#rather than two hearts and three alters

[letoasai]

dp x dc Chronos

An idea that’s probably been touched on before but well.. once more! 

~

It had begun with a meltdown. Being a fifteen year old was tough. High school was the time in your life where you were picking up life skills without even knowing it. Social skills, study habits, responsibilities stacked on responsibilities. It all seemed rather unfair when their brains weren’t done developing yet or… whatever Jazz had been telling him one afternoon. 

The point was, being a teenager wasn’t all making memories and messing around. It was hard. Add on dying to that work load and things got complicated. Add on a ghost portal that allowed ghosts to come and go as they pleased when you were the only one that could safely stop them and things got stressful. 

Parents that were trying to kill you…went without saying. 

Become a king of a realm by fifteen, and see how you handle the sudden workload. Danny had been holding up fine, until he wasn’t. Until a particularly loud boom in his parents lab from whatever their latest torture invention was cause a tremor of fear to shoot up his spine. In an instant, panic was sparked. He wanted to leave, he thought about it often, but how could he just leave Amity Park behind? Would it be better outside of his parents house? Could he live alone?

The fear latched onto his core, and not being able to relax in his own haunt was apparently counterproductive to a healthy, happy halfa. 

Before dying, Danny hadn’t been familiar with panic attacks, now, they weren’t entirely uncommon. One moment he would be overthinking in his bedroom, the next he’d be on his bed or the floor curled up in a ball. Tears flowing and throat clogged, he would sob under the weight of his responsibilities in silence. He doubted his parents would notice, but he hated to worry his sister. Being quiet was a must.

It was one of these episodes that had led to Clockwork appearing in his room, lifting Danny up into his arms like a child without even a weak protest. A post-it was left for Jazz so she wouldn’t worry and the king was returned to the Infinite Realm for a night. 

That was the start of Danny spending time in Clockwork’s citadel any time he was feeling overwhelmed. Being outside of time, he was given the time to relax, sleep, or study. It lessened the burdens of trying to be a normal high school student, hero, and king all at once, or at least gave him a safe place to crash. 

At least once a week, Danny made his way into Clockwork’s lair, long since allowed to enter on a whim unless expressly told otherwise for a day or two. For all Danny was king, he did his best not to interrupt Clockwork’s work and he knew beings from other dimensions popped in from time to time. 

If Clockwork didn’t want him meeting them, he was going to take his opinion to heart and make himself scarce. 

Danny wasn’t sure why he got the privilege to hide behind the ghost of time but he didn’t shun the offer. Any chance to get some sleep was a good one when he had ghosts like Skulker or Johnny waking him up at three in the morning with their bullshit. 

Danny floated over a sofa, backpack forgotten on the floor and books hovering around him. The crown that hovered above his head kept going back and forth between being covered by ice or green flame. It seemed to do what it wanted like a living creature. 

Danny had his own room in the citadel now but he was positive the sofa was put in Clockwork’s viewing room just for him. 

He slept there more often than not. 

“Hey Clockwork.” Danny called. He’d be ignored if Clockwork was deep into peering into the past for future, but would otherwise get an answer. “Can i ask you a question?” 

In the time it took Clockwork to turn to face Danny, his age had altered subtly, five or ten years younger than middle aged. 

Danny had always thought Clockwork had three ages he shifted between. His child form, middle aged adult, and old man. The longer Danny stayed in the citadel though, he learned that wasn’t the case. 

He’d seen Clockwork go from an old man, to a man about twenty. He’d slowly shift younger and younger through his teens until he stopped in his child form. Danny had seen the opposite too. Clockwork as a young preteen growing into an adult in the span of a breath. Dark circles would appear under his eyes and laugh lines etched into his face of a much older man but Danny wouldn’t have called that form elderly. 

It was fascinating. 

“What can i do for you, Majesty?” Clockwork asked, a hint of a smile already curing his lips. He likely already had the conversation they were about to have memorized. 

Danny groaned. “Can’t you just call me Danny? Majesty is so… so…” 

“Accurate?” 

“Bleh…” Danny muttered, slowly floating until he was upside, but his book turned with him so he could continue to look at it. 

Clockwork only laughed at him, that soft noise that said he was amused at Danny’s plight, but Danny was far from offended by it. 

“You’re the master of time, right, but were you the god of time too?” He pointed at his textbook, crown on top of his head doing slow flips. “Chronos?” 

“Ah,” Clockwork chuckled, arms crossing over his chest. His de-aging had abruptly stopped and he instead started growing older again. “Indeed. We are the same.” 

“Really?” Danny perked up and went back to skimming his book while rotating in the air. The edges of his wispy hair were looking like smoke. “So you were an ancient Greek god? That’s cool.” 

“Yes and no.” Clockwork said with a shrug. “Time is a funny thing. I was there, of course but more in the capacity of their stories. I predate the Greeks.” 

“Huh,” Danny hummed, growing quiet again as he read a little more but Clockwork didn’t return to his parade viewing. He instead waited for Danny to continue. “So wait, you were one of the first… titans.” he read. “Cool.” 

“Yes.” Clockwork agreed, “That was a very long time ago now.” 

Danny quirked a brow at a line in the book and glanced back at Clockwork. “‘Destructive and all-devouring’, huh?” 

“I was young.” Clockwork agreed, not bothering to deny it. “We all have that phase.” 

“Uh huh… How did this rule of yours coincide with Pariah Dark?” 

Clockwork grew older still, his beard starting to grow. He also relaxed into a floating/sitting position. “They didn’t really. Much of what you are reading is a mortal human interpretation. If you think stories in your high school become exaggerated, you should hear the true origin stories of the ancients sometime.” 

Danny was snickering. “I’d actually like that but none of them like talking about stuff like that. Did you really eat your kids?”

“Something to that effect. I’m afraid i was not a very good father. I was at a very different place in my life then.” Clockwork said. He didn’t sound particularly proud of it, but he didn’t look broken- hearted either. 

Danny didn’t quite get it. Clockwork had basically been his ghost guardian long before he’d even known that was a thing. He probably would have just assumed Clockwork would make a good dad. Then again, being a ‘present’ dad was probably tough for the god of ‘time’. 

“Hm,” Danny hummed and flipped the page while floating right side up again. He rubbed at his face, the constellation freckles across his cheeks twinkling. “Wait. Wait, wait, wait.” Danny muttered, clearly reading through a paragraph. 

Clockwork’s shoulders were shaking with quiet laughter. It wasn’t usually this easy to coax Danny into doing his homework. 

“You died. Zeus kills you. Did Zeus kill you? Your son?” 

“Yes.” 

There was a moment where Danny’s face warped into something like grief before it disappeared, suspicion forming in it’s place. “Did you know that was gonna happen? Did you let Zeus kill you to maintain a good time line? Did you know you’d just be the ghost master of time?” 

Clockwork just smiled and shrugged. 

“Ancients!” Danny cursed. “Are you serious? You were looking that far ahead already? Even then? That’s insane.” 

“I have not confirmed or denied anything. On the other hand, we all have our talents.” Clockwork mused. “Does this knowledge entertain you?” 

“I mean, it’s cool.” Danny muttered again. Clockwork wasn’t usually so chatty but he was more likely to tell him past things opposed to future things.

He went back to reading and Clockwork went back to his viewing clocks. It was only a few minutes before Danny spoke again. 

“The Elysian Islands. Are those in the Infinity Realm?” Danny asked, “They sound familiar.” 

“Yes.” Clockwork mused. “And before you ask, Zeus didn’t actually have anything to do with them and Pandora would get huffy at the mere mention of it.” 

“Are other gods in the infinite Realm?” 

“Some, but not many of the ones in your book there.” Clockwork said, twirling the staff in his hand. Danny could tell he was doing something along the time stream but Danny had no idea what and he didn’t ask. He was not looking to get sent on another timeline errand. “There are other places where they reside. Some even living. Those in the realm however, are your subjects.” 

“Oh.” Danny muttered, getting the same sour look he got when he was reminded he was king. 

Clockwork lowered his staff, done with his chore. He hovered closer to Danny now, ruffling his hair and dislodging his crown which spun around of its own accord on top of Danny’s head. The sentient accessory very much attached to its new wearer. “If there are any in the Infinite Realm who find you lacking, you need not pay them any mind. Pandora, Fright Knight, or Frostbite would be more than happy to deal with them. You have every right to be here.” 

Danny just grunted. Peer pressure was hard enough at school. It was worse in the Infinite Realm. “I’m not looking for fights.” 

“You do not need to prove yourself. You’ve done that enough. You must merely be you to succeed. You are balance, and balance in life will find you soon enough.” 

“Awe, you haven’t said anything cryptic to me all day. I was starting to get worried.” Danny muttered, a smile tugging. 

“I would never make you go without.” Clockwork said with a fond roll of his eyes. He was so old now that his beard nearly touched the floor. 

“Ancients forbid.” Danny muttered, snagging his book out of the air. “Wait, did you say there were some living? Wait.” His mind whirled to a previous school assignment. “Isn’t Wonder Woman’s dad supposed to be Zeus. Is Wonder Woman your granddaughter?” 

Clockwork just smiled and ruffled his hair again. “Don’t you have homework to finish?” 

“Oh Ancients! She is. Classic deflecting. Holy crap.” 

He let himself drop onto the sofa, over dramatic with his realization. “You have ties to the Justice League!” 

Clockwork did sigh that time. “A charming notion, i suppose.” 

“You’ve as good as admitted it!” Danny grinned, pleased to have learned something new. Had it been anyone else, he might have thought he learned something Clockwork didn’t want him to know. Clockwork knew everything though and only let slip what he wanted to. 

“You are a hero yourself, Danny. No need to be enamored with the League.” Clockwork turned to go back to work, eyes scanning screens before him. 

“Yeah but they’re real heroes.” Danny grumbled, opening his book again. Clockwork’s lack of response meant he wasn’t going to answer that line of thinking. “Fine…” 

The two of them were left in a comfortable silence for a few minutes more until Danny broke it himself. Even though Clockwork knew it was coming, he still jumped when Danny gasped harshly from excitement. 

“Saturn! You’re Saturn! Saturn is like, one of my top three favorite planets!” It was the pure joy on Danny’s face that had Clockwork laughing this time. 

“You would have a top three.” 

“Of course i do!” 

The door had been flung open for him to now talk about space and precisely why he had so many favorite planets specifically. Clockwork let him, happy to let one of his obsessions take its course. Talks about space banished all thoughts of the Justice League and ‘real heroes’. 

Danny knew he’d have to take his history books with a grain of salt. Eaten children or no...Clockwork had always been a good guardian to him. ~~ I might add on to this...  It’s almost like Danny was reading the same wiki page on Chronos that i was... lol 

Part 2  and Part 3 

#Danny Phantom #clockwork #Clockwork has basically adopted Danny #dpxdc #or at least it will be when i continue this #Clockwork is Chronos

[ghouljams]

Hey, your Regency!Price…I hope we get more of him but you inspired me to mess about with some pics. I couldn’t resist!

Foaming at the mouth for this man and his stupid ass shoes.

You like him in his uniform. A man of Price's station hardly needs the backing of a military uniform to hold importance, no he carries that in the proud set of his shoulders, but you like him with all the bells and whistles. You like the way the dark coat looks against his skin, the way the high collar seems to strengthen his jaw, and all the golden accents that make his eyes sparkle. The only thing you can find to dislike about it is the way it draws other women's attention.

Price holds your fan, waving it in brisk motions to keep the both of you cool as you snag two glasses off a passing tray. You offer him one and he takes it graciously. It's funny how easily you fall in with his motions, how easily he falls into yours. You reach for your fan and he snaps it shut, your own bad habit mirrored back to you. You bite down your smile and try to be more dainty when you open it again.

"You're rather popular," You note, your eyes drifting to the crowd of women glaring at you. They exchange quiet but pointed words behind fans, you're sure if you were closer they'd raise their voices so you could hear what they called you. Nothing creative you're sure. Peacocks, the lot of them.

"The uniform is popular," Price responds.

"Not the man?" You raise a brow, catching the twitch of his smile, "Pity, I rather like the man."

"He likes you."

You hum, smile over the rim of your wine glass. You enjoy flirting more than you'd thought you would. Enjoy the way Price makes your stomach flip and your skin heat with only three words. You like the way his voice rumbles low in his chest when he says them. 'He likes you.' You smile a little more despite yourself, your teeth edging against the rim of the glass.

"You like when I say that?" You can hear the smile in his voice, feel the gentle pressure of his hand low against your back. It's a fleeting touch but it leaves you burning for more, improper in the best of ways.

"It's nice to hear," You tell him, flashing the warmth of your smile his way. There's no sense in hiding it when he already knows. Here's another thing you like, the way Price's eyes wrinkle at the corners when he smiles at you.

"It's the truth," The sincerity of his tone makes your heart ache. Nothing could have prepared you for this man, for the desire he churns in you. Longing for things you never let yourself dream of: love, marriage, children. Propriety says you're never supposed to seem too interested lest gossip spread about your virtue, but-

"A mutual one," You tell him, assure him with affection on your lips. You're sure after your first meeting with him your reputation is tarnished enough, you may as well be honest with the man that ruined it.

"Be still my heart," He rumbles, his smile as wide as you've ever seen it, "you'll kill me before we ever reach the alter tellin' me that sweetheart."

#been doing research on regency courtship #Tell me how Price kissing her hand when they first met would've been a fucking SCANDAL #of course duck was a fool to offer him her hand when they weren't even engaged #THIS MAN IS ALL BUT FUCKING HER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM #Price writing his fucking name on Duck and she wonders if he's serious about her #God I want them to exchange letters and gifts and sit close together while they talk about the future #they're so smitten with each other #cod x reader #x reader #x oc #cod x oc #john price mw2 #john price x reader #captain john price #captain price cod #captain price x reader #captain price mw2 #captain price #john price #price x reader #x f!reader #f!reader #oc: duck #regency au

[gatitties]

Dye it baby

─ Yandere!bonten x motherly!reader (Platonic)

─ Summary: a special day with your boys, a day of memories and torture

─ Warnings: obsession, metion of bullying, toxic behavior, blood, mention of torture, yandere stuff

Part one / Part two / Part three / Part five

How the first two parts have 1000 likes ??? thank you very much!! 🫶🏻

Lil edit: sorry @boycigs it's been so long i forgot i had to tag you 😭

You never knew how to measure quantities when cooking, because you didn't want to go short, you always ended up adding more ingredients than you should, which led you to make too much food, in this case, little strawberry cupcakes along with some other fruits.

You had time to do it on one of those rare days where you weren't being stifled by the presence of any Bonten executive, having you as their secretary made it easier for them to be accessible to you, but unfortunately they couldn't stop you from interacting with other people, more than anything because they also needed men to do their dirty work, men you seemed to talk to from time to time, which they didn't like.

For you, it was just small interactions, greetings, small talks with the guys who were hanging around, who came from missions or bodyguards who watched every corner in the barracks, nothing really important, you were just being nice like you would to anyone else, although most of them would only nod at your presence or words, they had already been threatened and knew the consequences.

But that didn't stop some clueless from enjoying your presence more than they would like, not to mention the fact that you want to distribute the leftover cupcakes among those men, they'd rather throw away your homemade food before those creeps could taste it, but they couldn't stop you, at least not most of the time.

You wanted to think that the disappearance of some people with whom you spoke or shared that leftover food was not your fault, after all, working with this type of criminal exposed you to many dangers, but you really did not know how far your boys could go for simply smiling at another person.

You put those thoughts aside, clutching the box full of cupcakes tightly, you reached the elevator in the main building, dialing the highest number, you waited patiently, humming the light music on hold, on your way out you simply walked a few more steps and knocked on the door already well known. It opened with a creak, as soon as you entered, being received by an arm hooking onto you in a loose hug, you smiled when you saw Mikey, anxious to see what you had prepared this time, despite not being his favorites, everything you did to he, would be a culinary work.

"By the way, today is dyeing day."

"Hmm? It is?"

You muttered at Rindou's words, noticing now, the boys who already had part of their natural color at the root of their hair, you shrugged smiling at the younger of the Haitani, nodding at his request, earning pitying glances from Kakucho, who was the only one who decided not to alter his original hair.

You approached him, rubbing his shoulders in a comforting way, trying not to let his kicked puppy look affect you, you offered him a smile that was enough to warm his heart, looking for a second at the expressions of his companions to silently boast of being the only one that received all your attention.

"Don't worry Kaku, I'll make sure that my next day off is just for you, we can make that recipe you told me about the other day, or visit some place you want."

The completely bitter and serious expressions of the others turned into small grimaces that were meant to be smiles as you turned to them, letting Takeomi lead the group out while you give a last silent wave to Kakucho, who simply nodded at your action, as soon as you were out of sight a frown on his face.

Kaku really hated 'dyeing days' because he was the only one not included in the bonding time with everyone, but then again he could always take advantage of it, just like now, he always got an extra day with you, and best of all It's just that it was just you and him, so he had your full attention.

Although he had to leave that for later, now, returning with the boys and you, you went out of the building to the crowded streets of Tokyo, everyone staying on the sidelines except Kokonoi, who was the only one who went with you to buy the hair dye, since the group itself would draw a lot of attention and he was the one handling the money, the others reluctantly agreed as he took your hand to guide you to the nearest store.

"Don't you want to dye your hair too?"

"I think not for now, my hair doesn't look so bad right?"

"Of course not! It's perfectly fine."

You laughed at how Koko was quick to make sure your hair was perfectly fine, knowing how delicate people your age could be because of the dreaded gray hair. You both walked out of there after choosing the appropriate colors for everyone, smiling at the packages you were holding in your hand.

It reminded you of your youth, you went through that stage too, you learned how to apply the dye on your own because going to a hairdresser would be a lot of work and much more expensive, although you stopped applying so many dyes to your hair because it started to get drier. When the boys discovered this —snooping through your old photos from your high school days— they asked you to apply the dye.

While everyone got used to being treated by a ridiculously expensive professional hairdresser, nothing could compare to taking advantage of this to spend more time with you, not to mention enjoying the feeling of being pampered by you, giving them a little scalp massage when you applied the dye to them, it was something that even the most experienced or expert hairdresser could not achieve.

"Who should be first?"

You all ended up in your house, because you continued to maintain that house even though the boys told you it wasn't necessary, but you hadn't spent most of your life working to buy this property and now just abandon it so abruptly, no, you weren't going through that, plus it was always like a refuge of your own peace of mind, although in the majority there was always someone who interrupted you on your day off.

You observed that everyone had impatient eyes, watching as you internally debated who should be the first to go through your majestic hands and head caresses, taking one last look at everyone you made up your mind once and for all.

"I guess we can start with Ran, since I'm going to take longer with him, you go after Rin, the rest of you shouldn't take that long so you can choose the order, oh, without any shouting or throwing knives."

You warned before taking the brothers to the bathroom, aware that the last time you told them to choose the order in which you were going to dye them they ended up fighting to see who would be the first to receive your attention. You started working with Ran, massaging his head while applying the dye, it took you half an hour to finish them both as they had two different colors, which complicated the process, luckily the others only had one color to choose from.

You weren't surprised that the next one to enter the bathroom was Mikey, after all he was the boss, and if the brothers had been lucky enough to go before him, it was only because it was your decision and he respected it. You took your time with him, knowing that he enjoyed more than anyone the reassurance that your fingers gave him, running over his skin in a firm but gentle way, it was refreshing for him, the only place where he could let his guard down and relax to the point where he almost falls asleep

The next one was Takeomi, he was the fastest since he only had a small part of his hair, that didn't mean that he didn't feel satisfied by the simple fact of being with you alone. He was followed by an impatient Sanzu, who was always very restless despite being with you, as if he were the rebellious and hyperactive son of the group, then Mochizuki entered and finally Kokonoi.

You sighed once you kicked Koko out of the bathroom, leaving you to relieve yourself while cleaning the dye stains left on your hands, you wet your face to cool off, feeling tired after a long day.

"Guys… can you tell me what the hell are you doing with my school album again? I thought I had hidden it…"

You stared blankly at the group of men who decided to deliberately ignore your words, one of the few times they did, more focused on gossiping about your past as a student.

"Who is it? You have many photos with this person."

Sanzu pointed, you approached to check who was, a smile tugging at your lips upon seeing that person, the boys silently stared at your expression, feeling an internal anger against the stranger despite not knowing anything about that person.

"That was my first couple, although we didn't end up very well."

"Why?"

"Cheated on me with someone else." you immediately noticed how the tension increased in the room, rushing to continue talking "Oh, but we were both very inexperienced, it was the first relationship for both of us and we had many ups and downs."

"Why would you keep the photos of this person? Seems useless."

"Mikey… that's rude, I keep them because it's a memory of my life, although I only keep the good times."

They continued to look at more photos —some embarrassing— and judge the people you had the closest contact with in the past, Takeomi making a mental list of the few names you inadvertently let slip as you remembered between laughs and blushes of embarrassment your adolescent adventures

Although there was someone who annoyed them more than anyone, a girl, an old classmate who decided to mess with you for something quite common in pubescence, pimples and early physical changes, her harassment was only verbal, small teasing so that her group of friends would laugh, luckily nothing physical happened, mostly because one day you decided to stand up to it and set the record straight, since teachers don't do much, you decided that sometimes taking control of the situation wasn't a bad idea.

The girl was embarrassed years later by her attitude towards you and apologized when you met her as an adult, you simply forgave her because she was not and would not be anyone important in your life, there was no point in hating her when you could just forget her.

But the boys did not like this at all, they heard from your own mouth ─because they begged you to tell them the whole story─ that many nights you cried, self-conscious about your appearance, forcing you to do things that were dangerous to your health, both mental and physical, you didn't go to extremes, but without a doubt that year was a bad time that you prefer to bury in the depths of your mind.

Oh boy, Bonten was going to dig up the shit for you to clear your conscience, rather his own under the guise of 'doing it for you', what better way to get over someone than to just wipe them off the face of the Earth? It's a pleasant job for them anyway, especially if they're people who had hurt their mother in some way. You may have taken it as a joke, but the idea of hunting down your former bad classmates, or teachers, were not empty words, it was a promise.

"Hello, Kakucho? Didn't we have an important meeting today?"

"Ah, we can always do without one or two, so don't worry, isn't it better to spend the day with me than listen to us talk for hours about business?"

"I suppose you're right, hearing about your companies is more boring than working as a cashier."

You smiled tightening Kaku's grip on your hand, leading you through a pretty garden full of different flowers, completely oblivious to the reasons why you hadn't been allowed to attend today's meeting. You let go of his hand when he had to take a call, seizing the moment alone you bent down to see a lovely red rose, touching the soft petals of it, going down to the stem just feeling a little prick.

"Ow, it has very sharp spines."

You muttered, a drop of blood falling onto the green grass, staining it slightly red, you immediately felt someone pull your shoulder back, meeting you with a worried look that caused you to laugh.

"Let's get you a doctor."

"Kaku, it's just a cut, some water and a band-aid will suffice."

"Oxygenated water, we don't know if more people have touched that."

"Okay big baby…"

As you spent the afternoon nonchalantly by Kakucho's side, the rest of the boys personally took it upon themselves to give proper torture to that girl who once messed with your appearance, all taking turns slowly draining her blood, letting her life slowly and painfully escaped from her body.

"This teach you not to mess with mom, you stupid bitch."

Sanzu smiled sickly, taking the last turn to finish at once, the others watching in silence, their faces, hands and clothes stained with fresh blood, feelings of pure hatred manifested with blows, stabs, cuts… it was the price to pay for messing with someone she shouldn't, and she had to accept it. Sanzu grabbed the trusty pistol from him, without thinking twice, drowning out the agonized screams that did not stop ringing for four full clock hours, the last drops of blood spattering the walls.

BONUS

"Where have you been? Arriving like this full of blood what the hell?"

Everyone ─except Kaku─ shrank from your angry gaze, ducking their heads like children scolded for doing something wrong, they already knew what they were up against when they arrived at your house completely covered in blood.

"Sorry mom."

They all answered in sync, avoiding your gaze at all costs so as not to feel worse, but they were too eager to see you after having disposed of yet another piece of garbage in the world.

"No 'sorry mom' do you know how difficult it is to get blood stains out of clothes? You're lucky I have my laundry hacks."

#yandere platonic bonten x reader #bonten x reader #reader insert #fem reader #motherly reader #xreader #yandere platonic #platonic reader #tokyo revenger x reader #yandere tokyo revengers #haitani brothers #rindou #rin #ran haitani #mochi #mochizuki #kaku #kakucho #mikey #sanzu #takeomi #kokonoi #old reader

[bakedbananners]

Intimacy

[ID: art of Alex Fierro inspired by Thomas Blackshear's "Intimacy". He is standing, wearing a magenta robe covered in bright yellow shapes. Alex pulls apart the robe to show his chest, bright and glowing with light. In one hand he is holding a Tlatilco duality mask against the side of his face, covering one eye. On the same arm is a snake-like bangle. He is wearing a filigrana necklace with a milagro corazon attached, and a hoop earring with two long ribbons attached. His dark curly hair flows upwards. Behind him, to the left is a dark starry sky, with three floating pink masks hovering and looking down spitefully. To the right is are bright green small hills dotted with multicolored flowers. End ID.]

(more info in readmore!)

I decided to do a redraw inspired by Thomas Blackshear’s “Intimacy”. The original work shows a woman holding a mask while unveiling her body which is emitting a bright light. It is an interesting piece about how people wear masks to hide their true self, which is shown through the body.

I felt this work really fit Alex’s character, both through the overt symbols and the underlying themes. She is all about being a contradiction, dichotomy, and paradox.

I decided to alter some symbols, wanting to display her dual heritage of both Norse and Mexican descent and the spirituality associated with both. The mask she wears is a Tlatilco duality mask, she pears through the skull-like dead eye, conveying that she herself is dead yet alive. Her necklace has a corazon milagro on it, a strong symbol of Mexican spirituality and its combination of both Christian and Indigenous beliefs. It is meant to represent good luck and faith, with ties to Christ who is often shown with a fiery heart within his chest. In my reinterpretation, the bright light in her chest takes a new dimension of meaning- as she is literally her entire soul rather than human anymore.

The winding bracelet on her arm is of the Urnes snakes. It being on the same arm she holds up the mask connects the two accessories and their meanings physically. The masks that peer over her shoulder are meant to represent Norse masks, the way her mother Loki is always observing her. I altered some of the colors to be brighter neon pinks and greens because those are her trademark colors.

This redrawing is also meant to be inherently queer. The original shows a cisheteronormative portrayal of a feminine body. Here, though, Alex is transfeminine, displaying a transgender body. This also connects her genderqueer self with the divine and beautiful, as it also is in canon (through Magnus’ narration).

Ok, thank u for reading! :D this was very fun to do! I’m quite proud of it lol :3

#alex fierro #magnus chase #mcga #fierrochase #pjo #percy jackson #riordanverse #genderfluid #transgender #trans art #thomas blackshear #my art

[whimsicalwritingsandmore]

Want You Back | ateez x reader

Pairing: werewolf!ot8!ateez x werewolf!reader

Genre: fluff mostly, romance, poly, a little angst?

Warnings for this chapter: none

Word Count: 2150 words

a/n: hello!! hope you enjoy this chapter! I am curious, how is the pacing so far? while editing, I changed up a lot of scenes and spaced them out in other chapters. I'm curious to know your thoughts on how the story is flowing so far - is it too slow or is it okay? all your feedback is greatly appreciated! :)

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Chapter 5

It had been about a week and a half since Mingi's arrival, and for the most part, things took a turn for the better. Mingi was very thoughtful and patient, he was careful not to push or pressure you into doing anything you were uncomfortable with. It was difficult for him at first however, as he wasn’t sure how to begin to fix things with you.

Thankfully, when you introduced Mingi to Chan, the older wizard was kind enough to offer him advice and assist him.

“Give her space,” he explained, “Allow her the time to make her own decisions and think things through without feeling pressured. Show her that you respect her and her choices even if it might not be in your favour.”

Changbin also offered his own advice since he and Mingi shared the same birthday month and he took pride in that. 

“Do little things now and again for her. Don’t do anything over the top! Just small things like buy her a pastry or cook a meal. Send her a kind text during the day now and again. Maybe even ask to take a stroll in the evening at the park sometime.”

Most of your friends welcomed Mingi kindly even though they were quite apprehensive, given your history with him. The only one bold enough to stand his ground was Jisung. He made it particularly and significantly clear that he will not go easy on Mingi and will not hesitate to make him disappear. At first, Mingi found it humorous, seeing it as a baseless threat but Changbin indicated that Jisung could be a menace when he wanted to. So while Jisung smiled sweetly but intimidatingly in the corner of the apartment twiddling his wand in hand, Mingi blinked three times in concern and looked at you. You assured him everything was fine, but truthfully, you weren’t so sure about Mingi’s safety because you did hear about Jisung’s fearsome alter ego. But you weren’t gonna tell Mingi that. 

As for Mingi, he took a while to comprehend your new found life. Slowly, you both realised Mingi thrived better doing more physically energetic pursuits rather than standing behind the cash register with Jisung nearby watching him like a hawk. Chan offered to recruit Mingi at the apothecary to help with running errands with Hyunjin and organising and moving boxes and shelves with Felix and Jeongin. Mingi enjoyed it and felt that it was a good approach in giving you a chance to have space for yourself.

It surprised you how easy going he became with all of it, because though Mingi is kindhearted, he still was an alpha werewolf who does not necessarily do well with being told what to do. Maybe he was actually scared of Jisung? You were curious about what was going on inside his head and jokingly asked Chan if he could pick his brain.

Chan laughed and said no while Minho and Seungmin unapologetically agreed. Chan deadpanned at the two. 

"But I'm curious too!" they argued.

During the week, Chan suggested everyone should have a night out at the karaoke place. While you and Felix belted your hearts out trying to pass Seungmin and Jeongin’s high score, Mingi sat behind you, mesmerised by your voice. It was one of those moments as of recently, where he savoured your presence. He observed your newly dyed hair with streaks of blonde, your pretty hoop earrings, your beaded and charm bracelets adorning your wrists and your outfit.

He remembered vividly the first time the two of you met. You were with Hongjoong as the latter dragged you into the store for snacks while he complained that you ate all of his. Mingi was working at the store during that time and the moment all three of you came into contact, you felt the magnetic pull. It was enchanting and captivating. And meeting you introduced Mingi to another way of life. He began to feel more comfortable in his skin and who he was, you helped him to become confident and maybe even a little reckless when you appeared at his window in the early morning, recruiting him to go with you and Hongjoong to watch the sunrise. In the times when Hongjoong was unable to go, you and Mingi ventured out and spent the time talking and planning for the future.

And whereas Hongjoong was a stickler for not showing affection outside of your private space, Mingi would back hug you as you strolled down the street. The one time he did it to Hongjoong, they both rolled down the hill with Mingi landing on top of him while you watched in panic.

But at least, that's how you met Seonghwa and Yunho. 

In reminiscing, Mingi realised that you met all of them, excluding him, in smaller groups. He discovered that none of you really took the time to get to know each other personally or one on one. 

Mingi was snapped out of his daydreaming by Jisung who poked him with one of the mics. 

"Yes?"

"You weren't moving, so I was wondering if you became a statue.”

"I’m fine."

"Mhmm," he said, "Come on, let’s step outside for a minute."

Mingi was kind of concerned but still he followed him out the door cautiously.

"So are you okay?" Jisung asked.

"Why do you care?” Mingi questioned.

“I don’t really, but you are Y/N’s soulmate and I care about her. So I gotta make sure you’re not going to do something stupid and hurt her.”

“Wow.” Mingi drawled.

“So I shall ask again, are you okay?”

Mingi sighed.

Yeah I just...I realised all of us never really got to know each other personally. All of a sudden we just got together, a big group of nine, and we never took the time to spend with one another. Maybe only Hongjoong and Y/N have.”

Jisung eyed Mingi carefully before responding, "Yeah I know what you mean.”

“You do?”

Jisung rolled his eyes, “That was me when I met Minho, we clicked almost immediately and everything came so naturally, we never really took the time to just be friends and get to one another personally. You know, like really getting to each other for who we are, not just our likes and dislikes but how we operate and think."

"I feel like something happened."

"Something did…” Jisung contemplated for a moment before continuing, “We started to just expect that we would understand each other and meeting the others amplified that. So as we started to split our time, we expected certain things from each other and when it wasn't being met we would argue a lot. We expected that the other person would do things for the other and it became a whole mess."

"What did you guys do to fix it?"

"Chan intervened and we basically did what you and Y/N are doing now, and we also sought therapy from one of Chan's friends and it helped us better understand each other."

"Do you think Y/N and I should try therapy?"

"Do whatever works best for you. Therapy might be a good idea and I think you are doing well with taking your time for now. Maybe bring it up after a few weeks if you still feel like it would help. I've seen the way you’re trying.”

“Oh my gosh, did you just say something nice to me!?” Mingi gasped.

Jisung smirked, “I don’t dislike you Mingi. I’m just wary of you. I saw how broken Y/N was when she got here and she has told me little bits here and there. As her friend who also sees her as a sister, I don’t want to see her hurt again.”

Mingi felt a sense of appreciation at the way Jisung cared about you. 

"I feel bad about hurting Y/N like that,” Mingi confessed, “I’m a terrible person.”

"You’re not. You’re not a bad person, it was a terrible, terrible lapse in judgement if you ask me or whatever, but you’re learning and that’s the most important thing you can do right now, learn and not be ignorant.”

"Thanks Jisung, I feel a little better now."

"You’re welcome and I still will not hesitate to deal with you or any of the others if you hurt her. "

When it was time to leave, you walked side to side with Mingi hands in your jacket pockets as the two of you commented on the day’s events. The night was chilly but it provided the perfect opportunity in Mingi’s mind to stay in a little close proximity to you to give you more warmth. He was mindful not to overstep any boundaries but you didn’t mind this time, and allowed him to cosy up a little next to you. He had to leave to go back home tomorrow, Chan offering to open a portal and giving him a way back to you. 

Mingi didn't want to leave but the others were waiting for him. With Chan’s help, he got into contact with Yunho who he told that he needed to be away for a while after the previous dinner events. Now, he was going back to explain the matter, ask to be temporarily put on leave from his duties and express his decision to stay with you for however long he wanted. 

This time it was necessary for it to be one-on-one as Jisung educated him. He had to make it right.

He wasn't sure how the others would react but he hoped that they might come back with him at the very least maybe.

While the two of you waited for the others to catch up, you told Mingi that you were going to dispose of some wrappers in your pocket. As you rounded a corner that was a little far off where a trash can was located, your thoughts were interrupted by a strange voice.

"Well well well, if it isn't one of us." a sickly voice sang.

You turned around at the voice. You had no clue who they were exactly but judging by the tattoo on their arm, they were rogues. How were they here?

"What the heck do you want?” You questioned.

“Now, that’s no way to talk to an alpha."

“You’re not my alpha and I do not care to talk to you.”

“Aww but you’re hurting my feelings.”

"Bleh." You gagged.

They were not amused by your response and it didn't take long for them to swing at you. You dodged and tried to find a way out but after some scuffling you did end up with a bruised lip and your arm being pinned behind your back. You weren't scared at first but you needed backup and fast.

With every fibre of your being, you drowned out the taunts of the rogues and focused on your connection to Mingi. You called Mingi's name hoping he would hear.

"That's a nice necklace you have there." the sickly voice commented.

Your half moon necklace was given to you by your mates, representing your clan. You never took it off and it was your most prized possession. As the sticky finger rogue attempted to reach for it, a hand grabbed him with force and pressure. Every single one of his bones cracked gruesomely and his skin began to turn a grisly black and blue.

"Do not ever touch my mate." Mingi snarled ferociously. 

His eyes turned into his gold werewolf colour and he threw the rogue back effortlessly. You could feel the change in Mingi’s aura as he glowered dangerously at the other one that was pinning your arm and swung at him, hitting him right in the nose, a sickening crack ringing through. He scowled at the other two who stepped back seeing the infuriated alpha. They ran off leaving behind their members. 

“Pathetic.” he seethed.

As he composed himself on seeing you, Mingi rushed to help you and escort you back. He began to fuss all over you, his sentences rushing through like a waterfall.

"I got your pull, it freaked me out because I should've known better to let you go alone! I'm so glad you're okay! I'm not leaving again, I'll tell Chan to send a letter or something, are you okay!? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Mingi…” you began, “You're going to have to go back."

"What!? No! Why!?"

You noticed something. Besides Mingi’s connection, you began to feel the pull and call of your other seven mates. Though you called for Mingi specifically when you focused your mind on him, being in danger and initiating your soul bond after so long, activated the connection for your other mates which meant that your connection to all of them that was once dormant, was now ignited.

They felt it too. You could hear their calls.

"They know."

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Tag list:

@eastleighsblog @sehun096rainbow @greensnakeglobep @satsuri3su @idfkeddieishot @zonked-times @sugarrush-blush

a/n: hi again! unfortunately, I was unable to tag you @greensnakeglobep :( I'm really sorry about this, I'm not sure why I'm not able to. if anyone could clarify how to fix this, please let me know, thank you!!

#ateez fanfic #ateez x reader #ot8 ateez x reader #poly ateez x reader #ateez fluff #poly!ateez #ateez series

[sleepy-yet-intruiged]

Random TWST headcanons that nobody asked for

About The Characters

Rook has an alter ego named Roo Huh. he is exactly the same except Roo has a fake mustache

Crowley is actually magicless like the prefect but keeps it secret

Silver hates calm, peaceful music because it makes him fall asleep. he loves rock and heavy metal

when he was a teen, Lilia invented the TWST equivalent of Bloody Mary and it somehow became a popular myth

Crewel used to be a dog caretaker

Idia has a kin list of over twenty fictional characters

Azul’s octopus form has three hearts and he freaked out when he first turned into a human because he lost two of his most vital organs

Ace, Deuce and Jack purposely fake a country accent when they’re around Vil just to avenge Epel

Kalim throws parties so people will like him

Worldbuilding

the Great Seven were the ones who decided to call their world Twisted Wonderland

being magicless is considered a disability rather than an anomaly. people without magic can still live normal lives but are typically looked down upon

most mages are only capable of performing basic and easy spells like summoning light and mainly rely on potions. only exceptional mages can use complicated ones like elemental attacks

a small minority of mages actually have a Unique Magic since they’re usually so powerful

magical creatures like Grim are rare and sought after as pets

#twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #twst #twst silver #rook hunt #dire crowley #lilia vanrouge #divus crewel #idia shroud #azul ashengrotto #ace trappola #deuce spade #vil schoenheit #jack howl #epel felmier #twst grim #pomefiore #ignihyde #diasomnia #octavinelle #savanaclaw #headcanons #twisted wonderland headcanons

[aeriona]

Nautilus! The silly goofy creature!

These guys are quite rare in most societies, with less than a million around the world. Almost their entire bodies are covered in a massive shell that they can retract into as a defence! They also sleep and sit down in there too, it’s very funny-looking.

I didn’t change much from the actual game because they are perfect Though I did make some alterations.

Natuli have a total of 11 limbs (much less than a real Nautilus, I know). They have four arms, four tentacles and three legs. The tentacles have a sheath that they retract into (the bit with the spots!) The third leg is actually what later evolved into a tail in Inklings and Octolings, but Nautili kept it as they still need extra support for their heavy shells. FYI They walk on two legs, but they stand on three.

Nautili are born with their shells, and cannot remove them or repair them if they are chipped or cracked. As a result, they take extremely good care of their shells, always polishing it and stuff.

Unlike Inkfish, these guys have no suckers, no ink sac and they only have a single heart. They have four kidneys though, so i guess that makes up for it. They also have no chromatophores, so they can’t change colour and are always a shade of whitish-pink and red.

Though since they are cephalopods, they’ve got blue blood and a beak. It isn’t nearly as strong as a inkfish though, but strong enough to easily bite off your fingers with a single chomp.

Being a rather rare species, Nautilus-specific services such as clothing and healthcare are unfortunately hard to come by if you don’t live in the city, so most Nautili live in urban areas.

Ok i’m done infodumping goodbye and enjoy the funky creature!

#They look just like eddy in sploot 3 because eddy is god-tier design #my art #splatoon #Splatoon 3 #nautilus #gnarly eddy #gnarly eddy splatoon #squid #cephalopod #xeno tag #xeno inkling #xeno octoling #speculative biology #speculative evolution #speculative zoology #spec bio #spec zoo #spec evo #marine life

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Nobody's Girl - Chapter Seven.

Happy Monday to you all, besties! Huge thanks as ever for your support and lovely comments. Welcome new readers to the story, too! :)

Previous chapters - One Two Three Four Five Six

Taglist - In the comments, please DM to be added/removed

Words - 3,905

Warnings - Adult content throughout, minors DNI!

Spring in New York. After months of cold and snow, it was a welcome change for all. It did, however, carry with it a certain shadow. The shadow in question? Filomena Changretta, who would be bringing Luca’s kids over for the first time to Brooklyn rather than him going to them since he and Emily had become an item. He thought it was time his children met the new woman in his life, and by extension, that meant their mother meeting her as well when she dropped them off.  

“She’s going to hate me, isn’t she?” Emily asked, lying in bed with her man a few hours prior to their arrival, Luca only having returned to her four hours ago from attending wiseguy related endeavours.  

He drew his lips in tightly, eyebrows raised as he hummed. “Yeah, pretty much. Not that I care, but yeah. She will.” Her eyebrows pulled together a little more, eyes rounding slightly. “That don’t mean you gotta worry about it either though, doll. Just expect she ain’t gonna take to ya.” 

“You look like you want to say more.”  

He glanced up to the ceiling, sighing. “She’ll likely meddle, tellin’ you of my many misdeeds towards her. It ain’t enough for the broad to have divorced me, taken my house and a massive chunk of my cash. She don’t wanna see me happy with nobody else either.”  

Shaking her head in puzzlement, she continued idly stroking the centre of his chest. “I don’t understand why, though. You two have been broken up for, what is it, a year this month?” 

“It is,” he confirmed, again staring at the ceiling.  

Reaching for his jaw, she turned his head, forcing him to look at her. “So why?” 

His forehead creased, shutting his eyes for a moment. “I shouldda told you this months ago, the exact reason why I wasn’t the best husband to Filomena.” Taking a breath, he had to hope she’d still look at him as adoringly after she knew of his indiscretions during his marriage. “I cheated on her. More than once.” 

“How many times?” she asked. 

“A few,” he uncomfortably revealed. 

Her heart sank to hear his admission, her face falling a little bit, swallowing hard. “I appreciate you being honest and telling me that, but I need to know, have you...”  

“Shhh, don’t even speak it,” he cut in with, turning to hold her face in his hands, kissing her lips. “No, I haven’t. You and you alone is all I want, cara mia.” 

“Am I, though?” she asked, shaking her head with the uncertainty she suddenly felt. If he’d strayed from the woman he’d been betrothed to, the one who had given him his children, too, no less, then what chance did she stand? “How do you know that you won’t?” 

He sighed again, thumbs circling her cheeks in loving caress. “I know. Trust me, EJ. I know ‘cuz you’re everythin’ I didn’t know I wanted, and everythin’ I’ve come to realise I needed. I ain’t ever strayed from you, and I don’t plan on doing so either.” He rested his forehead to hers, continuing. “You ain’t nobody’s girl any longer. You’re mine, but more so, I’m fuckin’ all yours, baby.”  

Truly, he’d given her no reason at all to not believe him, and she had to give him credit, too. He knew that his confession could maybe alter her opinion of him, and he’d revealed it anyway. Filomena could easily have used the information as a spite tactic, and he could have lied his way out of it. Who would call him into question if he did? Most people were terrified of him.  

Nobody would have negated the truth Luca wanted to portray, but what he’d given her was honesty, no matter how ugly. She couldn’t discount him for that. Covering his hands with hers, she leaned to his mouth, kissing him softly. “That was a big gamble, telling me the truth. I see that. It’s just... my history of trusting the wrong people.” 

He nodded, kissing her again. “And I ain’t sayin’ I’m perfect, far fuckin’ from it. You’re gonna have a lot to deal with, being with a guy like me, but me straying is the least of your worries. Trust me on that.”  

They lay in a happy tangle of limbs a while longer before getting up, Luca heading to soak in the bath, Emily finding herself almost pulled in with him after she brought him a mug of coffee, fending him off.  

“No, stop!” she giggled, batting his hands away. “I have eggs cooking out there!” 

“Then don’t be comin’ in here with those damned legs and getting my pulse all jacked up, then!” he spoke, grasping her thigh, Emily pulling his hand away to give him a stern look. 

“Well, the very concept of me being able to walk in means the legs have to come with me,” she teased, leaning to kiss him. “I can’t just disassemble myself like a mannequin and shuffle in here.” 

He snorted, taking a sip of a coffee. “You’d leave one helluva snail trail behind if ya did.” 

She closed her eyes, resting her hand to her forehead, hearing his chuckle rumbling. “You’re filthy.” 

“But you love me.” he called as she exited, still grinning. After he’d dried off and dressed, they sat and ate before continuing packing, the very point of the children getting dropped off with him being so that he could take them up to his house in the Catskills, a nanny, housekeeper and chef also on his payroll (but who stayed in residence with Filomena) going along, too. Angelo and his wife Greta, as well as their two boys would also be up there as well, Emily wondering how big the house was, exactly, to sleep that many people.  

“Hold on, gotta picture of it somewhere,” Luca said after she’d voiced that thought, going into the phone table drawer and shuffling around. “Here.” 

Her eyes almost fell from her skull. “Honey, that isn’t a house. It’s a mansion!” 

He looked completely nonplussed. “Yeah, and?”  

“it’s just the way you spoke about it. You made it sound like a quaint little place upstate, not a sprawling estate!” 

He shrugged, taking the photo back. “A place can be both spacious and quaint.” He then beamed a huge grin, chewing on his toothpick. “And just you wait ‘til you see the size of the bed I’m gonna bounce that pretty lil’ ass all over.”  

A beautiful mansion, and great company to enjoy it with. She had become friends with Greta, Angelo’s wife over the last few months, the women looking forward to having some relaxing time together away from the madness of their daily lives while their men were off hunting. Mostly, though, it was spending time with Luca outside of the city that she was most looking forward to.  

It was a shame that just over two hours later, she’d learn of a spanner being thrown into the works. 

Waiting down in the near empty (save Maggie and the maintenance guy) speakeasy, she watched the black town car containing his children pull up, the kids alighting with their mother. His eldest boy was through the door first, Luca grabbing his head and kissing his mop of black hair.  

“How’s my son?”  

“Not too shabby, pop,” Guiseppe replied, turning to look at Emily. “Woah, check out those stems. What a Sheba, huh dad?”  

Immediately, he found himself clipped sharply around the head by his father. “Less of your lip, boy. And put your eyes back in your goddamned head.” He might have acted in reprimand, but Emily noticed how hard Luca was trying not to look entertained. He’d been much the same at twelve. 

The boy rubbed his head, his brows knitting. “Sorry, I was just saying.” 

“Say less,” Luca warned, opening his arms as his daughter hurried through the door to him.  

“Daddy!” Milania cried, grasping him tightly.  

“Mio piccolo amore,” he spoke fondly, kissing her head. “You miss me?” 

“Always,” she replied, basking in the adoration of her beloved father, her face not so warm as she turned to Emily. “Who’s she?”  

“Hey, enough with the sass. This is Emily, my girlfriend.”  

The word fell from his lips just as the adversary walked in, placing Alessio down, the little boy running to be lifted into his father’s arms. “This is your girlfriend?” Immediately, the girlfriend herself felt her insides prickle with discomfort.  

“Hello to you too, Filomena,” he muttered with sarcasm. 

Her mouth fell open, looking Emily up and down several times. “For the love of the virgin Mary, Luca! How old is she, like eighteen or somethin’?” 

“Twenty-three,” he corrected, his jaw beginning to tighten, handing Alessio to Emily when the child began to struggle in her direction. 

“Hey, little guy!” she cooed, trying to inject a little lightness, the tension rapidly thickening between her man and his ex. Also, for the sake of her nerves. She truly wanted no part of any conflict between Luca and his ex. “Oh, goodness, aren’t you cute! You look just like your daddy, don’t you?” 

“I do!” he announced through a gummy grin, beginning to fiddle with her necklace. “You smell like flowers.”  

“Oh god, she’s a child, still!” Filomena exclaimed, her voice filling the space shrilly. Emily couldn’t even look at her, so kept her eyes on the little boy in her arms as he chattered to her, feeling supported by her man touching a supportive hand to her back for a second. 

Luca rolled his eyes at Filomena’s observation, beginning to gesture with his hands. He always did when he was becoming agitated. “Don’t start this right in front of ‘em,” he warned. “She ain’t a kid, I know exactly what you’re doin’, Fil. She couldda been thirty-three and you’d still take issue.”  

“Hey kids! The soda place up the block will be open now, how about Emily and me take you guys up there, huh? Come on, let’s go!” A rapidly moving Maggie spoke as she approached, Emily breathing a sigh of relief to be saved like that. Also, she was of the same opinion, that the children really didn’t need to witness their parents about to verbally tear one another to shreds.  

“I’ll see you in a little while,” she spoke, Luca nodding as he leaned to kiss her quickly.  

“Thank you, mi amore.” he spoke, nodding with gratitude at Maggie as well as she herded the two biggest of the brood out, little Alessio very content to be carried.  

Filomena at least waited a beat until they were all out the door before her head swivelled around again, fixing Luca with a snarl as she scoffed. “Mi amore? You can’t be serious about that kid.” 

“Wouldn’t be havin’ her meet my children if I wasn’t. You need to fuckin’ knock it off, too, callin’ her a kid when she ain’t.” 

She scoffed again, shaking her head. “She’s twenty years younger than you!” 

And therein was the problem. “Yeah, and don’t that just chap your ass, huh, Fil? Jealousy ain’t ever looked good on ya.”  

He had her there, his ex-wife chewing her cheek in fury at the slowly delivered, condescending drawl, incensed over the fact that the first woman he’d gotten serious about after her turned out to be fifteen years her junior. And a knockout. Still, she had an ace up her sleeve left to play. “Well, I suppose I’ll get to know all about her over the weekend. You don’t gotta nanny, Sylvie is sick with a cough so it’s gotta be me lookin’ after ‘em.” 

What?  

“No way,” he warned, pointing at her sternly, “ain’t no place for you up there with your meddling. Forget it.” 

“Can’t,” she spoke, her mouth twisting into a sinister grin, “Alessio has an ear infection, needs his drops puttin’ in every four hours. Are you really tellin’ me you’re gonna be available for that, every four hours, for the next three days?” 

“I’m his fuckin’ father. Of course, I will,” he hissed, looking at her with fury. 

She laughed, and it set his fists to clenched, flexing his hands as he began to pace before her. “You ain’t gonna be around! You’ll be off hunting in the day with Angelo, and riding your new filly all damned night! No, I’m not chancing that it spreads to his throat and eyes, too. I’m comin’, and that’s the last of it. You know how he don’t like being away from his mommy when he’s sick.”  

His gaze cast up to the ceiling, taking a long, deep breath. He hated that she had a point. She wanted his temper to blaze, though, for him to yell, to lose control of his emotions. It was what she thrived upon. So simply, he didn’t let her have the win. “Fine, come along if you must, just stay outta my way. Choose a bedroom as far away from mine as you can get, though, ‘cuz yeah, you’re right. I will be, and I’d hate for us to keep you up.”  

His laughed rolled like thunder at the look on her face, leaning in close. “Yeah, bet there’s still one part of me that you miss, huh?” Sauntering out with his usual cocksure swagger, he left her standing there stewing in contempt, telling the security guys to load up their belongings into the car. Heading down the street, he didn’t much relish having to tell Emily that their long weekend would be plus an unwanted guest, entering the soda shop and beckoning her with a backward jerk of his head.  

“You don’t look happy, handsome,” she spoke carefully upon exiting the shop, wondering just how intense the fight he and Filomena had likely gotten into had become. 

His mouth twitched in grimace, pulling his toothpick out. “Yeah, I ain’t got the best news to deliver. She’s comin’ with us.”  

Her face dropped in an instant. “She’s what?” 

“Alessio is sick, got somethin’ up with his ears, gotta have drops put in every four hours, yadda, yadda. She don’t trust me to fuckin’ look after the kid, the nanny is sick as well, so she’s insisting on inflicting herself.” He paused, resting his hands to her shoulders. “She ain’t gonna ruin anything though, doll. Promise. She knows to keep outta my way, yours too by extension.” 

Her lips thinned, Emily really not happy about having to share her weekend with a woman who hadn’t even bothered speaking directly to her, not even introducing herself before going right on in after her guy regarding their age gap. “Alright. Really, it isn’t, but alright.”  

Leaning to her level, he kissed her forehead. “I know, baby. I know. You just gotta pretend she ain’t there. If she comes out with any of her poison, walk away, alright?” 

She set her face straight with a nod, widening her smile. “I will. Come on, let’s hurry the kids and then get up there.” 

Truly, she’d thought that the toughest thing about that weekend would be how to begin bonding with a fourteen-year-old girl, and two boys of twelve and six. Now there was an ex-wife thrown into the mix, too. A spiteful one. 

A near three-and-a-half-hour drive later and they’d arrived, Angelo and Greta already there, the latter looking perplexed as she alighted the front steps of the mansion, holding her arms wide towards Emily.  

“What the good god is the viper doing here, dolly?” she asked with concern, kissing her cheek while watching Filomena and the children exit the second car.  

“I’ll tell you in a sec, please tell me there’s alcohol here?” 

“Only gin and whiskey, as well as the wine in the cellar.” 

Grabbing her hand, she nodded vigorously. “Yeah, that’ll do.”  

“All of it?” Greta snorted, the women climbing the steps while the guys handled the baggage. 

“Twice over.”  

She winced with a little hiss, taking her through the house back to the rear porch, where she’d been enjoying cigarettes and gin rickey’s in the sun. Walking through the house, Emily’s jaw was on the floor, her head turning left and right to take in as much as possible. To say it was decadent would have been an understatement. Luca had definitely downplayed it thus far. Speaking of Luca... 

“Doll, I’m gonna go spend some time with the kids, take ‘em down to the lake, alright? You okay with Greta?” 

“Of course, she’s fine with me. Go, you get outta here and be with your brood,” the woman herself grinned as Luca greeted her with a cheek kiss.  

“Show her around and all that. See you later.” He winked, departing, his shoulders drawn up. He hadn’t seemed so tense on the way up, but now the reality was setting in, having to be under the same roof as the woman he loathed, she saw clearly it had begun to gnaw at him.  

Emily turned to her, her face pensive. “He wasn’t so bad, driving up. Now? I can see his irritation rising.” 

Greta sighed, ushering her through the final large room to the back door, a huge glass construction between two frames of filigree wrought iron. “Yeah, he had the twitching jaw thing happening, I noticed. Yeesh.” Sitting her down at the table, she poured out a drink, adding an extra slug of neat gin from her little hip flask for good measure. “So, what’s the story?” 

Taking her cigarette case out, Emily offered one across the table, the woman lighting up before Greta was filled in on what had gone down back in Brooklyn. The elder of the women balked, snorting once her young friend had finished. “So, what are we, chopped liver? We couldn’t have handled looking after the kid?” 

“Exactly! Mind you, I doubt Luca would have even suggested it out of respect for me. He even said as much before Filomena dropped herself on us, said the kids would be with the nanny when they weren’t with him, and he didn’t expect me to lift a finger.” 

Greta’s eyebrows rose. “That’s progressive of him.” 

“Eh,” she sniffed, “I think he was probably more worried I wouldn’t blow him if he’d offered my services as substitute mother without at least asking me first.”  

Her words roused laughter, the immaculate brunette lifting her glass to her pristine red lips. “Oh, my good god, I love the fact you’re coming outta your shell more, being in our world. You’re still a polite little sweetheart who wouldn’t say boo to a goose, but still, you’d have never come out with such a statement back when we first met. Shows confidence.” 

“I have to be,” she exclaimed, taking a drag on her cigarette. “Being Luca’s girl, I can’t sit there blushing and shrinking from everything or I’d never survive! That includes being able to say out loud with every confidence, and like the lady I am, that my man knows not to jeopardise the luxury of being able to put his dick in my mouth.”  

Greta was in soft fits, clapping her friend’s little display of wry comedy. “You make me laugh, dolly. Oh, you do!” 

“If I don’t laugh right now, having the ex-wife shadow looming, I’ll cry. Believe me.”  

Raising her glass, she beamed. “Then to laughter!” Sipping her drink, she watched as Emily made a thoughtful face, biting the corner of her lip as she looked out over the sprawling grounds towards the lake.  

“I wonder if Filomena likes to play blackjack?”  

“Oh, you’re too much!” Of course, Greta knew well Emily’s talent with card counting.  

Winking, her eyes went back to the lake, just about able to pick out Luca and the kids walking the shoreline, except for Alessio, who was perched atop his father’s shoulders. “I like to think I’m just enough. So, you called her a viper when we arrived. Was that out of loyalty to Luca, or did she ever do something to irritate you?” 

“Honestly? The gal has every right to be hostile toward her ex, given the circumstances... which I probably shouldn’t say too much more on,” she began, Emily waving her hand casually. 

“You’re alright, I know about the other women.”  

Greta swiftly lifted her sunglasses, gaping a little. “He told you?” 

“Yes, he did,” she replied, reaching to the fruit bowl and tearing a small handful of grapes away.  

Her friend was mildly stunned, and made no effort to hide that. “Wow. Didn’t see that coming. Anyhoo, like I said, can’t blame her. Well, in the here and now I can because she needs to be making nice for the children, but instead she’s toying with him, as usual.  

“But I digress. I actually used to get on pretty well with her, but after they broke up she called me up and gave me hell, assuming I knew all about his infidelity. I didn’t know shit! Ain’t like he was gonna advertise it to me. I mean, some guys in their world, they have the wife and then they have the gooma, the side piece, but as far as I can gauge, Luca just fucked around at random. No regular side chick to speak of.”  

“He preferred whores, professionals at sex, women who knew what they were doin’ with a dick and whose silence he could easily buy.” 

Turning, they both watched Filomena approach, her chin lifted as she walked slowly over to the table, a smug smile tilting her lips. “That don’t mean those are the only dames he went for, though. If he saw a gal at the speakeasy who he liked the look of, he’d just make his move. I heard that from the women themselves. Even if they were with his own guys, if he wanted to fuck ‘em, he did.” 

Emily felt a cold wave wash over her, to know the man she loved so much had been that sexually reckless, especially with women so close to the guys who worked for him. She tried to remember what that very man had told her just hours before, though, about Filomena and her meddling. “Hmm,” she hummed, clearly entertained by Emily’s pinking cheeks. “Didn’t know that much, did ya?”  

She could feel her throat tightening, swallowing hard as she looked up at the scorned woman, who’s commentary continued. “I asked him once, you know, how many women he’d bedded behind my back. He said he lost count when he hit triple digits. He was a fuckin’ prolific man whore, my ex-husband. And you look at him like the sun shines outta his ass, you poor gal. He’ll get bored of ya, eventually. Don't think the same won’t happen to you once you’ve knocked out a couple of his kids. Probably before then, if he ain’t already.” 

“Fil, come on, hon. Enough now, yeesh. You don’t gotta drag Emily into this.” Greta advised, rubbing her head with her hand, her eyes finding her friend in support, and what Emily couldn’t bear to see. Sympathy. Because she couldn’t hide the fact that the former Mrs. Changretta wasn’t lying. 

Luca had told her that his ex would do this, but what he hadn’t mentioned was that her poison would be nothing but the truth, Emily getting up and swiftly exiting the situation with tears pooling her eyes.  

Exactly what Filomena had wanted. After all; hurt people, hurt people.  

#luca changretta fanfiction #luca changretta smut #luca changretta x ofc #peaky blinders fanfiction #luca changretta fanfic #luca changretta fic #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders smut #peaky blinders fic #nobody's girl #luca and emily #luca changretta

[aloneinthehellfire]

Chapter Eleven: Once Bitten

Gates Of Hell Masterlist

Word Count: 7.3k

Warnings: swearing, violence, horror, family issues

[A/N: Okay, I lied when I said this would be the last chapter because I hated the first draft and decided to alter everything so now we get some extra time with our favourite enemies to... we'll see ;)]

Once Bitten

April 3rd, 1985 Morning of The Apocalypse

The alarm startled you, heart racing as you reach over and smack it silent.

You had been led down staring at the ceiling for a while now, waking up earlier than you intended to. That faceless thing was in your nightmares again, grey claws ripping into you before you woke up in a fit of sweat. You didn’t cry this time. That was promising.

The ‘support group’ Hopper was sending you to wasn’t helping anything. They expected you to talk about drugs, an addiction you apparently had two years ago, so that they could treat you like a project. You only attended because you were sick of feeling crazy. Hopper didn’t believe you. Hell, you didn’t believe you.

It took all of 20 minutes to get ready, stuffing your backpack with textbooks you’d be ignoring. But you had to look the part, to convince your father that you were trying.

As you slip out of your room, the familiar smell of Eggos filled the air. El pretty much refused to eat anything else for breakfast.

“Y/n.” El’s small voice calls out, her now shoulder-length hair swinging as she peels her eyes away from the TV.

“Hey.” You smile, dropping your bag and joining her on the couch. “You seem cheery.”

“Uh-huh.” She nods and you notice she has her hands behind her back. “Hopper got me a present.”

“Really?” You raise an eyebrow, amused. El was an easy kid to please, but she looked much more excited than she has before.

“Do you wanna see?” She asks and you laugh.

“Obviously.”

Another smile and she brings her hands around towards you, curling them into fists and stretching out her arms. You laugh again at her actions, shaking your head.

“What am I meant to-” You begin before your voice catches in your throat. Something blue was staring back at you, adding salt to an ever-growing wound consuming you. “Is that…”

“Hopper’s band.” El says as if she’s repeating it from practice, fiddling with it. “He said I was important. I’m going to take good care of it.”

Tears were already pooling in your eyes before you had even assessed the situation. Your little sister’s hairband now wrapped around the wrist of a girl you had only met a year ago. The last remaining part of your sister given to a stranger she’d never known. Hopper gave El something so important to you like it was nothing.

“Okay, I’m heading out soon.” Hopper announces as he steps out of the bathroom, fixing his hat. It was the only room with a mirror, a luxury if you woke up early enough. “Y/n, you ready to go?”

You don’t respond and he turns to where you and El sit together, frowning.

“Y/n?”

“How could you?” You whisper out and El looks up surprised. Looking into her eyes, you take a deep breath before forcing a smile. “Hey, could you go to my room for a little bit? I wanna talk to Hopper. You can go through my comics again.”

He tenses at the mention of his name rather than ‘dad’, but you ignore it.

“Okay.” El nods hesitantly, slipping off the couch and disappearing to her room. You should have waited for the click of the door closing, but you were unaware she’d be following the rules; leave the door open three inches at all times.

“Did you give El the hair band?” You stand up to face him and shoulders relax, taking a breath. It looked like he was expecting this conversation, running a hand down his face as he takes a step towards you.

“I did.” He admits softly, meeting your eyes.

“Why?” You shake your head slowly with blurry vision. “Why would you do that?”

“Because she’s our family now.” He starts, frowning in attempt to think through his words. Hopper had never been good at expressing how he felt. “It felt right.”

“It felt right?” You repeat, struggling to not raise your voice. There was an indescribable pain building in your chest that made you want to scream, to cry and sob until it washed away. “Replacing Sara feels right?”

Hopper’s face falls. “I’m not replacing her.”

“I sure feels like it.” The first tear slips down and you angrily wipe it away, letting your hand point to your bedroom door. “You can’t just treat her like a second chance!”

“I’m not.” He says calmly, too calm for your liking. “Let’s just take a breath.”

“Do not tell me I’m crazy.” You warn, voice cracking and destroying your attempt at steadiness. “Ever since you brought her here, it’s like you completely forgot Sara ever existed!”

“I can never forget.” He raises his voice now, ever so slightly to ensure you knew he was serious. “I think about her every single day. But we can’t just keep holding onto the past-”

“She wasn’t some kind of pet, she was real! Family!” You cry, stepping forward with a frown. “She was my sister, your daughter, and you’re just throwing her away! That hair band is all we have left!”

“And now it is safe!” He shouts before exhaling. He turns around to recollect himself, speaking softly. “Do you know how long it has taken me to look at it with anything but guilt? Sara… her memory can now be protected by someone that deserves it.”

“A stranger?! El didn’t know her!” You sob. It was uncontrollable now, your rage. It came from a darker place, one you hadn’t visited in a while. It was frightening to know you could feel this kind of fury. “What about me?! Am I not worthy enough to take care of my sister?”

“That’s not-” He turns back around, holding a hand out before pulling away with it in a fist. “We can’t talk about this while you’re…”

“Acting up?” You scoff. You needed to get out of here, clear your mind. It felt like there was this weight pushing harder and harder on your lungs. If you stood here any longer, you were afraid you would be crushed completely.

So, you march straight over to your bag, slipping it onto one shoulder and pushing past Hopper.

“Hey!” He calls out as you make it to the door, angrily snapping open the multiple locks Hopper had installed. “Don’t walk away!”

As your trembling fingers catch the last metal rig, you rest your head against the door.

“If you wanted a new family, you should’ve said so.” You say lowly, refusing to face him. When he doesn’t speak, you slide the last barrier and hear the familiar click as you turn the doorknob.

“We both lost her, Y/n.”

Just as you pull the door open, you’re frozen. He sounded tired, broken. Like he was done fighting with you this time.

“I know we haven’t spoken about it.” He continues, his voice hoarse. You could hear his boots clumping against the ground as he slowly tries to close the distance. “But I’m here-”

“Don’t bother.” You interrupt, turning around. Tears were staining your cheeks. You never truly met his eyes, fixated on the bridge of his nose because you knew if you didn’t, you wouldn’t be able to win this argument. Why did you care about winning?

“You’ve been nothing but a- a shit father to me ever since she died! Like you don’t even like me!” You yell, hoping it’ll keep him away from you. He looks a little startled, but he doesn’t speak a word. And then those fears are rising to the surface, slipping out of your mouth before you could stop them. “Sometimes I wonder if you wish it were me that died instead.”

It was like his heart was visibly shattering, dawning his expression with pain. “Y/n-”

“I’m leaving.” You cut him off, swinging open the door and stepping outside, unable to resist turning around just one last time. “I’m glad you’ve finally found a daughter you can love.”

And with that, you slam the door shut, moving through the maze of the alarm system like second nature. You expected to hear the door open again, the thump of wooden floorboards beneath a sorry father’s weight, the familiar shout of forgiveness carrying in the wind.

It stayed silent, as quiet as the tears that dripped down your cheeks. He wasn’t coming after you this time. You’d finally won.

But what did you really win?

Steve visibly buffers as his eyes keep darting between you and Billy. He hated how you smiled at eachother like you were passing secret notes with your eyes. He hated it so much he couldn’t resist blurting out the first thing in his mind.

“How do you know eachother?” Steve questions, a frown permanently staining his delicate features as his eyes flicker between you and Billy. It was unsettling. More than unsettling. Worlds colliding in a heaping pile of flames.

“Oh, we go way back.” Billy replies suggestively, smirking at how uncomfortable Steve looked. “What’s the matter, Harrington? Not expecting that?”

Your worn expression of unamused proportions flickers between the two as they inch closer. Steve looked like he wanted to throw a punch, whilst Billy looked intentionally smug about it.

“I sense I’ve missed something.” You decide, looking to Robin as she threw a dirty look to the boy clad in denim. “Okay, calm down, no one’s trying to kill eachother.”

“That’s not what happened last time.” Steve spat, still glaring at Billy. Your eyes widen.

“Huh?” You prompt, a flash of unrecognisable guilt in Billy’s features before he’s smirking again.

“Old times.” Billy’s vague answer doesn’t settle the bubble of anxiety you feel in your stomach.

“Why are you here?” Robin glares and your brows shoot up. You knew she didn’t like him but you didn’t expect the scowl on her face to hold such anger.

“That lot was practically dragging Max out the house.” He nods in the direction of the Party, their heads lowered as they share in a hushed discussion, completely oblivious to the older kids. “Didn’t have enough room in the chief’s car so I drove us here.”

“I didn’t see your car.” You frown and he purses his lips.

“It… blew up.”

Steve snorts, not even trying to hide it.

“Damn monsters.” Billy throws a pointed glare before returning back to you. “I actually volunteered to go down to the flippity thing.”

“Upside down.” Robin scoffs, crossing her arms like she had more knowledge of the situation than the blonde boy in front of her.

“Whatever.” He dismisses, resting a hand on his hip. He smirks at you. “Figured I got nothing better to do.”

Steve couldn’t have rolled his eyes harder. Here Billy was, acting like this mission he probably heard about two minutes ago was merely an errand to run. He could try all he wanted, he would never be the hero he’s pretending to be. Never.

“Okay, listen up.”

Hopper strides back into the room, glancing to you with a smile which you feebly return, wanting to curl up in a ball. You still felt embarrassed about your outburst.

“Joyce and I are gonna come up with a plan. We need to work on both sides here, someone manning communications while others help El try and find this… thing we’re looking for. Nothing can go wrong here.” He addresses the whole room, a few nods on determined faces. “If Y/n’s right, and something else is out there controlling these gates, we’ll put an end to this for good.”

And if she’s wrong, she’s going to put everyone in danger they don’t deserve, you think, tightening your lips.

“Mike, Lucas, I’ll need a quick count on provisions. I don’t want us being in there any longer than a few hours but we need to be prepared.” He instructs, the two boys determinedly running off to carry out their duties. “Dustin make sure those radios are ready and fully charged.”

“Aye, aye, captain.” Dustin salutes, swiping some batteries from the table before sauntering off into the next room.

“Will, Max, we’ll need at least two backpacks.” Hopper suggests and they nod, sending a quick look to eachother and disappearing into the sleeping quarters.

“As for now, Nancy I need you here so we can strategise.” He says and the girl looks confident as she walks up to the table, peering at the worn map covering the wooden inches. Hopper glances up. “You too, Billy.”

“I guess I’ll catch you later.” Billy winks at you, suddenly adopting a whole new persona as he respectively smiles at Hopper when joining the planning circle, even going as far as shaking his hand. Steve frowns. It’s weird. Very weird.

Robin sounds a hum and you turn to look at her. “Well. Since we got out of homework, what say we go relax-”

“Can you guys go on patrol?” Jonathan’s voice interrupts and you all glance over to where he was walking over, still pressing an ice pack to his head. “I’m meant to be doing it now with Nancy but she’s busy and I’m…”

“Concussed?” You tilt your head as he smiles weakly. “Been there. Of course we will.”

“Thanks.” He sighs gratefully, sending a reassuring nod to Joyce as her worried eyes follow him around the room.

“Great.” Robin claps her hand, smiling up at you both. “You guys have fun.”

“Wha-” You pout as she tries to walk away, your arm immediately reaching out and pulling her back. “Nuh-uh, you’re coming with me.”

“Do I have to?” She whines and you send her a look, one she’s only ever seen when you’re desperately needing an alibi. “Jeez, fine, whatever. Who doesn’t love the thrill of potentially getting your face ripped off in the morning?”

“That’s a… vivid image.” Steve twists his face in a grimace as you drop your shoulders. Robin is already surveying the weapons table when he leans closer to you. “She doesn’t have to come with us. I’m sure we can handle it.”

“Um…” You take a look at her, circling through all the different responses in your head. “No, I… I want her to come with us. If this apocalypse doesn’t end anytime soon, I just want her to know how to protect herself, maybe be a little more confident.”

Steve frowns as he watches you walk over to Robin, seemingly explaining which items would prove best in a fight. He felt a little twinge of disappointment when you didn’t want to go with him alone. After that talk, you opening up to him about something so personal, he assumed… he wasn’t sure what he was assuming.

“Wanna tell me why I’m your get out of jail free card?” Robin raises her brow and your lips tighten, reaching for a heavy knife and inspecting it. “Woah, okay, don’t tell me, message received.”

“What? No.” You shake your head, putting it back down. “I just want to help you be a little less scared, that’s all. We need to be prepared.”

“Uh-huh.” She sounds unconvinced, hand hovering over a pistol but you simply shake your head and she grabs the next item on the table. “The hell is this?”

You look down and widen your eyes. “Oh, Robs, be careful, that’s a-”

Her finger accidentally settles on a trigger and a jolt of electricity crackles loudly, a little too close to your hand and you jump back. It falls from her hand as she yelps, looking like a child that had been caught playing with their mother’s makeup. She notices the concerned looks from her peers in the room.

“My bad.” She raises her hand apologetically before reaching down at carefully picking the taser back up. She looks to you with a grimace. “Did I get you?”

“No, Robs. You get me, you fry me alive.” You breathe out, checking your hand. “Maybe we should teach you how to use that.”

“Perfect time, right?” Steve comments, leaning past you for his bat and you try to ignore how your heart rate increases when he’s close to you. “As long as you don’t tase us or yourself, I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, give the clumsiest girl on the planet electricity, what could go wrong?” She expresses, but she takes the taser and turns her back to stomp her way up the stairs.

Steve can’t help but laugh, hand on his hip. “It should be interesting.”

When you don’t respond, he looks down at you just in time to see you look away, clearing your throat.

“Uh, yeah. Totally. We should, uh, we should follow.” You blurt out, swiping the knife and nodding. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah.” He says with a suspicious smile, amused at the way you’re avoiding his eyes. What were you hiding?

“Y/n.” Hopper calls out, ending a conversation with Joyce with a gentle pat of her shoulder and walking over to you, extending his hand to show you his keys. “The tank needs filling up, there should be some gas by the door.”

“Got it.” You smile, taking his keys, but he doesn’t bid farewell. “Anything else?”

“Just…” He sighs, frowning. “You shouldn’t have any problems, but the minute something is wrong- even just feels off-”

“We’ll be fine, dad.” You reassure, his lips flickering beneath his moustache at a name he hadn’t heard in a while.

“I know you will, kid.” He says as you jingle the keys and stuff them into the pocket of your hoodie, walking up the stairs to find Robin.

Steve goes to follow until a hand is on his shoulder, redirecting him back to Hopper’s stare.

“Don’t let anything happen to her.” His words aren’t a warning, rather a plea. Steve nods.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Steve nods, and he meant every word.

“So, why am I your Steve buffer?” Robin asks, practically jumping out behind you when you reached the next landing.

“Fuck, where did you come from?” You hold your hand to your heart, taking a breath.

“You. Harrington.” She narrows her eyes and you roll your own. “Don’t think I didn’t pick up on what’s going on here.”

“Yeah, just like you picked up on Miss Click’s secret affair with Dan Shelter?” You point out, her lips tightening.

“That was the only time I have ever been wrong.” She defends, crossing her arms. “It’s not like it hurt anybody.”

You scrunch up your face. “She almost got fired.”

“But she didn’t.”

“Yeah, because I took the blame so you wouldn’t get in trouble.” You remind her and she relaxes her shoulders, looking a little guilty. “Hey, not your fault, I wanted to do that.”

“You got detention because of me.” She said a little quietly and you let out a chuckle.

“Robs, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but that was like two years ago-”

“Not then.” Robin corrects and your face drops. “If you hadn’t… if I just… you would have been okay. And you wouldn’t have had to survive the apocalypse with a guy you can’t stand to be around.”

“That wasn’t your fault.” You step forward, frowning. “It was mine. I… I wanted to get detention. That whole thing just gave me a reason to.”

“Who wanted detention?” Steve’s voice interrupts and you both stay silent, causing him to purse his lips. “Oh-kay, girl talk, huh? I get it.”

Robin stares at him in disbelief and you suppress a smile. Fuck. This was getting harder than you thought.

The reason you wanted Robin here wasn’t because you wanted her to be. It was true, giving her the skills to protect herself was going to be worthwhile, but part of you just wanted to keep her bundled up in bubble wrap, safely hidden away. You’re just afraid that if you go with Steve alone, you’ll do something you’ll regret. Something you promised your past self would never happen.

A stubborn promise slowly being shattered by Steve’s warm smile.

The walls around you were pale, much like the brightness of the bulbs hanging above your head. Your nerves were alight, waiting for them to begin flickering madly, stopping everything and everyone around you, the black dust…

None of it made sense. It wasn’t possible. Alternate dimension? Sure. Monsters? Yeah, why not. But freezing time? No. No way.

And yet, it happened.

You weren’t ready to talk about it yet, though. Not that you were sure anyone would believe you. It took Hopper to actually experience it before he believed you had almost been attacked. In fact, the only person you wanted to talk to was currently trailing behind you in a one-sided conversation with your chatty best friend. He seemed a little more open minded. Never called you crazy, genuinely wanted to listen. But you couldn’t talk to Steve right now. Not while you were having trouble looking anywhere but his eyes and lips.

So, instead, you lead Steve and Robin through the maze of harsh lighting, the soft drone of Robin’s voice muffled by your thoughts fighting to not recall the grinning monster that had thrown you into that wall, or dragged you through a pool of blood on the floor.

Behind you, Steve couldn’t resist the concerned gaze he had on the back of your head as you led them through eerie corridors, never stopping, barely looking at them. He knew you must be spiralling about everything that has been happening. He sees what it’s doing to you. The smart quips forced out of your mouth to stop you from thinking, that pause you always seem to have before striking a smile as if even your brain was struggling to hide emotion. He notices that wobble in your lip you catch between your teeth, any and every reason to stop yourself from admitting you’re not okay.

Steve can’t believe he knows all of these things. Four days ago he wouldn’t have even cared.

“I get why a person would hate Billy Hargrove. I mean… it’s Billy Hargrove.” Robin says, the only part of her rambling Steve finally managed to tune in to. She had a habit of cutting the awkward silence with a conversation even more awkward. Her speciality, really. “But why do you hate Billy? It’s not weird high school boy testosterone reasons, right?”

“No.” Steve sighs, finding the humour in her way with words. Robin felt like someone he wished he had as a friend, an easy talker. She always spoke her mind, regardless of the situation. She made him feel like he could say anything and she wouldn’t bat an eye. Well, maybe not anything. She’s made it pretty clear that she would do anything for you.

“Then what?” She scrunches her face. “You seriously looked like you were gonna murder him. So I have to assume you both had some sort of fight. Unless it’s for different reasons. Maybe Y/n told you about- but that doesn’t equate to holding yourself back from manslaughter-”

“What are you talking about?” Steve couldn’t help the chuckle escaping his lips. He takes a quick glance to where you trail in front, completely oblivious. “Y/n didn’t tell me she knew Billy.”

“Oh, right.” She nods, snapping her fingers. “I forget. You guys are mortal enemies or whatever.”

He chose not to respond to that statement. “What’s their deal anyway? They seem…”

“Chummy?” She suggests, groaning. “Ugh, barely. She seems to like him, though. No matter how many times I tell her she’s a poor judge of character, she just doesn’t seem to listen.”

“Like him? Like… like him?” Steve frowns and Robin grimaces.

“As if.” She says and he has to prohibit the breath of relief from sounding into the hallway. “They were partnered for a project way back. Pretty much spent almost every day together for two weeks before he stood her up and never talked to her. She kept calling but, alas, no response.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s an asshole who just uses women.” Robin comments with spite, “What other reason would there be?”

“So… he used her?” His face scrunches as Robin sighs.

“No. God, no, they had… I don’t know, a moment or something, but she’s too smart to be pining after him.” She explains, waving her hand in the air as she spoke. “Y/n would never let anyone take advantage of her again.”

“Hm.” Steve nods, staring at his shoes as they softly squeak against the floors. You seem completely not phased as you swing the gas can around absent-mindedly in your hand and he wonders if you’re too caught up in your own thoughts. You and Billy? It was as if the universe catches wind of his desires and throws a bullet hole in them. “Wait. Again.”

“What?” Robin looks up like she had already forgotten the conversation.

“You said again. Someone taking advantage of her again.”

The blood drains from her face. Steve can’t help but stop, causing her to stop with him. She looked somewhat mortified as she sends a panicked look your way. Thankfully, you really weren’t paying attention to them.

“No I didn’t.” She says plainly and he almost laughed.

“Robin.”

“No.” She shakes her head profusely. “I said… ag-ing. Ageing. Yes.”

“Ageing?” He cocks a brow. “You said that she wouldn’t let someone take advantage of her ageing?”

“She is ageing very beautifully.” She coughs and he narrows his eyes.

“Robin.”

“No.” She hold up her hand and steps back. “I will not be succumbed by your Jedi mind tricks.”

“Jed-what?”

“It’s not my business.” She states with a serious stare, tightening her lips. Her voice is a whisper, afraid of the echoing walls. “I… I don’t know when to shut up sometimes. Maybe I’m just trying to trick everyone into thinking I’m not constantly living in fear, but I will literally talk until someone stops me. And most of the time I don’t think before I speak. Like now, I- I have no idea what’s gonna come out my mouth and the next thing I know I’ve revealed something that isn’t even my business to be sharing in the first place.

“But-”

“Y/n is my best friend. In fact, I’m pretty sure she’s my only friend and I don’t know what I’d do without her so please. Please. Just forget I said anything. I can’t lose her just because I can’t keep my mouth shut.”

If it weren’t for the overhead lights, Steve would never have noticed the glimmering tears pooling in her eyes. He knew she really meant what she said. She looked terrified. And Steve wasn’t going to be the person to ruin what Robin obviously cherishes most.

“Any chance they have some real food when we get back?” He finally speaks and she raises her head in surprise. “I’m starving.”

“I’m pretty sure all they’re gonna have is nutty bars.” Robin comments, flashing a small smile of appreciation. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as she thought.

“Hey?”

They both whip their heads to where you stand at the end of the hallway, frowning. While you hadn’t been focusing on them, once the noise of their conversation had lowered you had taken notice.

“You guys good?” You ask and Robin steps forward, patting Steve’s back.

“Oh yeah, we’re peachy.” She grins, “Practically besties now.”

“Don’t say besties.” Steve shudders and you tilt your head in disbelief.

“Really?” Your eyebrow raises and you decide you really didn’t need to spend energy on this. “Whatever, let’s get outside before it gets dark.”

With no objections, a few short steps later lead you stepping over a pile of broken glass, looking up at the foreboding red sky. It would have been a pretty sight if you hadn’t of known what caused it.

“The sun’s setting pretty fast.” Steve announces, brows pinched. “Let’s get this ride filled up and get the hell out of here.”

“Amen.” Robin shivers, the cool crisp of air hitting the back of her neck that remained uncovered from that impulsive haircut.

You’re already at Hopper’s police car, feeling a strange sense of nostalgia when you look at it, as if it hasn’t only been three days. But it’s different this time, because you honestly couldn’t say you were ever going to see this car again. Thinking of the worst will only heighten your anxiety, but expecting disappointment saved you from those harsh realities hitting any harder than they should.

“How long is this gonna take?” Robin whispers out, wrapping her arms around herself. “It’s cold and I’d like to be back inside with all the other nice, shiny weapons.”

“Almost done, Robs.” You sigh, discarding the empty can and picking up the second from the ground. “There might be a blanket in the backseat if you really need it.”

“No, it’s fine, I’ll survive.” She shakes her head, bouncing on her feet by shifting back and forth between each foot.

When Steve finally had enough, he rolls his eyes and slides his jacket off, holding it out to her. Robin’s eyes are wide as she silently accepts it. Anything was better than the sharp air she stood in. It was April, for god’s sakes, and here she was, shivering like she was trapped in an ice cube.

“Thanks.” She mumbles and Steve hums. She looks up to see he was distracted, eyes unwavering. Her first thought was that he was keeping an eye out, but when she followed his gaze she realised it was rather keeping an eye on. Which on the scale of normal to ‘hey, look, an apocalypse’, it was weird.

“Unbelievable.” Robin mutters to herself.

“Huh?” Steve finally tears his eyes away from you to see Robin looking up at him with a scowl. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You know what you did.” She glares, folding her arms and hugging herself tighter.

“I can honestly say, I don’t.” He blinks and her lips tighten.

“You do anything to ruin it, anything at all… I will hurt you.” She warns and Steve physically recoils.

“Did I get another concussion and forget about it?” He frowns, “What-”

“Okay, all set.” You announce, dumping the final can and turning with a smile. “Let’s get back inside- Robs, why do you look like that?”

“See?” Steve expresses, clicking his tongue, “I don’t know, she’s-”

When Steve turns to Robin, all he sees is a pale face and wide eyes, the complete opposite of the look she had given him seconds ago. He felt his arm hairs raise like soldiers on a field of goosebumps, prickling in the ice-cold of her terror.

“We have to get inside.” She whispers, voice cracking.

Everything felt dead silent, your heart rate beating your ear drums and you slowly turn your head to glance over your shoulder.

A pair of eyes lock onto you, masked behind the blood dripping from the mouth of what once used to be a person, now turned monster. She looked about your age, wearing jeans and a hoodie, much like the clothes currently clinging to your body. Except she looked at you with hunger, a sliced mouth ripping apart her skin into four sections. But that wasn’t the part that made your insides twist.

You found another pair of eyes. And another. And another. And another. A sea of dead, endless eyes, all looking at you like they were angry, like they held a deep and dark grudge against your very existence. Your breath didn’t hitch. It simply couldn’t when you couldn’t even breathe.

Her dead eyes were looking straight through you, and you couldn’t do anything for her – all that blood. You couldn’t -There was so much blood.

They all looked like corpses with agility, the concerning wait as they hunger for their food, but never attacking. They looked like an army.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit.” Steve curses, muttering under his breath as he cycled through the ideas of escape swarming in his eyes. The three of you couldn’t fight them off. There were so many, he was sure he lost count. And they were here. Why were they here?

“Why is no one counting to three?” Robin asks in a panic and you both look at her with silent confusion. “Usually someone is counting to three whenever we have to run away from literal death. Someone needs to count to three right now or I’m gonna freak-”

“Okay, okay, just calm down.” You hiss, grabbing her hand and she tightens her lips. You look up to Steve, “We counting to three?”

“I don’t see any other option.” He whispers back, chest rising heavily. He watches the indecision flash behind your eyes as you struggle.

“One.” You eventually say and Robin stands a little straighter, nodding as she turns herself towards her end destination.

“Two.” She replies, just as quiet as she shook. She wasn’t cold anymore.

Steve meets your eyes with a frown, his gaze flickering between you and the angry mob of monsters in the distance. You seemed prepared, desperate. For a moment, he really thought he wouldn’t say anything, too afraid that you’ll pull your usual self-sacrifice. So, he reaches out and grabs your hand, your eyes widening ever so slightly at the touch, but he wasn’t about to let you repeat past mistakes.

“Three.” He finally breathes, and then it’s a rush of motion.

You’re all taking off, sneakers tracking up mud as you sprint across the grass. Robin was slightly ahead, gripping the taser tightly in a fist. You had Steve’s hand to hold on to instead, feeling him tug you along every so often.

He finally drops your hand when you reach the lab, fully aware of the singular gap of shattered glass you all had to jump through. You feel the familiar crunch beneath your feet, risking a rushed look over your shoulder before you come to a complete stop, frowning with heavy breaths.

They hadn’t moved. Not one turned monster had tried to catch their prey. They were simply… watching.

There was a tug on your hand again and you stumble back into a run, feeling Steve’s resolute fingers intertwining with yours the entire time you weave through the hallways, back to that familiar bunker door, even all the way down those echoing metal steps until you were back in a room of safety.

Heads whip your way when Steve eventually releases your hand, using his to run it through his hair as he took in deep breaths.

Robin was a little more dishevelled, dropping herself to the ground to lay on her back.

“I… am… never… doing… that… again.” She managed to sound out, squeezing her eyes shut with a hand over her heart.

You try to suck the oxygen back into your body as you lean against a wall, earning a cocked brow from the mullet wearing boy at the centre table.

“Quiet night?” He jokes, but your serious expression changed his tone immediately. “What happened?”

“Monsters.” Robin gasps, finally sitting up. “I fucking hate monsters.”

“What happened?” Hopper repeats, pushing away from the table and walking over to you with a concerned frown etched between his brows. “Are you okay?”

“We’re fine.” You nod quickly and he lets out a sigh of relief. “The chevy’s all fired up.”

You toss him the keys and he snatches them out of the air with one swift fist.

“What did you-”

“Y/n?”

You feel your body stiffen as the sweet and quiet voice calling out to you. For just a moment, you could have sworn it was Sara.

You peer around Hopper to find El pushing out of the group in the corner, her face breaking into a smile and before you know it, she’s ran up and wrapped her arms around you.

“I missed you.” She states, voice muffled by your hoodie.

Tears prick at your eyes as you rest your head on hers, embracing her like she might slip away from you. “I missed you, too.”

“Awwww.” Dustin coos, looking like he might cry, too.

“It’s gonna be okay.” Lucas pats his back, a crack in his voice as he dons the same emotional expression.

“Men.” Max rolls her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips all the same.

“When did you wake up?” You ask softly, pushing her away only enough to see her face. Her curly hair was a bit of a mess, dark circles under her eyes.

“A while ago.” She responds, glancing at Hopper. “Hopper needed to talk to me.”

Hopper’s warm smile quickly dropped as he clears his throat, nodding.

“It’s about the plan.” He explains in its simplest term, meaning that he didn’t want you to know all of it, at least not until he had spoken to El first.

“Yeah, okay.” You force a smile, finally letting her go. “We’ll talk later.”

She beams up at you as she follows Hopper out of the room and into the adjoining one. You watch them start to talk behind the glass, like you were observing a secret conversation you’d never be a part of.

“You guys gonna tell us what the hell happened to you, then?” Max raises a brow, shrugging when people look at her as if to say ‘really?’. “What? I’m just asking what we’re all thinking.”

“We had a run in with a hoard of people.” Steve sighs, rubbing his temple as he sets his bat back on the table, returning his hand to his hip. “Well, not really people.”

“Weird mutant people.” Robin corrected and Steve nods, pointing at her.

“Demopeople.” Dustin whispers out and Steve does a double take.

“Really? Demopeople?”

“You got another name you wanna share with the class?” Dustin spits and Steve rolls his eyes.

“Sorry if I just think we could be a little more creative here. Demogorgon. Demodogs. Demopeople. It’s just getting a little repetitive.”

Dustin stares at him with a deadpan look. Steve doesn’t take the hint.

“What’s next. Demobirds? Demobats? Demohippos-”

“We get it, Steve!” Dustin stresses and Steve just pulls a face.

“God, why are they like that?” Robin shivers as the image reawakens in her mind.

“We think it could be a virus.” Mike announced, so casually as if it was a conversation about dinner.

“Virus?” You ask, feeling a little startled by his suggestion.

“Don’t worry, none of us have it.” Dustin pats your back and Steve hides a smirk when you slowly push his hand away.

“Why do you think it’s a virus?” You persist as a shiver ran down your spine. You wrap your arms around you to mask the sudden feeling to your friends. They didn’t seem to take any notice.

“You guys seen them before?” Steve asks, glancing at you when he sees you jolt, trying to cover it up.

“A few.” Nancy replies this time, and the others nod in accordance. “A lot of people in town were like that.”

Their faces said everything they didn’t. You know because you’ve had that expression, the dawning realisation that the person trying to kill you wasn’t really a person anymore.

“Mr Holloway?”

His wild eyes suddenly darted upwards, staring at you.

Then, he pounces.

He’s snarling as he claws at your jumper, pulling you down to the ground with him. In haste you try and push him off of you, but this man was a lot bigger than you, wrapping his hands around your throat and smashing your head into the cold ground.

Struggling against his weight, he rears his head closer to you.

“Stop!” You try, his tightening grip on your neck releasing the word as a strained whisper.

“But how did they get it?” Robin questions and Will looks up from where he had been staring down at his hands.

“An infection.” He says quietly. “All of those people… they were bitten.”

“By the Demogorgons?” Steve’s eyes are wide with mild terror and curiosity.

“And the demodogs. Maybe.” Lucas adds.

“Whatever it is, it’s not getting in here. Now come on, we have work to do.” Joyce reminds them gently and the boys collectively sigh before trailing over to where Max was already sat.

Steve watches as she bats away Dustin’s hands, his pout when Max won’t give him the radio. It was strange to see how normal everyone was reacting to this whole situation, even the indication that any one of them could be infected with a virus that could turn them into monsters, no, zombies. But that normality was probably the only thing keeping everyone sane right now.

Could there really be some kind of virus? It made sense, people with the mouths of the very creatures that had attacked them. But surely that was barbaric. No way was the Upside Down going to be that creepy.

“What a load of bullshit, right? A virus?” He scoffs out a laugh, hoping you’ll laugh too and set his mind at ease. He wants you to agree that it is all a lie, that there wasn’t something else out there to be afraid of.

But when he looks over at you, your face has fallen, and you look ill.

“Y/n?” He whispers out and you clear your throat.

“Huh? Sorry, I’m… tired. I think I’m gonna grab some sleep.” You nod, eyes directed at him but not really looking. It was like you were in a haze, accompanied by a concerned look on Robin’s face.

“You feeling okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I didn’t really sleep last night so… so I should try.” You say a little airily, convincing yourself more than them.

“Do you want me to-”

“No.” You cut Robin off with a smile, already heading to the door. “No, I’m fine. Thanks, though.”

You pushed through the doors and left them stood there, exchanging glances of worry.

“She’s not okay.” Steve states and Robin almost rolls her eyes.

“No shit, Sherlock.” She mumbles, talking again before he could retaliate, “Maybe she’s just scared? I mean her dad is about to go on a suicide mission down into a place crawling with all kinds of chomping virus monsters. I’d be pretty god damn terrified too.”

“Yeah.” Steve agrees, but he was lying. Something felt wrong. He’s been there when you’ve been through something traumatic, and right now he doesn’t think he’s ever seen you look more phased in the last three days than you did just then.

You lower yourself into the sleeping bag in the far corner. It looked untouched, all the others spare from two were covered in various trinkets, creased from use. You figured the two at the very back were made up for you and Steve. When you settle on the ground, you notice a familiar black and bulky material, a bag you hadn’t seen since detention. The one Hopper found when he tried to look for life in a building surrounded by dead bodies.

Hopper. Your dad. Why weren’t you reacting more to this? You had fought, screamed, cried when he suggested he’d be going. And now he’s officially heading there, and you feel numb. Maybe too much has happened for your brain to take notice of how fucked up everything really was. Or it could be because you had more pressing matters to occupy your brain storage.

It could be a virus.

A load of bullshit, right?

An infection.

Your hands shake as you reach down with your eyes squeezed shut, painfully rolling up your jean leg that had seen better days.

When you open them, you’re staring down at a torn piece of fabric wrapped around your ankle, a single tear trickling down your cheek. You strip away the bandage and choke back a gasp.

Small little puncture wounds wrapped across your skin, like teeth marks. And there were black veins too, snaking across your flesh, creeping up your leg.

“Fuck.”

Chapter Twelve: Down The Rabbit Hole ->

taglist: @manyfandomsfanvergent . @sheisjoeschateau . @kthomps914 . @curled-hair-red-lips . @nix-rose . @palmtreesx3 . @kryztalglear . @sattlersquarry . @hey-barnes-stole-a-jeep . @sadslasher13 . @80saestheticismyfav .

#stranger things x reader #stranger things #fanfic #steve harrington #stranger things reader insert #steve x reader #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington series #apocalypse au #st2 #stranger things au #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fanfiction #robin buckley

[annmarcus63]

Jaskier never imagined that there could be another Geralt out there, much less another universe with unique yet similar problems. Nor did he imagine that, inexplicably and suddenly, his heart would feel so hungry for someone he had barely met four weeks earlier. Sure, Jaskier tended to fall in love within hours with whoever caught his attention, be it man, elf, woman, dwarf.... Jaskier has always loved freely without worrying about the consequences. But this famine was different, one that wants to swallow everything in one gulp. One that yearns for BeardGeralt. For days he tried to convince himself that it was pure lust, then he tried to convince himself that it was some sort of defense mechanism. So many years in love with Geralt have weighed heavily on him, perhaps what he feels for BeardGeralt is a convenient way out for his treacherous heart. In reality he suspects that he is only trying to deceive himself, after all he is the one who knows his heart best and knows very well that what he feels is real. As real as falling in love with the alter ego of the one who is supposed to be half of your soul. Which makes you feel futilely guilty. And it's certainly not fair, having to deal with how good BeardGeralt is. He's certainly something out of this world, ha. Two witchers and a bard traveling are a very picturesque image. Having only one horse, they take turns riding but BeardGeralt always offers him his place by claiming to have a lot of energy. In the evenings BeardGeralt always makes sure to give Jaskier a larger portion of food. Every time Jaskier looks up, he finds him watching him with a certain satisfaction of one who enjoys caring. The problem is that Geralt notices these gestures and Jaskier feels like garbage when he notices that the witcher is not comfortable. The bard fears that Geralt thinks of himself as insufficient. But, on the other hand, it's nice to have someone looking out for him for a change, to have someone make him feel loved.  

"Cold?" asks BeardGeralt one night of heavy rain when the three of them have taken shelter against the wall of some abandoned ruins. 

"I've been worse" and then he feels a hand running across his lower back and resting on his hip. Her breath catches. With a swift movement BeardGeralt brings him against his shoulder. Jaskier smiles sincerely pleased and looks at BeardGeralt out of the corner of his eye. Geralt, his Geralt tenses at his side, clearly not knowing what to make of the situation. He’s confused, but he knows he has no right to question Jaskier's relationships. He never has, but somehow this time feels different. It’s strange, Jaskier can admit that. But it feels right, Jaskier thinks guiltily. 

Jaskier has stolen a familiar-looking collection of poems from a rather rude merchant, to discover that it was an elvish collection of poems that her nanny used to read to him. He tells this story, as is his custom, in great detail. BeardGeralt listens intently and jokes playfully about his nostalgia. At some point in the conversation Geralt interferes to tell them that they should sleep. 

One evening Jaskier is tending his lute while Geralt prepares the fire while BeardGeralt is out hunting for food. 

"He will leave, Jask. You should be careful," Geralt advises him, almost whispering. At first Jaskier has a hard time understanding what they are talking about, but once he does a series of emotions run through the pit of his stomach. Sadness, anger, indignation, gratitude, sympathy and finally resignation. Jaskier is no friend of resignation.  

"I know." answers Jaskier with the certainty of one who knows he will lose something he did not know he possessed.  

So what if fate is right? So what if Geralt is his soulmate but they have met many years before? So what if his Geralt is not ready? So what if BeardGeralt is ready and more than willing to try something with him? So what if fate made a mistake? So what if BeardGeralt is here for a reason? So what if none of that matters because in the end, no matter what, Jaskier is going to get hurt? 

Kaer Morhen is getting closer every day, there BeardGeralt's Ciri will be waiting for them.

One thing Jaskier knows with futile certainty is that no Geralt would choose him.

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

Game Geralt x series Jaskier

Here's the first part

Thanks to fandom-trash-and-hyperfixations for their awesome ideas on this. love u.

What do you mean? of course there will be a culmination of this trashy angst/romance so stay tuned!

#geraskier #jaskier #geralt of rivia #the witcher #the witcher netflix #the witcher 3 #i just love some good angst u know #the thing is that Jaskier deserves happines with his soulmate #our boy needs to be happy so we can be happy #let me know what u think #what will be the better outcome for you

[divinemare]

Cruel Cauldron

✎ᝰ┆azriel x oc

ᝰ┆part four

part three

—— —͙ – -

The room was deathly quiet, no one moved a finger, or breathed too hard.

Everyone waited anxiously, their hearts beating so loudly that the symphony confused to whom each beat belonged.

Karina was shaking her foot up and down as nerves consumed her entire body, creating knots in her throat and stomach with the uncertainty of her horrifying situation.

She could still feel the aftermath of what had happened on the balcony, stirring her heart, altering her senses.

Azriel too, it seemed.

The male sat opposite to her, his shadows moving in frustration and despair, nervous, anxious, covering his master in a dark, shadowy cloud.

Karina rolled her eyes as those of the male, with whom she ended up bound for the rest of her life by the Cauldron's cursed grace, were on her, burning holes of rage into her skin.

As if she was to blame for all of this.

"Of all the people in this fucking world, it had to be you," Karina broke the silence with an exasperated sigh.

"I strongly share the sentiment," Azriel mumbled with his teeth tightly clenched.

Karina had seen him angry, frustrated and exasperated with her before, but now he really looked as if at any moment he was going to rise from his seat and choke her to death.

"Don't even think I'm going to agree to spend an eternity with you, I'd rather gouge my eyes out with my own fingernails than spend a single day with you."

"Don't be so flattered, princess, I'd rather hang myself with my own shadows than spend an eternity with you."

"Oh, I'll hang you with-"

Before she could finish her threat and cause the vein in the Shadowsinger's forehead to pop, the wooden doors to the Meeting Hall loudly creaked open, and everyone quickly rose from their seats to bow by placing two fingers on their foreheads towards the Queen.

"Some manners I’ve taught you, Karina."

At that moment, Karina began to reevaluate that option of throwing herself off the balcony again, caught between Azriel's piercing stare and her mother's scrutinizing one.

"Sorry, mother."

Queen Verena completely ignored her daughter as she walked to sit at the head of the table, her long white dress, along with the thousands of silver, black and red jewels, trailing across the floor in a way that almost seemed to be cruel, as if the pure color in the female’s dress became obscure, leaving a trail of blood and death wherever she walked.

"Sit down, please," she gestured to Feyre and Rhys, and they all immediately returned to their places. "We seem to find ourselves in a rather peculiar predicament here, don't you think, High Lord?"

"A rather unexpected one, no doubt, Your Majesty," Rhysand nodded agreeing with the female, Karina could see from her position the flicker of his exhausted and anxious eyes that he so nimbly hid from her mother.

"And what do you suggest we do? You do understand that we were here today to negotiate peace agreements, not to discuss yet another problem."

Peace agreements, yeah, right.

Karina refrained from rolling her eyes, her mother was a terrific fucking liar and manipulator.

"I understand that, but-"

"Mother, if I may speak, please," Karina interrupted Rhys, seeing the dark gleam in the Queen's eyes that made her bones shiver, she was most definitely planing something, something bad.

Arisa tried to stop her, but the Queen was already looking exasperatedly at her youngest daughter.

"This is between me and Azriel. As unfortunate as that sounds."

"Karina, my naive child, you are a princess of these lands, they are outsiders who have yet to pay the blood debt they brought to our people with the death of our beloved Yvett, does that sound like a small thing to you?"

"Mother-"

"Arisa, take your sister outside, you can tell she's still a little shaken up about what happened," without even looking at her, Verena waved a hand dismissively towards her daughter.

"Mother!"

"Come on, Karina, please," Arisa rose from her seat, silently begging her not to make any more fuss.

Karina sighed in frustration, walking out in exasperated big steps, with her heart on her mouth and a terrible feeling in her chest.

Azriel watched as his mate walked away with an explosive anger that almost made the fae lights in the room burst, feeling her anger, her despair in his chest as if it was his own.

He only came back to the conversation when the bone-chilling voice of Queen Verena spoke up after the oak doors were closed with a defiant push of Karina’s power.

“Now, where were we?”

៚ ·

Azriel clung to the calm that his shadows were trying to bring him as he weighed the whole situation on a mental scale.

On one hand, they had a chance to sort this whole mess out before it got out of hand, and Prythian would find itself in another war that this time, they were in no condition to fight. But on the other, this deal meant giving the pleasure of taking control to a female they still had no idea what her intentions were, let alone her true plans.

Not to mention, spending eternity irrevocably attached to a female who he couldn't even tolerate being in the same kingdom as. Well, Azriel could begin to think of all the ways he would rather end that "eternity" sooner.

His shadows whispered in his ears the arrival of Rhys and Feyre before Azriel heard their footsteps, and as he turned around, his High Lord and Lady were looking at him with weary, troubled expressions.

There was a long silence before Rhys spoke up.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, Az, you know that, we’ll find another way,” he assured him with a ghost of a smile, his eyes failing to cloak the tiredness in them.

“There is no other way, Rhys, you know Queen Verena will use this as an excuse to start the war she so desperately wants, and we’re in no conditions to start another war with such a powerful enemy right now. I’m doing this.”

He had already made up his mind. As high of a price it was to stop the conflict, as dreadful as that whole situation was, it was a price Azriel was willing to pay in order to keep his family out of harms way.

Feyre gave a step towards him, her sweet expression twisted in worry.

“Az, we don’t want you to-”

Azriel stoped his High Lady giving a step towards her and touching the female’s arm in a reassuring, determined way.

“Feyre,” he tried to smile, showing both High Fae he had made up his mind, and there was nothing they could do about it. “I’m doing this.”

And Mother helped him from now on.

៚ ·

Karina had been subjected to various punishments of her mother throughout the centuries, one would think that, somewhere along the way, she should’ve know by now not to cross the female’s patience, but that was not the case just yet, as she was fervently following the Queen’s steps behind with a piece of her mind she was not about to hold to herself.

“Mother,” Karina tried to stop her mother as the female went on and on about the arrangement that had been struck without her a few hours ago.

“You’ll be sent off to Prythian on Saturday, prepare your bags,” Verena pretended her daughter’s voice was a whisper of the wind, as she usually did, and completely ignored Karina’s call for attention.

“Mother, please…” Karina gave a step closer to the Queen, furrowing her brows as she begged her mother to listen to her.

“The papers have been signed, the ceremony will take place in two months from this very day,” but as expected, Verena didn’t even so much as look in her direction.

“Mother…”

“Your engagement party will be right here, whilst the mating ceremony will be held on the Night Court.”

Like. Fucking. Hell. It. Would.

“Mother!” Karina shouted, exasperated and, honestly, desperate.

“Karina, you know I don’t like it when you scream,” the older female sighed and turned around to look at her daughter as if she was a child throwing a silly tantrum.

“Then stop and listen to me! I don’t want to do this, I don’t…” She was so mad she couldn’t even find the words to express herself.

Her mother had practically sold her out into a marriage she was not even little bit willing to participate in.

“Too bad, then, because you are,” Verena only raised an eyebrow, indifferent to her daughter’s despair.

“Mother, please!” Karina cried.

This is not how she wanted to get married, this is not how she wanted to start a family, but most importantly, this is not who she wanted to do this with.

“Please don’t make me do this, I don’t…I can’t marry him,” for maybe the first time in all her centuries of life, Karina showed her mother something else rather than defiance, she showed her vulnerability, her eyes gleaned with tears as she gave a step closer to her progenitor, hoping that some little part of the female she used to be once upon a time showed itself for her daughter once more.

“Why not.”

“Because I can’t! I don’t want to! He hates me.”

And because I love someone else. Something Karina decided not to tell the female, in case that would become yet a bigger reason for her mother to marry her off even faster.

A moment of silence stretched between the two Basdearg females. Karina held her breath expectantly, while her mother stared at her with an intensity that could freeze a grown male’s bones. She waited and waited and waited for an answer, and prayed to the Mother and Cauldron and every God she knew.

“Well, then you have two months to either change how he feels towards you, or learn how to live with that. You may not see it yet, my dear, but you’re about to become our most brightest dream, and their worst darkest nightmare.”

And with those words, Verena left her daughter standing in the middle of the hallway with her heart on the floor and a anger that threaten to crumble the floor at her feet.

៚ ·

Three weeks later…

And that’s how she had ended up here, in Prythian, all on her own with her things being carried out of a ship, in the Night Court’s port, with a raging fire inside of her that swallowed her whole every time she thought about the bargain her mother had struck with the High Lord and Lady of this damned Court.

A marriage agreement, a sentence that would bind her for however long immortality would last for them both.

#a court of thorns and roses #cruel cauldron #acotar #acomaf #acosf #acowar #acotar fanfic #acotar fanfiction #acotar oc #azriel #azriel fic #azriel fanfic #azriel x reader #azriel x you #azriel x oc #azriel shadowsinger #azriel acotar #rhysand #high lord rhysand #rhysand acotar #rhys #feyre #feyre archeron #high lord of the night court #night court #rhys acotar #acotar fic #feyre acotar #azriel x karina #nesta archeron

[tatooinequeeen]

Greedy

Simon “Ghost” Riley & König x Female Reader

ao3

Spotify

Triggers: ooey gooey love

Chapter Five: Sugar

One Week Later

Mind. Blowing. Sex. You savored the moments between the three of you like a decadent chocolate melting on your tongue. But you also craved the intimacy of one on one time, truly the best of both worlds when it came to König and Ghost. They were still figuring each other out, the dynamics they forged working together helping the process along, but you were a much needed reprieve for both of them at the end of the day. One whole week of sharing each other in every way felt like a fever dream that you never wanted to end and hopefully, if you were reading the situation correctly you would never need to worry about that.

König shuffled through the front door and dropped his bag on the floor before rushing over to you and pulling you up and into his arms. You wound your legs around his waist and hugged him back, loving the intensity with which this man showed you affection. “Did the bed get delivered, Schatz?” His sweet voice was muffled against your neck. You nodded against him. You realized his height combined with two massive men sleeping in the same bed as you made no sense in your small king - so you sprung or rather they sprung on a custom bed so everyone was more comfortable. You had to get creative altering your sheets to fit but at the end of the day it was a small price to pay to have them both with you at night. You slept so deeply in the middle of them, you had no idea how you were going to cope the next time they went on a mission.

He walked over to the couch and settled you comfortably on his lap, brushing your hair back from your face. “König, can I kiss you?” He nodded and you lifted his mask off, setting it on the back of the couch and smoothed your hands through his hair. His gorgeous eyes closed at the contact and he let out a soft sigh. You loved touching his hair, the silky strands made you slightly envious but it was the sheer vulnerability he showed you that really made your heart melt. You leaned in to kiss him gently, which then turned steamier when he nipped your lip. He slid his tongue between your lips and you opened, granting him access to plunder you. You kissed him back with abandon and started a gentle rock of your hips on his lap.

“Nothing better than coming home to your partners making out on the couch.” Ghost huffed with feigned irritability. “Sure wish poor Simon over here got an invite.” You laughed against König’s lips. “Get over here, then.” Ghost pulled off his mask and rushed over to the couch - ever the eager one for affection these days. You pulled his face toward you and kissed him deeply. König pulled him away from you as soon as he could and gripped the back of his neck, kissing him with a sensuality you felt voyeuristic watching. Ghost sat back with a dreamy look on his face. “Now that’s the way I want to be greeted everytime I come home, loves.” König shook his head and smiled, you just looked between them with enough love pouring out of you to blanket all three of you.

Ghost gave König a look and then they turned their twin attention on you. You smiled, happy to be the center of their world. “We have something for you, liebling.” You had no idea what it could possibly be aside from sex and somehow that just didn’t seem like what they were talking about. Both men reached into their respective pockets and presented their item to you.

In König’s hand was a stunning sapphire and white gold ring. Covering your mouth with one hand, staring up at him in shock, you were absolutely speechless. “I want you to know that I have a long way to go with learning how to be vulnerable with someone else, Mein Schätzelein. But I am falling in love with you and want you to have a piece of me with you always.” You stuck your left hand out and let him slip the ring onto your bare finger. As he slid it along your flesh, you felt something digging into your finger. Before you could think much of it, Ghost drew your attention to him and presented his ring. A brilliant emerald set in white gold, you noticed it mirrored the ring now resting on your finger, just opposite. “You know that I love you, and now that we have König to complete us, we wanted to make sure you had a reminder of our love everyday.” He repeated the process König just completed and you felt the same sharp sensation. Puzzled, you looked between them.

“You see, loving us isn’t always going to be easy. Sometimes it’s going to hurt. But if you try to remove the rings they’ll dig into you and draw blood.” Your eyes widened. König picked up where Ghost left off. “You’re ours.” The symbolism wasn’t lost on you. You adored their sharp way of loving you and having a reminder that you were theirs was never a bad thing. The rings fit against each other as they were designed to, perfectly.

A happy tear welled in the corner of your eye. “I love you both more than I could have ever imagined loving someone else.” They wrapped their arms around you. “I am yours, both of yours. Forever.”

The End

Note from Tatooinequeen; I always planned this fic to be about five chapters but…if you want an epilogue just let me know. 👉🏼👈🏼

#call of duty #simon ghost riley #simon ghost riley x reader #call of duty fanfic #simon ghost riley fanfic #smut #ghost fanfiction #konig mw2 #konig smut #konig x reader #why choose

[moonlight-prose]

HURT

➝ 04. LOVE LIKE GHOSTS

a/n: this chapter took way too long for me to write. mainly because i lost inspo for joel briefly but thankfully @sunflowersteves and @themarcusmoreno helped me find it again. so this one goes to them for being the best enablers and helping me find my love for joel again. chapter three ended on somewhat of a low note, but this paired with the interlude will help ease that pain. i swear. for this part i am going with joel's age in the game not the show.

summary: nearly losing you broke off another piece of who joel was, leaving the distance to remain like a cracked open chasm.

word count: 8.4k+

pairing: joel miller x f!reader

warnings: EXPLICIT SO MINORS DNI (we've made it people!), cussing, angst, fluff, tad bit of romance, grief, p in v sex, oral (f receiving), injuries, the insufferable stubbornness of two people.

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The streets were empty, rotting cars scattered along the side of the highway as if pushed out of the way. They were left there to decay, vines wrapping around whatever remained of the shell, the inside hollow of memories. Everything you knew from the old life, from a world that only remained in memories now turned bitter, was gone.

You could see the cracks in the roads where the asphalt couldn’t handle the weight of the tanks that were sent in. Because warfare was always the solution to a problem that was not intent on creating war. The infection did not see humanity as its enemy, but rather something to change. Something that it could alter—creating its own version of perfection. Funny how it looked like destruction to you.

Silence filled the car as Joel drove, sticking to the main highway. The two of you had barely talked since you packed what you could from the house and left it behind. Yet another piece of your memory that would vanish sooner or later. At first you thought it was because neither of you had anything to say. But then you noticed it. The deliberate way he refused to look at you—his eyes always cast somewhere else, focused on the task at hand.

Joel was ignoring you.

“How old are you?” you asked, turning to face him as you passed yet another open and empty field.

“Old.”

You snorted, watching the way his hands shifted on the wheel, his shoulder moving as if he was uncomfortable. Which he was. You’d been around him long enough to catch when you should change the topic. Today though, you had a goal in mind—getting him to look at you.

Tracing your eyes down his silhouette, you spotted the scatters of gray coming in through his sparse beard. The sight looked endearing to you. Perhaps it was the notion that he was aging despite the travesty of the world, or maybe it was just Joel. Him and all his stubborn antics wedged their way into your heart. Yet no matter how hard you tried to rid yourself of him, he remained.

“You can’t be that old,” you said, shifting until you were practically sitting to the side, your head leaning against the seat. “I guarantee we’re closer in age than you think.”

His eyebrow raised as he glanced at you out of the corner of his eye. “You were nineteen when this all started?”

Surprise ran through your body at the realization that he remembered your small bit of information. “That’s right.”

Joel nodded solemnly, his eyes once again focusing back on the empty road. “I was thirty-two.”

Silently you calculated the exact age in your head, coming to the conclusion that Joel was being dramatic, and you were only thirteen years apart. He was barely leaving his thirties and had the gall to say he was old. You chuckled softly, turning back to your seat by the window—the fields now shifting to broken buildings and destroyed cities.

“Forty-two isn’t old,” you mumbled, leaning your chin on your hand.

Now it was his turn to scoff. “Feels like it darlin’.”

The newer nickname filled your chest with warmth. You bit down on your lip to conceal the smile that threatened to break through. He’d shifted from calling you Boston very recently and you began to equate that to him being serious when he was talking. Yet your actual name rarely ever came up. The last time you heard him use it was…when he was in the bathroom, doing what you figured was none of your business.

Even after you caught him in the act, you still found ways to convince yourself you were somehow wrong. Joel did not go hide in a bathroom, simply to get himself off to the thought of you. He didn’t seem like the type of man to do that. Except you still heard him. Still pretended what his raspy tone would sound like if he were to say your name against your ear, in an entirely different situation.

You wondered if that’s why he was suddenly farther from you that you would have liked him to be. Even as you sat beside one another, you still felt as if you had to travel a great distance to get closer. Joel kept you at arms length for a reason—you were guilty of doing the same—but still the ache to have him resurfaced. It screamed at you, promised you that things would be different if you just gave in, but the world told you otherwise.

It told you the truth; this was always how it was meant to go, following a broken path beside a man who could no longer discern love from grief.

Yet even as you stared reality in the face, you refused to accept it. The both of you would one day become ghosts to a world that couldn’t protect you. So why should you relinquish the last bit of good you had left? Why should you give him up?

Sighing, you opened the dashboard’s compartment, finding a small stack of old tapes inside. All of them, dusty and nearly ruined. You recognized one above them all, and the sight of the country legend’s name made you smile. Joel might have been okay with sitting in silence as he drove, but you weren’t. So, you popped it into the player, settling into the seat as Johnny Cash’s rendition of Hurt began to slowly come to life on the shitty car speakers.

You quickly glanced at Joel, seeing his body loosen up some as the song continued. While its meaning was dark, you figured it couldn’t possibly be worse than the shit both of you had already been through. In a way, the lyrics felt cathartic as you gazed out at a broken world. You found yourself grinning, watching the sun begin to shift in the sky, the heat seeping into the car. 

Even though your heart felt slightly crushed at Joel’s stubbornness, you felt the hope linger. That’s what you latched onto, what you kept close to your heart for fear of watching it fade away. You just hoped Joel would one day do the same.

Turning to watch him, you felt your heart flutter at the sight. He was so broken, yet so beautiful that you felt you couldn’t stare at him for too long.

“You know we’re allowed to want things Joel,” you said softly, your eyes once again fixated on the slope of his nose and how the sunlight glinted off his cheeks. “Even if it hurts to have them.”

You didn’t say anything else, opting to settle in the seat and get some rest. Eventually you’d switch places, finding somewhere to siphon some more gas and continue. He let you rest, staying quiet as the tape continued to play, the soft country songs slowly lulling you to sleep.

It didn’t take you long to fall asleep entirely, the soft puffs of breath you let out giving Joel some odd peace of mind. He wasn’t sure what it was about you sleeping in his vicinity—maybe the extreme trust you had to have when it came to that—but he found himself loosening up as you slept. As if all the worries he had about you and him vanished.

Your words still echoed in his mind, plucking at his fears like a guitar and playing your own tune of despondent tune of loneliness. He’d heard it before, knew it note for note, but couldn’t find it in himself to play along.

There was no doubt in his mind that he wanted you. Fuck, he’d give up whatever he had left to have you, but that’s not what his fear stemmed from. No, he knew that wanting you was a secret he wasn’t afraid to let free. He was afraid of what would happen when he could finally call you his, when the barrier you both erected to keep each other safe, fell.

Joel knew what came with love, had seen the horrors of it first hand, but you…you promised him one that was easy. The simplicity of being with you was unmatched; as if he found the other part of him he didn’t know he was searching for. He was terrified of what losing you would turn him into. What would become of him if you were no longer with him? If you were lost to him. He got a taste of it that night and barely survived.

Sighing, he turned his gaze to you, eyes soft as he traced the features of your face. If he didn’t know you, didn’t have some semblance of the life you faced before he met you, he would have thought you were innocent. Just a woman who had somehow managed to make it out of this hell unscathed. Someone who had a future ahead of her.

With Joel that future would end.

He knew he wasn’t being fair towards you, knew that you had already made up your mind about what you wanted from him. If only you could see how much he wanted exactly the same thing. He wouldn’t be the same man that continued to wallow in his fears. Couldn’t go on hoping that things would change, that the world would give him a chance again at some type of normalcy. There was nothing normal left to have, but he knew this. You were right beside him, telling him that the things he wanted weren’t something to run from.

So he wouldn’t.

The car was parked when you woke up, Joel nowhere to be found. Five seconds. That’s how long it took your hazy sleep-addled mind that came back to life to panic at the sight of the empty drivers seat. You scrambled to sit up right, shoving the door open with a push that was a bit too hard. But you couldn’t reason with yourself right now. Not when Joel wasn’t anywhere near the car, his bag missing from the backseat.

Your boots hit the ground, kicking up dust. Trying to keep calm, you did your best to stop the racing of your heart. Except there was no use. You were in the middle of hell where anything could have happened to him and you had no idea how to find him. His gun was still strapped to your hip, his jacket wrapped around your body. It would be something he came back for. This you knew.

However, that didn’t dispel the doubt filling your body. Was he hurt? Was he lost? Your mind jumped to every scenario possible, terrified that the man you were too afraid to love was now gone.

Catching your breath, you mapped out the best direction he could have gone in. You figured he was looking for more gas to siphon, possibly searching for extra supplies. It made the most sense. After all he wouldn’t leave you like this, abandoned on the side of the deserted highway. Right?

“Joel?” you called, slipping the gun from its holster and heading in the direction of the abandoned building that caught your eye. You’d have to trek pretty far to get to it, but the possibility that he was inside kept you going.

“Joel!” you shouted, wincing as your voice echoed in the distance.

You had to be careful of how loud you were being. The noise would no doubt attract unwanted visitors. You certainly didn’t need that happening while you were alone, halfway to losing the last bit of sanity you had left. The sun beat down on you, heat trailing down your body with each rushed step you made towards the place. Fear filled your chest, tightening around your heart and lungs until it was hard to breathe.

“Shit,” you spit, trying to keep your shaking hands steady as you entered the broken door.

You could recognize the remnants of a gas station store, the sign in the back listing the different types of alcohol they sold, even what food they used to have. Holding your breath, you listened intently for any sounds of infected—expecting to hear the familiar clicks and growls. But you were met with a steady silence.

“Joel?” you said softly, stepping over broken glass and pieces of the rotted ceiling that most likely fell during a storm. “You better be in here Texas.” The words were muttered under your breath, simply another way for you to rid yourself of the fear.

Standing still, you hoped to hear his deep voice respond with a drawl of Boston or darlin’, but when you were given nothing, your heart dropped down to your stomach. He had to be around here somewhere, had to have come in here to find supplies. But the longer you searched through the small building, the less sure you were about your odds. The sting of tears began to build in your eyes—the emptiness eating away at your insides.

Cursing under your breath, you made your way back outside, intent on waiting in the car until he returned. You had no real plan after that. Nothing to turn to if Joel never showed up. Except you couldn’t give a shit about a plan if Joel was missing. You had survived alone before, knew you could do it again, but that was the thing. You didn’t want to.

An echo of something in the distance stopped you midstep, your finger immediately falling onto the trigger. The sun blared in your face, blocking your eyesight, but you could see it. The tall form of a man heading towards the truck. Instead of immediately assuming he was Joel, you kept your guard up. Intent on being ready for something else entirely.

But then you heard it.

“Boston!” he called out, his voice ringing in the area and hitting your ears.

You began to run. Shoving the gun in the holster, you sprinted back towards him and watched as he frantically searched around the truck.

“Joel!”

With panicked wide eyes, he spun around to face you, relief washing over his face the second he caught sight of you. It only took him a few strides to reach you, his arms ready to gather you close. Only for you to shove him until he stumbled back into the truck’s hood, his grunt of pain twisting your heart briefly. The panic, the fear, it all blended into one thing you were tired of feeling. Pain. The pain of possibly losing him after all you’d been through.

“Darlin’ what—”

“Don’t do that to me again!” you snapped, no longer able to reign in all of the emotions you tried so hard to tamp down. “I woke up and you were gone Joel! I called for you, even went into that damn building to find you, but nothing!”

“Hey—”

The tears were streaming down your face, angry and hot. “I thought you were…gone o–or…”

He yanked you forward, his arms wrapping tightly around your waist and pressing you against his warm chest. “I’m sorry.” You can feel his face buried in your neck, his arms so tight you knew you’d feel it later. Yet that’s exactly what you needed from him. “I should have woken you up.”

Perhaps you were being ridiculous about this. Breaking down over the fact that he left you alone, but you couldn’t afford to lose another person. Your heart was broken already, but losing Joel…that would kill you. Whatever pieces you had left would surely vanish the second that the two of you were parted for good. You’d grown accustomed to having him around—a person that knew you. Could see through your facade of bravery you wore every day.

He was your tether to this world, the thing that kept you going. That realization—the understanding that Joel would mean more to you than you could ever express into words—terrified you. Suddenly you had something to lose.

Joel refused to let you go, his arms still wrapped tightly around your waist. Even as you stopped crying, he continued to hold you—his face buried in your neck. You could feel the shift in the air, the understanding that whatever this was…it wasn’t temporary. Neither of you were willing to part with the other, too attached in your own odd ways.

Which only made you clutch onto him tighter, your breathing evening out the longer you were pressed to his chest. You knew you were safe in his hold, but the longer you stood out in the open unmoving, the more you gained the chance for something to find the both of you. Reluctantly, you pulled back. Still you kept your hand on his arm, unable to let go of him entirely—the adrenaline of losing him not yet spent from your system.

“How long do we keep going for?” you asked, trying to shove the slivers of your vulnerability back inside, cutting off any pain you felt.

He seemed to understand what you were doing, opting to remain close yet never once pressuring you to open up. The thought filled your chest with warmth. You wondered what that feeling was, but drew a blank in your mind. Whatever it was, you hadn’t felt in quite some time—seeming to have forgotten it altogether. You chose not to dwell on what could not be understood, focusing back on Joel and the empty road you were still on.

“I can drive for another few hours,” he replied, his hand still pressed to your waist. It seemed that neither of you were too keen on letting the other go. “But we should find someplace to hole up for the night.”

You nodded. “Do you want me to drive?”

“No.”

“Joel, you've been driving all day and all night. I can take over for a bit so you can get some—”

“No.” He pulled you closer, shocking the hell out of you when his lips pressed to your temple. His hand running up your back slowly, as if he was trying to reassure you of the things he couldn’t say out loud. All of the emotions that were trapped in both your chests, unable to be set free due to the circumstances of your life.

You understood him all the same, smiling briefly against his shoulder.

“I’ve got you darlin’,” he whispered, his nose brushing along your head.

The sensation of him close made your eyes flutter shut, the breath you’d been holding for so long, finally being set free.

You wanted to tell him every emotion running through your heart as he pulled back to meet your eyes. The brown of his irises practically saw right through you, their dark nature burning your insides. Yet in their depths, you saw the emotion he could never say, the one that remained a mystery to even you. There it would remain, unspoken and restless.

Forever trapped with no possibility of escape.

“I want you to be okay too,” you said softly, letting him in a secret that was never really hidden from him.

To some degree Joel knew that you wanted him out of harm's way. That to see him hurt would kill you just like it had killed him. Yet the stubborn streak in him told you that no matter how much you wished it into existence, nothing would come of it. His actions whispered to you the truth. I’m here to protect you. I’d do whatever it takes. Even if whatever it takes was something far worse than a minor injury here and there.

He didn’t respond, simply helped you back into the truck, slamming the door shut to make sure the rusty piece of shit (as Joel affectionately called it) actually closed. You stayed silent as he started the car, the tape starting up again, acting as the rewind button for this situation. Except this time you felt the shift, the difference in how he sat beside you. Joel was no longer ignoring you; instead he chose to rest his hand on your knee, the weight of his palm obvious—the meaning behind it nearly cracking through you like lightning.

He wasn’t avoiding the burning want that spread through him. The ache that weighed on him daily the longer he was in your presence.

Joel wanted you, this much you knew. Only now he was no longer hiding it from you.

“Are you sure the roof still works?” you asked, staring dubiously at the broken ceiling—the glow of the moon practically streaming into the torn apart room.

“It’s not like anything is coming from the sky to hurt us.”

You scoffed, watching him check every crevice of the small cabin. “No, of course not. I’m just wondering if it rains, what do we do?”

Joel shrugged, sliding the worn down table up to the door. “We’ll dry off.”

“Hypothermia still exists, Texas.” You could see him biting back the smile, his eyes squinting slightly as he rested his hands on the table. The way he leaned over it shouldn’t have caused such a reaction in your body—your heart racing and mouth going dry—but you didn’t have control over what you found attractive about him anymore. It seemed that when it came to Joel, one look your way and you were instantly drawn to him. “Well?” you asked, lips quirked up into a smirk.

Standing to his full height, he let out a breath, his eyes practically searing into your skin. “Then we’ll warm up.”

His answer was nonchalant. Said in a way that would have made you think nothing of it, but then you caught it. The way his hand clenched at his side momentarily, his chest heaving as he took in a lungful of air. If what you heard in the bathroom was right, then both of you were affected by the other. You were just too fucking stubborn to admit it.

Smiling, you dropped your bag on the floor. “Careful Texas. I might end up thinking you like me.”

You turned away from him before you could see his reaction, too afraid of what you’d find. Part of him was glad you managed to miss how his whole body practically jolted, his jaw clenching as he staved off the heat. It slowly spread down to his fingertips, his body calling out to you. He managed to keep to himself in the car, his hand never going higher than your knee, but now he felt the insatiable need return.

Only this time there was no bathroom for him to escape to.

“Hey Joel?”

He snapped out his own thoughts, tuning into the present once more. “Yeah?” he asked, his voice huskier than he would have liked it to be.

“I should have said it before—” You turned, eyes glistening with an emotion that tugged sharply on his heart. “But thank you for saving my life.”

“Darlin’—”

“I know you didn’t have to. Shit, you didn’t have to do any of this for me, but I wanted you to know I’m not ungrateful.” Rather than look him in the eye, you kept your focus on what was once a fireplace. “If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t be here. So thank you and I-I don’t know how I’ll ever repay—”

His hand cupping the back of your neck, pulling you closer cut you off. The words died on your tongue as he pressed his forehead to yours; the sigh he let out deeper than any you had heard before. Rather than keep going, you hesitantly rested your hand on his chest, the steady beat of his heart grounding you. If you had the strength, you would ask him why he did it. Why he bothered to save you that first night. But you knew the question was better left unsaid.

“There’s no repayin’ me,” he stated, pulling back slightly to meet your eyes. “You hear me?” He waited for you to nod, the movement small yet powerful. “I didn’t save you for any motive. I saved you because I…”

The words lodged themselves in the back of his throat, but you understood as if he had shouted the words from the rooftop. Because I care about you. Because when I’m with you the future isn’t bleak, it isn’t just a fantasy. Because amongst any means that make sense in this world, without you I’d cease to exist.

You would have saved him for the same reasons and that’s where this landed. The complications of your relationships were meant to go unsaid, because labeling this, putting a meaning behind the words you could never say, would ruin it. So, you nodded again, clutching his shirt in your hand and smiled to appease his nerves.

“Me too,” you whispered, feeling his heartbeat jump.

A moment passed between the both of you, simply surrounded by the echoes of nature, but then you saw it. Joel’s lips pulled up into a smile, his brown eyes looking just a bit lighter as he stared at you. The meaning of your words settling beneath his skin. It was a rare occurrence to see Joel smile, but whenever it happened you felt yourself melt beneath his gaze.

You would never tell him that he owned your heart entirely. But something in you wondered if he already knew.

“We should eat something,” he said, reluctantly pulling away from you to grab the probably expired food stashed away in his pack.

Nodding, you did your best to right your jumbled mind. “That’s a good idea.”

He tossed the small wrapped pieces of food, flicking on the single lantern he had. “I need to change your bandage after.”

“I can do it.”

“You’ll move too much.” He bit into the food and you found your gaze focused on the clench of his jaw again.

“I’ll be fine.” You ignored the chalky flavor of what used to be a protein bar on your tongue. “It’s only one wrap.”

He shook his head. “I don’t need you rippin’ open your wound, Boston”

“Joel—” His eyes snapped up to you, shutting you up instantly. “Okay,” you replied softly, biting into the bar.

Once more you allowed the echo of crickets to fill the voice between you, nature’s music becoming your background song. When you were younger, you couldn’t remember hearing the sounds of nature, too busy being overwhelmed with the chatter of the city. Yet now you felt like the world was finally waking up, allowing what remained of humanity to witness its beauty one more time.

You wanted to relish in it. To take in everything you otherwise might have missed before the outbreak, but the anguish of reality wouldn’t allow you to partake in such a peaceful act. So, you simply listened the best you could, hoping to commit the echoes of the forest to your memory.

“Do you think this is all we’ll get?” Your words caused Joel to pause. “The world. Do you think this is it?”

He wanted to say no, to tell you that he hoped for a better outcome than what they were left with, but the lie wouldn’t form. You both knew the truth of what the future held. Yet you wanted to live in the fantasy of something more just a bit longer. He wouldn’t be the one to crush that dream, to watch the small glint of hope in your eyes fade away as it had done before.

To Joel you were still dying in his arms, because he would never be released from that moment. Not entirely. That was his future. Forever stuck in a past he couldn’t change, sitting in a future he didn’t feel he deserved.

“I think we got more than we should have,” he said, squinting down at his hands. “Shows how fuckin’ stubborn humans are.”

His words settled in your mind and their cynical nature should have made you upset. But you knew this man. You could pick out his inflections just like he could see through your facades. Smiling, you put another piece of the food in your mouth, eyes tracing the slope of his nose and curve of his mouth.

“Hey Joel?” He finally looked up, molten brown eyes harboring a world of secrets you may never find out; you were okay with that though. “I’m okay with what I got.”

“Yeah?” he breathed.

You nodded. “Could have turned out worse. I could have ended up with someone from the midwest.”

He snorted, unable to stop it, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter. “The midwest ain’t bad.”

“I know. It's where my brother wanted to live.” Balling up the wrapper, you leaned back on your hands, legs outstretched on the floor. “But I got you to smile.”

He found himself watching the steady rise and fall of your chest, the way your head lolled to the side, a teasing smile playing on your lips as you looked at him. For a while now he’d been able to fight back the urge to kiss you. The ache that burrowed so deep in his body he wasn’t able to chase it away, but the sight of you so open and free. It did him in.

Taking in a breath, he tried to steady the fast paced beat of his heart. He shoved away the thoughts that slowly began to seep their way back into his brain—begging him to finally act on his wishes. Instead, he cleared his throat and reached for the somewhat clean bandages he had in his pack.

He refused to act on something you clearly weren’t interested in. Or at least something he hadn’t discussed with you yet.

“I gotta change your bandage.”

Rather than bicker with him again about whether or not you were capable, you simply clambered onto the rickety armchair. It creaked beneath you, the wood nearly ready to give out if you moved too much. You figured neither of you would want to sleep in it, save for the rather decent cushions that remained.

You peeled off your jacket, the heavy fabric making a small thump as it landed on the floor, your shirt being lifted and held tightly at your chest next. After you were injured, you could barely move from the bed and even then Joel remained a gentleman. Refusing to look anywhere beyond the wound. The same one that was slowly healing over. He made a grunt of contentment as he removed the dirty bandage, seeing the slightly raised skin where a scar would eventually take its place.

“It looks good.” He pointed to the bottom half that still continued to bleed every now and again. “This part’s bein’ stubborn.”

“Ah yes,” you said, shifting to give him space to work. “It gets that from me.”

“Damn right it does,” he muttered.

You laughed, nudged his knee with your leg. “Fuck you Miller.”

“Hold still.”

“I am.”

“No. You’re not.” You could feel the glare against your cheek. The very same one you were biting into, attempting to prevent the smile from blooming across your cheeks.

“Your hands are cold,” you said, shifting away from him as he began to slide the bandage along your skin.

“They usually are.”

“No. They’re not.” You caught his eye and shrugged to remain nonchalant about the matter. “I like when they’re warm. Keeps me warm.”

His hand pressed into your thigh, holding you still—eyes still focused on your face. “Darlin’,” he warned.

You sighed, head resting on the back of the chair. “Don’t worry Joel I know.”

“You know what?” His hand didn’t move, thumb brushing lightly along your pants.

“I’m not stupid Texas. The question earlier wasn’t about the world. It was about…” He stiffened, his hold growing tighter, eyes flicking back down to your bandage. The rejection punched you in the gut once more, a final understanding dawning over you. He would never go there with you.

“Boston…”

“I know. We’re lucky with what we’ve got and believe me I’m fucking lucky to have wound up with you in the middle of all this. But I just thought what I heard the other day in the bathroom—” Your breath caught in your throat as his head snapped up, eyes wide as he finally came to the conclusion that you did in fact hear him.

Not only did you hear him, but you liked what you heard.

“You…”

Nodding, you felt his hand slip a little higher up your thigh—heat streaking through your body and causing you to go a little lightheaded. 

“I want whatever you’ll give me Joel,” you whispered, your hand sliding to cover his. “I want you.”

“Fuck,” he rasped, his eyes transfixed on how you dragged his hand up higher until his fingers brushed the crotch of your pants.

“Hey Joel?” you breathed, your eyes barely open as his raised to meet your gaze.

“Yeah darlin’?”

“Kiss me.”

The words were barely out of your mouth before he was surging upwards on bended knee, his hand grasping your neck and pulling your lips to his. You gasped, hand digging into his hair to hold him to you as he devoured you. Finally you felt like you could breathe again, the air being stolen from your lungs. Only for him to breathe life back into you. His lips slid along yours, a messy combination of teeth and spit and raw passion and you loved it.

Whimpering into his mouth, you grasped onto the collar of his coat, yanking him forward until he was practically on top of you. Yet the weight of his body against yours felt comforting. As if that’s where he was always meant to be. Joal groaned when you tugged sharply on his hair, his hips bucking into your thigh, teeth sinking into your bottom lip.

“Felt you wanting to kiss me that mornin’,” he grunted into your mouth, his hand gripping tightly at your hip.

“I-I did want to kiss you—oh.” His lips pressed a wet trail down your throat, teeth nipping along the vein he could practically feel beating beneath your skin.

He wanted to make you squirm, to have you completely and utterly branded with his touch. Joel wasn’t a possessive man by nature, but you…you made him want to call you his in every manner that was possible. Your hands fell to his belt buckle, leg hitching up around his waist, and he nearly felt his eyes roll back. While he may have touched himself before, he knew the second this happened he was done for.

So, he distracted you. He clasped your hands in his and dragged them back up to his hair, his lips finding their way back to yours. You panted softly beneath him, a searing ache beginning to form in your body, spreading down to your toes. With each spit slicked kiss he pressed to your neck, chest, anywhere he could reach, you felt yourself begin to grind against his hips.

“J-Joel,” you moaned, head falling back as his hands fell to the button of your pants.

“Yeah baby?”

The name made your toes curl in your boots, the involuntary reaction one he definitely noticed if the smile on his lips was anything to go off of. Shit he liked seeing you like this. Completely pliable beneath his palms.

“Want you to—” His hand dipped into your pants, fingers brushing along your pelvis and your hips jolted, body nearly coming up off the chair.

The husky echo of his chuckle sent sparks down your spine, the warmth you’d been searching for now returning and pooling in your stomach. He was toying with you. Trying to see how much you could take before you were a pleading mess beneath him. You knew that if he kept going, he wouldn’t have to wait long until you were begging. He lit you up on the inside, his touch merely brush added to the fire that had started burning the second you met him.

He dipped into your slick, his eyes fluttering shut and a pained grunt tearing from his chest the second he found how wet you were. Something in him snapped, the broken piece of his self control finally hitting the ground with a bang. You sagged into the chair, a high pitched keen echoing off the walls when his fingers found your clit—pleasure searing its way up your spine.

“I want to—” He spit out a curse, his chest heaving with each breath he took.

Your eyes flew open the feeling of his hand pulling away from you. Only for him to yank your pants down, stripping you of anything that could possibly be in his way. Doing your best to help, you kicked off your boots until you were bare from the waist down before him. You didn’t have much time for any semblance of embarrassment to wash over your body, because Joel was yanking you forward.

He pushed you open with his shoulders, hooking your legs over them as he finally sought the one thing he’d been craving since he saw you standing outside that bathroom door. Delving in, he licked a stripe up your cunt, grinning at the broken sound that he tore from you.

Grasping onto his hair, you felt the breath leave your lungs faster than you could take it in. “Fuck, oh fuck Joel,” you cried, your mouth dropping open in bliss.

He moaned into you, his eyes meeting yours as he sucked your clit into his mouth and rolled his tongue over it. The sharp sensation of the pleasure was almost too much to bear. It flickered to life in your stomach, burning a hot path through your entire body until you could barely make out Joel’s sounds. You heard a rushing echo in your ears, your heart beating wildly in your chest.

Yet it never ceased. Joel licked into you like you were the best dessert he’d had in years. A decadent meal he wanted to take his time with. You tugged on his hair, your hips rolling over his face as he pressed his tongue into you, thrusting it the best he could.

“That’s it,” he mumbled, his eyes glazed with lust and words slurred together. “Taste’s so fuckin’ sweet.”

“Joel I-I…” You tried to catch your breath, tried to say anything, but his thumb spreading his spit up to your clit made your head spin.

“What do you need darlin’?”

“I-I—hng—want you inside me.”

His lips pulled up into a smirk, eyes shifting between your face and cunt that practically weeped for him. “When I’m done.”

“But—” He pressed his thumb down harder, cutting off your words—a whine crawling up the back of your throat.

“Always so stubborn,” he mused and you could practically hear the smile in his words. It made your heart flutter, your head falling back as his mouth sealed over your cunt again.

The echo of your slick hit your ears, the sound mixing with your combined sounds of pleasure. Creating a euphony of tunes that you could listen to forever. Joel ate you out like a man starved, like a man who would never get to partake in this act ever again in his life. You hoped that wasn’t true.

Gasping, you felt it before he did. The clench of your walls against nothing as he moaned drunkenly into you, licking at you so loudly your ears burned. The pleasure built in your body until it nearly stung, searing into you with such strength that your body bowed off the chair. Joel merely grunted, grasping onto your hips to keep you still as he kept going. You wondered if he would stop even after you came and realized you wouldn’t have to wait that long to find out.

“Joel,” you warned, but he already knew.

His thumb slid along your clit, keeping a steady pressure as he buried his tongue in you, his broken moan becoming your undoing. Grinding against his mouth, you heard yourself cry his name, your head hitting the back of the chair as the dam with you shattered. White hot bliss rushed through your body, turning you into a mess of whimpered cries and pleas for Joel to keep going. Yet he seemed to not hear you. Lost in the taste of you that practically flooded his mouth.

Your legs trembled as he slowed down, lapping at your cunt gently so as to gather every bit of you on his tongue. Everything in your mind fell silent, the hum of pleasure in your veins the only thing you could focus on—a type of peace you hadn’t had in a long time. Joel pressed a wet kiss to your thigh, his teeth scraping over the skin as if he wanted to leave a bite mark so deep it would forever be a part of you.

A part of you wanted it to happen; wanted to feel the blooming pain as his teeth sunk into your skin. At least then you’d know you were still there, still alive. But then he pulled away, running his palms up and down your thighs as he waited for you to come back to him.

“Holy shit,” you breathed, unable to move a single limb in your body.

His laugh brought you back, the steady heat once again pooling into your stomach. “I want to do that again.”

Your stomach swooped. “Later,” you said, your voice shaking with a new surge of need.

Joel tugged you lightly, telling you exactly where to go without words, and you followed. Sliding off the chair, you cringed at the wet mess between your thighs, but the sight of his chin smeared in you washed that feeling away. He was covered in you and without thinking you pulled him closer, licking into his mouth and moaning at the taste of yourself on his tongue. That heady sensation returned, crashing into you like a tidal wave.

“Please.”

He maneuvered you into his lap, your knees pressing into the dirty ground beneath him. But neither of you cared where you were, because all of that vanished. Everything became nonexistent, leaving just Joel and the way he was looking at you.

“I’ve got you darlin’,” he murmured, helping you unbuckle his pants to pull his cock out. He stifled a moan against your shoulder as your hand wrapped around him, the throbbing ache he’d managed to ignore now flaring to life in his body.

He knew if you stroked him for longer than a few minutes this would be over before it began. But he also couldn’t deny how fucking incredible it felt to feel you touch him like this. He breathed your name against the shell of your ear, his hips bucking into your palm, heat streaking down his spine. Joel wanted to savor this, to remember what exactly this intimacy felt like.

Except then he felt it, the tightening in his stomach that signaled the end. Yanking your hand away, he fought against the release that threatened to spill over him, his body shaking with the effort. Grunting, he felt your hand run down his back, your lips trailing along his jaw as you murmured compliments to him. Words that made his face stain red and mind go hazy.

“You’re so pretty Joel.” Your hands curled around the large width of his shoulders, your hips grinding down into his lap. “So handsome.”

“Fuck,” he moaned pathetically, unable to stop himself from unfurling into your touch.

Your hand dug into his hair, tilting his head until his lips found yours again. Kissing him was like finding the missing pieces of yourself all in one fell swoop. You felt whole with him, like the person you could have been rather than the person you were. Smiling against his lips, you felt his hands slide down to your ass, kneading the flesh in his palms.

You still wore your shirt and he had barely undressed, but it still remained perfect. Neither of you cared about how special this was or whether it was on a bed or not, because this was all you could get. This is what the world gave you. The both of you were too greedy to ask for anything else, stealing away this moment until it disappeared beneath your touch.

“Want you to fuck me Joel,” you breathed hotly against his neck, your hips rolling over his. You gasped simultaneously as the head of his cock caught on your clit, the pressure debilitating.

“Yeah? You want me to ruin you?” Nodding, you felt heat spread up your neck. He mouthed at your neck, his hand wrapping around his cock to position it at your entrance and allow you to make the first move.

Which you did without hesitation. You scratched your nails along the back of his neck as you sunk down onto him, the stretch along your walls slightly painful with how big he was. It had been a long time since you allowed yourself to be like this with anyone and you figured Joel knew exactly how that felt. He struggled to maintain control over himself as you slowly took him into your cunt, your walls clamping down around him—nearly throwing him off the edge.

“Fuck darlin’,” he grunted, his fingers digging into your hips. “Squeezin’ me so tight.”

Clutching at his shoulder, you tried to steady yourself, the tremble in your legs nearly too much for you. But Joel wasn’t letting you go that easily. Nipping at your collarbone, he helped you take him all the way in small strokes. You felt the rapid beat of his heart pressed against yours, the way he tried to distract himself from the feel of your body wrapped around him.

“Wait, wait,” he panted the second you sat fully in his lap again, his cock throbbing along your walls. “I—oh shit—I want this to last.”

You nodded, pressing your forehead to his as you allowed your body to adjust the feel of him inside you. “We’ll go slow.”

He laughed, dropping a kiss to your chest. “Only need a minute baby.”

“I don’t want to wear you out.” The mischief in your smile could be heard through your words; Joel’s shoulders now shaking from laughter. “After our conversation earlier, you have me thinking you’re an old man—”

Him grinding you down into his lap cut off your words with a sharp gasp, the smile falling from your lips as your mouth dropped open. Something sharp, intense, unfurled in your core, blooming throughout your body and turning your mind hazy. Mimicking the movement, you felt it again, his cock rubbing slightly right where you needed him most.

“How about now?” he taunted, scraping his teeth along your jaw, his hands slipping beneath your shirt to cup your breasts.

“Shit.” Tugging on his hair you felt him smile against your cheek.

“Am I still old?”

“More,” you pleaded, rolling your hips in stunted movements, the position you were in only allowed you so much.

“Yeah?” Guiding your hips, he felt your walls clamp down even tighter, the pressure causing white to flash behind his eyes.

“Feels so good Joel.” Your eyes were half open, the lust burning in them so bright he felt it in his chest.

He wanted to stay there, forget the world existed and remain wrapped around you. Who would miss either of you? No one. Which is what made the idea so fucking appealing.

You leaned back, one hand pressed against the floor as you sought the perfect angle and as he pulled you back on his cock, a moan climbing out of his throat, he felt it. The way your whole body practically bowed out of his hold. A sharp keening cry ripping from you. He nearly lurched forward, the tight sensation in his stomach growing closer by the second, his body going as taut as yours.

“Fuck, fuck. Darlin’ I’m not gonna last,” he muttered, shifting you quickly until you were pressed into the ground. Your leg going up and over his forearm.

Scrambling to hold onto him, you felt your eyes roll back, the sharp searing heat now spreading rapidly through every single part of you. Whatever words or praises you might have said, turned into incoherent noises of pathetic whimpers and moans. Joel shoved his hips into yours, striking so perfectly right where you needed him, that you felt the pleasure mount until it nearly broke you inside.

You dragged his lips back to yours, attempting to meet his thrusts with small ones of your own, but the lower half of your body was already pinned to the ground. His hands kept you still as he drove into you so earnestly, you were certain your release would stop your heart.

“J-Joel!” you sobbed, your head falling to the floor and back going rigid.

“C’mon baby,” he grunted, his hand seeking out yours. Clasping his fingers around yours, he pressed your entwined palms into the ground, keeping it at his leverage.

The one thing grounding him as he lost himself in you.

An echo of your slick and skin slapping against skin filled the small cabin, his panted out grunts and your incoherent cries, nearly deafening to both your ears. Joel’s other hand found your clit and with one final devastating thrust, you broke.

The breath was punched from your lungs, the singular word—his name—turning into a ragged gasp. Your cunt clamped down, body shaking, as you forced him off the edge with you. Joel’s hand slammed to the ground, his hips thrusting into you the best he could while he spilled into you, the warmth of his cum practically leaking out. For a moment neither of you could breathe, lost in the sensation of pleasure thrumming in your veins.

Joel’s breaths matched your own, his lips trailing up your chest until he eventually found his way back to your lips. A smile spreading on his face. You laughed, your hands brushing his hair away from his damp forehead, and felt him twitch inside of you. The small grunt letting you know that the both of you were a bit too sensitive now.

“Hey Boston?” he asked, his nose brushing against yours—the smile on your face matching his.

“Yeah Texas?”

He stole another kiss, his thumb running along your cheek. “I’m lucky to have wound up with you too.”

Warmth filled your chest, that now familiar feeling you could finally place, returning with a new vigor. Except this time you welcomed it. Above Joel’s shoulder you caught the glimmer of stars through the broken ceiling, the clear night sky a beautiful backdrop to the man above you. Yet you still found yourself captivated by the brown in his eyes, the shine of hope that hadn’t been there before.

You would never be able to tell him what you felt, always keeping it close like a secret. But tonight you’d get to savor it.

Tonight you could pretend that just for a moment…Joel Miller loved you too.

#joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x you #joel miller x y/n #joel miller x reader #joel miller smut #joel miller #the last of us fic #the last of us #my writing

[angelllcakes]

wooo!!! requests are open! how about shy crushes with chan? i could only imagine how the members would push him to make a move 😭

also, your rules post isn’t showing up for some reason! i’m not sure if it’s just me :((

hope you’re doing well!

arghhh those darn rules >:(

i have a feeling its because i altered my username, but i fixed the link and hopefully it's back up! thank you for being so considerate and acknowledging them though! i rly appreciate you bb 💗

as for this request, you couldn't have sent a better ask for me to jump back in with! but i realized i might have read the prompt wrong about half way in hehe... i hope this still meets your expectations!

just around the corner

with dino x femreader

warnings/announcements: insecure, quiet reader, mild language, ridiculously immature children in good looking, grown men’s bodies. SEUNGKWAN IS BLOND 😏😩 this is also based in a school setting, however ages or grades are not mentioned.

WORD COUNT: 1k

As someone who considers themselves not quite as "outgoing" as they'd like to be, public spaces have always haunted you by the idea of being extremely uncomfortable. It isn't the company of others that you particularly dislike, nor is it the fact that you feel the need to be alone. Sometimes, the silence that lingers in the air between small talk or with close friends is all you need to process your thoughts, and perhaps you need a bit more of that silence when the boy you find just ahead passes you by once again. He crosses through your path at exactly 7:43am each morning, sending you the most contagious smile before disappearing into his classroom. It's the same, small notion he does that makes you lose all grasp of your feelings, yet you always react so flusteredly, as if it's the first time you laid eyes on him all over again.

You wonder how he manages to find you each day, considering your schedules overlap and cycle in completely different agendas. You know for certain it's because of your class' small size, making each student familiar with one another at the very least, yet you like the idea of it being caused by fate, in the hopes that his charm is followed by a more meaningful reason rather than just out of the kindness of his heart. Chan in fact does look for you between the crowds of rushing students, desperately trying to speak with you through his bashful gazes and quick grins, but he doesn't necessarily hate the way your cheeks grown warm for him either. You give him a fraction more of the confidence he wishes for.

Yet as soon as he enters his homeroom, all hopes of his confidence disappear when he comes face to face with three of his closest friends, whom he currently wants to bury alive as they reenact the previous scene between the two of you. Their chuckles are filled with nothing but support and brotherly love for him, and as Chan's book makes contact with the blonde's face, his two followers emit an even louder laugh.

"Yah, quit messing up my look Chan!'

"Your face is already unfixable, give me a damn break."

Seungkwan scoffs lightheartedly before finding his seat as the bell echoes through the building, peeking over Chan's desk for another genuine, but mostly annoying attempt to pry at his love life.

"Are you going to actually go for her today? Or wallow in your own shyness again? If you don't do anything besides look at her the poor girls gonna file a restraining order."

Wonwoo opens an ear to the conversation from his desk, curious of Chan’s response.

In all honesty, the constant pestering by his friends encouraging him to make a move is endearing. Yet they don't understand you the way Chan does, and it makes him slightly agitated over how poorly they capture you as they play jokes with him. They haven't seen the way your shoulders lose their tension as you exit busy elevators, or how your smile which, he didn't think was capable of shining brighter than it already does, stretches a little farther after you leave loud groups or chaotic scenes.

It’s the small, more calmer things you find joy in, and you've made Chan see the brighter, more positive side of life too.

So ultimately he gathers his courage, finding you seated on a bench once the final bell signals it's students home for the day. He figured choosing to find you in peace and away from the busy crowds of your environment would calm your nerves, and save him from public humiliation if all things backfired. Opting to begin through small talk, and getting to know you little by little was his original plan, but how well will that work for him? He prepared a fail-proof scenario for a fail proof guy... And Chan, well he isn't as fail proof as he dreamed of.

If almost tripping onto your lap wasn't too close of a call to failure, almost spilling his drink over your outfit and choking on his own spit mid stutter were definitely warnings that he should apologize, backtrack his entire plan, and go scream into his bedroom pillow. However another thing about Chan is that he wasn't a quitter, and was determined to knock down this wall between you two.

That was always what you admired about him most, his desire to succeed. He helped you believe in yourself, and for all his ‘mistakes’ you’d continue to feel overwhelmed with love. You lean closer, just a few inches from his darkening crimson cheeks.

“Was their something you wanted to talk to me about Chan?”

and from the second his name rolls off your lips, his grin instantly grows wider.

angelllcakes© do not copy, modify, or repost my work without consent and permission.

#dino best boy <3 #seventeen dino #dino #svt dino #dino x reader #lee chan x reader #seventeen #seventeen lee chan #svt lee chan #lee chan #dino smut #dino seventeen #seventeen scenarios #seventeen fic #mingyu seventeen #seventeen chan

[oftenwantedafton]

Vent - Steve Raglan/William Afton/Springtrap x Female Reader

Chapters 25-27

Rating - Explicit

Warnings - sexual content and blood kink

Also available on AO3 Chapters 25 | 26 | 27

Chapter 25 ~ kindred ~

The yellow rabbit has returned.

Not fully; not actually physically there, but his voice is present once again, his image now adorning the shining surface of a butcher knife. Through the sliver of steel one lamp eye regards the new mark upon William, seeing right through the layers of his clothing. Eventually it will be another scar to add to the collection of mementos and keepsakes that map across his body.

Afton stares at the rabbit’s reflection in the blade now lying next to the cutting board, the vegetables he’s been chopping already forgotten.

“You’re going to have to let me out sooner or later.”

William knows this. It’s how it’s always been. He only kills when he’s in the costume. It’s part of the ritual. He has to be inside the mascot suit for it to work. But it’s risky. He doesn’t want to lose control again; doesn’t want to give his alter ego the chance to warn you away again. To poison you against him.

“I don’t have to do anything,” he says, but the lie is heavy on his tongue and they both know it.

In truth, the former killer craves the feeling of being enshrouded within the suit. Surrounded by matted, fading fur and corroding metal and overloaded circuits and frayed wires. The two of them aligned. Moving as one. The rabbit’s body and his mind. Opening the gateway, steel meeting flesh. Harvesting. Transference. Pushing through, material to immaterial. Transcendance. An accidental discovery that he’d gotten addicted to. He still doesn’t understand all the details of it, only knows the procedure.

“You’re starving,” the rabbit observes, startling William from his musings. He’d nearly forgotten the other was there. His assessment is correct. The hunger gnaws at him constantly. Not for sustenance in any traditional sense of the word; rather, an incessant drive for the other, darker things. He reaches for the laceration you’ve created together. Imagines you carving another. Taking you apart and putting you back together again. Filling up the empty space. Sated. “You’ve tried that before. A wife and three children and it still wasn’t enough to fill that void.”

William frowns at the rabbit. “It’s different this time. She’s different. Special. We’re kindred.”

“What if it’s still not enough? What if she can’t give you what you need?”

Silence. He does not want to think about the implications of that failure.

“You can’t keep me away forever. I always come back.”

Of course he does. Crawling through the vents, oozing around like a cell though a vessel. Hidden deep where no one will see, concealed beneath the shiny new layers of the restaurant, fresh paint and replaced flooring masking what lies inside, at the heart of the establishment.

William grits his teeth. A bead of perspiration forms on his brow. “Not yet.”

He wipes the knife clean and puts it back in the block on the kitchen counter.

Chapter 26 ~ symbiosis ~

You stare at your reflection in the bathroom mirror.

At the cut William’s inflicted, visible now that you’ve peeled away the gauze and showered. It’s a clean scabbed line, near surgical precision. As if he’s had practice.

You don’t want to think about that.

You don’t want to think about how it had felt, being cut and slicing him in return; how terrified you were, yet how exhilarating it was at the same time. The intimacy of him tasting your blood; of his own upon your lips. It was sick, twisted, depraved, you know it, but there’s always been something off about the older man and you’ve grown to tolerate it. No, far more than tolerate it. Be honest now.

There’s always been something off about you, too. Ever since…ever since…

You almost have it, the memory skittering around at the far reaches of your mind.

What had happened at the pizzeria that day nearly nine years ago now?

You think about your friend saying how much he needs you, how special you are. His only. And…

Your cheeks flush. You wonder if it’s always going to be like this now, or just when the mood strikes him. There’s a new light in his eyes now that the restaurant has reopened. As if he’s more alive; as if something has awakened inside of him.

You glance at the bathroom clock. He’ll be there soon. A long day ahead of you. A longer night.

You finish dressing and return to him.

***

No candy today. Just William sitting in his sedan, waiting. The air is dry and hot. It will be the start of a stretch of arid days, the state you live in notorious for receiving the least amount of precipitation.

He’s watching you intently. Waiting for you to speak. Perhaps he’s uncertain about what happened the other night.

“Hi,” you greet him softly.

“How are you?”

Such a loaded question and he doesn’t even know it. Floodgates open and you recount everything that had happened since he’d dropped you off two nights ago. “I had a fight with my parents when I got home the other night. Both complaining about me coming in so late. All of a sudden they’re talking about a curfew. They want money for rent since I’m working so much. My stepmother opened one of my acceptance letters. No congratulations for getting in, of course. She’s already complaining about the expense, as if financial aid and scholarships don’t exist. I haven’t even decided where I’m going yet.”

William frowns. “Suddenly parenting and in all the wrong ways,” he mutters. “I’m sorry. I can speak to them if you want.”

You shake your head at the offer. “No. It would probably just make things worse. I hate living here.” You haven’t vented this much since…well, maybe since the yellow rabbit.

The yellow rabbit.

William. You should avoid him at all costs.

Avoid the only person who’s ever really acknowledged you even exist? Who helps you and cares for you and…

…and likes the taste of your blood. Is far too familiar with a blade. Wants you to be his protégé. He needs it. It wasn’t too much to ask, was it, considering all he’s done for you? When he fills you up so full of that feeling of being wanted and desired, makes you feel smart and pretty, full of purpose, belonging. A symbiotic relationship where you both feed off of each other, provide for the needs in one another. Mutually beneficial.

“You don’t have to stay. You’re almost nineteen. You can move into a dormitory at college, depending on where you decide to go, or…perhaps in the future you could stay with me.”

“What, you mean move in with you?” You blink, surprised, focusing back on the conversation. You try to wrap your head around the thought of what he’s offering. What it would be like to wake up in his arms every morning. Your kitchen daydream returns. Going to work together, coming home together, sharing a meal, he’ll help you with your college coursework and you’ll read to him in the library and then, and then…

“It’s certainly an option.”

There’s an ache in your chest. “You really want me to live with you?”

“The idea of it isn’t unpleasant.” He rewards you with one of those secret smiles of his and that fluttering feeling in your stomach returns. “Not to trivialize these other matters, but I want to know how you feel about…this.” He reaches out, tracing the cut through your tshirt.

Your pulse quickens. “It looks okay.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“I’m…I’m not sure. It scared me. But I also liked it,” you admit quietly. You lick your lips, determined to plow your way forward before you lose your resolve. You want to hear him say it again. You want to say it yourself. What’s stopping you? “Did you mean what you said about…am I…do you really feel that way about me?”

“Would I have offered to have you move in with me if I didn’t?”

“I don’t know. I mean…”

“You should know how I feel by now. We’re already together almost daily anyway. We’ll just be filling in the rest of the time now, too.” He leans over and kisses you. “You really liked it? You’re not just saying that because you think it’s what I want to hear?”

“No. I would never do that.”

“Good. Best friends shouldn’t lie to one another. And yes, before you mention it, I did lie about my name, but those were very specific circumstances and I would have told you the truth in time. Even still, I’m sorry I had to do it, for your sake.” His face moves to kiss over your wound. You touch his hair and close your eyes, focusing on the feel of his warm breath through the thin fabric of the shirt. He wanted you. You were his. You had something to look forward to now. A future with him.

Did anything else really matter?

Chapter 27 ~ dorian gray ~

High school graduation draws closer.

Hurricane’s community steadily expands. New residents, new employees, new visitors. And there, at the center of all of it, the pizzeria with its enigmatic owner and you, the dutiful assistant.

William sets a hot fudge sundae down in the center of the table. His sleeves are rolled up now that there are no prying eyes. Only one spoon is tucked into the dessert. He scoops some of the chocolate and whipped cream and feeds it to you. Bends and licks the remains off your lips. You both want more.

You’re pressed against the side of his car. Pressed down into the nearby field scattered with new flowers. The air is filled with the scent of grass and the hum of insects, the epitome of an early summer evening. His kisses are fire. He sears you inside and out. You kiss the healing mark you’ve made on him and he says your name and you come undone beneath the open sky.

***

It’s senior skip day. The perfect excuse to spend more time with your best friend.

You’re seated in the recliner tucked into the corner of William’s study. He sits across from you and watches you with hungry eyes as you read aloud The Picture of Dorian Gray. Your sketchbook lies open on the table nearby, your latest drawing of your lover’s face nearly finished. You enjoy drawing him from memory, but there’s something special about having him pose for you in person, so still and quiet, watching you with those ravenous eyes.

You finish the last page, glancing up at the older man.

“What do you think? Would you do it, if you could? Sell your soul in exchange for being young forever? Letting something else-or someone else-bear the burden of aging, of sin?”

He unfolds from the couch-there’s no other way to explain how that long, lean frame of his moves-tugging the book gently from your fingers. Kneels before you. You touch his cheek, stroke over the hairs of his beard, mulling over the questions. “I don’t think the trade off would be worth it in the end. I’d rather keep my soul.”

“Would you?” He murmurs, turning his face to kiss the inside of your wrist. The morning sunlight filtering through the window nearby rests in a warm band across the exposed springlock scars on his bare forearm, the fine hairs surrounding the taut skin lit with gold.

“I’d give it to you if you asked.”

He smiles, stroking the inside of one thigh, most of which is exposed since you’re wearing shorts today. Your core tingles in anticipation, your legs parting. He traces the line of the prominent adductor muscle before it disappears beneath the hem. “I know you would. I want to taste you,” he says, lidded eyes meeting yours, and you know he’s not just talking about the liquid arousal flowing from your entrance.

Your breath stutters and you nod slowly. It has been a couple of weeks since the day of your induction into this new part of your relationship. You’ve wondered when he’d ask again; been too afraid to inquire about it for yourself.

“Take these off. I’ll be back.” He pats one thigh, pushing off of the arm rest of the plush chair to stand. You unbutton and unzip the denim shorts and shrug out of them, your panties following suit, the clothing lying in a rumpled pile on the hardwood floor. You try to relax, to calm your breathing, but your anticipation is building.

Why did you like it so much?

William returns. You catch a flash of silver from a single edge razor blade tucked between his fingers. He kneels again, one calloused hand wedging between your legs and you spread them wide for him, one leg hooked over each arm rest. He licks a stripe from one knee all the way to your groin. A soft kiss is planted there. Another. So gentle. So at odds with what you know is coming. A lick between your folds. A circle drawn over your clit. You arch against him and his tongue drives inside of you. Your fingers knot in his hair. He pulls your sex into his mouth and sucks. You whimper.

“Are you ready?” His eyes are black. A pure bottomless void to drown in. You want to succumb, let it wash over you.

You nod, not trusting yourself to speak.

You feel the slight weight of the sharp metal resting against your inner thigh. Another place no one will ever see. You can’t stop staring, waiting for the bloom of crimson.

A sharp hot pain and the deed is done. Precise once more, a clean line. He pulls the soft flesh into his mouth and you moan. He thrusts a finger inside of you, his thumb caressing your cluster of nerves. Adds another, his palm slapping roughly against the curve between your legs. You’re soaking wet, aching inside and out. You grasp his forearm and squeeze, grinding yourself against him. You feel his teeth sink into the skin he’s suckling, biting around the wound, bruising you. More pain but it’s lost in the pleasure. The coil within loosens and you gush over his thrusting fingers, crying out his name.

He lets you choose where to cut him, deciding you want to mark him along the winged crest of one hip. You do better this time, not needing his hand to guide you or lend you strength. You see his cock twitch when you make the mark. The taste of metal fills your mouth. Then soap from the morning’s shower. The musk of the honeyed early spill, clear precum leaking onto your tongue. You don’t need guidance for this either anymore. You’re no longer a novice. Your mouth engulfs him and you shove him down your throat. Pause only long enough to have another taste from the laceration before you’re back to choking on his erection. He’s making those needy sounds you’ve come to love.

Love. That’s what this feeling is, isn’t it? He’s yours and you’re his. You’ve given your body; he owns your soul. He is your mirror, your own portrait.

You drink his blood and his cum and crush your mouth against his, letting him taste everything you’ve gathered.

#william afton x reader #william afton x you #steve raglan x reader #steve raglan x you #william afton #fnaf movie #fnaf fanfic #steve raglan #springtrap

[triscribe]

History Reversed with sequel trilogy Ahsoka, Luke, Ezra and students dropped back in the Clone Wars 👀

Can’t hide being excited about this!

/slaps a snippet down on the table

They matched their breathing, slow and steady, shields unfurling one by one. When each cautious pause failed to reveal Dark Siders noticing them, the two Jedi reached a little further, a little wider, looking for the one light that could potentially save them faster than any other in the galaxy.

They found someone else first.

A mind, a familiar one, caught hold of Ahsoka’s questing reach. Warmth bloomed down a long disused thread, and her next breath caught in her throat. Ezra’s presence pulled back, startled, but Ahsoka couldn’t bear to retreat. Not from him.

The not-so-distant Jedi quickly sensed something wrong; she could practically hear him handing out new orders, altering the actions of those around him. An entire collection of lights in the Force changed direction, surprise sweeping through several of them, but matched by an easy willingness to adjust course and come investigate.

Not a minute later, a Star Destroyer dropped out of hyperspace.

Ezra yelped, jerking forward to try and grab their ship’s steering yoke, for all the good it would do. But Ahsoka stopped him, one calm hand on the man’s shoulder, as she stared through the viewscreen- 

-at a Republic vessel.

---

“We’ve got them in the tractor beam, sir!”

“Good. Please inform the commander I will meet him in our starboard hangar bay.” Without a moment to lose, he spun on his heel and left the bridge, headed straight for the nearest lift. Perhaps the speed was a touch undignified for a Jedi, but he could feel something wrong with the one who’d reached out. With her, and the half dozen further minds tucked into that small ship, all of them scared and hurting, wary at his presence rather than relieved.

Something terrible had happened, and Plo Koon needed to know what.

Wolffe fell into step with him as the Jedi exited his lift, both of them moving swiftly through three different corridors before emerging into the designated bay. “We have any idea what happened, sir? Last I heard, the five oh first were headed to Ryloth to help break the blockade.”

“So I thought as well, Wolffe,” Plo murmured, coming to a halt. “So I thought as well.” The deep hum of the tractor beam died off, and the small spacecraft they’d pulled aboard settled to the floor with a heavy thump. Thanks to a rather large amount of damage along the hull, one of its landing gears refused to deploy, so the poor ship tipped at an odd angle that barely allowed the ramp to drop open.

But open it did, and a moment later, bare feet descended.

Plo felt his heart stutter.

Too tall. Too old, a fully grown togruta, compared to the energetic youngling he so adored. Too worn around the edges, in a scorched undertunic and mud-spattered sleep pants, unfamiliar kyber crystals singing from the lightsabers tucked into her waistband. But it was, undeniably, Ahsoka.

#star wars the clone wars #star wars sequels #time travel au #fan fiction #wip game #history reversed fic #started work on this well before the ahsoka series came out #don't really feel like changing the premise at this point