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reikoackerman · 2 years

Text

Our happy little family

Characters: Levi x Rei (me)

Genre: Modern!au

Warnings: SFW, fluffy. Mentions of childbirth and everything kinda bloody and gross. Also very very VERY self-indulgent. Block the tags #levi x rei and #reivi to refrain from cringing. Also, I cried happy tears writing this, so I hope you all can happy cry together with me 🥺

Word count: 6k I'm very fucking sorry lol

A/N: Yes lol the day is here. Finally, you all will know the name of the last Ackerman Junior ~ ^_^ I'm tagging the loml @mrscommandersmith just because <3

Also I've obviously not given birth before so there might be some inconsistencies hahaha I'm sorry and do not mind me :') I tried not to talk too much about medical terminologies so, bear with me and enjoy the story hehe.

[03 July 2022]

It's here.

Again.

Once every 15 minutes, I keep feeling that annoying pain in my abdomen, as though I was having a very very bad cramp. Breathe in, breathe out. Calm down, Rei. You got this. I told myself. I turned to Levi who was sleeping peacefully next to me, his breathing slow and deep, a contrast to my own ragged and harsh panting. Clutching on to my watch tight, I looked at the seconds ticking by, counting till the contraction subsided.

Thirty seconds later, the cramps were gone. I quickly noted it down in my phone.

Is today the day? I wondered. Hange told us that our little princess would be due any time during the first week of July, and Levi and I have been like a bundle of nerves since then. Levi already prepared the overnight bag last week and also took the week off work, ready to drive us to the hospital whenever. I quickly got up and washed my face, making my way back to the bed before I started contracting again.

Fifteen minutes passed, and the contraction came back again stronger. Out of instinct, I grabbed Levi's hand hard, and he suddenly jumped awake.

"Mon cœur—" Levi let out a yawn mid-sentence. "What's wrong?" The sleepiness was still evident in Levi's voice. He briefly pushed himself up and saw my face covered in a light sheen of perspiration.

"L-Levi, I th-think, I think it's—" I grabbed Levi's hand tight again and closed my eyes before feeling the cramps subside. I slowly let out a long breath before looking at my husband. "I've been keeping track for the past 45 minutes. The contractions are coming at a regular interval." Levi's eyes widened as he wiped my perspiration away.

"I-I think our little princess is arriving today." I placed my free hand on my bump and gave Levi a shaky smile. Levi scrambled out of bed and went to wash up, calling his mother to meet at the hospital. I tried pushing myself up and poured myself a glass of water, dropping Mia a text to tell her what was happening. It was close to midnight, and I didn't want to wake her up since she had work tomorrow. Before my cramps came back, I quickly called Isabel as well, telling her and Farlan to come over and babysit the kids and our fur babies. I knew Levi would call Farlan and tell him the same thing too; they already have the spare keys to our house. Knowing Levi, he would have dropped Erwin and Mike a text as well.

Levi quickly gave Hange a call to tell them what was happening, and that we would reach the hospital within an hour. Another wave of cramps hit and I winced, willing myself to finish the glass of water before leaving. Levi rushed to the kitchen and took out some granola bars, dark chocolate, milo bars, and bottles of water and added them into the overnight bag. Grabbing a thick wool jacket of his that he knows I love wearing, Levi draped it across my shoulders before helping me up. Checking on the twins and Renée, Levi carried me out of the house and locked the door, a look of worry all across his face.

"Amour, calm down, I'm fine, really," I clutched onto Levi's hand while he placed me down in the passenger seat. "This is our fourth child already, relax." Funny how I'm the one about to give birth, but Levi is behaving like a lost sheep instead.

"Do I need to remind you about what Hange said? Every pregnancy is different." Levi placed the overnight bag at the rear before quickly going to the driver seat, passing me a pillow that he knows I'll definitely need. "How are you feeling?" He adjusted his mirrors before driving, interlocking my hand in his.

"Fine, for now," I closed my eyes again as another wave of contractions came. I grabbed the pillow and Levi's hand tight. When we stopped at the red light, Levi turned on the radio, tuning to the station playing classical music. Levi brought my hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to each of my knuckles as the contractions subsided again.

"Je t'aime, mon cœur," Levi whispered before driving off when the lights turned green.

"我也爱你，亲爱的。(I love you too, my darling)." I managed to smile before kissing the back of Levi's hand in return. Isabel replied my message and said she and Farlan are already at our house. Our kids are still sleeping soundly.

"You're doing so good, baby, stay strong for a while more, okay? We're reaching soon. Hange's waiting." I nodded before closing my eyes, willing myself to breathe normally especially when the contractions came back.

[04 July 2022]

It was almost 12:45am when we reached the hospital's car park. Hange worked at a Women's and Children's Hospital, and probably one of the best in the country. Renée, Pierre and Léon were all delivered by Hange and their team, and I have absolute confidence that our little princess will be in good hands.

Levi pushed a wheelchair towards the passenger door and helped me sit, grabbing the overnight bag and locking the car properly before wheeling me inside. True to what Levi said, Hange and Moblit were waiting for us. Moblit looked a little pale while Hange was smiling.

"Good day Mrs Ackerman," Hange joked while Levi scowled. "How's everything?"

"I've been having these regular contractions every 15 minutes or so, and each of them last for about 30 seconds," I muttered as Levi wheeled me ahead, Hange and Moblit walking beside us. "I've been keeping track since about 11:15pm."

"You've done really well, Rei. Now let's get you changed and comfortable, and we'll start prepping you, okay?" Hange patted my shoulder as I nodded.

"Has your water bag broke yet?" Moblit asked.

"No idea, I think so? I feel a little moist down there."

"Your water bag broke?! Why didn't you say anything in the car? I would've driven faster and—" Levi frowned and I had to calm him down again.

"I'm fine, Levi! Relax."

"Oh, please calm down Levi," Moblit quickly interrupted, scribbling on his clipboard. "Everything is under control." It's so amusing to see my usually calm and collected husband getting so flustered. Hange was laughing as well, the sight of Levi panicking must be really entertaining.

Once we reached the delivery suit, Hange's team of nurses were already on standby, greeting Levi and I cheerfully. It felt good to be in the hands of such skillful and dedicated nurses, and there was already a sense of familiarity too.

Once nurse Nifa helped me change into the gown, Levi grabbed my hand as Hange did their first round of checks. Thankfully, my water bag hasn't broke yet. The moistness I was feeling was from the mucus plug.

"You're about 3cm dilated now," Hange looked up once they're done. "You know the drill, we'll have to wait till you're about 10cm." The rest of the nurses started hooking up all the wires to the machines to monitor mine and our baby's heartbeats.

"Everything's fine. Just breathe, relax, and call us when you need anything." Hange gently pat my head as they spoke, giving Levi a nod of reassurance.

"This might be their fourth child, but I don't want anyone to be complacent, understood?" Hange spoke to their team of nurses and they all nodded. "Keep me and Dr Berner updated with Rei's progress."

"Yes, Dr Zoe!" Hange then left the delivery room as they had to check on other patients.

"About seven hours to go, then?" Levi looked at his watch. It was about 1:25am.

"It might take faster than that, Mr Ackerman," Nifa piqued. "Since it's her fourth delivery already, Mrs Ackerman might dilate faster than usual."

"I know, b-but, but then, her contractions lasted so long with the boys. I'm just—"

"Amour, it's fine. I'm fine. Relax for me, okay? Our little princess can feel it if you're nervous." I squeezed Levi's hand, smiling up at him. Levi visibly relaxed and gave me a soft kiss to my forehead.

"Mm. Do you need anything?" Levi released his grip on my hand and brought the overnight bag over. "Milo, sweets, chocolate?" Levi took out a milo bar, some sweets, and a few chocolates.

"I'm fine, Levi. I don't need anything. I just want you here." I giggled, grabbing his hand again. Levi gave me a kiss as he swiped my fringe away. He nodded and gazed at me, telling me about something funny that happened at work. Everytime I felt my contractions, Levi would whisper encouragements in my ear, gently rubbing my arm as I squirmed around.

"You're about 4cm now, Mrs Ackerman," Nifa did a quick check. "We might want to induce labour later by breaking your water bag when we get to about 6cm or so." I nodded, taking shallow breaths. Just then, Levi got a message on his phone.

"Maman's here." I nodded, urging him to go talk to Aunty Kuchel. She must be worried and nervous too. "Don't worry about me. Go spend some time with your mum." Levi seemed reluctant to leave me in the room.

"Go, don't worry." Levi sighed, muttering "I'll be quick" before going outside. Waves of contractions came and passed, each getting a little more intense. I wonder what time was it now. Levi came back later with a cup of tea in his hand and the corner of his lips looking a little dirty.

"Was the croissant good?" I giggled. Levi looked a little embarrassed. "H-how did—"

"You have some pastry crust on the corner of your lips, love," I gestured for him to come closer before kissing Levi full on the lips. "And now they're gone." Levi's face turned pink, realising that he was walking around with pastry crust on his lips, and that I just ate the crust off his lips in a room full of people.

"You're really cheerful for someone about to give birth." Levi scowled again, wiping his mouth with some tissue.

"I don't know, I'm actually feeling really excited. I can't wait to meet her." I held Levi's hand again, feeling a surge of emotions. Levi's other hand went to gently pat the bump, giving me a soft smile.

"I know. I can't wait to meet her too." I looked at Levi bashfully. Levi interlocked his fingers in mine, gently stroking my knuckles. I tried to take deep, slow breaths as the intensity of the cramps start to increase. Levi softly kissed the crease between my eyebrows. We've been married for six years and I still feel butterflies everytime he does that. It's funny how back in the day, Levi would feel embarrassed to even hold my hand. Now, Levi is actually showing me affection in a room full of people. I guess fatherhood really changed him. Or maybe, being with me changed him?

Hange came back after 3am, making a check on me again.

"You holding up okay, Rei? How's the contractions?"

"Uhh... they're getting stronger... how far am I now, Hange?"

"You're 7cm dilated now, we'll break the water bag soon to help you induce labour. How's your pain on a scale of one to 10?"

"I guess... about 6? Maybe 7?" I grimaced as I felt another wave of contractions. Levi held my hand tighter. Hange sat by the edge of the bed and began to do something to burst my water bag.

"How are you?" Levi asked me again. I nodded, adjusting my position on the bed. Levi opened a bottle of water and inserted a straw for me to drink. "Keep yourself hydrated, you're going to lose a lot of water later." I nodded again, taking sips of water as Levi opened a granola bar and tearing it into small bite-sized chunks. Our last meal was around 7pm, and I was feeling a little hungry.

"Are you sure you don't want the epidural?" Levi asked me and I firmly shook my head.

"No... I can do it, I can do this. I don't want it, Levi," I grimaced again. I didn't take any of these when I gave birth to Renée and the boys, and I definitely don't want to take them now, too.

"I don't need it, Levi." I looked at him again. Levi stared at me, until he gave me a small nod. He knew how stubborn I am sometimes, and there's no point in persuading me to do something I don't want to. Levi fed me a few more bites of the granola bar.

"What time is it now, amour?" I asked Levi after I was done eating. The contractions were getting even stronger. It was really starting to hurt. Perhaps it was time soon. Levi yawned and checked his watch.

"It's almost five soon," Levi yawned again, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes.

"Take a nap if you're tired." I urged him, but Levi shook his head.

"No, I'm staying awake. I want to be with you all the way," Levi gave me a small smile and drank from the cup he brought back hours ago, scrunching his face in disgust. "God, their tea sucks."

"I heard that, shorty," Hange called out as they entered again, Moblit following behind. Levi ignored them and drank some water. The contractions were getting really unbearable now, and I could feel it. Our baby wants to say hi to us soon. I started breathing a little harsher, and both Hange and Levi seemed to notice it too. Hange quickly made a check.

"Rei's about 9cm now. Everyone standby!" The nurses all went to their designated spots, some standing by the monitors, some standing next to Hange. I could feel it again. Our baby is pushing against my cervical opening. The pain got even stronger and I clutched Levi's hand tight. I tried to regulate my breathing, Levi whispering next to my ear.

Once Hange told me I was close to 10cm, Levi's usually stoic expression was long gone, he clenched my hand tightly in his as Hange kept telling me to breathe in and out.

"You're doing good, Rei, keep breathing. When I say push, push as hard as you can, hmm?" Hange called out and I grunted.

"One, two, three, push!" I tried pushing as hard as I can, hands squeezing Levi tight. I don't know how hard I'm grabbing him, but I could tell that Levi was bearing with the pain too. My face was screwed up as I pushed again with all my might once Hange told me to push. It may be my fourth time giving birth, but I'm never ever going to get used to this pain.

I don't want to give birth ever again.

Once more, Hange told me to push harder, our little princess' head was slowly getting closer.

"Good girl, mon cœur, you're doing so well. So brave, my wife," Levi repeated next to my ear, wiping my perspiration and tears. I huffed and puffed, feeling nothing but excruciating pain. Hange told me to push again and I did, mustering all my strength and pushing as hard as I can. I grit my teeth and clenched my fist, I'll brave through all these pain for our little princess.

"I can see her head, Rei, keep going! You're doing well!" Hange called out again, further encouraging me. My face was so wet, I didn't know if they were from my tears or perspiration anymore. Hange told me to push again, as hard as I can.

"C'mon, baby, you're doing so good, I'm so proud of you. Just a bit more—" Levi caressed my cheek and kissed my sweaty forehead, muttering endless words of encouragement next to me. "I love you, Rei, I love you so much. My darling, the love of my life, my Rei of sunshine. My girl, you're amazing." Even through my pain, I could tell Levi was choking up. I knew he would rather be the one in my place, to help relieve some of my pain.

I calmed myself down and brought Levi's hands to my lips to kiss them, feeling strength flow through me again. Hange kept encouraging me to push harder; they could see our little princess. I held on to Levi's hand tighter just as Levi leaned his forehead again mine, I pushed with all my might.

All was quiet for a moment, until we all heard the first cries of a newborn. Tears welled up in my eyes as I breathed and panted, looking up at Levi. We both turned to the source of crying.

"Congratulations, Mr and Mrs Ackerman, it's 5:10am, say hi to your baby girl." Hange was beaming as they carried our little crying princess over. She looked like a little baguette, her skin red and sticky. Her cries were crisp and clear. I quickly placed her against my chest, letting her feel my heartbeat and skin. Her cries started to soften. No matter how many times I've given birth, this moment always feels the most magical to me. The skin-to-skin contact. The mother and baby bonding. It's a special moment between our little princess and me. My baby. Our baby. Our daughter.

She's here. Our little princess is really here. My tears started falling uncontrollably as I looked up at Levi with a teary smile. Levi's eyes were moist as he gazed at me lovingly. Wiping the perspiration off my forehead, Levi pressed his lips on my sticky skin and leaned his forehead against mine again.

"I'm so proud of you, mon cœur. I love you. I love so much." Levi choked again as we wept tears of joy.

"Okay, Levi, time to cut her cord," Hange chuckled, carrying our baby girl over to a bunch of towels. Levi stared at Hange.

"Oh, come on! You've done this three times already, don't tell me you're still nervous?" Hange joked and Levi hastily wiped his tears, following Hange’s instructions even thought he probably already knew them by heart. Once Levi cut our little princess' umbilical cord, Hange briefly cleaned her up and put her on a weighing scale, taking down our baby girl's vitals and measurements. Then, Hange wrapped her in a towel before passing her back to me.

"We'll just have to wait for her placenta to flush out, and then we'll do the clean up." I hugged our little princess close to my heart again, beaming towards Levi. Her eyes slightly opened to peep at us.

"She's gorgeous. Just like you." Levi smiled as he gently stroked our little girl with his finger. "It's still too early to tell, amour. But y-yeah, she's lovely. And s-so t-tiny..." I choked up again, feeling a little lump in my throat. Hange did tell us before that our little princess is a little underweight, and I couldn't help but blame myself. Now that I'm taking a better look, our baby girl was a little tinier compared to how Renée, Pierre and Léon were when they were just born. Maybe I should have taken better care of myself, or eaten healthier food. I should've taken those prenatal vitamins consistently. Tears started falling again, but they weren't happy tears.

"Rei—mon cœur, listen. Listen to me," Levi wiped my tears and made me look at him. "Hange said she's healthy. And that's the most important, hmm? Come on now, don't cry anymore." Levi kissed me softly as he stroked my head lovingly.

"Shhh, baby, don't cry. I love you, more than anything else in this world. Always know that," Levi softly pecked our little princess. "You're my wife, my beloved, and our children's mother. You're the best." Levi smiled at me again as I blinked my tears away. I gave him a little nod, the corners of my lips turning up.

"I hate to interupt this lovely moment, Ackermans, but we have to register her name," Hange came over, writing on a clipboard. "Have you two thought of her name already?" Levi and I looked at each other and smiled before turning over to Hange.

"Charlotte Rachel Ackerman. That's her English name." Levi replied with a smile. Aunty Kuchel helped us choose her first name, she said 'Charlotte' meant 'strong' and 'free' in French. Levi and I decided on 'Rachel' together. It was a lovely name, and it was a Hebrew name, just like what all our children have, and what Levi has as well.

"And what about her Chinese name?" Hange looked at us again once they wrote down Charlotte's English name, birth date, and birth hours.

"It's 佳琪 (Jia Qi)。佳 (jia) for beautiful, and 琪 (qi) for fine jade." I told Hange. Levi repeated Charlotte's name over and over in her ear, and she peeped at us again, her tiny mouth widening just a bit. I gently patted her back, rocking her to sleep. Nifa and the rest were already done cleaning me up as well, leaving the delivery suit while Hange and Moblit remained behind.

"You've done so well, my love, I'm so proud of you." Levi stroked Charlotte's cheek again and planted a soft kiss there before kissing me on the lips.

"I love you, Rei, so so much. Thank you." Levi held back another sob as he kissed my forehead, letting his lips linger for a moment longer.

"I love you too, Levi, thank you too, for everything that you've given me." I gave him a teary smile, looking at Charlotte who was lightly snoozing. Levi kissed my forehead once more, as Moblit carried Charlotte away, giving her all her first immunisations while Levi and I just gazed at each other. Renée and Léon cried a lot during their first injections, but Charlotte was so quiet. She merely squirmed around and let out a small cry, but soon after Hange was done, Charlotte was snoozing again.

"She really is a strong little girl, just like her name. I've never met a baby who's so brave when they're given their injections," Moblit smiled as he handed Charlotte back to us. "She's already living up to her name." Levi beamed at her proudly, stroking her cheek once more.

"But she's so quiet. I remember the twins crying a lot more. Is this normal?" Levi looked at Moblit with worry.

"Don't worry Levi, she's fine, she cried a lot earlier, didn't she? Her breathing's normal." Moblit threw his gloves and washed his hands before patting Levi on the shoulder. "We'll let Rei rest here a while more before transferring her back to the normal ward." Levi thanked him and Hange before they both left. The sleepiness started to consume me, and I passed Charlotte to Levi who placed her back in her little cot. The last thing I could remember was Levi kissing me good night, and all I saw next was black.

[06 July 2022]

"We're home," Levi called out as he unlocked our door. Aunty Kuchel was sitting at the living room couch feeding Léon his porridge while Renée was playing peek-a-boo with Pierre.

"Mama! Papa!" Renée called out as she dashed towards us. Aunty Kuchel placed Léon down on the couch before coming over to us as well.

"We're home, Maman," Levi and I called out together as we removed our shoes.

"Mes coeur! Rei, my darling, come here—" Aunty Kuchel grabbed my overnight bag from Levi and guided me to the couch while I was carrying Charlotte. Renée came over to us and stared at the bundle in my arms.

"Say hi to your little sister, ma chérie," Levi smiled as he placed an arm on my shoulder. Renée looked at the both of us and her eyes went back to Charlotte.

"哈喽妹妹，我是你姐姐。(Hello, younger sister, I am your older sister)." Aunty Kuchel carried the boys over too.

"Say hi, boys!" The boys started giggling once they locked eyes with Charlotte, and they happily cooed '妹妹 (younger sister)' together. Hearing all the noise, Charlotte briefly opened her eyes for a little while, and she let out a small whine and a cute yawn. Uh oh. She's hungry.

"Guess it's time to feed her," I told Levi and he brought me back to our room. We made Levi's study room into a temporary bedroom for Aunty Kuchel because she's staying over during my post-natal recovery. We've shifted the twins' cots over to the study room too, so that we can have Charlotte in ours. Renée followed us into the bedroom cautiously.

"Mama?"

"Yes, ma chérie?"

"...... can I touch meimei?" She asked us with wide eyes. To be honest, Levi and I were initially a little worried about Renée's response to yet another younger sibling, furthermore, a younger sister. After we had the boys, Renée got so grumpy and kept throwing tantrums all the time because we could no longer have all our attention on her.

However, it seems like we were thinking too much, because the moment Renée had her eyes on Charlotte, it's like the two of them were starting to form their own special sisterly bond too. One that only the both of them will share and have.

"Come here, ma chérie," Levi called her over and Renée softly poked Charlotte's cheek. Renée even reached her face down to give Charlotte a sniff.

"Meimei smells nice," she muttered, stroking Charlotte's arm now. Levi and I laughed.

"You smelt like that too, you know."

"Really? Was I so wrinkly too?"

"Yes, of course. Now, go out and look for Grand-mère, your Mama needs to feed meimei." Levi patted her cheek and Renée skipped outside. Once Renée was playing with the boys, Levi closed the door and held Charlotte as I briefly undressed. Charlotte was beginning to cry a little louder. Levi quickly handed Charlotte to me, and I cradled her in my arms while guiding her to find my breast, hopefully to get a successful latch on my nipple. It took me a few tries, but in the end, Charlotte managed to latch on my nipple and as she started sucking, I heaved a sigh of relief and lay back on the pillow.

"Damn, my boobs hurt," I whined as I closed my eyes, dreading the countless pumping of breast milk for our baby. My boobs were already feeling so heavy and sore and it hurts.

"I'll massage them later," Levi sat down next to me after changing out of his clothes, patting my knee.

"You just want a chance to grope them, don't you? You're jealous your daughter gets to suck my nipples and you don't," I joked with Levi and he frowned.

"Who said anything about wanting to suck your nipples? I have my entire life to do it." Levi crossed his hands behind his head and leaned on his pillow too.

"I'm serious. If they're hurting, let me know, okay? I'll massage your boobs before every time you pump. I'll freeze your guasha tools and jade roller too."

"Okay okay, amour. I will." Once Charlotte had her fill, I slowly rubbed her back and coaxed her to sleep, laying her against my chest and keeping her warm. As Charlotte snoozed, Levi and I just gazed as her. I still can't believe I gave birth to this angel two days ago. Levi, I, and our four children. Our little Ackerman family seemed whole and complete now. Who would have thought that the both of us would be in this stage of our lives in just six years? It was like Levi knew what I was thinking, and he reached an arm across my shoulder and hugged me close, pressing a soft kiss to my cheek.

"I love you, mon cœur. Thank you for everything that you've given me." I merely looked up at Levi and hummed, smiling as I felt tears starting to dot my lash line. I am so not ready for those mood swings again. Levi seemed to know what I was thinking too, because he wiped those tears away and tried to stiffle his laugh.

"I am so not looking forward to your random outbursts of crying," Levi stroked Charlotte's cheek again.

"I'm not too. But it's all good. I know you'll always be there for me." I whispered, slowly patting Charlotte's back as she snoozed. "But first, let's prepare ourselves for all the visiting that's coming for us soon—" I let out a yawn, quickly making sure that I didn't accidentally scare Charlotte.

"Mm. Don't worry. I told everyone to come only at their allocated time slots." Levi whipped out his phone and started going through the 'baby visiting schedule' he planned. Erwin, Mia, and their kids will be visiting tomorrow evening, followed by Nanaba and Mike the next day. Hange and Moblit will be dropping by when they both end work, and Farlan and Isabel will visit during the weekend. Before I knew it, my eyelids closed on their own and I dozed off listening to Levi's voice, my head leaning on his bare shoulder. Levi didn't realise I fell asleep too, until I stopped replying to him. Smiling to himself, Levi adjusted my head properly, hugged me a little closer, and just like that, we drifted off to dreamland together.

It felt like we were only asleep for a second, because Levi and I were both abruptly shaken awake by Charlotte's cries.

"She's hung—" Levi let out a yawn mid-sentence and rubbed his eyes. "She's hungry again? It's been barely two hours." I undressed again and tried to get Charlotte a successful latch, and moments later Charlotte was happily enjoying her milk.

"My daughter's hungry, and I am too," I grumbled and Levi started laughing. "She's only two days old and already having such a huge appetite."

"Guess who does our little angel resemble now, huh?" Levi kissed my forehead and pushed himself out of the bed as I continued to feed Charlotte.

"I'll get Maman to cook something for us. I'm starving too." Putting on a shirt, Levi went out to tell Aunty Kuchel to cook something. She's probably already going to make some confinement food for me. Mmm, my mouth watered at the thought of eating sesame oil chicken.

Levi didn't come back after a while, even after Charlotte finished drinking her milk. While coaxing a milk-drunk Charlotte to sleep, Levi came back later with a cup full of hot red dates tea. He urged me to finish drinking it so that I wouldn't feel so lethargic. As I finished drinking, Charlotte was sleeping peacefully as well. Levi and I just remained in bed while we waited for Aunty Kuchel to be done with dinner.

The first evening with Charlotte went okay, she didn't really cry much and drank her milk well. I was thankful to have Aunty Kuchel helping me watch the twins too, as they kept playing with their food. While I made sure Charlotte was properly fed, Levi was doing the same for me too, feeding me small mouthfuls of food. Renée was a great older sister as well, helping her Grand-mère and I with the young ones. She ate her meals quietly and helped Aunty Kuchel feed Léon. I had my hands full with taking care of Charlotte, and I was glad that I had such a supportive mother-in-law and husband. Even my eldest daughter was beginning to show more of her 'big sister' side.

Once we were all done with our meals, I went back to the bedroom and started to coax Charlotte to sleep again. Levi was by my side, giving me a shoulder massage. Just then, there was a knock on our door.

"Mama?" Levi and I both turned our heads and saw Renée outside, holding her brothers on each side.

"Yes, ma chérie?" Levi ushered the children in and carried the boys onto our bed.

"Can we all sleep together on your bed tonight?" Renée asked as Pierre started crawling on our bed and Léon ran into Levi's chest. Carrying the boys on his left and right, Levi smiled and told Renée to come up too. She giggled and snuggled in between Levi and I. Instead of sticking close to her Papa, Renée shifted closer to me and started staring at Charlotte again. We both looked at each other, surprised by her behaviour.

"Who wants a bedtime story?" Levi suddenly spoke and the twins started laughing. Renée loved it when Levi read her bedtime stories. Levi was surprisingly good at story-telling, and he can even change his pitch and voice when he was changing between the characters. Levi started telling them about Goldilocks and the Three Bears, not forgetting to make things a little exaggerating to scare them too.

However, Renée was still uninterested in whatever Levi was doing and instead, she hugged me while Charlotte was still in my arms too.

"Mama, can I carry meimei?"

I hesitated for a while. Can I really trust my six-year-old with my two-day old baby? What if Renée didn't know how to carry Charlotte correctly and injured her? What if she hurt herself too? In the end, I gave Renée a smile and nodded.

"Of course you can, sweetheart. Show me how do you carry Mr Teddy?" Renée grabbed a pillow and imitated my arms, cradling the pillow pretending it was her favourite bear.

"Good job. But you must be careful, okay? Meimei is a lot heavier than Mr Teddy. You must tell Mama or Papa if your arms are aching." Renée nodded again and she placed the pillow on her lap, using it to support her arms. I slowly placed Charlotte in her arms while Levi watched. Renée groaned when she felt the weight on her arms.

"I don't like meimei anymore," Renée whined again and I quickly carried Charlotte back into my arms. "She's heavy when she's so tiny."

"You were this tiny and heavy too, ma chérie," Levi chuckled and Pierre stirred in his sleep. "Imagine how tired Mama is from carrying meimei all day." Renée kept quiet for a while and she looked like she was in deep thought.

"Mama, if you're tired, I'll massage your arms." My heart softened hearing Renée. She really is growing up and acting like a big sister now.

"What about me, hmm? My arms are aching after carrying your didi too." Levi started complaining and Renée giggled, saying that her Papa doesn't need massages because his arms are stronger. Who knew the day would come where Renée would actually talk back to Levi.

As time passed, Renée was getting sleepy too. She closed her eyes and lay down on my pillow. Levi was still carrying the boys too. And as we looked at each other again, we gently kissed our four children goodnight, before washing up and getting ready for bed too.

"And finally, we have the entire house to ourselves." Levi grumbled while we were brushing our teeth. He went to shave his stubble while I changed into my night gown. Now that our children are all asleep, I can finally pump my milk without getting disturbed.

"You were the one who said you wanted a fourth child, amour, don't forget that." I yawned and went to grab the pumps, wondering if I will be getting proper sleep. Taking my seat on the armchair next to Charlotte's cot, I attached the pumps onto my breasts and let them do their work.

"Of course I wanted another one. Look at how happy they all are." Levi came out after he was done and squeezed himself onto the armchair, draping an arm across my waist. "I didn't have siblings growing up, and neither did you. Maybe this is why I always wanted to have many children." I hummed in agreement, feeling the fatigue slowly consuming me.

"I know, amour. I feel the same too. B-but it's ju—" I let out another yawn and Levi let out a soft laughter.

"Get some sleep, baby, I'll take care of Charlotte if she wakes up." I nodded again and leaned my head on my husband's shoulder, drifting off to sleep as I felt his lips gently kissing my forehead. Levi and I are now proud parents to our four beautiful children, and no matter how tired things get, I'm sure we'll never exchange this for anything else in the world. Levi, Renée, Pierre, Léon, Charlotte, and I. Our happy little family.

Hehe yes everyone, the little princess is called Charlotte Rachel Ackerman 🥰 and yes, I'll post the meaning behind the kiddos names soon!!! I've put A LOT of thought into our children's names so please hold up and wait out for that post hehe. ALSO. Don't you all wanna know how the four Ackerman juniors look like?? Hehe.

And I know some of the things here are taking place in the 'future' lol BUT LET IT SLIDE OKAY IT'S FICTION HAHA. Lastly. I apologise for the verbal diarrhoea I know it is very long-winded and dramatic 😂

#levi x rei #reivi #self-indulgent writing #HAHAHAHAHAHAA FUCKING HELL I AM SORRY YOU ALL #just let me be crazy here ayyy :')))

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tyonfs · 4 years

Text

i like me better (when i’m with you)

PAIRING ▸ jeong jaehyun x fem!reader

GENRES ▸ friends to enemies to lovers, college au, sports, friends with benefits, smut, crack, fluff

WARNINGS ▸ sexual !! tension !! lots of it, smut (public sex, fingering, hate sex, raw sex, pool sex, oral sex), mark lee cockblocking, also yes, there’s actual fluff

SUMMARY ▸ there was no one else on the planet that made your blood boil like jeong jaehyun did. you never thought your feelings toward him were anything past pure hatred, but when you were lost in the feeling of his lips on yours and his hands on your body, you couldn’t help but think that maybe a part of you didn’t completely hate his guts.

PLAYLIST ▸ i like me better by lauv • unravel me by sabrina claudio

WORD COUNT ▸ 11896 words

TAG LIST ▸ @gotoartistprofile @chanluster @steamyjaehyun

AUTHOR’S NOTE ▸ big shoutout to fia for hyping me up to complete this and i hope you guys enjoy it !! thank you so much for reading ♡ part of the dunk shot! series but can be read separately!

SOMETIMES, THE AMOUNT OF HATRED YOU HAD FOR JEONG JAEHYUN AMAZED YOU.

To the average human being, Jeong Jaehyun was, in a sense, perfect. On the surface, he was everyone’s trademark Golden Boy—good grades, athletic, and a seemingly good personality. The last point, however, was a complete and utter lie. Simply put, Jaehyun was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and you, unfortunately, wound up becoming his target.

If it weren’t for your love for cheerleading, you probably would never have to see Jaehyun, but your passion came with a price. Competitors were often asked a series of questions, and these questions typically included inquiring about your hardships as an athlete. If someone were to ask you what the hardest part of being a cheerleader was, your answer would not be what they expected.

It wasn’t getting back up after bad falls that left you with bruises and a concussion. It wasn’t dealing with the basketball team’s aftermath of a devastating loss and having to cheer them on through it. It wasn’t waking up extra early for morning practices, or having to push yourself to run miles in the sweltering heat. Hell, it wasn’t even dealing with the horny basketball team members at afterparties.

It was the annual training camp.

Every winter, the team attended a week-long training session along with several other teams in the city. With state-of-the-art facilities and a massive training center, the training camp was an event that the entire team looked forward to. Although the training was brutal, the luxury of the hotel rooms and the gourmet meals had made up for all of that. Yet, despite all of that, the camp itself was still hell for you.

It wasn’t all bad, though. In fact, you indulged in the concept of a training camp, delighted with the opportunity to meet cheerleaders from different universities. A handful of your friends from high school had joined teams at different universities, so it was exciting to get to see them all again. All in all, it was the whole package deal: friends, your favorite sport, and fun times. What could possibly ruin that?

Well, a certain someone by the name of Jeong Jaehyun could, and that wonderful individual incensed your fury quite like no other.

“You again,” you spat, clutching your duffel bag strap. You had just gotten off the bus to head into the hotel, but the devil himself was blocking your way.

“Y/N,” the devil cooed, “do you need help carrying that?”

“I’m fine.”

You shrugged Jaehyun off and tried to move past him, but the bane of your existence had other plans. He tossed you a small carton of milk; it was the kind you could buy at a vending machine. Your reflexes kicked in just in time for you to catch it, giving him a questioning look.

“You should be drinking more milk, Y/N. It’s good for you,” Jaehyun said. You were sure he was going to make a snide comment so you opened your mouth to protest, but he continued, “Jaemin likes big tits, you know?”

Ouch.

You and Jaehyun went farther back than you’d like to admit. While you did currently attend different universities, you had the joyous experience of going to the same high school as him. He wasn’t too different now; he had the same dimpled smile, the same godly features, and the same cocky smirk when things were going the way he planned. What was different was that you two were once friends.

And what took the cake? You had a big crush on his friend and fellow teammate. Introducing Na Jaemin, everyone.

It wasn’t like you never got over Jaemin, but you had to admit that your heart still fluttered pitifully whenever you saw him. It didn’t help that he was so breathtakingly beautiful, so undeniably genuine, and such a sweetheart. Unfortunately, Jaehyun knew of your little secret. Being the conniving little snake he was, he used it to his advantage.

Ever since your fallout with him in your senior year of high school, you’ve hated Jeong Jaehyun, and you were sure he hated you right back. It almost felt akin to the competition at this point, and you were a pretty sore loser. Honestly, you were sad initially when he broke off your friendship in senior year and threw crude insults at you. You normally didn’t let things get to you, but it hurt to hear that your best friend didn’t want anything to do with you after you had told him you were going to a different university. You were sure the both of you had grown past that, but now he had changed from a sincere highschooler to a complete low-life piece of shit.

“You’re a douche, Jaehyun,” you sneered.

A grin spread across his face. “Yeah, I know.”

You scoffed. “God, if I could, I would smash that pretty face into—”

“Hey!” a loud voice laced with trepidation interjected. It was your best friend on your school’s basketball team, Mark Lee, coming to your rescue; or, rather, he was trying to prevent you from doing something you’d most probably regret. He shot Jaehyun a warning look and slung an arm around your shoulders. “Y/N, what’re you doing here? We have to check into our hotel rooms.”

You looked back at Jaehyun to see a smug look on his face before he turned to catch up to Taeyong and Jaemin. You looked back up at Mark, who was also keeping an eye out for the demon in disguise.

“Thanks for getting me out of that mess,” you mumbled. “That guy is so infuriating. I can’t believe he still brings up Jaemin when I’m clearly over him!”

Your words were sharp enough that Mark and the people around you flinched, even if they weren’t completely paying attention to your rant. It was common knowledge that Jaehyun’s presence left you in low spirits, and Mark had come to terms that you would always be in a bitter mood during the training camp, and that there was only one person to blame for it.

Mark shot you a sympathetic look that you knew was intended to show his helpfulness, but instead just served to make you appear all the more bitter.

“Why don’t you just ignore him?” he suggested. “He’s just looking for a reaction out of you.”

“If I let him get the last word, then he wins.”

“At least he’d stop bothering you,” Mark reasoned as you both made your way to where your team had gathered by the reception desk.

“Is this about Jaehyun again?” Zhong Chenle chimed in, a devilish grin plastered across his face. “You’re a handful, Y/N.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” you snapped.

Chenle just stared at you, arching a brow as if the answer should have been obvious. “You and Jaehyun,” he said, “there’s some tension there.”

“Wow, Sherlock Holmes. Observant, aren’t you?” you spat, words dripping with sarcasm. “We’ve hated each other for years. Of course there’s tension.”

Johnny Suh snorted, averting his gaze as to not bring attention to himself. Chenle rolled his eyes, a delighted smile on his face as he watched you carefully, digging into his bag of chips in the meantime.

“Y/N, I think he means a different kind of tension,” Mark said.

“What kind of tension?” you asked, shocking the rest of them with your surprisingly innocent response. In retrospect, it was more because you couldn’t imagine the answer being anything past the realm of hatred.

While they all hesitated to respond, Johnny spoke up, “He meant the ‘I wanna beat you up and then have rough sex with you’ kind of tension.”

You immediately froze—long enough for Chenle to take a picture of your reaction—the expression on your face a cross between incredulity and visceral rage. You must have looked like a ticking time bomb because Mark had to take a cautious step back.

“Come again? Rough sex?” You were well aware of how strangled and pitched your voice sounded as soon as it escaped your lips, how guilty it sounded, but you couldn’t focus on that as the weight of Johnny’s words were sinking in. “Jaehyun and I?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Johnny answered.

“That’s a lie.”

“Yeah? Then why do you two always look at each other so weird?”

You didn’t know how to defend yourself now so you just said, “He’s a bastard and I would never see him in any other way.”

“You say that now but we all know—”

“Alright, let’s drop it,” Mark said, trying to defuse the situation before you blew it up into an argument. “I would rather go rest in my hotel room rather than bear witness to a homicide.”

“Fine, fine,” Johnny relented.

You scoffed and jabbed at his foot with yours before letting the topic go. Your squabbles with them were all in good nature, but this one somehow put you off. It was like Johnny had planted the seeds and were waiting for them to grow. You were starting to mull over every interaction you’ve had with Jeong Jaehyun.

Johnny and Chenle had made a startlingly accurate observation. You and Jaehyun did look at each other for a little too long sometimes, nearly to the point where it seemed like you were basking in the attention of the other—

No fucking way.

You were not going down that path. There was nothing more to your relationship with Jeong Jaehyun than pure hatred and resentment. He was a douchebag who was intent on making you feel like shit. His only motive was to start shit again between you and Jaemin, who you would’ve completely forgotten by now if it weren’t for him.

No way. There was absolutely no undercurrent of desire that was creeping its way to be uncovered.

Or was there? a small, treacherous part of your mind offered.

You were lost in your thoughts as the coaches handed you your room key, as you waited for your roommate who was some girl named Eunha from the other school, as you made your way to your room on the fifth floor.

The only thing you could think about were those long stares, those mesmerizing eyes, and the implication behind them. You always attributed it to Jaehyun being a hormonal teenage boy, but you had to admit that you’ve seen him look at you with some semblance of lust. Perhaps that same feeling was buried far in the depths of your consciousness, too.

Could you possibly be attracted to the devil incarnate, Jeong Jaehyun?

No, you argued with yourself, and shit, even your frontal lobe sounded pretty unconvinced. He’s a petty bastard and that’s all he’ll ever be.

You instilled the mantra of you and Jaehyun being sworn enemies in your head, but you couldn’t help the fact that it was peppered by the memories of an irritatingly familiar smirk. You scowled, willing your head to get rid of all-things-Jeong-Jaehyun, but he was right there.

Literally.

He was standing right in front of you.

“Hey, neighbor,” he teased, all too satisfied with the horrified look on your face. “Guess you can’t get rid of me.”

You were falling when you jolted awake.

A groan tore its way past your lips. You made sure you didn’t disrupt Eunha’s sleep before you recounted your dream. It had been a while since you’ve had one, and realization was morphing into shame when you realized what kind of dream it was. You’ve never had a wet dream before but what made you want to astral project yourself into oblivion was when you realized that Jaehyun caused it.

After tossing and turning for a couple of minutes in a desperate attempt for sleep to overcome you once more, you came to terms with the fact that you were staying awake for now. Staying awake was worse, though, because there was no way you could keep the intruding thoughts at bay. Not with the way Jeong Jaehyun kept flashing behind your eyelids, at least.

You considered how to spend the rest of your night, surveying your options as you stared up at the ceiling:

Watch season three of Riverdale on Netflix so you could make fun of it.

Attempt to sleep, but with little success because there was no way you were going back to bed after that dream.

Count the slacks of the window’s blinds even though it would be pointless because what the fuck were you going to do with that information?

It was truly astounding how interesting your life was.

You couldn’t think clearly with Eunha’s soft snoring, so you grabbed your keys and pushed the door open carefully to keep it from squealing. After your delicate movements to escape your room quietly, you leaned against the wall and let out a sigh of relief. You weren’t too keen on someone scolding you in the middle of the night for being outside, but you needed to clear your head somewhere. You packed for weather that was balmy, but the air conditioner carried a bite to it that made you wish you hadn’t just worn shorts and a tank top to bed.

You could practically hear Mark mocking you if he were here: Are you in the right headspace, Y/N?

You shook your head, getting your provoking best friend out of there, but instead, you found yourself wandering into dangerous territory again.

Johnny and Chenle were parroting the same words over and over again in your head. You wished you could use your metaphysical hands in your head and squeeze the life out of them, but they always flew out of your grasp. You clicked your tongue absentmindedly, your annoyance rehashing itself as your mind gravitated back to Jeong Jaehyun with his stupid smirk and annoyingly persistent cockiness. It was almost pitiful that you hated his guts and yet you couldn’t deny the magnetism he carried, the pull that made your breath hitch when he met your eyes.

His presence was announced by the change in the air more than anything else. You didn’t have to see him to know he was there. You clenched your jaw; you couldn’t catch a break from him even during the ungodly hours of the night.

He was unavoidable.

He hummed with amusement. “Look who’s here.”

“What are you doing up this late? Go to bed.”

You didn’t even bother to look at him because there was one thing you were sure of and it was that you could not look at his sickeningly attractive face right now. Jaehyun didn’t move, blatantly ignoring your order. The tension was so thick that you wanted to storm away, but you knew he would follow you just to piss you off.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he said. “You should be the one resting up. You cheerleaders always train until you’re near death.”

“Can’t sleep,” was your curt response.

He laughed once, a short sound that was pretty much gone the moment it hit your eardrums. “What? You get nightmares or something?”

“So what if I do?” you retaliated, getting oddly defensive. It was a given that you’d lie about getting a nightmare over a wet dream. “It’s none of your business.”

He laughed again but this time it was lower, more dangerous. “It’s my business when it concerns you.”

“I have and will never be your business, Jeong Jaehyun.”

He leaned against the wall. “I beg to differ.”

“Then keep begging.”

“If you say so.”

“Jaehyun,” you interrupted your own banter. “What’s the point of this conversation? Just go back to your room so we can go back to not talking to each other.”

“I’m good, thanks.”

“That’s unfortunate,” you said. “I don’t want to talk to you, so go find someone who does.”

“We don’t have to talk.” Suddenly, his voice sounded closer, and you forced your gaze down at the strangely-patterned hotel carpet.

You swallowed thickly. “I’m here to clear my head. I don’t want you to hover around me for the rest of the night.”

“Actually, I had something else in mind.”

He closed in on you, one of his hands skimming up the soft skin of your arm. A shudder ran down your spine as you felt his fingers travel up to your shoulder, your collarbone, and then the side of your neck. With a swift movement, he caged you in his arms, biceps flexing as he did.

What was going on? You couldn’t quite keep up with the situation but the way Jaehyun was looking down at you made you feel hot. It was exactly like your dream—

“Holy fuck, Jaehyun.”

You couldn’t stop the words from escaping your lips when you felt his hot breath on your neck. Your head went fuzzy and you were pretty sure your knees were ready to buckle under you. The corner of Jaehyun’s lip lifted into a smirk as if he had been planning this. You mustered a scowl at him but one thing was clear: you screwed yourself over by getting into this situation.

Damn it. You knew you should’ve watched season three of Riverdale instead

Also, Chenle and Johnny were right. Not that you’d ever tell them that; put simply, you were a sore loser.

Lust was swimming in Jaehyun’s eyes. The way he caged you felt predatory, a show of dominance rather than passion. That smirk of his carved in deeper, and it only pissed you off. Yet, as much as it pissed you off, all you wanted him to do was just ruin you.

Your pride was too strong, though, and you concluded that you would rather stick a fork in your eye than let Jaehyun do what he wanted. This sparked a dilemma in your head: to fuck or not to fuck Jaehyun, that was the question. One sounded like a pretty uneventful night, while the other sounded appealing save for the self-loathing you’d experience afterward.

“You want me, Y/N,” he cooed. “I know you do.”

“I hate you.”

“Trust me, I know.”

“I mean it, Jaehyun,” you hissed. Your head was screaming at you to just go with it, but denying Jaehyun’s advances and provokes was just natural instinct to you. “I don’t want you. Stop lying to yourself.”

“Is that so? I think you’re the liar here,” he replied easily as you dodged his attempt to kiss you.

You pushed at his muscular arm but he didn’t budge. For a moment, you strongly considered just dropping to the ground and crawling out from under his legs, but you were done for. Seconds later, Jaehyun’s hand flew up, long fingers digging into the soft flesh of your face as he forced your chin upward to look at him directly. The lust in his eyes was so clear, so alluring, and it made you stop struggling for a second.

“I’m not going to ask you again. Let go of me.”

“Good, it’s a waste of breath.”

“Has anyone ever told you how infuriating you are?”

“You did. Many times.”

“Just fuck off already.”

Your words were like poison, but for some odd reason, Jaehyun was immune to it. Any reasonable person would at least flinch, but Jaehyun was so fixated on his one goal. Again, he didn’t budge. He gazed into your eyes with a fierce intensity that threw you off.

“Just let me fucking kiss you, Y/N.”

His smirk was gone. He wasn’t teasing you anymore. Jaehyun’s eyes darkened with his command.

He leaned in and you could feel his hot breath fanning your lips, drinking in your appearance. You were pulled into his trap and you hated yourself for it. You swallowed hard as all of your worries about being with Jaehyun and getting caught had started to fade away. All you could do was yield to him.

“Fine,” you whispered.

“Good girl,” was all he got out before basically smashing your lips together.

It was rushed, messy, and way too rough. Jaehyun grabbed the back of your neck, his other arm still locking you in place. Your hands moved from gripping at the front of his shirt to slowly wrapping around his neck. You weren’t sure how you felt, but there was something that made you want to tangle your fingers in his hair and get lost in him.

The moment Jaehyun’s tongue slid along the crease of your lips, you were conflicted. You weren’t exactly sure what to do so he took the reins. You wondered if he was expressing his pent-up hatred as well. It was clear in the way he was taking prying your mouth open with his tongue, snaking his hot muscle to dance with yours as if he had something to prove. He wanted you to see that he was the dominant one, that he had leverage over the situation.

But when he broke away, he flipped the switch. The both of you were left catching your breath, Jaehyun resting his forehead against yours in a feeling that had a weird sort of intimacy stemming from it. His hand dropped from your neck to brush messy locks of hair behind your shoulders.

Well, that explained why humans were so tempted by the devil.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Jaehyun grinned down at you.

You fought down the shyness that was creeping into your chest. Before you could respond, the both of you turned your heads at the sound of footsteps. A flashlight glimpsed by you when you saw two dark figures at the end of the hall. It didn’t sound like your coach, but you weren’t too keen on sticking around to figure out who it was.

“Son, how in the world did you get locked out of your room this late?” one of them asked.

“I’m telling you, I needed to use the bathroom so I went outside without my key, and then I remembered the bathroom was in the room.”

That voice was most definitely Mark.

“Hey!” the security guard scolded when he saw you two. “What are you kids doing? It’s late!”

“You’re on your own.” You pushed Jaehyun away from you and fumbled for your keys before Mark or the security guard could spot you. “Bye.”

You jammed your key in, not worried about waking up your roommate anymore. All you could hear was Jaehyun growling out a short string of curses before you shut the door behind him and leaned against it. Your head was still reeling in what had just happened, but that kiss had left you in the clouds. You could feel the ghost of his lips on yours. Dazed, you just fell onto your bed, into the entrancing clutches of sleep.

You were exhausted when you woke up, and you blamed Jaehyun for it.

You weren’t in the proper condition for training; you hadn’t gotten enough sleep and your head was a mess (well, you supposed you were the only one to blame for the latter). You forgot to set your alarm so you woke up to Eunha shaking you gently, coaxing you into stirring. She was already dressed, tying her hair up in a ponytail. You all but jumped out of bed when you saw her, thinking you were late.

“What time is it?” you asked groggily, rubbing the sleep from your eyes as you stood up and tried to adjust to the morning light.

“You’ve still got plenty of time,” she assured you. “I just like to get ready early so I can go for a quick run.”

“Ah, okay. Have fun,” you mumbled before she left the room, leaving you to drag yourself around the room to get ready. You heard a knock at the door and went to open it, assuming it was Eunha forgetting her keys. Your eyes narrowed when you saw who it was. “Jaehyun?”

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” His voice was somewhere between a pant and a rasp as if he had been working out, which he probably was judging by the sheen of sweat on his biceps.

“Were you waiting for Eunha to leave?” you asked. “You’re disgusting. Why would you think about me?”

“I was thinking about how much of a bitch you are for running away and letting me get in trouble like that.”

“Pity.” You mocked a pout for him. “Now move. I have to get ready.”

“Let me in.”

You made a face at the thought. You knew where he was going with this and you needed to stop it. “No. You’re disgusting.”

“You liked it last night.”

His eyes searched yours in the dim light, looking for something that unfortunately was there: longing. You were never the greatest at hiding your emotions, which was why you couldn’t lie to yourself and refuse Jaehyun. Screw your transparency. Jaehyun grinned at your silence and took a step in your room when you opened your door wider for him.

You closed the door. “I hated every second of it,” you said in a childish attempt to get on his nerves.

You were a terrible liar.

Your back was against the door in a second. You could only let out a soft gasp before he kissed you, hands on your waist, slowing his movements unlike the hurriedness from last night. It was foreign, the way he kissed you like you were the only girl he saw. You pulled away quickly but it just left the both of you staring at each other’s lips.

“You sure about that?” His lips curled into a smirk.

“Don’t get me wrong,” you warned in a low voice, “I still hate your guts.”

“As I’m reminded of every single time I see you,” he returned coolly.

“Fuck off.”

This time, you pulled him down to kiss him again. You fisted your hand into his hair, tugging at his dark locks as your lips moved smoothly against his. Caught off guard, Jaehyun groaned, low and deep against your lips.

The two of you separated again before Jaehyun said, “See? I know you want me. Only I can make you feel this good, Y/N.”

You scoffed. “We’ll see about that.”

Jaehyun’s eyes darkened at the challenge. To prove his point, he pushed his knee up and between your legs, pressing against your clothed cunt. A gasp escaped your lips, the fingers curled in his hair instinctively tightening. You bit your lip but to no avail; a whimper escaped your lips as soon as he started pulsing his knee against you. You grabbed onto his shoulders for leverage, burying your face into his chest while bunching up the thin fabric of his shirt.

You wanted to hold back your moans because you were adamant about not giving Jeong Jaehyun the satisfaction of hearing you moan. Instead, you shifted your hips so that the pressure of his knee became more intense. Sparks flew behind your eyelids as he bounced his knee under you.

He finally released the tight grip he had on your waist in favor of palming one of your breasts, squeezing it firmly through your shirt and bra. All the while, he continued ramming his knee against the apex of your legs. He kept his eyes on yours and you scowled at the thought of him getting off on seeing you crumble in front of him. But you couldn’t stop yourself. He wanted to completely and utterly ruin you, wanted to fuck you in and shut you up.

The worst part was that you wanted to let him.

“You’re so cute when you’re like this,” he mused, slowly rubbing his knee in circles against you. “God, you’re still wearing that fucking tank top.”

“You’re such a—ah!”

He groped your chest again, thumb pressing down on your nipple. Another whimper escaped you as Jaehyun grazed his lips down your neck, nipping at the supple skin. You only got louder as the kisses turned into bites.

He ignored you and removed his hand. Instead, he tugged the neckline of your tank top down, delighted at the loose straps sliding down your shoulders. He yanked it down to your waist so you were exposed to him, and you swore you heard his breath hitch. Jaehyun pinched your nipple with two fingers, drawing out a moan that drove him crazy. He buried his face into your neck, sucking and making you quiver under him.

“Didn’t you say I had small tits earlier?” you jeered, a teasing lilt to your tone.

“Yeah, I still stand by that,” he replied, resulting in you punching his shoulder.

“Asshole.”

“Hey, I never said it wasn’t cute.”

“You’re such a softie,” you grumbled, but your voice was gentler than before. It was almost like you were warming up to Jeong Jaehyun, and you hated the mere thought of that.

Jaehyun pulled away from your neck. “Y/N, I want you to suck me off,” he demanded.

“I refuse.”

“Be a good girl and do it for me.”

You swore you’d go crazy if he called you ‘good girl’ one more time. You were pretty revolted at the thought of sucking his dick, but the way he looked so fragile under your hold made you want to do it for the power rush. It was like some cheap porno in a way; ‘College Jock Gets Sucked Off By Cheerleader.’ You bet half the members on the team beat their meat to something similar to that.

Your shoulders sagged. “Fine. Get on the bed.”

Jaehyun groaned at your approval. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he said, letting go of you to pull down his sweats on his way to your bed. He sat at the edge of it, tugging the elastic of his boxers down. You swallowed hard, tugging your tank top back up as you stared at his painfully hard erection springing out.

You got on your knees in front of him, lips parted in anticipation of taking in his length. Your hair fell over your face, which Jaehyun took notice of and held it back in a fist. Taking a deep breath, you wrapped your hand around his cock. It was rock solid to the touch and twitched at your grip. Glancing up at an eager Jaehyun, you pumped the length of it once, inciting a groan from him.

You wrapped your lips around the head of his cock, rousing a strangled noise from his throat. He looked down at you through half-lidded eyes, messy strands of your hair tangling in his fingers while his other hand was gripping the stiff hotel sheets. Then, you took him in fully at his encouragement (which was more of him just grabbing the back of your head and pushing it down on his cock).

“Shit,” he breathed out before slowly moving his hips in and out of your mouth. It was like iron wrapped around velvet, and he was relishing how hot your mouth felt.

He pushed your head down further and right as you gagged on his length, there was a knock at the door.

“Y/N!” Mark’s voice sounded from the other side. “Are you coming for breakfast?”

You pulled off of him with a pop, a string of saliva dripping off your lips. Your eyes were wide as you lunged for your phone, checking the texts. Meanwhile, Jaehyun just frowned down at you, looking up at the ceiling with a frustrated sigh.

“Holy fuck,” you muttered when you looked at the time. You called out to Mark, “Give me a minute!”

“Perfect,” Jaehyun said in a low voice and held the back of your head, attempting to push you down on him. “We can finish up now.”

“Are you an idiot?” you hissed, swatting at his hand. “I have to get out of here before Mark finds out you’re in here.”

Ignoring your state of panic, Jaehyun said, “You look so hot with drool on your chin.”

That was the most disgusting thing you had ever heard, and if it weren’t for Mark being on the other side of the door where you and Jaehyun were screwing around, you would have beat the living daylights out of him. Only a creep like Jeong Jaehyun could find something like drool sexy. You scowled at him and wiped it off with the back of your hand.

“Put your dick away,” you scolded. “Hide in the closet and you can leave when I’m gone.”

He rolled his eyes at you and stood up, making his way to the bathroom. “I need to get rid of the problem you caused.”

You had no time to complain about him jerking off in your bathroom. Mark was not a very patient man, so as soon as Jaehyun closed the door behind him, you stripped off your pajamas and threw on whatever was at the top of your suitcase. You brushed your teeth at the speed of light, using your other hand to brush down your hair. After you laced up your shoes, you opened the door to Mark looking at you suspiciously.

“You’re never late,” he pointed out.

“I couldn’t sleep last night,” you said. In your defense, it wasn’t a complete lie.

“Oh, by the way,” Mark started, “can I use your bathroom real quick?”

“No!” you exclaimed, pushing him away from your room and in the direction of the elevator. “My roommate, um, is… on her period—yeah, you don’t want to see that mess.”

Another reason why you hated Jeong Jaehyun was for giving you reasons to lie when you were a terrible liar.

Training was long and grueling. Your bones were mush and your muscles ached, pins and needles shooting through you every time you moved. As your teammates dragged you to get dinner with them, you couldn’t even resist because you were so drained.

The one thing you loved about training was that you could wear whatever you wanted, whereas you were confined to tight skirts and crop tops at your university. Now, you could rest in whatever position you wanted without worrying about exposing anything, so you didn’t hesitate to manspread as soon as you got to the cafeteria table.

“Did you guys hear about Jaehyun from the other school?” one of the girls gossiped. “Looks like he was fooling around with someone last night.”

You were grounded back into reality from whatever dimension you were floating about in. Your teammates were perplexed as you choked on air, hitting your chest to stop yourself from coughing. You were handed a glass of water, which you gingerly accepted and drank until your body had calmed down.

“Ah, sorry, Y/N,” your teammate apologized. “I forgot you and Jaehyun have bad blood between you.”

“You’re good,” you told her, waving it off. “I was surprised for a second, but I guess it makes sense for a guy like him to go around hooking up.” Then, silence fell. You were confused as they all looked at you with a puzzled look. “What? Am I stereotyping too harshly? My bad.”

“No, it’s not that,” another chimed in. “A lot of girls go around hitting on him, but Jaehyun never lays a hand on them. I thought it was common knowledge that he doesn’t do that sort of stuff, but I guess it makes sense that you don’t care about the details.”

That was news to you.

“Yeah,” you replied distantly. “I don’t care.”

So Jaehyun doesn’t hook up, was what you happened to hear around the grapevine, and he most definitely doesn’t hook up with his enemies.

You stood up in the middle of your dinner. “I gotta go,” you said. “I’ll see you girls tomorrow.”

You actually weren’t very sure where Jaehyun was, but you figured if you walked around enough, you’d run into him or someone from his team. You headed out of the canteen and walked to the basketball courts, expecting to see him dribbling a bar or doing reps. But the first person you saw was Na Jaemin, and he noticed you immediately, eyes sparkling with recognition.

“Y/N!” he greeted cheerfully. “It’s been so long.”

That infectious smile of his was plastered across his face, making a small one creep to your lips. If Jaehyun smiled like that more, then you could understand his charm, but he was always so moody around you. He either did something to get on your nerves or he would just flat-out ignore you. Furthermore, he always riled you up instead of offering you that warm security that Jaemin emanated—

Wait, why were you comparing him to Jaehyun?

“Sorry,” you apologized meekly. “Am I interrupting your practice time?”

“No, it’s cool. We were just messing around in here,” Jaemin replied. “Are you looking for someone?”

You looked into Jaemin’s eyes and your thoughts slowed. He made you feel safe, warm, but that was all; there was no fire, no rage, no heat. It was just a shallow attraction that fizzled out, leaving you neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. And you clawed at your brain as you wondered what you were getting at, but you knew. You knew it was all going back to Jaehyun.

And it pissed you off.

“I was looking for Jaehyun,” you said, “if he happened to be in here.”

“He told me he was going for a swim,” Jaemin said, and that was all you needed.

Before Jaemin could respond, you thanked him and turned on your heel. The pool was in a separate building, and there was no training that even required swimming, so it made no sense for Jaehyun to be there. You let out a frustrated sigh. Even when he wasn’t doing anything in particular to annoy you, it still managed to anger you.

You weren’t going to let Jaehyun do what he wanted this time. This was merely for interrogation—your own personal gain. Then, you thought it over some more, and you reasonably concluded that there was a 97.5% chance that you would not lay a finger on him, but there was a 2.5% chance you’d cave.

When you got to the facility where the pool was, you were entranced by the renovation at first. The pool was massive and the equipment was lined up so neatly along the walls. You peered through the glass to see the pool completely empty save for Jaehyun in the hot tub.

He met your eyes while you opened the door to the pool. His eyebrow arched at your entrance but a smirk settled on his lips as you neared him. You tried to push down your lust; you were not letting him get to you again. You crouched down by the side of the pool and Jaehyun moved so he was facing you, holding onto the edge of the hot tub.

“What brings you here?’ he asked, playfully flicking some water in your direction.

You flinched and scrunched up your nose at his action. “I heard you don’t do hookups.”

“You heard correctly.”

“So what am I?”

“You’re Y/N.”

You were a coward. Admittedly, you had probably always been running away from your own problems, deflecting your feelings with unbridled hate that had no direction, no meaning. Underneath your blunt and fiery front was pure cowardice. Even now, you refused to admit anything to yourself.

You didn’t want to accept that maybe you actually liked Jeong Jaehyun.

Maybe you’ve always liked him.

“Don’t be stupid, Jaehyun,” you grumbled. “You’ve always hated me.”

“I think you just want to believe I hate you. Is that how you suppress your feelings?”

“How long have you liked me for, then? Days?”

“Years.”

You paused for a moment as you recounted your interactions with Jaehyun. It was true that he never explicitly said he hated you and that you always started the arguments, but he was the one who broke off your friendship. Why would he do that if he didn’t hate you?

“You said you wanted nothing to do with me, Jaehyun,” you said in a smaller voice, fist balling at your side.

“You were going to a different university.” He ran a hand through his damp hair, and although you were angry, it was difficult not to enjoy the view. “Plus, you just kept going on and on about Jaemin, and I couldn’t even shut that mouth of yours up back then.”

“So you cut me off?”

“I felt like I was being petty, so I tried to apologize but you blocked my number and wouldn’t let me come near you,” Jaehyun deadpanned. He reached forward and grabbed your wrists, pulling you closer to him. You teetered on the balls of your feet, swallowing hard. “Forgive me?”

“No.”

Jaehyun rose up a little so he was eye-to-eye with you. He smiled at your flustered expression and cupped your cheek with his wet hand. Every muscle in your body was telling you to pull away but you couldn’t. Not when his lips were so close, when his eyes were boring into yours.

“Forgive me,” he repeated in a gentler tone, but it became more of an order than a question.

“Make me,” you whispered and Jaehyun groaned, somewhat helplessly.

“You’re going to be the death of me, I swear.”

You opened your mouth to say something more, but you couldn’t even form your words as Jaehyun yanked you forward and sealed your lips with a kiss. Before, you had the sense to try and push him away, but now you were held captive. He slid his tongue past your lips and you let out an appreciative whimper, hand sliding into his wet hair. You tugged at his hair and this time, Jaehyun was the one to react.

He pulled away for a moment to catch his breath, eyes clouding over with lust. “Get in with me,” he said, voice rumbling. You shivered as he dragged his lips down to your jaw; you could feel his voice reverberate down your spine and to your feet.

“What if someone walks in?” you asked in a daze.

“There’s no use for the swim facility, so no one’s going to walk in on us,” he persuaded. “Come in.”

Water dripped from his neck, landing on your thigh. You took in a sharp breath as his hand tugged at your waist. While the pleading look on his face was priceless, you couldn’t even ridicule him because you were at your limit, too. You let out an irritated sigh when you realized you gave into that 2.5% of you caving.

You responded by pulling off your shirt, tossing it to the side where Jaehyun had left his shoes and towel. Jaehyun watched you as you fiddled with the clamp of your bra. Meanwhile, his hands went to the waistband of your sweats, making you shudder as he tugged them down at the sides. You raised your hips to help him get them off and, after removing your bra, you were only left in your underwear to protect you from his hungry gaze.

You weren’t the type to hook up with guys. Hell, you weren’t the type to even show a guy your ankle if he asked. You thought you’d feel insecure with Jaehyun eyeing you in your full glory, but there was none of that. You wanted to know why it was so different with him but maybe it was the way he looked at you like he just wanted to kiss you. Or maybe a tiny part of your heart always belonged to Jaehyun, and you couldn’t bury it anymore.

“You’re so gorgeous.”

He mumbled the words, barely audible, but they set you on fire. He pulled you down onto his lap like you were his anchor, and you were afraid you’d get swept with the current, but you let him. You’ve only ever kissed a few guys before, so you really had no idea what the fuck you were getting into. All you were sure about was that Jaehyun could make you feel good and you were having your first time in a hot tub. You only prayed that you wouldn’t pass out from the pleasure combined with the heat of the water.

“Is this your first time?” he asked, gliding his hands down your sides. You nodded. “Then I’ll be gentle.” Truly, you did find his gesture rather sweet, but it didn’t stop you from rolling your eyes. Jaheyun saw and narrowed his brows. “I don’t hate you, but you really piss me off sometimes.”

He kissed you again. It was more passionate this time, but also harsher and messier. You let out a sound that was something between a yelp and a moan, making Jaehyun move his hands to run down your bare back. Then, he planted his thumb on your clit and pressed down in a way that made a muscle in your thigh twitch. Your grip on his shoulders tightened; you weren’t expecting that. It felt different in the water, but somehow, you couldn��t get enough of it.

“You’re wet,” he mumbled against your lips as his fingers found purchase on your slit.

“We’re in the water, you idiot.”

Jaehyun scoffed. “You know what, Y/N, you’re right, I did hate you,” he spat, rubbing small circles around your clit now. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders to steady yourself, whimpering as his movements grew more intense. “I fucking hated how you looked at Jaemin with those love-struck eyes.”

There was a shift in his usual cocky expression. He turned focused and, to a degree, angry. It was the kind of look on his face you saw when he was on the basketball court or during a game.

“You’re the one who told me to go after him.”

Wrong choice of words. Jaehyun lifted you up and placed you on the edge of the pool, pushing a finger inside you with no warning. You gasped, your mouth open to ask him why he took you out of the water, but you already knew the answer; he wanted to feel you completely.

“R-right there,” you whimpered out as he pushed his finger deeper inside of you.

He started to curl his finger whenever he passed over your g-spot, and you had to close your eyes. Jaehyun pulled his finger out to marvel at the slick wetness that coated it. Your body tingled as he slid his finger inside you again. This time, he was teasing your slit with a second digit. Jaehyun had no delicacy, though, and he all but shoved in a second finger, causing you to cry out.

He didn’t even care. You opened your mouth to call him a bastard, but all that came out was a pitched moan that seemed to float up to the stars.

“I fucking hated,” he rasped as he pumped two fingers inside of you, “how you treated Jaemin like he was the only one in the world.”

“I don’t… like Jaemin,” you got out, each labored breath of yours fighting off another moan. “I’ve stopped liking Jaemin after high school.”

Jaehyun’s free hand went to your chest, cupping one of your breasts as he rubbed circles around your nipple. You bit down on the inside of your cheek, unable to contain yourself as the fingers on your clit got almost frantic in their place, and the fingers inside of you were pushing against your walls. You felt an unfamiliar cold fire that felt so fucking good, lighting you up and threatening to spill over. Your muscles clenched and spasmed around Jaehyun, and you weren’t even in the hot tub but you felt like you were sinking.

A high-pitched moan left your lips, leaving you hot with embarrassment because you didn’t know you could make a sound like that. You fell from your peak, relaxing in Jaehyun’s hold; it felt like you were floating amongst the clouds in an almost euphoric way.

“I don’t like Jaemin,” you breathed out, still winded from your orgasm, “you fucking idiot.”

“I know.” Jaehyun pulled his fingers out of you, eyes trained on you as he licked them slowly. The look on his face was more gentle now. With his free hand, he brushed loose strands of your hair out of your face. “You like me now.”

“No, I’ve loved you for a while now.” You didn’t know what possessed you to say what was on your mind, but it surprised you more than it surprised Jaehyun. “I didn’t realize it then but… I think I did.”

Love? Love?

You thought you knew what love was. Something that you felt in your bones, that burst within you instantly. Simple glances, thoughts, and daydreams—something gentle and fluffy, but also emotionally shattering. You thought it was tender smiles, kind words, and little gestures.

But maybe that was the kind of love that led to puffy eyes, tear-stained cheeks, and hoarse voices. The kind of love that was left fruitless with an empty gap in your chest.

Maybe this was different.

It was instinctive, the way you fell for him. Like an effortless intake of breath, you were in love before you even knew it. You always thought love was a monster. Ravaging, scraping, foul monsters with jaws so immeasurably large that they would have swallowed you whole. But maybe it wasn’t the tragedy you made it out to be.

With Jaehyun it was fierce and maddening and made you want to rip your hair out. It was a violent hurricane that you tried to brave your way through. But you were blind. You were already at the eye; you had always been at the center without realizing it. And, despite all the pointless arguments and name-calling, it was the most beautiful thing you had experienced.

Yeah, you liked him. You liked how you were around him, despite how much you complained about it to Mark. Part of you refused to admit it, but sometimes the bickering was fun. You realized that you never let go of Jaehyun before because you couldn’t. You simply didn’t want to be without him because Jeong Jaehyun drove a deeper passion within you.

Your rose-tinted loving moment was ruined as soon as a shit-eating grin spread across Jaehyun’s face.

“You love me.”

“I’ll kill you.”

“You love me,” Jaehyun echoed as if he was internalizing the information. “You love me.”

“I take it back,” you said flatly. “I hate you, I hate you, and I’ve always hated you.”

Jaehyun ignored your words, his cockiness morphing into adoration. “You actually love me back.” He cupped your face in his hands, eyes turning into little crescents as he smiled. “Even though I called you a cougar for liking a guy a year younger than you?”

“Yes.”

“Even though I made fun of you wearing a push-up bra in front of him?”

You clenched your jaw. “Yes.”

“Even though I asked Johnny about you and he told me that I still live in your mind, rent-free?”

“What? Johnny said that?” you exclaimed, eyes wide. You grimaced. Johnny would be dealt with later. You placed your hands on Jaehyun’s shoulders and made direct eye contact. “Look, Jaehyun—as much as it hurts me to say this and I’d rather tear out my vocal cords—I like you. I like you so much that I don’t care about the petty shit you pulled when I liked Jaemin because frankly, I don’t care about Jaemin anymore.”

“That was the hottest thing I’ve ever heard.”

You wanted to slap him.

“Are you just constantly horny?” you snapped. “I’m pouring out my feelings to you here!”

“I’m better at expressing my love through actions, not words,” Jaehyun explained. “Can I show you?”

“Is this another ploy to get in my pants?”

“No, I’m asking you out on a date,” he said. “Sneak out with me tonight. I want to explore the city with you.”

The offer was tempting. In fact, you found no reason to be opposed to the idea. After all, you were always down for an adventure in the city. Jaehyun being with you didn’t sound too bad either, especially when Seoul was so lively at night. Part of you wanted it purely to catch up on all the time you missed when you stopped being friends.

“Fine,” you agreed. “An hour after curfew.”

“Great.” Jaehyun flashed a grin that slowly curled into a smirk. “Now let me get in your pants.”

“Are you kidding?”

“Y/N, you see,” Jaehyun started, “I don’t hate you, but you’ve really pissed me off these past two years. We have all of this pent-up rage, so it’s only fair that we let it out on each other.” His grip on your hips tightened.

You loathed yourself for wanting him, and for putting aside the fear of being walked in on for him. You internally cringed at the thought of Mark accidentally bearing witness, and you weren’t sure you were willing to explain the situation to him just yet.

It was the price you paid for carnality, you supposed.

You sighed in a forced way so that you sounded reluctant and bored. Unfortunately, your plan backfired and you ended up feeling bad when a concerned look crossed Jaehyun’s face.

“If you’re worried about getting caught, I’ll just cover you,” Jaehyun mumbled, the softness of his voice almost putting you at ease.

You rolled your eyes. “How kind of you.” You paused and looked up at him. “Are we really going to have sex for the first time here?”

Jaehyun looked around him. “Well, I guess we could go to the hotel room if—”

“Nope!” you interrupted, wrapping your arms around his neck and drawing him closer to you. “Let’s do it here. I love the pool, love having sex at the pool.”

He rose a brow at you, hands making their way down your body. Suddenly, your realization of being completely exposed had heightened, and you pressed your thighs together. Maybe it was because your vulnerability showed on your face, clear as day, but Jaehyun smirked, further flustering you by tugging down his swim shorts to reveal his hardened cock.

It was heavy and warm against your thigh, but what you were fixed on was the v-line on his pelvis. You traced along the bone, making him shiver under your touch. You were shocked when he grabbed your wrist tightly, holding it away from him.

“You’re playing a dangerous game here,” he growled. Jaehyun leaned closer and nipped at the shell of your earlobe, chuckling as you tensed up under his hold. His hot breath made you squirm under his grip.

Have you ever noticed how insanely attractive he was? Yes, of course. You weren’t an idiot.

Have you ever appreciated his beauty until now? Probably not.

“Just fuck me already, Jae,” you grumbled out as he pushed you down onto the deck of the pool.

In seconds, Jaehyun grabbed your hips and pulled them to his waist. Without any preamble, he rammed himself inside of you. The motion caught you by surprise and you cried out, half out of pleasure and half out of pain. You were definitely wet from being fingered earlier, but two fingers were nothing compared to Jaehyun’s cock.

Seeing his cock disappear in you was enough to make you whimper. Your walls clenched around him, pulsating at the foreign feeling. You were tempted to slap him upside the head for going so fast, but all you could do was tug at his hair and wrap your legs around him.

“You bastard, I’ll fucking—oh.”

Jaehyun laughed cruelly at your reaction, partly to cover up the groan caught in his throat and partly because your attempts at being mad at him were downright pathetic. When you had adjusted to his size, Jaehyun grunted and pounded in you, hitting spots that made your limbs feel like jelly. As if that wasn’t enough, Jaehyun found your clit with the hand that didn’t have a bruising grip on your waist and pressed harshly against it.

“You’re so fucking tight,” Jaehyun gritted out.

“T-then be gentle,” you bargained, drowning in a molten sea.

Jaehyun narrowed his eyes at you. “Have you ever fucking heard of gentle hate sex?” he asked, validating his point with a particularly hard thrust.

Your fingernails dug into his back, leaving hot-white trails down his skin. You were certain you had drawn blood, but knowing Jaehyun, he’d probably feel proud if he saw it. He brought his lips to your neck as you writhed under him, biting around until he found your sweet spot. This wasn’t fair; he was pleasuring you in every way possible and all you could do was cry out as he pummeled in you.

You closed your eyes, sparks flying behind your eyelids as you felt your release rushing to you.

Then, he slowed his strokes down considerably.

“Look at me,” he ordered in a rasp. Your eyes fluttered open, remaining half-lidded as you felt like you were going to spill over. “Look at me when I’m fucking you.”

He slapped his hips against yours again, the sound of skin against skin making you shudder. Jaehyun filled you up to the brim and you were oh-so-close to letting go and falling off the edge. The hardscape was cool but you were on fire, bliss overtaking all of your senses. Your toes curled as you held onto his damp skin for dear life, not sure if it was because he was in the pool or he was sweating due to the heat you both emanated.

“R-right there!” you wailed. “Fuck, right there!”

Jaehyun angled his hips slightly to pound into you, causing you to see metaphysical stars. It was so hard to keep eye contact with him when your eyes just wanted to roll back. Jaehyun let out a groan by your ear, low and guttural. You didn’t even notice how tight the grip he has on you until he releases your hip for you to see the print he left.

You could tell he was close, but he wanted to hold on for you. Both of your breaths were labored as you stared into each other’s eyes, your body moving up and down against the hardscape as Jaehyun railed you. You tightened your grip on him, a pathetic moan falling from your lips as you were falling over the edge.

Jaehyun understood and fucked you through your orgasm, making sure you made the most of it. Warmth blossomed under your skin as you cried out in pure bliss, your vision blurring and refocusing as it flickered from normal to pure white as you rode out your high. You ground yourself back to reality after nearly sobbing out his name, the pleasure overwhelming you. Jaehyun’s eyes went hazy as he fell apart right after you did, and soon, you felt something warm spill inside of you.

Jaehyun finished inside of you and stuttered out a curse as he pulled out of you. He rolled over and laid on the deck of the pool next to you, the both of you catching your breath like you had just run a marathon.

“I have a cute date idea for tonight,” Jaehyun said after a long pause.

You looked over, watching his chest rise and fall. “Yeah?”

“We go to the store and buy Plan B.”

You couldn’t even disagree.

“Sounds good.”

Jaehyun dragged himself off the floor, muttering something along the lines of “shit, that felt good” to himself as he reached for his swim trunks to pull back on. You grabbed a towel to dry yourself off, but pins and needles shot up your legs when you tried to walk. Jaehyun noticed immediately and a smug look settled on his face again, not the least bit remorseful.

You scowled as you slipped your clothes back on. “Shut up,” you jeered. “You’re so shameless for someone who can’t pull out.”

“Oops,” he replied flatly.

“I hate you, Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun ran a hand through his damp hair, letting out a laugh as he shook his head. He picked up another towel from the chairs by the poolside and wrapped it around so it covered your head. You bit your lip as you watched him attempt to dry your hair. It was times like these when he seemed so gentle and delicate, unlike his usual irritating attitude.

“You liked it, though,” Jaehyun said. “Right?”

You faltered, looking down at your feet as he continued to dry your hair. “Yeah.”

Jaehyun smiled softly and leaned in swiftly to peck your lips, but your moment was interrupted by the sound of a door opening.

Mark was gaping at you two, eyelids fluttering rapidly as if he was trying to blink away what he had just seen.

“Y/N? Jeong Jaehyun?” Mark questioned, his voice an octave higher than usual. Realization crossed his face through a series of facial expressions that morphed far too quickly for you to process. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Mark!” You and Jaehyun pulled away from each other quickly.

Mark paused to think his words through. “Did I almost walk in on a murder?”

You let out a frustrated groan. “Jesus, Mark, if you’re not going to read the room, at least SparkNote it.”

“Wait, so you were kissing?”

“No, we didn’t kiss,” Jaehyun assured, and you felt tricked for feeling relieved for a split second. “We actually had sex.”

Jaehyun’s words ended with a splutter as you elbowed him in the gut. Mark looked between the two of you, boggled. You nudged Jaehyun again with your foot, signaling for him to leave so you could handle Mark. Thankfully, he took your cue this time and grabbed his towel, mockingly saluting the both of you. You were stupid to think you were safe, though, because Jaehyun had to get another last word in before he walked off.

“See you tonight, Y/N.”

There was a long, awkward pause while Jaehyun opened the door and left the building. You and Mark were staring at each other but neither of you knew what to say or how to approach the subject.

“I just… I just came here to find you, and Jaemin told me you went to the pool. You…” Mark started. He looked absolutely horrified, like a corpse had fallen to his feet—no, rather, he looked like a corpse himself, like someone attempted to do taxidermy on him but did a shit job. “Bitch.”

“Let me explain.”

“Bitch,” Mark enunciated, “you just fucked the hottest guy here, oh my god.”

Definitely not the reaction you were expecting, but you supposed it wasn’t a bad one. You were glad he wasn’t getting into the whole ‘why didn’t you tell me? I’m your best friend’ rant, but this was equally as overwhelming.

Mark continued, “Wait—is that why you were late this morning? Oh my god, this has been a thing. You’ve been hooking up with him in secret, haven’t you?”

“No? Well, yes, but it hasn’t been much until, um”—you gestured awkwardly around you—“you know.”

“So you were the one who was with Jaehyun last night?”

“Yes.”

“And this morning before I picked you up?”

“Yes.”

“Are you two dating now?”

“Honestly, I really don't know,” you admitted. “Mark, please don’t tell anyone about this. Especially not those little shits, Chenle and Johnny.”

Mark gulped. “About that…”

Before you could question him, there was a chorus of loud clapping echoing from the locker rooms which was then followed by a few cheers. You grimaced as the two boys you didn’t want to see walked out: Chenle and Johnny, Tweedledee and Tweedledum themselves. They both wore cocky smirks as they shook their head at you, which made Mark a touch more nervous than he was before.

“Have anything to say for yourself, Y/N?” Chenle teased.

“Go to hell.” You scoffed and turned to Mark, narrowing in on him. “Why’d you bring them along? What are you? The three stooges?”

“We were looking for you so we could invite you to the movie night we were having in Jungwoo’s room!” Mark defended. “I swear, if I knew about you and Jaehyun, I never would’ve brought them along.”

You sighed deeply as Chenle snickered to himself. “Well, I guess Y/N can’t come to movie night since she has a date with—hold on, what did you call him again? The devil?”

“Okay, I get it!” You threw your hands up in defeat, eyes closed to show you were reflecting upon your actions. “I’m a dirty hypocrite and I’ve committed a crime worse than death.” You opened your eyes again. “I’m sorry.” To your surprise, Chenle and Johnny had their right hand up. You stared at it, puzzled. “Do you want me to make an oath or something?”

“In modern society,” Johnny explained, “we call it a high-five.”

It took you a few seconds to process their words before you tentatively gave them each a firm high-five. You blinked up at them before ease washed over you. This was how it always was, anyways. At the end of the day, no matter how much you guys bickered or teased each other, you always made up. That's what friends were for, after all.

“There we go,” you said, oddly satisfied. “For now, I’ll let go of the fact that Johnny snitched on me to Jaehyun behind my back.”

“How dare you!” Johnny gasped. “Chenle was with me.”

Chenle raised his hand to confirm the statement. “Indeed. Please give credit where it's due.”

“Alright, fuck you both.”

What the fuck even was a date?

This was foreign territory to you, but even so, you decided you wouldn’t rely on your annoying friends. First of all, you were sure they wouldn’t really be of any help and just endlessly tease you about it. Secondly, they were simply going to gradually grow more stressed (Mark), lecherous (Johnny), and aggravating (Chenle). Thus, you decided to slay the monster of first dates yourself.

Your first hurdle was looking cute. You packed absolutely nothing that wasn’t for the training camp, so you had already failed. Jaehyun was going to have to deal with you in your gym shorts and a school t-shirt.

Your second hurdle was sneaking away from Eunha, your roommate. That was a piece of cake considering how she didn’t exactly care. When you headed out of the room, wallet and phone in hand, she wished you a kind farewell, which you returned.

Your third hurdle was sneaking out of the hotel. You weren’t quite sure how you and Jaehyun made it outside without being spotted, but you were certain he must have tipped off some of the staff because there was no way the both of you could have walked straight out of the lobby without being reported. When you asked him, though, he said it was probably because you looked like the cleaning lady.

Needless to say, Jaehyun was on thin ice.

You loved Seoul, loved the dirty of it. Even at night, the city was alive and full of vigor, full of young people like you who were chasing cheap thrills. Jaehyun was a dream under the glowing lights, and you almost couldn’t believe that the prince-like boy was head-over-heels for you.

He took you to a wide alley with a night market, full of life and energy. Jaehyun was walking through the crowd and you were following right behind him, like some awkward fish swimming after a cuter, more popular fish upstream. There were several times where you almost lost yourself in the crowd, and Jaehyun noticed this. He reached behind him, still shouldering his way through the crowd, and grabbed your hand. The smell of spicy rice cakes, the numerous pop-up bars lining the alley, and Jeong Jaehyun gripping your hand—it all made a pretty eventful first date.

Jaehyun didn’t kiss you. Not once. He didn’t try to touch you anywhere that would have tempted you both into doing something you definitely shouldn’t do in public. There were times where Jaehyun turned pink or looked away from you shyly, and you indulged in it because this was a side of him you didn’t see often.

Jaehyun stopped at a convenience store before you both decided to head back. You waited outside for him, kicking stones as you thought of him. He was undeniably perfect, which you somewhat despised because you had spent the last two years hating his guts and this was an abrupt change. You were worried if he was buying you something; he had already bought you lamb skewers and rice cakes at the night market. You didn’t want to be the girlfriend to empty his wallet.

Wait—

Were you his girlfriend?

“Y/N,” he called when he walked out of the store, holding something behind his back with a sneaky grin. “Close your eyes.”

You bit back a smile and closed your eyes, holding your hands out. He placed the object in your hands and it felt light, so you were sure it shouldn’t have cost much. Although, your stomach was pitted with guilt at the thought of him spending money on you. You opened your eyes when he directed you to.

Plan B One-Step.

You no longer felt bad for him.

“Very romantic,” you observed, putting the packet in your wallet, “but thank you.”

You were seething. Your face grew unconditionally hot and you had to look down at your feet. It seriously pissed you off that your feelings were so clear right now because Jaehyun had bought you fucking Plan B.

Jaehyun seemed to notice right away and tilted your chin up with two fingers, chuckling. “Is something wrong?”

Your face screwed up when you decided on what you were going to ask him. “Are we dating?” you blurted out.

Jaehyun held your face gently like it would shatter if he applied any more pressure. His fingertips grazed the hinge of your jaw while his thumbs rested on your cheekbones. You were panicking when he leaned in, but it wasn’t what you expected. Jaehyun pressed a chaste kiss to your nose, grinning at your reaction. You reached up to trace his dimple with your finger.

“Do you want to be my girlfriend, Y/N?”

“Yeah,” you admitted, flustered beyond imagination, but you had already gotten this far so you continued, “do you?”

“Do I want to be your girlfriend?”

You wanted to hit yourself. “Fuck. I mean, do you wanna date me?”

“Of course,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve been waiting for this for so long.”

He drew you into his warm embrace and you buried your face into his chest, wondering how you hated this man for so long. Of course, when those cocky smirks and impish looks came back, you were sure you’d remember again. But right now, in his arms, you just knew that you wanted to be with him. You looked up at him, arms slung around him, and got on your toes to press a gentle kiss to his lips.

You were positive you hadn’t ever seen Jeong Jaehyun blush before tonight, but it was a sight you were sure you could never get sick of.

And you never would.

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nocapesdahling · 3 years

Text

As the World Falls Down - Chapter 2

Helmut Zemo x Gender Neutral Reader

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

Chapter Summary: In which we hear a little from Helmut Zemo, the city is flying, and you find a baby. Not necessarily in that order.

Rating: Mature (17+)

Chapter Warnings/Tags: Slow Burn; Here there be angst; Accidental Child acquisition; Mentioned child neglect by others

A/N: I made myself sad while writing this chapter, knowing that certain things mentioned will never happen. Here begins the forewarned angst. Maybe once I finish this story, I’ll write a fluffy AU.

Chapter 2: Beneath a Fallen Sky (Age of Ultron) - Part 1

Word Count: 2.1k

Colonel Helmut Zemo repositioned his earpiece. He was not a man prone to fidgeting and never had been, especially on the job, but he had counted his squad after they had gotten clear of the city and they were one short.

You were missing.

His family was safe, his squad was safe, but you were not. While he kept his expression neutral, inside was a different story. You had to be here somewhere. You just had to be. He would not accept any other outcome. Once they arrived at their base outside the city, he searched room after room and asked person after person and could not find you. You were not in the Mission Control Room or in your workshop fiddling with your gadgets. You did not seem to be anywhere, which meant that he had to consider the idea of you still being in the city.

“Q, come in Q. Where are you? Branko is in need of you. He broke his new infrared glasses and Ana tore her body armor. Don’t ask me how she did it, darling. We thought it was indestructible, but you know Ana. She took that as a challenge.” He let a hint of his desperation show in his voice. “Q, please come in.”

All Zemo heard was static before a voice, your voice, answered and he breathed out in relief. “Hey, Boss.” you started haltingly. You sounded tired and out of breath. “Well, I’m still in the city.” Here, you paused and Helmut’s hand clenched into a fist. “We’re in the air, Helmut... I don’t know if I’m going to make it. You’ll have to give Carl his birthday gift from me. I think he’ll like it.”

His smile was filled with clenched teeth and looked more like a grimace. “Even now, you joke, my Q. Even now.”

__________________

You held back a sob at the pain you could hear in his voice.

You had been meant to rendezvous with the rest of your squad at the checkpoint, but had stopped as you passed an orphanage. You thought you had heard a baby crying, but that couldn’t be right. The orphanage looked to be and should be empty. You strained your ears, knowing you couldn’t leave a baby or a child there to die. There it was again, a baby’s cry. You knew your squad was long gone, but you reassured yourself with the thought that you could easily catch up with them after you saved the baby.

You searched through the rooms on the lower floor before finding one with cribs. No baby was in sight. You paused, hearing fighting and chaos outside. Knowing that you had to move quickly, you hoped for another cry. Just as you were about to dig out your infrared glasses from your pack, there it was again. There was a cry coming from behind some hospital style curtains. You pushed them aside and found what looked like a newborn baby or close to it, abandoned before their life could even start.

You didn’t have much experience with kids, but hoped your time as a babysitter would help somewhat. You had been the babysitter for the family with twins that lived in the apartment complex a few blocks over. They had been cute kids, a boy and a girl, but they weren’t babies. You had been on the job when their apartment was bombed and heard the news afterwards. Even with your connections, you had no luck in finding out what happened to them. You assumed they died alongside their parents and mourned them accordingly. You were never able to bring yourself to watch The Dick Van Dyke Show anymore. It brought back too many memories.

You picked the baby up and cradled her to your chest as she blinked her eyes up at you. Well then, maybe not as newborn as you had supposed. Her eyes had already settled on a color that was close to your own. It was a bit uncanny. You smiled at her, tickling heir stomach as you checked her diaper. You crinkled your nose at the smell. “I see that’s why you’re crying, little one. Let me fix that for you.”

You laid the baby down to change her when her eyes scrunched up and she let out an almighty wail. “Oh my, little one. What strong lungs you have. What about a song? How does that sound, hmm?”

The baby continued to cry and squirm, and you knew this needed to be done quickly as the sounds of fighting had escalated outside and you didn’t want the robots to be alerted to your presence.

You began to sing, “We have been waiting for you. Now you are here. More perfect than I imagined. Our house is now a home. No matter where you go. Sunlight shines on you.” You sang the lullaby again as the baby stopped crying and blinked sleepily.

“There. All done. I’m glad you liked it, though I don’t know if I’m much of a singer. My mother used to sing it to me. You should hear my friend sing. He has such a lovely deep voice and my godson loves it when he sings ‘Baa, Baa, Black Sheep’. I’m sure they’ll both be excited to meet you.”

You smiled down at her and searched the room, finding a baby carrier hidden behind some blankets and formula in the fridge in the next room over. You lifted the baby and put her in the carrier, strapping it to your chest and chatting idly all the while. You noted that she must be around 4 to 5 months old as she supported her own head just fine. You fed her the formula, mopping up her chin, and prepared yourself to go outside. You positioned yourself by the window, gun in hand and infrared glasses in place. There didn’t seem to be any robots in the vicinity at the moment, which meant that it was time to leave and catch up with your squad. You checked the baby one last time and were glad to see that she was still asleep.

You were ready. You stepped outside the orphanage and started to jog in the same direction you were going earlier, doing your best not to jostle the baby. Maybe, you could get through this and get both you and your little charge to safety. Maybe, you would see Helmut again. Then, the street behind you began to splinter and crumble and the ground gave a great lurch. The city had begun to rise from the ground.

__________________

You debated what to do and came up with some semblance of a plan that had at least a 65% success rate. That was not in the least bit promising, but it was better than the 0% chance you had if you stayed here. You needed to get you and your new passenger off the city somehow, and this was the only plan you had thought of so it would have to do.

You had ducked down in an alley that you recognized as not too far from one of your favorite cafes when your phone began to ring. Quickly, you picked it up and answered it with a brief glance at the caller ID. It was Helmut. __________________

“... Even now, you joke, my Q. Even now.”

“Well, Helmut, you know me. Always look on the bright side of life, even when the city is flying and you’re carrying an orphaned baby.”

“A baby, Q?” His tone was disbelieving and you could picture what he would have said if he were here in front of you. “Only you, Q, could get yourself into this mess. For someone so intelligent, you can be kind to the point of stupidity. I admire it as I admire you, but you must not let your compassion come before your safety.”

“Yes, Helmut. A baby. I think I’ll call her Alena. Maybe give her Heike as a middle name. What do you think? Oh, and you’ll be the godparents of course?”

You could hear Helmut let out a heavy breath and the slight hitch in his voice when he answered. “We’d be honored, Q. Heike will be thrilled and Carl will love having a new playmate. They’ll be like brother and sister I’m certain, eating Turkish Delights even when I’ve specifically told them not to.”

You laughed a bit wetly. “That’ll be nice. If we can get out of the city. We have something to look forward to. Cavities galore.”

He laughed and when he spoke his voice was softer than normal. “You’ve always had a soft heart, darling Q. My friend, I told you that your compassion might get you killed one day.” There it was. You knew he wouldn’t be able to resist commenting on what he sometimes thought of as a weakness of yours. You also knew that he wouldn’t have you any other way. He sounded composed over the line, but you knew him well enough to know that he was suppressing everything and trying to hold it back for you to keep your focus on your current situation.

On the other side of the phone, Zemo was glad that he was alone so no one could see their leader fighting to keep his emotions contained. Now was not the time to be showing weakness in front of his squad. They needed him controlled and composed.

You were the only member of his squad that he could be soft with anyway.

“I guess you were right, Boss. I guess you were right. But I’m going to do my best to make sure that today’s not that day.” You paused, holding in a sob. If you weren’t careful and if your plan didn’t succeed, then today would be that day.

Over the course of the conversation, you had been walking as fast as you could, without jostling Alena too much, in the direction of your apartment that was luckily in the center of the city. You dodged more robots, and had the brief thought that whoever had made these things had to be compensating for something.

Why else would they have made so many?

You continued, mustering your nerve as you finally came in sight of your apartment. “I love you, Helmut. You know that, right?”

“I love you too, my Q.” He responded without hesitation.

“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, Helmut. The absolute best. Give my love to Carl and Heike.”

You had reached your apartment as the robots all began to fly towards the bridge side of the city, leaving the way clear for you. “Goodbye, Helmut Zemo. Use that exploding pen at least once for me, won’t you?”

With that, you ended the call and turned off your earpiece. You wanted to spare him what could be your final moments and selfishly did not want to hear a goodbye from him. It might be cruel of you to not give him the closure you now had, but a goodbye from him felt too final. It meant you would never see him or the little smiles he gave you, when he didn’t think it would be professional to laugh at your little asides during mission briefings, again.

Just the thought of never seeing Helmut smile or hearing him laugh again made your tears fall, which you quickly wiped away before they could hit Alena. You brushed your fingers through her baby fine hair and checked on her. “Still asleep, little one? It’s been a hard day for us and it’s about to get harder, but that’s okay because I have a plan.” Your eyes filled with determination as you walked towards your apartment’s makeshift workshop. You had just the project in mind for this.

__________________

You were unaware that in your squad’s base, Zemo was staring at his phone in horrified disbelief. You had hung up on him, and he was unable to help you from here. He was a powerful man, and this feeling of powerlessness both stunned and devastated him.

He could not save you.

Zemo threw the phone, smashing it against the wall, and screamed your name. Not Q, but your full name, the name he hadn’t called you in years. He received only silence in return. He trashed the room until his hands were bloody and as he fell to the ground, he finally allowed his anguish to break free and sobbed. He had not cried like this in years. The destruction of the room and his tears weren’t enough.

Nothing would ever be enough again.

He did the only thing he could do as he recalled your last words. “I will, my Q. I promise.”

Tag List: @rumblelibrary

A/N: I couldn’t help myself with the reference to the Maximoffs. The Sokovian lullaby is the translated version of the one Wanda sings in WandaVision. Please let me know if you would like to be added to the tag list for this series.

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imnotwolverine · 4 years

Text

The marriage pact - Family dinner

Henry Cavill x OC Alice - multi-chapter

< Part 5 | Part 6 Family dinner | Part 7 >

Disclaimer: some strong language

Author’s note: I took a few days off from work because this wretched heat is killing me (go go heatwave). Now, let’s hope my writing muse is strong. 🤓

Word count: 1.450

(Link to my Masterlist)

[ Alice.in.writing.land ]

Dear readers,

You must be wondering why my previous blog was so terribly short, so please let me indulge you. A chocolate cake appeared on my door step and he has left me so very satisfied indeed. Mind you, it was a chocolate cake I knew well, so please keep your quiet gasps and judging glares to a bare minimum as we all wait out and see if there is more cake to be baked or not.

And now.. enough with the cake references! My mini-me happened to be a most successful sheep herder and we had a most delightful day with our wooly friends. I even received some balls of wool, so who knows, maybe I will teach myself how to knit. You know, just in case I do really become an old spinster. And IF that will be the case I’m sure I will be the coolest home-knit wool stocking wearing auntie any kid could wish for.

Then in other herding news; today I will be divesting my time in herding a flock of pots and pans in my parents kitchen, because I have agreed to cooking them and our neighbours a dinner. So once more; please keep your horns and fingers crossed and let’s pray to Bacchus that the rich flowing wine will hide any cooking imperfections.

Your gracious cook for tonight,

Ali

‘MOMMYYYYYY!!’ Alice quickly spurted off to the front door as she heard the door unlock, leaving me alone on the carpet with a set of building blocks - we were just about to build a fairy hotel for her dolls. I slowly pushed myself up to a standing position, waiting for the squealing to subside before making my appearance in the hallway.

‘Oh Ali! I heard what a wonderful time you had.’ Maddie smiled from ear to ear, her jacket still on as she kept Alice close in her arms, the toddler fiercely grabbing onto her mom’s neck.

‘Hi Mads..’ I looked behind Maddie, seeing an exhausted Frank as he shoved the suitcases back inside. ‘..hi Frank.’ He half-smiled, nodding at me. ‘So how’d it go?’ Maddie asked, brushing a hand over Alice’s back.

‘As good as any other time. Truly Mads. We had a great time. Didn’t we, mini-me?’ I ruffled a bit through Alice’s blond curls, making her chuckle sweetly. ‘Mhm.’ She nodded quietly, her face still hiding in her mom’s neck. ‘And of course she missed you TERRIBLY!’ I winked at Maddie, seeing her face gleam with happiness to be back with her baby pea.

I felt a pang of jealousy crush through my warm heart, like a tiny needle pin, burrowing itself deep in my flesh, every breath causing a strong sharp pain to run through my chest. I chewed on the inside of my lip and willed myself to stop those silly thoughts. I was not a mom. Perhaps would never be a mom. I had to just..

Smile.

Smiling kindly I drank some tea with Maddie and Frank, before leaving their house and returning to my parents to start cooking that dinner and write a bit for my newspaper articles. The twinge of jealous pain however, didn’t leave until well after the pots were bubbling and boiling.

Ugh, I wanted to be a mom so bad.

—

‘Henry! What a pleasure to see you!’ My mom’s voice sounded from the hallway after the doorbell rang, my hands quickly reaching for a wiping cloth to clean up my hands.

‘Hello Lorrie.’ His warm voice spoke, ‘Is Alice in?’

‘Yes, yes. She’s in ..eh..haha…the kitchen.’ I could just hear the shyness drip through my mom’s voice. Sure, Henry was a very handsome man, but my mom really couldn’t cope with being around him. She’d become this blushing school girl whenever he got anywhere near her, and it made for truly entertaining scenes - and yes, I hadn’t mentioned to her just yet that I had invited Henry for dinner.

It sure would be a blast.

‘Hey you.’ Henry stepped into the kitchen, the fumes of boiling legumes and roasting herbs and meats permeating the air. ‘Hi.’ I smiled, slightly surprised when I felt him brush his lips over my cheek.

So very..domestic.

I felt a blush creep up my hot cheeks as I turned down the stove knobs, my eyes not daring to look at him as he roved over my handiwork. ‘How are you?’ He asked, leaning into the kitchen counter as he watched me work. ‘Ah..you know..’ I shrugged, turning to move some fresh cut onions into a frying pan.

‘..I don’t know Ali. Tell me.’ His voice was sweet and gentle, so very unlike Chris my ex, who always just shrugged and walked out. He never truly bothered to dig a little deeper, but Henry did, apparently. I felt that terribly stupid pang in my heart again and before I knew it a tear escaped my eyes, the salt rolling fat and shiny over the creases of my terse face.

‘Hey hey..’ Henry stepped in, one hand turning down the stove of the frying onions, the other cupping my cheek. And then there were these knowing blue eyes looking straight into my soul.

‘I just got a little stressed is all.’ I lied, shrugging. Henry sighed. ‘Then let me help you. It’s not like I have anything else to do today.’

I frowned, blurry eyes looking back at him. ‘Now we’re both lying.’ I muttered.

‘What?’ He asked, frowning.

‘How does a busy man like yourself first have to rush from one event to the other, and then all of a sudden he is here for at least another week, without any obligations or engagements.’ I wiped my tears and looked at him, fearing my words had been to harsh or reproachful, but not willing to take them back either as I saw him bite his lip. He was thinking of an answer, his eyes first looking at the food in the pans next to us, then finally at me.

‘I eh..called in a time-out.’

‘A time..out?’

‘Yea. Like. I worked a certain arrangement into my contract, so I can take a time-out when it just really gets too much. When I feel I need some time for myself. Before I get sick or anything.’

‘Do you feel..sick?’ I asked, my terse face melting into gentle worry, my tears drying quickly on my large brown eyes.

‘Hehe. No, don’t worry dear. I’m not sick. Not yet, though the fact that I didn’t even recognise some people dear to me anymore, and didn’t know what day it was or where I was exactly..are tell-tales that I need to slow it down. And so I did.’

My brows furrowed at his words, realising how stressful his life probably was. ‘Oh I’m so sorry Hen.’ I pulled him in for a big momma bear hug, his chest rumbling with mirth as he gratefully leaned into me, nose dipping into the crook of my neck. He hummed in quiet delight.

‘So what were you lying about?’ He asked after a few more moments, his face still buried in my hair.

‘Oh eh..gosh..I don’t even know if I want to tell you.’ I gulped.

‘Tell me.’ He said, leaning back slightly so he could look me in the eye, his hands still wrapped around me. I sighed quietly, hearing the slow bubbles of the pots besides us, my mom’s feet shuffling in the hallway.

‘Mom! Don’t eavesdrop! I know you’re there!’ I admonished, hearing her feet quickly shuffle away. Henry chuckled. ‘That’s what moms do.’ He shrugged, amused. ‘Well, they should mind their own business. And..so should I. I mean. I got a little jealous is all. Maddie and Frank got back today and seeing them and little Alice being such a sweet happy family, it kind of ..hurts.’ I frowned, trying to turn away from our hug but finding Henry’s arms holding me down even tighter.

Our eyes met again.

‘I’m sure there will be plenty of chocolate cake.’ He smiled, making me blush furiously.

‘OH MY..’

‘Yea..I might have found your…blog.’

‘Oh my…’ I felt my cheeks burst with a redness that fiercely matched the tomato sauce in one of the pans, my eyes widening in pure horror.

‘Haha. That’s quite alright. I found it very amusing..and..insightful too. Your nan must have been a truly wise woman.’

‘Oh this is so embarrassing.’

‘No more embarrassing then your mom during tonight’s dinner party, I’m sure.’

I snorted and we both burst out giggling.

‘Oh gods Hen.’ I poked his shoulder. ‘You are the..-‘

‘Sexiest?’ He grinned.

‘Incorrigible Cavill. In-corrigible.’

We laughed aloud, the kitchen echoing with shared joy as we rolled up our sleeves and cooked the most wonderful family dinner we could possibly produce.

General tagsquad: @harrysthiccthighss @tumblnewby @magdelen69 @thereisa8ella @mary-ann84 @darkbooksarwin @summersong69

Fluff lovers squad: @star017 @perhaps2remember @pterodactylterrace @witchersqueen @desperate-and-broken @toomanyfandomsshreya @deliciouslysassyarcade @pamacs-macs @cavilladdict @scorpionchild81 @lebguardians @sofiebstar @amberbabem @mis-lil-red @aestheticqueenb @misslalaland-blog-blog @ilieherecharmed-fics2readnrec @michelehansel

Want to be added to or removed from the tag list? Shoot me a message!

#henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill x author #henry cavill x OC #romcom #the marriage pact #henry bear #blog #family dinner #cooking

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laurelsofhighever · 4 years

Text

The Falcon and the Rose Ch. 49 - The Blood-Soaked Tower

Chapter Rating: Mature Warnings: Canon-typical violence Relationships: Alistair/Female Cousland Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Fereldan Civil War AU - No Blight, Romance, Angst, Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort Chapter Summary: Rosslyn and Alistair enter the Tower to save everyone they can.

Chapter 1 on AO3 This chapter on AO3

------------------------------------

Almost immediately, the stench of the dead overpowered them. Alistair groped in the darkness for the wall so he could brace against it, pushing up his visor as he retched. Around him, he heard the sounds echoed in the others, and at last Rosslyn’s voice, wry but strained as she declared they should have asked Greagoir for a torch.

“I – I can help,” Amell stuttered, and whispered something under her breath.

Warm, yellowish light like a candle grew from the crystal at the point of her staff and chased away the darkness. But then they found what was causing the smell, and she screamed. Not six feet ahead of them, a pile of corpses lay rended and bloody, torn apart like broken toys beside the splintered remains of the Circle’s inner door. The low light turned their already tortured expressions into something grotesque, locked in their last final desperate cries as their hands reached out to the gate for the help that hadn’t come, that must have stood by and listened to the screams and done nothing to at least attempt a rescue. Rage coiled in Alistair’s gut, squeezing his revulsion into something colder, harder, which had no name. The bodies looked small in the dark, but only once Rosslyn knelt down to examine the closest one did the full disparity of size become apparent.

“No more than twelve,” she muttered. “All the injuries are to the back, days old – they were running away.”

He stepped forward and laid a hand on her shoulder as she turned her frown towards the door. With all the armour in the way, he doubted she could feel the press of his gauntlet, but the weight was there nonetheless. Her breath came steady, shallow, every muscle still as she collected herself to move on. There was a clink of mail as she straightened.

“The apprentice dormitories are along here,” Amell managed. Her eyes, wide and liquid black in the low light, were still fixed on the bodies.

“Why is it so dark?” Alistair’s voice was brittle.

“There aren’t any windows on this level. One the candles burned down…”

“Ser Cullen, is there a defensible position somewhere nearby – somewhere we can get the survivors to congregate?” Rosslyn asked, staring straight ahead. Whatever grief welled in her had drained away, and the tightness at the corners of her eyes now was only the steel of her battleblood, the keen rush of calculation that allowed her to take in the whole engagement and decide life and death without compassion.

“I asked a question, Knight-Lieutenant.”

“Your Ladyship…” Cullen swallowed. “Yes. “There’s… the library, further on this floor, or the refectory upstairs. It can house everyone.” He paused. “But wouldn’t it be dangerous? What if we corral the mages and they turn out to be maleficar?”

Amell shot him a withering look. “What do you mean, ‘corral’? Are we just sheep to you?”

“What? No! That’s not what I said –”

“Sounded like it.”

“We’re here to save as many people as we can,” Alistair interrupted. “And the best way to do that is to keep everyone in a secure location while we clear the halls. Any mages left that haven’t yet become abominations aren’t likely to. We should get moving,” he added quietly to Rosslyn. “Try and do some good before Greagoir comes in on his high horse.”

“Or before anyone else has any bright ideas about how to deal with mages,” she agreed. She leaned into him for a brief instant of reassurance before she sighed and turned back towards the darkness. “We stick together, sweep the place floor by floor, keep our eyes open.”

The corridor was silent, deserted. The same unnatural pressure that had weighted the air outside magnified as they made their cautious way through the apprentice dormitories into the depths of the tower. In every room, the remains of battles stained the walls, gore and burn marks and shattered pieces of furniture. Every so often Cullen or Amell would point out smears on the floor that marked the destruction of a demon, but those were too few when counted next to the number of the dead.

And not one templar among them, Alistair noted with a frown as they cleared the last of the long dormitories.

The high-arched ceilings recounted their footsteps, their buttresses visible above their little bubble of light only as brief, thrown shadows against the ancient stonework. If not for the crisis at hand, Rosslyn might have paused to examine the patchwork quality of the architecture, the recent facing upon Imperial Tevene upon the solid, sure foundations of the original Alamar builders. Their time slipped away more with every moment, however, and took an uncounted number of lives with it, so she pushed them on through the empty foyer that led down to the cellars, towards the first glow of light they had seen that wasn’t their own.

And yet, the library was empty as well. The light came from complex runes carved into the ceiling, positioned into clusters over the long reading tables. Piles of books still sat open on the polished wood, next to scattered chairs and ink-splattered notebooks, as if the researchers had not even had time to put down their pens before being forced to run. The question was only which direction they had chosen.

“How do we reach the next level?”

Amell pointed. “The stairs are past the Librarian’s office.”

The door was barred.

Alistair knocked. “Anyone alive in here? I promise we’re not demons, we bring word from the Knight-commander.” For a moment he listened, picking up whispers and movement through the wood, and then stood back as a bolt scraped back and the door swung open.

Three templars greeted them, as well as a dozen or so human and elven mages crammed onto a tiny dais at the centre of the room. Many were children. The air held the stale, sour odour of any small place where people have been forced to cohabit for a period of time, and the inhabitants looked exhausted. A barrier shimmered over the door at the top of the stairs, which had also been blocked with a pile of bookshelves and a sturdy desk, shunted onto its side and pushed as far up the steps as it could go.

“Maker’s breath, you really aren’t demons are you?” The leading templar lifted his visor to reveal a man with a trimmed moustache just entering middle age. “We’ve been trapped in here for over two days, getting by on conjured water and roast rats. Knight-Lieutenant Dunn – this is Knowles and Owen,” he added.

“This is Prince Alistair and Teyrna Rosslyn Cousland,” Cullen supplied.

“More and more surprising! I hope you’ll forgive the informality – I didn’t recognise you.”

“Have you come to rescue us?” one of the smaller children piped from the corner. They sat in the arms of an older mage who eyed their weapons warily, like a dog that has learned the shape of its master’s stick.

Rosslyn pursed her lips and didn’t reply. “What do you know of what’s happened?” she asked Knight-Lieutenant Dunn.

He shook his head. “Must have been, what, five days ago, six? The alarm came down from the upper floors to say something had got loose, so I ordered most of the lads up to lend a hand. To be honest, we thought it was a drill – they close off the gate, fight a few fires, and then everything’s fine and dandy. And then demons appeared in the hall. We got what kids out we could, and pulled back here when they broke through into the library. We might’ve held them with more numbers, but…” With a half-glance behind him and a subtle nod towards the corner of the room, he took Rosslyn and Alistair aside. “What’s the word from outside?” The set of his mouth confirmed what he did not say: he knew the Right had been invoked.

Alistair cleared his throat. “We’re here to find First Enchanter Irving – the knight-commander said he would only listen to him.”

“I wish you luck with that, Your Highness,” the templar replied. “Irving was on the upper levels, and we haven’t heard anything in days. I’d be surprised if anyone is still alive up there.”

“If we find any survivors, we’ll be sending them to you,” Rosslyn said. “They’re to be kept safe.”

“I understand, Your Ladyship. We’ll try and keep everyone calm.”

“Thank you. Hold out a little longer, and we’ll see an end to it, without bloodshed.”

“Aye, Your Ladyship.”

Stepping around him, she nodded and called to Amell, who had bent to talk with the apprentices and offer them some comfort. Perhaps she had also told them about the Right of Annulment, but Rosslyn didn’t pry, only offloaded a packet of dried meat from her pack and slipped it into the knight-lieutenant’s hands.

“The children first,” she instructed.

“Aye, Your Ladyship.”

Cullen was already helping his fellow templars clear away the barricade. One of the eldest apprentices lowered the barrier. She offered a nod and a faint, trembling smile as the party passed, and once they were through the door followed Knight-Lieutenant Dunn’s directions and retreated to the library.

“Maker’s blessings, Your Ladyship, Your Highness,” he said, lingering at the door. “You do your job and I’ll do mine – I don’t want to have to say I failed in my duty.”

Alistair managed a grimace. “Neither do we.”

The level above the library opened out into a narrow space with doors leading off in many directions, cluttered by shelves and not much else. It clearly served as a spare storage space for those items that weren’t considered important enough to be properly locked away. There were windows, tiny and high up on the walls, but they only let in enough light to deepen the shadows in the corners of the room.

The demon attacked them without warning. It boiled out of the wall behind them, a towering mass of flame and molten slag pulled into a rough shape not quite human or animal. Its first swipe caught on Cullen’s shield as he leapt to defend Amell, and a shriek of rage like tearing metal bubbled up from somewhere deep inside its body.

“If we weaken it enough, it’ll be pulled back into the Fade!” The young templar shouted. “Karyna, stay behind me – don’t let it touch you.”

With its path to the mage blocked, the demon whirled on Rosslyn and Alistair. It had no eyes, but its blunt head lowered as if it were peering at them, assessing as it advanced. Rosslyn didn’t give it time to come to any conclusions, and struck forward, bashing it with her shield to expose its side for the cut of her sword. Talon sang as it descended. It remembered the depths of the cave it knew before its forging, the cold dark and the rising water, and gleamed as it bit deep. The molten flesh crumbled around the blade like pumice, its roar this time one of pain instead of rage.

“It doesn’t like the cold!” Rosslyn cried as Alistair made his own strike on the demon’s opposite flank.

“Oh – I have a spell for that!”

The fight did not last long after that. Between the flurry of ice spells and the precision strikes of the warriors’ swords, the demon stood no chance. It got a lucky hit against Alistair’s shield that sent him sprawling with a cry of pain, but bit by bit it chipped, and crumbled, until Cullen thrust one final time into its armpit and it collapsed in on itself like a fire exhausted of fuel.

“Are you two alright?” Rosslyn asked as she knelt to help Alistair to his feet.

Across the room, Amell jumped as Cullen brushed her arm. For an instant, she leaned towards him, but reeled back with a reluctance born of habit. Rosslyn knew the feeling well. She turned away to run a critical eye over Alistair, ignoring his worry for her when she realised he favoured his left shoulder.

“It’s fine,” he told her. “Pulled muscle.”

“And we have three floors to go. Enchanter –”

Something scraped on the stone behind them. As one they turned, weapons raised, and were greeted by a tired-looking man in mage robes, with a mark on his forehead in the shape of a sunburst.

“Owain?” Amell lowered her staff.

“Enchanter,” the Tranquil replied in a flat tone. “You remember me – and you, Knight-Lieutenant Cullen. I am not familiar with your companions.”

“They’re – Owain, what are you doing here? Didn’t you try to leave?”

“Yes,” came the reply. “But when I encountered the barrier on the library door, I thought it best to return to work. The stockroom is in a state not fit to be seen.”

“We have bigger things to worry about,” Rosslyn interrupted. “What do you know about how this began?”

Owain turned to her, unbothered by the sharp edge to her voice. “There was a large explosion on one of the upper floors,” he said, as if reading from a book. “The templars stationed here and in the apprentice rooms went to investigate. Soon after, demons came to kill or capture the mages on this floor. I was in the stockroom and they did not see me. I suppose I should count myself lucky.”

“Why are they taking the mages?”

“I do not know. Perhaps Niall will succeed and save us all.”

Alistair frowned. “Niall?”

“He came here with several others, and took the Litany of Adralla,” the Tranquil explained.

“But that’s to protect against blood magic, isn’t it?” Amell rubbed her forehead. “Wynne mentioned it to me. If there are blood mages involved in whatever’s happening, we’ll need the Litany to stop it.”

Rosslyn bit down on a curse. She had seen the power a single blood mage could command, and the memory of it sent a cold shiver across her shoulders. There could be a thousand summoned demons between them and any help First Enchanter Irving could offer, if he even still lived, and an army of undead and abominations besides, enough to easily overpower three warriors and one mage with only so much strength between them. And yet, duty bound them now, just as surely as the blocked path behind them. The tower’s architecture would be their best defence, its narrow corridors and curving walls able to act as a shield against superior numbers and ranged magical attacks that relied on line-of-sight to cast with accuracy. They would have to move quickly, and try to reach the source of the destruction before it could spread plaguelike and overwhelm them.

Having watched Amell set a healing spell in Alistair’s shoulder and with orders for Owain to go down and meet the rest of the survivors in the library, she led the way across the shadowed hall, aware of each discordant ring of their footsteps on the stone. Talon all but hummed in her hand, resonating with the nearness of the Fade and eager for another taste of ichor. As the walls closed in again, they found bodies sagged against the walls or lying crumpled on the floor, with blood staining cloth and armour both. Any one of them might rise in an instant, without warning, ungainly but fast enough that Rosslyn nevertheless kept watch out of the corner of her eye. The lack of flies betrayed the unnatural nature of the deaths, and the silence set her teeth on edge.

They made it to Irving’s office unscathed. With most of the mages already defeated or beyond reach, few demons had ventured to the lower levels, and the undead that ambushed them had been new, the spirits unused to their host bodies and the constraints of the physical world. This meant their skirmishes had been sporadic, but the rest granted by the First Enchanter’s quarters was no less welcome, as the spells and protections laid on it would repel all but the strongest demonic energies. As long as they remained quiet, nothing would trouble them.

Rosslyn laid a hand on Amell’s shoulder as she passed her the waterskin, comforting her as best she could. The enemies they had cut down were recognisable, and considering how many people were as yet unaccounted for, there would likely be worse encounters ahead. Cullen sat a careful distance away, checking his gear. He had taken off his helmet to breathe more easily, and as he ran a distracted hand through his hair, his freed curls bounced against his sweat-damp forehead. Rosslyn stepped around the desk trying not to think about how much older than her he might be while still looking so young, and nudged her elbow against Alistair’s side.

“Anything useful?” she asked.

He turned away from the bookshelf. “Not really. Spellbooks, that sort of thing. There’s a map on the wall that says we’ve got two floors left to clear before we get to the top, which isn’t entirely comforting.”

“At least we’re halfway.”

“See?” He grinned. “That’s what I love about you, you’re always so optimistic.”

“And is that the only thing?” Her eyes flicked to his mouth, then to the others, and back.

“Maker, no. But we don’t have time for me to stand here and list everything.”

“I’ll have to ask again when this is over, then,” she teased, with a growing smile.

A scream from outside cut off Alistair’s answer. They raced out of Irving’s office, weapons drawn and armour hastily jammed into place as a young man in mage robes careened down the stairs to the next level, ducking just in time as a templar blade cleaved the air above his head. He saw the party ahead of him, focussed one the Sword of Mercy etched into Cullen’s armour, and screamed again.

“I’m not one of them! I swear it!”

Rosslyn stepped around him to face the group of advancing templars. Their movements were jerky, disconcerting, and she raised her shield.

“Lower your weapons!” she called. “We’re not your enemy, we’ve come to help.”

The templars paused, wobbling like puppets.

“Do not listen to such lies,” purred a catlike voice from the shadows. “Is your faith so weak that you would submit to the tricks of demons?”

A woman stepped out behind the group of templars. The robes of a revered mother hung from her shoulders, but something in the shine of the thread made her hard to look at. Her smile was too wide, too sharp, her limbs ever so slightly out of proportion.

“That’s a demon,” Alistair growled, stepping to Rosslyn’s shoulder.

Amell was already winding a spell between her hands. “It’s enchanted the templars. If we can get to it, then –”

“There!” the demon shrieked, cutting her off. “You see! They are hiding a blood mage in their midst!”

“Brothers, please –!” But Cullen’s voice was drowned in the sound of the templars’ charge.

Rosslyn and Alistair drove forward. Their shields butted against blank face plates and their swords flashed in the momentary advantage. One templar went down. The next took his place before he had even hit the floor. Amell hurled an ice spell into the throng, and then another, until Rosslyn, beating back two enemies at once, snarled at her to focus on the demon instead, and slowly, they were pushed back. Even bewitched, the templars had the backing of a lifetime of training, and they had the advantage of numbers, as well as the demon to bolster them as they struck out again and again. Amell’s magic was wearing it down, confusing it, but the templars served it absolutely, energy and bodies both, and every killing blow only made it stronger.

“We need to clear a path!” Rosslyn shouted. She opened her mouth for more orders, but in that instant a greatsword curved down over the edge of her shield. She raised her arm to block, but the movement came too late. Her armour stopped the blade from slicing her flesh, but the impact reverberated down to the bone and she staggered back with a cry. Someone called her name. She blinked and shoved forward again with a snarl, driving through the disorientation to bring Talon up in blunt arc that cut into the templar’s groin.

The fight after that became a haze of pain, and raising her sword even to her shoulder lit fire along her nerves. And still, she hacked at anything that strayed into her line of sight, teeth bared behind the Falcon helm, desperate only to keep her footing as bodies piled up before her. At one point, she felt a flash of magic through her veins, dimming the ache in her muscles and the agony in her arm, and she pushed through, just in time for an unearthly shriek to lance through her skull. The last of her enemies fell, leaving her a clear view of the demon, shocked of its illusion now and impaled upon Cullen’s sword. Arms caught around her waist as she sagged. Gloved fingers scrabbled at her chin to loosen the strap and get her helmet loose.

“Rosslyn – Rosslyn.”

“Huh?”

The demon was flaking, falling away like wood ash in the wind.

“I can do it through the armour, it’s fine,” someone was saying, and she rolled her head to the side to find Amell feeling along the length of her upper right arm.

“It’s just a hairline fracture,” Amell told them. “I can heal it, but it will be weakened. It shouldn’t be used for any heavy lifting for a while. At least as far as you can,” she added, with a rueful glance at their surroundings.

“Do what you can with it,” Rosslyn grunted.

Alistair was still holding her. “That’s twelve templars accounted for, including Dunn and the ones we passed on the way here,” he calculated. “How many would have been in the tower when the gate was shut?”

“Shifts have a full complement of thirty-three.” It was Cullen who answered, his gaze low on the bodies of his fallen comrades, on the blood congealing on his sword. “The number should have been greater, if mages could do this.”

“Demons did this,” Amell corrected, still pushing healing magic into Rosslyn’s arm.

“And who let the demons out?”

“It doesn’t change out plan,” Rosslyn interrupted, before another argument could start. “We have to find this Niall, and then whoever is behind this.”

“Umm…”

They had forgotten the mage the templars had been chasing. He huddled against the wall like a rabbit watching for a hawk, not quite ready to trust them but flicking his gaze from Amell, to Cullen, to the pile of dust that was all that remained of the demon.

“Did you mention Niall?” he asked.

Rosslyn frowned at him. “Do you know where he is?”

“We got separated…” The young mage shook his head.

“What happened here?”

“Uldred,” came the reply. “It was Uldred. He told everyone Loghain was going to help free us of the Chantry, and in return we would be supporting him. Some said they wanted to stay neutral, and then the fighting started. He rounded everyone up and took them to the Harrowing chamber, but I don’t know what he’s doing to them.”

“Just when I think I can’t hear more bad things about Loghain,” Alistair scoffed. “How well do you know this Uldred, Enchanter?”

“Not well,” Amell answered. “He’s one of Irving’s aides.”

“Is he powerful?”

“He’s maleficar,” Cullen interrupted. “Who knows what he’s capable of.”

Rosslyn’s focus was still on the mage they had rescued. “What’s your name?”

“Godwin,” the mage answered. “Please, I didn’t do anything, I’m not one of them. Niall had a plan to take the Litany of Adralla to First Enchanter Irving, but there were so many demons. He’s still up on the next level somewhere.”

“Will you come with us?”

Godwin stared. “Are you mad? There’s too many of them to fight – I thought I’d, uh, find a cupboard instead and just be very, very quiet.”

“There’s a group of apprentices hiding in the library,” Amell offered. “We cleared all the demons between here and there.”

“Uh… no, I don’t trust –” He glanced at Cullen. “I mean, I’d rather stay here.”

“Suit yourself.” Rosslyn shrugged, and winced. “Just make sure you stay hidden. We don’t want another abomination sneaking up behind us.”

Godwin squeaked at that, but nodded. Then he cleared his throat again and wished them luck with a tentative smile and a mention that he had seen Niall put the Litany into a pocket before they were separated. The party didn’t look back as they climbed the stairs, as grim determination settled over them once more.

“I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t this,” Alistair confessed to Rosslyn quietly a little while later. They had stepped from yet another narrow corridor into a high, vaulted room that must once have served as a common area or refectory, until something had stormed through like a dragon on the rampage and cast the now-shattered remains of the furniture against the walls. The aftereffects of whatever magic had caused the destruction raised gooseflesh even under all their layers of armour, and the silence boomed like the pause that hangs between a flash of lightning and the oncoming roll of thunder.

“South Reach was worse,” she told him, her eyes keen on the shadows.

“We’ll be out of it soon,” he said, almost to himself. “I, for one, am looking forward to a long, hot bath.”

“With bubbles?” she asked.

“And lavender-scented soap, and maybe even one of those painted wooden ducks to keep me company.”

She chuckled. “Those are children’s toys.”

“Ah, but I am a prince,” he pointed out. “If I have painted toy ducks, it’ll start a trend.”

“You’ve put a lot of thought into this, haven’t you?” She sighed and dropped her voice. “How do you think our friends are holding up?”

Alistair glanced over his shoulder. “Honestly, not well. This is their home – they know these people, and…”

“They’ve fallen on opposite sides of a very old argument,” she finished for him. “It’s only going to get worse. We need to finish this quickly.”

They trudged on. What little could be seen of the sky outside showed the hours passing as they carved their way through those remaining in the tower and slowly lost hope that they would find more survivors. Pustules of what looked like raw flesh grew like mould on the walls, oozing and growing bigger the closer they stepped to the fourth floor, and every inch increased the latent hum of magic in the air. Rosslyn lost count of the number of abominations that fell to Talon’s edge. At the base of the stairs to the tower’s final floor they found Niall’s body crumpled against a wall, and only managed to fish the litany from his pocket after facing down a blood mage who came at them with half a dozen demons dancing at her fingertips. The parchment was faded, the writing smudged in places where the mage’s blood had soaked it, but Amell read it with confidence, memorising each phrase at one reading. It would have to do as their only secret weapon, because there was no doubt anymore that Uldred knew they were coming. They rested, tended their wounds, ate and drank what was left of their supplies, and moved on.

Nothing attacked them on the fourth floor. The fittings here were richer than the ones they had passed below, more comfortable and more decorative, and the windows were bigger. Late afternoon sun lit the brightly coloured spines of dozens of books and intricate Antivan carpets, and stands of polished swords that stood in racks next to spare shields blazing with the templar Sword of Mercy. It might have been a cosy scene, if not for the tang of metal that coiled at the back of the throat, and the growths of flesh that bulged even more thickly out of the walls. The air was hot, and ripe, and utterly still.

They found the remaining templars at the foot of the last set of stairs up to the Harrowing chamber. Only a few were left alive. They had been stripped of their armour and thrown into a cage of light, their bodies broken, their minds fled. Babbled words grated through chapped lips, and they did not react to the newcomers, not even when Cullen called them by name and tried to smite the prison wall.

“Poor buggers,” Alistair muttered. There was a hard line between his brows, and a muscle ticked in his jaw.

Rosslyn touched his elbow, remembering what he told her about almost being made a templar. “There’s only one way to help them now.”

“Right. Let’s get this son of a pig and be done with it.”

Uldred was waiting for them. The body of a mage lay unmoving at his feet, and a sickly kind of smile split his face as Rosslyn and the others barged in behind their shields. His baldness made his age difficult to decipher, but he held himself with the absolute confidence of a man in complete control of his surroundings, the very picture of hubris. A crowd abominations lurked behind him, grim distortions of people with melted skin, standing guard over the handful of mages who were left to be put to whatever torture he had in mind for them. An older man was among the group, dressed in finer robes than the others, and his mouth fell open as he watched the four approach, whether to shout a warning or simply out of shock.

“We’re here for Irving,” Rosslyn declared. With her helmet covering her face, the words echoed in her ears.

“Are you now?” Uldred replied, and smiled so all of his teeth were visible. “I must admit, I’m impressed you made it this far. I sensed my demons fall, my prey escaping, the eddies of the disturbance ringing through the Fade, and who is it who comes? Why, the pernicious Falcon of Highever and the bastard brat King Cailan decided to make a prince. I’ll get accolades for ridding Loghain of the two of you.”

“Is he your master then?” She edged away from the door, towards the captured mages.

“There are no more masters,” Uldred snapped. “No more chains. But wait, what is this – Irving’s star pupil.” He advanced, dark eyes fixed on Amell. “You’ve seen how it is for mages, out among the wide world. The fear, the contempt. You’ve seen how unjust the Chantry is to people like us. But you don’t have to suffer like the rest of them. You could join me. I could teach you to –”

Cullen stepped in front of her, sword raised. “You won’t touch her.”

“Don’t be so crude.” Uldred swept his hand to the side like he was swatting a fly, and without warning the templar was picked up by some invisible force and flung across the room.

“No!”

The abominations lunged. Amell was beaten back by the swipe of long, malformed claws even as she tried to push past them to reach Cullen. Rosslyn and Alistair flanked her, catching the blows on their shields, but they were outnumbered, and these abominations had been draining the lives of countless mages for days. Even with more ice spells to slow them down, they barely seemed to feel the wounds inflicted on them.

Uldred ignored them.

“We all knew you fawned over her,” he sneered, prowling towards Cullen. He raised his hand, bringing his prey to his knees in prison of crushing light. “Following her movements like a cat watching a mouse. Did you think we didn’t notice? You and all the others, leashing us, forbidding our true potential.” He squeezed his fist and Cullen cried out. “Did you like what we did to your friends? They proved most interesting diversions.”

“Uldred, stop it!”

He turned at that, his face twisted into a sneer all the more sinister for the evenness of his voice. “Uldred? He is gone. I am Uldred and yet not Uldred. I am more than he ever was. I offer you one last chance –”

“No!” Irving interrupted from across the room. His teeth were bared with the effort to speak through whatever enchantment was holding him. “You must stop him. He’s building an army – going to destroy the templars, and then –”

“Enough! You’ve said too much, old man, and I wasn’t talking to –” His words cut off in a yell as Amell used the distraction to douse him in fire.

For an instant the abominations fell back, disorientated. One screeched as Alistair severed its arm, the sound cut off when Rosslyn lunged and cut out its throat, but before they could turn and press their advantage, the flames licking at Uldred’s robes flickered, then dimmed until there was nothing left but the scent of charred cloth.

“Some people can be so stubborn. Resistance, everywhere I go.”

The mage raised his hands again, curling his fingers into claws. A force gripped their limbs, burning through their veins and slowing their movements, and the abominations advanced once more, their horribly broken mouths pulled wide in anticipation –

And then the pressure was gone. The world swam into focus again, along with Amell’s voice, chanting low and melodic from behind a shimmering green barrier. Rosslyn raised Talon and cleaved through the nearest abomination, no longer caring about the ones that closed in behind her. Uldred was the goal. Without him, the rest would flounder. She ducked under one outstretched claw and bashed another aside with her shield, but even running flat out, she wasn’t fast enough to stop him. His form was shifting, growing, his robes tearing at the shoulders and across the waist as his body morphed into the true form of the demon sharing his soul. Chitinous black spikes burst from his skin, his teeth sharpened, and as Rosslyn pulled her sword back to strike, his eyes bled scarlet and any trace of the man he had once been succumbed in a bellow of rage. The creature turned to the attack, conjuring a ball of dark energy in one fist, and in the instant Rosslyn’s blade would have pierced its throat, it hurled the spell at her feet.

#dragon age #dragon age: origins #dragon age origins #da:o #alistair x cousland #alistair theirin #rosslyn cousland #cousland #the falcon and the rose #cullen rutherford #amell #broken circle

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keelywolfe · 5 years

Text

FIC: The Elephant in the Room ch.2 (baon)

Summary: Jeff has started working at the Embassy. He’s got a new job, a new car, and a new place to live. Now if only the rest of his life could fall into order, that’d be great. Any time now…any time at all…

Tags: Spicyhoney, Kustard, Established Relationships, Prejudice Against Monsters, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Past Suicidal Thoughts, Mental Health Issues, Friendship

Notes: Stretch quitting smoking? Going swell. Jeff quitting the bookstore? Super duper. Red is a creeper? Well, everyone knows that! Except Jeff, it seems, but hey, he can be taught!

Part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

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Read it on AO3

Read it here!

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There wasn’t much parking downtown at that time of day, the best spots taken by day workers and college students. Jeff was forced to park on the street a couple blocks from the bookstore. It wasn’t much further than they would have gone from the bus stop and Stretch didn’t offer any complaint.

He did hop out of the car the moment it was in park, before Jeff even had a chance to turn it off. Jeff only shrugged mentally and gathered up his keys and bag. At least he didn’t shortcut out, the sound of it could be painfully loud in an enclosed space.

When he got out, he saw that Stretch hadn’t run ahead. Instead, he was lingering on the sidewalk with a vape pen in hand, already exhaling a cloud of vapor. From his scrunched expression, it wasn’t as satisfying as a cigarette.

“Not so good, huh?” Jeff asked with amused sympathy.

Stretch grimaced. “it’s not the same. you’d think i’d like the tasty flavors and you’d be wrong. i wasn’t smoking ciggies because i so enjoy the tanginess of chemicals and tar.” He grinned then and nudged Jeff with a sharp elbow. “but it’s better for the baby, am i right?“

Jeff groaned, but he snickered helplessly, ”I said I was sorry.”

“oh, you did,” Stretch agreed. He started down the sidewalk and Jeff fell into step beside him, “but i’ve still got a little mileage left on that joke before i run it into the ground.”

From the way he was determinedly using the little vape, Jeff got the idea that the whole quitting thing might not be going so well. He didn’t put it away until they got to the store, tucking into his hoodie pocket as he held the door open for Jeff. The bell jangled above the door as they walked in and an unfamiliar face looked up at them from behind the counter. “Good after…noon.”

The faint hiccough in his speech was barely noticeable, as was the way his smile faltered. Stretch certainly didn’t seem to notice on his beeline directly to the recently acquired shelf.

“Hi,” Jeff said, just this side of too loud. The guy jerked and turned back to him. “Is Thomas in?”

Before he could gather himself enough for a reply, a full head of salt and pepper hair poked out from the office, followed by the rest of his former boss. “Jeffery, my boy! And Stretch, schön dich zu sehen! What brings you, you have a new order to place?”

“nah, i’m just here with the troublemaker today,” Stretch grinned and jerked his head in Jeff’s direction. “don’t worry, though, i’m working on a new list. you’ll be sherlock holmsing around for me in no time.”

“Ah, but I also have a new detective!” He stepped around the counter and gave the young man a firm clap on the shoulder. “This is Steven, it is his second day.”

“Hi, again,” Steven said obediently. It sounded friendly enough but Jeff didn’t miss the way he kept glancing away from Stretch, who nodded a greeting before going back to perusing the shelves.

Thomas didn’t notice, only came back around and transferred that firm grip to Jeff, leading him away like a lost sheep. “Come now, Jeffery, we can go over the last orders you were working on in my office.”

“Sure,“ Jeff murmured. But he left the door open and stood in a way he could watch the main room.

Every glance out made him worry a little more. Not about Stretch, he was only poking through the books, setting a few off to the side in a neat pile. He never even glanced at Steven, much less bothered him. But the guy was watching him like a mall security guard, not even pretending to be doing anything else.

There was something about that look, the visible discomfort in it, that had Jeff frowning mentally. Monsters had been aboveground for several years now, long enough that anyone who lived in Ebott should’ve bumped into one at least every few days around town. Considering how young this guy was, he should’ve been on campus a few times or in the local coffee shops. No one should be that freaked about seeing a Monster, no one with manners, anyway.

Especially seeing Stretch, who was easily one of the most recognizable, only below Asgore and the diplomat group when it came to fame. Plus, the skeleton Monsters tended to look more Human than some of the other species out there. They wore clothes and shoes, and when Stretch had his hood up, he could easily be mistaken for human from behind.

Besides, his sweatshirt had a dinosaur with Mickey Mouse ears on it and a speech bubble that said ‘wrong park’, for crying out loud. How was that remotely threatening?

Next to him, Thomas was two finger typing his way through the list of orders that Jeff had been working on, humming beneath his breath. “Thomas,” Jeff said, low. “Yes, my boy?” When Jeff nodded towards the front counter, Thomas stood and leaned over the desk to see. He frowned, his eyes narrowing, as they both watched Stretch walk over to another shelf of books. Steven moved as he did, unsubtly shifting over to the far side of the counter, his eyes never leaving Stretch as he backed away. “Bah,” Thomas muttered irritably. “That one, he’s not going to be staying.”

Jeff nodded. Definitely for the best. Even if someone unfairly thought Stretch was scary, he was hardly the only Monster who came in hankering for books. Moms brought in their kids all the time, elderly Monsters searched for books they remembered from the Underground. The cheery sticker on the front door inviting Monsters in would tell anybody that much, before they took a single step inside much less submitted a resume. Why the hell would someone who was so visibly uncomfortable around Monsters want to work someplace that was blatantly Monster-friendly?

Jeff didn’t really care for any of the reasons his brain was offering him and suddenly, he didn’t really want to leave Stretch out there alone with a guy who was eying him the same way he would a serial killer. “Would you mind if I came back this weekend to go over this?” Jeff asked softly.

“Not at all. Come, let’s go out together. I think maybe I should ring up Stretch’s purchases for him.” Thomas sighed and shook his head. “Such a shame, he had a good resume. A worse shame I will have to pay him for today.”

“Send him home at lunch,” Jeff said sourly, “save some money.”

“A very good idea.”

~~*~~

They were walking back to the car, both of them with bags in hand when Stretch finally asked him, “okay, what’s the matter?”

“Why do you think anything is the matter?” Jeff asked lightly. It wasn’t going to work, he knew that, and Stretch only tutted in exaggerated disappointment.

“because your smile fell so far its sitting on top of your shoes. so before you trip over it, what’s wrong?”

“That guy, the new guy. He seemed…” Jeff hesitated, trying to think of a way to phrase it that was better than, ‘he was a dick,’. “He seemed really Monster unfriendly.” “yeah. i noticed.” Stretch pulled out his vape and used it, exhaling a sweet-smelling cloud. It was a decent distraction but Jeff knew him too well now to miss the fleeting unhappiness that crossed his face before it was hidden beneath easy carelessness. “he didn’t say anything to me, but—“ “No, because he was too busy trying to blend into the furniture,” Jeff gritted out. He should’ve known Stretch noticed, he was weirdly observant like that. Maybe Monsters had to be when their HP was in the single digits. And to have to deal with that in one of his safe places had to be doubly upsetting. “Thomas already said he was getting rid of him, but seriously, what an asshole. He was acting like you were gonna rip his throat out with your teeth.” Stretch made a face, “nasty. i love the old monster movies but man, the creature from the black lagoon sure didn’t do us any publicity favors.” “Good movie, though.”

“yeah.” The faint melancholy that had settled over Stretch faded as he suddenly smirked. “wanna go watch it?”

“Hell, yes.”

The trip back home was a lot shorter when they didn’t have to depend on the bus, and soon enough they were settled on the sofa with snacks. But even the campy black and white classic couldn’t hold his attention, and Jeff found his thoughts picking irritably at the events of the day.

That Steven applied at Classic Books at all was rubbing him in all kinds of wrong ways. There was literally no chance anyone would miss that it was a Monster-friendly business, and even if Thomas was going to fire that prick, well…maybe he should let someone in Security know. Like Red, Jeff had a feeling this was definitely something he’d want to know about. Edge probably would too, but he and Stretch had enough to worry about lately.

Better to have it checked out first before starting any panics or holy wars or anything.

So after the movie, Jeff regretfully turned down an offer to head over to Grillby’s and instead drove down to the Embassy.

Instead of politely greeting the security guard and heading right to the elevator like he usually did, Jeff stopped and asked, “If I needed to talk to Red, where would I find him?”

The guard’s floppy ears perked high as he looked up from his sudoku book, eying Jeff warily. “You actually want to see Red?”

“Um. Yes?” Well, he had before that.

“Huh.” The guard looked at him a moment longer, doubtfully, then shook his head and picked up his pen again. “Just wander around. You don’t really find Red so much as he finds you.”

Well, that wasn’t at all ominous or terrifying. “Thank you.”

Even worse, it wasn’t really helpful. It was close to five and most of the staff was getting ready to go home for the day. The cafeteria was closed, the chairs already atop the tables, and none the departments seemed likely. It wasn’t like there were any signs pointing towards ‘creepy skeletons this way’ like a damn Target store.

Jeff was ready to surrender and almost convinced himself that he was overreacting. And yet, if he didn’t say anything and someone got hurt? Yeah, better to overreact and feel stupid, times a thousand.

An email, then? That’d be something, and Jeff made his way down to the PR sector where his office was. It was about a step above a closet, but he didn’t care, it was his, and he should be able to check the email listings from there.

The main office was already deserted, the lights dimmed. Jeff walked on to his door, trying not to feel like an intruder as he unlocked it and switched on the light. Only to nearly scream at the sight of Red sitting casually in his chair, his boots propped up on the desktop.

That grin of his was so similar to Edge’s and yet not at all, and neither was the way he ran his tongue over the jagged points. His eye lights glowing with crimson ferocity that gave lie to his tone as he said easily, “wellie, well, well, if it isn’t handy andy. heard you were looking for me. what can i do for you, sweets?”

Yeah…he was starting to think the guard had the right idea. Seemed like no sane person went looking for Red. Except now Jeff had him and so he got to deal with him.

Jeff wet his own lips nervously, wondering how the hell he was going to coax this genie back into the bottle. Somehow, he didn’t think flattery was the right option.

~~*~~

TBC

#spicyhoney #papcest #keelywolfe #underfell #underswap #underfell papyrus #underswap papyrus #by any other name

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wolfpawn · 5 years

Text

I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 43

Chapter Summary - Tom finally gets to see Danielle again in Wales, with a surprise, some smut and smiles.

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long. This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously.

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog @jessibelle-nerdy-mum @nonsensicalobsessions @damalseer @hiddlesbitch1 @winterisakiller @fairlightswiftly @salempoe @lys-syl @youcantcatchafallingstar

If you wish to be tagged, please let me know.

“Close your eyes.” Tom grinned, before standing behind Danielle.

“What are you doing?” She tried to look around at him. “Tom?”

“It’s a surprise.” He grinned, preventing her from doing so and placing his hands over his eyes and gently moving her forward.

“But we are leaving the room.” She whined, “And there are stairs out here.”

Tom took his hands away again. “Right so, as soon as we get downstairs, allow me to blindfold you.”

“This is getting progressively more into the realms of kinky and disturbing simultaneously.” She eyed him warily before walking down the stairs.

Tom bit his lips together. “Only you could see it like that.” When they got to the bottom, he grabbed her again before she could jump away from him and blocked her eyesight again. “Come on, I’ll let you know if there are any steps or anything.” He promised.

“I’m not going to lie, Tom, I was sort of looking forward to staying in the room and having some fun,” Danielle whispered.

“And I swear to you, darling, this evening, after dinner, I am going to have it that you never want to leave our room,” Tom promised, his voice deep and low against the shell of her ear, causing her skin to break out in Goosebumps. “Doorway step,” he informed her, making sure she took a large step over the threshold of the door so not to trip.

“You seem to think there is something that would convince me to not want that right now.”

“There is.” He promised, “Ready?”

“What have you done, Tom?” Danielle asked fearfully, not sure if she wanted to see.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes,” Danielle answered warily. Tom took his hands from her eyes and for a moment, she was scared to look. Slowly, she opened one eye, before what was that was waiting for her came into focus and she opened both, gasping in shock as she did. “But…” she looked at Tom. “How?”

Tom watched in delight as she ran over to her dog, who was whining with joy at seeing his master after so long. “Well, I thought this would be far better than a simple photo.” Tom beamed. “You said they do dog boarding here, so I thought; why not bring Mac for the weekend.”

Danielle looked at him, her eyes watery with happiness as she cuddled her dog. “Thank you.” The words were barely a squeak as she kissed the dog’s head. “Thank you so much, Tom.”

Tom knelt down so to rub Mac and gave her a kiss on the temple, “Anything for you, darling. So many women want diamonds, round the world expensive holidays and designer bags, but you, all you want is a picture of your pet to know he is okay.” He rubbed Mac too. “Besides we had a great time, he just sat in the back seat and chilled out.”

“I cannot believe you drove to your mum’s, got my dog and drove him all the way here in your really expensive car.” Danielle shook her head in disbelief.

“It’s a car Elle, just a car, he got some fur on a blanket, it is hardly life ending.”

“To a lot of people, it would be.”

“It’s not, he was a great travel companion, weren’t you boy?” he grinned. Mac Tíre decided to lick him in agreement. “See, but I did promise him we would walk him if he was good,” Tom stated as though saying that a good child was promised dessert after eating all their dinner.

“I’ll get a coat.” Danielle spun on her heels and raced back inside.

“I told you she was happy to see you, didn’t I boy?” he smiled, untying Mac from the post he had him waiting at. “She missed you as much as you missed her.” The dog barked happily once in response. “You don’t mind sharing her with me, do you?” The dog seemed to take a moment to think over the statement before giving a small groan noise of contentment and leaning into Tom’s hand for another ear scratch. “I thank you for your understanding, boy.” He smiled. When he looked up again, he saw Danielle walking out the door of the small B&B she was calling home for the duration of her job. “Ready?”

“I am.” She had a smile on her face that caused a bubble of elation in his stomach as she looked at him, a fondness he had not seen in her eyes before. “What?” she asked, her head cocked to the side slightly.

“Nothing, you look so happy.”

“I am, thank you, Tom.” She gave him an even more dazzling version of that smile.

“It’s nothing more than anyone would do, darling, it’s just bringing your pet to you.” He stood to his full height again and leant over to hug her against him.

“No, it’s so much more than that.” she looked at him adoringly. “I…I can’t even put it into words.”

“Well, if you ever find a way to, let me know.” He grinned, “Where’s a nice quiet walk around here?”

“It’s the middle of nowhere, the town is fifteen minutes that way,” she pointed to the left, “but there are some nice fields with sheep to the right.”

“Will Mac be alright?”

“You mean will he try to chase them? I am not giving him the option.” She smiled, taking the lead from Tom and making sure Mac was fully comfortable in his walking gear before stepping forward. “Shall we?”

“Are you frightened of us being spotted?”

“The actors are in a town a few towns over, they won’t expect to see a real-life Hollywood star on a small back road walking a dog with a girl no one knows you are dating, so no, I’m not. And even if we are, it is going to happen sooner or later, right? I just need to live with it.” She shrugged.

“I don’t deserve you,” Tom made sure to stay in step with her as she started a healthy pace, Mac enjoying the smells of new surrounds.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Danielle joked as she looked up at him.

“Fuck,” Danielle forced herself to stay as quiet as she could considering there were others staying in the B&B as Tom began to thrust up into her, but it was difficult considering he was doing everything in his power to make her come apart, inside and out.

“Elle.” It was taking considerable control on Tom’s behalf to not come as soon as he entered her, finally feeling her willing body around him for the first time in a few weeks, and her wearing the sexiest little lacy underwear she had bought for their reunion, it revealed only hints of skin around her breasts and ass, but hugged her tightly. “God, I’ve missed you.”

“Yes, so much.” She agreed, her voice hushed, but the honesty was blatant. “I’m gonna…”

“Yes, please…” Tom hurried his movements, trying to make her fall apart for the third time that evening. “I need to…”

“Close baby?” she bit his bottom lip and pulled it slightly.

“Fuck, yes, yes…” the small sensation of pain from her bite and the feel of her body tightening around his cock caused his orgasm to hit him, his sharp thrusts causing her own to occur, both gasping and moaning as they did so. “Elle.” Tom could barely speak.

“Mmhmm?” she was still above him, her legs straddling him as she shook slightly from her release.

“I missed you so much.” He declared, not caring if it seemed too much in his post-coital bliss.

“I missed you too.”

“What will we do if I have to go away for a film?”

Danielle sighed, toying with some stray hairs that were on his forehead. “I will have to get over it and look forward to seeing you again on your return or when I can return this favour and visit you on your job.”

“Would you?” she frowned. “Would you come visit me?”

“I would.” She nodded.

“I love you.” He leant up and kissed her.

“I happen to love you too, Tom.” She smiled, kissing him again.

“You look happy with yourself.” The makeup artist winked at Danielle as she walked onto the set. “I take it the boyfriend wasn’t too jetlagged for a little fun last night.”

“You need to get your girlfriend up here, STAT!” Danielle laughed.

“Girl, I may be sexually frustrated, but that only makes me all the more able to sense a girl who got herself some last night.” Nacelle laughed. “And Becky is coming here next week. But that does not answer my question.” Danielle said nothing, but looking down as she blushed. “Don’t need an answer; your face says it all.” Danielle just shrugged. “Mr Promotions may end up getting one of his own soon if you think that way about him.”

“Getting a what?”

“A promotion,” Danielle cocked her head slightly, not understanding what Nacelle was saying. “You telling me you would say no if he got on one knee?”

“We are nowhere near ready for any of that yet.” Danielle dismissed immediately.

“But you see it with him?”

“Do you see it with the famous Becky?”

“I have the ring, I am just waiting for Christmas to be over to ask her, I don’t want her thinking it is some terrible holiday gimmick, I want to ask her on a random day, just for us.”

“Why not before Christmas then, next week, walking up the hillside, cold crisp air and a hot chocolate in hand, and just ask her?”

“You didn’t strike me as the romantic type Danny, but you are actually the sickly adorable one. I bet you and ‘Promotions’ are adorable and snugly at home together. Does he have a real name?”

“Thomas.”

“Jesus, that actually sounds as…proper as a career in sales is.” Nacelle laughed light-heartedly. “Well, I bet you and ‘Tommy Boy’ are just sickly cute.”

“He brought my dog up for the weekend, my B&B has kennels and he actually brought the dog with him.” Danielle smiled uncontrollably.

“I’m more of a snake or rodent person myself, but that’s cute in anyone’s book.”

“I wish I could have brought him to work with me.”

“Tommy?”

“Mac, the dog.” Danielle laughed.

“What are they doing now?”

“They’ve gone for a run, I got a text and a photo of their stop near the lake.” Danielle explained, holding up her phone to show Nacelle the picture Tom sent of Mac Tíre looking over the water, no hint of the man who was with him in the picture making Danielle feel safe in showing it, with the title “I may look all regal, but I am thinking of a dental stick I was promised for posing”.

“Okay, you two are nauseating.” Nacelle just walked off, “Seriously, I am getting nauseous.”

“I’ll let him know you think that.” Danielle smiled; she sent him back a reply. “Can work hurry the fuck up and finish for today. I want to get back to my boys.”

“Wait and see Danny, I will be doing your makeup for your wedding very soon.” Nacelle beamed.

“Really?” Danielle laughed with a raised brow

“Oh yes, you’ll get in some hack and I’ll be a regular guest because you won’t want to pay out my extortionate prices, and I’ll see you and get you to the nearest room and have to redo it all, wait and see.” The other woman swore as she waved goodbye.

Biting her lips slightly, Danielle’s eyes flitted side to side for a moment, in truth, it was far too early to ever consider such things and she knew whatever about Tom, she was nowhere near ready, but the image Nacelle put in her mind made her smile uncontrollably. Putting her phone away again, she went to the office to see what was needed for her day’s work.

#tom hiddleston #I Hate You I Love You #tom hiddleston fic #chapter 43

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ofconfession · 6 years

Text

I just want to point something out, since I keep seeing the same misinformation spread on this blog over and over again. Tumblr is NOT a 17+ website; that screenshot which circulated out of context was specifically of the app, as seen on the Apple Store, or the Google Play Store. Their assigned ratings are different from the site itself, and apply only to the app. If you look at Tumblr’s own terms and conditions(via the ‘terms’ link right at the bottom of your dash), it says the following;

Eligibility:

You may not use the Services, provide any personal information to Tumblr, or otherwise submit personal information through the Services (including, for example, a name, address, telephone number, or email address) if you are under the Minimum Age. The Minimum Age is (i) thirteen (13), or (ii) for users in the European Union, sixteen (16) (or the lower age that your country has provided for you to consent to the processing of your personal data) . You may only use the Services if you can form a binding contract with Tumblr and are not legally prohibited from using the Services. The minimum age is 13, (16 in Europe) not 17. I will admit that it is somewhat unusual for the app to have this age rating when compared to other social media apps(Facebook, Instagram, and Deviantart all have Teen as their rating), but Twitter and Reddit are similarly marked as 17+ on their apps despite also allowing teens. I suspect it has to do with a general lack of filtering and not actually enforcing any rules about flagging adult content, but that’s just an educated guess. Although all of these sites have options available for flagging adult content, Tumblr doesn’t actually force anybody to use them, and theirs are barely functional to begin with. Frankly, it definitely should fix those and then make their use mandatory on any adult content(which is the case on all the Teen-rated social media apps, as far as I know), but that’s a whole other discussion.

I could launch into a much longer conversation on this topic, but I think that suffices for now. If people are going to argue that this is 'an adult website,’ at least base it on actual evidence or quotes from tumblr staff. Spreading misinformation because it 'proves your point’ makes you no better than the ignorant people you’re fighting with.

(And before anybody comes rolling in to assume I’m a teen crying about yada yada adults are mean, I’m 22, folks. I’m just tired of nobody actually using their heads, and just taking so-and-so’s word for it because it sounded good. So yes, feel free to double-check what I’m saying, too. Do some reading. Don’t be a damn sheep. If all you’re doing is playing follow the leader, you aren’t any better than the other guys. That is all.)

Sister Jolyne here, I actually wanted to point out this same thing before I joined the Church. You’re entirely right, anon. The age 13 is put into place for identity purposes, ie, to keep minors from having their locations and personal information leaked and putting them in danger. People like to toss around the screenshot of the app which is admittedly confusing.

However, if you’re a minor on this site, you should be smart enough, savvy enough, and mature enough to know how to filter content. When you sign up for this site, you are accepting that there will be content that you do not agree with or that makes you uncomfortable. It is your responsibility, then, not the responsibility of content creators beyond appropriately tagging their content, to black list, block, and otherwise protect yourself.

My age is going to show here for a moment. When I was growing up, it was common knowledge to not trust anyone you meet on the internet. Now we have an entire generation of users ready to take anything at face value without critical thinking and it’s terrifying. Minors, take note: the internet was never meant to be a safe space. It has and will continue to be a platform that showcases both the best and the worst of humanity. It is a platform built upon free speech and expression and it is your job to be responsible in the media you consume. It is not your job to attack people, police their content, send death threats, and otherwise harass users unless they are doing truly problematic things such as posting pictures of REAL children in NSFW content or engaging in harmful behavior. The real world will not hold your hand, it’s best if you learn that now.

#submission #rp community #indie community #discourse wank #fandom confession

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swuid · 6 years

Text

92 TRUTHS TAG

RULES: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 92 truths about you. at the end choose 25 people to be tagged.

tagged by @kozumek TY !!!!!!! 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕

LAST:

drink: agua

phone call: to my dad (asking him abt smth probably)

text message: to my mom (aggressive “Okay.”)

song you listened to: POP TEAM EPIC - Sumire Uesaka

time you cried: dont remember

HAVE YOU EVER:

dated someone twice: nope! (never even dated )): )

been cheated on: no

kissed someone and regretted it: kind of? I kissed some1 on the cheek once (1ce)

lost someone special: if pets count then ya

been depressed: ye

been drunk and thrown up: ya (i was like 3/4)

IN THE PAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

made a new friend: kind of?

fallen out of love: no

laughed until you cried: yah in game programming my friend took my wig & started dancing he was Silly

met someone who changed you: dont think so

found out who your true friends are: not really

found out someone was talking about you: i hope i never do…

GENERAL:

how many people on tumblr do you know in real life?: 5 (i blocked 2 of them LEL)

do you have any pets?: not anymore

do you want to change your name?: ya

what time did you wake up this morning: 5:23 AM

what were you doing last night: finishing up some daily challenges for some games & reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for the AP Bio quiz

name something you cannot wait for: to be appreciated & feel loved

have you ever talked to a person named tom?: i think so? cant remember

what’s getting on your nerves right now: mother dearest :)

blood type: AB i think??

nickname: sometimes people call me rnia (it’s because I made a joke abt how it looks like my normal name but lowercase) online i go by like 63+ names but rn I go by Kiru, Sheep, or Liar.

relationship status: single

zodiac sign: aries sun, scorpio moon, virgo ascending

pronouns: any except for “it”

favorite show: gonter x gonter.......

college: :)))))))))))))))))))))))))))

hair color: brrown

do you have a crush on someone: i dont think so

what do you like about yourself: i think that im a good listener

FIRSTS:

first surgery: havent had any

first piercing: ears

first sport you joined: none

first vacation: maybe italy? im not sure my parents took me to a bunch of places when I was born

first pair of sneakers: uuhhhhhhuhuhuh I remember having a pair of orange, black, & white adidas but I kno that I had smth before that

RIGHT NOW:

eating: icebreaker mints

drinking: water

i’m about to: put on pajamas & brush my teeth

listening to: Law & Order: SVU

want kids: nonononononono

get married: not sure... If i ever have a partner that I truly love & they want to get married then I guess yeah

career: i’m still in school

WHICH IS BETTER:

lips or eyes: I don’t like looking at people in the eyes so lips ig??

hugs or kisses: hugs i think

shorter or taller: taller…..

older or younger: a little older

romantic or spontaneous: both

sensitive or loud: either

hookup or relationship: relationship i wanna be loved

troublemaker or hesitant: both or either... but I do like troublemakers slightly more

HAVE YOU EVER:

kissed a stranger: no

drank hard liquor: not sure if the alcohol i drank when I was a toddler was hard or not so ://

lost contacts/glasses: don’t wear them

sex on first date: no

broken someone’s heart: not sure?

been arrested: nope

turned someone down: no

fallen for a friend: no

DO YOU BELIEVE:

in yourself: wish i could

miracles: yea

love at first sight: not sure

TAGGING: @wiiiu @okyu @inigowain @gkl @mochis @achaka @angelictype @aiichiros @irumatsun @thiscrush @peachtoadstool @citruslesbian @firejutsu @3squids @clovercacti @saikos @aphtupac @granddduke @davniv @embarrassedloser @gumicat @thedeadlygrips @hxhu @36r @rinet

feel free to do this if u want to!!!

#long post #tag game #is it okay to tag y'all #sorry if not vfdegtsfdf #THANK YOU KENMA !!!!

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thecoroutfitters · 7 years

Link

Written by R. Ann Parris on The Prepper Journal.

5/5 (4)

Whether they’re solely companion animals or serve some level of function, many of us have animals. In some cases, they are members of our families as well as partners. Having accepted responsibility for them – simple companion, paddock pony, pet horses, livestock guardian donkeys and llamas, barn cats, or working dogs of various types – we are responsible for their welfare in a disaster. I’ll start with some of the tough situations first, and then list some tips for evacuating with animals or temporarily surrendering them to a shelter for a natural disaster.

When it comes to disaster planning for pets and livestock, we tend to have a lot of choices in North America, especially the United States. More and more human shelters are accepting crated and kenneled animals. Animal shelters and rescues also accept cats, dogs and other small companion animals in advance of hurricanes or when flood evacuation orders are issued. ASPCA barnyards will commonly work with owners as well, given enough of a head’s up. We have enough advanced warning of storms — and even wildfires to some degree – to heighten awareness and choose to evacuate them if it looks at all sketchy.

There are a few steps we can take to make evacuations a little easier.

One thing we should not do, ever, is leave them to fend for themselves, whether we think we’ll be back in a couple of days, or we’re thinking of setting them “free” or dumping them on somebody’s property.

Short-Term Emergency

If we evacuate, we need to evacuate our animals.

Following ever major hurricane and regularly after fires out West, people flood shelters and help lines because they’ve left pets and companion animals behind, and now roads are closed or completely washed out, bridges are missing, and roads are blocked by downed trees.

Private and public-funded rescuer organizations go out in force to try to save as many as they can, but animals perish. In some cases, they wind up far from home, never identified, and never adopted.

Some time on the phone ahead of a disaster, attention to weather news, and pre-packing for animals can mitigate some of the complications and make it possible for us to get our animals out of harm’s way before highways and roads become clogged or impassable.

If we act early, we can also work through local shelters and rescues to leave our animals with them while we evac or take refuge in a storm shelter.

Long-Term Disaster

In a long-term disaster, stray animals are almost guaranteed to increase in number. In some cases, it will be because they got lost and without infrastructure, were never returned. Unaltered animals will increase, and then further multiply, adding to the loose animal populations.

And then there will be the people who dump their animals.

Nine times out of ten, a pet is ill-equipped to survive on its own. A cat that seems to be an excellent hunter and one that is already outdoors may seem like a good candidate to take off somewhere and leave to fend for itself.

Don’t.

There are a lot of ways to die in this world, especially for animals, many of them slow and painful. They’ll be in competition with other animals. Coyotes and cougars already kill and consume even sizable canines every year – deeper and deeper into residential areas. Livestock owners are going to be totally justified in shooting animals that could menace their own either through predation or the spread of disease.

It’s already heartbreakingly common for people to dump dogs and cats across a gate in rural properties, especially if they see there are already dogs or cats.

Resist that temptation, too.

One, a lot of us in rural areas have dogs that double as flock and herd protection. Those dogs will attack and kill strange animals, especially if the newcomer chases or bristles up at them.

Two, it puts the “strange” cat, dog, bird, or goat at risk of fighting with existing dominant animals, or a whole pack of them, and it puts our animals at risk, makes us pay for meds and vet bills after a fight, even if there’s no death.

Three, some of us have donkeys that will stomp a canine and even the odd cat to death. Our dogs know to avoid them, or we have a hot line or fence you may not see to keep them separate.

Four, chances are good we are already at our carrying capacity for animals, well ahead of a crisis, and have not planned to feed an additional dog or cat or five. That means we’re left with the sad duty somebody else is dodging, and have to take it in to a shelter (now) or, in the future, may have to choose between chasing it away and hoping it doesn’t starve to death or run afoul of a local stray pack, and killing it so that at least it doesn’t suffer any more.

Those are sucky choices. They’re really sucky to lay at somebody else’s feet.

We need to plan to do the responsible thing and take care of our animals ourselves. In some scenarios, with no shelters/rescues/vets available, the kindest thing we can do will be to cull our herds and-or euthanize our companion animals.

Personally, I think everybody who considers getting livestock or a companion animal should have to volunteer at a shelter. They might weigh out the financial and emotional costs associated with animals – and the trials of disaster planning and recovery for them – a little more closely. There should be a lifelong commitment to that animal, and to treating even livestock respectfully.

End of Life

No matter how well we plan, our companion animals will end up with low quality of life from age, disease, or severe injury.

With any luck, we’ve considered that and are prepared to end their suffering.

In most situations we’ll face, there will still be options. Some pre-planning and supplies can prevent the need to choose between keeping a healthy animal and leaving it at a shelter permanently or long-term, or having to euthanize at home due to widespread, long-term crises that leave them slowly starving.

Evacuating with Animals

It’s not the easiest thing with multiple animals, especially larger livestock, but just as we have BOB’s and evac kits, multiple methods of evacuation, and plans for our families, we need to have the same for the critters in our lives.

When the authorities say it’s time to go, go.

Yes, sometimes to regularly it’s no big deal. There’s a lot of moving parts with animals, though, especially larger livestock. Hotels and campgrounds that accept dogs and cats are more common now, but in an evacuation, they’ll be getting picked over. Especially with livestock, whether it’s fire or flood risk, don’t delay.

Waiting too long puts animals and rescuers at risk after the fact. It’s easier and safer for everyone just to get them out early.

Trailers & Crates

If we have livestock that won’t fit in the backseat or pickup bed, we need a trailer. It’s almost that simple to me.

We need something we can rig with a ramp and cattle fencing even, and we need to train livestock to ascend and descend. Horses, goats, and cattle are lost in every wildfire, from Fort Mac to California and Arizona, because they won’t load when seconds and minutes count.

People in Fort Mac were supposed to have been safe, so some of the ones who ran out of fuel and rode their horses out or lost the seniors and slow ones to lung damage later have an excuse, but by and large, we can pay enough attention to cut and run. If we have to call around finding trailers and vans first, we’re already behind the curve.

If we have cats and dogs, we need to socialize them and we need to train them to go on trips or to load in crates, too.

If we have multiple small companions, sheep or goats, it may be absolutely necessary that we have enough crates and kennels on hand to move them at once – and thus, a vehicle or trailer capable of holding those crates and kennels, even if we have to stack them.

Animals that are friendly when loose may become aggressive with each other when stressed and over-tired. One trick is to keep cardboard, plywood or blankets on hand that we can arrange around, over and between crates if we need them. The visual barriers can help keep the peace.

Data Prep

Attach information about the animal to that animal, as well as to their crate or trailer. For dogs and cats, and even goats, that might be a collar or harness with a standard tag on it.

On their leads, crates, or trailers attach a larger card or sheet that’s cased in plastic with primary and secondary contact information, and a second point of contact.

Note any behavioral issues or medical needs. It can help keep others and the animals safe.

If the animal is being surrendered to a shelter temporarily, include the same and make sure there are updated photos for claiming them after the disaster.

There is livestock marking ink that can be used to write a name or number (or both) on even medium or large dogs as well as hoofstock. In an evacuation scenario, it’s not a terrible idea to use them.

For smaller animals, it’s easiest to have a pre-cut stencil that says “Baby Parris – ###-###-####” and color the fur through it with the sticks or spray.

Go Kits for Critters

Just like humans, animals should have a go bag or go kit.

When I had larger animals, hefty rolling trash cans that I could lash to the very front or the very back of the trailer(s) or run off the porch onto my tailgate and pickup bed were handy. I could carry several days of grain feed, a set of tack, electric fencing and battery/batteries, long-lines and short leads, shipping blankets and booties, and the Old Man’s old-horse mash mix and supplements in a couple of trash cans.

I also had a rolling trash can with a portion cut out near the bottom and a board blocking the hole that I could fill with hay and bring with us, then just haul down about a square bale and a quarter if I needed to. Both the ponies and the goats could feed from it.

They were easy to grab and pre-load if things started looking iffy, so that I could just load the animals when we made the call to cut and run.

For smaller companion animals or just a couple of goats, life can get even easier.

Several days of water and-or food and-or dishes can just wait around in rolling coolers. Coolers lose some space efficiency, but they’re nice and sturdy (and usually make handy seats and umbrella props). They can also be made water-resistant pretty easily with a roll of duct tape. Rolling luggage and storage totes offers a lot of the same advantages.

With kits pre-packed and ready to go, all we do is rotate the contents.

As with humans, they’ll need shelter and water, which can be wow-painful for large stock. Research the area and contact the ASPCA or Humane Society, Sheriff’s department, or animal rescues within your county and area to find out if they have ideas or resources you can tap. Do it well in advance of an emergency.

There are some parks that do still allow livestock. Another option is to work through the county extension, farm bureau, and county co-ops to find somebody at 20-50-150-300 mile intervals who would be willing to let you camp on their properties and pump or haul water.

Preparing for Furry Friends – Leaving Home

It can be difficult to deal with everything in the moment of a crisis. There are fifty-five things to remember to do and load. Make a checklist to make it easier, and have a way to stick it right by the door.

When we make our lists and plans, hopefully we’re preparing for our animals. With any luck, we’re taking them into consideration for the everyday and seasonal/annual occurrences that strike our modern world regularly. Planning for long-term care of pets and livestock can be difficult, especially if we’re not yet where we want to be for our human families.

It needs to be done, though. Like our children, our animals are helpless in a world we create for them. They count on us to be the responsible party.

Sometimes that can mean we have hard choices and tough actions that we need to be ready to take. Just like in our modern world, at some point a working animal or companion is going to be gray and pained, overcome by tumors, or crippled with disease or injury. Right now and in a lot of situations, shelters are available if we have no recourse left. If we’re planning on some WROL, nation-altering event, we need to plan to deal with those scenarios ourselves.

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fearofaherobrine · 7 years

Text

Roleplay Server Log #139

“Aqua the Water dragon, Cuddle pile”

[gem] -over chat to doc- doc I think my egg is hatching.

[Doc] Shit... Endrea? Can you take care of it? Gem is calling for me.

[Endrea] - I can try...- She's never had to do this before

[Doc] Just make sure they have food and water okay? I'll come right back when I'm done with Gem.

[Endrea] Nods-

[gem] -is in the pond at her home she is keeping the egg near it because the egg was found in water-

-The egg is quivering and squeaking loudly-

[Doc] Is zipping along with the spider pokemon clinging in hir mane-

[Doc] Gem! Where are you?

[gem] i'm in my pond at my house

[Doc] Lands nearby- Lets me see! Oh it's the water one! How exciting!

[gem] -is letting the egg touch the water- I wonder how a dragon egg from in water would be like.

-The egg sends ripples across the water as it shakes-

[Doc] Is tapping hir paws with excitment-

[gem] -is trying to splash water over the egg to help it-

-A crack spider webs across the egg, small pieces begin falling away-

[gem] -watches the egg fall apart in her arms-

[Galvantula] is on Doc's forehead- leaning way over to see the rocking egg

-A small dark blue dragon pops out with a distressed squeak, it has small fins on it's head, a small sail going down part of it's back, two front flippers and to fins towards the end of it's long tail to help guide it through the water-

[Doc] It's beautiful! Like nothing I've ever seen before!

[Galvantula]- ZZZrp!

[gem] -lets the egg into the pond- it's a very pretty dragon

-The dragon easily slips into the water, it's gills pumping hard so it can breath properly-

[Doc] Yeah, I think this one wil have to stay here with us. There isn't enough water on the other seed. Hopefully they don't butt heads with Lapras or bug the shit out of Herabrine.

-It's curiously watching them from under the water-

[gem] -is still standing in the pond- they seem small enough to stay here in the pond for now.

-It slowly raises it's head out of the water with a squeak-

[Doc] Somehow I think that won't last...

[gem] -rubs the dragon's head- yea but by the time the out grow it they will be safer to be let into the ocean not just a new born.

-Spins around in the pond-

[gem] awe you're so cute

[Doc] Of course! Just saying though, they grow up fast.

-It sniffs Gem's feet under the water-

[gem] -sinks into the pond so she is fully under water-

[Doc] Speaks loudly- Well, they need a name so I can hook them to respawn. Shall we pick something gender-neutral since we're not sure what they are yet?

[gem] -still under water- lets name them Aqua.

[Doc] Is already making an anvil tag and clicks it on the sinious shape. - There you go.

[Aqua] Darts away as soon as it's named-

[Doc] Should I throw in some fish?

[gem] -opens her arms to hug Aqua- if you would like.

[Doc] Spawns a couple of plain fish that are much smaller then the baby dragon to be either food or compnay.

[Aqua] Is searching for food and snaps at the fish, gumming on them-

[gem] I think they are too solid for them.

[Doc] We need aquarium flakes... - Xe takes out a fish and makes it fall apart into pixels before scattering a few of them on the surface of the water.

[Aqua] Creates a ring of bubbles around the flakes before darting towards the surface to grab them-

[Doc] Nice trick

[Aqua] Goes to explore their pond more-

[Doc] Makes more flakes and gives them to Gem like a stack of seeds.-

[aven] -come out of the house- what's going ... -see Galvantula then starts screaming- AH!

[gem] -pops out of the water to grab them and see what aven is screaming about-

[Doc] It's okay! My pokemon evolved!

[aven] -is still screaming as she is backing up completely scared of Galvantula-

[Doc] Rears up on hir hinds to keep the spider on hir head way out of reach- Aven! It won't hurt you!

[gem] I don't think she will stop she has a phobia of spiders.

[Aqua] Splashes a little-

[gem] -splashes back-

[aven] -is cowering next to the steps-

[BEN] Comes out and pulls Aven into a hug- Hey, calm down, I'm right here

[aven] -hugs ben tightly- spider.

[BEN] - Shhh it's okay, I'll go kill it, don't I always?

[aven] yes

[BEN] Kisses the top of Aven's head before standing and drawing his sword- Okay, now where did this spider go?

[Doc] Is looking embarassed, the Galvantula just looks at hir upside down and shrugs-

[BEN] - Looks around and finally spots it- Oh...

[Doc] Waves- Hi BEN! Wanna see the new baby dragon? It's super cute.

[BEN] - Oh not another one!

[gem] it's a water dragon -still standing in the water-

[Doc] Chuckles- well we are intending to put them in the pocket game I made, but this one's a bit different. It's going to need to stay here.

[Aqua] Tries to squirt BEN-

[BEN] Shrieks and darts back to Aven-

[Doc] Looks at the baby- That wasn't nice! Shame on you!

[Aqua] Trills-

[gem] Aqua no.

[Aqua] Trills again-

[Doc] Shakes hir head. - On a server full of pastas and griefers, you'll fit right in.

[BEN] - No water, bad water

[gem] no squirting aven or ben aqua. -is talking in a scolding manner-

[Doc] Maybe you should put some glass block walls around the pond just in case.

[Aqua] Does a little jump out of the water-

[Doc] Well at least we know Aqua is healthy.

[gem] I will add enough to help block them from squirting anyone.

[Aqua] Gums on another fish-

[Doc] Tosses out some more flakes-

[Aqua] Noms on them-

[Doc] Cute little bugger. Well... if you've got this in hand, I'm going to scamper. No need to further upset Aven and BEN, it was only haste that caused me to bring Jolti-I mean Galvantula over with me in the first place.

[Aqua] Squirts Gem-

[gem] -doesn't mind the water- I will take care of aqua ben and aven from here.

[Doc] Thank you Gem. - Does a little graceful turn and heads back towards Lie's house.

[Endrea] Between watching her children and tending the animals, the children have taken more time-

[Doc] Comes back into the yard- Are you doing okay Endrea?

[Endrea] - Not so much... I've only got about half of the horses fed

[Doc] Here, I'll help you. - Grabs a hay bale in hir claws and rips it up to distribute the flakes.

-The horses happily begin eating-

[Doc] Is there anything else to do?

[Endrea] - Just the dogs and pigs

[willow] -is once again trying to get into the dog pen-

[oak] -is helping-

[Doc] Bustles about doing as Endrea indicated, the Galvantula helps too, even though the dogs seem a bit afraid of it.

[Endrea] - Willow no! You'll gt hurt!

[willow] -manages to get over the fence and starts to waddle over to the dogs-

[Galvantula] Grabs the baby dragons in it's many limbs and hops back to Endrea with them

[Endrea] - Thank you- She takes her misbehaving child and then remembers that Lie built a pen out front- I'll be right back- She goes and puts both babies in the pen out front of the house

[Doc] Ha. Time for a time-out for naughty little dragons.

[willow] -makes wining squeaks-

[Doc] Thanks for not running your mom ragged like that Ashe

[Endrea] - No Willow, liquid will hurt you and dogs slober a lot

[Ashe] - What does that mean?

[Doc] Making her chase after you until she's really tired.

[willow] -wines more-

[Ashe] - Oh... Can I go see Uncle GG now?

[Doc] Let me write him a note and see what he's doing- starts typing in the chat-

[Doc] - reads the chat- He says he'll come over here.

[Ashe] - Yay!

-There's a bit of a bellow from high up and a gush of wind pushes them all back a little as GK lands with a thump and a huge flap of wings. -

[GK] I heard someone wanted to play?

[Ashe] - UNCLE GG!

[GK] You're talking already? Ashe. I'm impressed.

[Ashe] - I can read too! But we only have two books and mama says we have to stay outside today...

[GK] Really? Dam- I mean shoot! You want to go get more books?

[Ashe] - Yes please!

[Gk] Is it okay for me to take him for a bit Endrea?

[Endrea] - Go ahead, I have to keep an eye on these two anyways

[Gk] Grins- You want to ride me or walk kiddo?

[Ashe] - Ride! Ride!

[Gk] Hunkers down so he can climb up and then puts his head near Endrea to whisper- Don't worry, I'll keep him away from the adult books-

[Endrea] - Thank you

[Lie] Is getting a bit hungry but doesn't want to leave CP by himself-

[Notch] Is reading a book while Stevie naps.

[Stevie] Starts waking up- Father? I'm hungry...

[Notc] Oh, Okay! I'll make us some lunch.

[Stevie] Opens his eyes and makes a distressed noise-

[Notch] What's the matter? Are you sick?

[Stevie] - No no no no no! That's wrong! It's weird!

[Notch] What's weird?

[Stevie] - The hair!

[Notch] Oh! It was a gift from Doc. Don't you like it? I think it looks nice.

[Stevie] - NO! IT'S WEIRD!

[Notch] Oh... don't be like that Stevie. My head was cold, and I don't actually like being bald.

[Stevie] - But it's weird!

[Notch] Slumps a little - I still think it looks nice....

[Stevie] Whines-

[Notch] Then this is an important lesson Stevie. Your appearance should always be what makes you happy. You can't live your life trying to mold yourself to other peoples expectations. It only makes you sad, and it's dishonest.

[Stevie] - But it doesn't look right...

[Notch] You thought your brothers eyes didn't look right either, and you got used to that, didn't you?

[Stevie] Thumps feet on floor as he sits on the bed- Yes...

[Notch] Well there you go. Come on, lets get you some food.

[Stevie] - Okay...

[Doc] Slithers up onto the walkway and changes in the hall before tapping on Lie's door. The Galvantula decides to wait in a nook at the apex of the ceiling.

[Lie] - Come in

[Doc] Comes in quietly. - Are you feeling any better?

[CP] Is still tightly curled up-

[Lie] - There hasn't been much progress, and I'm getting hungry but I don't want to leave him

[Doc] I'll get you some food. Be back in a jiffy - heads back down the hall

[Lie] - Thank you!

[Notch] Is bustling around near the furnace while Stevie eats a sandwich. - Oh hi Doc. Busy day?

[Doc] You have no idea...

[Stevie] - Hi Doc!

[Doc] You're looking chipper Stevie. Having a good day?

[Stevie] - Mmhm! I went and, and, I sheared some sheeps, and I played with Hope too!

[Doc] Aww, did Rose get sheared too?

[Stevie] Shakes head- I tried, but I couldn't catch her

[Doc] She's too small and fast huh? She's a cutie. You guys mind if I use the other furnace? I'm having an idea...

[Notch] Sure, go ahead.

[Doc] Thank you. - Xe pulls out some iron and forms it into a heavy pot and starts rooting around for herbs in the trunks, making a stock with the fish pixels and adding garlic and onion as well, ground into bits between hir gloves.

[Notch] That smells interesting...

[Doc] Maybe good enough to tempt two hungry little cats.

[Stevie] - More kitties?

[Doc] Just your brother and Lie. They're snuggled in their cat shapes.

[Stevie] - Why?

[Doc] Cp had a bad day. She's comforting him.

[Stevie] - Okay

[Doc] You guys want some too? It's a big pot.

[Notch] Sure- holds out two bowls. - You can at least try it Stevie.

[Stevie] - Yes father

[Doc] Gives them each some and divies out the rest into bowls to put the excess away before turning to take some back up to the bedroom.

[Notch] Passes a bowl to Stevie and takes a long drink of his own. - fishy. But good.

[Doc] calls back over hir shoulder- You're welcome-

[Stevie] Takes a sip- Blech!

[Doc] from the next room- I heard that.

[Stevie] Covers his mouth with a hand-

[Notch] Giggles-

[Lie] Is licking CP's head-

[Doc] Comes back in. - I made you guys something special. - Xe sets down a wood block so it's touching the bed near them and sets two bowls of the warm fish soup on top of it.

[CP] Finally lifts his head, his eyes are dim and almost hollow looking-

[Doc] Strokes his head gently. - Come on. I know it hurts, but you can't waste away. Have a little food.

[CP] Lays his head back down-

[Lie] - CP please...

[Doc] Please... we just want to help you.

[CP] Small noises-

[Doc] Lie... you eat. I know you must be starving. I'll keep him warm.

[Lie] Carefully pulls herself away from him so she can eat-

[CP] Has a near panicked expression as his mate starts leaving-

[Doc] Gathers Cp in hir arms and sits cross-legged in front of the bowls. Cp is close enough to touch Lie's tail with his own while she eats. Doc pets him very carefully.

[CP] Just slumps, he has no motivation at all-

[Doc] Scoots a little closer so the other bowl is near enough that he can smell it. - I know you feel cold and sad right now. But making yourself sick and hungry won't help you feel any better.

[CP] Turns away from the food-

[Doc] Is just holding him - I'm sorry Cp. But at least he got to see you one last time, and you know now for sure that he was not the one who tried to kill you.

[CP] His ears flatten a little in guilt-

[Doc] You didn't know. And no one is blaming you.

[CP] He starts crying again-

[Doc] Hugs him close- Just try and focus on everyone who's still here for you. You have a family and people who care about you. You're not alone.

[Lie] Stops eating to lick at CP's face again-

[Doc] Gives him a small kiss on top of the head. - We love you. Don't force yourself to suffer silently, we're here to listen if you want to talk about it.

[CP] Finally makes an effort to move and pulls himself off of Doc's lap and flops onto the bed again-

[Doc] Is that how I motivate you? Just annoy you with love?

[Lie] - A feat only you and TLOT seem capable of achieving

[Doc] Funny, I feel like I'm not doing it intentionally. Maybe because we've both been intimate with him but aren't his actual mate?

[Lie] - Who knows- She's only had about half of her bowl but she returns to CP's side to curl up with him

[Doc] Well if that's all he needs, I can do it easily. Being mad at me certainly seems to get him moving any other time. - Xe does as good of a catloaf as xe can manage in a human body and gets right in the little red cats face. - I love you Cp.

[CP] Tiny grumble-

[Doc] Peppers his head and ears with sweet little kisses- Especially when you're like this, because I can just love on you and theres not squat you can do about it because you're cute and tiny and soft.

[CP] Makes a meek little swat at Doc-

[Doc] Mock scared face- Oh noes! Cp is gonna kick my butt! But wait, he can't cause he's too busy being fluffy and adorable.

[CP] Huffs and slumps, not caring anymore-

[Doc] Goes for the chin scratch.

[CP] Doesn't care-

[Doc] Don't you have a happiness flower Lie? Something to raise his spirits a bit?

[Lie] Hesitates- I have one that I made while very happy... But I don't think it makes others become happier. And I don't think I can get into the right mind set to make one right now...

[Doc] Oh.... well it's probably not a good idea to force someone to not feel something anyway. Dammit... I wish I could talk to him directly.

[Lie] - Could TLOT temporarily connect you mentally? He does have more experience than me...

[Doc] Only if he wanted to make an exchange with me, like he did with you. Somehow I don't think that's appropriate.

[Lie] - Then I have no idea

[Doc] He can't stay a cat forever anyway. Unless that's all he ever wants to be again.

[Lie] - I think we just need to give him time...

[Doc] Well then I'm going to feed him at least. -Xe makes a quick statick hole over Cps belly and pours the soup in before closing it up again.

[CP] - Doesn't even acknowledge that it happens-

[Doc] Sends a message over the chat - Deerheart? Can you teleport to me? I'm inside so please don't change first or you'll bang your head.

[Deer] - Oh, sure- Within a moment she's there, wearing only Doc's spare coat

[Doc] Oh, Deerheart... you look way too good in just my coat. But what's needed is a gentle touch. Cp's had a death in the family, he's very upset. I know you can understand the hostile mobs at least, can you try and get through to him?

[Deer] - Me? Wha... What would I be finding out?

[Doc] Just talk to him. I can't listen to him in this shape and there's a good chance he doesn't want to talk to me anyway. He's just.... very sad. He found his real father just in time to see the poor man glitch out of existence moments later.

[Deer] - Oh CP...- She crawls onto the bed and lays curled near the red cat, she reaches out and gently pets him- CP? Please talk to us...

[CP] - Nothing to say...

[Deer] - There has to be something to say...

[Doc] I know your head is full, that's why you've gone so quiet. Let it out. You'll feel better.

[CP] - I'll be fine...

[Deer] Can't help but smirk a little- Well at least your catch phrase is still going strong

[Doc] I'm glad you kept what he gave you, you have something to remember the good times by.

[CP] - But Stevie has nothing...

[Deer] - Now that can't be true. Stevie probably has something from him too...

[Doc] Stevie has Markus. And Markus will gladly take your father's place. Even if it's only until Stevie isn't a child anymore. Stevie also has you. You're his hero Cp.

[CP] Scoffs- Some hero I've been...

[Doc] You've been protecting him since the potion hit him. His face lights up when you come in the room. He loves you, worships you. As far as he's concerned you can do no wrong.

[CP] Curls up tighter- Just leave me the fuck alone...

[Deer] - CP...

[Doc] The Ais told me something interesting Cp. A name, someone your father was protecting. Does the name Flux mean anything to you?

[CP] Ears flick back- I think I vaguely recall him saying that name once when he thought we were asleep...

[Doc] I think she might be your mother. And theres a chance that she, as we suspect Deerheart may be, was or is; a creation of your home server in response to your fathers loneliness before you were made.

[CP] This catches CP's attention-

[Deer] - Someone.... Like me?

[Doc] Perhaps, and the sooner you're up and around the sooner we can go back to your home server to search for code traces.

[CP] Tail flicks a little-

[Doc] I don't know about you guys, but I'm excited by the prospect either way

[CP] - We'll see...

[Doc] Tiny quirk of a smile - At least I have your attention. Curious cat.

[CP] - Shut it

[Doc] Ah a little flicker of flame from the ashes, that's encouraging.

[Deer] Flops on their bed- Well I don't know about you Doc, but I'm rather comfy here

[Doc] Yeah I was kind of contemplating a nap. These two would probably enjoy the warmpth. Shame the room isn't bigger.

[Lie] - Hey, I like small spaces

[Doc] Thats' because your second form is adorable and small my crafty little floof.

[Lie] Sticks her little tongue out-

[Doc] Ack! Deerheart she attacking me with cute! I'm slain! - Flops with hir tongue out

[CP] Sighs and curls into Lie again-

[Deer] Laughs- Oh dear, what ever shall I do?

[Doc] Be even cuter! Avenge me!

[Deer] - I can't and you know it

[Doc] Awww, curses! Actually.... You guys stay here, I'll be right back. -gets up and leaves the room

[Deer] - Hm?

[Doc] There's some shuffling and the sound of someone going outside and coming back in. Doc returns with a lot of small noises and a full armload of squirming creatures and the Galvantula on hir heels. The very confused Vulpix is dumped on the bed along with Rose, Hope, the baby wither and Cp's chain chomp.

[Hope] Immediately scampers over to Lie to snuggle with her-

[Rosebud] Bleets and stands shakily on the bed-

[Doc] Gently herds everyone into comfy positions on the bed.

[Notch] pokes his head in - Uh Doc? Why did you bring a sheep into the house? - Notices Deerheart nearly naked- NEVERMIND. I'll leave you to it!

[Chomp] Bounces happily around the bed-

[Doc] Guides Deerheart down so they're both snuggling the cats between them. - There you go Cp. You're surrounded by love.

[CP] - This is not very comfortable...

[Doc] Is it because I'm next to you?

[CP] - Partially

[Doc] Nothings perfect, go to sleep Cp. Lie is right there so you don't have an excuse this time.

[CP] Grumbles but presses closer to Lie-

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