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#jareth x fem!reader
somedaylazysomeday · 6 months
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An Emissary of the (Goblin) King
Your quiet life as a teacher falls apart when a student wishes you away. Eventually, Jareth has to decide what to do with you.
Jareth x fem!reader (no use of 'y/n')
*This was written for a request in which the reader was supposed to be plus-sized. As such, there are a few scattered references to weight and body shape.
**Not related to my other Labyrinth works.
Rating: Explicit. Minors DNI.
Word Count: 6,800
Warnings: themes of being forgotten, slight loss of identity, bar flirting, slight harassment, oral sex (fem receiving), unprotected sex, creampie.
Masterlist
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When you had gotten wished away in your thirties, you were… perturbed. 
After all, you had been long past the days of fairy tales and make-believe. Magic was a lovely story element for children, a way to encourage their imaginations and allow them to dream of the impossible. But it wasn’t real. 
At least, that had been your theory between the ages of ten and thirty-something. Then, one of your second-grade students in the after-school tutoring session had gotten upset with you. You had told him that he couldn’t have a second helping of snacks unless he agreed to work on his math problems with you. He had been struggling with subtraction in particular, but was so energetic that it was difficult for him to focus. 
You hadn’t really been able to blame him - it was after school hours and the sun was beginning to set, throwing beams of blazing orange light from beneath a carpet of dark purple clouds. It was the perfect counterpoint to the playfully spooky Halloween decorations you had put up around the room. 
Anyway, when you had insisted that your student sit down and focus on his math sheet before you let him have another handful of gummy worms, he had pouted his tiny face. With an impressive amount of venom for a six-year-old, he said, “Well, I wish the goblins would take you away right now.”
You were still wearing an indulgent smile when you appeared in the straw-strewn throne room with an anticlimactic pop!
The Goblin King was lounging on his uncomfortable-looking throne, watching you with his own indulgent smile. “Wished away by a child, were you? Pity. He likely meant nothing by it, but… well, what’s said is said. I doubt he will opt to run the labyrinth, but let us see if he calls.”
Operating under the idea that you had fallen and given yourself a rather nasty concussion, you simply nodded and took a seat on the cleanest section of the stone floor you could find. It was quiet in the throne room, though you could hear the unmistakable sounds of distant chaos.
It had started small - brushing a piece of straw from the stone slab next to you. It fell into the pit and that made you feel a little better. Then you pushed the straw from the next stone, and the next until the section around you was clear. Then you started using your feet to push the straw down the stairs until it was gathered in a neat pile at the bottom. 
“Would you like a broom?” the man with the wild hair asked. You were cautious when you faced him, but he simply looked amused. 
“And a dustpan, if you don’t mind.”
He shook his head. “Unnecessary.”
You hadn’t bothered asking what that meant. Instead, you applied yourself to neatening the throne room, working from the edges and sweeping all the debris toward the pit in the center of the room. Even the brown dots - ones you hoped were mud but suspected were some kind of dried fecal matter - lifted easily enough under the stiff bristles of the broom. 
At last, the room was clean and you swiped your forearm across your perspiring face. You didn’t know how the pit was going to get clean, but you were going to be miffed if the answer was ‘you’. 
When you caught movement from the corner of your eye, you jumped. You hadn’t forgotten the room’s other occupant - how could you? - but he moved with such impossible silence that you couldn’t track him with hearing alone. 
The man came to stand beside you and you took the chance to study him subtly. He looked… strange.
You shook yourself, reflexively berating yourself for the unkind thought, but you hadn’t been wrong. His face was narrow, flaring out at the cheekbones. His eyes were mismatched, but not in a heterochromatic way. No, one of his eyes was bluish-green while the other was simply black, as if it were entirely pupil. 
His hair was long and straight, though cut at various lengths that left it tapering from his  head down. Like a shag haircut on steroids. You were a little jealous and had vaguely started wondering whether you would be able to pull off the style when he turned. You realized just how tall he was. 
His mismatched stare was heavy and intense, and you redirected your attention as soon as possible. You opted to look at the pit instead, to take in the pile of straw and droppings, but it was gone. 
“What happened to the straw?” you asked, bewildered by the empty pit in front of you.
He smirked, lips twisting with an amusement that didn’t reach his eyes. “I discarded it, of course.”
“No, you didn’t,” you contradicted. “I’ve been standing there the whole time.”
“I used magic,” he clarified.
“Magic isn’t real.” 
The man’s eyes widened, then narrowed at you. “Have you not yet realized that you’re in a different place than you were when you were wished away?” 
“You said that earlier,” you remembered. “‘Wished away’. What do you mean?”
“At last, the typical questions,” he sighed. “Admittedly, far later than they are usually asked. Allow me to explain.”
The explanation that followed had been interesting, if mildly ludicrous: the man was actually a fae named Jareth. He collected lost and wished away items, though the only ones of them people cared enough to chase down were living things. He guarded the Labyrinth, collected the living things that appeared in the Underground - mostly children and pets, as he had explained - and allowed the wishers to run the Labyrinth if they wanted their disappeared item back. 
It could have been a far shorter explanation if you hadn’t been far more convinced by your concussion theory. 
In the end, Jareth had gotten tired of listening to your counterarguments and had sent you to ask Hoggle the rest of your questions. Hoggle had answered your questions… eventually. With a lot of complaining and work between giving those answers. You didn’t mind - work was something to keep you from running in circles in your own thoughts, and you learned a lot about the Labyrinth and the Underground simply by following Hoggle around. 
Jareth didn’t call you back to the throne room for nearly a week. 
“It seems as though your wisher is not going to run for you,” he said, taking on an expression he may have thought looked pitying. “He is at home with his mother, playing and eating and sleeping quite well without another thought of you. Quite the heroic youth."
“He’s six!” you reminded, mildly outraged at Jareth’s censure. “Even if he had offered, I wouldn’t want him running your labyrinth. It’s a death trap.”
Jareth’s expression had flattened at your insult, his mismatched eyes glittering with irritation. “Whether he would have run or not is irrelevant in the end. The real question is: what is to be done with you?”
“I…” You disliked asking questions you already knew the answers to, but there was nothing to be gained by playing things cool. “Could I go back home?”
“No.”
The blunt answer, though exactly what you had expected, still made you wilt. 
Jareth, for all that he made you nervous, didn’t look cruel about it. In a voice that was kinder than you had hoped, he said, “Even if I would agree to send you home, it would be impossible. You have been here too long. You have eaten and drank from the Underground. A single bite, a single sip… those could be reasoned with. Enough to influence a dream, forge a connection. But anything more? You are of this place now, more one of us than one of them.”
You wanted to argue, but something in your chest agreed, some nameless tangle of a thing recognizing that everyone and everything you had known were ‘them’. And you were not. 
Not anymore.
You had expected to be eaten by the Firies or thrown into the Bog or at least turned into a goblin, but Jareth had given you a different job: you were to be his hands and eyes in the human world.
“After all, no one will wish their belongings to me if they are ignorant of my existence,” he had told you. “You will spread information. Books and legends, stories told by firelight and in dark rooms as their occupants drift to sleep.”
And that was your task, had been for an eternity before you thought to check what year it was at all. People didn’t recognize you when you went to the human world, not even if you happened upon someone you had once known. That was fortunately rare, and became more so as the years faded. You didn’t seem to age, not the way you had. Perhaps there was an extra strand of silver in your hair or an aching joint where there never had been before, but it was uncommon. 
Oh, you looked the same as you always had. You could verify that any time you were on the surface. Just then, for instance, you were standing outside of a bar and could see yourself in the shine of the old-fashioned, gilt-edged windows. You were generously curved as you had been before, your face the same shape. 
If you stared too long, though, you could catch something strange in your face, in the way you walked. Nothing overt, of course, but something that made you look… sharp. Wild. It drew some attention when someone watched you for too long. The mask of your humanity - what remained of it, anyway - fell away with exposure. From there, it could go either way. Sometimes, humans fled like prey before a predator. Other times, they hit on you. 
Had humanity always been like this? So willing to run into danger? You didn’t think so, but it was getting difficult to remember. 
Either way, you had barely sat down at the bar and ordered a glass of wine before someone slid onto the barstool beside you. To be fair, you couldn’t be too upset about it. You had been searching for company.
“I’ll pay for that,” the man announced to the bartender. The bartender didn’t look like she could have cared less, but she managed a nod. “So, what’s your name?”
“I’m much more interested in learning yours,” you deflected. 
The stranger beamed at that and you smiled back. If you had your way, he wouldn’t learn your name. Even if he did, he would forget it before the day ended and you would never see him again. You would feel guilty about that, but you needed him for temporary relief from your body’s needs, nothing more. 
He could never be anything more. 
You pushed all of that from your mind and focused on your partner for the evening. He was handsome, the type of person you dated before you were wished away. It was getting harder to remember those days. 
The man’s personality was a little intense, but that tended to ease back a bit after someone realized that you weren’t going to disappear from them… yet.
Two drinks in, you had offered a smile that was almost genuine and were getting ready to suggest a change in location when your chest vibrated.
That wasn’t quite the right way to phrase it, but it was a difficult sensation to describe. It felt as though your ribcage and all of the organs it protected shook in tandem. The closest you had ever come to pinpointing the sensation was to compare it to the ringing of a gong, though thankfully, without the noise of the actual strike. 
The sensation was a warning that the Goblin King wanted you back in the Underground. It would happen more often the longer you ignored the summons, and would eventually grow painful. 
You rarely let it continue that long.
“I have to go,” you told your potential partner, standing abruptly from the stool and handing your credit card to the bartender. “Drinks are on me.”
At least, you assumed it was a credit card. It had no numbers or identification on it and you certainly didn’t have any money, but you had never had trouble paying for anything with it. Jareth had given it to you with minimal explanation. 
“Hang on-” the man protested, catching at your arm. You looked at his hand, then at him. Some of your strangeness must have shown through, since he slowly withdrew. He wasn’t wary enough, since he continued to speak. “What happened? I thought this was going somewhere.”
“It was,” you agreed simply, accepting your card from the bartender and scrawling a series of loops on the receipt she slid toward you. “Now it’s not.”
Fortunately for your almost-partner for the evening, he thought better of trying to physically stop you again and you left the bar unaccosted. 
Transportation to the Underground was rarely as dramatic as it had been that first time. Instead of a sudden, jarring switch in location, it happened as a slow fade. In this instance, you were walking and your surroundings seemed to blur slightly. When you could see clearly once more, you were in the Goblin King's throne room. 
Your forward motion hadn’t stopped, but it was far more risky to keep walking with the goblins thronging around your feet. You looked down at the group currently blocking your way and said, “Excuse me.”
The goblins - who had apparently been occupied in some kind of chicken-based game, shrieked and tumbled to either side. You continued toward the throne. 
For his part, Jareth was pretending he hadn’t noticed you yet. Instead, he was sprawled across his throne and studying the riding crop he had resting across his knees. Most observers would believe he was pensive, utterly lost in thought, but you knew better. Jareth loved to be watched, and if he could convince you that you had chosen to look without any prompting from him, so much the better. 
“You summoned me, sir?” you asked, reaching the base of the throne and offering a small incline of your head. 
Jareth glanced over, managing to look surprised, curious, and haughty. “Yes, I want a report on your progress.”
“Do you mind if I dismiss your subjects?” 
“As if you do not number among them?” Jareth tested, a corner of his mouth quirking upward knowingly. When you simply maintained eye contact, he gave a slight nod. “Very well, if it would please you.”
With effort, you managed not to shake your head at him. You were well able to focus even with the din of goblins around you, but Jareth took any respite he could get from them. 
“Can you all go downstairs for a while?” you asked, directing the question to the room at large. “I need to speak with the king.”
“You’s is speaking to him now,” one squeaky goblin pointed out, sounding sullen. 
Before the others could agree, you quickly cut in and diverted them. “You’re right, I am. But we need to talk about some very boring stuff and we need the room to be quiet. If you want to stay, you can’t make any noise. In fact, you could even help clean the throne room…”
You didn’t have a chance to say anything else, the goblins rushed out of the room in a panicked tide. You smirked at the receding wave of excitable, temperamental creatures. It seemed like a lifetime had passed since you had taught six and seven year-olds, but the goblins weren’t so different from human children. 
When you turned around, Jareth was sitting on the throne like it was a chair rather than a fainting couch. One of his eyebrows was raised and he looked impressed despite himself. “Someday, you must help me gain such mastery over my subjects.”
“Impossible,” you told him flatly. “They’re too focused on impressing you.”
“That has always been my burden to bear,” the Goblin King drawled, preening slightly as you tried not to roll your eyes. 
Jareth was the king. If you were to be technical about it, he was your king. He had left you alive when he didn’t need to. Even more than that, the nature of the job he had given you meant you had certain powers. The Goblin King did not bestow those lightly. You felt like you owed him at least basic respect, if not anything more subservient.
Besides, Jareth had enough people - well, goblins - trying to respond to his every need. You liked to think that he enjoyed the bits of personality you were willing to share with him. 
Rather than voice any of that aloud, you gave a shallow nod. "But you summoned me for a purpose. What do you need?" 
With the amusement still dancing across his fine features, Jareth tilted his head at you. "The work I gave you has never taken so long. I wanted an update on your progress." 
"My…" For the first time since you had found yourself in this strange land, you were thrown off by Jareth. He had never given any deadlines for your work, never ordered you to be done by a specific time. In fact, the opposite had been true. On the rare occasions that you worried about how long something took, Jareth was the first to remind you that he - and, by extension, you - had all the time that would ever exist. 
You managed to scrape together a semblance of competence. "An update. Yes. I can- That is, the work you gave me is complete. I distributed the books, set up special showings of the film, and orchestrated the release of some photographs." 
"All of that has been done?" Jareth checked. When you nodded, he gave you a stern look. "Then why did you not return to me immediately?"
As if on cue, something low in your stomach gave a heaving, disgruntled throb. You had never been overly desire-driven when you were fully human, and you blamed that for your current awkwardness - sex had never been common enough for you to grow blunt about your need for it. But you still had that need, and your body’s complaints were almost enough to drown out the weight of Jareth’s stare. Almost.
“I was in the middle of a different task,” you replied, trying to make it sound as bland as possible. Jareth’s attention span was stronger than that of his subjects, but he still made a concerted effort to avoid boring subjects. “Nothing of importance.”
Jareth studied his hands. “No, I imagine there is not much of importance in a dirty tavern.”
You froze. Not that you had been moving very much before, but every muscle locked down in response to the pointed revelation that Jareth could and did know where you went when you were Aboveground. “I-”
“You?” Jareth repeated mockingly. “Yes, you. You allowed a human to ply you with alcohol, then to paw at you. Though I suspect, given the tone of your conversation, that is far more innocent than what you would have done if I had not summoned you back here.”
“But how-”
Your question cut off abruptly when Jareth made a noise of impatience, tapping his cheekbone twice, just below his human eye.
“You watch me?” you demanded, surprise turning swiftly to anger and embarrassment. “Why?”
Jareth treated the question as literal rather than rhetorical, musing for a moment before he answered. “At first, to see if you intended to flee. It would not have worked, but it is always amusing to see humans try. Then, to be certain that you were performing your tasks to my standards. And finally…” The smile on Jareth’s face was indolent, with more than a hint of mischief. “Simply because I can.”
Glaring at an omnipotent fae king was probably not the wisest thing you could do, but your fury made you bold. “And have you watched me during my personal time before?”
Jareth let his head loll toward you for the best view of his self-satisfaction. “Yes.”
With a barely stifled noise of outrage, you spun with every intention of storming out of the room. Unfortunately for you, the powers Jareth had allotted you were nothing compared to his own. Without a sound or a motion from him, Jareth ordered the heavy doors to swing closed and there was nothing you could do to force them open once more. 
“I do not see why you are so offended,” Jareth told you, conversational tone coming from nearer than his throne. “I am well aware that humans have needs.”
“Then why interrupt me…” Your hissed demand had caught in your throat when you turned to find Jareth much closer than anticipated. The Goblin King twisted his head slightly to one side, matching the smirk that twisted his lips. You cleared your throat. “Why interrupt me when you know I’m occupied? Like you said, I have needs. It doesn’t help anyone if I’m too busy to meet them.”
“You are missing the most obvious solution,” Jareth informed you, spreading his hands to either side. “I can help meet those needs.”
“You?” you repeated skeptically. 
Jareth’s arms dropped and he looked almost offended. “And why not me?”
It may have been a rhetorical question, but you gave it as much thought as he had to your earlier question about his reasoning. “Well, you don’t seem like you would be interested. You don’t usually do things unless you have something to gain.”
“Have I not struck you as altruistic?” he asked. You shook your head, opting for honesty above tact. “Good. You are right, I don’t perform favors out of something as naïve as kindness. I have much to gain from this offer.”
“Like what?” you asked. The suspicion in your voice was so thick as to be almost comical, but Jareth didn’t seem offended.
“Pleasure,” he answered simply. “Do you want to meet your needs now? Or will you wait until the next time you have a spare moment to be disappointed by some human in a bar?”
You thought about waiting, you really did. Jareth was cocky enough without giving him access to something as personal as your pleasure. But you were growing close to desperation. That could make you more likely to be careless in Aboveground, something you weren’t willing to risk.
“You’re right,” you said. “It is the most obvious solution.”
The only thing that saved you from the self-congratulatory smile that slid across Jareth’s face was the fact that you erased it with your lips a moment later.
The Goblin King’s teeth were sharp. It had been one of the first things you noticed when you met him so long ago, but you were still a little shocked to be confronted by that sharpness when you slipped your tongue between his lips. 
Jareth’s surprise rivaled your own, though for different reasons. For half a moment, he seemed taken aback by your ardor, but he recovered and took control of the kiss before you could get used to the taste of him. He was like the sweetest wine, and you were instantly addicted.
A hand latched around your jaw kept your head positioned just where Jareth wanted it, and he swept through you like a hurricane. It was all you could do to keep up with him, but you were the first one to succumb to wandering hands. 
His clothes were always so decadent, and you had been waiting a long time to see if they felt as lovely as they looked. You were delighted to say that they did - textures sliding and dancing beneath your fingertips - but you were more focused on what you felt under those clothes.
The heat of Jareth’s skin was immense even through his clothing, enough to pull an answering sensation of heat from you. Every item of clothing you removed from him ratcheted the temperature further up until you felt like there was fire under your skin. 
Halfway through removing Jareth’s ostentatious cape, you pulled away to deposit it safely on his throne. It wouldn’t do to have it trampled by goblins or, worse, land in chicken excrement. 
Jareth muttered complaints for every moment you were away from him, pulling you impatiently closer the moment you were in arm’s reach. “I don’t know why you did that. I intend for that throne to be our next destination.”
You cast an assessing glance toward the door. It looked heavily barred, and you hadn’t been able to budge it, but there was a distinct possibility… “Fine with me, as long as you’re sure we won’t be interrupted. I don’t want to toss any of your subjects from the window of your throne room.”
“The door is locked,” he assured you, ducking his head to press wet kisses down your neck before blowing gently across his handiwork. 
With a shiver at the abrupt shift in temperature, you nodded. “And no goblin has ever managed to circumvent a locked door before.”
Jareth paused, clearly intent on undoing your shirt, but gave a marvelously exasperated groan. “Fine.”
Your triumph was cut off by an abrupt shriek as Jareth pulled you into his arms so strongly that your feet left the floor. “Jareth! What are you doing?”
“You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this, pet,” he replied, pouting. “I’m not wasting any more time.”
And then he was striding toward a section of the throne room that looked distinctly… soft around the edges, and you recognized it as a portal. All of that was secondary, of course, to the ever-present awareness of being held in Jareth’s arms. 
As someone with a proud set of curves, you could count on one hand the number of times you’d been lifted by a lover. That was a shame, since being carried was something of a weakness for you, especially when you weren’t worried about being dropped. And nothing in Jareth’s expression or posture warned that he was about to run out of strength. 
You were still basking in the sensation as Jareth stepped through the portal and into a room that was nearly as large as the throne room. The major differences were that there was no pit and that the place of the throne was occupied by the largest bed you had ever seen. 
A smile stretched across your face as Jareth set you down on that large bed, and he frowned at you. “What is amusing you?”
“This bed is enormous,” you explained. “Yet I’ve never seen you with anyone.”
“I’ve had a partner here on numerous occasions,” he told you haughtily. “Perhaps you have not seen them because you are so busy finding partners among the humans.”
“Perhaps,” you agreed readily enough. “Or perhaps it has been such a long time that your last partner and I missed each other.”
“That…” Jareth’s lips pursed, “...is possible.”
You didn’t necessarily remember closing your eyes while you laughed at that, but you must have. When you opened them once more, Jareth was looming over you. “Pleased as I am to provide amusement, there are other noises I would rather pull from you.”
Your breath caught at the rough admission. Jareth’s face descended before you could scrape up a response, and then you were too concerned with meeting the intoxicating rhythm of his mouth against yours. 
The next thing you knew, you were resting more securely on the bed with Jareth holding himself above you. Both of you were fully naked and you had no idea how you had gotten that way. Most likely, he had used his magic to remove your clothing, but it was possible that you had been too thoroughly distracted by his kisses to worry about something as minor as what his hands were doing. 
In any case, you were reveling in the way your hands could roam over him without encountering any barriers. Jareth’s body was pale, muscles dancing subtly under his skin. That paleness was marked with occasional scars - silvery marks that spoke of injuries from long ago. You couldn’t see much of him below the mid-torso since he was pressed so tightly to you, but you could feel the delicious length of him, hot and hard against your thigh. 
When Jareth finally pulled away, he only went far enough to make eye contact without either of you crossing your eyes. “I want to taste you. Is that acceptable to you?”
“You’re the king,” you reminded him with a sardonic smile. 
Jareth’s jaw flexed and his mismatched eyes narrowed. “Precisely. Which is why I expect an honest answer when I ask a question. Do you want this?”
“Yes.” The confirmation was a little breathless, but Jareth’s reply had been unexpected for someone who placed such an emphasis on retaining control. “Yes, I do.”
“Good,” he told you with a nod. 
His patronizing tone might have set your teeth on edge, but Jareth accompanied it with a praising stroke down the length of your body. His fingertips trailed fire from your collarbone, over one breast, across the swell of your stomach, and down to the part of you that was aching for him. At the same time, he slid down until his face was even with your hips and you could hardly keep still with the anticipation filling you. 
With your knees already parted around him, Jareth had only to wedge his shoulders between your thighs to gain full access to your core. The sudden exposure to the air of the room sent a chill through the parts of you that were burning the hottest, but the coolness only heightened the sensations. 
Jareth didn’t give you any warning, any time to brace. Instead, he ducked his head suddenly, swiping the flat of his tongue from the bottom of your slit to the very top. He paused for a moment while you made a sound of startled pleasure, his lips quirking. 
“Delicious,” he told you. “I wonder if you’re even sweeter inside?”
Before you could offer any reply, Jareth apparently decided to see for himself. One of your legs was tossed over his shoulder while he pinned the other to the bed. That was the only thing that kept you from trying to strangle him with your thighs when he began to torment you in earnest. 
Those plush lips and wicked tongue explored every part of you, wringing pleasure from you like it was something precious he could save for later. 
An elegant finger pushed into your core, pressing into the heat and slickness of you without a bit of difficulty. Your muscles spasmed so dramatically that it forced you to sit up - or, more accurate, to try. Jareth’s arm across your hips kept you pinned to the bed, leaving you to writhe, squeeze your legs around him, and cry out your pleasure loud enough for the entire castle to hear. The hand pressing you into the softness of the mattress strummed fingers across your hip.
With an expression that felt wild with pleasure, you stared down between your own thighs and clenched even harder around that finger. Your eyes had met Jareth’s mismatched gaze where it peeked over the roundness of your tummy. Mischief glimmered on what you could see of his face, and there was a clear sense of enjoyment in his bearing. 
That eye contact sent an electric thrill through you, and you were gone. Your head kicked back against the pillow and you seemed to leave your body for an eternity, shattering into infinite pieces under the onslaught of pleasure Jareth was using to assault you.You may have made a noise - probably had, if you were judging from your experience so far - but you couldn’t hear it over the way your ears rang with the sound of your mind shattering. 
When you finally settled back into your body again, it felt too small to possibly contain everything you had felt. Jareth was applying long, luxurious licks to your core, sweeping over the entirety of your slit and it was all you could do to push him away. 
Jareth gave you a moment to collect your breath, but soon enough, he was peering down at you with no small amount of pride on his strange face. “Will you recover?”
You were a bit embarrassed by the strength of your reaction to him, but you managed a smile and a nod. “Guess I needed that more than I thought. It’s been a while.”
The fae tilted his head to the side, a hint of a smile showing the white points of his teeth. “My dear, do you honestly believe I have lived so long without learning to draw pleasure from someone? Your state of arousal has little to do with it.”
The post-orgasmic glow kept you from mustering the scoff that deserved. After delivering a sad little huff, you told him, “Humble as ever, Goblin King.”
“I would so hate to leave you with an inaccurate idea of my skill,” Jareth drawled. “I would be happy to provide further proof at your earliest convenience.”
Your breath caught in your throat, leading to an embarrassing cough. On the positive side, that cough gave you a moment to internally puzzle through that. Was Jareth volunteering to do this again sometime? He was technically your boss and your king, and thus a romantic connection you had never experienced before, but you couldn’t honestly say you wouldn’t be with him again. Even ignoring the pleasure - difficult as that was - you… really wouldn’t mind repeating this experience. 
“Uh, okay,” you said elegantly. 
Jareth simply smiled at you, but something about his intent gaze warned that he understood your thoughts as clearly as he did his own. Still, all he said aloud was, “Did that satisfy you, pet? Or would you perhaps like to continue?” 
Before you could fight it, your gaze dropped to the apex of his thighs. He was visibly hard and ready for you, his body betraying an eagerness that was totally hidden in his expression. Despite his state of arousal, Jareth was still giving you the option to be done with him. As he was known for his lack of tact, you recognized and appreciated the effort Jareth was putting into making you comfortable. 
And what better way was there to show your appreciation than to offer some relief?
“I think I might need a little more,” you told him, playing coy. You even added a demure drop of your gaze, though you could see him through your lashes. 
That was how you watched when Jareth’s expression sharpened, though his voice stayed careless. “I don’t believe in offering partial respite. I shall see this task through until it is complete.”
The smile that fought to spread across your face was only stifled by the way Jareth caught at your ankle and pulled you further down the bed. He surged upward at the same time until you were firmly beneath him. The fae dotted your face, jaw, and neck with kisses as he settled heavily on top of you. Your legs parted automatically to wrap around his waist and draw him closer, but you were taken aback when the length of him pressed against your still-sensitive core.
You were still surfing the wave of heightened sensation when you felt the tip of Jareth’s length notch into your opening. 
Jareth’s fingers trailed from your forehead down to your jaw, turning your head until he could peer into your face. “Are you ready for me, pet?”
“Yes,” you agreed eagerly. “Please…”
“Don’t beg, sweet thing,” he instructed. “You never need to beg for me.”
And then he was driving into you - robbing you of any ability to process that.
Jareth had seemed to have an average build below the waist, as you had expected from his elegant physique and slender limbs. Still, he felt earth-shattering as he eased inside of you, enough to take your breath away even considering how wet you were with the remains of your earlier orgasm. 
You were utterly still as he pressed in, locked in place by the amount of concentration you had fixed on the feeling of him. But the first time he withdrew from the depths of you, every part of you writhed beneath him. Your hands grasped, your toes curled, your head tilted in an attempt to ease the groan that fought for release from your throat. 
Jareth swallowed that groan, dipping down easily to sweep through your mouth just as thoroughly as he had the first time. He plundered you greedily, feeding on the sounds you made for him as his hips danced closer and away, closer and away. 
Infuriatingly, he kept you - and himself - poised on the edge of orgasm for an eternity, slowing whenever either of you came too close to the precipice. Jareth chased pleasure eagerly, though, tormenting you with fingers and lips to push you higher without allowing you the relief of release.
“Jareth, please,” you begged as his hips slowed once more.
He arched a brow at you. “Yes, pet? What do you need?”
“I-” You gave a hoarse gasp as a deliberate twist of his hips left the length of him brushing against your g-spot. It was followed by a noise of frustration when his pace slowed to a fraction of what it had been. “Please, I need to come.”
His smile was so sudden that it looked almost fierce. “My dear, why did you not tell me earlier?”
A retort sprang to your lips, but it died there as he shifted infinitesimally inside of you. That minor change had devastating effects on the angle of his thrusts inside of you, which picked up speed until it was all you could do not to drown in him. 
Your body tightened around his as it had done so many times before, but he didn’t slow this time. Instead, his lips caught yours as his thumb strummed your clit.
That kiss was only broken when your orgasm hit you like a train, kicking your head back and dropping your mouth open so you could cry out from the incredible intensity of the pleasure that filled you. Your limbs curled around Jareth, constricting to keep him pressed against you as tightly as possible.
On his side of things, Jareth didn’t seem inclined to fight his imprisonment. His hips pistoned between your trembling thighs, burying himself in you over and over until - finally - his rhythm faltered. 
Those sharp teeth were bared in a snarl as he pushed himself as deeply as he could get. The warmth of his release flooded you. 
When the frantic pulses of his hips slowed, Jareth let himself drop on top of you. His weight was on you for a fraction of a second before he twisted to pull you on top of him instead. Since he was still buried in your core, the motion left you in the grip of an aftershock, but you recovered enough to move off of him. 
Jareth’s eyes were closed, but his hands lashed out to keep you from moving as soon as you started to. “I don’t know where you think you’re going, pet, but you are mistaken.”
“I’m just rolling off of you, Jareth,” you told him, exasperated. “If I crush you, it’ll be regicide and I can’t imagine a goblin trial is pleasant.”
“It isn’t,” he agreed, eyes still closed. “But mostly because they show an inability to focus on a single issue for more than seconds at a time. And as for being crushed by you… Not only is it an impossibility, but it sounds rather pleasant.”
“Jareth…” you sighed. 
That made him open his mismatched eyes and you were startled to see the changes in them. The blue-green of his human eye was expanding both toward the pupil and over the white sclera. The pupil-less darkness of his fae eye was doing the same, slowly working out until the entire orb of his eye was dark. 
When Jareth finally spoke, it was with a smile that showed his sharp teeth. “Did you know there is a difference in the way you say my name now?”
You paused, scanning over his face for a moment before you asked, “And what does that mean?”
Jareth didn’t immediately answer you, but his smile didn’t fade during the stretch of quiet. At long last, he said, “It means that things have changed between us. It means that I encourage you to seek to satisfy your needs in my bed. And it means that I chose the perfect person to serve as my emissary in the human world.”
That was significantly less worrisome than what you thought he would say. In fact, it was even… sweet. “I certainly never thought I would end up here, but I can’t say that I regret it.”
“Faint praise,” Jareth said dryly. “But praise nonetheless. We shall see whether we can further improve your outlook on your place in my kingdom.”
“I look forward to that,” you admitted, relaxing slightly into him. 
Jareth’s arms tightened around you, drawing you even closer. “As do I.”
---
Author's Note - Thanks for reading! I'm not officially accepting requests, but someone sent this one in and it caught my interest enough to help me break through some writer's block.
Happy Halloween!
I don't offer a taglist for spicy fics, but you can find other works on my masterlist.
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steddie-thirst · 2 years
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The Goblin King | Eddie Munson X Fem!Reader |
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Note - Those of you who were reading the original crossover, this is the new idea I reworked and came to enjoy much more, so please indulge in letting me know if you enjoy this version much more.
Summary: Jareth has complete control over his realm, until an unexpected turn of events throws him for a loop. In order to retain his spot on the throne he must secure a bride and in his venture to the human realm he discovers you, but you have already been swept off your feet by someone else. Jareth plans to change that and Eddie has to defend his love.
Please enjoy! Let me know if you wished to be tagged as well.
The drive was quiet save for the soft humming of Black Sabbath from the old radio in Eddie's van. He interrupts reaching over to cut the music off, "How old is your grandmother exactly?" Eddie asks, taking his focus off the road briefly to glance over at you. He watches you shift in the leather seat and then takes his gaze back to the road.
"She's sixty, Eds." You reply with a smile, tilting your head over towards Eddie. He hums, thumbs tapping on the worn leather of the steering wheel rings clanking together. Eddie was one of the most notorious fidgeters, biting his nails, fiddling with his rings, tapping, knee bouncing and blank stares. "You don't need to worry so much. She'll like you."
Eddie shakes his head eyes focused in on the road, "Baby its.. its not that. She's like the only relative you know of that is still alive. What if she's not up to meeting us." He shrugs, and you stare at him as he drones on.
"She sent you a letter, sure." He started, "However, what if she sees us and instantly regrets it."
"Eddie, stop. Relax." You assure your boyfriend reaching over to place a soothing palm over his knee, rubbing your thumb in small soothing circles. "It's gonna be okay, Eddie."
He nodded, a sigh of relief escaping him, feeling the tension release beneath your ministrations. "I trust you, baby. I do."
When arriving at the house Eddie's nerves start to get the better of him as he pulls the gear into park. He fumbles with the seat-belt and went to reach into his pocket to pull out a cigarette, but you stop him. He's shaking, but as soon as your eyes lock it stops. "Everything is going to be alright, Eddie."
Things were going to be just fine. Visiting your Grandmother Sarah was taking a toll on Eddie, but she had written letters mentioning something urgent. This something would change your life forever.
TAGLIST:
@yaspillz @dahliamae @munsonloverblog @off-phelia @strangerthingsstories5255 @fujiihime @shyposttree @damon-loves-pie @fanficfanatic204 @seratoninsickness @k0urti @thatlonelypieceoftoast @marianita195 @phantomxoxo @wittlewowa @buchanansbaby @rollergirlworld @allithewriter @555stargirl555 @gothguitargal @eddiemunsons-missingnipple @carol-munson @ali-r3n @letmebeyoureuphoria @cherry-omi @harrys-tittie @yearwalker96 @lipglossanon @thepastdied @brittney69
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Hello! I have a request for Jareth from labyrinth if that's okay?
Could you write where, similar to Sarah but instead of wishing away a sibling, fem!reader wants to actually be taken by Jareth to his kingdom and they end up falling in love? Like, he shows her around his kingdom because she loves fantasy and makes her his queen? Thank you so much and I hope this makes sense! and please take your time!
“We’re choosing the path between the stars…” (Jareth x Fem! Reader) Labyrinth Fanfic: Part 1
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The only comfort in a world so rotten was a dream, a yearning for distant lands of a fantastical nature. Y/n knew this well. Her life was a nightmare and when she looked in the mirror her eyes were the only bright part left of her lifeless face. Sighing with defeat, she turned from her bedroom mirror and threw her bruised body onto her bed like a rag-doll. Weeping into her pillow she hugged herself as each sob made her breathing ragged. Thunder boomed, and rain beat at the windows of the second-story bedroom. Y/n’s father had left to work, a night shift, giving her a brief hour of peace without fear of a beating before her wretched mother came home from her job to torment her. Y/n rolled over on the bed, facing the wall with her bookshelf, now empty after her parent’s fit of rage where they followed through on their threats to box up and donate all her books. Sniffling, she sat up and reached into the crack between her mattress and her headboard, where she had stuffed her favorite fairytale book in anticipation of her mother and father’s actions.
“Labyrinth…” she whispered. Lightning flashed, lighting up the room momentarily with its cold glow. “Oh if only the Goblin King would take me away like he steals away the child in this book.” Y/n said, managing a smirk (despite the stinging pain from her cut on her lip). “I would do anything to get out of this awful place. But would the King really take an interest in me?” She got up and made her way over to her mirror, leaving the book open on her bed as she examined her face, her body, her posture. She knew she wasn’t hard on the eyes. Y/n had been in countless unsuccessful relationships with the popular boys at her college. But that didn’t mean she was without insecurities. ‘Still…’ she thought, then rushed back to the book. Flipping through the pages she found what she was looking for. The line in the book that might’ve changed her life for good, if only she’d read it out-loud. ‘This is silly…’ but her stomach felt like it was filled with stones as she stared at the words. It was a fairytale, but it was one she truly believed, even if Y/n was reluctant to admit it. Those words had weight. Now… she just had to say them. “I wish the Goblin King would take me away…” She paused, feeling her heart skip a beat. “Right now.”
Lightning flashed again, illuminating her bedroom in its brilliance. Y/n closed her eyes and stood there, waiting. Nothing happened, although when she opened her eyes the lights had gone out. She repeated the words again, this time louder. Still nothing. She said it again and again, until her throat hurt. Eventually Y/n gave up. She left her room and went down the hall feeling blindly for a flashlight on the shelves outside her parent’s bedroom. BANG. CRASHHH! Y/n whirled around stumbling through the darkness back to her bedroom where the loud noise had come from. She flashed her flashlight around her room. The doors to her balcony had flung themselves open, and rain poured in, soaking the ground. She blinked as it hit her cheeks. Y/n grabbed the handles of the double doors and forced them closed. They clicked as she locked them, and only then did she notice the electricity in the air, as though…. ‘As though someone is watching me…’ She thought, heart racing. She turned slowly, trembling. The Goblin King stood there, a few feet away, surrounded by glitter and a dark sweeping cape.
“You… came…” Y/n blinked back tears.
The King flashed her a wickedly handsome grin. “You’re a lucky girl, Y/n. If I hadn’t been looking into my crystal, I wouldn’t have bothered answering a call like yours. You do know that changing the words makes them less effective?”
“Oh… I’m sorry.” Y/n mumbled. “Your majesty, you have no idea—“
“—Jareth, darling, its Jareth.” He interjected, stepping forward into the moonlight that peaked through the storm clouds and reaching up towards her face. Y/n stared up at him with wide eyes as he used his gloved fingers to brush away her tears.
“You have no idea how relieved and grateful I am that you came, Jareth.” Y/n said, blushing nervously as he examined the bruised side left side of her face. She watched his eyes darken with intensity as they observed the clear remnants of her last beating. “I can explain…” Y/n said, wracking her brain for less embarrassing alternatives to the truth of her situation at home.
“No need.” Jareth frowned, as if he understood the truth just by meeting her gaze. “I’ll grant your wish, Y/n, but you must understand once I take you to my palace, there is no returning to this world. There is no turning back.”
Y/n nodded without hesitation.
“Well then, you’ve made your decision.” He smirked. The Goblin King took her hand, and the room around them faded into a blur. Y/n felt dizzy as the light of a setting sun overwhelmed her senses and wind blew her hair back. She found herself overlooking an infinite maze from the highest window in a castle. The sky was coral and amethyst as the sun got lower and lower. Jareth sat across from her, fingering four crystal balls so they spun in circles between and around his fingers. seeing his handsome face in this new lighting took Y/n’s breath away.
“The book doesn’t do you justice…, you know.” Y/n said softly.
King Jareth arched an elegant brow, but said nothing. He turned the crystals into bubbles and let the wind carry each one gracefully away. Finally, after quite some time, he spoke. “There’s a masquerade tonight. I suppose I wouldn’t mind if you should show up…” He said smugly, turning to her.
Y/n smiled. She remembered the masquerades mentioned in the book. “Of course! I’d love to go.”
To be continued in Part 2….
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bettyfrommars · 20 days
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Death Becomes Us
Part 10: The Man Who Made a Monster
vampire!Eddie x supernatural!Fem!Reader
masterlist playlist
WC: 7.6k
18+ONLY, MDNI, mention of wounds, car accidents, a bit of body horror, angst, guns, gunshot wounds, reader gets physically hurt (but bounces right back), blood, drinking blood, allusions to smut, evil men, supernatural powers, a demobat fren, fear of the unknown, a fire, werewolf!Steve, Dr. Brenner. References to one of my favorite 80's shows, the Incredible Hulk with Lou Ferrigno, and mid-90's MTV. Tiny references to FOI that you won't even notice if you haven't read the book.
Summary: Eddie, Jareth, and Steve come to your rescue, but do you even need to be rescued? Bad men surface and reader finds strength she never knew she had. Eddie confesses more than one secret to us, and the tension is thick. Reader is called Dove as a nickname.
Author's Note: I covered quite a few bases in this chapter, but there is still a lot to explore in the next and final part. We get to see reader in action and get some much-deserved satisfaction. I 've been staring at it for so long, I really hope you have fun reading this, love you. As always, Jareth's face claim is Jamie Campbell Bower.
-----
this starts right where Part 9 left off
Eddie snatched his keys and shoved Steve out the door before he quickly put some food down for Dio and locked the dead bolt.  
Steve called shotgun in the air, vaulting over the hood like an extra from the movie Grease, making Jareth roll his eyes.  “Is he part werewolf or labrador?” Whispering under his breath to Eddie, but Eddie just nudged him out of the way.
Jareth paused on the opposite side of the Pontiac GTO.  “We should go on foot, it would be faster,” hinting to the lightning-speed with which vampires moved.
Eddie inclined his head to Steve.  “Not when we’ve got the pup with us.”
“Fuck you,” Steve sneered, brushing back a flop of hair from his forehead.  “I can keep up with you two geezers, trust me.”
“What if I just kill him and rid us of the dead weight,” Jareth grumbled.
“You can try,” Steve bit, growling deep in his chest.
“Enough!” Eddie snapped, swatting the top of the car with his hand.  “Everyone get in and hold the fuck on. We’re goin’ for a ride.”
—----
Heat scorched through your veins like lava, and as your eyes fluttered open, you passively wondered if the car was on fire, and you were about to be cooked alive.
But
You were no longer in the vehicle.  Squeezing your eyelids tight to find the memory, recollection came flooding back as your fingers curled into dirt, cheek pressed into the forest foliage.  There might have even been a pinecone acting as a pillow at your ear.  
The muscles in your arms and shoulders throbbed, not to mention the feeling of your skull being cracked open by a catastrophic neurological event.  A migraine to rival all migraines.
You remembered being taken…the conversation about Brenner…and Bela…
Bela!
You called her name, but it came out as nothing but a puff of air, a whine deep in your chest.  
What if she got hurt in the crash? What if she —
The crash!
Adrenaline flushed through you like a swarm of bees and you sat up, cracking your stiff neck as you went, and your head swam.  
Where the fuck were you?
A car passed a few yards away on the highway and you realized you’d been tossed into a ravine.  In the distance, the SUV you’d been kidnapped in was on its back and smoking as if something inside had caught fire.  Where was that awful witch and the man who was driving?
A memory of ripping the door off by its hinges and climbing out of the vehicle flashed behind your eyes, but that was impossible.  You must’ve been able to jump out and then hit your head or something. You weren’t turning green and ripping out of your clothes; you were no Lou Ferrigno.
You moved your legs to make sure they worked, and soon you were on your feet, using tufts of grass to crawl along as if you were about to fall off the earth.
In the distance, thunder rolled.
—----
“Turn here, take the shortcut!” Steve shot his hairy arm between the two seats, pointing to right after the stop sign.
“I know what I’m doing!” Eddie roared.  “Just sit the fuck back and stay cool.”
Eddie could feel you, and his heart was jackhammering in his chest.
He floored the gas, tires squealing as they ghosted the road, peeling down the old highway through the woods that barely anyone used anymore.  The velocity shot Steve back against his seat, and Jareth’s fingers dug into the console while music from Sisters of Mercy blared from the stereo. 
“We’re close,” Eddie lowered his chin, laser focused on the scene ahead of him.  He could feel that familiar static fill his body whenever he was in your vicinity.  
You were not the first human whose blood he’d tasted, not by a long shot.  In fact, for the first few years after he’d been made vampire, he didn’t care about  himself or anyone else, and it seemed there wasn’t a willing human in a 100 mile radius that he hadn’t tasted.
But with you, it wasn’t even about your blood.
You made him feel a certain type of way that he’d been missing for over a decade, perhaps even his whole life.
The clouds trembled, and a crackle of lightning shot a silent burst of light through the midnight sky. All three of them could smell the wreck before it was ever in view, and Eddie released his foot on the gas to slow down a bit.
—---
You stumbled onto the main highway, and the headlights came at you too fast to understand what was happening.  
Everything was so bright, it hurt your eyes. It made you swipe your hands in the air and groan, fighting the illumination as if it were a tangible enemy. 
The car coming at you screeched on its brakes, twisting to the side so that it wouldn’t hit you, skidding sideways.
In a blink, you recognized the stunned faces on the other side of the windshield.
—---
The other two men in the car didn’t see that it was you at first—but Eddie knew.  He’d witnessed those shock white eyes before, void of color or pupil.
Electricity snapped off you, as if  you were a live wire. It crackled and skipped off of your skin like the lightning that appeared above them in the sky.
One of your arms was twisted unnaturally backwards at the elbow, but you somehow flexed the joint back into place as you stood there, correcting your posture.  You stood on one side of  your foot as if your ankle was broken, but then that righted itself with a sickening twist.  Your limbs jerked like the walking dead trying to move for the first time after reanimation.  All of this, and yet your face appeared unphased, as if you were impervious to the pain.
Your face was set in surprise and fear and confusion, and his heart nearly leapt out of his chest to be able to hold you.
With a curse, he slammed the GTO to a halt, tires burning rubber as they locked and skidded on the asphalt.  
Something told him you were fairly invincible, just like him, but he wasn’t taking any chances.  
Steve slid across the backseat, knocking his head on impact, and Jareth’s fingers dug so deep into the console that they left puncture marks.  
Eddie didn’t have time to think about what the other two were doing or the danger of leaving his car in the middle of the highway, he threw the gear into park and jumped out to check on you.
From above, there came a loud squawking, and Bela soared down from where she’d been circling in the sky to land on your shoulder with a weight that almost made you lose your balance.
—-----
Bela bared her teeth and screeched at whoever was approaching from the vehicle.  The headlights were too bright, and your ear canals were on fire with hot noise.  A loud, shrill ringing filled your skull cavity like sharp a million tiny pinpricks.
But then you recognized his silhouette
You’d know  it anywhere
“Eddie?”
“It’s me,” he assured you.  “Are you hurt?”
Bela settled once she knew it was him, lowering her wings, and his body came to block the light so that you could see the distress in his face.  He reached a hand out to touch your arm, but then he yanked it back with a hiss.  It was like you’d given him an electrical shock, with volts like those from a cattle prod or taser.  
“I didn’t mean to do that,” you hesitated, hoping he’d dare to touch you again. 
And he did, rushing closer without pause, not caring about how bad the last one stung. He cupped one hand at your jaw while the other went to your hip, searching your mouth for temptation's sake.  “Let’s get you home.”
He got zapped a few more times from seemingly stray sparks, in the chest and the side, making him wince, but he did not relent.  It was a good thing the violent stabbing did not force him back, because just then your knees gave out and you slumped into his arms. Bela took to the sky again before landing on the hood of the GTO with another high pitched wail, wings spanning out as if she were about to conduct an orchestra.
Eddie dropped to his knees on the ground next to you, careful to protect your head from the pavement with his hand.  In wolf form, Steve trotted over to nudge your face with his snout and lick your cheek with a whimper.
“She’ll be okay,” Eddie took his jacket off and made it into a pillow for you, before angling to sink his fangs into his own wrist.  “She needs blood.”
“Use mine,” Jareth hovered nearby, and you could vaguely hear them arguing as your adrenaline crashed.  “I’m older, my blood is stronger.”
“No,” Eddie growled, and then the two bared their teeth at each other.  
Eddie knew that, more than anything, Jareth wanted to be in  your head, to be linked to you in the same way he was.  To know where you were at all times and for you to have…those special dreams about him.  No way in hell would Eddie let that happen.
He’d already punctured a vein and had his tattooed wrist over your mouth, leaking his life force into your trembling lips until you were able to latch on and suck.  
Jareth’s stare bore into Eddie.  “Maybe I should tell her you’re the reason Brenner knew about her in the first place.”
Eddie glared at him.  “You don’t know fuck about it.”
Jareth smirked.  “I know more than you think about the little ‘job’ you were hired to do for him.”
Eddie’s eyes narrowed and he shushed him. “This isn’t the place for this, Jareth.”
A car had to navigate around the GTO to continue down the old highway, and the person shouted their disapproval, but then the driver slowed once he spotted you on the ground and the SUV that was rolled over on its side in the distance.
Jareth and Eddie turned to him and hissed with their fangs out, glaring at him with obsidian eyes, until he slammed on the gas and sped off in the direction he was headed.  Steve growled and chased after the car, keeping up with it for a while before hanging back to sniff around the wreckage that you’d managed to somehow survive.  
You mumbled, gurgling on a spurt of blood, and Eddie took his wrist away.  Your eyes were closed, but your tongue flicked out to lick more of his essence from your stained lips.  Were you conscious enough to know what they were talking about? He’d planned on telling you everything, but the time was never right.  He never expected things to get so…messy.  Never expected you’d become so…special to him.  
Some rich dude offers you to keep an eye on someone for a couple weeks for an abnormally huge chunk of cash, you do it.  He’d had no skin in the game when he initially accepted the offer.  
Caring about you as much as he did was the last fucking thing he’d expected to happen, but he didn’t know how to make it stop.
Jareth leaned over you to get closer to Eddie.  “If you don’t tell her soon, I will, and your little fairytale will be over.”
All Eddie could do was grind his teeth: Jareth was right, he should’ve explained the whole thing to you that night when he’d waited for you to get back from your date with Steve.  But by then, he was afraid he’d lose you.
Yet, how could you lose someone you never had?
“We need to get out of here,” Eddie eased you into a sitting position, your head flopped, and then held your chin in his hand.  Your eyelids were fluttering and your skin was beginning to cool as the healing properties of his blood took effect.  
God, how badly he wanted to press his lips to yours.
“What about the witch?” Jareth stood to full height to look over and see Steve sniffing around the crash. “What if they survived?”
Eddie had you off your feet and lifted in his arms by then, but Jareth was right.  As much as he wanted to get you far away from there, he’d watched enough horror movies to know that you never turned your back on a killer until you knew they were dead.  Knocking them unconscious with the back of a shovel wasn’t enough; you had to chop their whole head off and throw them in a cement mixer.
Steve morphed back into human form halfway back to the group, butt naked again, to report back on what he’d found.
Eddie waited for him to announce that there was no one in the vehicle and the bodies were gone…
But instead, Steve shook his head.  “Looks like they didn’t survive.  His neck is broken and she’s—-”
“Are you sure?” Jareth blurted with an air of irritation. “Maybe I should check for myself.”
“I think I know what a dead body smells like, asshole,” Steve grunted, pushing back on Jareth’s chest.
The headlights of another car was approaching, and Eddie reiterated that they needed to get as far away as possible from the scene of the crime. He threw the keys to Jareth, and made Steve sit in front so that he could crawl into the back with you while you healed.  Bela billowed into the sky and hovered there, waiting to see where they were taking you so she could follow.  
It wasn’t his blood that healed your broken foot or your fractured arm though—you’d done that all by yourself.  Maybe you didn’t need him after all, maybe you’d be better off without him.
“Put your pants back on,” Eddie tossed the clothing from the back seat over to Steve.  “I don’t need you teabagging the upholstery.”
Next to him, you had your head on Eddie’s shoulder and your hand on his thigh when Jareth sped off just in time to miss being clipped by the oncoming semi truck.  It blared its horn just as you lifted your head to look up at Eddie with groggy eyes.
He licked his lips, feeling his throat close up at how near your face was to his.
“Did you save me?” Your voice was strained, sounding like your esophagus was constricted.
Eddie put his hand over yours and you interlaced fingers.  “I think you saved yourself,” he mumbled.  “You don’t need me.”
“I do,” you said it so fast, and he leaned over even more, thinking maybe he hadn’t heard you correctly.  “I do need you.”
Your hand in his, he brought it up to his chest, searching your eyes as an avalanche of words trembled at the tip of his tongue, right there wanting to roll out like a carpet of devotion to you.  
He took a deep breath to calm his nerves because he was shaking so fucking bad.
Jareth caught his eye in the rearview mirror and the two glared at each other before Eddie broke contact and wrapped another arm around your shoulders to bring you closer.  “We’re almost home,” he hushed, planting his lips to your forehead, blushing at the way you refused to let go of his hand.  “I won’t leave you.”
—----
By the time you got back to the trailer park, your energy and strength had been fortified and you urged everyone to go home to let you get some rest, except for Eddie, who’s hand you were still holding as you got out of the car.
The witch and her companion being dead felt too good to be true, and a measure of palpable dread hung in the air.  It was unspoken knowledge that Brenner was still after you, and he knew exactly where you lived.  
Jareth stepped forward, tipping your chin up with the crook of his finger.  “Are you sure you don’t need anything, love?”
“She has me,” Eddie growled.
Jareth fluttered his eyelids in that bored way he’d mastered.  “If you’re so concerned, we’d be better off at Sacrament.  I can keep her safe there more sufficiently than she’d be in this…” he fanned his hand around a few times, “...this place.”
Bela landed on the railing with a swoosh and squawked.
“I hate to say it, after everything,” you angled toward the steps, exhausted.  “But I don’t think this Brenner person is going to stop until he gets what he wants.” You glanced sideways at Eddie. “I don’t want anyone else to get hurt because of me.”
“I’d like to meet this guy myself,” Steve said through gritted teeth.  
Jareth flipped the collar of his coat up and ran a hand through his golden hair.  “Well, my offer stands.  Sacrament is at your service if you should require shelter or protection.”
“Sounds good,” Eddie said dismissively, reaching for the railing to cage you away from the two men. “We’ll let you know.”
“Thank you, Jareth,” you told him, and he winked at you, returning the genuine curve of your smile.
And Eddie hated it so much, he wouldn't have been surprised if steam were coming out of his ears like a cartoon villain.
But he let it slide because Jareth could make things fucking awkward in that moment if he wanted to.  
You turned to Steve.  “Would you like to come in? I don’t have much by way of food, but—”
“He’s fine,” Eddie answered for him.
The two glared at each other for a beat, but then Steve relented.  “Thank you, but I’m not hungry.  Still, I think I’ll stick around for a while, check the perimeter,” he ignored the tick in Eddie’s jaw and waved at you as he backed up to disappear around the backside of the trailer. 
“Hey Harrington, my vest!” Eddie shouted, and it wasn’t long before the denim came sailing through the air to land on the dead lawn near the porch.  Eddie bent to pick it up with a huff, and by then Jareth had disappeared into the night.
Now you were finally alone, and as much as it was what he wanted, it made his stomach drop.
Eddie paced the living room a bit before taking a seat, perching precariously at the end of the sofa to bounce his knee and gnaw at his bottom lip.  
“Listen,” you took a beer and a half-full bottle of NuBlood out of the fridge to put it in the microwave for him.  “I figure there’s no use asking you to leave with people obviously hunting me down, but I really need to take a shower.  So just…make yourself at home I suppose?”
The microwave dinged and you walked the warm glass bottle over, and then waited for him to wrap his hand around it, fingers grazing yours, before you spoke. “I feel like there are some things we should talk about.”
Eddie was already nodding. “I’d like that,” he gulped.
Eddie waited until he heard the shower running before he sank down into the cushion and used the remote to turn the TV on.  He needed to distract himself from letting his mind wander to how you were absolutely undressing in there, about to be naked and wet and…
He squirmed in his seat and turned the volume up.  It was an MTV music video for Metallica’s Until it Sleeps, but he only vaguely cared as he puffed his cheeks for a forceful exhale. In his head, he practiced what he would say, how he would beg your forgiveness, and how he never really understood what this guy Brenner was all about until it was too late…
In the shower, you made the water as hot as you could handle it, leaning into the burn, and stood there for the longest time without moving. Eyes closed, you could feel Eddie step into the shower behind you, sneaking his hands around to pluck at your nipples.  “Room for one more?” He rumbled in your ear, just before he nibbled it.
He wasn’t really there, but you couldn’t help but touch yourself with a soapy hand as if he were, biting your lip around a moan.
The water ran cold by the time you were ready to step out, swooshing the curtain aside with a swift swipe of your arm.  
The thump of something heavy falling to the ground out in the living room had you straining to hear what it might’ve been as you pulled a clean t-shirt and jeans on.  Music videos were on, playing In the Blood by Better Than Ezra, and you called Eddie’s name.
The only response you got was from Bela, and she let out one long screech that felt like it had the power to break glass.
“Eddie?” You shouted this time, flinging the door open to let the steam roll out and fill the hallway. “Bela??”
The door to your trailer was wide open, but Bela was there, scrambling from the back of the couch to perch on your shoulder the second you came into view. 
“What happened?” You asked your demobat companion.  “He just left us here? Without a word?”
The potted terracotta plant that had once been above the TV right by the door was on the carpet, shattered.  
You crossed your arms over your chest, and shivered as you stepped one foot out on the porch to look around, a chill breeze nipping at your flesh.  “Eddie? Are you out here? Steve?”
The whole court was eerily silent, even the crickets and frogs were holding their breath.
You backed up into the house, pulling the door shut.
The TV screen went from MTV to static, and you stepped back to stare at it while Bela swished her tentacles around nervously, leaving red, raised scratches on your arm and neck.  She was heavy, but you’d gotten used to her weight and hitched our shoulder up to accommodate.
The static changed to the image of a man standing before a black backdrop.  He was tall and thin, wearing a business suit with a full head of silver hair. 
“Hello Dove,” the man on your TV said.
He was looking right at you.
You glanced around for a weapon, but as if he could read your mind he said.  “No need for that, I don’t want to hurt you.”  He was handsome in a “trust me”, evil doctor kind of way, but the last thing you felt like giving him was your trust.
“What did you do to Eddie?” It felt stupid, talking to an electronic device as if it were a person, but that was the situation you’d found yourself in.  
Brenner said nothing, but you got a bad feeling and swallowed to wet your dry mouth before taking cautions steps over to the window facing his trailer to peel back the blinds.
But you could already see the flames inside, and just then, you smelled the smoke.
His trailer
It was on fire.
“Nononono no,” You chanted, charging for the door.  
“Come with me quietly,” the man on the TV said, calmly. “Or your vampire boyfriend will meet the final death.”
You halted in your tracks, glaring down at the older man, nostrils flaring with anger.  “Come with you? Where are you hiding?” You chided; hands balled into fist as you cocked your head. “You’re not afraid of me, are you?”
Brenner looked down before meeting your eyes again.  “Your father underestimated the capacity for your powers.  I don’t plan to make the same mistake.”
“How did you know my father?” You barked.
Outside, one of Eddie’s windows blew out, glass shattering everywhere, and his curtains went up in flames.
You ran outside and flew down the steps before the man's voice could stop you.  Dio, Eddie’s cat, ran by to hide under your trailer.  
Maybe Eddie had gone in like a crazy person to save some photos or something, and somehow, he’d gotten trapped in there.   Bela took to the sky while you rushed to his door.
But then there he was, staggering out on a dark cloud of smoke, holding an electric guitar in his hand.
“My sweetheart,” he held it up.  “I couldn’t let her burn.”
He was smiling at you from the top of his steps, dimples popping, and you could help but mirror it, flooded with relief.  He really didn’t care that his whole place was burning, as long as he had Dio, his guitar, and you.
He’d lost much more in his life to a fire once when he was younger, so this one wouldn't sting half as bad.  
And it suddenly didn’t matter that some creepy old dude could somehow talk to you through your TV: Eddie was okay.  
But then something else happened. 
He took the first step, never taking his eyes off of you, but something knocked his shoulder back, like an invisible punch.  
And then another and another
The smile on his face quivered and his forehead creased, trying to understand what was happening.
He tucked his chin to look at his torso, and your eyes followed.
Dark blooms were appearing on his shirt like liquid spilled from an inkwell.  On his chest, over his heart, from his stomach.  
He stumbled down the last two steps and then fell to his knees, dropping the guitar so that he could brace himself with his hand.
Had Eddie been shot?
You didn’t have time to figure that out.  Some strange voice in your head told you there was a chance the trailer could explode—or maybe you’d watched too many movies—but you had to get him away from there.  He was a vampire, and even if he had been shot, he could heal, but you weren't sure how he would survive his body being blown to bits.  
The next thing you knew, you were carrying him, much like he’d carried you in his arms earlier.  You didn't need to summon the insane strength; it was just there. There was that buzzing in your skull, and you could feel violent sparks crackling through your muscles.
Everyone was coming out of their trailers at that point, and Dolores was screaming frantically into her phone wearing a nightshirt and curlers in her hair.  You didn’t know how long it would take for the fire department to get there, or if there was a possibility that the wreckage would spread to the other trailers.
You put Eddie down on the other side of your hearse and leaned him back against the tire to find there was blood trickling from his mouth, but he still tried to grin at you.
“See,” he sputtered.  “You’re like a superhero.  You don’t need me.”
“But I do,” tears clouded your eyes while another window blew out from the trailer.  You put your forehead to his and your lips brushed together.  “Please, don’t leave me.  Eddie I—”
“The bullets,” he winced.  “They’re silver.  My body can’t reject them.”
There were three or four different holes in him there that were steaming as the silver burned him from the inside.  You cupped your hand on his jaw, and he grabbed your wrist, turning his head to kiss your palm.  
“Here, take my blood—” 
You yanked your shirt down to give him your pulsing jugular, but all of a sudden you were forced back by some unseen force, flying through the air until you landed ass first in the gravel and skidded to a stop, rolling over to find yourself face first at the feet of someone wearing a pair of black, shiny shoes and slacks.
“Dove,” a familiar, deep voice said. “We meet again.”
You pushed back, scuttling away to find that it was the man from your TV; he was standing in your trailer park.  Flanked by two menacing looking men with bald, tattooed heads, wearing sunglasses.  Each of them in suits and ties as if they were the actual Men in Black.  
“I don’t know you,” you grumbled, getting to your feet that were bare and bleeding, but healing rapidly. You checked around each shoulder cautiously to see that there was a handful of other men in suits, all of them holding guns, and then a tall guy with a scalp of strawberry stubble, no more than 20, in a red jumpsuit. The guy had his chin down, eyes pinned on you as if he might shoot lasers from them.
His expression was deceivingly kind.  “My name is Martin Brenner.  I met you before you died the first time,” he said casually.
“You see, your father and I used to be friends,” he walked a circle around you, before coming front and center again.  “He stole valuable information from my laboratory in order to bring you back.  You're my property as well, but he decided to keep you from me.”  
“My father never mentioned you,” was all you could say.  In your peripheral vision, you could tell the others were inching close.
“We could’ve been so great together, Dove.  Imagine your contribution to science.  And you would not be so uncertain about your powers,” he stepped back to gesture at the boy in the red jumpsuit.  “I want to introduce you to Kane.  He was reanimated the same way you were, but under my expertise and supervision.”
Kane had a railroad scar on his forehead, and a hand that was a different skin color than the rest of his body.  It wasn’t just a different skin tone; it was a body part from an entirely different person.
You thought about all of the love you were raised with, and though your dad fumbled the ball on attentiveness quite a bit, you never doubted how much he cared for you.  You were beginning to understand that maybe he didn’t explain what abilities you might have because it would lead you back to Brenner somehow.
The surge of power was growing inside of you, and instead of pushing it down, you let it grow and churn and spill out, creating a type of electrical force field around your body, a vibrating aura of protection.
“Show her what you can do, Kane,” Brenner said.
Not sure what to expect, you watched Kane rubbed his hands together, creating a bright bolt of lightning from the friction, his eyes went milk white, and then he shot an arm out towards the nearest hulking security guard, palm open, and it sent the man in black off his feet, sailing back as if he were hugging an invisible beach ball.  He smacked into the side of the opposite neighbor’s trailer with a bone to metal thwack.  
Your eyes were fixed for too long on the man slumped in the gravel, and when you turned to face Kane again, he was a few steps closer, peering through his lashes at you with an evil twitch of his lips.
Apparently, you were the next example in his bag of tricks.  
Your feet were off the ground before you could process another thought, catching air like a rag doll only to drop down and skid face first into the cold, dry earth.  
Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be, eh? Lifting into a push up position, you spat dirt and blood from your mouth with a curse.
Gathering yourself up and into a crouch, you vaguely heard Eddie call your name, but he was still rendered temporarily helpless by the silver, and your head was spinning.  Not so much from confusion and fear this time, but more…anger.
You nailed Kane with a heated look, and then your hand lashed out in his direction, though he was yards away, and actual sparks flew from your palm, spitting like fireworks.
Kane was pummeled in the gut with a force he obviously wasn’t expecting, and you kept going before he could find his footing again, knocking him down before he could raise a hand at you again..
“How does that feel?” You bit, towering over him. 
In a heartbeat, you lifted Kane’s limp body above your head with a roar that you could not believe came from your own mouth.  Arching back, you aimed to drop him over the nearby trailer hitch, which would surely break his back, if not kill him, but then you remembered who you were and faltered.
Blinking, trying to quiet the buzzing in your skull, you knew you did not want to kill this boy.
You understood, even under such duress, that he was only doing what he was told.  
But Brenner was actually applauding you, pupils blown from the intensity, urging you to keep going, to murder this stranger at his bidding.  
You could’ve very easily ended up just like Kane, if not for the love and protection of your father.  
Heaving, trying to calm yourself, you threw Kane’s body in the opposite direction, so that he landed on flat ground that would absolutely hurt, but he’d be able to walk away.  
Brenner beamed at you like a parent watching their child take their first steps.  “You’re stronger than I’d imagined.  Your powers have somehow increased since your inception, and I’d love to know why.”
You squared up with him, making him step back to avoid the sparks actively snapping off of you.  “What do you want from me?”
You didn’t have to look to know that all of the guns were trained on you.  
“I want you to work for me, Dove. We could change the world together, you and I.”
It felt like he was trying to sell you a car, not asking to hook you up to electrodes and make you his own personal soldier.  
“Never,” you were calm now, and you wanted nothing to do with this man or whatever he thought he could do for you.
The flames went higher on the trailer, and in the distance, wails of a fire engine could be heard.  
You caught sight of Eddie, but he was flat on the ground now and no longer sitting up.
You rushed by Brenner, slamming into his shoulder as you went, but two of the guards caught you by the arms.  It felt like they were stronger than normal men, and when they bared their fangs, you realized they were vampires.
Growling, you flung them off of you, and they went stumbling back as if they weighed nothing, as if you were suddenly impervious to their supernatural strength.
“Kill the boyfriend,” you heard Brenner bark at the men.  “Use the wooden bullets this time.”
A gun cocked, and you ran a few steps, but then vaulted over Eddie’s body, arms wide, using yours as a shield.
You felt the bullet impact like a dagger in your back, but it was as if it bounced off somehow instead of penetrating.  Eddie barked in pain as you covered him, but then he clung to you as you rolled him under the hearse, away from the gunfire.  
Caging yourself on top of him, knees on either side of his hips, and stomachs touching, you could feel how weak he was; the silver enabled his body from healing, and you had to find a way to get them out.  
You watched the feet of the one with the wooden bullets approach the vehicle, thinking of your next move when Eddie whispered into the side of your neck: “You’re so fucking beautiful—”
If this was the end for him, this was how he wanted to spend it: with you, being able to see your face one last time.  
Before you could respond, there came a shrill, tortured scream, and the booted feet you had your eye on stumbled back.
More agonizing screams, until the body in question dropped to the ground, limbs writhing, and you could see that Bela had attached herself to his head like an Alien facehugger.  
Only because he was a vampire, he was able to pull her off, but she took most of his flesh and his nose off with her.  
Bela took to the sky again, out of view, and they aimed their guns up at her.
“Not so fast, boys,” a new voice rumbled from the shadows. “I want to play, too.”
Eddie’s shallow breaths moving under you, it was all you could do not to cheer out loud when you realized the voice belonged to Jareth.
And apparently, Jareth brought friends; enough to fill the entire courtyard.
They were crouching on the roofs, on cars, everywhere.
Brenner and his crew were surrounded; Bela had gone to get help.  
In the woods, a pack of wolves howled their attendance as well.  
Jareth pierced the closest vampire in the heart with a wooden stake and he exploded, guts flying everywhere.  
As far as the human bodyguards went, the rest was a bloodbath.  
From what you were told later, Kane ran, and Brenner tried to get behind the wheel of the SUV, but instead he was dragged into the war zone and drained dry before being ripped limb from limb. 
Jareth wanted to keep the doctor in his dungeon to torture him, but a few of the vampires knew of Brenner and the experiments he’d done on their kind over the years.  It was all nothing short of sadistic torture, keeping them barely alive so that he could run experiments on them over time and sell their blood for a profit.
They’d been wanting to get their hands on him for a long time.
—-----
By the time the rescue team and fire truck showed up, all of the vampires had evaporated into the shadows, and you’d snuck Eddie up into your bedroom, carrying most of his weight as he was only able to hobble.  You collected his guitar as well, and brought Dio inside, since those were the only two things from the burning wreckage, he voiced a care about.  With the lights out and the curtains closed, you used a modest bedside reading lamp to assess the damage.  While you were concentrating on him, his eyes never left your face, his heart bursting. 
“You might have to suck them out,” he cleared his throat.  “The bullets I mean.  I’m sorry if that’s weird.”
“You mean, weirder than all of the other shit that happened tonight?” You mumbled, coming back from washing your hands.  There was still dirt caked under your nails, possibly some blood, but whatever.
“Good point.”
Until you got the bullets out, any blood you gave him would be useless, so without another moment of hesitation, you crawled up on the bed, springs bouncing, and knelt next to his torso, bracing a hand at either side of him. He was burning up around the sight of each wound, and the skin sizzled as the alloy continued to roast him alive.  
The first one was at the surface and came out fast, hot metal on your tongue.  The next one, under his right nipple, was deeper and you had to suck harder, making Eddie’s toes curl.  You spit each out onto the floor, and strings of his blood mingled in your saliva.
One hand behind his head, the other rested at his hip with a thumb in his belt loop.  “So, you’re like…the incredible Hulk, but with powers.  That’s pretty badass.”
“I don’t know what I am,” you scoffed, sucking out another, and then pausing to watch the openings seal up and heal.  “I’m a waitress, that’s all.  That’s all I want to be.”
He nodded, musing on how many times he’d wished he could go back and not be a vampire. He wanted to tell you the story of when he was reborn, but that could wait for another time.  Now it was time to put some very messy cards on the table. 
The last bullet was deep, and you had to swirl your tongue around in the hole to loosen it.
“I have something I need to tell you,” he blurted while your lips were near his belly button.
“Mmmhmm?”
Fuck, here it goes…
“First, I just want to say that I had no idea who this Brenner guy was before, like, a few months ago,” his next swallow felt like he was chugging a grapefruit. “If I’d have known what a creep, he was I never would’ve…”
You stopped what you were doing to raise your head, waiting for him to finish, the final bit of silver still lodged in his abdomen. “You knew of Brenner? Before all this?”
He couldn’t look at you, he had to stare at the ceiling.  
“Uh, yeah, that first week you were here, he tracked me down at the chop shop and said he’d pay me a shit ton of money to keep an eye on you. I didn’t ask a lot of questions.  As far as I knew, you were his long-lost daughter, or some shit and he wanted to make sure you were safe.”
You sat back on your knees, trying to let that sink in.
He lifted up to brace himself on an elbow, wincing at the sting of the remaining bullet.  “I didn’t know you then, that was before we were…” he fumbled with what he wanted to call you and what you actually were, “...a friend.”  
“So,” you frowned down at your hands.  “You’re the reason I was kidnapped tonight? The reason all of this happened?”  Your wide eyes snapped to him.  “Did you set me up?”
He sliced his hand in the air a few times, shaking his head vigorously.  “No..nope…I had nothing to do with any of this,” he pleaded.  “I only reported back to him for a couple of weeks, and then I stopped, really.  After that night I first took you to Sacrament, I told him I was too busy to—”
All of the horrific memories were rushing back to you.  “What about the Klemp’s? Did you pay them to hurt me or something? So that I’d have to drink your blood and let you into my head?”
Eddie spoke so fast; he stuttered over his words.  “No, absolutely not, never! I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I would never let anyone hurt you like that.”
“But they did hurt me,” you muttered.
Now it was you who couldn’t look at him, working your jaw muscles as you tried to decide which emotion you should be feeling.
“Why should I even believe you?” Your voice was small.
“Please believe me I—”
“If you knew this guy was stalking me, why didn’t you tell me sooner? If you’re as concerned for my welfare as you claim to be?”
You couldn’t tell if you wanted to cry or scream; maybe both.
Eddie didn’t have a chance to answer.  You were on your feet at the end of the bed with your arms crossed.  
Suddenly, you were shaking, and you couldn’t control it. “After Sacrament, I didn’t see you for a long time, it felt like you were avoiding me.  Was that because you no longer had to fake interest in me for your scam?”
Eddie pushed himself up into a seated position, blinking back the memory of how painfully hard it had been to stay away from you for all that time.  “No, you have to trust me, that had nothing to do with—”
“Trust you?” You barked a sarcastic laugh.  “Tell me why then? Why avoid me for so long, huh? Because you weren’t getting paid to—”
Eddie’s voice wavered and he spoke in a rush.  “Because I started to have feelings for you, that’s why. Happy? Because ever since that first day I saw you, you’re all I can fucking think about.  Because I can’t even look at another woman without seeing your face, and believe me, I’ve tried. I’ve gotten real good at disappointing people and leaving people behind, and all I know is, I don’t want to disappoint you.”
Your lips parted to say something, but he figured what the hell, he might as well scare you all the way off while he was at it.
He relaxed his shoulders and wet his lips. “I never told you that I was made vampire against my will.  I died and was brought back, but my heart went cold, and I never thought I’d feel anything for anyone ever again.  I didn’t want to feel anything.  I should’ve stayed dead, I wanted to be with all of the people I’d lost…”
His suede brown eyes sought your face.  “When I’m with you, I don’t feel dead anymore. When I think about you, I feel fragile and human again.  Like maybe I’ve got something worth giving away.”
Silence filled the room like helium in a balloon about to burst.  
He’d gone for broke, and there was nowhere left to hide. He was officially at your feet, where he’d always been.
“You don’t have to say anything,” he whispered when you didn’t respond right away. “I get it.”
You tilted your head all the way back to stare at the ceiling.
“I dream about you every night,” you admitted on an exhale. “Logically I know it has to do with ingesting your blood, but it’s…it’s more than that.”
He bit at the inside of his cheek, picking at a thread on the comforter.  “Every night, huh?”
You gave a few slow nods, and you could almost hear the smile pull across his teeth. 
“Yeah, so, blood induced dreaming should only happen a handful of times after it’s ingested,” he said, shifting in his seat. 
You kept nodding, since that was something you’d already suspected.  “The dreams are always so vivid, I wake up…”
He dared to finish for you after a long pause. “Wanting more?”
“No,” you corrected, turning to face him.  “I wake up wishing they were real.”
----
I la la la love you all who have reached out to me about this story and continue to cheer it on. Comments, reblogs, and asks about this world mean everything to me.
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m-jelly · 14 days
Text
Mask of the heart - Chapter 1
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Levi x fem!readerRoyalty, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Curses, Curse Breaking, Demons, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Magic, Romance, Drama & Romance, Falling In Love, Love, Love Confessions, True Love, Demon Levi Ackerman, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Running Away, Arranged Marriage, Obsessive Behavior, Soft Levi Ackerman, Levi Ackerman Needs a Hug, Protective Levi Ackerman, Possessive Levi Ackerman, Cuddly Levi Ackerman, Masks, Curvy Reader
When the psychotic prince of your country tries to force you to marry him you manage to run away to the next country over and right into the arms of a demon Count called Levi. Levi has been cursed to be forever stuck in his demon form, believing he is ugly and scary to others he always wears a mask. Levi looks after you and helps you learn how to trust others again. While Levi teaches you the world's joys, you teach him how loveable and handsome he is. With encouragement from yourself and a lot of your pure love, Levi starts taking his mask off more and allowing his people to get to know him. With romance blossoming between you, the prince of the other kingdom wants you back and tries everything to get you back. Levi helps you and works with King Erwin to stop the prince of the other land and free the people of his tyranny.
This first chapter mentions blood, the prince hurting workers and possessive behaviour.
Ao3
Part 2
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Pleasure flowed through the prince as he pressed the hot symbol against his servant’s chest. Every scream that was emitted from the man was incredible. The prince took joy in hurting others, it was his favourite pastime. When he wasn’t hurting someone, he was busy partaking in the flesh of many women. Never loyal to one woman, there was always another each night. Sometimes he’d have them for just a week.
However, a part of him longed to have someone he could devote his heart to. No matter how many times he met countless women, not a single one of them stirred his heart or moved him. As he placed the hot brand against the man’s flesh again, he decided that a ball was needed. The prince was determined to meet the woman of his dreams.  
He lifted the hot iron and inspected the skin clinging to it. “Mr Clarke? Organise a ball for me and make sure that every single bachelorette of age is invited. I want a wife.”
Mr Clarke gazed at the prince as the words settled in his head, it was shocking to hear his master tell him to gather women so one can find a bride. Prince Jareth Lovell was a cruel man to all those around him, yet charming and alluring to those he needed to be. It was hard not to be captivated by the prince with his chiselled jawline, angled cheekbones, almond eyes were icy blue, lips plump that always held a wicked smile, a tall frame to tower over others, muscles over every inch of him, small waist, large hands and a mane of long silver-white hair with a few pieces at the front to create layers.
He bowed to the prince. “Yes, Your Highness.”
Jareth lowered the iron and gazed at his helper. “I want it soon. I crave a wife. No more temporary lovers. Make sure the ones I have are cleared out.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
The whole palace was in a frenzy about organising the ball, as soon as everything was in order the invites were sent and news broke out. The charming prince was after a wife. Most women were excited to be the one the prince married, especially those who had taken him as a lover some nights. However, one rare woman despised the prince and the country after everything that had happened.
Your parents had owned a lot of land, and your father was a well-loved Lord by many and cared for those in need. The royal family were not keen on your father and his influence on people. Your father and mother wanted to take their money and run away to the next country over. During a trip to the border to organise their escape with you, their sweet eight-year-old daughter, there was a carriage accident. With every fibre in your body, you believed the royal family did it.
After your parents died, your uncle and aunt took you in. The two of them were obsessed with money and fame, so they tried everything to take what was your father’s but thanks to the will your father made, it was all yours. When you came of age, you moved out and returned to the land your family owned and lived in a small home. However, your aunt and uncle were always around and wouldn’t leave you be.
Today you were even more irritated by them because your cousin, who was younger than you, was screaming about an invite from the palace. “Ruby, please stop screaming.”
She shoved the white invite card in your face. “The prince has invited us to a ball!”
“Am I supposed to be excited?”
“Yes!” She huffed. “It’s a chance to be a princess and then a queen!”
The idea of being a royal did not interest you, so you looked back down at your work. “I’m good.”
“I’m telling mum!”
You rolled your eyes. “You do that.” It didn’t take long for your young cousin to rush out of the room and return with your aunt and uncle. “Before you speak, no I am not going.”
Your uncle huffed as he said your name. “She is only 20, she is of age to marry the prince. You don’t need to go as a potential bride, but you could at least escort her! She’s younger than you and she’s not used to those types of places. At least escort her.”
You glanced over at your cousin. “You do know the prince is a monster. His whole family are terrible.”
Ruby pouted. “I just wanna go to a ball.”
Part of you felt bad because she’d never been to a ball or a grand event but you had. So, you decided to push your issues aside. “Very well, I’ll escort her.”
“I ah…” She hesitated.”
You cast your gaze on her. “Yes?”
Nerves began to show on through her playing with her dress. “I do not have a ball gown.”
Your aunt moved closer. “Help her, please? We aren’t rich enough to get her something so fine and beautiful.”
You rose to your feet. “I know of a local lady in my land who will give us a good deal.” The clacking of your heels on the wooden floor echoed in the room. When you noticed no one was falling you paused. “Are you coming?”
It was a nice day with Ruby in the shop, to see her so happy dressing up warmed your heart a little. For a long time you’d been hurting and rather closed off, it had become so bad that your ex left you and said you were a cold-hearted bitch that didn’t understand love. It was true, that you were rather cold-hearted but you did know love and it wasn’t for him. A part of you craved and longed for love, but you believed it was somewhere out there, not within this country. You were going to finish what your parents started, you were going to take your money and power then leave this place and never return.
Sometimes you would feel bad about leaving, mainly because Ruby was sweet and the people you looked after in the small land you owned were incredible. There was this sweet bond that was between everyone in the town and you, so walking away was going to be hard. The land was near the border on the beach, so a part of your plan was to possibly sell the land to a royal or lord in the country bordering this one. Someone had to be better than your royal family.
After helping Ruby with her dresses, you spent a few days teaching her how to dance and greet royals. You ensured she knew that her head must be slightly bowed and eyes downcast when she spoke and only to lift your head when requested. The greeting bow was also important, the deeper the bow the more respect you had for the royal. Ruby had told you she was going to go for a very respectful bow, which you supported.
When the day of the ball arrived, you felt sick to your stomach about going but you had promised Ruby to take her. Ruby was too young to go alone and was not educated enough to speak to royals and powerful people. It was sweet seeing her bounce in her carriage seat, but for you, your anxiety was eating away at you the closer you got. Wearing a corset and a tight ball gown was a little bit soothing for you, it was like a tight hug.
As you walked up the stairs and held your dress you gave Ruby the last bits of information. “Now, when we go in there they will announce us. You will have a Miss as a title and I Lady. This is a little odd because the prince will already be there. Normally at balls, the prince or royal enters last, but he wants to see every woman enter.” You stopped at the top. “This is like a parade of things he can shop for.”
Ruby nodded. “I understand. Are we first or last? It’s always good to be around there.”
You handed over the invites to the butler. “We’re middle.”
The butler checked the cards. “Correct, you are in the middle. Do not worry miss, the prince cares for all ladies.”
“A word?”
“But of course.”
You moved to the side with the butler. “Ruby is a potential bride, but I am not. I am here as her escort.”
He was in utter shock. “My Lady, you were invited as a potential bride.”
“And I decline that invite. I am just an escort, nothing more. Please announce me as the escort.”
A slight fear shot through him, he was sure the prince would not like this. “A-Ah um…very well, my Lady.”
The grand white doors with gold leaf trim were pushed open to reveal a large hall with a white marble floor sprinkled with gold. In the ceiling were paintings of battles, women taking lovers and grand scenes of royal successes. Two chandeliers sparkled in the light like the sunlight bouncing off the sea. Below was an overhearing throne with the prince sitting upon it, quivering behind him was Mr Clarke and a few women on the floor begging for attention.
As the soft music played, the prince brought his gold chalice to his lips and felt unamused by the women so far. Not a single person had interested him and he was beginning to get antsy. When the doors opened he dragged his bored eyes up and felt his ears prick with interest when he heard Ruby being announced with a female escort. As soon as he heard your name, he held back a laugh and couldn’t believe you had come here.
Jareth smirked. “Is that the girl whose parents died due to my father?”
Mr Clarke leaned closer. “Indeed, Your Highness.”
“It’ll be interesting to see that little welp. I find it amusing that she is an escort and not a potential bride. She must have rejected me.” He downed some of his red wine. “Rightly so, that disgusting…” Words failed him as soon as you walked out with Ruby in your figure-hugging dress and hair up and away from your stunning face. “Such beauty.”
“She is a fine one. Let’s see how she bows.”
Jareth saw Ruby give a deep bow, but you gave a small one which was disrespecting the prince. Rudy was blushing, but you could not care less about this occasion and didn’t even bother to sneak a glance at him, like most of the ladies tonight.
Clarke gasped. “How disrespectful, I am so sorry Your Highness.”
Jareth rose to his feet. “Don’t be. I liked it. What a hypnotic creature.” He moved past the pleading women as Clarke scrambled to follow. “I must have her. She will be my bride.”
“Your Highness?”
Jareth turned to his helper with a glint in his eyes. “Being a lady means she is well educated. She is beautiful like a goddess. She is willing to speak and act her mind even though there could have been a risk to her life. She was bold too by rejecting me of all people. Send an invite to her. I wish to see her in private.”
Clarke bowed. “Yes, Your Highness.” With quick movements, Clarke made it across the room to you. Getting closer to you now, he was beginning to understand why the prince was so taken by you, you were a vision. “My Lady?”
You turned with a glass in your hand and a smile on your face due to speaking with a rather charming Lord, a friend of your father’s. “Yes?”
“The prince would like to see you privately.”
Your nail tapped against your champagne glass. “Does he now?” You flicked your gaze to the prince as he watched. “Tell him I decline. I am an escort tonight and I am conducting business. I am not interested in marriage or a roll in the sheets with him.”
Fear shot through Clarke. “M-My Lady! Please.”
“I understand your situation, but I decline. He can find a play toy elsewhere.” You returned your attention to the man you were speaking to. “As I was saying, I am happy to meet up to create a contract of trading between the two of us.”
The gentleman chuckled. “Excellent. You remind me so much of your father, he was a good man. He would be so proud of you.”
“Thank you, that means a lot to me.”
Mr Clarke cried out your title and name causing people to stare and the prince. As soon as you turned to him he spoke. “His Royal Highness would like a meeting with you.”
“As I explained to you the first time.” A strained smile spread over your lips. “I decline his invitation. I am an escort tonight, that is all. If it upsets him so much that I say no, then he can come here himself and I will tell him no to his face.”
Mr Clarke felt irritated when he saw people were trying to hide that they were laughing. “Fine.” A part of him was excited at telling the prince you said no because then you would get tortured, Clarke rather liked it when that happened. “Your Highness.”
A tingle rushed through Jareth. “Well? When is she meeting me?”
“She declined.”
Amusement and excitement now consumed him, this was even more exciting. “Declined?”
Clarke glanced over at you. “She did.” Seeing you be strung up and tortured by the prince was exciting him. “She said you can talk to her and she will reject you to your face.” He gazed at his prince and waited for a reaction of disgust, but was shocked.
Jareth laughed. “What a woman. I will speak with her.” People parted out of the way as Jareth’s long and muscular legs moved him over to you. He towered over you with his height. “Excuse me.” He softly said your name and felt arousal when you turned to face him. To him, you were incredibly beautiful and your plump breasts were wonderfully pressed in your dress and corset. “I was told you wanted to tell me your response to my invitation.”
Your neck hurt a bit looking up at him. “Goodness, you are too tall.” You huffed a little. “I informed your little messenger that I will not meet with you in private. I am escorting my cousin Ruby, that is all. If you want so woman to roll around in the sheets with for a night or few nights, I am not the woman for you. So, no I will not have a meeting with you.”
“I am not looking for a woman to lay with. I am looking for a bride.”
You bowed your head to your friend and started walking away. “You are not husband material.” You stopped in a hall half open to the garden. “Knowing you, you would have countless affairs. You cannot stick to one woman.”
He grabbed your upper arm and yanked you to him, he made sure you looked him deep in the eyes. “You are different. I will give everything to have you. I will destroy anyone in my path. You are everything I could ever want and more.”
“I do not want you.”
He gripped tighter making you wince. “Perhaps I will have a word with your uncle. You may be a lady and have power, along with being well over the age of 18, but he still has the final say. The law states that the male of the family has the final say on marriage.”
A cold fear went through you. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“I enjoy a challenge and you are the biggest challenge. I desire you deeply and I will make you mine.” He pulled you close and forced a kiss on you. “I will visit your uncle soon.”
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It hurt deeply in your heart that your Uncle and Aunt went against your pleas. No matter how much you told them both you did not want to marry the prince, it fell on deaf ears. Arrangements were being made for you and as soon as your Uncle said yes, you were whisked away to the palace. Being in the palace was so deeply lonely and soul-crushing. The prince was deeply obsessed with you in a very disturbing way. Anyone who said anything against you was tortured personally by his hand.
There was only one good thing about the palace and that was one maid and a carriage driver. The two of them cared for and looked after you, they even made sure you stayed mentally healthy. Sometimes when you were alone with them, you would just talk for hours which gave you a boost to keep going. When they saw you weren’t going to get any better, talks of escaping started and a plot of you running away began.
It was hard to plot your escape, mainly because the prince had spies all over the palace who were very loyal to him. Plus, the prince made sure he was with you as often as possible and took you on countless dates. The prince wanted you to fall in love with him, he knew it was a hard job to do so wearing you down first was the best option and hoping the Stockholm syndrome would kick in.
Today you were hoping for an easy day. You’d been sleeping more and hardly eating, so you were weaker than normal. You were a plump person, but the weight was starting to drop off. It scared you that it was happening because you liked your curves, you were proud of them and Jareth was just draining you of so much happiness and health.
Your maid moved closer to you as you sat up in your grand bed. “Good morning, my lady. Did you sleep any better?”
You shook your head slowly. “More nightmares. I don’t know if I can keep doing this. Marrying him…” Bile rose in your throat. “I feel sick.”
She helped you out of bed and to the bathroom. “I will get you some water, my lady.”
Jareth shoved your bedroom doors open. “Doll! Where are you?”
The maid flinched at seeing the prince. “Your Highness.” She bowed deeply. “My lady is in the bathroom.”
A devilish smirk spread over his plump lips. “Bathing?”
“N-no, she is unwell.”
The smile faded away. “Unwell?”
“She had a restless night and is currently being sick.”
“What?”
You walked out of the bathroom and hummed. “I am fine before you start a tirade.”
Jareth was soothed as soon as he saw you. “Doll, you look so cute in your night dress. Your maid has told me you struggled with sleep, perhaps sharing my bed would help.”
You glared at him. “I would rather sleep on a bed of broken glass.”
“I do adore your sharp tongue.” He clicked his fingers. “Maid, dress my bride up in something beautiful; it’s date day.”
You walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. “Are you not tired of this constant charade?”
“It’s entertainment for me.”
You released a grow. “Leave so I may change.”
A dark and deep chuckle came from him. “Leave me waiting until the wedding day, hm?” He glanced at his maid. “Hurry up and dress her, I don’t like waiting and if I am not pleased…”
You stormed over to Jareth and shoved him out of the room. “I asked you to leave. Please don’t pressure my maid either.”
He stopped outside your room as he chuckled. “You continue to surprise me.” He turned to face you. “Such a beautiful thing.”
You slammed the door in his face. “Let’s get this over with.”
It didn’t take long for the maid to dress you up into an incredible dress that fit you perfectly, you were like a walking goddess. Jareth was speechless and over the moon about how you appeared. After joining him, you were escorted all over the palace so he could show you off. Eventually, he took you to the garden for some lunch together.
Jareth paused while eating and noticed you weren’t. “Why are you not eating?”
You sighed. “I’m not hungry.”
“You haven’t eaten all day!” He stood and dragged his chair closer to you before sitting again. “You need to eat.” He put some food on a fork made of gold. “You like fighting me all the time. You can’t fight me if you’re weak.” He offered the food to you. “Besides, your plump and curvy frame is divine.”
You released a long sigh and knew he was right. You had started to like how you looked and you needed your strength. “I will eat but, please don’t feed me.”
He handed the fork to you. “I will get you to love me.”
You started eating your lunch and rather enjoyed it. “Mm.”
He caressed your cheek. “So cute and precious.”
“Do you really think I’ll love you? You’ve used your power and the law to force me to be your fiancée.” You downed some of your drink. “Love will not happen between us.” You flicked your gaze to him. “Are you even capable of love?”
He leaned his cheek on his hand as he took you in. “I love you, so yes.”
“You torture workers for your amusement and I am sure your father was behind the death of my parents.” You leaned closer to him. “You love it when people get hurt or die by your hand. Plus, you have slept with so many women who knows what diseases you have inside you. I would never want to touch you or let you near me. I will never give you a child because I don’t want your infected body to touch mine.”
The rage inside Jareth built up, he had never been called disgusting and infected before. As soon as you finished talking he flew into a fit of rage. When he stood up the chair scraped loudly against the floor. It all happened in a blink of an eye. One minute the butler was standing waiting for instructions, the next moment Jareth had smashed the hot teapot against him. Blood flew through the air when Jareth’s fist connected with the butler’s face over and over.
You launched yourself at Jareth and hugged his arm. “Stop!” You pulled hard. “Stop it!”
A fearful scream escaped you when Jareth grabbed and threw you across the grassy floor. The thud of your body was loud when it connected with it. Jareth didn’t give you a moment to think because he was on you pinning you against the ground. His large bloodied hand gripped your jaw and mouth in a painfully hard squeeze. You breathed heavily through your nose causing his hand to heat up.
Jareth panted a little as his silvery white hair created a curtain around you both. “I am not disgusting or dirty.”
Part of you hoped someone would come to pull him off you, but no one would dare because he would break them. Plus, it seemed a lot of people who worked for him enjoyed it when he was violent. You were doomed if you stayed with this man. As he pinned you in place you knew that you had to run away because no one was ever going to save you.
He leaned down a little more so he was inches from your face. “I might have enjoyed fucking a lot of women or having them suck my cock, but I ensure that everyone was well protected. I don’t want a dirty child being made from them. You have me all wrong, little doll. I never came inside a single woman. I protect my seed.” He released your face and caressed your cheek. “I am saving myself for you.” He dragged his thumb over your bottom lip. “I was to fill your breedable cunt with all my seed. Our children will be perfect.”
You went numb when he leaned down and kissed you. You didn’t kiss him back, so for him, it was like kissing a doll. Even when his teeth pulled at your lip, you didn’t react. As soon as he gripped your breast, then you got angry. You slapped him hard causing him to pull back. You sat up and wiped the blood off your lip and felt annoyed by him.
Jareth sat back and rubbed his cheek. “Doll.”
You stood up and gently rubbed your jaw. “You will never have me.” You glared at him. “I won’t allow it. You don’t deserve a woman like me.” You released a long sigh. “I am done with this date. I don’t want to see you for the rest of this day.” You walked over to the hurt butler. You took his hand and helped him to his feet. “I’m sorry you got hurt because of my words. Let me care for you.”
The butler shook his head. “I’m okay, my lady. We have a medic.”
You pulled back and smiled. “Let me know if you need anything.”
Jareth stumbled to his feet. “Doll, please don’t leave me. I am sorry for my actions.”
You turned to your maid. “Please could you take me to my room?”
She bowed. “Yes, my lady.”
After returning to your room, the maid helped you change. The room was silent for a while before the maid started talking about helping you escape the palace. It was unexpected to hear her want to do that for you, but you weren’t going to turn her down. So, you started plotting your escape. You worked hard and passionately, but something seemed off with your maid and she seemed to be putting a bit of her ideas in the open.
The way your maid was sometimes with you was a little harsh after how romantic Jareth had tried to be recently. Even though not everything seemed right, you still had some sense of hope and you made a little backup plan with the carriage driver just in case. Your carriage driver was a wonderful older man who seemed the most genuine.
One day your plans came crashing down and breaking your heart. You were enjoying some peace in his grand garden, which seemed to be the only nice place in the palace. Your peace was ruined when Jareth came storming over with two guards and Mr Clarke. Whatever he wanted brought him some sick joy because he had a smirk on him that said he was going to hurt someone.
“You think you’re so slick, don’t you?” Jareth chuckled. “You thought you could get away with this.”
You closed your book and looked up at him, but it seemed he wasn’t looking at you but your maid. “Jareth?”
He glanced over at you and kissed you. “Not you, my doll. You’re a good doll. Someone has taken advantage of you to get my attention.”
“I don’t understand.”
He played with your hair. “Your maid.” He smiled as he took in your beauty. “I still can’t get over how beautiful you are.”
You looked over at your maid as the guards grabbed her. “What are you doing with my maid?”
She smiled at you. “Looks like I’ve been found out.”
“Found out?” Fear shot through you, it had to be your escape plan. “What do you mean?”
Jareth sat next to you on the loveseat and released a long sigh. He pulled you close and held you. “Well, have you ever wondered why you’ve been so unwell?”
You gripped your book. “I thought it was due to stress.”
“Well, this little bitch has been poisoning you. While she’s been doing that, she has been leading you on and pretending to help you go on a trip.”
You felt a pain in your heart. “Oh…why?”
Jareth hummed a laugh. “Why indeed. Why don’t you tell us why, little bitch?”
The maid huffed. “You have had countless women, but you never once wanted me!” She shook a little. “I could give you everything you could ever want.”
Jareth held the side of your head and pulled you close so he could kiss your temple. “You are nothing because you are not my doll.” He held you close. “Clarke, you know what to do with this bitch.”
Mr Clarke smiled. “Yes, Your Highness.”
He waited for everyone to leave before speaking to you. “I am ever so sorry for the treatment you have received, but now you are protected and safe. We’ll get your health back on track.”
Tears stung your eyes. “Mm.”
He hugged you tightly. “Now it’s just me and you, no more maid in our way.”
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A few maids hurried around you as you were pushed and pulled into your wedding dress. The number of layers and the tightness of the corset were too much. Since your maid was taken away, Jareth was with you every second he could meaning it was impossible to plot your escape. It seemed like there was no escape for you and you were stuck. All you could think about was having to sleep with Jareth because of the royal rules that the marriage had to be consummated.
“My lady?”
You lifted your head and registered your carriage driver standing at the door of your carriage. “Today is the day that I die. As soon as I marry him, everything inside me will die.”
He watched you sob into your flowers. He reached inside your carriage and placed his hand on your arm. “I won’t let that happen.”
You sniffed. “What do you mean?”
He clenched his jaw. “It has been an honour.”
You flinched when he slammed the door and climbed into his seat. “What is happening?” You yelped when he cracked the reins and the carriage sped off. Your back slammed into your seat as the carriage raced off. “Harold!” You clambered over to the other seat and opened the little window to the driver seat. “Harold?”
The loud thumping of the horse's hooves and their breathing was so loud, but he managed to shout over them. “I’m setting you free. I’m getting you to the border!”
“Harold, he’ll kill you.”
He sighed. “I know, but I cannot let you do this. Run across the border, do not look back. Get yourself safe and find love.”
You let the tears fall. “Thank you, Harold.” You pulled back and started pulling at your dress so it’d be easier for you to run. You yanked your engagement ring off and tied it to the flowers. After shoving the door window open, you tossed the flowers out. “Freedom.”
As the carriage shook and travelled along the road to the border, you sat back and closed your eyes so you could enjoy some peace. A shout made your whole body jump. It seemed like Harold was shouting about something. You leaned out the window and looked behind you to see it was the royal guards in the distance racing towards you as well as Jareth.
Harold cracked the reins. “Don’t worry, my lady! I’ll get you close to the border! We’re almost there!”
You breathed out to see it was cold out. The mountain path was the only way you could escape. “Harold, thank you!”
“I’ll race into the woods. You need to jump out and start running, okay? I’ll draw them away.”
You nodded. “Okay.” You braced yourself against the door. “I’m ready!”
He turned the carriage into the thick snow-covered woods. He glanced back to see you were out of view. “Now!”
You threw the door open and leapt out and into the snow. You cried out when your body slammed against the floor on a bank then you started rolling. You yelped as your body rolled over hidden rocks. You kept rolling until you banged into a tree causing the air to be knocked out of you. “Ow.”
As you lay there in the snow you heard the carriage race away. Horses hooves and shouting got closer, meaning Jareth was getting close to the carriage. You winced as you leaned up and listened closely to what he was ordering, it seemed like he didn’t know you had jumped. Knowing you’d be safe for a bit, you pushed yourself up onto your shaky-cut legs and started sprinting as fast as your broken body could take you.
Time seemed to mean nothing to you as you stumbled through the forest. It was hard to see where you were going now, but you were sure hours had passed. You had prepared for your sham wedding in the morning and now it was the middle of the night. The bright moon lit up your path as you stumbled around. The once glamorous wedding dress you wore was not ripped, wet, dirty and had your blood on it.
Exhaustion bit away at your body, you needed to stop and rest but another part of you was telling you to fight. You slowed down and spotted a light from a lantern moving closer to you. A boost of energy rushed through you. You ran towards the light and saw a man dressed in black with a long cloak with a thick fur collar. When he moved into the moonlight you felt breathless.
The man was muscular and of average height. The clothes he wore indicated that he was rich, but likely not a royal. His hand gripping the top of the lantern was not fully human, it was black with claw-like fingers that seemed so soft and warm. The cold winter air blew his raven undercut hair a little to show off his stunning face that was dotted with black markings and some scales. Two reddish horns curled from his head and framed his handsome features. There were dark marks under his eyes to show he lacked sleep. A tail flicked behind him as he looked around. The most beautiful part was his steel blue eyes, you wanted to look deep into them for the rest of your life.
Levi had gone out for a night walk because he had heard there was a runaway bride who had escaped the prince in the neighbouring country. He had heard that the love of his life would run right into his arms and break his curse. This runaway bride might be his destined love that the one who cursed him was pissed off about. Levi had been cursed by someone who loved him but he didn’t love them, they tried to see Levi’s love future and saw a woman dressed as a bride running into Levi’s arms. So, they cursed Levi to be unable to change out of his demon form.
Tonight Levi had not worn his mask because he knew he wouldn’t meet anyone, so no one would be scared of how he looked. Levi was ashamed of how he looked, he believed he was frightening and ugly. He moved his lantern a little and squinted to see there was a figure running towards him. Something hopeful gripped Levi’s heart, it was just like he was told. His beloved bride and the love of his life seemed to be running right to him.
A gasp escaped him when the light caught you, you were his bride. Levi felt a hot rush go through him, you were the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen even though your wedding dress was ripped. He dropped his lantern when you jumped into his arms. He held you close to him as butterflies fluttered in his stomach. He glanced down at you to see a sparkle in your eyes.
You reached up and caressed his cheek. “You’re so handsome.”
Levi felt a rush of emotions, one was panic that you saw his real face but pure happiness and love fought with the fear because you saw the real him and liked it. “Th-Thank you.” He studied you. “My bride, you’re hurt.”
You rested your head against him. “Worth it all because I ran into your arms.”
He blushed hard. “Mm, yes.” He gazed at your pretty face. “You’re cold.” He yanked his massive cloak off and put it around you. “Here.”
You hugged it around you. “Smells wonderful.” You looked up at him. “You smell nice.” You cupped his face. “My saviour.” You leaned up and kissed Levi.
Levi wrapped his arms around you and kissed you back, but then you went limp. “My bride?” He pulled back to see you’d passed out. “Poor thing.” He grabbed the lantern and scooped you up. “Let’s get you home.”
The walk was short to his black horse, but he knew the ride would be a little long. It was spring in his land which meant the mountains were covered in snow, but when he took you down from the mountains to his home, it’d be a lot warmer for you. He made sure you were held against him as he rode back down the mountain path.
As the excitement of finding you died down a little, he realised how awful this was for you as well as how bad you looked. There were cuts and bruises all over your body, along with your toes and fingers looking blue. He was going to get you back and help you soak in a hot bath. Levi was very aware of the terror that was the prince in the other country because he was working closely with King Erwin to help people cross the border and escape him.
The land Levi lived in was welcoming and loving. It was a mixture of humans and other magical beings. Levi, like King Erwin, was part of the demon clan but preferred to appear human in form. There were a lot of policies to keep things fair and people to be treated equally. The balance between the poor and rich wasn’t massive, people were happy and comfortable. The biggest focus right now was making sure people fleeing Jareth’s country were cared for, kept safe and moved somewhere they wanted to go.
Levi dragged you off his horse once he arrived at his stables. Using the darkness, he rushed you inside his grand home and upstairs to his room. He lay you on his bed wrapped up in his cape and hurried over to his mask. He pulled on the mask that only showed his eyes and felt comfortable now he had hidden away.
Once Levi felt comfortable, he rushed out of the room and found a maid. “Ah, Anne. I need your help.”
Anne gazed at her kind, shy and sweet master. “Of course, I’m more than happy to help you.”
He fiddled with his hands. “Th-thank you.” He turned and hurried down the hall. “This way.” He opened his room door. “I ah…I found my bride running through the snow up in the mountains.”
Anne walked over to you as you slept, she could see the damage on you was horrific. “Poor thing, she needs a good bath, lots of food and new clothes. “She is very beautiful though.” She smiled at Levi. “Did she run into your arms like you were told she would?”
“Y-yes.” He smiled as his tail flicked. “She’s perfect. I-I want to help her.”
“Could you carry her to the bathroom for me?”
Levi nodded. “Y-Yes.”
She followed her master. “Is she the runaway bride? I heard that the tyrant prince lost his bride yesterday.”
Levi carefully lay you on the lounging sofa in the bathroom. “I think so. She must have been really scared to run all this way and get this hurt.”
Anne knelt by you and started undressing you. “Could you check your pool bath? It should be warm. I think something nice should be added to it.”
Levi checked the different bottles. “Ah, lavender.”
“Perfect.” She held you close and light woke you. “My lady, I know you are tired but we need to bathe you.”
You inhaled deeply and hummed. “Okay. Thank you.”
“Anne. It’s lovely to meet you.” She looked up. “Your Lordship, I need to get this lady naked.”
Levi flinched. “S-Sorry. I will get some clothes.”
You hummed a laugh. “Cute.”
Anne giggled. “The Count is as sweet as anything.” She helped you out of the last of your clothes and then over to the bath. “I’ll help you bathe.”
You sat there for a while as your body warmed up. “Is the count married?”
“No, he is single. Why?”
You released a long sigh. “I think in my ill state I kissed him.”
Anne smiled. “That explains why he’s so happy.” She washed your hair. “He’s a good man, very shy and gentle. He helps out those in need. All of us who work here for him have escaped your country.” Anne lifted her dress and showed you that one of her legs was a prosthetic. “The prince is a monster.”
You reached over and touched her leg. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’m happy here and I have a handsome boyfriend.” She giggled. “So, it’s okay. Now it’s your turn to be happy and okay.” She helped you out of the bath and dried you off. “His Lordship will take care of you. You won’t be hurt anymore.”
You welled up. “I’m so glad.”
Anne hugged you. “You’re safe here.” She smiled and then ushered you out into Levi’s room to see he was fiddling with some clothes. “My Lordship.”
Levi flinched. “A-Ah! I uh…I bought clothes. A-are they okay?”
You walked over and looked them over. “They’re beautiful.” You smiled up at Levi. “Thank you.” You leaned closer and kissed his mask right where his lips would be. “You saved my life. I owe you everything.”
Levi gulped hard. “Y-You’re welcome. A-Ah, you should r-rest. Y-you can use my room.”
You held his clawed hand making him flinch at the contact. “You’ll be sharing it with me, right? I’m afraid to be alone.” You looked down and welled up as your body shook. “What if he comes back?”
Levi wrapped an arm around you and pulled you against him. “I’ll stay. The bed is massive.” He released you and turned his back. “Anne? Could you help her?”
Anne took the towel off you and dressed you in a lovely night dress. “Here you go, my lady. So pretty.” She stepped back. “She’s all ready for bed, your lordship.” She bowed and moved to the door. “I will take my leave.”
Levi turned to face you as soon as Anne left and was glad he had a mask on because he would be bright pink with a blush. To him, you looked incredibly beautiful with your hair down, the soft white nightdress on and it being lowcut. “P-pretty.” He went to reach for you before pulling back. “S-sorry, I shouldn’t touch.”
You smiled. “You’re nothing like him. That makes me so happy and safe.” You let out a big yawn and looked so adorable to Levi. “Mm, tired.”
“Bunny.”
You looked up at him. “Bunny?”
He whined. “Sorry, you remind me of a cute bunny.”
“Really?”
He walked over to the bed and pulled back the covers for you. “Bunny’s are amazing. They’re strong, durable and determined little things. They might be cute, but they have a mean kick.”
You climbed into the bed. “You don’t see me as a fragile thing?”
“N-no.” He tucked you in. “I will change.”
You lay back and felt so exhausted that you didn’t fully contemplate your situation, that some demon man had scooped you up, brought you to his massive home, washed you up and now had you in his bed. Your thoughts and slight worries washed away when Levi walked back over in a very loose and lowcut white shirt and high-waisted comfy trousers. The muscle you could see was plump and kissable with a few black markings and scales on.
Levi stopped on his side of the bed and whined. “S-sorry, my body is ugly.”
You sat up. “It’s the opposite! You’re the most handsome and beautiful man I’ve ever seen.”
Levi sat on the bed and felt confused. “Jareth is supposed to be that.”
You shook your head. “No, you are.” You reached over to his mask and lightly touched it. “I wish I could see your wonderful face again.”
“Mm, you won’t like it or me after you’re well rested.” He helped you to lie back. “Sleep.”
You softly said your name and title. “It’s lovely to meet you.”
Levi smiled behind his mask. “Count Levi Ackerman. I am the right-hand man to the King.”
You tried to fight sleep, but it was hard. “Mm, pleasure.”
Levi watched you drift off. “Pleasure is all mine.”
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reapers-lover · 1 year
Text
Cuddles~
♡ Jareth x Fem!Reader Fluff ♡
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  I hum quietly as I start to get ready for bed. I smile to myself as I put on my new nightgown that Jareth got for me. I look at myself in the mirror smiling lightly. The light purple color with dark blue accents cascades in silky waves along my skin. God I love him so much. I walk out of the bathroom and frown. He wasn't there. Usually he was there on the bed by this time.
   Quietly I leave the room to go look for him. I check his office but it is dark and empty, lit only by a singular candle he kept on his desk. "Weird he isn't there either," I think aloud. I decide to check the only other place I think he could be. His throne room.
  The only noise in the hall is the soft echo of my footsteps as I walk down towards the throne room doors. As I reach the doors I can hear what can only be described as chaos inside.
  I slowly push open the doors and I'm met by loud yelling and- is that a chicken? "Oh y/n, hello dear are you alright?" I look towards the voice and see Jareth laying down across his throne. The room lies silent as every goblin stops what they are doing to look up at me.
  "Yes, I'm fine." I stutter out walking towards him. "I'm sorry I won't be able to stay with you tonight. A boy wished away his little sister and he still has 5 hours left to finish the labyrinth." He sighs clearly bored out of his mind.
  "I see." I mumbled looking down at the floor.
Jareth grabbed my chin and lifted my eyes to meet his. "Is there anything you need my love?" He asks slowly
  "Can I lay here with you?" I blurt out. Quickly turning red and pulling away. Jareth chuckles lightly and looks towards me again. "Of course love, come here." He motioned for me to sit with him.
  I hop up onto his throne and position myself to lay next to him in the same way he was laying on his throne before. He wraps his arms around me and I snuggle into his chest. 
  He chuckles again and I smile. He brings his hand up and starts running his fingers through my hair. " I don't think you understand Just how cute you are." I giggle and he plants a kiss on my forehead. I lift my head and look at him then move upwards and give him a gentle kiss on the lips. I pull away and smile. I softly lay my head back down against his chest and sigh happily. I close my eyes and listen to his heart beat as I slowly succumb to sleep in his arms.
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In My Sister’s Place (Part 2 of 2)
Here you are, lovelies! Part 2 of “In My Sister’s Place”. As always, familiar characters are NEVER mine!
Fandom: Labyrinth
Warnings: A bit of angst, but a happy ending. 
Pairings/Characters: Jareth the Goblin King x fem!reader, mentions of Sarah and Toby
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Your eyes burned with tears that you hastily wiped away. First the obelisk, then the ballroom, the fireys fiends, and the Bog of Eternal Stench. You were quickly becoming overwhelmed with the Goblin King's labyrinth. And yet, every time you saw said king, it sent pleasant shivers down your spine and your heart began racing. You weren't sure if it was your hopeless romantic self or if the labyrinth was messing with your mind and heart, but you could feel yourself coming to care for the Goblin King.
         Your mind raced every time you thought back to the ballroom and how he'd held you close to him. How he'd gazed into your eyes. If you hadn't known better, you'd say he cared for you as well. But then you recalled how he had your baby brother and how scared Toby must feel. It set you back on the path and, before you knew it, you had made it into the castle.
         The Goblin King appeared again just as you set eyes on Toby. He practically begged you not to take him. He toyed with you using a never-ending staircase. As you tried to figure out what to do, you came to a realization. Maybe…perhaps, the Goblin King was simply lonely. Maybe he longed for someone to love, just like you. And just maybe, you could be that person. You thought and thought, your mind and heart pulling you in separate directions. Eventually, you made up your mind to save Toby and, by extension, your sister's sanity and guilt.
         The ticking of the clock echoed in your ears as you raced to where you were certain the Goblin King and Toby would be. Your legs were shaking and your heart was doing flip-flops in your chest when the Goblin King reappeared yet again. "I've won. I beat the labyrinth," you stated. The king looked pained as he watched you watching him. "Then you know what must be said, precious." You nodded, but before you could speak again, he held up a crystal. "You can stay, you know. Stay and never be worried about your siblings again. They will be happy. Sarah at home with her costumes and toys. The baby here with me…and you. Just remain here with me. Love me and I shall be your slave."
         You shook your head. "I don't want that. I want Toby safe at home. I want Sarah to finish growing up knowing that someone is looking out for her. I w-want someone to love that loves me as much as I do them. An equal partner in all things.  If I stayed, you would change to what you think I want you to be, just as you change the labyrinth. I'd want the chance to l-love you as you are." The king looked hopeful for a moment.
         "But I can't. No until I know my siblings are safe and that what I'm feeling for you isn't simply a trick of this place," you concluded. With tears in your eyes, you stepped forward and placed a soft kiss to the Goblin King's cheek as you mumbled a soft apology. You then began reciting the speech you'd learned by heart long ago, noticing the Goblin King's pained expression deepen with every word.
Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered,
I have fought my way here, to the castle beyond the Goblin City,
To take back the child you have stolen,
For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great…
You have no power over me.
         No sooner did you finished speaking did you find yourself back in your home. You felt thin arms wrap around your middle and it took you a moment to realize that it was Sarah. A soft cooing caught your attention behind you. Toby. Safe in his crib. You breathed a sigh of relief just as an overwhelming sadness came over you. You helped Sarah settle Toby down to sleep and then lead her to her room and told her everything.
         "You must have been so frightened," she commented. You attempted to smile. "I suppose. I truly don’t believe the Goblin King was all that bad. He merely did what you asked of him. I think, in his own strange way, he was trying to show that he was lonely." Sarah huffed. "He deserves to be lonely. I bet you made more friends in the labyrinth than the Goblin King has ever had."
         "Sarah," you sighed, shaking your head. You knew she couldn't understand at this point. She was still so much a child. "Nevermind. How about I introduce you to some of the friends I made?" Her face lit up in excitement. "You can do that?!" You laughed and gave a little shrug. "They did say they would always be here if I needed them. And the magic of that place obviously works here as well." You glanced in the mirror and thought about the friends you'd made and how much you'd like to see them again as you closed your eyes. When you opened them at the sound of Sarah's laughter, the room was full of the people you'd met.
         After spending a little time with them all, you excused yourself to return to your own bedroom. Your heart was heavy. When you had opened your eyes, you had half-hoped that the Goblin King would be there as well. Of course he wasn't. You closed your door behind you, leaning against it. Your eyes traveled to the window and you froze.
         Perched on a branch just outside your window was a white and brown owl. Without hesitation, you threw open the window, inviting the owl inside. Tears began stream down your face when the owl flew in and instantly transformed into the very being you'd been thinking of. You hadn't even realized you'd moved until you hugged him close.
         "You came back," you said, your voice muffled by his vest. He stood slightly stiffly, as if your contact was unexpected, but after a moment, you felt his arms go around you. "You say that as though you missed me," he stated. You looked up at him with tears still running down your cheeks. "Why are you crying, precious?" he asked. "I'm so sorry," you replied, "I c-couldn't leave Toby there. I didn't want to hurt you, but I couldn’t leave him."
         The Goblin King laughed softly. "Why are you laughing? And why aren't you angry with me? I-I bested you. I left you alone." He cocked his head to the side as if he were thinking. "Do you know what I am? What I truly am?" he asked in return. You thought a for a moment. "Fae? Is that right?" He nodded. "Yes. And Fae like myself, have one true, ever-lasting love in their lifetime. You, my precious thing, are mine. That is why I came back. That is why I cannot remain angry with you."
         "How do you know?" Your voice was barely above a whisper now. It was a lot to process, but you couldn't deny that you'd felt something powerful within you every time he was near you. "An unexplained connection. A pull and feeling we cannot place. The longing to be near each other without understanding the reason behind it. I know you felt it in the labyrinth and the ballroom. And even more so in the castle."
         You nodded. There was point in lying to him about it. "What happens now?" you asked. He cupped your cheek. "Now, you make a decision, Y/N. You may remain here or return with me. Be my queen." You bit your lip. "Will you love me?"
         "I already do. You are my Y/N. My precious love." You gazed into his eyes. They were light and bright with emotion as he waited for your answer. You weren't sure how you were going to explain things to your family, but you knew your choice within mere seconds. Your face drew closer to his. "You never did tell me your name," you said softly. "Jareth."
         "Jareth," you whispered back before finally pressing your lips to his, sealing your fate as his. His Y/N. His love. His queen.
(a/n: I hope you like it and that this part was worth the wait!)
Forever Tags: @fizzyxcustard​ @supernatural4life2022​
This Story Tags: @urlocalfanficwriter​ @bwila-bussy​ @evilunicorns4minions​ @princess-ofthe-pages​ @boofy1998​ @ultimatreality​ 
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tinalbion · 2 years
Note
Hi, soooooo I’m a big simp for Jareth the Goblin King and I was wondering if you could do Jareth with a fem!reader who got wished away and instead of turning her into a goblin, he takes pity on her and makes her his assistant. But eventually they fall in love and what not, lots of fluff please. I hope you have an amazing day <3333
Hello my dear, I hope this finds you well~ I have always been in love with the Goblin King, he's been a huge part of my childhood and adulthood, so I am very happy to make this possible for you! I do hope this was worth the wait, and I really can't wait to write more Jareth in the future <3
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"Something About Us" ||
Jareth x AFAB!Reader
Rating: None
Length: 2.8k
As you stared at your form in the mirror, you had no idea it would come down to this. 
Your eyes seemed sunken from the lack of sleep, and it wasn’t always like this in your house, but sleepless nights were now becoming the norm for you. You wiped away the funny feeling from your eyes and let out a sigh, knowing very well that there would be consequences later on. You had just slammed your door shut as you screamed out at your family on the lower level of the house, the air was now still and tense, and that’s when you braced yourself. 
Your father would try to be the voice of reason while your stepmother would see red. She hated you from day one, you couldn’t ever figure out why, but lately, you had been making it painfully aware you didn’t like her attitude toward you, which led to tonight’s outburst. But you didn’t hear those familiar footsteps coming up the stairs, you were met with silence. Your muscles relax as the moments ticked on by and felt you were safe enough to change into your sleep clothes and crawl into bed, you were too afraid to emerge from your room in case hell would rain down upon you, so you opted for snuggling beneath the blankets. Moving back home was a mistake you regretted every moment you were here, but what else could you do? The comfort of home after losing what you had seemed like a comforting idea at the time, but now, it was a waking nightmare. 
You were not able to hear the whispers across the house, speaking ill of you in hushed tones as your father fought for you as he always did. 
‘She’s my daughter, whether you like it or not,’ he’d say.
‘And I wish she’d never been here, I wish she’d be taken away from my home.’
‘OUR home, and you can be so cruel to her, leave her be.’
‘I wish she’d get what's coming to her with that smart mouth.’
‘Stop. Now.’
But your stepmother hadn’t said those words, not just yet, she’d whisper them into the darkness when she was alone, where she knew the voices would be whispering to one another, where the dozens and dozens of eyes would catch in the dim light of the moon as she spoke the words bitterly: ‘I wish the goblins would come and take that girl away from us, take her away so we could be happy.’
When you awoke to a slight chill in the air and a bright light in your eyes, you sat up amongst a tended bed of flowers, not blankets of your own that gave you warmth and comfort, and that’s when you felt the first pang of panic jolt through your body. You had no idea where you were, some sort of bare garden with a sky that seemed to be on fire and clouded. 
You found out you were in a labyrinth, the tall hedges covered so far out that it turned to stone further out, your eyes widened as you stood high on a nearby fountain to see where it was you were. You didn’t hear the footsteps that neared you from the stairs behind you, but you felt the energy in the air shift, so you whipped your head around to see a tall, slender figure. He was beautiful, terrifying, and mysterious. You wanted to look away so as to not seem rude but your eyes refused to move, instead he stared down at you as he eyed you carefully. 
"Wh-where am I?" A natural question to ask, but right after speaking, you felt almost ashamed.
"You're in my Labyrinth, little one." The man's voice was low, soft, and soothing. 
You stood there and looked down at your feet, still wearing your socks with little designs on them. "Am I dreaming this?"
A small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. "Would you prefer if this was a dream?" Was he toying with you or did he truly mean to question your thought process due to curiosity? He seemed almost familiar with you as if he'd known you'd be coming and he was waiting for you to come inside. 
You took a cautious step closer and could make out more of his features, like how his eyes seemed to take on a shape and color of their own. He seemed otherworldly as he stood tall, his slender form seemed to tower over you while you remained unsure of your fate. 
"I'm not sure," you finally responded. "But… what am I doing here, in your labyrinth?" 
Your face didn't quite give the whole story much like everyone else that had been wished into his domain, you weren't a bratty toddler, nor were you a vile creature, you were just simply…you. The confusion, sadness, and pain you felt as you stood before him made him falter, it made him rethink his course of action. Especially when those who wished you away wanted nothing to do with trying to win you back before the clock struck the thirteenth hour. 
He didn't have the heart to voice it, but Jareth felt sorry for you.
And that's how you came to live there in his labyrinth for some time, and though most of the goblins had wanted you turned into one of them as was usually intended to be done, Jareth refused to give you that 'gift', instead, he had you become his apprentice. 
What had felt like days was actually weeks had gone by, and you grew comfortable in your new place among the goblins and other weird creatures that surrounded the labyrinth and its walls. You had picked up things here and there, but you didn't learn much when it came to the castle and its workings, that was something that was only left for Jareth's future heir, he'd tell you.
'You shouldn't worry your pretty little head about any of that,' he'd muse with a small grin. 
No matter how much you asked and begged to learn, he wouldn't burden you with such things just yet, so he found other ways to concern yourself with. But you did take much notice of him, the Goblin King. He hadn't given you much to think about in regards to his past, more did he disclose much in general, but he always intrigued you to the point that you'd ask him randomly given questions throughout the day.
"How long have you been king here?"
"Long enough."
His answers were short and simple, which you expected from someone who looked like he didn’t have much patience, but you never really found that out. Not until much later on.
You don’t know how long you were there in the Goblin City, working around the castle to earn your keep, but you were thankful he took pity on you. You lived a lavish life and really didn’t have to worry about the difficulty of life, college, or a job. But you missed those things that made life, well, life. So Jareth had you become his assistant and would help him with tasks that required a more steady hand when he couldn’t leave it up to one of the goblins. They didn’t resent you for it, they actually seemed rather relieved that you ended up taking over for them, it gave them much more time to go about their daily shenanigans. 
Of course, you didn’t question it and you proceeded to do as Jareth wished of you. Your head was so far in the clouds one day that you didn’t seem to notice just how much you began to stare at him as he sat upon his throne and spoke to one of his loyal subjects. You admired not just his good looks but also the little acts of kindness he granted you since you first arrived. 
You were merely an unwanted stray that was cast out by your own family though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why they’d done it, more and more he found himself staring at you as well. Studying the way your face would easily show your emotions unlike his own, where he shied away from allowing himself to be so easily read, you stood there before him and weren’t afraid of him. You told him like it was when he did something rather displeasing, and he was almost thankful for your nature, it clashed with him in the best way. 
It was another morning in the castle when he awoke incredibly early, his mind wracked with nightmares that tended to happen on occasion, his past coming back to haunt him. He sought out comfort for so long and couldn’t find it, not until you were here, and he had thought of it for a mere second until he was scolding himself for it. 
‘You shouldn’t, it’s out of the question and you know it,’ he’d convince himself. But as he walked along those long empty halls, the door that sat at the end had called to him, and Stars, he wanted to walk in and take what he wanted so badly, wanting to know if you’d ever give it freely. 
Jareth couldn’t help himself as he ended up standing outside of your door, knowing very well that you would be asleep, so he pushed it open gently and watched you with intense curiosity. He hadn’t done this before, he shouldn’t be doing it now, watching you at your most vulnerable moment. But something about your face and how soft it seemed with your eyes closed, your breathing gentle as your chest rose and fell. He hadn’t allowed himself to feel this comfort in a very long time, he couldn’t remember the last time he did. But seeing you here now, looking like a beautifully carved angelic being before him, it was eating away at him. 
He didn’t realize that he stepped closer, and he could hear the gentle intake of breath as he rounded the soft material that surrounded your bed, and he could easily see your sleeping form through the fabric of the canopy that surrounded your bed. Jareth watched you intently while he seemed to glide around your room, his hands touched the curtains and made them flow behind his touch. He wasn’t sure what prompted him to walk into your room and watch you sleeping peacefully, all he knew was he felt tranquil as he stood there gazing down upon you, and whenever you moved ever so slightly beneath the sheets, it amazed him how your face would have such soft expressions. 
It was then he knew he was falling for you in a way he didn’t think was possible. 
You hadn’t known he was there the first time watching you sleep, but ever since that night, you awoke feeling strange and you couldn’t place why. While you scavenged for food in the kitchens, you avoided Jareth all morning successfully because you needed to get your head in order. 
Why were you thinking of him like that? He took pity on you, he took you in and gave you shelter and a means to earn your keep, nothing more. He never gave you that feeling of feigned romance, so why did you want to look at him as if he were one of the most beautiful beings to ever exist? You wanted to worship him and just be lucky to be in the same room as him, and thinking of him only made you forget about your food and made your heart beat faster. How would you be able to look at him after this?
And as if on cue, one of the Goblins had walked into the kitchen and announced that the king had wanted to see you, so you finished off your breakfast and tentatively made your way to the throne room. The mere thought of looking upon him excited you and frightened you, especially since you wouldn’t know how to carry yourself around him.
You stepped inside and saw him there speaking with another, but once his eyes looked up to meet yours, you froze and felt as if your breath was taken from you, and you felt a jolt that traveled through your body as his eyes remained locked on yours. 
Jareth stood swiftly and continued to stare at you, the Goblin speaking was interrupted and he looked startled by his king’s sudden movements. “Gabs, leave us,” he demanded as his hand waved him away. 
Gabs listened and immediately ran from the throne room, scurrying as quickly as he could. 
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” you began, “I was told you were looking for me.”
“Yes…” He trailed off and continued to stare, but it wasn’t until a moment later that he spoke again. “I want to know if you were sent here with intentions other than being sent away from your family.”
“Wh-what?” 
“I ask for so little from you, Y/N, and right now I am asking if you are a spy, or even perhaps a witch sent to entrap me, to steal my kingdom.” He began to circle you as you stood there before him, greeting that familiar sensation of fear you once felt when you first arrived. 
“No, I told you, I was asleep in my bed in my house, and I woke up here, I remember nothing other than that. I swear to you, my liege.” 
Jareth stopped in front of you and continued to look at you, knowing very well your emotions would betray you, and he saw nothing but that look of fear. He stepped away, not wanting to mar your beautiful face with such sorrow, and he tried to seem less imposing as he stood there, unsure of how to proceed. 
“I believe you,” he finally breathed and hung his head for a moment. “Only it doesn’t explain the way I’ve been feeling as of late, little one. How can you explain the way my chest feels whenever you’re around me? Or how my flesh is bristling with gooseflesh whenever I catch your gaze with mine? I don’t understand what sort of spell you’ve suddenly cast upon me but I am growing exhausted trying to figure it out.”
Your stomach dropped as you stood in shock, Jareth completely unaware that you were feeling the exact same way about him, it was eerie how it was almost a sort of connection you must have both experienced. You began to laugh quietly, Jareth’s head whipped around to see why it was that you’d begin laughing at him. 
“I don’t believe it,” you breathed as you wiped away the tears that spilled from your laughter. 
“Believe what, exactly?”
You gazed into his unique eyes and smiled sweetly. “You and I have been experiencing the same exact feeling for one another because I’ve been wondering the same as of late… and I think I have the answer, but I don’t know how you’ll feel about it…”
“You can’t be thinking…” His words once again trailed off, not thinking it was even possible to feel such emotions anymore. A small smile played at his glossed lips and his hand reached out for you, his thumb gently stroking the side of your cheek down to your chin. “It can’t be…”
As you bit your lip, you nodded once and sighed. “I think it is, Jareth.” 
You swore you almost saw his shutter at the mere mention of his name, but the look in his eyes as his face inched slowly toward you was a sight you only dreamt of. Upon instinct, your eyes closed and you leaned forward, wondering if he’d reject you, but you looked so eager that he met your lips with his just as fervently. Your mind was hazy as you tried your best to think, but nothing else mattered as the taste of his lips or the scent of him overtook your senses. Without warning, his hands pulled you in deeper into his embrace, a gloved hand entangled in your hair while another slid carefully down from your neck to your arm. 
Not wanting to pull away, you urged yourself forward and your entire body shuttered when his hand grasped your waist, but you didn’t dare stop now, though as soon as you had committed yourself to this, Jareth pulled away from you. He sighed heavily and looked as if he didn’t know what to say next, truly a feat you never thought possible: rendering the Goblin King speechless, even if for a moment. 
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anundyingfidelity · 1 year
Text
MEMORIES LOST — Jareth x ofc/fem reader. Ch. 1.
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Summary: A mysterious woman falls into the Underground, claiming she does not have memories and not knowing why she is there. Jareth, who's bored and taking slight pity on her, takes her under his wing to ease some of his own misery. Post Labyrinth (1986).
Warnings: nudity, masturbation, voyeurism, manipulation, corruption, smut in general.
Word count: 1,377.
Note: female character is named Leah, but no physical characteristics (such as skin color, hair, eyes, etc.) are described on this story. Feel free to imagine how she looks like.
☕ if you like my writing, support me with a ko-fi !
This fanfiction is also posted in Ao3 under the name undyingfidelity.
Chapter 1. | Chapter 2. | Chapter 3.
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Jareth remembered vividly that day when the woman fell to the Underground.
Sitting lonely on the oblong dark table by himself, he had dedicated the last minutes of his day to eat - almost against his will - the well-done dinner the goblins prepared specially for him. Defeated and feeling weak, Jareth spent the last months trying to forget everything about Sarah and her brother. It was ridiculous. How he had become this bored, shattered man on his own. Of course, his own goblins were kind of fools, easy enough to get them to do whatever he wanted, but it wasn't enough. Jareth swallowed a bite of the exquisite steak, and even if it was fair delicious, his mood often shattered down the smallest of the pleasures he still was able to enjoy as a King, including something as mundane as eating.
But that same night, a little old goblin quickly made his way to Jareth, squeaking and muttering unintelligible noises as if trying to say something but couldn't catch any of his babbling.
"What is it?" he questioned, rather annoyed.
"Majesty, Majesty! A woman! She’s fallen into the Labyrinth!"
A woman? He frowned. No, it couldn't be her. Sarah knew how to summon him and it was completely impossible for someone to enter just like that.
"Goblins found her, Majesty! You must come!"
Were the goblins sure it was really a woman? Worst, she might be even human. Jareth hesitated for a moment after remaining silent. He got on his feet quickly forgetting the dinner, scaring away his subject.
"Lead the way," he ordered.
The little creature guided Jareth to come to the Castle gates, where a small crowd was there murmuring and surrounding the so-said woman, who seemed to lie down on the hard concrete. Once the King appeared, the goblins started to make room for him to get closer to the lady. She was graciously asleep over some piled-up clothes that might have been improvised by the goblins to give her some sort of comfort on the hard ground, and a large beige gown adorned her figure as her chest rose in a calm way, just as the look on her face. How was this possible? He didn't know, but she was right there. He bent down slowly, taking better sight of her.
"Has she been asleep since you found her?"
"Yes, Majesty!" the goblin who guided Jareth said behind his back. "She's been sleeping like a log!"
Jareth came closer, prudent of each one of his moves, noticing a shiny necklace hanging around her neck preciously with a black pearl stone decorating her skin. Fascinated by it, his fingers brushed over the pearl softly. A soft breath went past the woman's lips, her eyes opening wide at the sudden touch. The goblin king backed up a little, letting the mysterious woman sit down in horrid, and before her, the quite grand number of creatures watching her attentively as she moved slowly, feeling eyes over her.
"Where am I?" she panted, looking at the man who looked as human as she did.
"This is the Goblin City, and you're trespassing my kingdom," Jareth explained to her. He was standing tall, towering over her and she looked at him from down below.
"How is it that I am here," she mumbled, holding a cry. Her eyes scanned her surroundings, the unknown place she fell on was strange and she started to feel she was unwelcome there.
The piercing eyes of the man were all scanning the woman, who was kneeling quietly before going to her feet.
"Where are you from?" Jareth questioned her, the globins made enough space around their king and their visitor so she could not escape in case she tried to.
"I- I don't know... I don't remember anything," she stammered, scared of the king.
Jareth tried to go over her mind and thoughts but found nothing, but a blank space and a word that might seem like a name, repeating constantly in her head.
"Do you have a name?"
The woman blinked and swallowed hard before speaking softly again.
"Leah."
Leah.
Leah.
Leah.
Her name was spinning in his head like it was the first time. Jareth took her to the castle after learning he could not read her mind nor find a single memory, which was certainly unusual. However, he felt some sort of compassion in his heart, and the sentiment was strong enough to make him decide to take her with him. Jareth let her settle down in one of the rooms he had and ordered the goblins to take whatever she needed. But as time grew, Leah found herself in debt after not doing more than the bare minimum - such as eating, cleaning her room, reading books from the library, and taking strolls in the city, or at least, what she could see from it.
Jareth wasn't really fond of Leah going out of the castle, but he understood she needed to go out for some time. After two days, she came in very happy of having encountered a new friend. Let's say Hoggle's name was not the best thing to hear for Jareth that day. He still had a bitter feeling over the dwarf, so knowing Leah had befriended him was not good news at all. But he let it slip away, just for her.
Days later, Leah found herself wanting to help in the castle, so she shyly asked Jareth for it. That's another thing he will never forget.
It was, perhaps, the third time in the five days she has been in the castle, that she had dinner with him. Leah normally would be very quiet, but she was right there sitting on the table some feet away from Jareth, asking if she was able to do some of the work along with the goblins.
"Are you getting bored?" Jareth simply asked, a light smirk forming on his lips.
Her face grew hot at his eyes lurking on her. "Maybe..."
"Tell me something you can offer me to have you working around," he told.
"I am interested in cooking, I can learn!"
Leah didn't know a single thing, more than her own name. Jareth tried to read her again after some time, and he just found her hesitant under his gaze. Jareth was very aware he was terrifying and he loved that, mostly because he spent years and years bored and defeated, but having Leah as a companion sometimes was interesting, just like that night.
"You can, certainly."
"Really?" the woman seemed to be taken by surprise.
"If that's what you want, you can go on. The goblins will help you with learning all you want to learn, and you can serve me."
"I will" A smile curled on her pretty face, and Jareth took a great liking to her determination.
He stayed within her thoughts, finding passion and happiness in her head, with so much anticipation of what she would learn. She didn't look past thirty human years, so it was quite curious for Jareth how she lost her memory. Jareth of course would find a way how to do that but decided to wait a little bit more. He got on his feet, his silver plate and the goblet were left empty as he walked toward Leah, who was still in her seat. His gloved right hand cupped her cheek and rubbed it softly with his thumb.
"Why don't you start now, clean the dining room," he ordered.
She felt the heat rising on her, not sure why he was provoking that type of reaction on her body and soul, but his touch, even when the glove was on, felt right and good. And Jareth, of course, noticed this. Leah nodded, holding his gaze, feeling hypnotized by his beautiful and deep eyes. A mischievous smile drew on his face before letting go of her and walking outside the dining room. Oh, she was going to be so much fun to be with.
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Poison Apple
               Jareth The Goblin King x Fem!Reader
Warnings: Starvation
You had been walking around for hours. Shit. Your feet were tired, your throat aching for some water and your stomach grumbling for something to eat.
Last time you had seen Jareth, he had offered you a peach, but of course you had declined since he had kidnapped you. You were starting to regret that decision when you realised that you couldn’t ignore your hunger much longer.
You decided to sit by a tree, its shade providing you little comfort. You looked at the tree in front of you, noticing a beautiful apple. The colour a deep red, and you were sure it would quench your thirst and at least give you enough energy to continue finding the Goblin King’s castle.
You got up as fast as your sore feet could and went up to the apple. You plucked the apple from the tree and brought it closer to your face. You took a bit, the juicy apple instantly helping with your thirst and starvation, but it didn’t give you any energy. Instead you felt yourself getting more and more tired. You lay against the tree, trying to get comfortable, and you soon dozed off. 
When you awoke you were standing in a room full of people wearing a beautiful white dress. People around you were dancing around the room, while you stood in confusion.
You looked around and there you saw him. Even when he was wearing a mask, you’d know who he was. Jareth. He took off his mask, giving you a teasing smirk. You both walked to each other, you being completely mesmerised by him, as he was with you.
When you reached each other, he outstretched his arm, silently asking you to dance. You took it, and you both started dancing. 
You were a bit wobbly but he guided you, helping you dance.
He gently pulled you closer and you followed, wanting to be closer to him. Just as the song playing in the background was about to finish, your lips grazed each other, but he pulled back, giving you a teasing smirk.
As he let go of you, you found yourself back in the labyrinth and instead of longing for the apple, you found yourself longing for Jareth.
A/N: January 5 2023.
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thetravelingtyper · 3 days
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Writers confident challenge! list your 5 writings you love the most! Reread them and tell yourself you are a gem to this world! and if you want, send this to the writers you like let them know how awesome they are! 💌
Thank you anon this took a minute! :D
1: Out From Twisting Pages - my longest work so far but my most beloved. This fic has helped me work out depression and trauma and is almost 2 years old! (Labyrinth Jareth x GN Reader)
2: Reaper - Second in my Spitfire Series. While the first is more popular I loved writing this. This developed my characteristic Soft! Simon (COD Simon x GN reader)
3: Our Shattered Heart - I loved this! I love the Smiths and still can't believe they led me to Writing Poly for the first time! I always reread this and enjoy it lol. (Cod 141 x GN reader)
4: Hypnogogic - A little untraditional as it is a poetry post but this I cried to while writing. (COD Simon x reader Angst)
5: On the Same Page series - I started then a little after getting my first library job! This fic helps me to relax. (COD Simon x Reader Bookshop Au (fem terms but not too many))
Thank you anon I hope this pleases you! It was fun exploring my writing
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somedaylazysomeday · 3 months
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Dreams
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You don’t dream anymore. You haven’t since you wished away your college roommate and had to run a labyrinth to get her back. Years later, you finally dream again… and an unsettling blond figure is at the heart of it. 
Part One - Warnings for kidnapping, fey shenanigans, unsettling vibes, one dubcon kiss.
Part Two - Warnings for Jareth taking advantage of a dream, heavy makeout session, sexual touching, mentions of oral sex, fingering, unprotected piv sex, creampie, cum eating (kinda), fey shenanigans, vague threats.
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steddie-thirst · 2 years
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Thirteen Hours | Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader |
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Hello, my lovely readers. This story holds a place close to my heart and for the spooky season I wish to share it with you all. Please enjoy the summary and look forward for what is to come. Summary: Eddie wishes you away after a bad fight and he doesn't expect anyone to be listening. Jareth shows up to take you away and Eddie begs him not to take you, but it's to late you're gone. With you gone Eddie feels lost and goes to the two people he know can help get you back.
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“We’re Choosing The Path Between The Stars…” (Jareth x Fem! Reader) Fanfic Part 2
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“What could I possibly wear to a masquerade? I’d hate to be dressed too plainly,” Y/n wondered out loud.
Jareth laughed. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it. I have an entire chamber filled with the finest garments for occasions like this.” He stood up, offering her his arm and gently guiding her down a long candlelit hall riddled with puzzling and abrupt turns. “Here we are.” He said, ushering her inside a circular chamber decorated much more extravagantly than the basic stone halls he had led Y/n through. Y/n let out a quick gasp, eyes sparkling with joy as she beheld the gowns with big sweeping skirts and bejeweled bodices, and suits with shining sequins and silk cravats. She let go of Jareth’s arm, rushing towards one of the gowns and picking it up, holding it to her chest and twirling around the room.
Jareth tilted his head to the side, observing with a good deal of amusement as Y/n stood in front of a mirror, comparing the colors of the different dresses against herself. He had never seen such a lively girl as the one before him. She seemed completely different from the girl he had found beaten and bruised in her bedroom just a few hours ago. Jareth made a mental note to be careful. It was important he maintained his regal countenance. This girl was dangerously close to melting his cold heart.
“Which one should I wear?” Y/n asked, gesturing to several different dresses. “I like the one with these dramatic sleeves, but the fabric on this one is exceptional, and oh! This one has such detailed embroidery, I think it would highlight my waist nicely.”
Jareth smirked, wearing a a mask of smug indifference. “Surprise me.” He said.
Y/n feigned pouting, slightly annoyed he didn’t contribute any opinions. “Fine by me. I’m going to change now, so you should probably leave.” She said, picking up another gown. When she looked back up Jareth was gone. Y/n paused, staring at the empty doorway for a bit, then closing the door and trying on the dark burgundy dress with the red garnets. As se looked in the mirror, she smiled. But her smile faded as a thought occurred to her. ‘What was the true motive behind the dashing and powerful goblin king saving her from her abusive parents? If Y/n remembered correctly (from the fantasy fiction novel called Labyrinth) Jareth was a master of lies and manipulation. He was as deceitful and treacherous as he was beautiful. She frowned, shaking her head. ‘Whatever his intentions are… anything is better than returning to my wretched life at home. I was so lonely before. No one in the world cared about me. At least for now I have someone who looks at me without hatred and disappointment, even if Jareth’s interest in me is only a fickle whim of fancy.” Y/n tried on a few more dresses before deciding on the one that looked most magical on her form.
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
Y/n wandered the halls, following the sound of the music she heard in the distance. Soon enough she arrived in front of wrought iron and glass double-doors that emitted a soft, dreamy glow. She entered, her heels that she had found in the other chamber clicking softly on the white marble tile with silvery veins running through it. She gaped in awe, unsure of where to look. Tables draped in pearly satin were piled with delicacies, and diamonds hung overhead from ghostly chandeliers as masked dancers spun gracefully around Y/n. The music was hauntingly beautiful, like a music box playing the notes of a love song long forgotten. The walls were mirrors, reflecting the light of the candles in a dizzying spectacle. Y/n realized she wasn’t wearing a mask, and a few of the dancers stared at her with curiosity. She weaved through the crowd, searching for Jareth. Something seemed off about the other guests at the masquerade. She shivered as she passed two women laughing heartily at a man with a particularly odd mask.
Jareth watched Y/n from a distance. She was so angelic. The dress she had chosen enhanced her beauty in ever way without taking away from her natural radiance. Her bruises were almost unnoticeable with the wa her hair fell on her shoulders and brushed her cheeks. He wondered if such an angel would ever fall for a devil like him. The thought triggered a feeling inside him that Jareth could not explain. The last time he had felt that way…. He grinned, suppressing any doubts and striding towards Y/n.
Y/n was growing more and more alarmed with the way the other guests were watching her and snickering. Finally, she heard a familiar voice behind her. “Is something the matter, darling?”
“Jareth?” Y/n said spinning around to face the goblin king. She sighed with relief upon seeing him. “You look-“ Her voice cut off. She searched for words, but felt overwhelmed by how handsome the king was.
He chuckled, aware there wouldn’t be a word to finish that sentence. “Shall we dance?” He offered, gesturing to the dance floor. Y/n blushed and nodded. Jareth took her into his arms, carefully leading her through the steps of a waltz. There was an unmistakable electricity between them, and while Y/n had never considered herself to be much of a talented dancer, Jareth made the movements seemingly effortless for both of them.
On their second dance, Y/n finally built up the courage to ask him the question that had been bothering her. “So…” She said, meeting the goblin king’s gaze. “Why did you save me? And why are the other… dancers staring at us like that? They seem to be mocking us, or at least, mocking me.”
Jareth sighed, as if he had been expecting that question. “Would you really like to know? Sometimes ignorance is bliss, Y/n.”
“I really want to know.” Y/n insisted.
The goblin king frowned, displeased by this answer. He led her off to the side of the dance floor and onto a balcony that overlooked a seemingly endless starry night. When he was sure they were alone, just the two of them, he began. “Those dancers are… were… the High Court of this kingdom, under my rule. Surely you didn’t think a man of my status would only rule over mindless goblins, did you?”
Y/n was silent, curious and concerned at where this conversation was going.
Jareth continued. “I also… had a queen. That was many years ago.” His face was expressionless but the pain shone in his eyes. “The High Court hated her. They conspired against her and killed her while I was away. And when I returned…” Jareth turned to Y/n laughing bitterly. “I killed them all in my rage, trapping their ghosts in an eternal masquerade. It was easy enough, as they were no match for my magic. Suitable, too. Their falsehood and facades mirrored in the masks they can never go without. He grinned, slightly crazed by the memory.
Y/n stood, watching Jareth in shock, before she said simply, “A poet once said… ‘tell me every terrible thing you ever did, and let me love you anyway’.” She placed her hand in Jareth’s as she looked out over the balcony at the glittering midnight abyss below.
Jareth entwined his fingers around her’s, staring out with her at the night sky.
“So why am I here?” Y/n whispered gently.
The goblin king turned, leaning towards her and initiating a passionate kiss that stole Y/n’s breath away. When their embrace parted, he brushed her hair behind her ear. And cupped his hands around her face. “You’re here because you deserve the world. And I can give that to you. Would you be my new queen?”
“I…” Y/n felt her heart skip a beat. “If you promise to love me… If you promise to never hurt me… then yes. I would love to be your queen. I’d love to be your anything… I’d love to be your everything.”
Jareth pulled her close and whispered in her ear. “I promise.”
The End!
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bettyfrommars · 10 months
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Death Becomes Us
Part 5: The Baptism vampire!Eddie x supernatural!fem!Reader
Summary: You venture into the Upside Down for the first time ever to go to a vampire bar called Sacrament, owned by an older vampire named Jareth (inspired by Jamie Campbell Bower & Eric Northman of True Blood), and end up being recognized by one of the employees. Hints to your past are revealed, and you end up with a new protector. wc: 6.8k
18+Only, mature content, vampire sex, vampire orgy,mention of being covered in blood, mention of someone dying in a car accident, mention of a dead body in a morgue, demobats, wielding a knife, visions of sex, vampire!Eddie.
Masterlist
A/N: A few things to keep in mind while you (hopefully) enjoy this chapter: the Upside Down is a place, but does not exist in the same way as in the show. Eddie's vampire origin story is different than the kas!Eddie origin story. All of the ST characters in this story are not acquainted in the same way they were in the show.
pls no minors beyond this point
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Part 5: The Baptism
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“Seatbelt?”
Windows open, music blaring, Eddie shifted gear on the GTO and motioned for you to strap in. You noticed that he wasn’t wearing his, but then again he had the immortality thing on his side.
“Mind telling me exactly where we are going?” You asked, clipping your lap belt and adjusting the strap.
“I told you,” Eddie cleared his throat. “A vampire bar.”
“But, I work at a vampire bar,” you added. “It’s not exactly new to me.”
Eddie barked a laugh, clamping his hand way up high on he steering wheel. “Those geeks who go to Main Vein are babies, they are all fairly new to the life. No self-respecting vampire with any real years under their belt would go in there.”
“So, you don’t have any self-respect, I assume?” You chided, being that Eddie had been a frequent flier at Main Vein.
Eddie shrugged. “I’m a baby vampire compared to most. I’m talking about vampires who were turned hundreds of years ago. Maybe even thousands in some cases,” he corrected.
A thought crossed your mind as you looked around at the polished and detailed interior of the vehicle you were in, eyeballing the guitar pick necklace dangling from the rear view mirror. “You’re not taking me somewhere in a stolen car, are you?”
Eddie licked his teeth. “Nah, Princess. This baby is all mine.”
The downtown area of Hawkins turned into suburban houses, and then opened up to a long highway flanked by thick forest as the muscle car zoomed along and you watched it all fly by from your window.
A corner of your brain flashed to a daydream just then. One where Eddie’s hand came over to grab your leg, squeezing it, and when you looked over, he’s licking his lips, eyes roaming your body. “Pull over,” you whisper to him, and he immediately obliges, peeling onto the side of the road, tires spitting up gravel, and whips it into park. Eager mouths meet in the middle, over the console, and his hand darts up to cup your breast and thumb your nipple over your shirt. You reach over to palm his erection, your pussy already throbbing and trickling between your legs. It isn’t long before you’re straddling his lap in the driver’s seat dry humping, bare breasts bouncing, begging him to bite you as his eyes go black.
“Did you hear what I said?” Eddie asked.
“No, I--” you swallowed to wet your dry mouth. “What was it?”
He rested the side of his hand on the dash to point in the direction of a green and white street arrow pointing down at a paved street that curved to the right. “It’s a little jarring at first if you’ve never been, but you’ll get used to it.”
Indeed, you’d never been to the Upside Down, but you had heard the stories, and forgot to exhale a breath stuck in your chest as Eddie fishtailed around the corner and a dust cloud enveloped the car. There loomed a big, white church with round windows and a large bell at the very top; it was enormous but also quaint, with flower baskets hanging from the porch and a well kept lawn. Up ahead, you could see a bridge; an old, covered wooden bridge at the end of a narrow, paved road, with a path leading directly to it, a crescent moon stamp in the dark blue sky.
“You ready?” Eddie asked, slowing down to hit the lip of the road with a bounce.
“Sure,” you replied, eyes ahead, getting closer to the bridge and further from the church.
You tried to fix your eyes when you realized the other end of the tunnel appeared to offer nothing but a pitch black void, and not a glimpse of the other side of the woods, as you would assume.
“What the---” you whispered the partial question to yourself just as the tires met the wobbly wood planks and you were under the shelter of the bridge, heading into a big, gaping nothing.
Eddie turned to get a glimpse of your face as you took in what it was like to go to the other side for the first time, and he tried not to smile, but lost the battle.
“Here we go, Princess,” Eddie mumbled, continuing to keep his foot on the gas without any aid of the break as the GTO met with the inky blackness.
Your our eyes closed reflexively at the way the car seemed to meet air and fall, gravity pulling it down, but only for a second or two before the wheels met with the ground again.
You opened your eyes to find that you were somehow on the same road, but it was also, very different. The grass on either side was dead and the dirt was dry; all of the surrounding trees were just bare limbs and jagged trunks jutting out of the earth. The sky was the color of a purple bruise, and you spotted a few large, odd-shaped birds soaring above.
“Demobats,” Eddie said on an exhale, following your line of sight, answering a question you hadn’t asked.
“Demobats.” You repeated the name as you watched a few loop lazily in the sky while Eddie followed the road and headed back toward the old church. “Do vampires turn into Demobats?”
“Damn, I wish,” Eddie snorted a laugh. “Now, that would be fun. But no, we don’t get to do any of the cool shapeshifting stuff of legends, and let me tell you, I felt robbed when I found that one out.”
Now, your focus was on the old church that you’d passed earlier, mouth slightly agape at the transformation. Matte black exterior instead of white, it loomed like bad news with bars over the round windows and a human skeleton hanging from the top rafters where the old bell used to be. Golden light filtered out from the double story building, and there was a large parking lot to the left filled with cars and motorcycles. A few enormous demobats perched along the roof; waiting and watching.
“The Demobats are a part of a hive mind, but they have free will,” Eddie continued filling you in on the set of Dracula that you had just landed in. “If a vampire bonds with one, the creature becomes a companion or protector.”
“Do you have one?” You asked right away, realizing you surely would’ve spotted a demobat hanging around the trailer park.
“Nah,” Eddie shrugged. “I’m not really a fan of them myself. Plus, it only works if you reside in the Upside Down, I think. Demobats don’t care much for humans.”
You were staring at the ones on the roof as they turned their heads to maintain eye contact with you. “That’s good to know,” you said under your breath.
The front door to the church opened as you passed it and you got a glimpse of the red light spilling out, and the crowd of bodies inside, loud music thumping in your chest.
Eddie waited for two tall, pale vampires with platinum hair in black trench coats to cross the parking lot in front of him before he continued in to park.
“Stay there,” he told you. You watched an abnormally tall and muscular, bald man with tattooed lines down his face get off the motorcycle a row ahead of you while Eddie came around to your door.
He opened it and extended his arm as if showcasing the parking lot. “Shall we?”
Although fascinated by this new peak into the odd world of vampires, the fact that this was not at all “on the way” to the trailer park made you a tad suspicious. What did vampire Eddie have planned for you?
The air was thick—humid without being warm or wet—and it smelled like burning firewood with a tang of metal. “Do you want to take my arm or hold my hand?” Eddie asked, running the tip of his tongue over his top lip, letting his eyes flick down your body. “It’s up to you, but we need to send a message that you are with me. It’s for your safety.”
“Arm is fine,” you swallowed, hooking your elbow with his, bare skin on the leather of his jacket. Behind the church was a dense thicket of forest, and the air looked like someone had just blown the fluffy bits off of a big dandelion. You palmed his bicep, feeling the bulge of muscle there, and he tucked your arm close, pinning it to his side.
From the few vampires you’d already seen in the parking lot and on the steps of the church, they were, indeed, physically much different than the vamps who occasionally popped into Main Vein. A group of guys rolled up on their motorcycles; long hair, earrings, bone jewelry, dressed in all black.
“I think that’s a human,” you noted, whispering to Eddie as you spotted the guy who worked in the produce section of the grocery story you frequented.
“Humans are welcome here, “ Eddie shrugged. “But it’s a huge risk because most of the vampires around these parts don’t follow Mainstreaming rules, they don’t like the peace pact that was made with Hawkins. They’d like it to go back the way it was: all of just hiding down here and coming out to feed in the shadows of night like feral animals.”
He squared his shoulders and stretched his neck as you both made it up the stairs. You passed a huddled group of three vampire women in latex outfits sprawled on the steps who seemed to hiss at you as you walked by.
There was a short line to get in the door, and a tall, dominatrix looking woman in a leather bustier with red hair and knee high stiletto boots was checking ID’s and apparently getting a read on people. You noticed her eyeball you a few times as you waited, zipped close to Eddie’s side.
She framed her hips with her hands and took an intimidating step toward Eddie; the two sized each other up with a serious lock of their eyes, but you noticed Eddie had a small smirk lifting up one side of his mouth.
“Edward,” she arched an eyebrow, the extremity of her heels making her just as tall as him.
“Maxine,” Eddie returned. You were so transfixed by the vampire woman in front of you, you barely noticed when Eddie slipped your arm down and took your hand in his. He squeezed it once, quietly reassuring you.
“Only Jareth calls me Maxine, you know this,” and then all of her attention went to you. “You can call me Max,” she said, looking you over from head to foot.
“She’s with me,” Eddie told her.
“I can see that,” Max inclined her head. “Welcome to Sacrament. What brings the two of you to our little corner of hell this evening?”
“She’s never been to a real vampire bar,” Eddie pumped his hand on yours again; it was smooth and cool, dotted in rough callouses. “Or to the Upside Down, for that matter.”
“A virgin, how sweet,” Max cooed sarcastically. “So, what is this? A date?”
“No!” You said it so fast, it made Max chuckle.
“Wait, what is that smell?” Max sniffed the air, got closer to you, and sniffed some more. She got so close, your noses were almost touching. “I can smell your blood, sweetheart, and damn does it make my mouth water.”
“Max—” Eddie warned.
“I know, I know,” she took a step back. “Okay fine, she’s yours. But I won’t be the only one who wants a taste, I hope you know.”
Eddie knew from the moment he met you that you were special. Not just because of the cotton candy electricity in your blood, but also the way you’d looked at him with those white eyes that first night out between the two trailers. You were human, but you were also something else, and he intended to find out what.
Max stepped back, allowing the two of you to continue on through the main door. Inside, the lighting was dim; all deep red and tangerine hues. From large speakers in the back, the song ‘In darkness you will feel alright’ by Horror Vacui filled the air. A long bar to the right, a few chairs and tables scattered around the middle of the room, and then a large dance floor where vampires writhed, some dancing at lightning speed, as if you were watching a video being fast-forwarded. There were two platforms on either side of the floor where dancers worked their bodies on a pole, slithering and spreading their legs wide. At the far back was a stage of some sort, and you could see a drum kit and a microphone.
You slipped your hand free of Eddie grasp, and he let you, but he stayed close; close enough that his arm was always brushing yours. “Drink?” He asked, shouting a bit over the music.
At the bar, you surprised Eddie by ordering straight whiskey, and then he ordered one of the synthetic blood substitutes called NuBlood. The vampire bartender stared at you with blank eyes for a long time as Eddie made the introductions; his name was Craven and he had long, black hair and a wash of dark tattoos over his chest and arms, exposed under the leather vest he wore.
“I see you brought a snack,” Craven flicked his eyes to you as he handed over the drinks. Vampires had the ability to retract their fangs, but Craven’s were out and long, cutting down into his bottom lip
“If that’s what you’d like to call it,” Eddie gave Craven a final nod and palmed both of the tumblers, determined to carry yours as well, and you followed him to a table.
Taking a sip of your whiskey, you chanced a longer look at Eddie. He had one elbow hooked behind the back of the chair, neck muscles tight as he grazed his full bottom lip with his teeth thoughtfully, his stare fixed somewhere in the distance. But then he looked at you and you lost your nerve, dropping your chin, lowering your glass.
You noticed a middle-aged man dress like an accountant in the middle of the dance floor grinding with one of the male vampires. The accountant had two sets of fang marks on his neck and the two seemed like they knew each other intimately.
“That’s a Fang Banger,” Eddie apparently knew exactly where your attention had gone, and now you were both trying to watch without making it obvious.
You’d heard the term before, but always had your questions to what exactly it meant.
Eddie continued. “Most of the humans who come here like to have sex with vampires and let them drink their blood,” he worked his jaw as he turned the glass in his hand. “And then of course there are humans who like to ingest vampire blood for it’s euphoric highs and healing benefits.”
You turned to face him. “Am I a Fang...Banger now that I drank your blood?”
“Not technically,” Eddie smirked, but shyly, gaze landing on his glass. “But if you’re interested I think I know a guy.”
For some reason, that little flirtatious moment gave you butterflies and you bit your lip, turning your attention back to the dancers on the floor.
“Didn’t you say you had to come here for work?” You were flustered to change the subject.
“I need to pick something up from a guy here,” he answered, ever so vaguely. “Finish these drinks first and then I’ll deal with it.”
That was when you saw him. Or, he saw you---you weren’t sure which happened first.
On the back stage, there suddenly stood a tall, blonde vampire with hair to his shoulders, slicked back from his face. His features were beautiful; perfect almost to the point of being surreal. Black shirt unbuttoned down to his navel, leather pants, fingers and wrists adorned in jewelry, and lips that were almost ruby red against his pale skin.
Max was on stage too, right next to him, talking as she continued to glance in your direction.
The tall blonde vampire’s gaze never strayed from you as he took in whatever information Max was giving him with a tilt of his head.
“Who is that guy on stage that keeps staring over here?” You tried not to look too obvious, leaning closer to Eddie.
Eddie grumbled. “That’s Jareth. This is his club.”
The vampire named Jareth had a very ancient, even otherworldly look about him. Confidence literally oozed from his perfect posture.
It wasn’t long before Jareth and Max were exiting the stage, and parting the crowd, headed in your direction. More like, the crowd parted for them; they were all in awe of his presence.
‘Aw shit, here we go,” Eddie said under his breath, fingering the rim of his glass.
“Well, well, well,” Jareth said with a velvet voice. He kept his arms to his side, and Max had hers folded across her chest. “What do we have here?” He had the lilt of an accent; British, perhaps?
With an air of reluctance, Eddie introduced you, and you followed his lead, getting to your feet, so that the two men would be eye to eye.
Jareth made his way around to your side of the table, sinking in as close as he could without breaching your personal bubble, and took your hand. “The pleasure is all mine,” he told you, bringing the back of your hand up to brush his lips against your knuckles, maintaining eye contact with you. His eyes were so blue, they were almost purple. You didn’t have to glance over to notice the way Eddie stiffened.
“You’re right, Max,” Jareth cooed. “She does smell good enough to eat.”
Eddie moved up closer to you, body flush against your arm. When Jareth finally released your hand, you turned to check in on Eddie, not realizing his mouth would be mere inches from your face, his hand snaking around the back of your hip.
“This is her first time,” Max reported with an air of amusement on her face.
“I’m glad we could be your first,” a smile warmed across Jareth’s face to show that his teeth were perfectly beautiful and white. “You’re just in time for The Baptism.”
You couldn’t have been more confused.
“That is,” Jareth continued, inclining his head at Eddie. “If it’s alright with your babysitter.”
“Only vampires can receive the Baptism,” Max added, smugly. “But you’re welcome to watch, sweetheart.”
In a flash, Jareth was face to face with you, right in your bubble this time, and you flinched a bit as his hand came up to cup your jaw, smoothing his thumb along the scar on your cheek. In a dreamy voice he said: “I do so love a girl who looks like she has stories to tell.”
Eddie seemed to be playing along for the sake of appearances, but you could hear him growl in reaction to the unwanted touch; you could feel it vibrating in his chest. You got the idea that Jareth knew exactly what he was doing by the way he winked at Eddie.
“You go with Max,” Jareth told you. “While Eddie and I finish up some business in my office.”
You gave Eddie a tentative look over your shoulder, wondering if this was a bad idea.
“I promise no harm will come to your little pet,” Max’s voice dripped with boredom and sarcasm. “And I won’t even take a nibble.”
You stayed close to Max, making your way through the sweaty crowd on the dance floor, checking over your shoulder only once to find that Eddie and Jareth were already nowhere to be found. Max’s shiny latex corset laced up with ribbon in the back, and on the exposed skin above was the top of some sort of large tattoo; it almost looked religious in nature like a Mother Mary motif. She led you down a wide stairway lit with red bulbs from above and the walls were painted black. You heard more music thudding below; you could even feel it in your feet.
“Watch your step,” Max warned as you took the final stair in to a hallway that was so dark you had to squint. Then there was another windowless door made of heavy metal, and it was guarded by that scary vampire with the bald head that you’d noticed in the parking lot.
He immediately stood up, flustered at Max’s presence.
Max patted his arm. “We’re just here to watch, Ronnie,” she told him, and he only glanced at you briefly before opening the airtight door with a loud clack and stepping out of the way.
Once you crossed the threshold, you’d be permanently separated from Eddie, and locked behind a bulletproof door. You only had a second to consider this before it clicked shut behind you.
In front of you now was a large room with a DJ spinning music inside a plexiglass box at the far end. The group of vampires who were already there were all too lost in their own world to notice or even care that someone had just come in. You continued to follow Max as you took in the fact that there were yoga mats and shower drains lined up along the floor.
“In here, sweet cheeks,” Max guided, opening another door and flicking a light on. The light was another deep red crimson color, so not much light at all, but you could see that there were three tiers that went up in elevation, and a row of chairs along each level, all facing a large picture window; the window faced the spacious room with the drains on the floor and the yoga mats.
She told you to take a seat, and you found one in the first row, lowering yourself into it with a noted level of hesitancy. In the seat next to you, Max patted your thigh. “It’s a guilty pleasure of mine to expose virgin eyes to the Baptism. I know you’ll love it.”
Again, you couldn’t tell if Max was being serious, or if she was still being flippantly sarcastic.
Over the speakers, an electronic female voice announced “2 minutes until The Baptism” and it was then you heard the rush of footsteps upstairs; vampires coming down to be a part of...whatever this was. The DJ behind the protected enclosure had green and black hair as the dark, pulsing music played, and a bit of fear hitched in your chest, mouth dropping open at the way the bodies flooded in through the doors. They were making out with each other and swarming in one large mass.
The energy down there was different than above. There was something more primal and… hungry. Perhaps a side of these monsters that they didn’t want to or couldn't let other humans see. You were too focused on the scene in front of you to notice the way Max kept glancing over, deeply amused by you.
The feminine, electronic voice began to countdown the seconds from 10, as the vampires danced and undressed each other, eyes black and fangs out. One of the women you recognized from the from steps earlier seemed to be looking directly at you, sneering, licking her pointed teeth, her short black hair spiky around her face.
“We can see them, but they can’t see us,” Max offered.
3...2...1
Your eyes followed the sound of the click: shower heads popped out from the ceiling. The mass of vampires tilted their heads back and opened their mouths, and then a red liquid you assumed was blood shot out of the sprinkler heads like water, raining down on everyone there, soaking them.
That was when the debauchery really started, and you realized what the yoga mats were for.
The blood shower worked them into a frenzy and they began to lick it off of each other, undressing each other as cocks and breasts were exposed, everyone reaching out to fondle their neighbor with unbridled enthusiasm. Some fell to their knees to orally please, and others were flat on the ground, a puzzle of fucked holes and faces, drinking the blood as they also used it for lubrication. Vampires had no fear of contracting STD’s or getting pregnant, so reasoned that it was all fair game. One of the vampires with long hair, wearing an enormous, lifelike, strap-on dildo, flicked her head back and a splash of blood flecked the window in front of you. A few continued to dance around, lost in the music and you had to look away from the fornication, bashful suddenly, but Max found your eyes.
“Have you ever done this?” You asked her. She was poised in her seat, legs crossed and fingers laced over her knee.
“No, never,” she admitted, to your surprise. “But I do so love to watch.”
While two naked vampires fucked doggy style on the floor right in front of your eyes, and the one on their hands and knees sucked another vampire off, you wondered if Eddie had ever done this. You wondered what it would feel like to see him standing out there, watching you, beckoning to you, while naked and covered in blood. The part of you that had ingested his crimson gift whispered that you would let him split you open right there in front of everyone, begging for his fangs sink into your throat.
It took all of your strength not to run into Eddie’s arms when you finally made it back up the stairs with Max. There were only 10 or 15 people on the main floor at that point, most of them human familiars, as the rest of the clientele were still downstairs breeding. The sprinklers were only on for five minutes or so, but it was enough to drench all of them as they fucked each other with insatiable hunger.
Eddie pushed off the bar when he saw you, eyes lighting up with wholesome relief.
“How was it?” He asked, taking note that Max was close behind you.
“Traumatizing,” you answered, even though a part of you had enjoyed it, but that was a part of you he didn’t need to know about.
“It was a pleasure to take your girlfriend’s Baptism virginity,” Max batted her eyes a few times.
Simultaneously, you and Eddie both:
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“I’m not his girlfriend.”
“Whatever you say,” Max goaded, hands on her hips, waiting to see you both out. Craven was not too far behind her, both hands braced on the bar, staring you down with an intensity that seemed unnecessary at the time.
Eddie extended the crook of his elbow to you. “Let’s get you home.”
----------
“I know that girl,” Craven told Max once you and Eddie were long gone.
Max tilted her chin up, regarding him down the end of her nose. “I’m listening.”
“I read about her in an Unsolved Mysteries forum I belong to, it was a really odd story,” he wiped his hands on a towel as he talked. “At least, I’m pretty sure it’s her. That scar on her cheek, it’s unmistakable.”
Max gave a roll of her eyes. “Spit. It. Out. Craven. For fucks sake, I’m rotting internally over here.”
Jareth walked up beside Max, standing close, working his jaw.
Craven leaned forward, resting on his elbows. “There’s more than one story about her, both equally strange. First, supposedly, she was in a car accident, dead by the time the paramedics got there,” he paused for a beat.
Jareth looked out the bars of the front window just in time to see the taillights of Eddie’s GTO glow bright in the distance, on his way back to the crossing.
Craven spread his fingers on the bar as he explained, his face dire. “But, her body was stolen from the morgue, and it was never found.”
Max and Jareth exchanged a look. “So, she’s a ghoul? A zombie? What? I didn’t see any rotting flesh,” Max pushed. “She smells too good to be dead.”
Craven held his hand up. “Okay, but get this---apparently her grandfather ran a funeral home, and she lived there with her dad in the same house with all of the coffins and the embalming and whatnot. The rumors were that her dad, Dr. Wesley, was a complete nut job. He was some kind of genius, flew through medical school, became a surgeon.”
Max took a few steps closer, balancing her hip on one of the stools.
“But then his wife found out she had cancer and passed away 6 months later, when Eddie’s girl was just a teenager. After her mom died, her dad went off the rails. Became a real reclusive mad scientist, had some kind of laboratory in the basement where he brought road kill back to life and returned them to the woods.”
“That brings us back to her being in that car accident and disappearing from the morgue,” he paused for dramatic effect. “In the forum I belong to, a bunch of people suspected that he brought her back to life somehow, because---now listen to this---when he died a year after that, several witnesses said they saw her standing on the porch, clear as day.”
Max rolled her eyes. “If you’re fucking with us, I’m going to be very upset.”
Craven put his palms out as a sign of surrender. “Not fucking with you at all. But, I haven’t gotten to the best part yet.”
Jareth smoothed back his hair, waiting.
“In his will, Dr. Wesley left the house and all of his belongings to a woman by the name of “Dove”, and everything monetarily was handled through a third party. That was just a few months ago.” He took a sip of NuBlood and rolled his neck. “Jump ahead to a few weeks ago and, did you hear about that bus that got t-boned and then flipped over onto the train tracks, pinning all those kids inside?”
Max shook her head, but Jareth nodded slowly, eyes narrowing with his full attention, nostrils flaring slightly.
“And how somehow, miraculously, the bus was pushed off the tracks and out of danger just before the train came? And then the bus was flipped back onto it’s tires so that the kids could get out? Well, about ten of the kids described our new friend to a T, right down to that cheek scar.”
“Of course, no one believed the kids,” Craven shrugged. “And it wasn’t a vampire because it was still daylight out. But those of us who’ve been following this story think she’s reanimated, like Frankenstein’s monster, and somehow it gave her superhuman strength.”
“This is a stupid story,” Jareth intoned. “Of course this is all rubbish. Myth, legend, a ghost story for children.”
Max looked over at the door, as if you might be standing there.
“You mean, like vampires?” Craven offered with a lift of his eyebrow.
Max squinted, remembering how uneasy you had been earlier. “She doesn’t seem very strong to me.”
Craven brought a beer to a human at the end of the bar, and then continued when he came back. “We don’t think she understands her strength. I personally believe it has something to do with lightning. There was a lightning storm the night she died, and there was also lightning the day of the bus crash.”
“What would lightning have to do with it?” Max asked. Her curiosity was piqued, but she didn’t want to seem too eager. “That makes it sound so dramatic.”
“I have no clue,” Craven shrugged. “Maybe the electricity in the air makes her powers stronger, maybe she becomes some kind of lightning rod? I’m not sure, but I would like to find out.”
“She does smell different,” Max mused.
“There are people looking for her. Bad people,” Craven added.
“What kind of bad people?” Jareth smirked. “Certainly not worse than this lot.”
Craven wiped the bar with his rag. “People who think they know what she is, and want to study her. To harness a way to give humans insane strength without turning them into vampires? She’s not in Hawkins because it’s such a great town,” he snorted. “I think she’s trying to hide in plain sight. No one would think to look for her in a place like that.”
Max flicked her attention from Jareth to Craven. “Do you think Eddie knows? About her?”
Craven licked one of his fangs. “He has been known to do freelance bounty hunter work. I wouldn’t put it passed him. Maybe someone is paying him to be her watchdog until they can know for sure.”
“Interesting,” Max smoothed her lips. “I wonder if there’s some kind of reward out for her?”
“I can find out,” Craven wiggled his eyebrows mischievously.
“You two fiends will stay away from her,” Jareth spoke up, eyeballing both of them. “Until I figure out exactly what it is we’re dealing with.”
“Oh shit,” Max flashed an uncertain grin. “You’ve got a thing for little miss monster mash.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jareth frowned.
--------
On the way out of Sacrament in the GTO, rounding the corner along the sparse forest that would head you back toward the bridge, you and Eddie were painfully quiet. There was the soft hum of At Night by The Cure coming from the orange and green lights of the stereo, and you absently noticed a few demobats swooping down close.
The images from the Baptism were still flashing every time you blinked, and so you rested your head on your fist and kept your eyes open until they dried out.
“Thank you,” Eddie cleared his throat. “For, being cool about all of that tonight.”
He really hadn’t given you a choice. “Um, you’re welcome.”
Internally, Eddie was kicking himself for ever taking you to Sacrament, or the Upside Down in general. He should’ve known Jareth and Max would notice there was something different about you and take an invested interest. Jareth was a much older, stronger vampire, but Eddie wouldn’t let him get close to you without putting up a fight.
“Did you take care of whatever business you came to do?” You wondered allowed, assuming that he made some clandestine exchange with Jareth.
Eddie sighed. “Yep. It’s all good.”
You were about to be nosey and ask exactly what it was he went there to do, when something banged into the grille of the car, making Eddie curse and swerve, slamming the breaks on before the GTO careened into the dead forest.
“Fucking bats,” Eddie hissed, throwing the car into park with a grunt.
The erratic swerve made your adrenaline surge and sent a wave of heat over your flesh. Dust pooled up around the windows and you struggled to see what was out there in the misty, purple gloom. Out in the middle of the street, in the glow of one of the GTO headlights, face down and wings wide, tendrils spread out, was one of those big, spooky demobats you’d seen perched on the eaves of the church.
You noticed it’s wing twitch, and one of the octopus tendrils curled up slowly as if it was trying to move but couldn’t. It didn’t matter what kind of horrifying, killer beast this was---you hated to see any animal suffer and, before you knew it, your hand was on the door handle, cranking it open.
“Wait!” Eddie gripped your arm. With the door open a crack, you snapped a look at him over your shoulder. Eddie checked up through the front window to see if there were any more demobats close by. “What are you doing? Those things are dangerous.”
“It’s hurt, Eddie,” there was an unmistakable determination in your eyes. “I just want to move it out of the street. Maybe its just stunned.”
Eddie’s stare got hard. “That thing out there will eat your face off and not think twice about it.”
Eyes locked on each other, the both of you realized at the same time that your lips were close, noses only mere inches from touching. Eddie’s eyes flicked to your lips, and then back up again, taking in a sharp sip of air.
Be it the bleeding heart you’d inherited from your mother who was always taking in stray pets to nurture and raise as her own, or from watching your father try to save and resurrect every bit of road kill he stumbled across in that last decade of his life, but you couldn’t let it lay out there vulnerable and in pain. Eddie recognized this determination in your countenance, and released your arm.
On a frustrated exhale, he reached across your legs to open the glove box. “Just wait for me, okay?”
He pulled out a butterfly knife, flipping it open with a few deft flicks of his wrist.
“What’s that for?”
He made a stabbing gesture. “If it’s mortally wounded, I’ll have to put it out of it’s misery.”
You stepped out of the vehicle, waiting for Eddie to come around the front of the car and meet you there.
The demobat lifted another tentacle, making a shrill, squealing noise, and then went still again.
“We can’t take it home with us,” Eddie warned. “That is out of the question.”
You had no idea what you were doing. It was face down, but you knew the thing had a mouth of teeth and they seemed incredibly strong and fast.
“Just help me...move it off the road so it doesn’t get squished by another car.”
Eddie did not like this. This thing wasn’t a kitten or a turtle; it was more of the crocodile/shark variety with no real motivations outside of killing.
You knelt down next to it, Eddie positioned above you with the knife, ready to execute if it reared up and tried to bite you. The thing made a little, sad mew noise, and it compelled you to make the nurturing choice to run your fingers along the spine of its wing to comfort it.
“Shhhh,” you coaxed. “You’re going to be okay. We’re not going to hurt you.”
The demobat jerked at your touch, but was still too stunned to do any more than that.
“Okay, you grab one wing and I’ll grab the other---” but just as you said it, one of the slimy, jellyfish tentacles wrapped softly around your wrist.
Eddie bolted forward, thinking maybe he’d need to cut the fucker off, but you stopped him with your other hand. The tentacle gave you a little squeeze before slipping loose again, falling to the pavement with a smack.
“Okay, let’s get this over with,” Eddie huffed. You both pinched a fleshy wing at both ends and were just about to lift up when the demobat screeched louder than ever, flapping free of your grasp and up into the air.
It spun around mid-flight and shrieked like a siren, exposing the jagged teeth in its gapping maw, dripping with tendrils of saliva. The demobat did not look happy.
Eddie dove in front of you, his eyes black and his fangs out, ready for battle, but the bat only screeched again, this time with less heat, and turned to hobble away; one wing not working as well as the other.
Your shoulders sank and your forehead fell to Eddie’s arm, sighing with relief.
“Yeah,” Eddie watched the thing go as it flew low to the ground for a while before scooting higher up in the sky. “Please don’t ever do that again,” he mumbled to you around the fullness of his ejected fangs. He didn’t move though, because now your cheek was resting on his arm and your hand was on his lower back, and he wanted to turn and kiss you so bad. But then you moved and the moment was over.
Back in the car, as Eddie stuffed in behind the wheel, you clicked your seat belt on and said, “I think I’ve had enough excitement for one day.”
“That makes two of us,” he returned, checking the sky for more low-flying creatures before he got back on the road.
Exiting the Upside Down through the old, covered bridge gave you a deep sense of relief. For the first time, you couldn’t wait to get back to your shitty trailer and your wholly ordinary life. Maybe you weren’t ordinary, but you really wanted to be, and the people and places of Hawkins were helping you to embrace that title more and more every second.
The two of you did not return to Hawkins alone.
Your secret companon flew low behind the GTO in the bridge, and then coasted high above in the sky once it was free from the Upside Down, reveling in the cool night air that did not burn her throat. The demobat you’d helped in the road kept pace with the roof of car as a shadow, following out of sight, and darting in through the trees when necessary.
She was your demobat now, and she wanted to keep you safe.
-----
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m-jelly · 7 days
Text
Mask of the heart - Chapter 2
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Levi x fem!readerRoyalty, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Curses, Curse Breaking, Demons, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Magic, Romance, Drama & Romance, Falling In Love, Love, Love Confessions, True Love, Demon Levi Ackerman, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Running Away, Arranged Marriage, Obsessive Behavior, Soft Levi Ackerman, Levi Ackerman Needs a Hug, Protective Levi Ackerman, Possessive Levi Ackerman, Cuddly Levi Ackerman, Masks, Curvy Reader
In this chapter: Levi and you get very close to each other. You make steps in your relationship as you build confidence in yourself and you start healing.
Ao3
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After settling in for a few days your chipper personality faded into a sad and scared one, mainly because what you had done sunk in. There was a chance your only remaining family would be hurt or killed. It stung your heart. Part of you was thinking that you should just go back, sacrifice your happiness and just marry him. However, Harold came to mind and how he helped you run away.
People who came in to tend to you were so sweet, but you were so scared of the women and Anne due to the last maid you had betrayed you. They meant well and tried hard to connect with you, but you had this deep concern inside you. You wanted some sense of happiness and friends, but you didn’t know how to achieve it all.
The only person you would let come near you was Levi. Levi was so gentle and kind to you, he would help you eat or do things around his grand home. You would often stay curled up in his bed, unable to move an inch. So, Levi would sit and work next to the bed or sit in a chair and read while you lay there curled up.
Last night you had nightmares, so today you were extra fragile. Levi noticed and wanted to make things better. He was sitting on the floor working on some policies for his land and wondering what to do with his massive fortune. He eyed you and thought about buying you something nice. Compelled by his feelings for you, he slid across the floor and sat right by your head on the floor.
You sniffed back some tears and looked at Levi, his brilliant steel blue eyes sparkling through the mask. “Your lordship. Is everything okay?”
He held the edge of the bed and whined. “L-Levi is f-fine.” He gripped the bed. “You are unhappy. Forgive me for not providing a good home.”
“It’s not you or your people. I had a few nightmares last night.” You sat up and moved your messy bed hair. “I am finding it hard to trust your staff.” You looked over at him. “I-I’m not saying your staff are bad…” You welled up. “I’m sorry.”
Levi scrambled up and sat on the bed next to you. “Please don’t cry.” He reached over for your hands and paused. “Sorry, I shouldn’t touch you with these things…”
You reached over and took his black-clawed hands. “Your hands are lovely.” You played with them, they were warm and smooth. You lifted his hands and kissed them. “Your people are lovely, it’s just back at the palace a maid was assigned to me and I got to know her over the weeks I was locked up there. I thought we had a bond.”
Levi reached up and wiped your tears away. “What happened?”
You sniffed. “She had been poisoning me the whole time because she wanted Jareth all to herself.” You lowered your head. “I didn’t want him. She knew I didn’t want him, but she still…” You shook a little. “Anne is so lovely and gentle. She’s so caring and I feel terrible.”
Levi cupped your face. “You are a good person. You have a good heart. Bad selfish people hurt you. My words probably don’t mean anything, but you are safe here. People here care about you.” He dragged his hands down to your upper arms. “I will protect you and if anyone hurts you or makes you cry…”
You started shaking. “Please don’t hurt them.”
Levi tilted his head. “I won’t lay a finger on their head. I’ll talk sternly to them and tell them I’m disappointed in them.”
You gazed at him. “You’re really sweet and adorable.”
Levi whined a little and felt nervous. “I-I’m not.” He climbed off the bed. “I’ve done bad things to protect this country. I know how to use my sword and I use it well.” He looked at his clawed hands. “My body is made for destruction.”
You slipped out of bed and walked over to Levi. “You see destruction, but I see as protection. You cared and looked after those who needed strength when they had none.” You wrapped your arms around him and rested the side of your head against his back with your hands on his pecs. “You’re a good man. You’ve cared for me when you could have just left me to die.”
Levi placed a hand on yours. “I could never let something like that happen to you.” He pulled your hands off him and turned to face you. “I have an idea. How about you come with me as I do my rounds?”
You nodded. “Y-Yes.”
“Do you need help from Anne in changing?”
You gripped your night dress. “Mm…okay.”
He moved to the room door and saw Anne was waiting. “She’s said yes.”
Anne gasped in delight. “Yes! I’ll dress her up in so many pretty things!” She ran inside and squealed in delight. “Hello, my lady!”
You gripped your dress and bowed. “H-Hello.”
Levi leaned down and whispered to Anne causing her to nod and look sad. He pulled back a bit. “Is there a colour you don’t like?”
You shook your head. “No, I’m okay with anything.”
“I’ll be on my way. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Anne clasped her hands together. “Something light and pretty.” She hurried to the walk-in and grabbed a pale light green dress with pretty hand-stitched flowers, the fabric long and flowing. “What do you think?”
You lightly touched the dress. “It’s pretty. I like it.”
She bounced up and down. “So exciting! Ever since I started working for his lordship I’ve dreamed of the day he takes a bride and I get to dress her up, look after her and help her make my lordship blush!”
You giggled. “He’s cute.” You gulped hard as she started to dress you. “Does he always wear that mask?”
“Yes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen his face.”
“I have.” You smiled at her as she looked in pure awe. “When I jumped into his arm in the snow. He didn’t wear a mask. I thought he was the most handsome man I’d ever seen.” You nibbled your lip. “I want to see it again.”
Anne fixed your hair for you. “Well, let’s work together. We will get him to remove that mask to kiss you.”
You gazed at her. “You don’t want him?”
She shook her head. “I don’t. I have a man I love very much.” She held your hands. “I’m not that nasty maid, okay? We all here care about you and his lordship. Most of us here ran away from the prince’s country.”
You squeezed her hands. “I understand. Levi whispered to you about what happened, right?”
“He did. I will work hard to be your friend. If you need boundaries set, please tell me.”
You nodded. “I will communicate everything.”
“So will I.” She stepped back and sighed. “You look like a countess.” She giggled. “That position is available too.”
You felt your cheeks heat up at the thought. “That would be lovely.”
Anne clapped her hands. “Yes! Wonderful. Let’s return you to the count so you can move on him.”
You walked with her and hummed a laugh. “I will try my best.” You gripped your dress a little. “His lips seem very kissable.”
Anne hugged herself. “I know what that’s like, wanting to kiss someone a lot. I’m the same with my man.” She growled. “Just wanna grab his face and cover it in smooches!”
You giggled. “Cute.”
She grinned before pausing and turning to a butler. “Where is his lordship?”
Jean smiled. “He is outside speaking with Sasha about the grounds. Fair warning, he is the king of bunnies right now.”
Anne giggled. “I love it when he is.”
You frowned a little. “King of the bunnies?”
Anne guided you out of the grand mansion home into the vast gardens. “We don’t know why, but animals seem to love the count.” She paused and allowed you to admire Levi in his black suit, cloak and mask. Around Levi was a lovely collection of bunnies gazing at him and wanting attention. On his horns sat little birds. “Whenever he goes outside they surround him.”
You gasped in delight. “So cute.”
“Go to him.”
You lifted your dress and hurried over to Levi as he talked to Sasha about the land. “Levi.”
He felt a warmth shoot through him at hearing your voice. He turned to face you and felt like he was walking on air, you were breathtaking. Every time you talked with each other, it was always in dim lighting in his room. So, this was the first time he was ever seeing you in the sunlight. He mumbled your name. “You…you look…b-beautiful.”
You looked down at yourself as if you weren’t aware of your beauty. “Thank you.” You looked a little to see a little bunny pawing at Levi’s leg. You scooped it up into your arms and saw it kick a little because it wanted Levi, but as soon as it looked at you, the bunny melted like Levi did. “Aww, such a cute little bunny.” You giggled as it started nuzzling against you. “I think it likes me.”
Levi reached over and petted the bunny. “How can it not? You’re wonderful.” He walked right up to you and petted the bunny. “I am sorry for the army of animals, they follow me around.”
“Animals are a great judge of character.” You leaned up and kissed the mask where his cheek would be. “You’re a sweet man.”
Levi felt a whole body blush. “I-I-I…uh…mmm…th-thank you.” He cleared his throat. “Would you like to walk with me?”
You placed the bunny down. “I would like that.”
He fiddled with his shirt and then started walking with you. The two of you talked so naturally as if you had known each other for years. Everything was so natural between the two of you. The more you walked and talked with each other, the more animals seemed to turn up and want Levi’s attention. After a while, he took his cloak off and placed it on the floor allowing you both to sit together. As soon as you both sat, bunnies climbed onto your laps.
You fussed the bunny on your lap and hummed. “The place is beautiful.”
“I do like my home.” He looked around then back at you. “I am glad we did this.”
“Me too.” You reached over and caressed his neck so he could enjoy the skin-on-skin contact. “I loved getting to know you more. Each time we talk about ourselves, the more my heart flutters for you.” You pulled back from him. “Sorry, I’m probably flustering you.”
Levi gazed at you. “I like that contact. You’re the only person I like touching me.”
You shifted closer to Levi. “Levi?”
He locked eyes with you as his heart raced. “Yes?”
“Can I move your mask? Just a little bit?”
He felt nervous. “I ah…I’m not nice under this.”
“I’ve seen your face before and I thought you were so handsome.”
He gazed deep into your eyes. “I believe your words that you wouldn’t lie to me but I don’t think much of myself.”
You shifted the mask to the side a bit to see his cheek which had some black marks and scales. You leaned closer and kissed his cheek and discovered it was soft and warm. You kissed again before moving the mask back. “Thank you for indulging me.”
Levi gazed deep into your eyes as he gulped a little. He reached over and caressed your cheek with the back of his clawed fingers. “Can you indulge me then in return?”
You nodded. “Sure, what is it you would like?”
He moved the bunny off his lap and got a bit nervous. “I ah…you…um…well…”
You hummed a laugh. “It’s okay, ask away.”
“I would like to h-hold you but in a specific way.”
You smiled at him. “In what way?”
He gripped his thick muscular thighs. “I w-would like y-you to sit on m-my lap with your b-back to me. I w-want to hold you f-from behind.” He looked away. “I’m s-sorry, I’m asking t-too much.”
Shame ran through him as he thought about his request, he thought he was asking too much of you. All he wanted was for you to be his bride, but you ran from a marriage so you wouldn’t want him. A pure delighted heat of excitement went through him when you crawled over and sat right between his legs before pressing your back to his chest.
You wiggled a little and smiled. “Comfy.” You lightly grabbed his wrists and then helped him put his arms around you. “Here.”
There was a slight hesitation, but hearing you give him full permission encouraged him to move. He wrapped his arms around you and held you tightly. “Mm.” He clung tightly as his tail swished a lot. Now he was wishing he didn’t have a mask on because he wanted to nuzzle the crook of your neck. He looked around to see the two of you were alone.
You gasped when Levi’s clawed hand covered your eyes. “Levi?”
He slipped his mask off and whispered against your ear. “Keep your eyes closed and don’t move.” The heat of his breath caused you to shiver against him. “Just for a bit.”
Your senses heightened causing this moment to be all the more sensual. A gasp escaped you as Levi’s soft hot lips ran up your neck to your ear. A gentle kiss made you shiver then a playful bit on the edge of your ear made you moan. You leaned your head back as he kissed down your neck to your shoulder. His canine teeth playfully nipped your shoulder causing you to squeak.
Levi pulled back a little and saw he’d made a love bite. “A-Ah, s-sorry. I got carried away.” He pulled his mask back on. “I am sorry, I left a mark.”
You turned your head as soon as he removed his hand. “I liked it.”
He gazed deep into your eyes before tapping the forehead part of his mask against your forehead. “Good. I don’t want to scare you.”
“You don’t scare me.” You cupped his face and kissed his mask right where his lips would be. “You’re sweet and caring.”
Loving words were on his lips, but he didn’t get a chance to speak to you because a staff member came over and asked for his attention. He rose to his feet and felt sad. “I must go. Could we go on another date soon?”
You nodded. “I’d love that. Oh, your cape.”
“Keep sitting on it. You can return it later.” “I will.” You waved to him. “Bye.”
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You let Anne dress you up in a cute dress and then add a pretty cape after as the spring air was cold today. As soon as you were dressed and ready, you ran through the grand mansion until you were outside to see Levi preparing a carriage to go into town. Once you saw Levi you felt excitement surge through you. “Levi!”
Levi turned and gazed at you, a sparkle of delight filled his eyes when you sprinted towards him. He called your name. “My little bunny.”
You leapt into his arms and hugged him. “Don’t go without me.”
He squeezed you before placing you on your feet. “I didn’t know you wanted to go into town. Forgive me for not thinking of you.” He whined. “I’m a bad man…”
You held his clawed hands and noticed he’d put gloves on them. “You’re a good man.” You lifted his hands. “How come you’re wearing gloves?”
“I don’t want to scare people.”
You kissed his hands. “I think they’re pretty.” You smiled at him. “I’m looking forward to going out.”
He held your hand and helped you into the carriage. He climbed in after you and closed the door. “I have work to do there, but we c-can go shopping?” He fiddled with his cloak. “M-Maybe umm…go to a café?”
You shuffled up to him. “Like a date?”
He nodded. “I-If you want to?”
“I do.”
He perked up a bit. He glanced out the window as the carriage moved into town. Shame and fear started to move through him. He grabbed the hood of his cloak and pulled it up. “Mm.”
You tilted your head. “Why the hood?”
“To hide my horns.” He sighed. “I’m ugly and frightening to look at…I don’t want to scare my people. I don’t want to scare kids, I like kids and I want to be a father someday, but I’m too scary and horrific for that.”
You smiled as your cheeks heated up. “I think you’d make a wonderful father.” You knelt before Levi and undid his cloak. “You should have faith in your people. Your staff adore you and they have seen your tail, claws and horns. Have they run?”
He shook his head. “they seem to love me more.”
You slipped his gloves off. “Have faith in them and if they judge you, well I’ll give them a stern talking to.”
He chuckled. “You’re a good person.”
You held his hands. “I will be with you every step of the way. If you want to leave, we will.”
He gulped hard and nodded. “Okay.”
You smiled. “Plus, there might be a demon kid in this town and seeing you with your horns and tail out will give them confidence.”
He perked up. “You think so?”
You nodded. “I believe.” You gasped a little. “Oh, I’m taking your cloak off and it’s cold out.”
“I wear it only to hide. I run very hot.”
A shiver ran through you, you felt pleasure in knowing he was always hot. “I bet you’re wonderful to cuddle in bed on cold nights.”
Levi’s heart skipped a beat as he heated up at your words. “I-I uh…mm…maybe I am.”
You sat next to Levi. “Have you had a girlfriend before?”
“Hmm? Oh, yes.”
“Sorry I asked, it’s just you seem a little nervous around me.”
He shuffled closer to you. “Well, you’re different. I’ve had two girlfriends in the past, both were lovers and I was intimate with them. One of them was magical and is the reason why I’m cursed, she was rather cruel…” He sighed. “So, if you’re wondering if I’ve had sex and been with women, I have.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I am nervous and flustered around you because my feelings are very strong for you. I want you as my bride, but I won’t force anything.” He turned to you and held your hands. “I get so overwhelmed with my feelings for you that I just stutter and stumble on my words. I’m also conflicted, you’ve been through so much with Prince Jareth and I know I’m ugly. You deserve freedom and a good sweet love.” He blushed. “You’re giving me such a cute sweet look like you’re an innocent little bunny.”
You giggled. “Sorry, I just think you’re so sweet and I love that you’re opening up to me more.” You cupped his face. “I don’t think you're ugly and I am not pressured. I think you’re the man, or should I say demon, for me.” You hummed a laugh as Levi chuckled. “Thank you for caring so much about how I feel and the shit I’ve been through. I want you to know I feel very safe with you and my heart flutters a lot around you.” You leaned closer and then pouted hard. “I don’t like your mask, it stops me from kissing you.”
He reached up to his mask and paused a bit. “Mm…I want a kiss.”
You grabbed the carriage door before it was opened. You opened it a tiny bit and smiled at the driver. “Give us a few minutes.”
The driver bowed. “Of course”
You closed the door and turned to Levi. “We’ve made it to town.”
He gripped the edges of his mask for a moment before unclipping it and slipping it off. He stared at the mask in his hand before looking over at you. “Last time you saw me like this you were sick and weak from running through thick snow. You were a little delirious.” He turned to face you. “Am I still handsome?”
There was a sparkle in your eyes as you took in the darkly handsome Levi. You clutched your chest as you gasped. “So handsome. My heart is racing so much.” You felt yourself shaking. “I…wow…I’m shaking.”
He ran the back of his clawed fingers over your cheek. “Due to fear?”
“Excitement.”
He smiled at you causing your body to heat up. “I’m glad.” He eyed your lips. “Is kissing still on the table?”
You inhaled as he dragged you closer to him, all the worries were gone and he was overflowing with confidence. You were the one that was flustered now. His hot lips ran along your cheek towards your lips causing you to feel dizzy. When his lips touched yours you felt fireworks inside you. Your body burned and ached in pure bliss. You clung to Levi as you kissed him back. As soon as you kissed Levi back he added more passion and confidence to the kiss.
Pleasure pulsed through Levi, all he could feel was pure euphoria. The connection between you and Levi was on a special soulmate level. He could feel the bond with you just by a passionate kiss with you. He tangled his claw fingers in your hair and nipped your lip. His hot pointed tongue slipped into your mouth and massaged yours in a blissful kiss. Your bodies throbbed with pleasure as the two of you confirmed your feelings.
He pulled from your lips and kissed along your cheek to your neck. He nipped your neck with his sharp canines. He sucked on your skin and rolled his tongue over the small mark he had made. He moved back a little so he could gaze deep into your eyes. “That was…” He smiled and tapped his forehead against yours. “Please say you felt what I felt.”
You nibbled your lip as your body throbbed. “I did. It was incredible.”
He kissed the corner of your mouth. “I want to kiss you more.” He flinched when he heard a knock on the carriage door. “A-Ah, we’re needed.”
You gazed at Levi as a cute blush spread on his cheeks. “Cute.”
He lifted the mask and glanced over at you. “You’re cuter.”
You leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I also would like to kiss you more.”
His eyes widened as his cheeks got pinker. “G-Good.” He shoved the mask on his face and whined. “You fluster me, i-in a g-good way.”
“I’m glad.” You kissed Levi’s shoulder. “We should head out.”
Levi climbed out first before turning to you and helping you out. “I need you.”
You felt yourself flush. “You do?”
He nodded. “This is the first time I’m showing off my horns and tail to my people. I need the woman I care about to be at my side.”
You smiled sweetly. “Of course. I’m here always. Do you want me to hold your hand?”
He gulped hard. “Please, th-that’s if m-my claws d-don’t bother you.”
You entwined your fingers with Levi’s. “I adore them because they are part of you.”
“You make me feel so loveable.” He squeezed your hand and then led you through the town to his first stop. “People are staring.”
“They’re thinking you’re so handsome. It’s the first time they’ve seen you like this.”
He hummed. “I hope they’re not scared.” He pushed the shop door open. “I would hate that.” He stepped inside and gasped when he saw a little girl run over to him. “Ah! I n-need to h-hide.”
You crouched down and smiled at her. “Hello, what’s your name?”
She gazed at Levi and wiggled a bit. “Frida.” She reached for you. “Who is the handsome man?”
You giggled. “That handsome man is Count Levi.”
She gasped. “You’re the Count! My friend!”
Levi shifted to one knee. “You’re not scared of me?”
She moved closer to him. “Pretty.”
He reached over but say she flinched. “S-Sorry.”
She eyed his fingers. “Wow!” She grabbed his clawed fingers and giggled. “They’re big and warm!”
He held her hand. “Yes.”
She reached up and touched his horns. “They’re cute.”
You giggled. “That’s what I keep telling him.”
She pulled back and giggled. “Is she your wife?”
Levi gazed at you and felt his heart race. “N-No, but umm…maybe someday.”
Frida huffed. “You should hurry up and marry her.”
Levi looked over at you. “I would like to.”
“Your Lordship!” A bearded man with round glasses scooped his daughter up. “Is my little one causing trouble?”
Levi rose to his feet. “She’s been wonderful.”
Frida kicked her little legs. “He loves her! They’re gonna get married! She’ll be our new Countess!”
The man chuckled. “You’ll make the two of them blush.” He looked up and went quiet for a moment as he took in Levi. “Your Lordship…”
Levi backed up. “I know I look…”
“So charming and handsome!” He chuckled. “It’s lovely to finally see you, well most of you without the hiding.”
Levi wrung his hands a little. “Oh, well my face isn’t very nice.”
You giggled. “He lies, it’s very lovely and he’s incredibly handsome.”
“Th-thank you.” Levi cleared his throat. “Shall we get to work?”
The man placed his daughter down. “I have everyone gathered.” He gazed at you. “Could you watch over my daughter?”
You nodded. “I’d be happy to.”
Levi held your hands. “It’s just a meeting about trading. He is from an ogre clan and I’ve been working with them for a while. I will tell you all about it after the meeting.”
You gazed at him and looked like a sweet little bunny again. “How come you’re telling me?”
“Because you are important to me and I don’t want you to feel left out, or maybe I’m doing business and the lady has to stay away. It’s not true, okay? I want you at every possible meeting, but there is a lot to go over and you might be confused midway through the meeting.”
You hummed a laugh. “I understand.” You leaned closer and kissed his neck. “I’ll do a bit of shopping with Firda.”
He retrieved a pouch and gave it to you. “Here is some gold. Treat yourself.”
You looked inside the pouch. “This is a lot!”
“It is?” He frowned a bit. “I didn’t realise.”
You gripped the bag. “I’ll buy a few things and something for you.”
“I’d…I’d like that…”
You took Frida’s hand. “Let’s go shopping.”
Frida bounced up and down before grabbing your hand. “Yes!”
The father moved closer. “She’s perfect, your lordship. I look forward to your wedding.”
Levi felt himself blush. “Y-Yes, wedding…”
You walked with Frida outside and let her pull you along to different shops and stalls. There were a lot of sweets and food, so you bought some for Frida and a fair few things for Levi that you wanted to try with him. After a bit of looking around, you came to a stop at a jewellery shop. As you admired what they had your eyes locked onto something so perfect, it was a stunning decoration and clasps for a demon’s horns.
“Excuse me?” You smiled at the seller. “I would like to buy these please.”
The demon gazed at you, the only thing hinting they were a demon was their horns. He smiled at you. “Of course. You’re really pretty.”
You felt flustered. “Ah, mm…thank you.”
He picked up what you wanted. “He’s a lucky man.”
You handed the gold over. “Sorry?”
He placed it carefully in a wooden case lined with felt and placed it in a bag. “The demon you are gifting this to.”
You took the bag from him. “I’m the lucky one.” You bowed your head. “Thank you so much.” You hugged the bag to your chest and moved with Frida. “Where do you want to go next?”
She hummed as she ate a snack. “I want to see the count again. He’s so pretty.” She gasped when she saw a group of cats. “He’s here!”
You watched the cats go running over to Levi and make a fuss of him. “Cute.” You smiled as your heart fluttered. People flocked to Levi and showered him with compliments about his appearance. You giggled as ladies told him he was handsome and touched his muscular arms. “Very cute.”
Levi looked down at Frida as she ran over to him. “Hello…um…where is…”
Frida pointed. “She’s over there.”
Levi looked over at you and felt his whole world slow down, all the noise went and the cats meowing at him for attention went. He walked towards you as if you had this magnetic hold on him. He stopped right in front of you with a blush on his cheeks. “Did you have a nice day?”
You nodded. “It was okay.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
You walked closer and pressed your body against his causing him to be flustered. “It’s because you weren’t with me. Today would be perfect if you were with me.” You looked up into his eyes. “Levi.”
He whined a little as you gave him the sweet bunny luck again. “Let’s go on a date.”
You held his hand and walked with him. “Yes.”
He eyed what you were clutching. “What do you have there?”
“A gift for you.”
He blushed hard. “Th-thank you.” He pulled you closer to him. “Are you warm enough? The spring chill is still bad.”
You smiled up at him. “I’m perfect.”
He opened a café door and ushered you inside. “Good. Oh uh, pick anywhere you like and choose anything you want on the menu.”
You moved to a quiet corner. “Here okay for you?”
He pulled a chair out for you. “Anywhere is good for me as long as I’m with you.” He pushed the chair in when you sat. “I uh…that was a bit…uh…corny.”
You gazed up at him. “I liked it.” You took his hand. “Sit.”
He sat down on your left. “You look so pretty.”
You reached over and cupped his face. “I adore you.” You leaned closer and kissed where his lips would be. “Such a sweet man.”
He lowered his head. “Am I am bad person?”
You frowned a bit. “Bad person?”
He nodded. “All I can think about is locking you up in my carriage and kissing you.”
You gasped as you felt a rush of pleasure go through you. You shoved the gift into his arms, lifted the menu and hid a little. “I want that too, but f-food and a d-date.”
Levi smiled a little at how adorable you were. He opened the bag and admired the box inside with perfect carvings. “Pretty.” He unclipped the box and opened it to reveal the silver clasps with delicate and simple stones. His heart throbbed when he saw a galaxy stone on each clasp. The galaxy stones were important to demons as they were given to their lovers as an engagement gift. “I accept.”
You lowered the menu. “Huh?”
He placed the clasps on his horns so they were perfectly decorated. “The engagement.”
You stared at him. “Engagement?”
He nodded. “The galaxy stones are an engagement gift demons give to each other. I was going to get you a galaxy ring and propose, but you beat me to it.” He saw how you were staring at him. “Oh, I misread the meaning. This is…embarrassing.”
You reached over and gripped his hands. “Levi.” You lifted them and kissed his clawed fingers. “I care for you, Levi. I want you. You said it yourself, I am your bride.” You smiled sweetly at him. “Marrying you would be a dream.”
“Even with my face?”
“I will kiss it every second of every day.”
He squeezed your hands. “I will kiss every inch of your body every second of every day.” He cleared his throat. “I ah…”
You giggled. “I will hold you to that, Count Levi Ackerman.”
He placed his hand on your thigh. “Bunny lady, I am stuck as this version of me and I don’t think I can have a human form. I don’t want to hurt you because you’re a soft pretty human.”
You shifted closer to him. “I’m not fragile. I jumped out of a moving carriage and ran a whole night and day through a snowstorm.” You leaned over and kissed his ear before whispering. “I think I can make love to a handsome demon fiancé.”
Levi growled. “Bunny.”
You pulled back. “We should order something to eat, right?”
He massaged your thigh. “Yes.”
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