning against the audi. "kails!" lukas said smiling and quickly hugging her, and then alex joined creating a group hug. tessa snapped a quick picture as kailey just laughed. "thankyou guys for coming to get me, i appreciate it very much." she smiled widely, as lukas opened the door for her and tessa. "you are very welcome hughesy." alex grinned as he opened the other door for becca. "where to first?" she quipped.

the three girls headed towards becca's and lukas' guest bedroom in their chicago townhouse, ready to bombard the girls with questions over her california life. kailey had been awfully quiet the past month and they were curious what had been going on. "girl! what have you been up to?? we wanna know everything!" tessa squeled as she shut the door behind them. kailey blushed while throwing a small smile towards her best friends. "did you meet a guy??" becca smirked, and kailey shrugged. "did he take the one sunset pic?" tessa joined in, sitting across from kailey on the bed. kailey grinned, "I've known him for sometime now....I've known him since we were kids." she began and the girls looked at one another. "who is it?" becca asked. "brendan brisson." she stated, and the two girls thought about who that could be. "wait! was he at usntp?" tessa questioned, and kailey nodded. "oh my god i remember him! isnt his dad like THE agent in hockey? doesn't he work with your dad?" tessa rambled and kailey giggled. "yes...we arent like officially together but somethings there. i just don't know if i want to pursue it. like, i don't want people to create narratives that were never true to begin with." she said putting her face in her hands, feeling defeated. "to hell with what everybody says. if you're happy and you see something with him, go for it." becca said and kailey shrugged. "but my brothers....what are they gonna think? they're gonna kill me." she said tessa forehead creased, "do they not know that you two have been spending time together?" tessa questioned and kailey shook her head. tessa and becca looked at one another, sharing silent words.

she spent the next week in chicago, reminiscing and growing fond of the memories she'd made the past four years. they caught up, spent quality time together and thankful that nothing from her past had shown up or crossed paths with the three girls. kailey did not need that, at all. she face timed nightly with brendan, him curious at to what shenanigans that three were getting up to. she'd been to 2 concerts, numerous museum trips, countless trips up and down the lakefront, and shopping galore. kailey woke up around 8 am, getting herself put together before heading down stairs. she jogged down the steps, and headed to the kitchen. it was too late, before she realized who was in the kitchen. lukas and connor were laughing at something, that happened at a gym session that morning.

connor caught the footsteps on the stairs first, and then the brunette hair second. he did a double-take, before realizing it was kailey. kailey was on the phone with brendan, before she spotted connor and froze. "ill uh, ill call you back." she said hanging up before brendan could respond. "morning kails." lukas said sipping some coffee, curious to see what was going to happen. "morning lukas." she hummed, heading to the fridge to grab a bottle of water, and her breakfast from the day before. she quietly worked as the two hockey players looked at each other, "ill be right back. im gonna take penny outside." lukas said calling for the small dog, and now it was just the two.

"how have you been?" connor asked as she put the food in the microwave. kailey took a few seconds to respond before turning around. oh, how good he looked. curse the hockey gods. his hair was still wet from the shower, his blue eyes meeting hers and what felt like a sense of deja vu washed over the girl. "I've been good. you?" she questioned, heading over to the expresso machine and began to mess around with the machine. she banged the expresso on the counter, before sliding it into the spot to pour over. "yeah real good. just got back to the city a week ago." he responded, and she nodded. "that's real nice." she hummed, as the microwave beeped. "hows california?" he asked and she sighed, pulling the container out. "its been nice. beautiful as always." she hummed, pulling a few pieces of hair behind her ear. she looked back up at him, "been doing everything i haven't been able to do for a few years." she said, a dig at the boy. he nodded feeling dread wash over him, as her phone began to ring again. she looked over at where it was on the counter, and she let it go to voice mail. she'd text brendan at some point. "hows lisa?" she quipped, biting into her burrito. connor swallowed tensely, "shes good. just started at lurie children's hospital." he said and hailey nodded. "that's nice." she hummed, walking over to the finished expresso and brought it back over to her food.

connor and kailey's tension could be cut through with a knife. even then, it might not even work. "when did you change your hair?" he asked, a few minutes later. "right after you texted me, I thought id try on a different personality." she said sarcastically, "apparently the last one wasn't good enough." she hummed, picking up her container, coffee and phone. connor sighed, "kails-" she cut him off, by turning back to him with a glare. "don't you ever call me that again, so help me god connor." she spat. he was defeated, he knew that much. she turned back and headed back upstairs.

oh how she loathed that boy, who threw away almost 2 years of pure bliss. pure romance. something out of this world. kailey did find out what changed, in those 24 hours and swore she'd place a dagger in their hearts at some point. his last words mere hours before, echoed his love, pure and committed adoration for the blonde. but like life, it can change in a mere moment.

“Do not swear by the moon, for she changes constantly. then your love would also change.”

◦

kailey sat down on the airplane, about to depart chicago and bring her to sunny los angeles. oh how she'd missed her home, and somebody that was waiting ever so patiently for her to return. she smiled, posting her photo dump from the summer. her first post since march. she deleted her instagram after responding to a few comments, allowing for the chaos to consume the hockey fandom. she turned her phone on airplane, drowning herself with music for the next 4 hours, not daring to look at the messages waiting for her when she landed.

“Don't waste your love on somebody, who doesn't value it.”

◦

oh, what the universe and all of its stars had instore for the young hughes and the bright superstar.

@kaileyclara: little bit of this, little bit of that.

tags: tessavlasic, beccamuprhy, jordanbrisson and laurenorlando

@trevorzegras: wait a min @jackhughes: wait a damn minute @kaileyclara: can yall leave @trevorzegras: no im too busy inspecting every single detail of this post

@_quinnhughes: hughes sighting! @kaileyclara: hehe

@lhughes_6: who gave u flowers @kaileyclara: idk @jackhughes: to the gc! @_quinnhughes: already there @kaileyclara: i hate yall

@tessavlasic: I loved having you here bestie, i need to come out soon! @kaileyclara: i second this!

@beccamurphy: loml returned ! @kaileyclara: i thought that was lukas? @beccamurphy: he's my second love @lukasreichel: alright.

@brendanbrisson: im here for the hair @jordanbrisson: so am i @jackhughes: im not @kaileyclara: fuck off

@mayaaa: maybe u r a slut @kaileyclara: and that would be a fucking lie ! @mayaaa: 😚😚

@adamfantilli: orlando sighting? @kaileyclara: yes! toronto days hit hard @laurenorlando: still salty you guys moved @kaileyclara: me too @johnnyorlando: absolutely rude

hope you all enjoyed it, please like and reblog if you did-- id appreciate it very very much🥺 oh, and ofc i will have one more part to finish up this little series (:

mutuals from previous part : @privatemythss @boldysswld @trevorzegrizz @jayda12 @simp4hughes @skatesnstuff @slafgoalskybaby @cuttergauthier

#connor bedard #connor bedrd imagine #connor bedard blurb #nhl #hockey #nhl blurb #nhl imagine #hockey blurb #hockey imagine #chicago blackhawks #brendan brisson #umich hockey #umich wolverines #jack hughes #quinn hughes #luke hughes

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literatecowboy · 4 months

Text

Dr. Feelgood

8. Extraction

Summary: You've been in trouble at work several times before for "lack of professionalism" but now you've gone too far. You've been reassigned to Task Force 141 as a temporary doctor to replace the ones they've made quit out of frustration. You must either prove yourself and earn your former position back at a prestigious military hospital in California or face dishonorable discharge. Author's Notes: This is my first fanfiction - please be gentle. Additionally, the reader's callsign is "Feelgood." I have done my best to write the reader as ambiguous regarding appearance, but she/her pronouns and AFAB anatomy will be utilized. I hope for this to be a slow-burn romance with Simon "Ghost" Riley. Warnings: Gunshot wounds, medical terminology and procedures, finger up the butt, new/unsure writer

Masterlist For This Fic

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Ghost watched as you fiddled nervously with your tac gear, your heavy pack dangling from his grip as if it weighed nothing at all.

“How do I look?” you asked nervously, taking the pistol Ghost had entrusted you with from its holster and examining it for the sixth time that hour.

“Damn fine if you ask me.” Ghost grunted, patting the top of your helmet twice. He took the goggles from the top of the helmet and pulled them over your eyes, gently resting them in place.

“There’s no need to be nervous,” he murmured, watching as you shoved Ghost’s pistol back into its holster and adjusted the goggles to your liking.

“I haven’t been on a mission like this in years. Not since I was a marine,” you admitted, sighing and looking toward the helicopter that would carry you to the rest of the 141.

“It’ll be easy, love. It's just an extraction and nobody’s hurt. In and out,” Ghost said.

Down the flight line, the helicopter pilot called out and the rest of his crew started approaching the bird. When you turned to follow, Ghost swatted your backside gently.

“Go get ‘em, love.”

—

The flight seemed to drag by. You’d watched through one of the tiny windows as the figure of Ghost got smaller and smaller on the ground until clouds obscured your view before sitting back with a sigh, your pack weighing heavily on your lap.

And then, ten minutes away from the evac zone, comms burst to life. Distorted gunfire crackled through the radio and into your headset, making you jump and reach for your pistol on reflex.

“Position compromised, taking heavy fire! Evac, where the hell are you?” Gaz’s voice was muffled by the sound of an explosion and the pilot grabbed his radio.

“Copy, not far out now. Bunker down, we’ll return fire from the skies.”

One of the helicopter’s doors was thrown open roughly and the mounted machine gun awoken, the gunner taking hold of its controls and aiming the thing down into the forest. After a moment a burst of automatic rifle fire ripped into the bird. The machine gunner returned fire instantly, silencing the men behind the automatic rifles.

You caught sight of Price dragging Soap’s body through the tall grass, occasionally pausing to fire his weapon in the direction of the combatants. Not wanting to waste a second, when the helicopter was low enough, you leaped from inside and unholstered your pistol, keeping low as you raced for Price’s position.

He’d hunkered down behind a rocky hill and was doing his best to tend to Soap. As you ran up to him he raised his rifle at you, but upon recognizing you, lowered it quickly.

“Is the sergeant dead?” you asked, dropping to your knees and pressing two gloved fingers to Soap’s throat.

“No.” you and Price said in unison as you dumped your pack from your back and tore into it for fresh bandages to stem the bleeding wound in Soap’s head.

“Cover me.” you barked as bullets soared over your position. Soap’s eyes fluttered as you filled a syringe with a dose of painkiller and injected him with it.

“Hey, bonnie,” he said weakly, doing his best to smile at you. You were quick to discard the syringe and press gauze to the wound on his forehead, blood soaking the cloth almost instantly.

“Stay with me, Soap,” you ordered as you quickly but carefully wrapped bandages around his head, doing your best to ensure they’d put pressure on the wound.

The gunfire around you slowed to a stop and almost immediately the helicopter landed. As Gaz came running up to you, Price shouldered his rifle.

“We need to leave. Now.” he barked, nodding his head at Soap. In an instant, he and Gaz were hauling him up and heading for the helicopter.

“Be careful with him!” you begged as you ran beside them, tossing your bag into the helicopter and watching as they gently set Soap down on a stretcher.

As the helicopter took off again you looked him over.

“Where else are you hurt, Johnny?” you demanded, feeling his arms and legs and unbuckling his tac vest to check for signs of wounds.

“I’m fine bonnie, please don’t put yer finger in me bum,” he babbled, his eyes wide and unfocused. One of his pupils was dilated to an extreme.

“He got blown back by that explosive. Just bashed his head in the wall.” Gaz said as he leaned over Soap.

“He’s concussed but he’ll be fine. Are you hurt?” you asked, turning to Gaz. He shook his head.

“Me and the captain made it out without scratches on us. Didn’t come into a fight until the very end,” he said, shaking his head. You glanced up at Price who nodded before sitting down heavily in one of the helicopter’s seats.

“You went on a date with the LT while we were gone.” Soap slurred and you turned back to face him, feeling your body grow hot.

“What makes you say that?” you asked, checking the tightness of the bandages around his head. Soap merely pointed at the weapon in your holster - the pistol decorated with engravings of skulls and bones.

Gaz burst out laughing.

—

“You’ve got to stay awake, Johnny.” you scolded, snapping your fingers in front of his face as his eyes fluttered shut for what felt like the millionth time that night. You’d all made it back to base safely, and aside from Soap’s concussion and other injuries, everyone was doing quite well.

“M’ fine. Just tired.” he grumbled, rubbing his eyes and wincing.

“I need to keep monitoring you tonight, it’s important. I promise that you’ll be able to get some rest tomorrow,” you said, folding your arms over your chest.

“Listen to the doc, Johnny.” Ghost’s voice rang out from behind you, making you both jump.

“Steamin’ Jesus, LT, didn’t hear you come in,” Soap mumbled, sitting up in his hospital bed and reaching for the glass of water at his side.

“You scared me,” you murmured, standing up and turning to face Ghost.

“Can I talk to you?” he asked, opening the door to your office and gesturing for you to go inside. Your brow furrowed.

“Sure…stay awake, Johnny. I’ll only be a moment,” you said, slipping into the office. Ghost followed and shut the door behind you.

“What’s up, is everything okay?” you asked. Ghost nodded.

“Of course. I attended the debrief for the mission and Price pulled me aside afterward. He told me what you did.” he said, folding his arms over his chest.

“I did my job, Simon. What of it?” you asked, stiffening.

“You weren’t supposed to go into the firefight like that. You should have waited until the hostiles were eliminated before moving in,” he said. You rolled your eyes.

“And leave him dying on the ground? I’ve been in firefights before. I was a marine. I know how to handle myself,” you scoffed, shaking your head.

“You could’ve gotten hurt,” Ghost growled, grabbing your hands and squeezing them.

“Well, I didn’t, and everyone ended up okay. You don’t expect me to just stand idly by when my friends are in danger, do you? You’d do the same thing and you know it, so why lecture me?” you growled, pulling away from Ghost.

“Because I’m falling in love with you.”

You froze, looking up at him with wide eyes. He shook his head and moved to open the office door to leave.

“Simon, wait,” you said, grabbing his arm and pulling him back toward you. You embraced him, unable to stop the tears falling from your eyes. He wrapped his arms around you and squeezed you tight, burying his face in your hair.

“I’m sorry,” you sniffled, gazing up at him. Simon shook his head.

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten angry at you. You were right - I’d have done the same.” he said.

You stood like that for a minute, embracing each other, listening to your heartbeats in the quiet room.

“Price pulled me aside. Said he was aware of our situation,” Ghost said after a minute. You pulled away slowly.

“And?” you asked, eyes filled with worry.

“He approves.”

—

You left the office with Ghost behind you a little while later. Soap was laid back down in the hospital bed, eyes closed, chest rising and falling slowly.

“Oh God,” you groaned, rolling your eyes and shaking your head.

“I’ll handle him. You go get cleaned up, you had a busy day.” Ghost said, squeezing your hand before letting go and heading to Soap’s hospital bed.

You left the room as Ghost leaned over Soap’s bed to whisper in his ear.

“I did more than take the doc on a date.”

Soap bolted upright in bed.

-----

Taglist: @iamaliceinwonderland, @itsmeamysworld, @ghostlythots, @oranoyaora, @keiva1000

#simon riley x reader #simon riley x you #simon ghost riley #cod mw2 #mw2 #ghost #ghost mw2 #ghost x reader #ghost x you #cod mwii #cod x reader #call of duty #cod modern warfare #simon ghost x reader

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dwntwn-strnlo · 8 months

Text

GIVING UP matt sturniolo

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 𝓈𝒾𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓁𝓎, dwntwn-strnlo.

↳ 𝐀/𝐍. part 2 of enchanted! go read part 1 first :)

ALSO the triplets are just drinking water or whatever bc i dont wanna cross boundaries!

↳ 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆. matthew sturniolo x reader

↳ 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘. was it ever really over?

↳ 𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃? kinda (a part 2 was requested by multiple ppl)

↳ 𝐂𝐖! use of y/n, slight angst, alcohol involved party, happy ending, not proofread

"please don't be in love with somebody else . . .

. . . please don't have somebody waiting on you"

enchanted - taylor swift . . . speak now, tv. 2023

your eyes landed on the tall blonde first. he was facing the opposite direction, but you knew immediately who it was. his name quickly bubbled up in your throat, but you shoved it back down as hard as you could. that was your old life, and you're still trying to get over it.

but that small sighting immediately raised red flags in your head. you knew you had to get out of that party as soon as possible. and its not like its the start of the party anyways, its close to 2am. but now that you knew one of them was here, its safe to assume all three of them are here.

"hey, i'm gonna head out," you weakly smile to your friend, a slight edge to your voice. "sorry."

clearly intoxicated, they don't say anything, they just smile and nod.

you turn around quickly, only making it a few feet before your stuck in the crowd again. internally groaning to yourself, you start shoving past people, murmuring quick "sorry"'s, and "excuse me"'s.

standing up on the tips of your toes, you look over peoples heads. trying to see how close you are to the exit.

but the only thing you find is a pair of sweetly loved blue eyes, staring back into yours.

this time you can't keep the name out of your mouth, "matt. . .?" you whisper, his name slipping right past your tongue.

. . . three and a half years ago

"matt. . ." your sentence trailed off, you didn't mean to leave the words like that, but yet you did anyway.

matt sits beside you on the couch, his hands intertwined with yours. "we can make it work, y/n. i can fly out to-"

you shake your head, cutting him off. "matt. . ."

his smile was fading, his once contempt eyes dark. he's been pushing you to go, but begging you to take you with him. never wanting to let go of you and the possible future you could have together.

"c'mon, it can't be that hard!" a sad, pathetic, weak laugh breached his lungs. his eyes clearly holding back tears as he tries to reason with you. "i'm already flying from california to massachusetts, what's one more trip? one more flight? huh? i promise we can figure it out."

. . . present day

it seemed like he had just seen a ghost, and it was latched onto your body from the way he stared at you. his eyes were wide and panicked, and he looked around quickly before landing back on you.

you honestly can't tell if he's scoping out immediate exits, or looking to see if anyone can see what he's about to do. because you definitely don't expect to see him shove past several people to get to where currently stands. right in front of you, close enough to hear your heart pounding.

"y/n," he mumbles. his eyes still wide, clearly surprised with himself in the fact that he just made his way over to you after not speaking to you in years.

"hey," you whisper, suddenly feeling small.

and he's quick to sense your unease. curtesy of being the only person in your life for two years. "you look good," he smiles, still wary of the fact that he's standing right in front of you. basking in your presence once more.

"thank you," i murmur. still in shock that im finally seeing him again.

"how's uh- how's school?" he asks, trying to talk to you, expanding the moment. "you're graduating in a few months, right?"

you laugh. "its awful," you say, running a hand through your hair.

his expression softens, a look of sadness in his eyes. you can't tell if he genuinely feels bad, or if its a look of pity. "oh." he sighs. "i'm sorry to hear that, y/n."

the fact that he called you by his name hit hard. one of the only times he's called you by your name was when you broke up, and it still hurts. nobody can say your name the way he did. and it just tore you up from the inside out.

you stared longingly into his eyes, not sure what to say. you want to say something, but you don't know what.

. . .

"if you want to give up, that's fine. i can make it work if you don't want to anymore. i just can't let go of you so easily." he mumbles, ignoring the fact that he's let several tears fall. "it doesn't have to be we can make this work, it can be i, can make this work."

. . .

"have you given up yet?" he whispered, a small, hopeful smile tugging at the corners of his lips. his voice is barely audible under the booming trap music above you, but you can pick out what he asked.

you lightly smile, "no."

TAGLIST

@thetriplets3 @stxrniqlo @ifilwtmfc @iha8you @oneirophobic @20nugs @gracietaylorsversions @fenoy7 @mlimmm @prettysturniolo @ssturniolo @gabbylovesreading @oh-toseewithoutmy-eyes

#matt sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #sturniolo #matt sturniolo x reader #matt sturniolo x you #matt sturniolo fluff #matt sturniolo imagine #matthew sturniolo angst #matthew sturniolo x reader #matthew sturniolo #matthew sturniolo x you #sturniolo fanfic

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lovebillyhargrove · 1 year

Text

Billy's camaro Part 1/ Part 2/ Part 3/ Part 4

Steve Harrington wakes up feeling the weight of the whole world on his shoulders. He doesn't want to get out of bed, again. He doesn't want to start breakfast, dress, go to work. Again.. let him just lie here, listening to silence and thinking of all the things that could have been different.

Ah yes, the could've should've would've, Steve's knows it aaall by heart now.

It's been gnawing at his insides for months.

***

See, they didn't even do anything. They'd just been pushing each other around, shoving one another, making snarky remarks or straight up ignoring each other. Looking. That's all they've been doing.

Steve should've talked to him. He could've just fucking talked. And maybe, just maybe everything would've turned out not the way it had.

Cause now, when Billy was dead and gone, Steve can't find peace. What if he had tried having a conversation with him, what if he had offered Hargrove a cigarette, what if he had made an attempt to just get to know the boy who ended up dying to save all of them. How did he even find it in him .. to stand up to that thing. To face it, fearless and strong.

Steve thinks about Hargrove every day now. The boy he knew nothing about.

The boy he wants to know everything about.

Steve doesn't tell anyone, but there had been something else. Ever since he saw the new guy from California in the school parking lot, Steve had been having .. feelings.

Strange ones, thrilling ones. Scary. He'd seen Billy in his filthiest dreams multiple times and woken up with a boner, still choosing not to connect the goddamn dots. Blamed it on the months of dry spell instead. Blamed it on not getting any.

And it wasn't like Steve had lost a person who he'd been very close with. He and Billy weren't close. Were very distant, always just orbiting near each other. Colliding only once.

Was it just Steve, or Billy had also seen him in his dreams?

Steve will never know now. Fuuck.

Steve's a fool.

They weren't close but the Starcourt bursting fireworks grand finale with Billy's crescendo had crushed Steve in the ways he didn't even expect. Steve lost his peace of mind ever since.

He also .. okay, he felt kinda guilty for the car. Billy's Camaro. Steve knew that he had crashed into it to protect the Party. There was no choice. Still, somehow it felt as if he had committed a crime.

The guilt was looming over him and Steve sincerely felt like shit for what he had done.

***

So it's just another day. Steve wakes up and doesn't want to move. He has to go to work. Doesn't want to. Has to call mom about some family stuff. Is not gonna.

Instead, Steve decides to do something about this unending ache. It's not like he has the powers to bring Hargrove back from the dead but there's something that's been on his mind. Some unfinished business. Something that was his own fault and he wants to atone for.

Steve doesn't go to Family Video. Doesn't even call in sick or anything. He'll deal with it later.

Instead, he goes to the old junkyard.

The mangled corpse of Billy's camaro had been towed away to the outskirts of Hawkins and left among other ghosts to slowly rust away. Keeping memories about its owner that only it knew.

Steve drives to the old scrapyard. It's morning time, and the sun is bright and cheerful. Steve's even excited. It's like.. he's going to see an old friend. Weird.

Steve finds it easy. It's there, the crippled beauty. The dent that was Steve's doing, is huge. The paint has almost flaked off. The car looks lonely and fragile.

It's a heartbreaking sight. Steve is literally this close to tears.

But hey, he's come here with a purpose. Billy is dead. Not forgotten, but gone. Maybe Steve can at least do something about the car.

He opens the driver's door. There's something symbolic about it, Billy had done it thousands of times.

Gets in the driver's seat, shuts the door. Fuuck. It's too much.

Steve is a fucking idiot. He should've talked to Billy when he still had the chance. Because sometimes life doesn't give you the second one.

The camaro is indeed in a deplorable state, and the inside? The inside looks bad, but probably .. not too bad. Steve doesn't know much about cars, but he definitely feels there is hope.

Steve opens the glove box. There are some tapes there and an open packet of Marlboro Red. A few condoms. A couple of Polaroids of the ocean. A Hawkins map.

He places his hands on the steering wheel. Steve had always secretly liked Billy's car. His own beamer was great, but .. he couldn't really call it his car, you know? It was a gift from his parents, that they had chosen. Billy's car .. it had personality. It had fire. Just like Hargrove himself.

Speaking of fire, why is the sun getting so hot? Steve felt as if the wheel started to get warmer. Hotter. Ouch, fuck! Did it just get so hot it burnt his fingers??

Is the seat suddenly hot? What the hell is happening? Maybe something is wrong with .. with the ignition, Steve is really not an expert.

He puts his hand on the door handle and it fucking burns too. It also .. it doesn't open. What the .. He tries again. It's burning hot but he pulls it again and again, but the door

just.won't.open.

It's getting even hotter, excruciatingly hot. What is going on here .. Steve has to get out. He's having trouble breathing. He has to get out, fast!! He leans to the passenger's side, wants to open the door there but suddenly.. the fuck!!?? The safety belt comes fucking alive, crawls like a snake around Steve's chest and waist and slides into the buckle. By itself.

Click.

What kind of fucked up shit is that?? Oh god. This is crazy. Oh god oh god oh god what the fuck

The belt holds Steve in the seat, tight. He can't reach the passenger's door, he can't move and it's getting even hotter. What the hell is happening, please, what is it??? Steve's trying to unbuckle the belt, but the lock is stuck, everything is fucking stuck, and the belt is getting tighter and tighter and oh christ .. he can feel the smell of gasoline.

Steve understands very clearly --

He's fucked.

#and I'm making it Harringrove because that's my one love #Billy's Camaro #Christine vibes #harringrove

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unfinishedslurs · 7 months

Text

Nancy's GBF (ghost best friend)

IT'S OCTOBER QUICK POST GHOST BARB FIC

She dreams about Barb every night.

She’s dreamed about her before, of course, but ever since Vecna died it’s different. She doesn’t scream. Doesn’t cry. There’s no blame placed on Nancy’s shoulders, no shrieking accusations about how it should have been her instead.

She’s a silent figure. Unmoving, unfeeling. No matter how far Nancy reaches, or how fast she runs, she can never get close.

Eventually, she comes into focus, and it’s awful because she seems younger than she ever did in real life. Her best friend died a child, closer to her little brother’s age than Nancy’s own now. The red shade of her hair, the exact outfit she had on, it’s all things she forgets in the waking world. But for these few minutes she can have Barb back. Even if she can never hug her best friend again, or exchange secrets, or laugh together, she still has this.

When she wakes up, it’s with tears on her face.

“Nancy?” Jonathan asks groggily, still half asleep. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Later, when he tells her he was accepted to Lenora Hills, she’ll wonder if she could have saved their relationship if she hadn’t started lying too.

Two months after the dreams start, Barb speaks.

“Nancy? Nancy, it’s so cold. I don’t like it here, Nancy, please–”

In that moment, Nancy can finally reach out and take her hand.

She wakes up shivering and automatically checks her surroundings. Mike bursts through her door when she shrieks, her mom not far behind him.

They both try to ask her what’s wrong, but she can’t answer, too busy staring at the dead girl in the corner.

“Nancy?” Barb asks, pool water dripping down her chin. “What’s wrong with me?”

She tries to ignore it.

She’s having a mental breakdown of some kind, that’s fine. It’s to be expected, really. She’s been struggling keeping up with school, and the end of the world, and breaking up with Jonathan. Of course she’d see Barb around every corner. Of course she’d be cold all the time. Of course. And everyone knows the first step of having a mental break is to not feed into the delusion.

She checks with El and Will, just to be safe.

They both look confused when they open the door, which makes sense. She and Jonathan have been split up for a month, she hasn’t exactly been around. Still, they accept her inside without question.

“I need you to make sure Henry isn’t back,” she blurts out as soon as the door shuts behind her. Both of them rear back in tandem, and something clatters in the kitchen.

“Nancy?” Jonathan pokes his head around the corner, bewildered. “Are you okay?”

“Jonathan!” She feels herself flush. Why didn’t she think he’d be home? She knows he doesn’t have a job anymore, and his friend Argyle went back to California a while ago. Where else would he be?

“Nance, you’re pale,” he says, like she hasn’t noticed. As if her mom hasn’t said the same thing a hundred times in the past few days. He reaches out to guide her to the couch, and flinches back as soon as he feels her bare skin. “You’re freezing. Let me get you a blanket.”

She turns and looks at the kids as soon as he’s out of sight, noticing the way Will is rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “I’m sorry, I’ve been having weird dreams for a while, and lately it’s gotten…worse, I guess, and I need to make sure it’s not him. It doesn’t feel like him, but I need…I can’t…”

El’s face turns into something determined, and oh, Nancy hates asking this of her. But if Vecna isn’t really dead, if they can get a headstart on his next plan, well. The sooner the better.

Ten minutes later the three siblings are sitting across from her, El tying a blindfold around her eyes as a blanket sits on Nancy’s shoulders. It doesn’t do anything to help, of course. It’s nothing like when Will was possessed but the mindflayer. The heat doesn’t bother her, no matter how many times she brings a spare blanket to add to the pile on her bed or turns the shower faucet to its highest setting. In fact, she can’t feel it at all.

“Close your eyes,” El commands. “Focus. I need to be able to see inside you.”

She grimaces, involuntarily glancing at Barb in the corner. The past few days she’s been weeping nonstop. More than a few times, Nancy has cried with her. Now, though, she looks around the Byers’s new place curiously.

Nancy shuts her eyes.

“Don’t shut me out,” El reminds her gently, and then light floods her vision.

Barb, always Barb. When they were kids they would push each other on the swingset and dare each other to climb trees. The last time she saw her, reassuring her she’d be fine before following Steve upstairs. Vecna daring to taunt her, as if she could ever forget what she’d lost.

A million memories, some she’d almost forgotten. And then it’s over too soon.

El rips the blindfold off, breathing heavily. Jonathan hands her a tissue for her nose, looking at Nancy with so much concern it feels like it’s going to kill her.

“What did you see?” Will asks frantically. “Was it him?”

El shakes her head, confirming what Nancy already knew deep down. “It wasn’t him.”

“Then what was it?” Jonathan asks, eyes still on Nancy. She raises a shaking hand to her face, and it comes away wet.

“Nothingness,” El finally says. “And then sadness, and cold, and dark. And a light. There was a light, and a hand, and then there was warmth and feeling again. But the feelings are bad. They are not Henry, but they are not good.”

“So she’s real?” Nancy’s voice cracks.

“What? Who’s real? Nancy, what’s going on?” Jonathan asks. WIll just looks at her, concern in his big eyes.

El tilts her head. “I think so? But I do not know her. I can’t see her like you can.”

“Who is ‘she?’” Jonathan demands. “Will someone tell me what’s going on?”

“I actually have to go,” Nancy says, almost stumbling as she stands up. She takes a moment to fold the blanket Jonathan gave her so kindly. He’s still trying to get her attention, but she brushes him off as she heads out the door and to her car.

“Nance, please, I know we broke up but I still care–”

“I know!’ She says, whipping around. Barb watches curiously from the corner of her eye. “I know you do, and that’s great, really, but it’s none of your business. I didn’t even think you’d be here, so…”

“Where else would I be?”

“I don’t know, Jonathan, California?” She snaps. He rears back. “Isn’t that where you’re going anyway? Just– stop acting like this is any of your business! We broke up, we’re done, I don’t… I don’t want to talk, Jon! Just leave it alone.”

“Nancy…” he reaches out, and Nancy takes a step back. Barb appears between them in an instant, and his hand passes right through her. He jumps, swearing and turning pale. Nancy feels herself gasp, feeling warm for the first time in days in that split second before he pulls back.

He watches her silently, with those big eyes she’s always been weak to. She doesn’t have anything to say to him, or maybe she has too much to say. Either way, she gets in her car silently, driving off and leaving him standing in the rearview.

For once, she doesn’t startle when Barb jumps into existence in the front seat.

“Byers, huh?” She asks, something like humor in her voice. She always sounds distant now, like she’s underwater, or whispering from across a field. But Nancy understands what she’s saying. She always will.

Barb sighs when she doesn’t answer. “At least his brother’s alive, I guess.”

That makes Nancy laugh, a harsh cackle that would make her jump if it came out of someone else. “Yeah,” she agrees, speaking to the ghost of her best friend for the first time, “At least Will’s alive.”

It’s not like having Barb back. Not really.

She’s bitter, and angry, and she screams and yells and cries all the time. Sweeps her arm across Nancy’s desk like she’s trying to break something, and only gets angrier when she can’t. Yells at Nancy sometimes, which she knows she deserves.

There’s the blame for her death of course, which is nothing new. She’s been having nightmares about that for years. But then there’s the other stuff. The weird questions, like, “Why did you bring me back? Why couldn’t you let it be?”

When she asks about it, all she gets is Barb turning away from her.

“Nancy? Naaaaaaancy. Nance, are you listening to me?”

She turns her head and almost shrieks to see Robin staring at her, almost nose to nose. “What are you doing?”

“I’ve been trying to get your attention for, like, forever minutes,” she complains.

Nancy looks at Steve. “It was, like, forever,” he confirms, staring at her intensely. “You okay, Nance?”

Eddie rolls his eyes. “It’s been thirty seconds,” he deadpans.

Robin flops onto the floor. “Forever.”

“I’m starting to think getting you guys high was a mistake.”

“You say that every time. It’s not even your weed.” Steve yanks the dying bud out of his hand, taking a drag that has to be mostly ash at this point and putting it out on the ashtray. They don’t do this often, or at least Nancy doesn’t join them often. She’s not fond of the floaty feeling the weed gives her, preferring alcohol if she’s not going to be sober. But Eddie asked her to come, and Steve and Robin prefer having more people around if they’re going to get high. Something about what the Russians gave them.

She hasn’t seen Jonathan here since they broke up, but she thinks that’s less about them not inviting him and more about everyone trying to give them both space.

Nancy’s gaze has already wandered back to Barb. It’s been a quiet day today, which makes her nervous for tomorrow. But at least during quiet days she can seem semi-normal in front of her friends.

“Nancy? Seriously, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she tells Steve, not bothering to look away from Barb. She looks from Nancy to Steve, this new, older Steve she’s seeing for the first time, and pretends to gag herself on a finger. The pool water that never stops coming out of her mouth splatters silently on the floor. Nancy doesn’t laugh.

“Hey.” Steve moves in front of her, slightly wobbly as he sits cross legged across from her. She can barely see Barb past his hair. “Yanno, Jonathan asked about you.”

“What?” That breaks her from her trance.

“Yeah, he said he was worried about you. I asked him why he was asking me and not you, but he said you didn’t want to talk about it. But he was, like, really worried Nance. So, like, is everything alright?”

“Do you ever dream about dead people?” She blurts out.

All three of them go completely silent, staring at her. She laughs nervously. “Never mind! Never mind, that’s weird. Wow, why did I ask that? I think I took too many hits. Where’s your bathroom?”

“I mean,” Eddie says, after Steve doesn’t answer, “I dream about Chrissy all the time. How could I not? Shit was a real life nightmare, of course it made its way into my dreams.”

Steve shakes himself. “I guess I dream about Billy, but that’s different. I mean, it’s still a nightmare, but it’s not like…” his hand drifts unconsciously to the faint scar on his forehead. “It’s not about the Upside-Down, I guess. It’s not the same as my other nightmares.”

“I have dreams where people die all the time,” Robin declares, scooching herself across the floor until she can lay in Steve’s lap. “They suck.”

“Yeah, but are any of the dreams ever…weird to you guys? Like they’re not normal nightmares? Like they’re there all the time, just staring at you, and you try to reach for them but you never can?” She asks desperately.

The three of them look at each other, and shake their heads.

“Cool,” Nancy says, palms sweating. “Me neither.”

It’s raining when Mike storms into her room while Nancy is trying (and failing) to do college prep. “What is wrong with you?”

Barb starts laughing, a gurgling, chilling sound that Nancy heard once and made her summarily decide to never make a joke again.

“What are you talking about?” She asks, eyes flitting between Mike and Barb. “Get out!”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” he accuses. “You’re not even looking at me!”

“Maybe I just don’t want to see your dumb face.”

“Fuck off!”

“Michael!” Their mother hollers.

He rolls his eyes. “Ugh, sorry!”

#stranger things fanfic #nancy wheeler #barbara holland #ghost barbara holland #nancy's gbf au #barbs got JOKES in this frankly nancy should have laughed at them smh #the idea of barb coming back somehow to see how nancy has changed since she died is so intriguing to me #in my mind vecna dying released the spirits he was holding and somehow nancy's freshly reawakened regrets were so strong she like #summoned barb somehow instead of letting her rest or whatever #so thats what barb means when she asks nancy why she couldn't let her go #this doesn't happen with anyone else bc uhhhhh reasons. i am no longer taking questions at this time #or maybe max is going through the same thing #OHHHHH THAT WOUD BE SO FUN TO WRITE I LOVE NANCY AND MAX PARALLELS

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https-cyber-slxt · 1 year

Text

MASTERLIST

DEVIL MAY CRY

Bang Bang Bang Bang: Sub!V x FemDom!Reader

ME!ME!ME!: Solo!Nero

Devils Do Cry!: Sub!Dante x FemDom!Reader

The main 4 with Tall!Reader

Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Sub!Nero x FemDom!Reader

Small Vergil (DmC) blurb

Pose For Me!: Sub!Model!Dante x FemDom!Reader!

RAINBOW SIX SIEGE

Pegging The Boys (h/cs)

THE LAST OF US

Joel Miller SFW & NSFW H/CS

RESIDENT EVIL

I'm Sorry!: Sub!Leon Kennedy x FemDom!Reader

Tell Me: Sub!Carlos Oliveira x FemDom!Reader

Leon Kennedy SFW & NSFW H/CS

It's Not Your Fault...: Ethan Winters x Fem!Reader

CALL OF DUTY

Pervert!: Sub!Ghost x FemDom!Reader

Closer: Sub!Graves x FemDom!Reader

After Hours: Sub!König x FemDom!Reader

Fingering Ghost (blurb)

Pegging MW/BO Characters

Incorrect Quotes!

Russell Adler SFW & NSFW H/CS

Ghost & König NSFW H/Cs

BATTLEFIELD

Pac SFW & NSFW H/CS

WATCH DOGS

Cuddling/Sleeping H/Cs

Josh SFW & NSFW H/CS

Wait, Where's Josh? (blorb)

Wrench SFW & NSFW H/Cs

DETROIT BECOME HUMAN

Fingering Connor (blurb)

GENSHIN IMPACT

Hey, Mickey!: Sub!Diluc x GN!Dom!Reader

MORTAL KOMBAT

Mine: Sub!Fujin x FemDom!Reader

DEAD BY DAYLIGHT

California Girls: Sub!Legion x FemDom!Reader

Food Play w/ Renato Lyra

OVERWATCH

Genji Shimada SFW & NSFW H/CS

Zarya & Mei fluffy h/cs

DOOM ETERNAL

Doom Slayer SFW & NSFW H/CS

MISC

Treat Me Like A Slut: Sub!Jack In The Box x FemDom!Reader

Edging(?)Sam Drake

#Masterlist ☆#Navigation ☆

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greatunironic · 1 year

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title: leave the children behind summary: "She catches sight of Hop first, of course. He’s who she’s looking for after all; or, perhaps more accurately, she will think later, he’s the only one she thinks she’s supposed to be looking for in this moment. The way Robin Buckley had talked about what had happened beneath Starcourt that night — well, it had all just seemed so final, she’d thought, and truly she’s never been so happy to be wrong in her life." Meanwhile, in the Soviet Union, Joyce finds not one ghost but two.

excerpt: You see: catastrophic thinking has always been easier, ever since she was a little girl. She’s adept at picturing the worst case scenario and going from there: seeing the worst possible outcome and steeling herself against it. Hope is dangerous and beautiful and mean, and she’s had so many happy endings, even if they’re bittersweet in the middle. She lost Will and then found him — an honest to God miracle, her boy, again and again; she got Bob and then lost him too, didn’t get him back, but he’d saved her family and she knows he’d probably do it all over again if he was here, because that is just the kind of guy Bob was.

And Jonathan, her brave strong Jonathan who grew up way too fast because she asked him too, because she’d made him do it with her choices and her decisions and the town they lived in, and that’s something she’s not sure she’s ever going to forgive herself for. But he’s young and free and safe back in California this time, and so is El — another of her miracles, after so much loss, after, after — and she could give that to them this time. This time, she could fight the monsters, and leave the children to their childish things, the things they should always have been free to do and have and be.

#stranger things #joyce byers #fic #a little snippet of a canon divergent universe where someone else “dies” the night of starcourt #might be more to this universe but who knows #(certainly not me)

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mysteriesoftheunknown · 2 years

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Sightings - Ghosts - The Entity case - 1992

cw sexual assault

“...she shouted out again ‘it’s in the corner’, again we fired our camera, again it was bleached out white completely…”

“...we felt a cold breeze of air coming in the air, accompanied by a horrible stench, a stench so foul some people were vomiting, we fired the camera in the direction...of the breeze...again it was bleached out white completely, except...you can see a small ball of light…”

“...we fired the camera and the face was completely obliterated…”

“...she started screaming...’I don’t want to see your lights, show us yourself’...at that point it started to appear.”

So this segment concerns a famous case - the case of Doris Bither, better known as The Entity case. In 1974 in Culver City, California, Bither contacted a parapsychologist, Barry Taff, to document her haunting. She claimed to see the typical “orbs” & other luminous apparitions, as well as poltergeist phenomena, but she also claimed that one of the "entities” had attacked and raped her.

Frank De Felitta would later fictionalize these events into the novel The Entity, adapted into a film in 1982 (and later used as material for the avant garde short Outer Space in 1999).

Serious questions would be raised about the quality of the photographic “evidence”, questions also raised by the open admission here that they fucked up the control photo of Bither (by making it too dark and scratching it). It’s also a bit...uncomfortable how the witnesses here speak in awe of the encounter, given that the person in question saw it as an assault; a quick google reveals that the investigators didn’t investigate the rape claim, and believe it never happened.

#ghosts #paranormal #california #sightings #1992 #1974 #poltergeists #film #orbs #photographs #paranormal investigators

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tswaney17 · 1 year

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Do It For Me - Love is a Bitch Part 2

Happy Solstice to my wonderful, incredible, amazing, mate, @nikethestatue! I am your Secret Santa for this year. 😘 I had a very specific idea for this part, and well, this is what came out. I know it's probably not what you expected for it, but I hope you still like it. 💕

This song is heavily influenced by the song "Do It For Me" by Rosenfeld.

Read Love is a Bitch part 1 here.

My fanfic account: @tswaney17fics

My ao3 account: tswaney17

Please let me know what you think about this update. I love getting your feedback. Constructive criticism is always welcome. 💕

Trigger warnings: language, NSFW, very cringe-worthy interruption, some verbal and physical alcoholism trauma

Word Count: 9,293

Azriel missed his girl. He missed her presence, her physical body, her incredible laugh—it wasn’t the same through the phone or on video chat. It had been three months since Elain left Vegas for home and he was aching for her. Not just sexually, but her closeness. He just missed everything about her.

Hence why he was sitting in a rental car outside of her flower shop in California.

He hadn’t told her he was coming, wanting to surprise her. Az didn’t mind sitting in her shop, watching her work until she got off. He just needed to be near her.

Climbing out of the car, he walked in, the little doorbell jingling to announce his entrance. A woman stood behind the counter, arranging a bouquet in a violet-colored glass vase. She was tall, and slender, with sleek black hair and a gorgeous, brown complexion.

Azriel recognized her as Cerridwen, one of the twins that worked with Elain and who were her closest friends. His tell-tell between the sisters was the blunt bangs Cerridwen had, whereas Nuala’s hair was all one length.

She smiled at him, setting the flowers in her hands on the countertop. “Hello, can I help you with something?”

He knew she was aware of him. Elain had previously told him she showed them his photo. Sliding his Ray Bans onto the top of his head, her gasp informed him that his assumptions were right.

Her dark eyes widened, glowing with devious intent. “Did she know you were coming?” she asked in a hushed voice.

Az shook his head. “No.”

A smirk lit up her face. “Would you like me to call her out here?”

“Please.”

“Elain! There’s a customer out here asking for you.”

“I’ll be right out,” Elain shouted, her voice carrying such a sweet tone that almost had his knees buckling.

But he remained standing as she appeared from the back, and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of him. “Azriel,” she breathed in surprise.

His smile softened as he looked her over. Fuck, she was even more beautiful than he remembered. “Hi, baby.”

And then she was running, ripping her smock over her head to drop on the floor, and launching herself into his arms.

Azriel had to brace himself as her small body collided with his, the force of it making him take a step back to absorb her momentum. One hand slid under her thigh and cupped her ass, the other around her trim waist so his palm could spread across her back.

Elain cried into his neck, legs and arms locking around him, clinging to him like a spider monkey. “You’re here,” she sobbed into his skin, tears turning the collar of his shirt damp.

He kissed her temple, hugging her even closer. “I’m here,” he whispered into her hair in soothing tones.

Her palms cupped his stubbled cheeks as she pressed her lips to his.

The kiss started out softly but quickly turned heated; hungrier. His tongue traced the seam of her mouth, begging for entry and he groaned when she opened herself to him. He took his time tasting her, exploring every inch of her mouth. Three months it had been since he’d been able to kiss her. Three months too long in his opinion. Azriel decided then and there that he wanted to kiss Elain every goddamn minute of every goddamn day.

“I missed you,” she said, resting her brow against his.

Her breath ghosted on his lips and he wanted nothing more than to tip his head up and capture that sweet mouth once more. “I missed you more,” he told her instead.

Elain unwrapped her legs from around his waist and slid down his body, but she didn’t let him go, keeping her arm slung around his torso. “Cer, this is Azriel. Azriel, Cerridwen,” she introduced.

He stuck his hand out to shake hers. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Again, a smirk toyed on her lips. “Oh, the pleasure is all mine.”

Elain’s cheeks turned pink at her friend’s comments. “Cer,” she hissed, dutifully avoiding looking up at him.

“What?” her friend demanded, playing coy. “I was just being polite.”

She shook her head, obviously exasperated by her friend’s antics. “Nuala, come here please!” Elain called out.

Another set of footsteps sounded from the back and then the third of the trio stepped into the front of the shop. Her eyes glanced at Elain before sweeping down his entire form.

Azriel was used to being looked at, but when it was from his girlfriend’s friends, he fought the urge to fidget under their scrutiny. He wanted them to like him. Needed them to.

“Oh, hello there,” she purred.

He could see the similar qualities between the two women, how they both must’ve liked to tease Elain mercilessly.

His girlfriend sighed. “You two are a menace.”

Nuala cocked her head to the side, long hair sliding off her shoulder. “Aren’t you going to introduce us, Ellie?”

“Not if you’re going to make some other snide remark.” The other woman made a crossing motion over her heart that had Elain, again, shaking her head. “Nuala, Azriel. Az, Nuala.”

His lips quirked up at the bland introduction but he gripped Nuala’s outstretched hand in his scarred one. “Lovely to meet you.”

“You as well,” she smiled. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Oh, boy,” Elain muttered.

“Only good things, I hope,” he chuckled.

Nuala laughed in a slightly frightening way. “All impressive things, in fact.”

“For the love of god,” Elain groaned. She gripped his hand in hers and half dragged him to the office in the back, slamming the door shut when she heard her friends whispering about him. Elain fell back against the wooden door, muttering an apology. “I’m so sorry about them.”

Az laughed, brushing a rogue curl behind her ear. “El, don’t worry about it. I’m not oblivious enough to not know you talk to your friends about me, about us. And they’re clearly good friends of yours if they’re comfortable enough to give you shit like that. I’m happy you have them.”

She moved towards him then, engulfing herself in his embrace. “I can’t believe you’re here.” He stroked his thumb over the back of her neck. “Why are you here? Not that I don’t want you to be, I’m just—”

“Surprised?” he finished for her. When she nodded, he dropped a kiss onto her forehead. “I wanted to do something special and surprise you. I’ve missed you too much.”

Elain’s hands slipped up the back of his shirt, feeling the sculpted muscle. “I missed you, too.”

He brought their lips together, kissing her slowly, wanting to savor the moment. Even though they texted and talked on the phone every day, and video-called every other day, something was missing between them. That physical presence and he couldn’t wait another second without seeing her. Being able to feel and touch her.

Taste her like he was doing now. Fuck, she was so sweet.

Elain whimpered, melting further into him.

Those sounds, gods he missed those sounds too. Azriel took full advantage of the opportunity, pushing her back until he lifted her onto her desk and slotted himself between her thighs. His fingers angled her jaw so he could kiss her better, to deepen himself into her while his thumbs traced over her cheeks.

His head went dizzy from her scent, her taste. Just her in general. He needed to feel every inch of her. Be inside of her. Hold her as close as their bodies allow.

But, Elain pulled away, breath coming out in heavy pants. “You have no idea how much I want to continue, but I’m afraid somebody might hear us.”

“Let them,” he growled, leaning in to nip at her swollen lips.

Her airy laugh had his heart racing in his chest, the sweet sound as delicate as a flower’s petal. “Tempting,” she murmured, sneaking one more kiss. Elain bit her bottom lip, contemplating her next words. “How long are you here for?”

His knuckles brushed over her cheek as he focused on her face. “A week.” Truthfully, it would likely be more than that, but there was still a lot in play and he wanted to spend time with her first before he got into the nitty gritty details of his trip.

Those gorgeous brown eyes glowed like sunshine. “A whole week, really?”

It relieved him to hear the excitement in her tone, that she was pleased by his unexpected visit and the length of his stay. He kissed her nose, making it scrunch in that adorable way of hers. “Mhmm. I do need to know what hotels are located near you, though—”

“A hotel?” she asked, brows furrowing. “Why do you need a hotel? You’re staying with me.”

He laughed softly, stroking the delicate skin of her neck with his thumb. “I didn’t want to assume.”

Elain snorted. “You are my boyfriend. The only place you’re staying is in my bed.”

Now that sounded perfect to him. Azriel was just about to kiss her again when a knock sounded on the door.

She rolled her eyes at the interruption but allowed him to step back so she could slide off the desk. “Come in.”

Nuala peeked her head in slightly before opening the door fully. “Just wanted to make sure you two were decent.”

“For Christ’s sake.”

Her friend snickered. “Ellie, take the rest of the day off. And this weekend. We can handle things here.”

“What?” It was obvious Elain hadn’t expected that.

“I’m perfectly happy hanging out here till El’s done,” he interjected. “Or pitching in where I can.”

But she was having none of that. “Really? You flew all the way here to surprise her. The least we can do is let her have the time with you.” She leaned a hip on the doorway. “Besides, we’re not super busy at the moment, and if something does come up, Cer and I can handle it.” Those dark eyes focused in on his girlfriend. “Go home, El. Enjoy it.”

It was adoration shining in Elain’s eyes. He could see just how much the gesture meant to her. “Thank you, Nu. Both of you. This means a lot to me.”

Nuala waved her off. “We’re always here for you, babes. Now get out of here.”

Elain was quick to pack up her stuff, taking his hand in hers as she led him from the shop and back out onto the street. They both chose to ignore the wolf-whistles from the twins as they left.

Azriel unlocked his car, opening the passenger door for her. “Where to?” he asked her.

She raised a brow, a smirk playing at her lips. “You don’t want to take me to the privacy of my own home?”

Her underlying innuendo was obvious. “As much as I’d love to be buried deep inside you right now,” Elain’s cheeks went scarlet, “I can wait if you want to spend some time together first. Show me around and whatnot. But if that’s what you want to do, I’m definitely not arguing.”

Her twinkling laugh warmed him from the inside out. “Such a romantic.” She glanced down the street like she was contemplating his words. “I haven’t had lunch yet. Do want to eat first?”

“Would I like to take you on an actual date? Fuck yeah, I would.” They never had a chance to go on one before she left Vegas, and their “dates” now typically included some movie they were watching at the same time, different foods to be eaten together, or, more commonly, some sort of phone or video sex. It wasn’t practical, but they made it work.

Elain’s eyes sparkled. “Well, when you put it that way. I know this place that serves the best barbeque in the downtown area.” She held out her hand for his keys.

That had his brows flying into his hairline. “Oh, you’re driving, are you?”

She nodded. “Downtown is fucking mess and there’s a shit ton of one-way streets. It’d be easier for me to drive than to give you directions.”

His lips quirked up as he handed her the keys. “You know, there is this magical device called GPS.”

“Yes, but this means I get to drive the fancy car.”

At that, he laughed. The rental place upgraded him to a sports Audi. It was completely ostentatious but was sleek as fuck too. “You can drive a stick, right?”

Elain grinned, opening the door to the driver’s side. “I suppose we shall find out,” she said, winking at him before climbing inside.

It turned out that not only could El drive a stick, she was fucking sexy as hell doing it too. Azriel was sitting in the passenger seat desperately trying to not pop a boner at the sight of her small hand gripping the wheel, the other on the rounded stick shift as she easily maneuvered into the different gears.

She glanced at him a few times. “Are you all right?”

“Fine,” he grunted. Goddammit, if that wasn’t obvious enough. Az blew out a breath through his clenched teeth, his jaw feathering.

Elain hummed, fingers sliding over the stick like it was his dick. “You don’t sound fine.” After a few moments, she asked, “Is my driving really that bad?” Her voice had become incredibly small. Vulnerable-like.

“No, baby. No, that’s not it at all.”

She smoothly pulled into a parking spot and turned off the ignition. “Okay.” It was definitely not okay.

He hated the hurt in her voice, so before she could get out, he gripped her arm, forcing her to look over at him. “Elain, it wasn’t your driving. Not like that. I didn’t think about how fucking sexy you’d look driving a stick, sliding your hand over the gearshift like that. I’m trying really hard to not let it go straight to my pants.”

For a moment, she just stared at him, surprise lining her features. And then she tipped her head back and laughed. A joyous, full-bellied kind of laugh. “That got you all hot and bothered?”

“More than you even know,” he groaned, letting his head fall back against the headrest.

She snickered behind her hand. “If we weren’t out in the open in broad daylight, I’d suck you dry just to help take the edge off.”

“That. Is. Not. Helping,” he growled.

Elain smirked, leaning across the center console to kiss his cheek. “Come on, horny boy. Let’s get some food first.”

Az grumbled about wanting a different kind of food as he climbed out of the car, and let her take his mangled while they strolled down the street. He tried to take in the sights and sounds, but the only thing he could focus on was how her fingers felt laced with his. The smooth skin of her palm against his. The way her hair caught the sun’s reflection, illuminating like golden rays of light. How her face lit up when they passed a father carrying his giggling daughter on his back.

She was…magnificent.

He had always known she was beautiful, but seeing her like this, in her natural element, in her city where she knew where everything was—it was like seeing a completely different side of her. A side he wanted to know more about.

Since it was a comfortable spring day, they sat at one of the outside picnic tables eating dirty tots and Mac and Cheese, barbeque brisket, and chicken. It was a ridiculous amount of food for the two of them, but Azriel found that he was hungrier than he thought, eating his way through their dishes.

Elain had laughed at his overly indulged face. “I should’ve warned you that you can easily overdose on this stuff.”

He ran a hand over his stomach. “Do you know the last time I’ve had a carb, Elain?”

A perfectly groomed brow raised in amusement. “Do exotic dancers not eat carbs, Az?”

“Not ones who want to perform and not hurl on the stage,” he laughed. “But it was when we had breakfast the morning after. The pancakes.”

“If dancers don’t eat carbs, why did you make pancakes?”

Azriel reached across the table to grip her fingers. “Because of you. Pancakes are comfort food and I wanted to make you something other than egg whites and spinach.”

She snorted. “Do you eat that every day? It sounds miserable.”

He shrugged. “Well, I can’t have what I prefer to eat.”

“Which is?”

“You.”

Her cheeks turned the most delicious shade of red, but she leaned her chin on her fist, a quirk playing on her lips. “So, are you too full for dessert then?”

“Not if it’s that dessert,” he purred. He saw the heat rush through her, in how she crossed her legs. Azriel knew just a few well-placed strokes of his hands would have her façade crumbling.

The pad of his index finger brushed over the sensitive skin of her inner wrist making her shudder in anticipation.

Elain swallowed, shifting her body. “Yeah?” she murmured. “And what would you do when we got to my place?”

Azriel leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. “Well, to start, I’d put on a song to set the mood—”

“One of the songs from your routines?”

He nodded. Az sent music to her, letting her listen to the songs he performed to. Sometimes sending her videos of him at rehearsals. “A new routine for it.” His fingers drug up her forearm, sending little goosebumps over her flesh. “And then I’d kiss you so thoroughly, you’d forget your own name, peeling you out of your clothes, one item at a time.” He paused, waiting for a couple to pass by their table without being overheard.

“Once I had you naked, I’d splay you out on your kitchen table and let myself feast on that pretty, pink pussy that I’ve missed so much.”

Elain sighed, writhing in her seat. “Would you make me come?” she whispered, cheeks and chest reddening from the question.

His mouth drew up into a smirk. “Oh, baby. You’ll be coming twice on my tongue before I even let my cock out from the confines of my jeans.”

The whimper she let out had his dick getting impossibly harder. It was definitely not appropriate, given their current position in public, but fuck, did he love watching her squirm.

He took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing her knuckles. “And then only after I’ve had my fill of you, until you’re begging me for it, would I fuck you on the table until you’re screaming my name.”

It was exactly the words he needed to break her tether. Elain jumped up from her seat, tugging him out of his. “Take me home, Azriel,” she breathed onto his mouth in a heated kiss.

Oh, he planned to.

~~~~~~

Elain was practically panting by the time she pulled Az’s rental car into her driveway. He had gripped her thigh the entire way home, the warmth from his palm seeping through her jeans. She needed him—all of him. Needed to feel his body against hers. The muscles contract beneath her fingertips.

It seemed like he couldn’t wait to get into her house because as soon as the car was off, Az gripped her chin and pulled her in for a slow, sensual kiss. His tongue slid into her mouth, stroking against hers.

She hummed, eyes fluttering shut as he explored her mouth, tasting every inch of it. “We’re not in the house yet,” she breathed onto his lips.

His growl had a fire igniting in her blood.

They clambered out of the car, Az grabbing his duffle bag from the trunk and carrying it into her place. It wasn’t the largest space in the world, but it fit her and all her needs.

The front door opened into her living room and dining area. The black and white kitchen was offset by a small bar and two barstools. Down the small hallway led to her bedroom and attached bathroom, and a half bath just across. It was quaint.

Cozy even.

Elain loved that it was perfectly hers.

She gave him the tour, having him set his things down in her bedroom before they made their way back out to the living room. “Would you like something to drink?”

A scarred hand gripped hers, turning her around to face him. “It can wait. There’s something else I want right now.” And then he was on her again, lips pressing open-mouthed kisses over her jaw and down her throat.

Her skin heated from the lavished attention he gave her, fingers sliding into his dark mop of hair upon his head. “Where’s the song?” she teased, tipping her head back to give him better access to her neck.

His smile grazed her skin. Azriel pulled back just enough to slip his phone from his pocket. “Do you have a speaker to connect to?”

She froze as she looked down at his lock screen. Because that was her—or rather, her silhouette that she sent to him, on his phone’s display. “That’s me,” she deadpanned, glancing up at him. Elain had seen the TikTok trend, Silhouette Challenge, and decided to give Azriel his own little show from her. She took the video in a dress, sending him a message with it asking if he liked her new outfit. And then the music shifted and she put on a scrap of lace, posing in a sexy way with a red light behind her.

She channeled her inner exotic dancer for it, having to film it quite a few times before she did one worthy to send to him.

Az had taken a great deal of time in responding to the message after he read it.

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, I screenshotted that video. It was too fucking hot not to.” A blush grazed the high arches of his golden-brown cheeks.

A smile turned up the corner of her lips. “You liked it?”

“I loved it. I watch it a lot. It’s saved to my phone.”

At that, she laughed, tipping her head back. “Well, I’m glad. I was nervous sending it.”

His fingers danced over her cheek. “You shouldn’t have been. I thoroughly enjoyed it.” Leaning in, he brushed his lips to her face, his warm breath making her dizzy with need. “So, the speaker?”

A bit dazed, Elain showed him which Bluetooth connection to use. She may have gone out and purchased a new system a couple of months ago so she could listen to the songs he sent to her like he was performing for her. To feel the beat under her feet, throughout her body.

The music began to play, the heavy bass coming through and zapping at her skin.

Show me how. Show me how you like it done.

Tossing his phone onto her couch, he shot her a heated look that had her toes curling in her shoes.

Take off your clothes. Give me your trust. Look me in the eyes and confess your lust. Get on your knees. Beg me to stop. I promise I'll love you if you do it. So do it for me.

The music swept over her, carrying her into a world of pleasure and fantasy. “Are you going to kiss me now?” she murmured, voice husky with need and desire. An ache had grown between her legs that was demanding her attention—or his attention rather.

“El, baby. I don’t plan to ever stop kissing you.” And then he was on her, dominating her lips with his, his tongue finding purchase inside of her mouth.

It was a deep, claiming type of kiss. One that made her knees weak and left her breathless. Her head spun as his fingers worked on the buttons of her long-sleeve shirt.

He didn’t stop. Not when he stripped her out of her top, and then deftly unhooked her bra and tossed it behind him. Bare from the waist up, his mouth latched onto her breast, sucking a nipple deep between his lips.

Elain’s back arched as she moaned quietly, the pull from his mouth eliciting a delicious tug between her thighs. She felt herself growing wet. Gripping his shirt, she ripped it over his head, hands sliding on the beautiful, golden-brown skin it revealed. Every cut line of him, every chiseled muscle on display. His body was glorious.

Give me your hand. I'll show you things you've never done. Hold my head. I'll make you feel like never before.

Azriel lifted her into his arms by the backs of her thighs, her legs wrapping around his waist as he carried her to the table and laid her on the cool surface.

She gasped at the contact, body bowing away from the startling cold top. But he was there, swallowing the sound right from her mouth. Her fingers skimmed over the strong muscles of his shoulders, over his pecs, and down his abdomen.

He groaned into her mouth when she cupped him through his jeans. Squeezing her waist once, he kissed his way down her torso, to unlace her shoes and tugged them off.

Azriel’s hand popped the button of her pants and soon, those also joined the rest of their clothes on the floor.

Elain was breathing heavily as she looked up at him, staring at the lace panties she wore, knowing he could see the dark spot that had formed. “Please, Az,” she begged, her sex aching for any sort of friction.

Say my name. All I wanna do is hear you scream in pain. Say my name. I promise I'll love you if you do it. So do it for me.

His smirk took on a mischievous hint to it, the lyrics mirroring her reactions almost to a T. “Begging already, my sweet?”

She used her legs, still wrapped around his hips, to tug him closer, pressing his hard cock into her. Elain moaned, raising her hips to rub herself against him.

He chuckled, dryly. “So needy.” Azriel stripped himself down to his boxers before leaning himself over her once more—the song starting again. He kissed her stomach, sucking a mark into the skin near her belly button. Like he did that first night together, Az gripped the hem of her underwear between his teeth, and slowly dragged it down her legs.

“Christ,” Elain groaned, eyes rolling into the back of her head. The cool air on her wetness had her trying to close her legs, but large, scarred hands grabbed her thighs, prying her legs further apart.

“Don’t hide from me.” It sounded like both a request and a demand. Azriel dipped his nose into the junction of her leg and hip, inhaling deeply. “Fuck,” he moaned. “I missed your scent almost as much as I missed your taste.”

The first swipe of his tongue had Elain crying out. Her body ached for him. Needed to be fed by him.

He groaned from the sweetness of her cunt, tongue dragging up from her entrance to flick her clit.

Gods, she was so wet already, her body responding to him in a way not even she could produce. She throbbed, the draw from his mouth nearly too much to handle. Elain slid her hands into his hair, tugging the strands hard to pull him closer to her pussy. “Eat, Az,” she commanded, voice wavering from the pleasure he wasn’t quite giving to her yet.

But those words seemed to snap whatever tether he had on himself because Azriel unleashed himself on her. He sucked her clit between his teeth, grazing it with just a bit of pain to mix in her pleasure, before sliding down to plunge it inside of her.

Elain threw her head back, moaning loud enough that she should be concerned her neighbors would hear her—but, frankly, she didn’t care. Not when he ate her like this. Her lips parted, eyes screwed shut in pleasure as he licked and sucked at her pussy. It was divine.

It was mind-blowing.

It was everything she missed and so much more. “Fuck, Az…” Her fingers tightened on those soft, midnight locks as she built up, up, up to that wonderous edge.

So close, she was so damn close. The sounds of his mouth against her filled the room, her heavenly moans of pleasure echoed in her small house. Loud enough that neither of them heard the front door unlock or open.

“Jesus fuck,” came a distinctly male voice that only could belong to one man.

No. Oh gods, no.

Her eyes snapped open and she tipped her neck back to look at the door, Azriel’s head pulling off her cunt to also determine who was intruding on them at her place.

“Dad!” Elain yelped, shoving off the table and almost crashing into Azriel in her haste to hide her naked body. She booked it for her room, her boyfriend a half step behind her, and slammed her door shut, horror churning in her gut. “Oh gods, no. No, no, no,” she chanted, pacing her room, still nude. Her hands gripped her hair, anxiety rolling in her gut and making her sick to her stomach.

She was going to throw up.

Azriel reached for her shoulders, halting her movements. “El, hey. It’s okay.”

She shook her head, desperately trying to not cry. He pulled her into his chest, tucking her face into his warm skin. “No, it’s not,” she barely managed to get out before he pounded on her door.

“Elain Violet Arch’r-ron. Get y’ur fucking ass out’re, now.” The slur of his words told her he was already two sheets in.

Fuck, this could not be happening.

Azriel looked down at her in surprise at the hostility of her dad’s voice, the question obvious in his eyes. This was not how she wanted to tell her boyfriend that her dad was a grade-A drunk and she was the only child that still spoke to him.

She sighed heavily, trying to quell her upset stomach, and pulled out of his embrace, rummaging in her drawers for a proper outfit.

He followed her lead, grabbing clothing from his duffle bag, and giving her the time to speak. Azriel could read her well enough to know that she was holding something back.

“I need you to stay in here while I go handle this,” she told him, pulling on her t-shirt.

That had him whirling around, bare-chested still. “You think I’m going to let you face this alone?”

Elain shook her head, taking a breath to try and come to words with how she needed to explain this to him and why she needed to go out first.

Her dad pounded on the door again. “Elain!”

“I’m coming!” she called back, voice harder than she’d ever spoken to him before. Facing her boyfriend, she told him, “My dad is an…” Elain paused, determining what best way to say it, “aggressive drunk.” Azriel’s eyes widened but he didn’t interrupt. “I can tell he’s had a few already and it would be better for me to go out there first to try and calm him down.”

Hazel eyes roved over her face, giving him the time to think of a rebuttal, because of course he would. Finally, he settled on, “If that’s the case, El, then I’m not comfortable leaving you in his presence alone. We weren’t doing anything wrong. You are an adult woman and we were in the privacy of your home. He barged in without so much as a knock. He has no reason to be angry.”

She waved an indifferent hand. “It doesn’t matter. He’ll still be angry. Please, just let me go out there to try and calm him down before you come out. Please, Azriel.” Her tone took a bit of pleading note to it, and she saw his hesitancy crumble beneath it.

Az sighed heavily, shrugging his shirt over his head. “Fine, but if he gets physical with you, I’m coming out.” His voice brooked no room for argument.

Elain tucked herself into his chest, squeezing him. “He won’t. He’s never been physical, only verbal. I was the only one who could talk him down. It’s why my sisters never visit him.” She kissed the center of his chest. “Thank you,” she breathed before slipping out the door and shutting it quietly behind her.

Her father was leaning against the wall across from her room, waiting. His arms were crossed over his chest and the scowl etched onto his face had her stomach tightening in knots.

Noticing her absent partner, he scoffed. “Is he hidin’ from me?” he commented unkindly, pushing off the wall and swaying a bit.

Elain’s anger boiled to the surface at the accusation, but she let it simmer. “No, I asked him to wait to come out until we talked first.” Without providing further elaboration, she spun on her heel and made her way to the living room, turning off the speaker that was still playing Az’s sensual song and picking up scattered clothing from the floor.

“Who is he?” he demanded, hiccupping.

She ignored the tone. “His name is Azriel.”

“Where’d you meet ‘em?”

Elain shoved their scattered clothes into a ball behind one of her plants, out of prying, judgemental eyes. “We met in Vegas. When I went for Feyre’s birthday, remember?”

The name of his other daughter made his eye twitch, his nose crinkling up in disdain. But she watched the dots connect of how they could’ve possibly met at a twenty-one-year-old’s birthday trip to Vegas. “For fu—fuck’s sake, Elain. Don’t tell me he’s one’er those strippers.”

She took a steadying breath, needing a second to calm herself from the utter malice in his voice. “It doesn’t matter where we met. What matters is that he’s my boyfriend and he genuinely cares for me.”

Her father groaned in misery. “You’r gonna catch a—a disease from ‘em, Elain,” he hiccupped again.

A single brow raised, nostrils flaring in fury. “Excuse me? How dare you say something so awful!”

“What’er ‘bout Graysen?” he snarled.

The sound of her ex-boyfriend’s name on his lips made her flinch. “Graysen and I have been broken up for over two years, dad. It’s time you moved on.” She couldn’t help the sharpness of her tone. How dare he bring him up. After everything he did to her, the way he treated her!

“I pulled strings to get you’r together. And you jus’—jus’ up and left him!”

“You were his father’s best friend!” she screamed. “You two pushed us together and he treated me like crap—”

“Still better than the trash hiding behind y’ur door,” he spat.

Elain knew Azriel could hear every word. Hear every vile, disgusting word her father spoke. The trash comment… Her chest went cold at the thought of Az dumping her because of what he said. How he treated him. “You need to leave,” Elain said coldly.

Her father’s brows raised at the frozenness of her tone. “I’m not gonna let you throw y’ur life away on…’em,” he sneered, stumbling a step when he swayed heavily to the side.

“You don’t get to dictate my life. I’m a grown woman—”

His hand shot out and grabbed her forearm in a tight grip. “Y’ur my daughter!” he shouted.

Elain tried to pull her arm away, but his grip hardened, fingers digging into her skin until she knew there would be bruises. “Ow, dad. You’re hurting me, let go.”

Seeming to ignore her attempted pleas, “You’ll do as I—I say.”

For the first time in her life, Elain looked up at her father’s face, saw his wrath, his alcoholism, and feared for her safety. This was beyond anything she’d ever experienced with him. “You’re hurting me, dad. Let go,” she said again, more timidly than before. Truth be told, she was scared. She was scared of him. She was scared of him fighting with Azriel. He’d gotten into a bar fight before and she used nearly all of her life savings to bail him out.

She regretted it now.

The bedroom door swung open after the second plea from her, and there stood Azriel, a menacing look on his face. He glanced at her, registered the terror she couldn’t hide from him even if she tried, and then turned his attention onto her father. “Let her go. Now.” The deep baritone of his voice, the hint of a threat would have lesser men running.

But her dad was intoxicated enough to not sense the danger in his tone. He took a step towards the door, using his grip on her to tug her with him.

Elain whimpered—Azriel’s blazing eyes shot to her at the sound—and used her free hand to try and pry off his grip. “Dad, please,” she begged. The last thing she wanted was for this to end in a physical altercation, more so than it already had.

“This don’t concern you, boy. Why don’t you jus’ pack’er things and leave, hmm?”

Azriel took two steps, closing the distance between them. “I’m not going to ask you again. Remove your hand from her or I will forcibly do it for you.”

She saw the threat click through the fog holding her father hostage because he looked down at her and finally released her arm. Once free, Elain moved swiftly, finding comfort in Az’s arms as he gently pulled her away from him.

Tears were threatening to slide down her face but she choked them down, her throat aching from them.

The disgust on her father’s face as he watched Azriel touch her had her blood boiling.

“Look at ‘em, Elain! He’s ain’t even like us.”

She gaped at him.

“Jus’ like ev’ry otha low-life, once he knocks ya up, he gonna leave you. At leas’ Gray coulda support’d you.”

She lost it. Twisting in Az’s arms, she raged, “Support me? The only thing Graysen could support was his infidelity! And treating me like shit. The only thing he did consistently was put me down. Made me feel worthless. And that’s what you want me to go back to?” her voice edged higher and higher as she seethed. “Azriel cares for me. He’s genuinely interested in what I do and who I am. He’s respectful and kind and wonderful, and I love him!”

The room went silent until she realized what she had said.

Elain gasped, covering her mouth as she turned to face a stunned Az. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered in horror. “I—I didn’t mean to say it like that.”

Amber-colored eyes flicked between her own with such wonder, such awe, she could feel the tether between them form like it was an unbreakable bond. But Azriel simply cupped her face, thumbs lightly brushing over her cheeks. “You love me?” He said it so softly like he almost didn’t believe it.

There wasn’t a doubt in her mind as she breathed, “Yes. Yes, Azriel—I love you.”

His face morphed into something she’d never seen before. It was vulnerable and beautiful, and she wanted to see it over and over again for the rest of her life. “I love you too, Elain.” His mouth descended upon hers, kissing her with sweet reverence, but not in a way she knew he wanted to, not with an audience that didn’t approve of him.

They didn’t let his scoffing interrupt them, enjoying just a few more precious seconds of that kiss.

When she finally broke away, the brilliant smile that overtook Az’s face shattered and remade her soul. Elain knew then that he was the one for her. She twisted back around to face her father, sinking into Azriel’s embrace behind her. “Dad, you don’t have to like him. That’s fine. But you’re going to accept that I do; that I can choose for myself. And if you can’t then there’s,” she indicated with a nod of her head, “the door. Leave.”

Those dark eyes that matched her own, gave them a once-over before he grumbled something she chose not to hear and left, the front door slamming shut behind him.

Once alone, Elain returned her attention to Azriel. “I’m so sorry, Az. For having to listen to those awful words he spewed.” Tears lined her eyes as she spoke. “Please believe me when I say that I don’t agree with anything that he said.”

He cupped her face again in his large, warm palms. Let his thumbs swipe under her eyes to brush away her tears. “El, love. I know you.” He emphasized his point by bringing a single hand down to lie over her chest. “I know your heart, your soul. I know that you don’t have those same views as him. I would never hold his opinions against you.”

She threw herself into his hold, burying her face into his pec. “I love you,” she murmured into his chest.

Az’s hands slid down to the backs of her thighs as he easily lifted her into his arms and carried her to her bedroom. “Let me show you just how much I love you,” he told her, gently lying her down on her bed.

Shredding her clothes off, he resumed his post-lunch dessert between her thighs.

A few licks with his tongue had her body building back up at record speed. “Az,” she moaned, tugging his inky locks with her fingers. Fuck he gave amazing head.

Plunging two fingers into her wet pussy, she pulsed around him. “So desperate already,” he muttered, his stubbled chin and cheeks giving her a delicious friction between her thighs. His tongue flicked her clit, teasingly. “Would you like to come, love?”

The pet name had her body going warm, toes curling. “Please, Az,” Elain begged. “I want to come. I need to come.” Her voice was nothing more than a whine, but she didn’t care. Her body craved him. Craved every touch, every taste, and feeling of him.

He chuckled, giving her a few more licks before he sucked the sensitive bud between his lips hard until she shattered.

Elain screamed, her back arching off the bed as he rang every drop from her. Throwing an arm over her hips, he pinned her to the bed—pinned her to his mouth still sucking her clit. Her cries of pleasure echoed in the room as he coaxed her down from her high.

Azriel kissed up her body, pausing to bite little marks into her skin on his way up to her lips.

She could taste herself on his tongue, the sweetness that coated it drawing a deep whine from the back of her throat. Her legs opened, making room for him to settle into the cradle of her hips. Gripping his t-shirt, she ripped it over his head, throwing the offending garment across the room. Elain ran the pads of her fingers over his body, feeling the hard muscles under her palms. The rigorous workout routine he maintained kept him at peak performance and fuck, was he glorious naked.

Her darkened eyes, nearly swallowed by her pupils, glanced up at his face. “I missed you,” she murmured, not wanting to break the heated tension that had fallen over them.

His smile warmed her from the inside out. Az nudged his nose into hers affectionately, hips rolling and grinding into her. The hardness that pressed into her reminded her just how large he was. “I missed you too, El.”

Removing himself from her, Azriel stripped out of his clothes and collected a condom from his pack, rolling the rubber over his impressive length once he settled back on her bed.

Elain felt herself get wetter watching him prep himself, using the slick from her sex to coat his cock with a few strokes from his hand. But soon enough, he was back on top of her, rubbing himself between her thighs. She moaned his name, dragging his head down for a heated kiss.

He lined himself up with her entrance, the tip of his cock barely dipping in and out of her as he kissed down her jaw, working at the sensitive skin of her neck. “I think I may want to draw another orgasm from you just like this. My cock working your clit, rubbing you just the right way,” he murmured, rutting his hips into hers.

She growled, wrapping her legs around his waist and trying to pull him inside of her aching heat. “No more teasing.”

Az grinned into her throat. “What do you want, baby?”

“You. I need you.”

He kissed her cheek, dragging his lips up to her earlobe. “You have me. I’m right here.”

Another whine left her throat as she again tried to use the heels of her feet to push him where she desperately wanted him. But Az was too strong, keeping himself steady and barely teasing her.

“Tell me, El,” he told her, biting the lobe of her ear and sucking it into his mouth.

She groaned, feeling the sensation of that tug low in her belly. “Fuck me, Azriel. Please, I need your cock. I need to feel it—” her words were cut off as he finally sunk himself to the hilt, her body greedily taking every single inch. “Yesss!” Elain whined in a long, drawn-out syllable.

His breath ghosted over her neck, giving her a second to adjust to his size. When she yanked his hips in further, he set a brutal pace, snapping into hers.

Her bedroom was filled with the sounds of skin slapping skin, their heavy breaths. The scent of sex and sweat hung in the room like a layer of fog.

Azriel gripped her wrists and pinned them above her head, using his one hand to hold them there. His other moved to tilt her jaw up, allowing him to kiss her deeper, his tongue plunging into her mouth to stroke hers. To fuck into her mouth like his cock was doing to her. Scarred fingers slid further down her body, cupping her full globe of a breast before he pinched at her nipple, adding a twinge of pain with her pleasure.

Elain cried out, eyes scrunching closed.

But he was there to swallow the sounds, those deft fingertips tracing even further south until he touched her just there. “Fuck, you feel better than I remember,” he groaned, his cock sliding deeper and deeper until it stroked that spot inside of her.

“I thought about you,” she panted, looking up into his burning gaze. “When I touched myself, I pictured your hands, your cock.” Her arms ached, still pinned above her head. She wanted to feel him beneath her palms. To touch him, but his hold on her remained firm. “It was the only way I could get off without you.”

Her words unleashed some primal thing inside of him, his thrusts becoming harder, more erratic. The fingers circling her clit became more pronounced, tighter. She felt her body pulse around his cock, edging into her orgasm.

“Come with me, Az,” she moaned, throwing her head back and exposing her throat to him.

His mouth attached to her neck at her pulse point, sucking hard enough she knew a purple bruise would blossom from his careful ministrations. The draw from his lips and teeth, the sliding of his cock over that spot inside her had her falling, falling, falling, into her pleasure.

“Azriel!” she called out, his name coming through in three, drawn-out syllables. Elain’s body arched into his as she drew him to his release, thrusting sloppily into her while he spilled into the condom. Her name an echo from his chest into her throat.

He released her hands and the skin of her neck from his teeth, collapsing on top of her.

Her fingers went straight to his hair, sliding through the thick, damp locks to scratch at his scalp, down his nape. Az panted against the junction of her shoulder, his hot breath causing gooseflesh to erupt over her skin.

They lay there in silence, catching their breath until Azriel began planting light kisses on her neck and collarbone. “Fuck, love. That was,” he breathed, pushing himself up to look down at her.

“Amazing,” she finished for him, a smile overtaking her features.

A similar one graced his face. “Better than amazing.”

“I hope you brought the extra large box of condoms because I have a feeling we’re going to go through a lot of them.”

Az laughed, kissing her cheek. “If that’s the case, I may have to make a quick trip to the store.” He ducked his head to press their brows together. “I’m going to pull out—take a breath for me.”

She did, wincing slightly as he withdrew from her.

He kissed her lips once, twice, three times before climbing off her. “Where are your towels?”

“Under the sink.”

Stooping to drop one more kiss, Az headed to her bathroom to clean up.

~~~~~

After wiping them both down, Azriel put on a pair of clean boxers and climbed back into bed, pulling a very pliable Elain on top of him. Currently, her bare pussy was pressed against his thigh, her legs straddling his and she had draped herself on his chest.

Her fingers were tracing over the black ink on his chest.

He’d be lying if he said the heat he could feel on his thigh, the way she reverently touched him tempted him to take her again, but he had to tell her his news first.

“I have something I wanted to talk to you about,” he murmured into her hair.

She propped her chin on the back of her hand, looking up at him with those doe eyes he loved so much. “Hmm? What about?”

He brushed an errant curl behind her ear. “The furniture business is moving forward. My brothers’ and I pitched a collection to one of the large stores in San Francisco, knowing it would do well in the higher-priced market. It was accepted.”

A lovely smile turned up her lips. “That’s wonderful, Az. I’m so happy for you guys.”

“We gave our resignations to Club Velaris last week.”

That had her brows shooting up into her hairline. “Wow, you did? The business has really taken off then. That’s fantastic!” She shot him a sly grin. “So, does that mean no more sexy dance videos?”

He tipped his head back, laughing. “Perhaps live versions will make up for it?” Az traced the apples of her cheeks with his fingertips. “Since our market is the city, we also decided to move the business there. Rhys and Cash are in San Francisco now securing the licensing, a warehouse, and a storefront for us to operate from.” Along with catching up with the other two Archeron sisters, though he knew she could probably guess as much.

Elain pushed herself up onto her forearms, surprise lining every inch of her face. “You’re moving to San Francisco?” He could see the hope in her brown eyes, how it would make them only about an hour and a half apart. Az just hoped that what he said next would warrant the same response.

“Well, no. They’re moving to San Francisco…” at her confused face, he added, “I was thinking about moving here. To be closer to you.”

She blinked, pushing herself up off him.

He would’ve been concerned by the distance had she not remained straddling his leg.

“You want to move here to be with me?” she asked carefully, voice small.

Azriel sat up, bringing their faces closer together. “Yes,” he told her earnestly. “I want to have a relationship with you that doesn’t require us to video call or text daily. I want to see you whenever I feel like it. I want to be able to hold you and take you on proper dates.”

“What about your brothers? The business,” she worried, biting down on her bottom lip.

He reached up to grip her chin, plucking the lip she’d trapped from between her teeth. “The city isn’t far from here. I can just drive in whenever Cassian needs an extra set of hands in the shop. But I mainly design, which I can do from anywhere. I’d like to do it here, where you’re at.”

Elain wrapped her arms around his neck, fingers tangling in the hair there. “What if…” she started, looking a bit unsure of herself.

He ran his hands up her back in a soothing gesture, urging her to continue.

She swallowed, taking a breath. Her eyes cast down to their laps. “What if…you moved in with me?”

The question surprised him. Yes, they’d only been going out for three months, but Azriel didn’t have a single doubt in his mind that Elain was his person. His forever. Seeing the red hue running along her cheeks made him adore her even more. Hooking a finger under her chin, he forced her gaze back to his. “You want me to move in with you?”

Her tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip, and, fuck if he couldn’t help himself from rubbing his thumb after it. She nodded, as best as she could while he still held her chin. “I know it’s a big step, but if you’re moving here anyways…” she shrugged slightly.

It wasn’t exactly what he was hoping she’d say. “So, you want me to move in because I’m already moving here?”

Elain’s eyes widened as she realized what she had insinuated. “No! No, that’s not what I meant. I, ugh,” she sighed, frustrated with herself. “I’m asking if you want to move in with me because I want you to move in with me.” She resituated herself on his lap to straddle his hips.

Fuck, Elain naked was a sight for sore eyes. He would love nothing more than to go to bed with her curled up next to him each night. Wake up to her nude body every morning. She was gloriously bare, making him hard in his boxers again.

Trying to ignore the blood running south of his waistline, Az cupped her face in his palms. “El, love, I don’t want you to invite me to live with you unless you’re absolutely sure you want to do this.”

“I do,” she told him earnestly. “I want you to move in with me. If…if that’s what you want.” Again, he saw the nervousness in the question that was not a question.

His thumbs stroked across the high arches of her cheeks. “I would love to move in with you, Elain.” Az brought her mouth to his, kissing her softly. She melted into him, pulling herself closer into his chest. “I love you, El.”

“I love you too, Az,” she breathed, leaning in to kiss him again. “Oh my god. We’re going to live together!” Elain squealed, throwing her arms around his neck.

He laughed, wrapping his hands around her waist. “So, should we christen our new place?” he grinned.

Elain smirked. “Fuck yes.” And then she was on him, slinking her way off his lap and lowering her face to his covered cock. A few quick maneuvers had him stripped and was sucking his dick deep into her mouth.

His hand snaked into her hair, holding it in a tight grip at the back of her head. Fuck he loved this woman.

The two of them spent the rest of the evening, fucking in every room, on every surface, and celebrating what their future might bring.

~~~~~

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